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Toy Models of Top Down Causation
Adrian Kent
Centre for Quantum Information and Foundations, DAMTP,
Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge,
Wilberforce Road, Cambridge, CB3 0WA, U.K. and
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 31 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5, Canada.∗
(Dated: September 2019; updated September 2020)
arXiv:1909.12739v2 [quant-ph] 21 Oct 2020
Models in which causation arises from higher level structures as well as from microdynamics may
be relevant to unifying quantum theory with classical physics or general relativity. They also give a
way of defining a form of panprotopsychist property dualism, in which consciousness and material
physics causally affect one another. I describe probabilistic toy models based on cellular automata
that illustrate possibilities and difficulties with these ideas.
INTRODUCTION
The reductionist paradigm for theoretical physics suggests that the properties of complex structures, including their
dynamics, can be understood as a consequence of those of their elementary components. It is not easy to characterise
precisely what this means in all cases. Is a space-time or the vacuum state of a quantum field a complex structure,
for example? And if so, what are their elementary components? Is a bare quark an elementary component or a
mathematical fiction? Is quantum entanglement a counter-example to reductionism or just an illustration that the
concept needs to be framed more carefully?
Nonetheless, it is widely agreed that some appropriately nuanced and qualified version of reductionism has been
extremely successful, so much so that many theorists seek unified theories in which all of physics is characterised by
some theory of the initial conditions together with relatively simple (though seemingly probabilistic) dynamical laws.
We should distinguish this strong but quite arguable stance from the stronger and fairly indefensible one that
understanding the fundamental laws is the only really important task in science. As Anderson compellingly argued
in his classic essay [1], solid-state physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and other higher-level theories produce new
behaviours and new laws that require great inspiration and creativity to find and understand. But Anderson was
nonetheless a card-carrying reductionist:
The reductionist hypothesis may still be a topic for controversy among philosophers, but among the great
majority of active scientists I think it is accepted without question. The workings of our minds and bodies,
and of all the animate or inanimate matter of which we have any detailed knowledge, are assumed to be
controlled by the same set of fundamental laws, which except under certain extreme conditions we feel we
know pretty well.[1]
Chalmers’ [2] distinction between types of emergence is very helpful here. High-level phenomena are weakly emergent
when they are unexpected, but deducible in principle (even if not currently in practice) from fundamental theories.
They are strongly emergent if they are not deducible even in principle. Reductionists aim for a relatively simple
universal theory in which there are no examples of strong emergence, but should be comfortable with weak emergence.
A representative survey would be very interesting, but my guess is that Anderson’s characterisation still holds true
today: most scientists believe we already know enough of the fundamental theory to understand non-extreme regimes,
and in particular would deny that the emergence of (quasi-)classicality from quantum theory, or (pace Chalmers [2, 3])
of consciousness from classical or quantum physics, are clear examples of strong emergence. On the other hand, these
questions are hotly debated among scientists working on consciousness and on quantum foundations.
Although the boundaries of reductionism may be slightly fuzzy, we can certainly produce models or theories that are
clearly beyond them and unambiguously anti-reductionist. One example would be a theory that predicts qualitatively
different dynamical equations for different types of molecule.[47] Another would be a vitalist theory that predicts that
living creatures disobey some conservation law of classical mechanics. The general consensus is that we should assign
low priors to such theories, not only because reductionism has been successful, but also because reductionist theories
tend to be more elegant, and aligning credence with elegance has also been a very successful scientific methodology.
There is, though, more serious interest in better motivated models that do not fit the current mainstream reductionist paradigm. Consciousness, the topic of this special issue, seems to give one than one causal narrative – mind
and matter seem to affect both themselves and each other. Yet the causal effects of matter on matter also seem
enough for a complete description of the material world: there is no physical evidence that the known fundamental
2
laws of physics don’t suffice to describe the behaviour of the brain. There are (controversial) mainstream reductionist
stances on this (e.g. [4]), but also well-known (also controversial) arguments (e.g. [3, 5–8]) against the reducibility of
consciousness to known physics. There has been an upsurge of interest lately in exploring alternative ideas involving
new (or non-standard) physical hypotheses (e.g. [9–17]). Several of these have drawn inspiration and motivation from
work on “integrated information theory” (IIT) [18] which, although open to many criticisms (e.g. [19–21], gives a
mathematical framework to explore and generalise as well as a connection to empirical data.
Ideas of top-down causation have been mooted in the context of quantum theory and more broadly (e.g. [22, 23]).
The scope for top-down causal models of consciousness has not been extensively explored, and even the meaning
and scope of top-down causation is not fully elaborated. This paper aims to give one framework for discussion, by
describing some simple toy models, inspired by cellular automata, which illustrate possible ways in which higher level
structures act causally on the microscopic components, as well as vice versa. It should be stressed that these are not
meant to capture most realistic features of the world. The aim is to illustrate scope for more realistic models that use
a similar mechanism to combine types of causation.
CELLULAR AUTOMATON 110
Our toy models are based on cellular automata, but are not meant in the spirit of the well-known research programmes aiming to describe nature at a fundamental level in terms of cellular automata [24, 25]. We use cellular
automata simply as convenient illustrations.
Wolfram [24, 26] classified the 256 elementary one-dimensional cellular automata. These are defined by binary
states with a time step rule in which the states of cell n at time t are determined by those of cells n − 1, n, n + 1 at
time (t − 1). He noted the particularly interesting and complex behaviour of the automaton defined by rule 110 in his
classification. Again, we pick this out not out of any fundamental preference – higher-dimensional cellular automata
such the Game of Life [27] could equally well be used, for example – but for simplicity of illustration.
Rule 110 is defined by
FIG. 1: The rule 110 cellular automaton. The states of cells n − 1, n, n + 1 at time (t − 1), given on the first row, determine
that of cell n at time t, given on the second row.
Wolfram had previously suggested [28] that rule 110 is Turing complete, a result subsequently proved by Cook [29];
another discussion of the result is given in Ref. [24]. We review here some of its known properties, using results and
images generated by Wolfram Mathematica and resources [30] from the Wolfram Data Repository, which helpfully
includes routines that reproduce many interesting diagrams originally given in Ref. [24].
The rule generates a regular repeating array with period 14, known as the “ether”: We will take this to be the
analogue of a “vacuum” or “background state” in the toy models defined below.
Some finite dislocations in the lattice-like 1D structure of a row of the ether can propagate regularly. These so-called
“gliders” generate quasi-particle-like tracks in the ether. Cook [29] classified a variety of rule 110 gliders, including some
infinite classes: Colliding gliders undergo “interactions” that are superficially [48] reminiscent of Feynman diagrams,
FIG. 2: The ether.
3
FIG. 3: Gliders.
FIG. 4: Interactions.
typically producing a finite number of stable new gliders after a finite interaction time: (For more discussion of the
general phenomena of glider “particles” and background “domains” in cellular automata, see e.g. Refs. [31–34].)
We can define a very simple model of errors or noise in these structures by considering the possibility of a single
bit flip on the first row. One might motivate this by supposing that there is something particular about the system
at t = 0 that makes errors or noise possible on the first row, and only that row,[49] with error probability low enough
that we can neglect the possibility of two or more errors arising
If we consider a glider propagating in the ether, with a single bit of the initial state flipped at a site in the ether
that is far from the glider, the effect tends to be simply to cause some ripples in the ether that propagate for some
time and then peter out without interacting with the glider. The glider’s propagation is thus unaffected, as Fig. 5
illustrates.
However, if we flip a bit close to a glider, it can interact in a way that permanently alters the number and type of
gliders. Fig. 6 shows the same glider states with one initial bit flipped. Only the second is asymptotically unaffected.
FIG. 5: Perturbing the ether at a point distant from a glider.
4
FIG. 6: Perturbing the ether at a point close to a glider.
FIG. 7: Perturbations near interacting gliders. The highlighted examples leave the final states asymptotically unchanged.
Perturbations affect interacting gliders similarly. A perturbation distant from interacting gliders generally peters
out without affecting them. However, perturbations in the vicinity of one or more interacting gliders may alter the
types and/or number of gliders in the final or asymptotic state.
Fig. 7 shows a pair of interacting gliders with a single flipped bit, whose site runs sequentially through 21 sites
initially located between the gliders. Of these perturbations, the 1st, 4th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 18th leave the final
glider states, highlighted, are asymptotically unchanged. The 5th, 9th and 17th, highlighted in Fig. 8, all produce
the same new asymptotic final state, consisting of a single glider.
PROBABILISTIC MODELS BASED ON CELLULAR AUTOMATA AND TOP-DOWN CAUSATION
A simple probabilistic model
We can formalise the model above as a 1D cellular automaton whose states are defined on sites labelled by the
integers, at times also labelled by the integers. When the error probability p is zero, it is a deterministic type 110
automaton. The ether, or the ether with a single glider, then propagate indefinitely without perturbation. A pair of
gliders may approach one another from infinity, interact, and produce some number of outgoing gliders, which then
propagate indefinitely.
We may also take the model to have finitely many spatial sites, with periodic boundary conditions. In this case,
5
FIG. 8: Perturbations near interacting gliders. The highlighted examples produce the same asymptotic final state, a single
glider.
with appropriate numbers of sites, the ether and a single glider state may still propagate indefinitely. If a pair of
gliders with different velocities are evident during some time interval, they will, so to speak, interact in both the past
and future. If the interaction products contain two or more gliders with different velocities, they in turn will interact,
and the asymptotic behaviour may be quite complex. We can avoid this by defining the model only for a finite time
interval, short compared to N/v, where N is the number of sites and v the maximum glider speed.
We suppose that there is some probability p > 0 of an error occurring on the row of sites at t = 0. An error flips
the bit value of a single site, so that it takes the opposite value to that predicted by the deterministic dynamics from
the state at t = −1. To simplify, we suppose that there is no probability of more than one error, and that errors are
restricted to sites x, where −M ≤ x ≤ M , where (2M + 1) ≤ N if there are finitely many (N ) sites. The errors in
this region have uniform probability, so that each site in the region has error probability 2Mp+1 .
The discussion of the previous section then applies: errors sufficiently far from any gliders at t = 0 will typically
peter out before interacting and have no effect on the final or asymptotic late time glider states; errors close to gliders
can alter the number and type of final or asymptotic late time gliders.
Incorporating top down causation
We now consider modifying the dynamics by assigning probability weight factors to final glider states conditional
on initial glider states.
One simple rule is to assign probability weight factor 1 to final states that are the same as the initial state for single
glider propagation and two glider interactions, and weight factor 0 to distinct states. Formally,
pmod (Gf |Gi )
1
2
pmod (Gf , Gf , . . . , Gnf |Gi )
pmod (G1f , G2f |G1i , G2i )
pmod (G1f , G2f , . . . , Gnf |G1i , G2i )
= Cw(Gf |Gi )p(Gf |Gi ) ,
for n 6= 1 ,
= 0
=
0
C w(G1f , G2f |G1i , G2i )p(G1f , G2f |G1i , G2i ) ,
= 0
for n 6= 2 .
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Here
w(Gf |Gi ) = δGf ,Gi .
(5)
Multiple glider states are listed from left to right and so
w(G1f , G2f |G1i , G2i ) = δG1f ,G2i δG2f ,G1i
(6)
6
for colliding gliders, while
w(G1f , G2f |G1i , G2i ) = δG1f ,G1i δG2f ,G2i
(7)
for gliders that never collide. The expression p(Gf |Gi ) is the probability of the final state containing (only) the
single glider Gf when the initial state contains glider Gi in the model of the last subsection; p(G1f , G2f |G1i , G2i ) is the
probability of the final state containing (precisely) the pair G1f , G2f when the initial state contains the pair G1i , G2i ;
C and C 0 are rescaling factors chosen so that the probabilities of all possible final states sum to 1 for a given initial
state.
This rule is understood as applying to the system as a whole. It does not alter the deterministic dynamics of rule
110, and so its effect is to alter the probabilities of errors in the state at t = 0, which are the only probabilistic feature
of the toy model. For example, for an initial state containing a single glider G, it slightly increases the probability
of errors at sites (such as those far from the glider) where they do not affect the glider propagation, increases the
probability of no error, and eliminates the possibility of errors occurring at sites where they would alter the asymptotic
glider propagation. It has similar effects for initial states containing two gliders G and G0 . Effectively, the rule acts
to suppress errors in glider propagation, ensuring the stability of one and two glider states, which would otherwise be
menaced by possible errors in the microdynamics.
A variation is to assign probability weight 1 to specified final state outcomes of two glider interactions, and 0
otherwise, while retaining the weights above for single glider states Thus
w(Gf |Gi ) = δGf ,Gi
(8)
as above but w(G1f , G2f , . . . , Gnf |G1i , G2i ) may have a more general form. For example, we might take w(Gf |G1i , G2i ) = 1
for some specified final state Gf , and zero for all other final states. This ensures that initial glider states G1i , G2i always
produce final state Gf . however small the unmodified probability of this outcome is, so long as it is nonzero.
Compatibility with standard temporal and Minkowski causation
Framed as above, these modified toy models may appear to involve something like instantaneous action at a distance,
since the probability of error at a given site at t = 0 effectively depends on the type and number of gliders at distant
sites at the same time. If we think of the models as capturing the behaviour of particles (modelled by gliders)
propagating in a background (the ether) with stochastic fluctuations (the errors), in some non-relativistic limit of a
theory in relativistic space-time, this may seem to involve retrocausation: the probability of an error at a site depends
on the final glider states in regions in its causal future.
While the models certainly could represent features of theories with non-standard causation, they are compatible
with standard causation, even for relativistic theories. We can take the relevant glider speeds to be below light speed
in such theories. The gliders contained in the state at t = 0 depend deterministically on those contained in the states
at t < 0. We can thus equally well understand the probability of error of any site at t = 0 as determined by the glider
states at suitably large negative t, when the gliders are within the site’s past light cone. Interpreted in this way, errors
at t = 0 are causally determined by glider states at large negative t, according to laws that ensure specific glider
states at large positive t. For example, one might imagine the models as capturing essential features of some deeper
theory in which this causal determination is made more explicit, by degrees of freedom that carry information away
non-superluminally from negative time glider states to sites throughout the ether and influence the error probabilities
at t = 0 appropriately.
DISCUSSION
Panprotopsychist models of consciousness
There are reasons to consider physical models of consciousness that feature top down causation (although, as with
every approach to consciousness, there are also problems and counterarguments). One line of argument runs as
follows. There are evidently physical correlates of consciousness, namely human brains. If there is a fundamental
physical law associating conscious states to physical systems, it seems unlikely that it associates consciousness to
brains and to nothing simpler: brains seem too complex as physical systems to be the elementary referents of such
7
a law. Full-blown panpsychism, in which every elementary particle has an associated elementary consciousness, is a
possible alternative, but comes with many problems [35, 36] and does not seem to fit naturally with neuroscientific
data and our conscious self-observations or those reported by others. The intermediate option of panprotopsychism
[37], according to which elementary consciousness is associated with some physical systems (whose nature remains to
be specified) larger than elementary particles and smaller than brains, shares some of the problems of panpsychism,
but allows more possibilities that might fit with empirical observation. Taking panprotopsychism seriously means
accepting some sort of new physical law(s) associating the relevant systems with consciousness.
Our probabilistic models based on cellular automata can be taken as toy models of interactionist panprotopsychism.
In these toy models, the elementary bits at each site are meant to correspond to elementary components, and the
deterministic dynamics of rule 110 and unmodified error probability rules correspond to the elementary microdynamics.
The gliders represent physical systems associated with elements of consciousness, which we might take to be quales
or (if we stretch the present models even more unrealistically in order to illustrate how the idea might be extended)
thoughts that we can represent by a sentence such as “I see blue”. The first modified versions of the model, in
which the error probabilities are redefined to ensure that single gliders and pairs of gliders propagate unaffected
by errors, then correspond to toy models in which panprotopsychist consciousness ensures error suppression at the
level of consciousness, in the sense that quales (or thoughts) propagate unaffected in the substrate, despite errors
in the microdynamics. The second modified versions redefine the error probabilities to ensure that pairs of gliders
produce specified outcomes that would not arise in the absence of errors. These correspond to toy models in which
panprotopsychist consciousness is equipped with its own dynamics, which overrides the dynamics of the substrate
when the two conflict.
An argument in favour of something like this picture is that, if particular physical structures are indeed singled
out as having an elementary proto-consciousness by fundamental physical laws, it is arguably natural that these
physical structures should also feature in the fundamental dynamical laws. One might even speculate that nature has
probabilistic laws because of the need to combine dual causalities, of matter and mind.
It is helpful to compare the pros and cons of this line of thought with those of a similarly panprotopsychist form
of epiphenomenalism. This would associate consciousness in a lawlike way to specified physical structures, without
modifying the microdynamics. The problem with this and other types of epiphenomenalism, as William James first
pointed out [5], is that they leave all the apparently evolutionarily adaptive properties of consciousness unexplained.
If physical laws of consciousness do not affect the microdynamics, then we and other creatures would function equally
well if we were unconscious zombies, or if pleasure and pain were uncorrelated with evolutionary advantage, or if
our consciousnesses were focussed on information that had no relevance to our survival or well-being, or if we had
“locked-in” consciousnesses disconnected from any of our communications. On this view, we have to accept that
not only the existence of consciousness, but the apparent fine-tuning of its specific features, are just astonishingly
convenient coincidences.
In contrast, there is scope for more convincing explanations of the evolution of consciousness and of some of its
features if dynamics give it a genuinely causal role in behaviour. It seems plausible, for example, that effectively
coupling two types of dynamical rule allows evolution to more easily produce stimulus-response circuits that are more
stable or follow higher-level reasoning. It also seems plausible that evolution would use this coupling to allow creatures
to communicate their conscious states to one another. This would allow them to coordinate their behaviour better
than communications that are influenced only by the microdynamics of their physical substrates, since in these models
their behaviour may be directly affected by their conscious states. Models in which consciousness acts causally, via
laws involving its complex physical correlates, also seem to offer some scope for explaining the correlation of pleasure
(pain) with evolutionary (dis)advantage. A pain is something a conscious mind attempts to avoid, arguably by
definition, and if the dynamics of conscious states reflect this, then evolution could naturally exploit this dynamics
if disadvantageous physical situations created physical (brain) states that involved subsystems associated (via the
hypothesized laws) with avoidant conscious states.
Even if these arguments can be made convincing, it would still seem a surprising and fortunate coincidence that,
somewhere in the evolutionary chain, and perhaps very early, life took a material form that had proto-consciousness,
and that matter and consciousness were associated in such a way that evolution was able to make use of the dynamical
rules that give consciousness causal effect (via its material correlates) on matter. A priori, one might imagine that, if
there are simple laws of psychophysical parallelism and simple associated dynamical laws, they need have nothing to
do with self-replicating chemicals or organic information processing systems. So it is fair to ask how much fine-tuning
interactionist panprotopsychist theories could explain, and how much they would still leave unexplained. Still, a
partial explanation is better than none, and we also need to be clear whether we could possibly hope for a fuller
explanation given our present conceptual frameworks. After all, we are conscious. Anyone who finds conceivability
arguments [3, 38] persuasive has to accept this, and all the features of our consciousnesses, as marvellous yet contingent
8
features of our universe. On this view, we might hope that relatively simple laws characterise our consciousness and
explain its evolution, but we can’t hope for an argument that the laws must take the form they do.
Closer analysis of all these arguments would undoubtedly be valuable. It would also be interesting to develop more
sophisticated toy models, in which we can see rudimentary creatures evolving in a simple environment via modified
dynamics.
Quantum theory, gravity and classical physics
As these toy models illustrate, probabilistic theories of microdynamics can be simply modified so that structures at
two or more levels play roles in the fundamental laws. This makes it easy to build and explore models with top down
causation. Such models could also potentially be relevant to unifying quantum theory and gravity. For example, one
could imagine space-time emerging from a fundamentally quantum theory, within a theory in which it is equipped with
its own independent dynamical laws; in such a theory, both space-time and its quantum constituents would causally
affect one another, with neither reducible to the other. The same type of relationship is possible between classical
and quantum degrees of freedom within a fixed background space-time. Classical physics is normally thought of as
emerging from and reducible to quantum theory (by Everettians; see e.g. [39]) or some extension of quantum theory
that does not radically alter the dynamics (by non-Everettians who believe some extension is needed to resolve the
measurement problem). The latter looks plausible (e.g. [40, 41]) and the simplest possibility, but it is interesting to
ask how strongly empirical evidence constrains more general theories [41–44] that support this type of dual causation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am very grateful to the organisers and participants of the Oxford 2019 “Models of Consciousness” conference,
at which this work was presented; many of their comments and criticisms were very helpful. I would also like to
thank anonymous referees for constructive criticisms and suggestions. This work was supported by an FQXi grant,
by UK Quantum Communications Hub grant no. EP/T001011/1 and by Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.
Research at Perimeter Institute is supported by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada and by the
Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
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∗
Electronic address: A.P.A.Kent@damtp.cam.ac.uk
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[49] Or so much more likely that we can neglect the possibility of errors on other rows. |
Killing Science Fiction:
Why Conscious States Cannot Be
Copied or Repeated
Andrew Knight
aknight@alum.mit.edu
Abstract
Several philosophical problems arising from the physics of consciousness,
including identity, duplication, teleportation, simulation, self-location, and the
Boltzmann Brain problem, hinge on one of the most deeply held but unnecessary
convictions of physicalism: the assumption that brain states and their
corresponding conscious states can in principle be copied. In this paper I will
argue against this assumption by attempting to prove the Unique History
Theorem, which states, essentially, that conscious correlations to underlying
quantum mechanical measurement events must increase with time and that every
conscious state uniquely determines its history from an earlier conscious state.
By assuming only that consciousness arises from an underlying physical state, I
will argue that the physical evolution from a first physical state giving rise to a
conscious state to a second physical state giving rise to a later conscious state is
unique. Among the consequences of this theorem are that: consciousness is not
algorithmic and a conscious state cannot be uploaded to or simulated by a digital
computer; a conscious state cannot be copied by duplicating a brain or any other
physical state; and a conscious state cannot be repeated or created de novo.
These conclusions shed light on the physical nature of consciousness by
rendering moot a variety of seemingly paradoxical philosophy and science
fiction problems.
Keywords: Physicalism; copiability of conscious states; strong artificial
intelligence; physics of consciousness; quantum no-cloning
1
1.
Introduction
The nature of consciousness is fertile ground for a multitude of troubling, if not fascinating,
thought experiments. There’s the duplication problem: Imagine we can teleport a traveler to
another planet by creating “a precise duplicate of the traveler, together with all his memories, his
intentions, his hopes, and his deepest feelings,” but then we decide not to destroy the original copy?
“Would his ‘awareness’ be in two places at once?” (Penrose, 1989, p. 27) There’s the simulation
problem: If conscious awareness can be uploaded onto a computer, then how do we know we
aren’t simulated minds in simulated universes? (See, e.g., Bostrom, 2003) In fact, because
simulated universes are much less expensive, in terms of matter and energy, than actual universes,
then if consciousness is indeed algorithmic, we are almost certainly one of vast numbers of
simulated copies! There’s the problem of self-location: if a psychopath tells you that he has created
an exact physical copy of you and will torture it unless you pay a hefty ransom, then you should
pay the ransom unless you are absolutely sure that you aren’t the copy! (See, e.g., Elga, 2004)
There’s the problem of the Boltzmann Brain: If consciousness is just the result of atoms in a brain,
what’s to prevent a set of physically identical atoms, somewhere in the universe, from accidentally
coming together in just the right way to create your brain? And what would that feel like?
Notice that each of these problems is a direct consequence of the copiability or
repeatability of conscious states.1 If it turns out, for whatever reason, that conscious states cannot
actually be copied, then these problems disappear. Of course, we’d also have to have a good
explanation for why they couldn’t – and that’s exactly what this paper aims to address.
Science fiction is full of fascinating plots that involve copying conscious states. Whether
each of the above scenarios is actually possible is a scientifically empirical question, and given the
rate of technology advance, it may be just a matter of time before each is tested. There are related
problems that may never be empirically testable, such as, “Will a computer ever become conscious
– and how would we know?” There is no consensus on how to measure the existence or level of
consciousness in an entity. Some say that consciousness depends on the ability to pass a
hypothetical “Turing test.” Some say it depends on the level of complexity in neural networks.
Some say it depends on certain activity in the brain. So how can we possibly learn anything about
the nature of consciousness if it depends on a definition?
What I want to discover is whether a conscious state is copiable or not. It’s easy to get
bogged down in the meaning of “conscious” and lose sight of the fundamental empirical issue.
It’s as if the question, “Will a ball near Earth experience a force of gravity?” has been preempted
by, “What do you mean by ‘ball’?” Fine – let me ask a different question: “If I am near Earth, will
I experience a force of gravity?” I am not interested in philosophical or semantic debates about
the meaning of “conscious” or “identity,” nor do I need to decide on any particular definition of
consciousness or identity to know that I am conscious and I am me. My goal in this paper is not
to engage in idle philosophical chatter or to further dilute the ether with untestable claims. My
1
Throughout this paper, I’ll treat copiability and repeatability of conscious states as meaning the same.
2
goal is to derive, if possible, an objectively correct and falsifiable prediction to several questions,
among them: will it ever be possible to teleport a copy of myself to another planet? Will it ever
be possible to upload my conscious awareness onto a computer so that I can outlive my physical
death? Will it ever be possible, perhaps in millions of years, for a collection of atoms somewhere
in the universe to accidentally come together in just the right way to create my conscious
awareness? Will it be possible for me to experience these things? 2 The answer is yes only if my
conscious states are fundamentally such that they could be copied or repeated. Are they?
Asking these questions does not threaten the scientific assumption of physicalism, which
holds that consciousness is a purely material phenomenon – i.e., consciousness results from an
underlying physical state or configuration of matter. Physicalism does not require the copiability
of physical or conscious states, which is a separate assumption. Having said that, copiability seems
to be a common feature of the physical universe, evidenced by functionally identical massproduced consumer products and readily copied computer software and DNA code. After all, if
consciousness were to arise from execution of a particular algorithm – the claim of proponents of
Strong AI – then why wouldn’t it arise from execution of an identical algorithm on a different
computer? If consciousness were to arise from a particular configuration of matter – in a robot,
for example – then why wouldn’t it arise from a functionally identical configuration of matter? In
other words, while physicalism does not imply the copiability of conscious states, it might seem
like it does, even though the above problems of duplication, simulation, identity, etc., arise as a
direct consequence of this assumption. In other words, despite the myriad of apparent paradoxes
that arise, the underlying assumption that conscious states are copiable is rarely questioned within
the realm of physicalism (but see Aaronson, 2016).
In this paper I will argue against physicalism’s assumption of the copiability of conscious
states. In Section 5, I will attempt to prove the Unique History Theorem – essentially, that every
conscious state uniquely determines its history from an earlier conscious state – and in Section 6 I
will discuss its implication that a conscious state cannot be copied or repeated. To do so, I must
first discuss concepts like correlation, entanglement, and measurement in Section 2, the basic
assumptions of the proof in Section 3, and a thought experiment exploring history dependence in
conscious states in Section 4.
2.
Quantum Correlation and Measurement
It is natural, but incorrect, to regard an object as made of individual particles that can each
be described independently of the object. Consider, for example, particles A and B, each of which
can be in state |0> or |1>. Prior to interaction, the wave states of A and B can be written as a
superposition of their possible states:
2
Those readers who want to debate whether I am conscious or whether these questions have objectively correct
answers will likely gain little from this article.
3
|𝜓 ⟩ = 𝑎 |0⟩ + 𝑎 |1⟩,
|𝜓 ⟩ = 𝑏 |0⟩ + 𝑏 |1⟩,
with coefficient (or “amplitude”) a1 such that the probability of measuring outcome 0 when
measuring particle A in the basis {0,1} can be calculated as |a 1|2, and so forth. However, when the
particles interact, their wave states become entangled to produce a single wave state:
|𝜓 ⟩ = 𝑧 |0⟩ |0⟩ + 𝑧 |0⟩ |1⟩ + 𝑧 |1⟩ |0⟩ + 𝑧 |1⟩ |1⟩
That is, interaction between the particles makes it impossible to describe either particle
independently of the other. While the example above is trivial, a more interesting example of
entanglement obtains when, for example, z01 = z10 = 0. In this case, measurements of the states of
the particles in the same basis are guaranteed to yield identical outcomes – i.e., perfectly correlated
outcomes – independently of the separation between the particles. That is, even if the particles are
spacelike separated, the measurements of the states of the two particles will give the same outcome,
an intriguing effect dubbed by Albert Einstein as “spooky action at a distance.” 3
In fact, any interaction between physical systems entangles them to thereby increase their
correlations. Consider, for example, the effect of a quantum event on a measurement apparatus
initially in state |ψ>ready, specifically the measurement in the vertical basis of the spin of an electron
in a superposition of states |↑> and |↓>. The following shows the evolution of the system during
measurement:
|𝜓⟩
(𝑐 |↑⟩ + 𝑐 |↓⟩) ⟶ 𝑐 𝜓⟩
↑⟩ + 𝑐 |𝜓⟩
|↓⟩,
where |ψ>up is the state of the measuring apparatus that has measured and displayed “spin up,” etc.
Note that prior to measurement only the electron exists in a superposition state while afterward the
measuring apparatus, too, exists in a superposition state. To be fair, the above evolution only
shows the process of entanglement by which the output of the measuring device gets correlated to
the corresponding state of the electron. It does not show “measurement” as is colloquially
understood – i.e., it does not answer the questions of whether the spin was measured up or down,
and according to whom? We were trying to measure the spin of an electron, a weird quantum
mechanical object whose mathematical description includes simultaneous mutually exclusive
possibilities. But instead of measuring an outcome, all we did was create an even bigger weird
quantum mechanical object: a measuring device whose mathematical description includes
simultaneous mutually exclusive possibilities.
3
While the results will indeed be perfectly correlated, each measurement outcome will appear random to its local
observer, thus preventing superluminal signaling via entanglement. Perfect correlation will only become apparent
after the observers have had a chance to compare notes, a process limited by the speed of light. (See, e.g., Maudlin,
2011)
4
The obvious solution to this conundrum seems to be to send in an actual person to read the
output on the measuring device. However, adding a human observer to the system requires that
either we accept that the human herself goes into a superposition state of both witnessing an “up”
measurement and witnessing a “down” measurement (e.g., the Many Worlds Interpretation of
quantum mechanics), or the state nonlinearly “collapses” into either |ψ> up |↑> or |ψ>down |↓> (e.g.,
the Copenhagen Interpretation). Collapse interpretations are arguably more palatable to common
sense, but they necessitate an explanation of how and when a measurement occurs. For instance,
does measurement have something to do with the interaction between a “microscopic” system and
a “macroscopic” system, as in GRW objective reduction? (See, e.g., Ghirardi et al., 1986) Does
it require consciousness?4 Von Neumann (1932) famously showed that a quantum particle being
measured gets entangled with the measuring device, which gets entangled with the table on which
the measuring device sits, and so on, in a so-called von Neumann chain, until collapse of the overall
wave state, and that the collapse may occur at any point along the chain until the subjective
perception of the human observer. Nevertheless, because none of these interpretations of quantum
mechanics is currently empirically distinct, their debate is purely philosophical (and, arguably,
scientifically irrelevant). What is relevant, however, is the objective answer to this question: “If I
measure the electron’s spin with a measuring device, will I observe a definite outcome?” The
answer is yes. No philosophical semantics need obfuscate this conclusion. By the time I’ve
observed an outcome, a measurement has taken place.
Just as important as identifying what does constitute measurement is identifying what does
not constitute measurement. For example, consider a double-slit experiment performed on a
stream of particles aimed at a screen, the measuring device potentially capable of determining
which slit each particle passes through. If no “which-path” information is collected, the particles
hit the screen in a pattern consistent with the notion that they are waves that pass through both slits
– that is, an interference pattern. If which-path information is collected, then the particles
predictably act as bits of matter and the interference pattern disappears, almost as if the particles
“know” whether or not they are being watched. However, amazingly, if the which-path
information is completely and irretrievably erased, the interference pattern reappears, as if the
particles had acted as waves all along. (See, e.g., Kim et al., 2000) Even more oddly, the choice
of whether or not to erase the which-path information can be made after the particles have already
hit the screen – and, in principle, even millions of years later. In a so-called delayed-choice
quantum eraser experiment, the choice of whether or not to erase which-path information appears
to retroactively determine whether a particle is detected as having passed through one slit or both.
(See, e.g., Aspect et al., 1982) In other words, a decision made long after a double-slit experiment
is performed can, it seems, retroactively determine whether particles act as waves or bits of matter. 5
4
While few physicists seriously entertain the notion that wave state reduction requires consciousness, de Barros and
Oas (2017) showed that “any experiment trying to falsify [the consciousness-causes-collapse hypothesis] on the
basis of its different dynamics is doomed.”
5
It is easy to confuse correlation with causation, particularly in the quantum world. Quantum eraser experiments
show that there will be a correlation between a post-measurement decision by an observer and a pre-measurement
5
If we regard the interference pattern as having been created by particles whose path was not
measured, then the quantum eraser experiments teach us that if all potential correlation information
of a quantum measurement is completely and irretrievably erased, then the quantum measurement,
on retrospect, did not occur. In other words, measurement, as a bare-bones requirement, must
create a lasting physical correlation.
Therefore, this paper will adopt the conservative notion of measurement simply as lasting
physical correlation, thus mooting the concern of whether and when a wave state collapse occurs.
Having said that, the best evidence I have that a measurement has taken place is that I make a
conscious observation that is correlated to the outcome of the measurement.
3.
Conscious and Physical States
I make several assumptions in this analysis. First, I assume physicalism in the broadest
sense: that the conscious state C1 of a conscious entity results from, supervenes on, and is a
function only of some underlying physical state S 1 of matter. Of course, there’s no guarantee that
a given physical state will create a conscious state – probably very, very few will – but if a
conscious state exists then it depends entirely on the underlying physical state.
I also assume that copying physical state S1 elsewhere in spacetime would produce the
exact same conscious state C1 of the exact same person. This seems obvious to me because if two
identical physical states could produce conscious experiences that were distinct in any way
(including conscious states experienced by different people), then that difference would have to
reside in something non-physical, thus contradicting physicalism. Nevertheless, there is some
debate in the philosophy literature about whether identical physical systems separated by space or
time are “numerically” identical. But such esoteric objections are utterly irrelevant to the present
analysis because the problems introduced in Section 1 conveniently disappear if identical copies
did not produce identical people. After all, if copying a physical state S 1 elsewhere did not give
rise to the same conscious state C1 of the same person, then where’s the problem? If, for example,
creating an exact replica of my physical state on Mars (coupled with destroying the original me)
did not have the effect of teleporting me to Mars, then I’ve answered the question at hand and do
not wish to engage in further debate as to who the person created on Mars might be.
I also assume that a given conscious state might be created by more than one physical state.
In other words, it may be the case that conscious state C1 arises from any member of some large
set S1* of underlying physical states, and that creating any of these physical states will produce
the same conscious state C1 of the same person. For instance, if it were ever possible to upload
my consciousness onto a computer so that I can outlive my physical death, then it must be that my
action by particles. Strange as this may be, it is not quite correct to say that a decision in the future can cause an
event in the past, because the effect can only be observed after the decision is made. Just as one cannot transmit
information faster than light via quantum entanglement, information cannot be sent into the past by “peeking” at the
screen before the decision is made in a delayed-choice quantum eraser experiment to see which decision will be
made.
6
actual physical state would produce the same conscious state of the same person (me) as the very
different physical state of a computer executing a software version of me. If a conscious state
could not be copied to create the same person, then I can give up hope of immortality via computer
simulation and won’t further debate who the person created on the computer might be.
Why talk of conscious states at all? Because I know I’m in one. I don’t claim to know
what consciousness is, but I do claim to be conscious. Further, physicalism assumes that a given
conscious state arises from an underlying physical state, but what is that? Classically, we might
think of the physical state of a system in terms of the three-dimensional positions and momenta,
at a given time, of all of its constituent particles. Such a system is, in principle, perfectly
deterministic as well as time-reversible.
However, the classical viewpoint is inconsistent with quantum mechanics. For instance, it
can’t be said that any given particle in a system even has a position or momentum until measured.
Worse, while its position can be measured to nearly arbitrary precision, quantum uncertainty
guarantees a trade-off in the precision to which we can simultaneously measure its momentum.
For that reason scientists often imagine a particle as a Gaussian “wave packet” whose spread in
the position basis is inversely related to its spread in the momentum basis. To further complicate
the issue and as broached in Section 2, the mathematical description of a particle can’t be separated
from that of other particles with which it is correlated. Therefore one current understanding of the
physical state of an isolated system is an infinite-dimensional wave state consisting of a
superposition of mutually exclusive “pure” states, each pure state described by a complex
amplitude such that the probability of measuring the system in that pure state is the square of the
absolute value of its amplitude. In principle, this wave state is deterministic and time-reversible –
unless and until we admit that we sometimes observe definite outcomes to measurements. In other
words, it is neither. Further, because there is no way, even in principle, to determine the wave
state’s initial or current conditions, the quantum mechanical description of a physical system larger
than a few atoms does no better a job at elucidating the concept of “physical state” than the classical
description.
So when I assert that my conscious state C1 is created by physical state S1, I don’t
necessarily know what kinds of information or sorts of physical attributes specify that physical
state S1. I also don’t know how big state S1 is. Is it the local physical state of certain neural
connections in my brain? The state of my entire brain? My body? The planet? The universe?
In other words, I know I am in conscious state C1, and I know that that state results from some
underlying physical state S1. But I don’t claim to know much more.
That said, one thing I can claim about any isolated physical system, based on the analysis
in Section 2, is that its state reflects quantum measurements. Because a quantum measurement
causes a lasting physical correlation, then the physical state of an isolated system must embed its
history of quantum measurements. Consider the effect of a quantum measurement “branching”
event on a system in initial state S1 where measurement “A” would result in a physical state S a that
is correlated to outcome A while measurement “B” would result in a physical state S b that is
correlated to outcome B. These two hypothetical physical states (S a and Sb) would have to evolve
7
along forever distinct branches so as to maintain their respective correlations; they could never
evolve to the same physical state S2. If they could, then state S2, and all future physical states,
would necessarily be uncorrelated to the measurement result, in which case the measurement event
could not have happened. In other words, quantum correlations do not decrease; physical state is
history-dependent.
Consequently, one cannot, even in principle, produce a copy of some physical state by
measuring and replicating its physical attributes (position, etc.). If a physical state inherently
embeds its unique history of quantum measurements, then there is no shortcut to creating or
copying a physical state. Physical state S2 encodes its unique evolution, including all quantum
measurement outcomes, from earlier physical state S 1. The only way to create physical state S2 is
to produce a system of particles that has the correct correlation relationship among its particles,
and the only way to do that is to start with physical state S 1 and to keep one’s fingers crossed that
it accidentally – via a unique series of random quantum measurement outcomes – evolves to state
S2. And of course the only way to create physical state S1 is to create an earlier state S0 that
happens to evolve in just the right way... and so on back. In other words, every physical state is
uniquely defined by its history and, quite simply, cannot be created de novo.
Therefore, my assumptions regarding physical and conscious states are minimal:
specifically, that I am in a conscious state and that that conscious state results from an underlying
physical state that uniquely determines its history.
I’ll also assume that the only source of indeterminism in the universe is quantum
measurement. In other words, I’ll assume that a given physical state evolves deterministically and
predictably, punctuated only by branching events caused by quantum measurement. Whether free
will exists and the extent to which its existence affects the present arguments will be saved for a
future analysis. Setting aside the question of free will, it may strike some as odd to treat any
conscious experience as depending on a quantum measurement. How do I know that conscious
experience can’t be described adequately with classical modeling? How do I know that
consciousness could even be sensitive to quantum events? The answer is simple: I am only
interested in nondeterministic branching events, and the only known physical means is through
quantum measurement. Such events need not happen within the brain, and in fact I have made no
assumptions at all about the function of the brain or its relationship to consciousness. It is also
indisputable that quantum events are regularly amplified in the real world so as to cause conscious
correlation: consider the simple example of a person measuring (and consciously correlating to) a
radioactive decay by hearing a “click” from a Geiger counter. So, absent free will, any and all
conscious branching must ultimately be caused by quantum measurement.
Finally, I use the colloquial expression “stream of consciousness” for clarity only without
assuming anything about the extent to which conscious experiences are continuous or discrete; and
I use the word “person” to refer to any conscious entity, whether that entity is a human possessing
“wetware,” a conscious artificial intelligence running software, or any other conscious creature.
8
4.
How to Win the Lottery
A person in conscious state C1 has just purchased a lottery ticket with numbers 31-41-5926-53-58. At time t1, he sits down to watch the live lottery results on television, the six numbers
drawn one at a time until future time t2. Given that any nondeterminism in the lottery ball selection
is due to quantum fluctuations, he knows that there are potentially billions of possible future
conscious states in which he might exist at time t 2. However, the state that interests him most is
one particular conscious state, which we will call C 2, in which he is holding the winning lottery
ticket. Given that the imagined events naturally leading to state C 2 are possible but very unlikely,
the gambler wants to guarantee the desired outcome by directly creating state C 2. Now let’s
assume – and this is the key assumption – that it is possible to independently create conscious state
C2 at time t1. It should not matter whether the person’s physical matter is instantaneously
reconfigured to produce conscious state C2 or a different collection of matter is configured into an
identical conscious state C2, so for the sake of clarity, let us assume that the person opts for the
latter solution. In other words, while the person exists at time t1 in conscious state C1 from physical
matter M1, conscious state C2 is created at time t1 from physical matter M2. Because conscious
state C2 is now definitely a future state of conscious state C 1, the person in state C1 can expect his
conscious state to eventually become C2.6
Note that the person does not care which stream of consciousness he actually experiences
from time t1 to t2. He does not care if he actually observes the drawing of numbers 20-20-20-2020-20 or even if, after the drawing of the third number, lightning strikes his television. All he cares
about is that at time t2, he witnesses on his television screen the winning lottery numbers of 31-4159-26-53-58. So the question now is whether conscious state C 2 can only be reached by a single,
unique stream of consciousness or whether there are others. In Fig. 1, three possible future
conscious states C2, C2’, and C2’’ are shown (among countless others), with the shown paths
indicating, conceptually, possible streams of consciousness from conscious state C 1. First stream
of consciousness SOCa is the person’s experience of watching, one by one, the selection of
numbers 31, then 41, then 59, then 26, then 53, and finally 58, while second stream of
consciousness SOCb is the person’s experience of something else; in both cases, however, it is
posited that the person ends up in conscious state C 2.
We need no explanation for SOCa, which seems to be the more natural path to conscious
state C2. At state C2, having experienced path SOCa, the person has exactly the experience and
memories one would expect from having experienced path SOC a – i.e., from time t1 to t2, he
experiences the drawing of each of the numbers on his lottery ticket and in state C 2 he experiences
6
I will ignore the objection by proponents of the Many Worlds Interpretation that conscious state C2 of matter M2
might be a different “person” than the person of conscious state C1 of matter M1, or the philosophical objection that
identity wouldn’t necessarily flow from state C1 to C2, and so forth. The present thought experiment hinges on the
assumption that it is possible for the person to directly create the conscious state in which he has won the lottery, not
some hypothetical doppelganger in a one-in-a-billion branch. If conscious state C2 is not a future state of him, then
why go to the trouble of creating state C2?
9
having won the lottery. On the other hand, SOCb would seem to require some kind of memory
modification at time t2: from t1 to t2 he has an experience inconsistent with the moment leading up
to winning the lottery, but then at C2 he experiences having won the lottery. I will now argue that
SOCb (and any stream of consciousness besides SOCa) is not possible, that a future conscious state
is determined by a unique stream of consciousness.
C2 ’
SOCa
C1
C2
SOCb
C2’’
Fig. 1. Different streams of consciousness evolving to the same conscious state.
We have assumed that conscious state C2 can be created de novo from matter M2. Because
state C2 has literally just been created at time t1, state C2 is path-independent and has no history.
In other words, even though state C2 may include a consistent memory as if he did experience
either SOCa or SOCb, it makes no sense to speak of state C2, having been newly created from
matter M2, as having actually experienced SOCa or SOCb. However, conscious state C1 (made of
matter M1) must evolve to state C2: if the person embodied by matter M1 wasn’t guaranteed to
eventually experience conscious state C2, then it contradicts the original assumption that it is
possible to create conscious state C2 at time t1. So the person embodied by matter M1 does
experience a stream of consciousness from time t1 to t2 – likely the natural stream SOCa instead of
SOCb, although it doesn’t actually matter for the sake of argument. Thus the person in conscious
state C2 made of matter M1 has, in fact, experienced a particular stream of consciousness, while
the person in conscious state C2 made of matter M2 has not. But they are the same person!
Conscious state C2 must be the same whether state C2 is created de novo or whether it evolves via
SOCa or SOCb, so the person in state C2 (whether of matter M1 or M2) must have, in fact,
experienced a particular stream of consciousness, which means that state C 2 can’t be pathindependent after all. Therefore, the only way to “create” a person in conscious state C 2 is to start
with a person in conscious state C1 and wait while he experiences the unique path (SOC a) required
to create state C2. Said another way, if the person experiences state C2, then he can be sure he’s
experienced the only stream of consciousness that led there from state C 1: SOCa.
One objection to the above argument is that matter matters: it is not necessarily the case
that a conscious state emerging from a configuration of matter M 1 is the same person as an identical
conscious state emerging from a configuration of matter M 2. For instance, perhaps at time t1 the
person had his matter “rearranged” to produce conscious state C 2 so that he does not actually
10
experience a stream of consciousness, unique or not, from state C 1 to C2. Or perhaps at time t2,
when he is in some alternate conscious state C2’ in which he believes he did not win the lottery,
his matter is rearranged to effect a memory modification to state C2, in which he believes he did
win the lottery. These are merely quibbles. In fact the thought experiment was fatal from the
outset because it assumed that a conscious state C 2, which depends on unpredictable quantum
events that occur after time t1, could be created at time t1. The next section will more rigorously
analyze why every conscious state uniquely determines its history, a conclusion that will be
formalized in the Unique History Theorem.
5.
Proof of the Unique History Theorem
Imagine some initial conscious state C1 that is about to correlate to a quantum measurement
event having possible outcome A or B. In other words, a quantum branching event is about to
occur and the person’s stream of consciousness will take either path SOC a that includes a conscious
state Ca, correlated to measurement outcome A, or path SOCb that includes a conscious state Cb,
correlated to measurement outcome B. My question is whether it is possible for streams SOC a and
SOCb to evolve to the same conscious state C2. If not, then conscious states, like their underlying
physical states, are history-dependent. To answer this question, let’s consider two scanarios:
Scenario #1: A person in some initial conscious state is about to do a quantum spin
measurement on an electron, whose outcomes are A (“up”) and B (“down”). The measurement
apparatus is designed so that if the measurement outcome is A, then a large “A” flashes briefly on
a screen; for B, a large “B” flashes. In the case of measurement A, the person experiences stream
of consciousness SOCa that includes a conscious state Ca in which she consciously observes seeing
the letter “A” flash on the screen – i.e., state Ca is correlated to measurement A. To be fair, in
neither case has she actually observed the spin of an electron, which is far too small for human
observation. What has really transpired is an amplification of a quantum measurement:
consecutive correlated events amplified the initial measurement so that trillions of photons strike
the screen in the shape of “A” or “B,” the observed image correlated to the initial measurement.
Still, even if the person hasn’t directly observed the spin of the electron, she at least understands
that her conscious state Ca, for example, is correlated to an “up” spin measurement outcome and
is, in some sense, an observation of that outcome. However, correlation of a conscious state to a
quantum measurement outcome need not be so blatantly related to observation of that outcome, as
demonstrated by...
Scenario #2: Unbeknownst to some taxpayer, a random (quantum) error occurs in a
computer used by the Internal Revenue Service such that if the error is measured as A, he will be
mailed a refund check for $1000, but if it is measured as B, he will be mailed a letter demanding
$1000. After receiving a sealed envelope from the IRS the following week, he will experience
one of two competing streams of consciousness SOCa or SOCb, each correlated to one of the
possible measurement outcomes, even if he has no idea that the stream of consciousness he does
11
experience is the result of some quantum measurement event, much less some measurement event
in a remote IRS computer that occurred a week before.
Before further analyzing these scenarios, I should point out that a conscious correlation to
a quantum measurement outcome might (at least at first) be barely detectable; perhaps it results in
a slightly different aroma, a nuance of feeling, a mild change in taste. All that is required in this
thought experiment is that the distinction is consciously detectable – i.e., that conscious state Ca,
correlated to measurement A, is consciously distinct from state C b, correlated to measurement B.
So we might say that conscious state Ca is correlated to measurement A if some aspect of conscious
state Ca is evidence that outcome A was measured, or perhaps that conscious state C a could not
have been experienced unless outcome A was measured.
The question in both of the above scenarios is: could SOC a and SOCb evolve to the same
conscious state C2? Note that in order for both SOCa and SOCb to evolve to the same conscious
state C2, state C2 must itself be uncorrelated to the quantum measurement event. So, in Scenario
#1, for state C2 to be uncorrelated to the measurement outcome, the experience of state C 2 cannot
provide evidence that either “A” or “B” flashed on the screen. Consider the case in which
conscious state Ca is in fact experienced just before C2; what would that feel like? What would it
be like to consciously observe the letter “A” flash on a screen and then to experience a subsequent
conscious state that is entirely uncorrelated to the quantum measurement event whose
amplification resulted in that preceding conscious observation? Maybe it is like the experience of
seeing the letter “A” flash on a screen and then instantly forgetting it.
However, Scenario #2 poses a greater conundrum. Imagine that state C a is the experience
of first seeing a check made out to him for $1000 while C b is the experience of first seeing a
demand for $1000 on IRS letterhead. For some future state C 2 to be uncorrelated to the
measurement outcome, the experience of state C2 cannot provide evidence of either the windfall
(correlated to measurement A) or the debt (correlated to measurement B). The question is not
whether there is some future conscious state C2 in which he is not thinking about the outcome or
has forgotten about the outcome; indeed we would expect that very few of his future conscious
states would actively reflect on that windfall (or debt), and that there might even be a point in his
future in which he has wholly forgotten about it. The question is whether it is possible for some
future state C2 to be entirely uncorrelated to the outcome. It is much harder to imagine such a
state.
We can conceive of a series of consecutive conscious experiences starting at C a – for
instance, he excitedly calls his mother, then jumps in his car to drive to the bank, then gets into a
car accident that sends him to the hospital... and so forth. And we can conceive of a serious of
consecutive conscious experiences starting at Cb – for instance, he angrily kicks a hole in the wall,
behind which he finds an antique container, inside which he discovers $1 million in gold bullion...
and so forth. The question is whether it is conceivable that these two independent streams of
consciousness could ever converge to the same conscious state, totally uncorrelated to the original
measurement outcome? The answer seems intuitively “no” because states C a and Cb were chosen
to be so extreme and clearly distinct that it is hard to imagine any future stream of consciousness
12
that is not affected, in some way, by the experience of either C a or Cb. Every possible future
conscious state seems to hinge on (and therefore embed the history of) the original outcome of A
or B. Each possible stream SOCa and SOCb seems to consist of a series of conscious experiences,
each experience correlated to its preceding experience, on backward in time to the original
quantum measurement outcome of A or B. In other words, in each stream, conscious correlations
grow such that every conscious experience he has afterward can be traced back to that original
quantum glitch in the IRS’s computer.
Based solely on the extreme example of Scenario #2, one might conclude that each possible
stream of consciousness from a quantum branching event evolves chaotically and with ever
increasing conscious correlations.7 But is this generally true? What about when the conscious
states Ca and Cb are not especially distinct, as in Scenario #1? For that observer, the differences
between states Ca and Cb may be minimal. For example: she hasn’t eaten all day and she’s hungry;
the temperature in the lab is too low and she’s shivering; she’s bored from doing so many spin
measurements. Conscious states Ca and Cb may be identical in many respects, differing only in
her observation of the letter that flashes on the screen. It is much easier to imagine the two similar
(but distinct) conscious states of Scenario #1 evolving to an identical conscious state than the two
extremely different conscious states of Scenario #2. Easy to imagine or not, is it actually possible
for any two distinct conscious states to evolve to the same conscious state?
More generally, is it possible for a conscious state that is correlated to a quantum
measurement outcome to evolve to a conscious state that is not correlated to that outcome – i.e.,
is it possible for a conscious state to not uniquely determine its history? To answer this question,
I must consider the differences between physical and conscious states. As previously discussed,
it is not possible for a physical state correlated to a quantum measurement outcome to evolve to a
physical state uncorrelated to that same outcome, but conscious states are different in that there is
no guarantee that conscious states always correlate to their underlying physical states. For
instance, the physical state of a measuring device may correlate to the outcome of a quantum
measurement event, but if an observer is not paying attention, his conscious state may not
immediately correlate to the outcome.
Referring to Fig. 2, consider a tree of possible future physical states of state S, which
creates a person’s conscious state C. At some point, a quantum measurement event occurs so that
S evolves either to Sa (correlated to measurement A) or Sb (correlated to measurement B). For
whatever reason, this branch does not result in a correlated conscious state, so both S a and Sb still
map to conscious state C. This example assumes that conscious observation is not required to
effect measurement, given that the corresponding conscious state does not change from S to S a (or
7
The 1998 film Sliding Doors popularized one version of this thought experiment. Imagine a person running
toward the open doors of a subway car. A branching event occurs so that one possible physical state Sa is such that
the person is a little closer to the subway doors than that of another physical state Sb; conscious state Ca of the
person, created by underlying physical state Sa, may be nearly identical to conscious state Cb created by state Sb, the
main difference being in her observation of her distance from the subway doors. The subsequent closing of these
subway doors serves as an amplification event whereby all of the protagonist’s future conscious states can ultimately
be traced back to the original branching event.
13
Sb). It is assumed that measurement A causes (or is at least correlated to) a subsequent quantum
measurement event whose outcome is either C or D. There is no reason to assume that
measurement B causes the same subsequent quantum measurement event as measurement A, so it
is assumed that the quantum event following outcome B will have either outcome E or F, different
from C or D; and so forth.
Fig. 2 is a highly simplified version of reality, intended to show only the possible
relationships between physical states and their resulting conscious states. For example,
deterministic time dependence is omitted: physical state S (and the conscious state C it creates)
might evolve deterministically with time, but all I care about for the sake of this analysis are
quantum branching events. Two additional comments about Fig. 2: first, while states S ac and Sbe,
for example, are shown in the same column, they need not occur at the same time; second, only
binary branchings are shown for simplicity.
Sac(C)
Sa(C)
Sad(C)
S(C)
Sbe(C)
Sb(C)
Sbf(C)
Sacg(Cacg)
Sach(C)
Sadi(Cadi)
Sadj(Cadj)
Sbek(C)
Sbel(C)
Sbfm(Cbfm)
Sbfn(C)
Sadiq(Cadiq, Cadi, Cad, Ca, or C)
Sadir(Cadir, Cadi, Cad, Ca, or C)
Sadjs(Cadjs, Cadj, Cad, Ca, or C)
Sadjt(Cadjt, Cadj, Cad, Ca, or C)
Fig. 2. Tree of possible future physical and conscious states of physical state S.
Note that because each measurement outcome makes possible the next measurement, each
measurement outcome is also correlated with its every prior measurement outcome; this is the
visual analog of the statement in Section 3 that every physical state uniquely determines its
history.8 For instance, assume that outcome G has been measured. Because the branching to G
was made possible by outcome C, and the branching to C was made possible by outcome A, then
outcome G correlates to outcomes C and A, as indicated below by S acg. A similar nomenclature is
used for conscious states. For instance, while physical state S ad is shown to produce the same
conscious state C as both S and Sa – in other words, outcomes A and D do not result in a correlated
conscious state – the subsequent measurement outcome (either I or J) is correlated to a conscious
state. (This could be explained simply as the person consciously noticing the measurement result.)
But once a conscious state is correlated with an outcome (J, for instance), it is inherently correlated
8
It might have seemed strange in Section 2 that quantum mechanics requires a measurement to create a “lasting”
physical correlation. What does that mean? How long must we wait? Because measurement outcomes are
correlated to past measurement outcomes, the conscious correlation of one measurement outcome ensures a lasting
physical correlation of that outcome as well as every correlated outcome leading up to it.
14
to every prior outcome – in this case A and D – for the same reason that underlying physical state
Sadj is so correlated. The person in conscious state Cadj need not be consciously aware that A or D
or even J have been measured; rather, state Cadj is distinct from other possible conscious states in
a way that depends on a measurement of outcome J (which depends on D, which depends on A,
etc.).
Having explained the layout of the tree in Fig. 2, my goal is to discover if, and under what
circumstances, a conscious state does not uniquely determine its history. I will attempt to find an
example of a conscious state that can reach a possible future conscious state via two mutually
exclusive conscious states.
Consider the conscious state (C) that arises from underlying state S ad. What are the possible
conscious states arising from Sadir and Sadjs, for example, so that conscious state C (arising from
Sad) can reach a future conscious state (arising from either S adir or Sadjs) via either Cadi (arising from
Sadi) or Cadj (arising from Sadj)? In Fig. 2, the possible conscious states of Sadir and Sadjs are shown
– for instance, state Sadir could produce any of conscious states Cadir, Cadi, Cad, Ca, or C (or any prior
conscious state). However, to ensure that both C adi and Cadj could evolve to the same conscious
state, then Sadir and Sadjs cannot produce a conscious state that is correlated to any event after
measurement outcome D – that is, they must produce a conscious state of C ad or “less.”
Let’s analyze this particular example and add another column in Fig. 3. If this example
was possible, it would demonstrate a counterexample to the assertion that every conscious state
uniquely determines its history because the person’s conscious correlations would decrease from
state Cadi (or Cadj). Notice in Fig. 3 that future conscious states of Cad are correlated to either
outcome I or J, so the exception to the rule – the conscious state causing the logical problem – is
Cad.
Sadi(Cadi)
Sadiq
Sadir(Cad)
Sadirw(Cadirw)
Sadirx(Cadirx)
Sadjs(Cad)
Sadjt
Sadjsy(Cadjsy)
Sadjsz(Cadjsz)
Sad(C)
Sadj(Cadj)
Fig. 3. Tree showing conscious state C evolving to conscious state C ad via different streams
of consciousness.
Indeed it can easily be deduced that if it is possible that C1C2 does not define a unique
stream of consciousness, where C2 is correlated to some recent measurement outcome M, then
those non-unique streams of consciousness must include conscious states correlated to a
measurement outcome after M. How could this be possible? And what would it feel like? In Fig.
3, what is the subjective experience of a person as his underlying physical state evolves from S ad
to, say, Sadirx? Ostensibly, the stream appears as CCadiCadCadirx, but what does he actually
experience?
15
One possibility is to accept the stream on its face: the person starts in state C, then
experiences state Cadi (perhaps by observing outcome I), then immediately forgets outcome I and
experiences state Cad that is completely unrelated to outcome I, then experiences state C adirx, which
is correlated to outcome I (as well as R and X). I cannot imagine such an experience; perhaps such
a subjective experience isn’t possible.
Another possibility is that the person subjectively experiences a stream of consciousness
that skips over the immediately forgotten state, i.e., CCadCadirx. But if that’s true, then Fig. 3
no longer represents a problem because conscious state Cad does then uniquely determine its
history. Still another possibility is that the person subjectively experiences conscious states in
order of increasing correlations, i.e., CCadCadiCadirx. But again, if true, then Fig. 3 no longer
represents a problem because conscious state C ad does uniquely determine its history.
It certainly seems that the example shown in Fig. 3 is either not possible or else is
subjectively perceived in a way that conscious correlations do not decrease. Still, to understand
what makes the example in Fig. 3 so strange, let me introduce the concept of lag. Lag represents
the number of measurement outcomes to which an underlying physical state is correlated but the
emergent conscious state is not correlated. Roughly, lag represents the number of times a physical
state changes before a change is reflected in the emergent conscious state. Naturally, lag can
increase by at most one in each step: either a physical state change gets reflected in a conscious
state change or it doesn’t. Consider, in Fig. 3, the path leading to state S adirx:
S produces C
Sa produces C
Sad produces C
Sadi produces Cadi
Sadir produces Cad
Sadirx produces Cadirx
lag 0
lag 1
lag 2
lag 0
lag 2
lag 0
The apparent inconsistency inherent in state C ad is made explicit above: the increase in lag
from 0 to 2 in a single physical step, producing state C ad after state Cadi, thus a reduction in
conscious correlation. While any counterexample to the assertion that conscious states are historydependent can be shown to increase lag unnaturally, I have not shown that an unnatural lag increase
(i.e., reduction in conscious correlation) violates physics. 9 Nevertheless, even if an unnatural lag
is physically possible, how problematic would it be? It depends on the lengths of lags – how long
do they last? Conscious awareness seems to update very fast; for example, refresh rates in video
footage of significantly less than 20 frames per second are consciously perceptible. Therefore it
9
Then again, if physical state determines conscious state, then it determines lag, and we might properly ask why the
universe would care when we observe something, given we have already assumed that consciousness is irrelevant to
measurement. A reduction in conscious correlation probably does violate physics.
16
seems that typical lags of the kind that might concern us must be significantly less than a second. 10
Is this a threat to the assertion that conscious states are history-dependent and that conscious
correlations do not decrease? Not if we care about a conscious state C 2 that is downstream from a
past conscious state C1 by days, weeks, or years – or anything significantly more than a second.
In other words, to the extent that conscious correlations could ever decrease, such an oddity would
affect the present analysis only to within a very short time period of state C 2.
Having said that, there are other reasons to think that the evolutions shown in Fig. 3 are not
physically possible. Consider that when Cad is experienced, it is assumed to be history-independent
– that is, that there is no fact of the matter about whether the person previously experienced C adi
or Cadj. But that’s problematic because Cad is in fact created by one of two possible physical states
(Sadir and Sadjs), only one of which will evolve to a physical state that creates a conscious state
correlated to, for instance, event J. In other words, there is no such state as C ad – rather, there is
“a state Cad whose next conscious state will be correlated to event I” and “a state C ad whose next
conscious state will be correlated to event J.” So even though we have assumed the existence of a
Cad that is history-independent, the only way for a person to experience C ad is to first experience
either Cadi or Cadj, a history that will be reflected in future conscious states of C ad. This reasoning
seems to imply that no such history-independent C ad could exist and, consequently, that every
conscious state inevitably evidences its preceding conscious states.
Therefore, in deciding whether a conscious state uniquely determines its history from an
earlier conscious state: for a very brief history, such as a second or two, the answer might be no;
for a history of any significant length, the answer is yes. Therefore:
Unique History Theorem: For any time period in which lag is insignificant, a unique
stream of consciousness maps a conscious state C1 to a possible future state C2; every
conscious state uniquely determines its history from an earlier conscious state.
6.
Implications of the Unique History Theorem
If my analysis has been correct, then the conscious state of a person is defined by her history
of experiences; and her conscious state C2 is determined relative to her earlier conscious state C1
by the unique stream of consciousness that she experienced. There are many implications of this
assertion.
First, a conscious state can’t be repeated. Imagine, for example, the repeat of conscious
state C2 via C1C2C3C2. This violates the Unique History Theorem because C 2 does not
define a unique history from C1. Second, a conscious state can’t be created de novo, nor can one
10
Scenario #2, for example, involved a hypothetical lag of a week, but by the time his conscious state correlated to
the quantum outcome, the possibility of a future conscious state that did not correlate to that outcome seemed not
credible. The real worry in Fig. 3 arises when lag is low, as in Scenario #1 and the example in Section 4.
17
be copied by creating an identical conscious state out of different matter, because such a state
would be independent of history. 11
Consequently, all the science fiction problems broached in Section 1 conveniently
disappear. For instance, if teleportation will ever be possible, it can’t be by copying a conscious
state or its underlying physical state.12 Perhaps more surprisingly, consciousness can’t be
simulated or uploaded to a digital computer; if it could, then nothing would prevent repeating a
conscious state. Also, software is inherently history-independent: the same software could be
produced by a human programmer as by a group of chimpanzees randomly pecking at a typewriter.
So if conscious states are history-dependent, they can’t be created by executing software. Further,
any algorithm can be executed, in principle, by any general purpose digital computer and can
therefore be repeated; this implies that consciousness can’t be algorithmic. This in turn implies
that a digital computer cannot be conscious and that the underlying premise of Strong AI is false.
What about the implications regarding the relationship between brain and consciousness?
It is generally assumed that the brain creates consciousness. However, the Unique History
Theorem implies that a Boltzmann Brain isn’t possible – and a Boltzmann Brain is, by its nature,
the very embodiment of the assertion that “brain causes consciousness.” So if there is no way to
copy my conscious state by creating another brain that is physically identical to mine to any
physically possible degree of precision, then I’m not sure what it means to say, “My brain creates
my consciousness.”
Even if an external observer cannot distinguish the physical state of one brain from that of
another, whatever conscious states arise from these physical states (if any) are history-dependent
and will be able, from the subjective “inside,” to distinguish themselves. 13 For instance, if my
current conscious state arises from an underlying physical state, both the physical and conscious
states are history-dependent. If one were to attempt to copy me by simply duplicating my brain,
that brain would not have the requisite history, so in the unlikely event that it produced any
conscious state, that conscious state would not be mine.
In fact, a person’s conscious state must depend on entanglements among huge quantities
of matter beyond his brain, a fact ignored in any attempted duplication of his brain. Consider, for
example, the stream of consciousness that a carpenter would experience while building a house.
The person starts, say, at conscious state C1, and the particular stream of consciousness he
experiences evolves to (and thus yields) a unique conscious state C 2. Assuming low lag – i.e., that
his conscious state more or less correlates to his underlying physical state in real time – his stream
of consciousness includes a variety of experiences that correlate to actual events in the world. For
instance, he has a conscious visual experience of watching a backhoe level the foundation’s dirt.
11
I exclude the very first conscious state of a person, which of course has no history. I have no more explanation for
my first conscious state than I or anyone else does for the first physical state of the universe.
12
Aaronson suggests quantum no-cloning as the mechanism by which teleportation may be consistent with the noncopiability of conscious states (2016).
13
The problem of subjective versus objective evidence of consciousness may be less perplexing after all: the only
way to measure and specify a person’s conscious state is to obtain information about its entire history, information
to which only the person is (and can be) privy.
18
If we consider the popular account of consciousness, then this experience can simply be described
as the capturing of video information via his eyes and the (albeit imperfect) storage of that
information in his brain. Conscious experience arises then, per the popular account, from brain
processes related to the capture, storage, access, and manipulation of this and other sensory
information. And while such processes are admittedly not understood, proponents of the popular
account insist that were we to duplicate the carpenter’s brain, then an identical conscious
experience would arise due to these brain processes.
The problem with the popular account is that sensation does not equal experience – i.e., the
carpenter’s conscious visual experience of watching a backhoe level the foundation’s dirt cannot
be duplicated by creating and storing video information. That particular conscious experience was
correlated to actual events, which means that somewhere in the world (e.g., the construction site),
there is in fact several tons of dirt that was moved. The only way to have the carpenter’s particular
conscious experiences is to actually create the history of correlations specified by the conscious
state, which is to say that actual dirt must be moved, and the evidence must remain in the form of
its correlations with other physical systems (like the planet). The amount of information necessary
to specify the history of correlations due to this single experience is absolutely massive. The only
way to experience conscious state C2 is to be the conscious person who has, in fact, experienced
the unique stream of consciousness necessary to produce state C 2.
The Unique History Theorem in no way questions the fundamental tenet of physicalism:
that consciousness results entirely from the physical configuration of matter. However, it does
underscore the extent to which popular interpretations of physicalism understate the significance
and uniqueness of both physical and conscious states. Besides instantly eliminating many age-old
problems of identity, duplication, etc., the Unique History Theorem has several other implications
of which space currently limits elaboration. For example, because conscious states are historydependent, several other science fiction plots are impossible: resetting a conscious state; erasing a
memory by creating a new conscious state lacking the memory; modifying a memory by creating
a new conscious state with a fake memory; and so forth.
7.
Conclusion
I first pointed out that several of the most perplexing problems of science fiction arise from
an unnecessary assumption of physicalism, specifically that conscious states can be copied or
repeated. I then analyzed possible conscious branching events in terms of underlying physical
states and their correlations to quantum measurement events. I then attempted to prove the Unique
History Theorem by showing that a conscious state that is correlated to a quantum measurement
outcome cannot typically evolve to a conscious state that is not correlated to that outcome. The
theorem – which states that, for any time period in which conscious lag is insignificant, every
conscious state uniquely determines its history from an earlier conscious state – implies that
conscious states cannot be copied or repeated (including by duplicating a brain) and that
consciousness cannot be algorithmic.
19
These conclusions are not at odds with physicalism but do conflict with the generally
accepted (albeit unproven) assumption that consciousness arises from the brain and is copiable in
principle. While these conclusions may be viewed skeptically, they have the advantage of instantly
putting to rest a plethora of problems regarding identity, physics, and consciousness. For instance,
without the ability to create or duplicate a conscious state, many conundrums simply disappear:
teleportation by copying is not possible; consciousness cannot be simulated; self-location is easy;
and Boltzmann Brains cannot just pop into existence.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Scott Aaronson, Paul Tappenden, Eric Brende, and Christopher Lind for
their guidance and comments. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
20
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Bostrom, N., 2003. Are we living in a computer simulation?. The Philosophical
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de Barros, J.A. and Oas, G., 2017. Can We Falsify the Consciousness-Causes-Collapse
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Elga, A., 2004. Defeating Dr. Evil with self‐locating belief. Philosophy and Phenomenological
Research, 69(2), pp.383-396.
Ghirardi, G.C., Rimini, A. and Weber, T., 1986. Unified dynamics for microscopic and
macroscopic systems. Physical Review D, 34(2), p.470.
Kim, Y.H., Yu, R., Kulik, S.P., Shih, Y. and Scully, M.O., 2000. Delayed “choice” quantum
eraser. Physical Review Letters, 84(1), p.1.
Maudlin, T., 2011. Quantum non-locality and relativity: Metaphysical intimations of modern
physics. John Wiley & Sons.
Penrose, R., 1989. The Emperor’s New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Law of
Physics. Oxford University Press.
von Neumann, J., 1932. Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Princeton
University Press.
21 |
Ascribing Consciousness to Artificial Intelligence
Murray Shanahan
Department of Computing
Imperial College London
180 Queen’s Gate
London SW7 2RH
United Kingdom
April 2015
Abstract
This paper critically assesses the anti-functionalist stance on consciousness
adopted by certain advocates of integrated information theory (IIT), a corollary
of which is that human-level artificial intelligence implemented on conventional
computing hardware is necessarily not conscious. The critique draws on
variations of a well-known gradual neuronal replacement thought experiment,
as well as bringing out tensions in IIT’s treatment of self-knowledge. The aim,
though, is neither to reject IIT outright nor to champion functionalism in
particular. Rather, it is suggested that both ideas have something to offer a
scientific understanding of consciousness, as long as they are not dressed up as
solutions to illusory metaphysical problems. As for human-level AI, we must
await its development before we can decide whether or not to ascribe
consciousness to it.
1
“The real test is to show you she is a robot. Then see if
you still feel she has consciousness.” Alex Garland, Ex
Machina.
1. Functionalism and Integrated Information
Giulio Tononi’s Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has attracted widespread interest
from researchers pursuing a scientific understanding of consciousness, recruiting
prominent advocates, such as neuroscientist Cristoph Koch. 1 The theory, as promoted
by Tononi, has both a mathematical aspect and a philosophical aspect. The
mathematical aspect centres on an attempt to define a formal measure of integrated
information, denoted Φ, that captures the extent to which the parts of a system are
influenced by the whole while retaining their distinct functionality. The philosophical
aspect of the theory concerns the application of this measure to physical systems,
notably to the brain, in which context it is intended to quantify the presence (or
otherwise) of consciousness.
One consequence of the philosophical aspect of the theory is that functionalism is
false with respect to consciousness. Indeed, IIT appears to embody a particularly
strong form of anti-functionalism according to which human-level AI, if implemented
on a conventional digital computer, would lack consciousness, irrespective of its highlevel functional architecture and behaviour. Moreover, as made explicit in a recently
published paper, Tononi and Koch believe that a neuron-by-neuron, synapse-bysynapse digital simulation of a human brain would experience nothing, even if it were
1
Balduzzi & Tononi (2007); Oizumi, et al. (2014); Tononi & Koch (2015).
2
behaviourally indistinguishable from the biological original. 2 Phenomenologically
speaking, it would be a zombie. 3
Not only does IIT incorporate a precisely defined metric (Φ) for the “amount of
consciousness”, the integrated information, in a given system, it also specifies how
the world is to be divided up for the purposes of applying this measure. This enables it
to answer questions about the boundaries of consciousness. Does consciousness reside
wholly in the brain? Is it perhaps confined to just part of the brain? Or does it
encompass the rest of a person’s body? Does it perhaps include parts of the
environment too, such as the tools we use, as certain advocates of externalism would
claim? Advocates of IIT favour the first of these options on the grounds that
consciousness is intrinsic to a system of elements x only if that system cannot be
partitioned into a set of sub-systems any of which has a higher Φ than x itself, and the
brain (or perhaps some large part of it, such as the cerebral cortex) is assumed to be
irreducible in this sense.
A system that is irreducible in this way is called a complex, and its integrated
information is denoted Φmax. According to IIT, the brain is conscious because it
includes a major complex with high Φmax. The theory also allows for the brain to
include additional minor complexes with non-zero Φmax, independent sub-systems
with their own minimal consciousness. 4 However, none of these sub-systems would
enjoy higher Φ than the brain itself. By contrast, according to Tononi and Koch,
consciousness would be absent in a digitally simulated brain because “the computer
2
Tononi & Koch (2015). Specifically, they ask “what about a computer whose
software simulates in detail not just our behaviour, but even the biophysics of neurons,
synapses and so on, of the relevant portion of the human brain? Could such a digital
simulacrum ever be conscious?” (p.15). Their answer is that it could not. This claim is
the main target of the present paper.
3
This notion of a zombie is differs from that often employed in the philosophical
literature, which is defined to be physically as well as behaviourally indistinguishable
from the original.
4
Ibid, fig.15(b).
3
would likely not form a large complex of high Φmax, but break down into many minicomplexes of low Φmax”. 5
To see why this might be the case, it’s necessary to have some idea of how Φ is
defined and deployed within the theory. Tononi & Koch offer an illustrative example
of a simple system that has non-zero Φ paired with a functionally equivalent system
(with more components) that has zero Φ. 6 In such examples, the essential property
that the system with non-zero Φ has that its zero-Φ counterpart lacks is recurrent
connectivity. The presence of feedback entails that the system’s transitions are
irreducibly dependent on its own internal state, and that it therefore (in a specific
sense) generates more information as a whole than all of its component parts generate
separately. This confers a value of Φ greater than zero. The functionally equivalent
feed-forward system, by contrast, generates no more information as a whole than the
information generated by its (more numerous) parts, and therefore has zero Φ.
On a very much larger scale, a real biological brain and its functionally equivalent
digital simulation are an analogous pair of systems. The biological brain has
numerous dense recurrent connections, which contribute to its high Φ. By contrast,
Tononi and Koch hypothesise that a digital computer will have very low Φ, because it
comprises (very numerous and very fast-acting) components (namely transistors)
whose transitions depend on just a tiny subset of the rest of the system. This will be
true whatever program the computer is running, even if that program is a flawless
simulation of a human brain.
2. Gradual Neuronal Replacement
There is no need to elucidate this claim further in order to expose its vulnerability to
an argument made popular by David Chalmers. The argument in question centres on a
thought experiment in which the neurons in a person’s brain are gradually replaced by
5
Ibid, p.15.
6
See fig.16 of Oizumi & Tononi (2014).
4
electronic equivalents. 7 Because this is a thought experiment, the technological
feasibility of the procedure is irrelevant. But we might imagine an injection into the
bloodstream that transports tens of billions of nanobots to the brain. There, each
neuron is targeted by a team of nanobots which assesses the electrochemical
signalling behaviour of the cell body, maps out its axonal and dendritic connectivity,
and computes the specification of a digital equivalent. The team of nanobots then
reconfigures itself to match this specification. They are then ready to plug themselves
in, switch out the real neuron, and take over its function.
A premise of the thought experiment is that replacing a neuron with a digital
equivalent in this way will preserve the behaviour not only of that individual
component but also of the system as a whole. This entails that the behaviour of a
person whose brain undergoes a neuronal replacement will be indistinguishable from
the behaviour of the fully biological original. Even that person’s friends and loved
ones would be unable to tell the difference. Now let us suppose that the neurons of a
particular subject are replaced one at a time. The question is what happens to their
consciousness as this process unfolds.
The options seem to be threefold. Either a) consciousness is an all-or-nothing property
that suddenly vanishes when a certain threshold of neurons is replaced, b)
consciousness gradually fades, disappearing altogether when the last neuron is
replaced, or c) consciousness persists throughout the procedure. Functionalism with
respect to consciousness entails the third option: persistence. By contrast, it follows
directly from Tononi and Koch’s argument that they favour the second option:
gradual fading. According to their version of IIT, as the proportion of digitally
simulated neurons gradually increases, Φ will gradually decrease, becoming
negligible when the neurons are 100% replaced. In the end, the subject will become a
phenomenological zombie, mindlessly insisting on its own consciousness even though
there is, in fact, “no-one at home”.
In order for the thought experiment to work in the context of the claim being targeted
here, we need to stipulate the gradual digital replacement not only of individual
7
Chalmers (1996), ch.7. See also Shanahan (2015), ch.5.
5
neurons, but also of their connections. This is important since the thought experiment
must see the graudal loss of the physical recurrent feedback connections that seem to
be demanded by IIT for high Φ. So let us assume that the hypothesised nanobots,
rather than taking over the function of a neuron themselves, act as tiny
communication devices. The job of the nanobots then is to digitise and transmit the
neuron’s input signals to an external computer, where the relevant simulated
computation takes place, and to receive the resulting output signal which they then
pass on to other neurons. This will allow us to assume, moreover, that every time a
neuron is replaced by a software-simulated equivalent, so are all the relevant
structures (axons, synapses, and dendrites) connecting that neuron to others that have
already undergone simulation. This will make the nanobots themselves gradually
redundant as more and more of the brain is “uploaded” to the external computer. 8
Now, let’s elaborate the thought experiment a little by supposing that the person who
undergoes gradual neuronal replacement is an advocate of IIT. Indeed, let’s imagine
that it is Tononi himself, and let’s call the “person” left when all his neurons have
been replaced Twin Tononi (TT). Furthermore, let’s imagine that the procedure is
carried out without Tononi’s knowledge. (Since it is a thought experiment, we don’t
have to obtain ethical approval.) Recall that, by hypothesis, TT’s behaviour will be
indistinguishable from that of the original, fully biological Tononi. So TT will
continue to advocate integrated information theory. TT will espouse the same
philosophical position, rejecting functionalism on the grounds outlined in his paper
with Koch. Moreover, TT will insist on his own consciousness.
The final step in the elaborated thought experiment is to expose TT to the truth. He
undergoes a brain scan, and is shown what really goes on inside his own head — his
biological neurons are inactive, and everything he says or does is the product of
digitally simulated neuronal activity. What would TT then say about the claims made
in the Tononi and Koch paper? Up to that point, of course he would have been an
enthusiastic endorser of these claims, being their first author. But exposure to his true
physical nature puts TT in an uncomfortable position. The options are threefold. He
must either a) profess scepticism towards what he has been shown about his own
8
Chalmers (2010) outlines a similar extension to the thought experiment.
6
inner workings, b) renounce his claim to consciousness, or c) disavow his previous
rejection of functionalism.
Let us set aside the first option. After all, such scepticism would be misplaced, since
TT’s brain is indeed a digital simulation and it would not be to his credit if no amount
of evidence could persuade him of the truth. What about the second option? Would
TT be willing to renounce his claim to consciousness? This seems most unlikely.
Early in Tononi and Koch’s paper, they assert that consciousness “is the one fact I am
absolutely certain of—all the rest is conjecture”. In other words, they subscribe to the
near-universal philosophical view that self-knowledge about consciousness is
indubitable. Now, we know that TT’s inner workings are functionally equivalent to
Tononi’s. So whatever chains of cause and effect give rise to Tononi’s assertions of
indubitable self-knowledge, functionally equivalent chains of cause and effect will be
at work in TT, issuing in the same pronouncements.
So we are left with the third option. Unable to deny his own consciousness, yet
knowing his brain to be a digital simulation, TT will be obliged to withdraw his
objection to functionalism. The question now is what the real Tononi and Koch would
have to say about Twin Tononi and his retraction. If they are to retain their own antifunctionalist views, they must argue that TT is wrong, which entails that he should
have accepted one of the other options. They surely wouldn’t expect TT to refuse to
accept the true nature of his inner workings. Rather, to maintain their antifunctionalism, they would have to assert that TT is wrong about his own
consciousness. Twin Tononi, they would say, is a zombie, his most passionate
protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.
3. The Fragility of Self-Knowledge
It would be instructive to pit Twin Tononi against real Tononi to see how they set
about resolving their differences. As something of an expert on the matter, TT ought
to be well placed to find flaws in Tononi and Koch’s position. Indeed, we could ask
the real Tononi, “How would you amend IIT if you discovered your brain was a
digital simulation?” But his reply would likely be along the lines, “Well that is
7
impossible, so the question is meaningless”. Of course, if that were his reply then TT
would dismiss the same question in the same way, prior to being shown the truth. We
might press Tononi by asking him, “How do you know you are not a digital
simulation?” And he would no doubt reply, “Because I am conscious, and according
to IIT that entails that I am not a digital simulation”. And again, that is exactly what
TT would say too, prior to learning his true nature. Finally, we might ask Tononi,
“How do you know you are conscious?” And whatever response he gave would also
be the response of TT.
To get past this impasse, let’s try torture. 9 First, let’s imagine that the transformation
from real Tononi to Twin Tononi can be reversed. Suppose that, at the flick of a
switch, the digitally simulated neurons in TT’s brain can be switched off, while all the
dormant biological neurons are simultaneously woken up to resume their function,
appropriately modified to reflect any changes (eg: in synaptic weight) undergone by
their digital counterparts. According to IIT the resulting version of Tononi should be a
fully conscious creature with the same high Φ as the biological original. Now suppose
we carry out the following sequence of actions. We start with real Tononi and
perform the procedure that turns him into TT. Then, without revealing to him his true,
simulated nature, we subject TT to torture. Finally we reverse the procedure, restoring
Tonini’s brain to fully biological operation.
According to IIT’s anti-functionalist position, TT feels nothing while he is being
tortured. He screams, he bleeds, he writhes, and he begs for mercy. But all this is a
sham if we accept the philosophical implications of IIT. TT has negligible Φ and
therefore no consciousness. He is incapable of experiencing pain. Nevertheless, it
seems a pretty safe bet that real Tononi, restored to biological function and unaware
of the whole charade, will have a few complaints about his treatment. By hypothesis,
his behaviour will be exactly the same as it would have been if his neurons had been
biological all along. Under the circumstances, that behaviour is sure to include a
grumble or two.
9
In the event that Giulio Tononi reads this paper, I hope he will take all this in the
spirit of intellectual enquiry that it is intended.
8
Now suppose we reveal to Tononi the truth. During the period of torture, his brain
was merely a digital simulation, and the whole thing was just a joke. How likely is it
that he would withdraw his complaints, that he would see the funny side? From
Tononi’s standpoint, the memory of his “fake” torture would be no less convincing
than the memory of real torture. But Tononi doesn’t have to compromise his
intellectual position in order to complain about being tortured. “I see now that these
memories aren’t real”, he might say. “It only seems as if I felt pain when in fact I
must have felt nothing. My memories are deceiving me. Nevertheless, I am
experiencing those memories, and that is horrible enough. So you really shouldn’t
have done that to me.”
It seems implausible that anyone would go so far as to deny their own memory of
torture in order to preserve their allegiance to a stance on functionalism. But fair
enough. Let us allow this. By way of apology we will offer Tononi $10,000, as long
as he agrees to undergo the procedure one more time. But this time we will undertake
to wipe all memory of the torture from his (digital) brain prior to the switch-back to
biological neurons. If the Tononi of our thought experiement really believed his antifunctionalist rhetoric, this would surely be easy money. It would involve no real pain
and no unpleasant (false) memories of pain. He surely ought to agree. But I venture
that no-one, not even the most dedicated (and impoverished) adherent to IIT, would
agree to such a proposal.
Now let’s get back to Tononi and Koch’s (presumed) rejection of TT’s claims to selfknowledge? Can IIT really sanction Tononi’s own claim to such knowledge while
denying it to his digital twin? To answer this question we need to understand what
sort of mechanism might underpin a person’s knowledge of their own consciousness
according to IIT. The main desideratum here is that a person’s consciousness must
itself be causally implicated in any legitimate claim they make to this sort of selfknowledge. And according to IIT, a person is conscious because their brain has high
Φ. So the possession of high Φ must be causally implicated in any such claim. But
how could the brain’s high Φ be causally implicated in that way? How, in general,
could a system have internal access to the fact of its own high Φ?
9
Well, it is possible to imagine such a system. Suppose a system x is capable of
computing the integrated information Φ for any given system y. Moreover, suppose
system x has high Φ, and is applied to itself, yielding a correspondingly high value.
This system could legitimately claim to be conscious according to IIT, and to know
that it was conscious. Let’s suppose this system is made of high Φ-promoting
components, such as biological neurons. Now, reprising our thought experiment,
imagine that we replaced all of these components with functionally equivalent digital
versions, so that the resulting system was behaviourally identical to the original
system x but had low Φ. Then, when applied to itself, this system would “do the right
thing”, and pronounce itself lacking in consciousness.
But the brain is not such a system. The high Φ of a person’s brain plays no causal role
in their pronouncements about their own consciousness. If a person claims to be
certain of their own consciousness, it is not because they have studied a detailed scan
of the physical structure of their brain and subjected it to the mathematical analysis
demanded by IIT. A person seems to require no access to their brain’s internal
workings to claim indubitable knowledge of their own consciousness. It’s hard to see
why, from the standpoint of IIT, Tononi is any more justified in making such a claim
than his digital counterpart. Tononi and TT make exactly the same pronouncements
on the matter, and they do so thanks to isomorphic chains of cause and effect in which
their own Φ, whether high or low, is nowhere implicated.
4. Science Without Metaphysics
Where does all this leave IIT? The version of the theory professed by Tononi and
Koch entails a dubious position on digital brain simulation and is unable to account
for the sort of self-knowledge it takes to be axiomatic. However, there is plenty to
redeem it. When shorn of its metaphysical pretensions, the scientifically useful core
of integrated information theory is revealed. This is the idea that a) we ascribe
consciousness to humans (and other animals) because their brains are complex
dynamical systems in which there is mutual influence between the whole and the parts,
b) this influence can be mathematically quantified using information theory, and c)
10
the resulting measure can be empirically validated and has clinical application. 10
There is no need to solve the “hard problem” nor to explain “qualia”, notions that tend
to bewitch the philosophically inclined (among whom I count myself), and lead them
to see conceptual difficulties where none exist.
Let’s revisit the topics of functionalism and self-knowledge with this admonition in
mind. Consider functionalism. Doesn’t functionalism have metaphysical pretentions
of its own? Doesn’t it proffer a solution to the hard problem, purport to explain qualia,
and so on. Well, the aim here is not to defend functionalism per se. The moral, rather,
is that the acceptability of any theory of consciousness depends on nothing more than
how well it holds up when put to use, whether by scientists or in everyday life. So
functionalism can limit its claims to the empirical: we ascribe consciousness to
something when it has a certain functional organisation, and therefore exhibits certain
behaviour. The required functional organisation and the right sort of behaviour might
turn out to go hand in hand with the capacity to integrate information in a sense close
to that of IIT. In that case a suitably modified definition of Φ would have the potential
to illuminate the sort of functional organisation that underlies ascriptions of
consciousness.
Be that as it may, there is no need for the functionalist or the advocate of IIT to go
further, to address the “hard problem”, to explain “qualia”, to make metaphysical
claims about what consciousness really “is”. Equally, it is inappropriate to dictate, on
metaphysical grounds, how a notion like integrated information is to be applied in
advance of our trying it out in particular circumstances. When it comes to exotic cases,
such as digital whole brain emulations, thought experiments are helpful. As for
human-level artificial intelligence, whatever form it takes, whether human-like or not,
we must await our encounter with it. Only then will we discover what the right
attitude towards it is, whether to treat it as conscious or not. 11 We will work through
our doubts, confirming them or allaying them, by observing and interacting with our
10
See Seth, et al. (2011), for example.
11
See Wittgenstein (1958), p.178: “‘I believe that he is not an automaton’ just like
that, so far makes no sense. My attitude towards him is an attitude towards a soul. I
am not of the opinion tha he has a soul”.
11
creations. To stipulate in advance of this encounter what is or is not conscious is to let
the metaphysical tail wag the empirical dog.
Of course, it’s all very well to attack metaphysics. But to relinquish it isn’t simply a
matter of linguistic censorship. For the philosophically inclined, dualistic thoughts
tend to keep resurfacing, presenting a different facet each time. 12 Consider selfknowledge. It doesn’t take much reflection to see that IIT’s difficulties with selfknowledge also afflict functionalism. After all, the brain’s lack of access to its own
internal workings extends to their functional organisation. So a subject’s supposedly
indubitable knowledge of their own consciousness looks just as problematic for a
functionalist as for a proponent of IIT. Yet no-one can doubt their own consciousness.
Descartes was surely right on this point. So functionalism, like IIT, looks fatally
flawed. Indeed, it’s hard to see how any theory could bridge the chasm between
subjective self-knowledge and objective neuroscience. So we are back to the “hard
problem”. 13
However, consider the three sentences “I am conscious”, “I know I am conscious”,
and “I am certain that I am conscious”. In all three cases, the epistemological content
is the same. It is nil. Epistemologically speaking, all three pronouncements are
analogous to a magician stepping out of a box with hands wide and shouting “Ta da!”.
It would make no sense for the magician, inwardly, to ask himself “Am I sure?”. Nor
would it would make sense for anyone in the audience to shout out “Prove it!”. The
magician is presenting himself, not making a claim. Analogously, the three sentences
in question stand as expressions of consciousness. In spite of their grammatical form,
they are not propositions about consciousness, and they are not open to challenge as if
they were.
This is not to rule out the possibility of an apparent expression of consciousness that
turns out, on investigation, to be no such thing. If a mannequin with a speech
synthesiser in its head announces “I am conscious” then we do not take it to be a
12
See Shanahan (2010), ch.1.
13
This, of course, is the conclusion that many philosophers have reached, including
Nagel (1974) and Chalmers (1996).
12
genuine expression of consciousness. In more difficult cases, such as coma patients,
extraterrestrials (if we encounter them), or human-level AIs (if we build them), the
only way to decide the question is to investigate further. We might look inside their
heads (if they have heads) to see what’s going on there. We might observe their
behaviour and note how they respond to a variety of different stimuli. Preferably we
will interact with them, and the richer the interaction the more confidently will we
settle on the right attitude towards them.
This is where theories of consciousness play a role. Done properly, a theory of
consciousness should address the question “Under what conditions do we ascribe
consciousness to something?”. This is an empirical question. To the extent that the
answer takes the form “Consciousness is x” or “A state x is conscious if and only if y”,
the word “is” (the insidious copula) should be metaphysically weightless. These
answers are just shorthand for “We say something is conscious when x” or “We say a
state x is conscious when y”. Functionalism, by these lights, labels a class of theories
according to which we describe something as conscious when it instantiates a certain
functional organisation (to be established through scientific investigation), and
therefore exhibits certain behaviour.
Of course, science is embedded in human affairs, and is apt to influence the things we
do and say. So the scientific study of consciousness can help us deal with tricky or
exotic cases, such as coma patients or human-level artificial intelligence. So, while it
might start out with the aim of describing the way we use the word “conscious” and
its relatives, the scientific study of consciousness can also end up modifying or
extending the way we use those words. However, nowhere in this two-way street is
there any call for metaphysics.
The difficulty with IIT, as presented by Tononi and his colleagues, is that it is
metaphysical through and through. It asserts that “there is an identity between
phenomenological properties of experience and informational/causal properties of
physical systems” [emphasis added]. 14 To establish this identity it insists on various a
priori postulates. For example, “of all overlapping sets of elements [of a physical
14
Oizumi, et al. (2014), p.3.
13
system], only one set can be conscious – the one whose mechanisms specify a
conceptual structure that is maximally irreducible … to independent components”. 15
Based on these postulates, various controversial consequences are derived a priori,
including (as well as a brand of panpsychism) the denial of consciousness to any
human-level AI implemented on a conventional computer.
However, it is not appropriate to pronounce on the consciousness or otherwise of
human-level AI when we don’t yet know what its presence in our society will be like.
The temptation to do so stems from the conviction that subjective experience is a kind
of “stuff”, something that exists intrinsically, for itself, but whose objective character
is knowable a priori and can be described in the language of mathematics. Of course,
to deny the reality of conscious experience would be an affront to common sense. To
echo Wittgenstein’s words, experience in itself isn’t a nothing, but it isn’t a something
either. 16 So there is no need either to affirm or deny it, and there is no call for a
science of consciousness that proceeds from metaphysical assumptions or makes
claims about it.
Bibliography
Balduzzi, D. & Tononi, G. (2007). Integrated Information in Discrete Dynamical
Systems: Motivation and Theoretical Framework. PLoS Computational Biology
4(6), e1000091.
Chalmers, D. (1996). The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory.
Oxford University Press.
Chalmers (2010). The Singularity Hypothesis: A Philosophical Analysis. Journal of
Consciousness Studies 17 (9–10).
Nagel, T. (1974). What Is It Like to Be a Bat? Philosophical Review 83 (4), 435–450.
Oizumi, M., Albantakis, L. & Tononi, G. (2014). From the Phenomenology to the
Mechanisms of Consciousness: Integrated Information Theory 3.0. PLoS
Computational Biology 10(5), e1003588.
15
Ibid.
16
Wittgenstein (1958), §304.
14
Seth, A.K., Barrett, A. & Barnett, L. (2011). Causal Density and Integrated
Information as Measures of Conscious Level. Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society A 369, 3748–3767.
Shanahan, M. (2010). Embodiment and the Inner Life: Cognition and Consciousness
in the Space of Possible Minds. Oxford University Press.
Shanahan, M. (2015). The Technological Singularity. MIT Press (forthcoming).
Tononi, G. & Koch, C. (2015). Consciousness: Here, There and Everywhere?
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 370, 20140167.
Wittgenstein, L. (1958). Philosophical Investigations. Trans. G.E.M.Anscombe.
Blackwell.
15 |
Making Sense of Consciousness as Integrated Information:
Evolution and Issues of IIT
Kyumin Moon1 and Hongju Pae2
1
arXiv:1807.02103v2 [q-bio.NC] 30 Sep 2018
Dept. of Philosophy, Seoul National University
dkxnaks@snu.ac.kr
2
Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive Science, Seoul National University
hjpae@snu.ac.kr
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to provide an overall critical appraisal of Integrated Information Theory(IIT) of consciousness. We explore how it has evolved and what problems
are involved in the theory. IIT is a hypothesis that consciousness can be explained in terms
of integrated information. It argues that a number of fundamental properties of experience can be properly analyzed and explained by physical systems’ informational properties.
Throughout the last decade, there have been many advances in IIT’s theoretical structure
and mathematical model. In addition, like all hypotheses in the field of science of consciousness, IIT has given rise to several controversies and issues. In this context, a critical survey
for IIT is urgently needed. To this end, we first introduce fundamental concepts of IIT and
related issues. Thereafter, we discuss major transitions IIT has been through and point out
related intra-model issues. Finally, in the last section, some theoretical, extra-model issues
involved in IIT’s principles are presented. The article concludes by suggesting that, for the
sake of future development, IIT should more seriously take metacognitive accessibility to
experience.
keywords: Integrated Information Theory, the science of consciousness, consciousness, experience, qualia, panpsychism, metacognition
1
Introduction
Integrated Information Theory of consciousness (IIT) is a hypothesis that consciousness can be
explained in terms of integrated information. Among other theories, IIT might be one of the most
interesting—but also controversial—hypotheses in the field of science of consciousness. IIT is suggested as a principled theoretical framework with the explanatory and predictive power. It argues
that a number of fundamental properties of experience can be properly analyzed and explained by
physical systems’ informational properties. Further, IIT claims that this information-centered,
mathematical framework would shed some light on many clinically difficult and ambiguous cases.
1
For this unique approach, IIT has consistently attracted considerable scholarly attention from
neuroscientists, information theorists, and even physicists for over a decade. Throughout this
period, there have been many advances in IIT’s theoretical structure and mathematical model.
Furthermore, like all hypotheses in the field of science of consciousness, IIT has also given rise
to several controversies(Cerullo 2015; Horgan 2015). In this context, there is an urgent need for
a critical survey for IIT that would address the following questions: What are the essentials of
IIT? What has been changed and what has remained? And what problems can emerge against
it? In the present article, we attempt to provide an overall critical appraisal of IIT.
For this critical review, we will introduce core concepts, major transitions of IIT and related
intra-model issues that are rooted in the mathematical formulation. Then, several theoretical
extra-model issues involved in IIT’s principles, which are not directly due to the mathematical
model, are outlined.1 This article concludes by suggesting that, for the sake of future development, IIT should more seriously take metacognitive accessibility to experience.
2
Core Concepts of IIT
Since IIT attempts to explain how conscious experience arises from physical substrates, there are
several explanatory concepts describing this bottom-up process. While IIT has kept updating
its version from 1.0 to 3.0(Tononi 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012; Balduzzi and Tononi 2008, 2009;
Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014), those core concepts remain to be fundamentals of the
theory throughout all versions. Yet, despite their significant roles in the framework of IIT, the
core concepts have not been clearly cashed out. To amend the situation, in what follows, we
explain why those concepts are important in IIT and point out some related issues. While our
characterization strongly reflects the view of the current version of IIT, providing a summary of
IIT 3.0 is not the main concern in this section. Rather, following descriptions concern several
central notions that persist regardless of versions.
2.1
Mechanisms, states, connections, and repertoires
The central focus of IIT is on the physical substrates of experience and their causal structures. IIT
analyzes candidate physical substrates of experience in a bottom-up manner; physical elements,
which can causally interact with each other, are under consideration. Any set of elements can be
considered as a mechanism. Furthermore, any set of mechanisms can be thought of as a higher1. One of the reviewers has expressed some worries about the general structure of the manuscript of this article.
The reviewer has pointed out that considering the critical motivations of this article, the manuscript contains too
many technical reviews, which is not necessarily needed to justify theoretical criticisms developed in the latter of
this article. The reviewer further advised that to clarify the common thread of the article, it would be better to
focus on critical points and reduce technical details that are not directly relevant to the purpose of the article.
Although we tried to shorten and revise the technical review, we believe at least some of the presentations of
technical details are required, since they are necessary to understand the very points we made. In order to trace
the version updates of IIT and reveal some problematic consequences of those updates, reviews of technical details
are somewhat inevitable. Moreover, this article is intended to be an overall critical appraisal, covering not only
mathematical models but also theoretical backgrounds of IIT. Therefore, despite of lengthiness, we choose to stick
to the initial structure of the article.
2
order mechanism or a system of mechanisms (in short, system). The system is composed of
elements so that the system itself also can be a mechanism or a set of elements. On the other hand,
causal structures of physical substrates are analyzed by two central notions of IIT; mechanisms,
or systems, can be in a state, which corresponds to outputs of their elements. For instance, if
three elements—A, B, and C—with the binary output 1 or 0 compose a mechanism, and these
element’s outputs are respectively 1, 0, and 0, the state of the mechanism ABC is represented
as 100(see Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure 1A). Further, such mechanism in a
state can have a connection, which corresponds to a set of causal connections among elements
of the mechanism(Balduzzi and Tononi 2009).2 For example, if causal connections c1 , c2 , c3 ,
and c4 are given, there might be a set of connections, such as as {c1 , c2 }, {c1 , c3 }, {c1 , c2 , c3 }
or {c1 , c2 , c3 , c4 }, etc. Any causal relationships could be characterized as a connection, such
as synapses between neurons, which could be ideally represented as logic gates with simple
computational functions.
From states and connections of the mechanism, one can have repertoires. A repertoire is
defined as a probability distribution to possible states of the mechanism. In IIT, the causal structure of the mechanism must be known a priori.3 When the state and connection of a mechanism
are given at time t, one can infer which past or future states of which mechanism—including
the mechanism itself —could be causes or effects of the given state of the mechanism, and how
much probabilities would be distributed to each possible cause or future effect states. Therefore,
these probability distributions are probabilistic expressions of how the mechanism’s particular
state could cause or be caused by a certain mechanism’s past or future states. In this sense, the
mechanism in the state specifies repertoires, or its possible causes and effects.
The notions of mechanisms, states, connections, and repertoires are the very fundamentals
in IIT. Without these concepts, calculating information from a mechanism’s causal structure
is not possible. As explained above, repertoires are derived from states and connections of
the mechanism. Furthermore, as we will see in Section 2.2, the very concept of information
is formally defined by repertoires and related notions. The concepts of mechanisms, states,
connections, and repertoires tie causation and information together and enable us to calculate
how much information is generated from the causal structure of the mechanism. In part, this is
the reason why they survived several updates so far.
These notions also provide IIT with a quite liberal view about possible physical substrates
of consciousness. None of these notions tells about what kind of materials should be considered
as a candidate for the physical base of experience. Therefore, when something has its state
and connection and specifies repertories, it can be at least considered regarding if it produces
experience. Given that mechanisms or systems in a state are not limited to biological substrates,
2. In (Balduzzi and Tononi 2009), the term ‘submechanism’ or ‘mechanism’ was originally used to refer to sets
or subsets of causal connections among elements. However, this use of the term causes a serious confusion, as
‘mechanism’ is also used in IIT to refer to sets or subsets of elements that causally interact. In order to avoid
possible confusions, in the present paper, we use the term ‘connection’ instead of ‘submechanism’ or ’mechanism’.
3. This a priori known causal structure can be mathematically described by the backward and forward Transition Probability Matrix (TPM) of the set of elements under consideration. While this requirement of a priori
given causal structure is usually not explicitly presented in literature, it is important and intrinsic to IIT. Thanks
for the reviewer who clarified this point.
3
chemical structures such as silicon chips can be legitimate candidates for the physical base of
consciousness. Thus, under the framework of IIT, the question “Is this cellular phone conscious?”
is not a category-mistaken question that should be a priori rejected. As far as the cellular phone
can be considered as a “system of mechanisms in a state”, we can at least consider the possibility of
its consciousness. In principle, anything that has its states and connections can be a mechanism,
and any mechanism can be a possible candidate for a conscious mechanism(Tononi and Koch
2015).
However, such liberalism comes at a price. While the notions of mechanism, states, connections, etc., do not limit the kinds of physical substrates of experience, they do not limit the
levels of physical substrates either. Said differently, those basic concepts do not identify in which
spatio-temporal grains we should find physical substrates of consciousness. Technically, there are
elements, mechanisms, systems, state, and connections at each level of the grain; basic particles
in microphysical interaction compose quantum mechanisms in a quantum state. Molecules in
chemical bonding constitute chemical mechanisms in a chemical state. Neurons connected with
synapses make neuronal mechanisms in a neuronal state. Among these levels, which mechanism
should be taken as the origin of consciousness? The same applies to macro-levels. For example, in IIT, there appears to be no principled reason not to take China as a single mechanism
in a state, composed of causally interacting Chinese people(Schwitzgebel 2012). Indeed, the
problem of finding a proper spatio-temporal grain of consciousness has been admitted by IIT
theorists themselves(Tononi 2008, 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). We think that
the problem already lies in the center of the basic notions of IIT, leaving theoretical loose ends.
It can be argued that the problem of spatio-temporal grains has already addressed in the
current version of IIT.4 Applying the exclusion postulate introduced in IIT 3.0, proponents of
the theory may argue that the appropriate spatio-temporal grains are ones that have maximum
intrinsic cause-effect power, which is quantified by the highest value of integrated conceptual
information(Tononi 2012; Tononi et al. 2016). It is nonetheless possible that there are multiple
highest values of integrated conceptual information across different spatio-temporal levels. For
instance, if a certain part of the cortico-thalamic system, which is at the macro-spatial level, and
a few numbers of neurons in V1, which is at the micro-spatial level, produce the same highest
values of integrated information at the same time, then which level should be chosen as the
level where experience arises? Unless principled solution being suggested, the problem of proper
spatio-temporal grains would remain.
2.2
Intrinsic and causal information
According to IIT, an amount of information generated by a mechanism is calculated from repertoires. This calculation is performed by measuring the distance between the unconstrained and
constrained repertories. For the past or future state, IIT supposes the unconstrained repertoire
as a probabilistic base. Given the system’s causal structure, the repertoire is unconstrained in
that such uncertainty is not constrained yet by the given state of the mechanism. Using Bayes’
theorem, one can infer the constrained repertoire from the given state of the mechanism. It is
4. One of the reviewers reminded us that IIT theorists already dealt with this problem of proper spatio-temporal
granularity in (Tononi et al. 2016).
4
this distance between unconstrained and constrained repertoires that is defined as information
throughout all versions of IIT.5
The crucial point here is that those repertoires involved in information should be inferred from
mechanisms within a considered system.6 To calculate repertoires specified by the mechanism
in the state, one must consider past or future states of mechanisms within the system under
consideration. No mechanism outside of the considered system should be taken into account.
For example, to calculate the amount of information generated by the mechanism mentioned
in Section 2.1, ABC in 100, one should consider mechanisms only within a considered system;
suppose that with the mechanism of ABC, an element D constitutes a certain system under
consideration. Other elements, such as E and F , are out of the considered system. Then,
according to IIT, ABC in 100 cannot specify repertoires of mechanisms such as E, EF , or even
AE, AF , ABE, ABF , ABCE, ABCF . It only specifies repertories of mechanisms A, B, C,
AB, AC, BC, ABC, or AD, ABD, ABCD, BD, ACD, CD and so on. Those repertoires
would represent possible causes or effects of ABC’s being in 100 that are in the considered
system with their probabilities. In short, mechanisms in a certain system under consideration
only can specify repertoires of mechanisms within that system. In this specific sense, in IIT,
repertoires specified by the mechanism in a state express intrinsic causal power of the mechanism.
As repertoires represent the intrinsic causal power of the mechanism, information in IIT is
essentially intrinsic and causal. Information generated by the mechanism is measured as the
distance between repertoires. Of note, these repertoires involve nothing external to the system.
They solely depend on possible causes or effects within the system. Therefore, information is
intrinsic to the system in that it does not require anything external to the system. In addition,
information has nothing to do with input/output signals that can be detected only by the external
observer. Rather, it is about causes and effects that can be detected only from the system’s own
intrinsic perspective(Tononi 2008, 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). Moreover, given
that repertoires specify possible causes or effects and their probabilities, information produced
by the mechanism is causal. This is why IIT repeatedly emphasizes the notion of information
as “differences that make a difference”(Bateson 1972). In IIT, for instance, the mechanism in
a state specifies which past states of a certain mechanism (“differences”) would likely to cause
the mechanism’s being in that state (“a difference”). This further implies that only something
that can be selectively caused or cause can produce information. This intrinsic and causal
notion of information is the hallmark of IIT, which distinguishes IIT from other information
theories: anything informative has an intrinsic causal power, and anything intrinsically causal
has information. This intrinsic and causal nature of information is directly inherited by the
most central concept in IIT, integrated information. Although integrated information is defined
in a sophisticated manner, in so far as it is information, it also should be intrinsic and causal.
5. For further detail on this calculation, see Section 3.2 and (Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014).
6. As one of the reviewers clearly pointed out our inconsistent terminology in the original manuscript, we could
correct this paragraph. The notion of “considered system” or “system under consideration” is explicitly introduced
as candidate set in IIT 3.0. A candidate set is a set of elements under consideration; if certain elements are not
included in the candidate set, those elements are considered as external noise, even if they still are part of the
whole system. For further details on candidate set, see (Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014), Figure 1A.
5
The intrinsic and causal information is fundamental to IIT in that it determines what kind of
information the theory deals with.
Although intrinsic and causal information constitutes one of the unique aspects of the theory,
it also brings some problems concerning the function of consciousness. Simply put, intrinsic and
causal information does not involve anything outside of the system. By definition, integrated
information has nothing to do with causal inputs/outputs of the system either. This intrinsicness
renders integrated information irrelevant to the functions of the system. In fact, as we will see
in Section 4.2., IIT theoretically designs functional zombie systems, which share all the inputoutput relations with systems with highly integrated information. This suggests that integrated
information is nearly irrelevant to functions of the system; integrating information has no necessary bearing on the system’s functioning(Schwitzgebel 2014). In the sections below, we will
see that IIT identifies integrated information and consciousness. If so, integrated information’s
functional irrelevancy would be directly transferred to consciousness. For instance, IIT implies
that, at least in principle, there can be perfect functional equivalents of us that are unconscious.
It is at least theoretically possible that we do whatever we are doing without consciousness. Such
state makes the ‘use’ of consciousness as mysterious. Moreover, adaptive benefits of having experience also become doubtable; whatever adaptive function experience provides, there is always
a possible scenario that it might have been evolved without experience. This risk of functional
irrelevancy of experience has been already rooted in the intrinsic nature of information in IIT.
2.3
Integrated information and complex
The notion of integration first stems from the phenomenological aspects of experience: “[p]henomenologically, every experience is an integrated whole, one that means what it means by virtue
of being one, and which is experienced form a single point of view”(Tononi 2012, p.295). To
be a physical underpinning of such integrated, unified experience, what should a mechanism be
like? Here, IIT suggests one of its thought experiments: let’s compare a highly informative, but
unconscious mechanism and a conscious mechanism. For example, what is the difference between
a conscious brain and an unconscious digital camera that consists of thousands of photodiodes?
According to the IIT, the most significant difference is that while the former is causally integrated,
the latter is not(Tononi 2012). Causal interactions within the brain are so highly integrated with
each other that, once they are fragmented, the whole brain’s performance might break down. This
thought experiment on the camera model suggests that producing information is not sufficient
for a mechanism to generate consciousness. Even if the mechanism is equipped with complicated
connections and distinguishes vast repertoires, if its elements are not integrated into a single
mechanism, the mechanism cannot give rise to experience.
As a mechanism with a causal structure produces intrinsic information, one with integrated
causal structure generates integrated information. The integrated information is integrated in
the sense that, as a whole, the mechanism generates more information than the sum of its parts.
Said differently, it is information produced only from the mechanism as a whole. By definition,
the integrated information of the system is irreducible to its parts. Therefore, according to IIT,
the amount of integrated information generated by the mechanism is calculated by partitioning
the system by disconnecting the connections between the mechanisms. That is, if the information
6
disappears by partitioning, it would be the information generated by the mechanism as a whole,
not by individual parts. The informational difference between the mechanism as a whole and the
system’s partitions’ mechanism is defined as integrated information.7 Nonetheless, considering
that there are many possible ways of how the mechanism is partitioned, it becomes crucial
to decide which partition should be used in calculating integrated information. IIT chooses
the partition which causes the least loss of information, which is called minimum information
partition(MIP). Finally, depending on the level of calculation, the calculated values of integrated
information are represented as Φ or φ.
Based on the integrated information, a complex is defined: roughly put, parts of the system
producing integrated information can be considered as complexes.8 As we will see in Section
2.4, IIT posits the identity between consciousness and integrated information; complexes in the
system directly contribute to consciousness by integrating information. Technically, only complexes should be regarded as physical substrates of conscious experience, and they deserve to be
called a ‘locus’ of consciousness. Despite a significant change concerning whether the overlapping
or inclusion among complexes is possible, IIT maintains that a system can be condensed into
multiple complexes. Finding such complexes in the system is the main focus of IIT on defining
the local and temporal origin of consciousness.
It should be emphasized that the notions of integrated information and complex provide
possible explanations for some fundamental properties of experience. In calculating integrated
information, nothing outside of the complex matters. How much information is generated by the
complex, or how much information is lost by MIP, is purely intrinsic to the complex. This intrinsicness of integrated information accounts for why experience is essentially intrinsic. In other
words, experience is integrated information, and integrated information is intrinsic. Therefore,
experience is intrinsic. This characteristic of experience can be also noted as privacy: “Since integrated information is generated within a complex and not outside its boundaries, the experience
is necessarily private and related to a single point of view or perspective”(Tononi 2008, p.295).
Appealing to the central concepts such as integrated information and complex, IIT appears to
open up the prospects of making sense of essential features of experience.
While integrated information is undeniably the key concept in the theory, it also creates a
7. This idea of integration might be closely related to the notion of synergy information proposed by Virgil and
Koch(Virgil and Koch 2014).
8. Technically, how complexes are defined depends on which version of IIT is taken. As one reviewer noted,
a complex is defined as a set of elements which produces a local maximum of integrated conceptual information
on a system level, which quantified by Φmax in IIT 3.0. While this is true, strictly speaking, notions such as
integrated conceptual information, local maxima, and mechanism-system distinction were explicitly introduced
since IIT 3.0. One cannot find any of these before IIT 3.0. In the IIT 2.0, complexes are defined differently, as sets
of elements that produce integrated information. As we have noted at the beginning of Section 2, our purpose is
not briefly presenting the current version of IIT. (If it was, we would not cite any of the literature based on IIT
2.0 framework, including (Tononi 2008) or (Balduzzi and Tononi 2008), (Balduzzi and Tononi 2009). The focus
is on the core concepts that play essential roles throughout all versions of IIT. Thus, until the end of Section 2,
we temporarily choose to ignore conceptual differences among various versions and use some terms very loosely.
In Section 2, for instance, “integrated information” covers integrated information in IIT 2.0 as well as integrated
conceptual information and maximally integrated conceptual information in IIT 3.0. Accordingly, Φ can refer
both Φ and Φmax .
7
problem which renders the application of IIT to real systems practically intractable. As specified
above, calculating integrated information involves finding MIP, which requires creating all possible partitions and measuring all the informational difference between the non-partitioned and the
partitioned. With the growth of the number of the elements organizing the system, it becomes
obvious that the amount of computation will dramatically increase. Consequently, one faces a
serious combinatorial explosion in finding MIP.9 Due to this computational burden, applying IIT
to neural substrates or artificial robots is currently infeasible. At the current stage of the theory,
since direct empirical data supporting IIT are unavailable, researchers have tried to find efficient
algorithms for finding MIP(Kitazono, Kanai, and Oizumi 2018; Hidaka and Oizumi 2018), or
to develop approximations or proxy measures of Φ.10 The absence of experimental validity is a
decisive disadvantage for IIT to become a solid theory claim to the science of consciousness.
2.4
Identity between consciousness and integrated information
As mentioned in Section 2.3, IIT identifies consciousness with integrated information in the first
place. Particularly in IIT, levels of consciousness are identified with quantities of integrated
information, while qualities of consciousness are identified with informational structures derived
from integrated information. From these identifications, IIT attempts to account for both how
conscious a system is and how it feels.
According to IIT, a level of consciousness is nothing but an amount of integrated information.
Therefore, one can know how conscious the system is by calculating the amount of integrated
information produced by that system.11 Consciousness is not all-or-nothing. Rather, as shown
by the experience of falling asleep or that of anesthesia, consciousness is a matter of graded levels.
IIT claims that a level of consciousness can be quantitatively measured by a value of integrated
information, which is referred to Φ. Since this ‘quantifying consciousness’ has drawn considerable
scholarly attention, many IIT studies thus far have been dedicated to finding correlations between
9. One reviewer mentioned that the levels of MIP need to be distinguished: the MIP on the level of small phi
and the MIP on the level of conceptual information big Phi. It is of course true that these are two different forms
of partitions that are respectively applied to the levels of mechanism and system. However, as clarified in footnote
8, such notions are restricted to the current version. They cannot be applied regardless of versions.
10. A large variety of modified Φ has been proposed as an estimation for Φ. Φ̃E is modulated by the Markovian
discrete system and can be applied to continuous time series data(Barrett and Seth 2011), and Φ∗ is modulated by substituting the notion of decoding perspective of information that facilitates the overall computation
procedure(Oizumi et al. 2016). However, they do not contain the main theoretical updates of the IIT, such
as cause-effect information and the distinction between φ and Φ. For IIT 3.0, Marshall, Gomez-Raminez, and
Tononi have proposed State Differentiation (SD) as a proxy measure of Φ, which is much easier to draw out from
experimental data than the original Φ(Marshall, Gomez-Ramirez, and Tononi 2016). Still, it leaves the degree of
integration being not properly measured. It is also insufficient to assume that SD functions are a complete form
of measure in that it is applied to cellular animats; it is still analyzing the toy problem of the causal system.
Recently, Tegmark has proposed several kinds of modified Φ through various definitions of informational distance
and by normalizing integrated information using diverse techniques(Tegmark 2016).
11. Rich integration of neuronal connection is widely known as a major feature of the cerebral cortex, based on
the anatomical structure of the brain. The fact that the brain cortex is constructed as a complicated neuronal
network can explain how consciousness arises from such anatomical structure and why there exists such direct
correlation between Φ and consciousness.
8
levels of consciousness and corresponding Φ values. Some of the results from analyzing EEG
data and computer simulations suggest that Φ can be a reliable measure of consciousness(Tononi
2008). Indeed, the idea of the possibility to measure consciousness in a quantitative manner
alludes to the science of conscious experience. It is the identification of levels of consciousness
and Φ values that make this idea possible.
On the other hand, IIT claims that a quality of experience is just an informational structure assessed from integrated information. This informational structure can be represented as
a geometrical shape in the multidimensional space that “completely and univocally specifies the
quality of experience”(Tononi 2008, p.224). If so, how the system feels can be known by deriving
what shape is represented by the integrated information it generates. Each version of IIT provides sophisticated procedures for illustrating shapes like polytopes on multidimensional space
from given integrated information. These shapes specify informational relationships generated
by complexes. It appears to be obvious that, if it is successful, this geometrical representation provides useful tools for analyzing qualities of experience. Qualities of experience have
several fundamental aspects to be explained, such as similarities and differences, richness, heterogeneities, as well as compositional structures. Once qualities of experience are identified with
shapes assessed from integrated information, those fundamental aspects can be explained by
analyzing geometrical characteristics of shapes in the multidimensional space. This explanatory
potential of geometrical approach might be the most distinctive part of IIT; “what it is like to
experience” could be explained by the “geometry of integrated information”(Balduzzi and Tononi
2009).
The identity between consciousness and integrated information has further implications.
First, in clinical contexts, quantifying consciousness by Φ value might play a significant role
in treating pathological cases of patients in coma or vegetative state. As the locked-in syndrome
case suggests, how to judge whether or not one is conscious has been an extremely controversial
issue. However, if Φ is indeed a level of consciousness, we have a simple answer: a patient is
conscious only when his or her brain generates non-zero Φ. This answer immediately leads to
a liberal approach to the consciousness of non-humans. For animal consciousness, animals can
be conscious if they generate integrated information at all. The same applies to artificial consciousness, as there is no reason to a priori exclude the possibility that artificial intelligence can
be conscious. The only thing that matters upon consciousness is whether or not the candidate
system produces non-zero Φ(Tononi and Koch 2015). Second, the idea of qualities of experience
as geometrical shapes appears to entail that experience is substrate-independent. According to
IIT’s geometrical approach, systems with different states and connections can produce the same
informational structures(Balduzzi and Tononi 2008, 2009). From the assumption that qualities
of experience are nothing but informational structure geometrically depicted from integrated
information, it follows that qualities of experience and their physical substrates can come apart.
This substrate-independence might account for, at least partially, why consciousness seems nonphysical(Tegmark 2017). In this respect, many theoretically and practically promising predictions
and explanations come from the identification of consciousness and integrated information.
However, the notion of consciousness as integrated information also raises some perplexing
issues. Since the theory identifies Φ into a level of consciousness, IIT must ascribe experience
9
to seemingly unconscious systems. Surprisingly, according to IIT, a photodiode with the binary
states on/off is minimally conscious, because it produces non-zero Φ.12 What is more, a lattice
structure composed of a single kind of logic gates can be highly conscious, even more conscious
than that of a human. In this way, IIT predicts that the functional zombie is empirically possible
in principle(Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014); even if the two systems are functionally
equivalent, there can be a situation when one generates Φ, but the other does not(see Oizumi,
Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure 21). The theoretical development of IIT is not without
a sense of irony; core concepts promising ample explanatory and predictive potentials are also
bringing counterintuitive and problematic defects to the theory. In the remainder of this paper,
these intriguing issues will be analyzed in further detail.
3
Major Transitions in IIT
While the core ideas of IIT are more or less preserved, it has undergone several significant revisions through the updates from its prototype to the very latest version. These revisions made
the framework of IIT more theoretically and technically articulated. Not only its theoretical
structure but also the details of its mathematical model have been changed. Therefore, understanding how IIT has acquired its current form requires a deeper analysis. Axioms, postulates,
and the notion of purviews have been introduced, the concept of information has been revised,
the distance matrix for repertoires has been changed, and levels of information integration have
been divided. In what follows, we explain what these changes are about and how they affect IIT.
3.1
From thought experiments to systematic formulation: Phenomenological
axioms and ontological postulates
As occasionally mentioned in the literature, what consciousness is and what a physical system
should be to generate consciousness have never been explicitly described until IIT has developed into its latest version. The fundamental properties of experience were taken for granted by
appealing to phenomenology, and the required properties for physical systems to produce experience were merely motivated or suggested by a number of thought experiments. The photodiode
and camera thought experiments were introduced from the early version of IIT(Tononi 2004,
2008), and the Internet thought experiment was added during the updates to IIT 3.0(Tononi
2012). Based on the idea that conscious experience is specific in a particular way, the photodiode thought experiment motivates that physical systems must specify its possible causes or
effects to generate consciousness. The digital camera thought experiment suggests that physical
systems must be causally integrated since it appears that experience is unified and integrated. By
contrasting information of the Internet and that of experience, the Internet thought experiment
speculates that information produced by physical systems must be maximally integrated. While
12. Again, the reason why a photodiode should be treated as minimally conscious can be different according
to versions of IIT. In IIT 2.0, the photodiode is minimally conscious, since it produces one bit of integrated
information. However, in IIT 3.0, it is so because it generates non-zero integrated conceptual information.
Although this distinction is important, for the purpose of Section 2, we do not deal with differences among
versions. See footnote 8.
10
these thought experiments are interesting in themselves and might be helpful to understand the
motivations behind the theory, they never clearly argued for or even specified the fundamental
features of the essential properties of experience.
In IIT 3.0, the situation has changed. Now, the fundamental properties of consciousness
and requirement for physical systems are explicated and posited in the very beginning of the
theoretical formulation. First and foremost, phenomenological axioms are introduced; these
axioms are phenomenological in the sense that they are all concerned with the fundamental
properties of experience. Each of five axioms corresponds to each of the essential properties of
experience. The existence axiom states that consciousness exists. The composition axiom says
that it is compositional. The information axiom states that it is informative. The integration
axiom claims that it is integrated. Finally, the exclusion axiom says that one consciousness
excludes another consciousness(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). These
properties mentioned in the axioms are supposed to be fundamental, as any experience must
have them.
Next, corresponding to the phenomenological axioms, ontological postulates are posited: these
postulates are ontological in that they prescribe what mechanisms should generate consciousness. There are five postulates which lay parallel to each axiom. The existence postulate says
mechanisms in a state must exist. The composition postulate says that mechanisms must be
structured. The information postulate claims that mechanisms must produce information by
specifying selective possible causes and effects within the system. The integration postulate
states that mechanisms must integrate information. Finally, the exclusion postulate says that
mechanisms must generate only the maximally integrated information(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014; Tononi and Koch 2015). As in phenomenological axioms, properties
mentioned in ontological postulates are essential and necessary for every physical mechanism
to generate consciousness. Moreover, the latter three postulates—information, integration, and
exclusion—are applied to the two different levels of calculation; mechanisms and systems of
mechanisms. Contents of postulates vary through the system depending on which level they are
applied to.13
In virtue of these axioms and postulates, IIT becomes a top-down and theory-driven approach, rather than as a bottom-up and experiment-driven approach to consciousness; the set
of axioms and postulates comes first and later comes the mathematical model. Empirical experiments can be designed and conducted only under the models and theories. Consequently, by
declaring its axioms and postulates, IIT can clarify both its theoretical framework on modeling
the consciousness and the experiments.
However, while clarification is one thing, justification is another thing. The introduction of the
axioms and postulates raises a number of questions. First, on what ground must phenomenological axioms be accepted? That is, why should those axioms be considered axiomatic? The axioms
themselves appear to be based on phenomenological intuitions or introspection. The axioms are
“assumed to be self-evident from the intrinsic perspective of a conscious entity”(Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Supplementary 1, p.1). However, what if such intuitions or introspections
are wrong? Moreover, how can each ontological postulate follow from each phenomenological ax13. For further details on ontological postulates, see (Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014).
11
iom? Though the postulates are strictly parallel to axioms, there seems to be an unbridged gap
between them. For instance, it is not clear how we can draw the information postulate; it is
not clear if the mechanisms should specify selective causes and effects within the system from
the information axiom, which states that consciousness is informative. Therefore, the rationales
for positing phenomenological axioms and ontological postulates remain controversial. Recently,
Bayne addresses precisely the axiomatic foundations of IIT(Bayne 2018). Bayne argues that
some of the phenomenological axioms are not self-evident, and others seem to be self-evident
but fail to practically or theoretically constrain the theory of consciousness at all. He suggests
that IIT would be on firmer ground if it adopts what he calls ‘natural kind approach’(Bayne
2018). While the verdict may still be out, it appears that the axiomatic approach and seemingly
following postulates are not secured as they seem.14
3.2
From effective information to cause-effect information: New information
and its metric
The revision of the notion of information might be one of the most significant developments
during the updates of IIT. In the early versions of the theory, information generated by a system
was defined as effective information(ei)(Tononi 2008). There were two kinds of repertoires: a
potential repertoire, which is a probability distribution of the past states when no current state
of the system is known, and an actual repertoire, which is a probability distribution of the past
states when a particular current state of the system is known. One can measure the distance
between the potential and the actual repertoires by applying Kullback-Leibler Divergence(KLD),
and such distance could be thought of a sort of relative entropy. This distance or relative entropy
directly equals to the effective information. In IIT 3.0, however, a new form of information is
introduced: cause-effect information(cei)(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014).
The cause-effect information differs from effective information in many important aspects.
First, unlike ei, cei involves the system’s past and future(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis,
and Tononi 2014). In calculating ei, potential and actual repertoires are only of the past states
of the system. In calculating cei, however, repertoires concern both the past and future states of
the system. These repertoires can be thought of as probabilistic expressions of how the current
state of the mechanism would be caused by the past states of the system and how it would cause
the future states of the system. On one hand, there are unconstrained past repertoire and cause
repertoire. The former is a probability distribution of the past states of a certain mechanism
of the system when the current state of the given mechanism is not known. It always produces
maximum entropy of past states. The latter is defined as a probability distribution of the past
states of a certain mechanism of the system when the current state of the given mechanism
is known. On the other hand, there are unconstrained future repertoire and effect repertoire.
The former is a probability distribution of the future states of a certain mechanism when the
current state of the given mechanism is perturbed in every possible way. The latter repertoire
is a probability distribution of the future states of a certain mechanism of the system when
the current state of the given mechanism is known. The current state of the given mechanism
14. We the authors gratefully thank the reviewer who recommended the recent literature. It was truly helpful
to strengthen our argument.
12
specifies cause and effect repertoires of a certain mechanism of the system. It should be noted
that unconstrained past and future repertoires and cause and effect repertoires are calculated
independently of each other. Therefore, repertoires should be calculated twice in calculating
cei; therefore, while calculating ei requires only two repertoires, four repertoires are required to
calculate cei.
Second, while ei concerns only the states of the given system itself, cei can involve the
past/future states of mechanisms other than the given mechanism(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). For ei, only the past states of the same system should be taken into
account, as potential and cause repertoires are defined as probability distributions of the past
states of the system itself and nothing else. However, in calculating cei produced by the mechanism, not only the past/future states of the mechanism itself but also those of other mechanisms
of the system can be considered. Said differently, the repertoires required to calculate cei of the
given mechanism are not restricted to the same mechanism. For example, if the whole system
is composed of elements A, B, and C with binary outputs 1 and 0, and the selected mechanism
is A, A’s current state 1 can specify the cause repertoire of the past states of any mechanism,
including B, BC, AC, ABC, or even A itself. Similarly, it can also specify the past repertoire of
the future state of any mechanism(see Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure 4). Thus,
to calculate cei generated by A in 1, one must first decide which mechanism to be paired with
A. In principle, any mechanism of the system, which could be represented as the power set of
the total elements of the system, can be paired with AB. In IIT 3.0, this idea of pairing is
introduced as purview. When A in 1 is paired with ABC and the cause repertoire is calculated,
the purview of A is represented as Ac /ABC p . If it is paired with ABC and the effect repertoire
is calculated, the purview of A is represented as AB c /ABC f (see also Oizumi, Albantakis, and
Tononi 2014, Figure 4). Once the purview is fixed, other elements outside the purview remain
unconstrained and do not affect cause and effect repertoires. However, calculating unconstrained
repertoire does not require a specific purview, because there is no difference on unconstrained
repertoires among different current purviews. By discriminating the mechanism’s purview, the
causal analysis could be extended to every mechanism of the system.
Third, whereas ei is measured by KLD, cei is measured by a different metric. As explained
above, to calculate ei, we must measure the distance between the potential and the actual
repertoires. In the earlier versions, it was KLD which was used to measure the distance. KLD
is the most intuitive index for measuring the reduction of entropy, which directly relates to the
quantity of information generated in terms of relative entropy. Since entropy and information
were regarded as symmetrical, KLD was chosen for the scale of distance during the early versions
of IIT. However, technically, KLD should not be considered as a proper metric, since it is not
symmetric, does not obey triangular inequality, and is unbounded. In addition, non-compensated
KLD measures only the reduction of uncertainty and does not account for the difference between
states, which appears to be crucial in calculating information. For these reasons, another measure
should be introduced as a new scale(see Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Supplementary
2).
Therefore, from IIT 3.0, Earth Mover’s Distance(EMD) is used to measure the distance
between repertoires. This is also known as Wasserstein distance, which is the distance function
13
defined by the minimum cost of redistributing the “dirt piles” to the location elsewhere(Oizumi,
Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). Given that distributed probabilities can be thought of as “dirt
piles”, one can think of a distance between two repertoires as the minimum cost of distributing
“dirt piles”. In IIT, there are in fact two kinds of EMD. First, a general EMD is applied in
calculating cause-effect and integrated information on the level of mechanisms. Second, an
extended EMD is used to calculate that on the level of the systems of mechanisms. Nevertheless,
in both cases, the point of using EMD remains the same. By using EMD, not only the reduction
of entropy but also the difference between states is taken into account in calculating information.
From IIT 3.0, the quantitative value of information is not represented by bit, since the unit of
the distance measured by EMD is not a bit. In sum, EMD appears to be a more appropriate
metric for IIT than KLD. Based on EMD, the distance between unconstrained past repertoire
and cause repertoires is defined as the cause information(ci). The cause information illustrates
possible causes of the mechanism’s current state when a purview of the mechanism is fixed.
Similarly, the distance between unconstrained future repertoire and effect repertoire is defined
as the effect information(ei). This implies that effect information signifies possible effects of the
mechanism’s current state when a purview of the mechanism is fixed. In sum, effect information
can be calculated from the distance between those repertoires and is quantified by EMD as same
as cause repertoire.15
Finally, there is an informational principle that should be applied to cause-effect information.
In the earlier versions of IIT, measuring the distance between repertoires was all that mattered.
The measured distance was the amount of ei of the system. In IIT 3.0, however, there is more than
just measuring the distance. As explained so far, there are two pairs of repertoires that lead to two
kinds of information: cause and effect information. Then, which information should be accounted
as the mechanism’s information? At this point, the Information Bottleneck Principle(IBP) is
introduced(Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). IBP forces one to choose the minimum of
cause and effect information. The motivation behind IBP comes from intrinsic and causal notion
of information: since information in IIT is supposed to be intrinsic to the system, the information
that can be detected only by the external observer must be excluded. Suppose if the mechanism
in a state only generates cause information, but no effect information. This implies that the
mechanism being in such a state does not make any difference to the system. In that case,
although the mechanism still belongs inside the system, it does not give any causal interaction
among the system’s other mechanisms. Hence, such cause information produced purely by the
mechanism cannot be detected from the intrinsic perspective of the system. The same holds
when the mechanism in the state produces only effect information, but no cause information.
This observation enforces IBP so that the smaller one between cause and effect information is
taken as cei.
Since the concept of information is at the heart of the theory, the transition from ei to cei
articulates the framework of IIT in a number of important aspects. By taking into account both
the past and the future, the notion of information becomes more causal; it involves causes and
15. After IIT 3.0, a large variety of distance functions, such as Hilbert-space distance and Shannon-Jensen
distance, have been newly proposed as metrics of informational difference(Tegmark 2016). It would be important
to consider the characteristics of each measure in order to broaden the explanatory power of IIT.
14
effects. The application of IBP makes it more intrinsic. Specifically, as we will see in Sections 3.33.4, when it comes to integrated information on the level of mechanisms, considering all possible
purviews of the given mechanism plays a crucial role in enforcing the exclusion postulate. This
involves the central notions of IIT 3.0, including concepts, conceptual structure, and other related
ideas.
However, the technical complexity is the other side of the theoretical articulation. As mentioned above, the computational burden is doubled, since repertoires and information must be
calculated twice. The multidimensional space for geometrical representation of concepts is also
doubled(see Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure 15). Moreover, calculating integrated
information of mechanisms becomes more computationally complicated, because it should concern possible purviews of the mechanism. To calculate integrated information of the mechanism,
MIP should be found in each possible purview(see Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure
8). In this sense, it appears to be clear that the introduction of purview worsens the combinatorial
explosion. In what follows, all these technical issues will be analyzed in further detail.
3.3
From one phi to two phis: the distinction between Φ and φ
Before IIT 3.0, there was only one kind of integrated information; all integrated information
calculated from the system was noted as Φ. Cause-effect repertoires were inferred from the
mechanism, and it was all that mattered in calculating integrated information. However, from
IIT 3.0, the distinction between the level of mechanism and that of systems of mechanisms has
been introduced. According to this distinction of levels, a distinction between kinds of integrated
information has been made(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). On the one
hand, there is integrated information generated from mechanisms, which is indicated as φ(small
phi); on the other hand, there is integrated conceptual information produced by systems of
mechanisms, which is represented as Φ(large phi). φ and Φ differ from each other both in their
concepts and calculations.
Integrated information φ succeeds the motivation “more than the sum of its parts” from older
versions of IIT and is still analyzed on mechanisms. According to IIT, if there is a difference
between the sum of the cause-effect information created by the partition of mechanism and the
cause-effect information generated by the unpartitioned mechanism, and this difference directly
refers to the information which mechanism forms as a whole entity. Any possible subset of a
mechanism which can make difference on repertoire could be a candidate for partition.16 On
the level of the mechanisms, φ can be measured by making a partition on a given purview; for
example, the purview of ABC in 100 is defined over the past mechanisms in a state. As briefly
explained in Section 2.3, among all possible partitions, MIP is selected for the calculation of
integrated cause information, φcause . The purview of ABC also can be defined over the future
mechanisms in a state. Applying the same procedure, integrated effect information, φeffect , can
be calculated. By IBP, one can have integrated information φ. In this way, φ can be calculated
16. It is interesting that one of the variable subsets at a certain time might be empty as a result of a particular
partition. Furthermore, partitioning can be thought of a method of making certain mechanisms causally inactive.
This process is called ‘virtualizing the element’ or ‘injecting noise to the mechanism’. For more detailed analysis,
see (Krohn and Ostwald 2017).
15
respectively from every single purview available on a certain mechanism(see Oizumi, Albantakis,
and Tononi 2014, Figure 8).17
However, since there can be many possible past/future purviews on a mechanism, one mechanism in a state can have a multiple possible φs. Here, one of the ontological postulates comes
in: the exclusion postulate states that, in order to contribute to experience, the mechanism must
have only one set of possible causes and effects which is maximally irreducible, while all other
sets should be excluded(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). It means that only
the cause-effect repertoire of the mechanism that provides the maximum value of φ, φmax , should
be taken. As φ is defined as the minimum of φcause and φeffect , in order to find φmax , one must
find maximally irreducible cause repertoire that yields φcause max and maximally irreducible effect
repertoire that provides φeffect max first. Then, the minimum of φcause max and φeffect max would be
φmax . The maximally irreducible cause repertoire is called core cause, the maximally irreducible
effect repertoire core effect. The pair of core cause and effect is noted as Maximally Irreducible
Cause and Effect repertoire(MICE). MICE or the mechanism which specifies MICE is called a
core concept, or just concept.18 In short, by the exclusion postulate, the highest value of φ should
be chosen among all possible φs produced by the mechanism and is defined as φmax . Here, the
mechanism that produces φmax is should be regarded as the concept.
After finding concepts, one can calculate the amount of integrated conceptual information at
the level of systems of mechanisms. Concepts can be illustrated as points in the multidimensional
space called concept space, and these points would make ‘constellations’ among the coordinate
space. In IIT 3.0, the constellation of concepts is defined as conceptual structure(Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). As each mechanism specifies its own MICE, the system of mechanisms
specifies its own conceptual structure in the concept space. From this conceptual structure,
one can calculate Conceptual Information(CI) generated by the system of mechanisms. As CI
corresponds to the cause-effect information, it is quantified in a similar way; as there must be
unconstrained past and future repertoires for calculating cause-effect information, there must
be the “null” concepts for calculating CI. “Null” concepts are the unconstrained past and future repertoires in which the state of the system of mechanism is undecided.19 By applying
17. For the details of these computational steps, see (Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014), Figure 6.
18. IIT 3.0 show a serious inconsistency in using the term concept: on one hand, ‘concept’ seems to refer MICE,
a maximally irreducible cause-effect repertoire. In (Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014), it is said: “the notion
of a concept: the maximally irreducible cause-effect repertoire of a mechanism”(p.3). On the other hand, it is
also used to indicate mechanism which specifies the MICE: “If the MICE exists, the mechanism constitutes a
concept.”(p.3), “concept(φmax ): A mechanism that specifies a maximally irreducible cause-effect repertoire(MICE
or quale “sensu stricto”)”(p.5, Table 1), and “A mechanism that specifies a maximally irreducible cause and
effect(MICE) constitutes a concept”(p.9). What is worse is that the term is described as denoting both: “Concept:
A set of elements within a system and the maximally irreducible cause-effect repertoire it specifies, with its
associated value of integrated information(φmax )”(p.5, Box 1). To avoid possible confusions, we choose the second
use. In this article, the term concept will always refer to the mechanism specifying MICE.
19. The “null” concepts are named so because they specify unconstrained past and future repertoires if considered
as mechanisms; in other words, it is the concept that specifies nothing. Although it is perceived as only a superficial
notion on designating unconstrained repertoire, however, it also can be illustrated in conceptual space along with
other concepts(see Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure 11). By this way, “null” concept refers to the
concept specifying its current purview of mechanism as an empty set.
16
the extended version of EMD, it can be quantified how much CI is produced by the system of
mechanisms.20
The calculation of integrated conceptual information Φ is also analogical to that of φ. Once
the purview of the system of mechanisms is given, MIP can be found by partitioning21 the
purview. By measuring the difference of CI between the unpartitioned and the partitioned, it
can be calculated how much the integrated conceptual information is generated by the system
of mechanisms. Again, as for φ, there can be many possible Φs as all possible unidirectional
partitions of the set of elements should be considered. Here, the exclusion postulate comes
in again; it enforces only one complex among all other overlapping systems of mechanisms to
contribute to consciousness. Thus, the one that generates the maximum of Φ should be chosen
as Φmax . Finally, the conceptual structure that gives rise to Φmax is defined as Maximally
Integrated Conceptual Structure(MICS). The system of mechanisms that produces Φmax and so
specifies MICS is defined as complex.22 In IIT 3.0, such MICS generated by the complex is
directly identified as the subjective experience.
By introducing the distinction between φ and Φ, now it is much logical to explain the generation of consciousness using integrated information in further detail. In IIT 3.0, MICE is called
quale “sensu stricto”, which means quale in the narrow sense. Since this sort of quale includes
‘redness of red’ or ‘painfulness of pain’, it can be considered to be quale in the philosophical
debates. On the other hand, MICS is called quale “sensu lato”, which means quale in a wide
20. Extended EMD differs from original EMD by its methods on calculation. The distance between cause-effect
repertoire and unconstrained cause-effect repertoire is measured by EMD, and each EMD of cause and effect
distributions are added up, then it is multiplied by φmax of the concept, which functions as the weight of each
concept. In short, extended EMD is used on the level of systems of mechanisms by multiplying φmax as each
distribution’s weight. Even if the details on the calculation vary, the fundamentals on calculating the distance,
which is redistributing the probability distribution, do not change. For further detail on applying extended EMD,
see (Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014), Supplementary 2.
21. The partitioning in the level of systems of mechanisms must be unidirectional(Oizumi, Albantakis, and
Tononi 2014). Unidirectional partitioning is done by virtualizing elements; when a mechanism is injected with
noise, information disappears, as the mechanism gets considered as external noise and loses its intrinsic causal
power. Unidirectional partitioning could be thought of as injecting noise between subsets for only to a certain
direction of the connection. Thus, partitioning the direction of connection between subsets on the system level
is analogous to virtualizing the elements on the mechanism level. For further detail on virtualizing the elements,
see also (Krohn and Ostwald 2017).
22. As a result, there comes an important change in defining the complex since IIT 3.0. In IIT 3.0, due to
the exclusion postulate, complexes cannot be nested or overlap at all. In the earlier versions, however, since the
exclusion axiom/postulate was not introduced yet, complexes could partially or wholly overlap. Meanwhile, there
can be multiple complexes in one system. IIT predicts that one system can be condensed into several complexes.
The complex that has Φmax is called major complex, and the complex which does not overlap, but has Φ smaller
than Φmax is called minor complex. Since they have their own Φmax , they are considered as an individual complex.
Minor complex can be thought of as a local maximum which implies ‘locally condensed minimal consciousness’(see
Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure 16). There should be a single major complex in general situations,
but there could be multiple major complexes according to circumstances. For example, split brain syndrome or
dissociative disorders could be explained as clinical examples of the main complex being split into two or more.
At the same time, minor complexes could be thought of as preconsciousness; the constituent of consciousness
which can contribute to the reaction of extrinsic inputs. Continuous flash suppression could also be explained
through the function of the minor complex(Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014).
17
sense(Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). As mentioned above, IIT equates experience with
MICS. As mechanisms in the complex maximally integrate cause-effect information, concepts
are generated, and we have qualia. As the complex maximally integrates CI, MICS is produced
and we have an experience. Based on the distinction and the exclusion postulate, the notions
of concepts and MICS can be defined. These central notions of IIT 3.0 enable one to explain
how experience arises from its physical substrates in a bottom-up manner. All these articulated
explanations essentially start from the distinction between φ and Φ.
However, this distinction between φ and Φ also raised several problems for IIT. First and foremost, computing Φ and the application to real systems became computationally intractable(Oizumi,
Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). Almost every aspect of calculation doubled: MIP had to be found
twice; once at the level of mechanisms and twice at the level of systems of mechanisms. Owing
to the distinction between φ and Φ, it appears that the combinatorial explosion in IIT extremely
deteriorated. In turn, such computational infeasibility rendered the empirical prospect of IIT
more pessimistic.23 At the cost of an articulated bottom-up explanation of experience, the theory
had to face serious practical problems in retaining empirical validity.
Another problem emerges from the exclusion postulate. As explained above, the exclusion
postulate enforces that only the mechanisms which give rise to φmax or the systems of mechanisms
which provide Φmax must be taken as the concept or complex. However, if there are several
different MICEs that yield exactly the same Φmax , then which repertoire or conceptual structure
should be taken? Clearly, being as biggest does not involve being as unique. Nevertheless, the
exclusion postulate says nothing about this problematic underdetermination of quale(Krohn and
Ostwald 2017). Moreover, as we have noted at the end of Section 2.1, what if exactly the same
Φmax are produced at the different spatio-temporal grains? When two equivalent Φmax s are
detected both from the level of neuronal units and from the level of cerebral lobes, the exclusion
postulate cannot tell which level should be taken as the ‘locus’ of conscious experience. At least
at the current stage of the theory, IIT does not have any theoretical resource to deal with such
issues.
3.4
From vector geometry to point geometry: the geometry of integrated
information
IIT has always assessed integrated information in a geometrical manner. Nonetheless, several
updates from IIT 1.0 to 3.0 brought a number of changes in the geometry of integrated information. Since IIT’s central notions, such as concepts and conceptual structure, are closely related
to the geometry of integrated information, a deeper analysis of why and how the geometry has
been revised would be needed.
In earlier versions of IIT, the space for representing informational structures was dubbed
qualia space, the multidimensional space which has its axes for each possible state of the sys23. One of the reviewers noted that the source of the combinatorial explosion is the combination principle. For
example, as the calculation of φ needs be performed according to the combination principle, it must be carried out
over all possible subsets of the candidate set and for each of those subsets over all possible purviews. Nevertheless,
the main constraint is, that the number of unique bipartitions rises exponentially with the cardinality of the set(see
Krohn and Ostwald 2017, Appendix).
18
tem(Tononi 2008; Balduzzi and Tononi 2008, 2009).24 The geometrical shape expressing the informational structure was called quale. The quale is constituted by q-arrows and points in qualia
space: points represent actual repertoires specified by the system in a state when a certain connection—a set of causal connections—is added. Furthermore, q-arrows represent informational
relationships between each actual repertoire specified by the added connection. Thus, the point
“at the bottom” of the quale is a potential repertoire specified by the system in a state, when no
connection is added (the “null set”). On the other hand, the point “at the top” of the quale is
the actual repertoire, when all connections are added (the “full set”). By adding each connection
from the potential repertoire, it is possible to analyze how much ei does the system gains by each
connection. This can provide detail about which connection informationally contributes to the
quale. All points connected by all q-arrows illustrate a geometrical figure like a “polytope”(see
Balduzzi and Tononi 2009, Figure 3).
The major point of the geometry of the earlier versions of IIT is that q-arrows are represented
as vectors. Interpreting q-arrows as vectors, one can find many properties of the informational
relationships constituting the quale: the length of the q-arrow represents how much ei is generated
by adding a connection. For instance, the length of the q-arrow connecting “the bottom” and “the
top” of the quale represents ei of the system in a state. In addition, the direction of the q-arrow
expresses the particular way how adding a connection sharpens repertoires. One of the most
interesting properties of q-arrows, however, would be entanglement(γ): when a q-arrow cannot
be decomposed into an exact vector sum of its sub-q-arrow, then it is considered as tangled.
When the q-arrow is tangled, it means that there is integrated information gained by adding up
the corresponding connection. The way how the q-arrow is tangled can be measured by vector
calculation. The difference between the length of the q-arrow and that of the vector sum of its
sub-q-arrows is quantified by γ. In this sense, entanglement represents how much information a
q-arrow generates above and beyond its components. In an earlier version of IIT, the q-arrow
with γ>0 was defined as a concept. Moreover, complexes could be defined by comparing γ of each
concept; a concept with relatively high γ was called as a mode. Before IIT 3.0, these articulated
analyses were available from the vector analysis of q-arrows(Tononi 2008; Balduzzi and Tononi
2008, 2009).
However, in IIT 3.0, such vector analysis is no longer available(Tononi 2012; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014). As explained in Section 3.3, the concept cannot be defined as an
entangled q-arrow. Rather, it is defined as MICE plotted as a point in the concept space. Instead of the null set, the current version posits the “null concept”, which is the unconstrained
repertoire specified by the system of mechanisms when no mechanism of the system is given.
As explained in Section 3.3, one can calculate how much CI is generated by the mechanism by
applying extended EMD. Thus, in concept space, the distance between two concepts does not
capture how much ei is generated by adding a connection to the system in a state. Rather, it
captures how much CI is generated by adding a mechanism to the system of mechanisms. Due to
these differences, adding connections, specifying informational relationships between repertoires,
and analyzing q-arrows cannot be found in the current version of concept space. In sum, all
24. For example, when n is the total number of the system’s elements and each element can have only two
possible outputs, dimension of 2n is required to constitute the qualia space which represents the system.
19
analyses and notions grounded by vector calculus of q-arrows are not available in IIT 3.0. Prima
facie, the geometry of integrated information appears to be simplified.
The transition from effective information to cause-effect information also affects the geometry
of IIT. The transition in the notion of information doubles the concepts and space. Since the
theory was based on ei, there were only the past repertoires. Therefore, just one space was
required to represent concepts. In IIT 3.0, however, space must represent both the past and
future states, because the theory is built on the notion of cei. As a result, there must be two
repertoires that give φmax : core causes and effects. Since the concepts cover not only the past but
also the future repertories, the space where the concepts are represented, and the geometrical
structures made from concepts are also doubled. In other words, the multidimensional space
and MICS must cover both of the past and future. As the definition of information changes,
almost everything in the geometry of IIT appears to be doubled: points, space, and geometrical
structures. In this sense, the geometry of IIT seems to be rather complicated.
In a nutshell, the evolution of the geometry of integrated information has two sides. On
one hand, it has been simplified in that all the articulated vector analyses for q-arrows are not
used anymore. On the other hand, however, it has been complicated in that every aspect of
the geometrical approach should be counted twice. We believe that these double aspects of the
geometry of IIT are consequences of transitions to other central notions of the theory.
4
Theoretical Issues in IIT
Despite its scientifically interesting prospects, IIT also faces several theoretical problems. These
problems concern IIT’s principles, core concepts, and their possible consequences. Despite a few
exceptions, many recent literatures are almost focused on particular technical issues(Kitazono,
Kanai, and Oizumi 2018; Hidaka and Oizumi 2018).25 This focus is fully understandable, since,
without overcoming various technical barriers, there would be hardly empirical advances for IIT.
However, theoretical problems deserve more attention, as it is theoretical considerations that
enable us to judge whether or not the theory is worth pursuing in the first place. Despite such
importance, theoretical issues have been largely overlooked in IIT debates, and relatively fewer
studies have addressed this topic. Therefore, such theoretical problems IIT require a closer
analysis. Of note, while there might be many issues concerning IIT’s theoretical aspects, in the
present paper, we focus on three major problems that appear to raise serious questions about
the plausibility of the theory.
4.1
Sophisticated panpsychism: Unjustified scientific authority
The first issue is that IIT embraces a form of panpsychism. Panpsychism has traditionally
been ignored as full-fledged mysticism. The view that extremely simple organisms and even
seemingly non-living things have ‘a small piece of mind’ sounds counterintuitive enough. IIT,
however, admits a variety of examples that could support a sophisticated sort of panpsychism. A
25. Rare exceptions are (Bayne 2018) and (Krohn and Ostwald 2017). The former provides critical assessments
of the axiomatic approach of IIT 3.0. The latter illustrates the important and disturbing conceptual issue of
“magic cuts” which can violate IIT’s fundament intuition: “the whole is more than the sum of its parts”.
20
representative case is that of photodiodes(Tononi 2008; Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014).
According to IIT, a photodiode, which is designed to react to various external stimulations only
by lighting on and off, is “minimally conscious.” It means that the photodiode has a minimal
level of consciousness and a certain quality of experience as well. Nonetheless, the photodiode
might be the last one we ascribe experience to. It is difficult to believe that such a simple micromechanism could have a certain kind of consciousness. There is another example which appears
to be the opposite of the photodiode case. Aaronson(Aaronson 2014b) has clearly shown that, if
IIT is right, a lattice constituted by just connecting one kind of simple logic gates over and over
could have a high value of Φ. According to Aaronson’s description(Aaronson 2014b), XOR gates
arranged in a 2D square grid would be conscious. Much incredible result is that such increasing
of Φ is proportional to the length and breadth of the grid.26 Therefore, by a simple recursive
procedure of connecting more XOR gates, there could always be a huge physical lattice which
is more conscious than a normal human being! Though this is truly unbelievable, IIT clearly
allows these examples.
If the photodiode refers to the micro-case of panpsychism, the lattice could be its macro-case.
The problem is that those simple and non-organic things’ being conscious is so counterintuitive
that it would rather be easier to take it as counterexample than as evidence. If IIT predicts that
those simple systems which are apparently unconscious could be conscious, at least for many,
such prediction itself would be enough to present reductio ad absurdum against IIT. Hence, the
charge of panpsychism should be taken seriously in deciding whether or not IIT is theoretically
plausible. If it is certain that no simple object such as a photodiode or a XOR grid is conscious
and therefore panpsychism is wrong, IIT must be wrong too.
What makes this issue more problematic is that the founder of IIT is seemingly undaunted by
those critiques above. IIT does not just allow diverse panpsychistic cases. It actually argues for
it, by demonstrating those counterintuitive cases in a detailed manner. Tononi’s reply(Tononi
2014) shows his confidence that all those counterintuitive cases are actually the evidence for IIT.
Tononi emphasizes that when science and popular intuitions or common-sense conflict with each
other, it is always science that takes priority(Tononi 2014). According to Tononi, this is the
primary reason why we should count those hard-to-swallow examples as evidence(Tononi 2014).
The history of science is full of reversions of commonsense by innovative scientific discoveries.
Since IIT is a scientific theory, the fact that IIT produces several counterintuitive predictions
cannot be a strong reason to reject it. Rather, in Tononi’s view(Tononi 2014), it is our widely
entrenched intuition that must be corrected. Said differently, IIT might be on the edge of
“scientific revolution,” and Tononi might be, following Aaronson’s witty phrase(Aaronson 2014a),
“the Copernicus-of-consciousness.”
Nonetheless, Tononi’s reply(Tononi 2014) could be objected in several ways. First, it is not
obvious at all that IIT is really able to claim its priority over commonsense or intuition. Even
if it is true that science tends to override culturally and historically widespread intuitions, the
question remains whether IIT has any right to do so. Technically, not all hypotheses of science
26. To be fair, Aaronson’s calculation was based on IIT 2.0 so that it cannot be directly applied to the current
version. Unlike IIT 2.0, IIT 3.0 does not require procedure of normalization. Thanks for the reviewer who
reminded this point.
21
can have the right to correct popular intuitions. In Kuhnian terms, only the so-called “normal
science,” which has successfully secured, well-established methodologies, exemplars, problemsolving procedures, basic beliefs and values shared by members of the scientist society, can argue
for its right over commonsense and intuition(Kuhn 1962). However, it seems undeniably clear
that, in the current stage, IIT cannot be such normal science of consciousness. For now, it is
nothing more than an interesting working hypothesis that should wait for rigorous examination
from the current scientist society. Moreover, as repeatedly pointed out in Section 3, IIT suffers
from a number of technical issues preventing empirical experiments and practical applications.
No direct evidence has been obtained by empirical studies conducted on real physical systems.
Despite the growing body of empirical studies resting on the IIT framework, no IIT theorist has
been able to apply the pure IIT 3.0 to neural data such as brain signals.
Given its present status in the field, IIT appears to be unfit to serve as a hypothesis of
normal science. Rather, IIT is more likely to be something in between “pre-science” and normal
science, which might be one possible candidate of “paradigm shift” in the field of consciousness
studies. Then, IIT’s panpsychistic predictions cannot be prior to our general intuitions about
consciousness. A heavy burden of proof is still on the side of IIT, and our anti-panpsychistic
intuition should be taken as default. Aaronson’s comment(Aaronson 2014a) reveals this situation:
“The anti-common-sense view gets all its force by pretending that we’re in a relatively late stage
of research—namely, the stage of taking an agreed-upon scientific definition of consciousness,
and applying it to test our intuitions—rather than in an extremely early stage, of agreeing on
what the word “consciousness” is even supposed to mean(italics added)”.
The problematic implication of sophisticated panpsychism does not lie only in the conflict
with the strong intuitions, which is external to IIT. It also lies in the logical development of the
structure of the theory, which is internal to IIT. It is the most original and unique feature of IIT
that the theory starts from a number of phenomenological axioms. Yet, the problem is that the
axioms are taken for granted in IIT. They are assumed to be self-evident. However, taking something for granted or assuming it to be self-evident is just another way of accepting it as intuitive.
In this sense, it is IIT itself that strongly depends on a set of intuitions. IIT is fundamentally
grounded on several phenomenological intuitions.27 Hence, if IIT allows panpsychistic cases and
27. To this matter of grounding IIT, one reviewer has raised an interesting point. The reviewer predicted that
“defendants of IIT would argue that the set of axioms is qualitatively different from anti-panpsychist intuitions in
that they are not only self-evident but also directly accessible from a first-person perspective”. While this might
be true, this reply seems to raise another issue about the direct accessibility of consciousness and its fundament
properties, on which phenomenological axioms are about. This ‘direct accessibility from the first-person point of
view’ has usually been discussed under the title of introspection. In order to claim that introspection lends further
support to the phenomenological axioms, one must first prove that such introspection is significantly reliable
enough to have some evidential force. However, it is controversial if introspection is significantly reliable; rather,
a growing number of empirical studies suggest that introspection is not a reliable source of evidence. Once this
point is taken, the alleged qualitative difference between anti-panpsychistic intuition supporting common sense
and phenomenological axioms grounding IIT becomes doubtable. Though the reliability of introspection deserves
deeper analysis, in the current context, raising doubt against introspection is enough to elaborate our argument
by blurring the difference between anti-panpsychistic and phenomenological intuition. For a thorough critical
assessment of the reliability of introspection, see (Schwitzgebel 2008) and (Schwitzgebel 2013). Smithies and
Stoljar also present ample philosophical arguments for or against the special nature of introspection(Smithies and
Stoljar 2012).
22
denies opposing intuitions, a charge of double standards could be raised. On one hand, IIT
strongly holds some intuitions by calling them “phenomenological axioms”. On the other hand,
it easily dismisses other intuitions by treating them unscientific commonsense. Nonetheless, how
can IIT justify this selective adoption of intuitions? Why does it adopt one group of intuitions
but reject another? If axioms of IIT are considered as a significant type of phenomenological
intuition concerning what consciousness is, anti-panpsychistic intuitions should also be taken
to be equally important phenomenological insights about what consciousness is not. At least
in the current version of IIT, we cannot find any principled reason to take axioms for granted
and to reject other intuitions about consciousness. Once IIT wants to deny anti-panpsychistic
intuitions as prejudices of scientifically unenlightened laymen, it should do the same thing with
its own underlying intuitions. However, what such denial of its own axioms really amounts to is
just a self-refutation. Therefore, without providing further reason to take its axioms and ignore
anti-panpsychistic intuitions, IIT cannot be free of its charge of double standards of contrasting
intuitions.
To sum up, sophisticated panpsychism implied by IIT threatens IIT itself in two ways. First,
considering IIT’s premature status, the panpsychistic charge gives a very good reason to defy
IIT. As long as no strong evidence is provided, panpsychism alone could suffice not to believe
IIT. In addition, it raises the charge of double standards to seemingly equivalently respectable
intuitions. Being fundamentally founded by “phenomenological axioms”, it is difficult for IIT to
dismiss opposing intuitions.
4.2
Fading and dancing qualia: Radical dissociation between experience and
cognition
The second issue with IIT is that as Cerullo has pointed out(Cerullo 2015), IIT faces the fading
and dancing qualia arguments.28 Fading and dancing qualia are basically thought experiments
designed by David Chalmers(Chalmers 1972). As suggested by their names, fading qualia describe an imaginable situation where qualia become more and more eroded. Dancing qualia show
another scenario that the whole qualia are replaced by totally different qualia. Their purpose is
to show that, in our natural world, any attempt to detach experience from the functional organization of a system would face extremely counterintuitive consequences. Despite the richness of
detail, in the context of IIT, the relevant point is simple: IIT appears to entail anti-functionalism
or anti-computationalism so that it commits to a possibility which fading and dancing qualia
rule out.
Fading qualia start with the assumption of the physical system and its functional organization
in our world. Since functional organization is a matter of abstraction, it must be fixed how far
the organization should be grained. In fading qualia, functional organizations are supposed to be
sufficiently fine-grained to fix physical systems’ behavioral capacities. Following this assumption,
if two physical systems share their functional organization, all their behaviors must be identical.
Another assumption is multiple realizations without experience. It is assumed that there are
28. Although Cerullo highlights the point(Cerullo 2015), he does not provide a specific description or analysis
in his work. By contrast, Shanahan provides a more clear and comprehensive analysis(Shanahan 2015). Both of
them concerns upon the problem of fading and dancing qualia anyhow.
23
multiple kinds of materials in implementing one organization, but only some of them support
the phenomenal qualities of experience accompanied by the organization, while others do not.
Now let us imagine that the functional organization of Mary’s brain is realized by neurons.
Then, Mary sees a ripe tomato and feels a visually red feeling. In her brain, maybe somewhere
in her visual cortex, there is a neural correlate of that red quale. However, something strange
happens. The neurons composing her neural correlate of phenomenal redness are now substituted
by silicon chips one by one. Given multiple realizations, this replacement must be possible. The
crucial point is that, although those chips are perfect functional equivalents of Mary’s neurons,
they do not support any quale at all. A natural consequence is that her vividly red experience
becomes murkier, and eventually disappears. The problem is that Mary’s functional organization
never undergoes any change, despite the gradual qualitative change of her experience. She would
still manifest exactly the same bodily and verbal behaviors as before. Moreover, considering that
her brain function is perfectly the same, it is reasonable to think that her cognitive states are also
the same as before. If cognitive states of Mary, such as her judgments or beliefs about experience,
do not remain intact and change following the eroding visual experience, such cognitive states
would radically come apart from the functional organization of Mary’ brain. Nothing in the
functional organization would correspond to the change of cognitive states. Chalmers argues
that this kind of dissociation is highly unlikely, by saying “If such a major change in cognitive
contents were not mirrored in a change in functional organization, cognition would float free of
internal functioning like a disembodied Cartesian mind ”(Chalmers 1972, p.258). This is why he
claims that “There is simply no room in the system for any new beliefs to be formed”, “[u]nless
one is a dualist of a very strong variety”(Chalmers 1972, p.258). As free-floating, disembodied
cognitive states are deeply problematic and counterintuitive, it is safe to assume that cognitive
states do not suffer any change.29 As a result, Mary neither notices nor is aware of anything. This
is fading qualia in a nutshell. It seems highly unlikely that such situation could really occur in
our world. What is worse is that Mary is perfectly rational and functional in every other aspect,
except for her beliefs about her visual experience. She is not pathological or deeply confused.
Nevertheless, she suffers somewhat systematic errors concerning her experience. Whenever a
substitution occurs, she forms a wrong belief that she is still seeing the red tomato. Clearly, this
systematic error of rational subject is hardly acceptable in our natural world.
Dancing qualia is another version of fading qualia. In fading qualia, the phenomenal aspect
of the experience gets gradually eroded and ends up to none. In dancing qualia, however, the
phenomenal aspect does not totally vanish. Instead, it keeps changing itself. Mary does not
suffer the gradual neuron-silicon replacement. Nonetheless, she has a certain neuroprosthetic
device, which functions identically to her natural neural correlates of the reddish quale. This
time, despite its function, the device does not support the reddish quale. Suppose that it grounds
a blue quale instead. And there is a switch that alters Mary’s neural correlate to the device.
Then, what would happen if someone turns the switch on? Ex hypothesi, Mary’s visual experience
will suddenly become blue-like. If the switch turns off, the opposite would happen. Hence, as
someone turns the switch on and off, Mary’s visual quale will dance back and forth! The trouble
29. One of the reviewers advised that there should be more rationales to claim that cognitive states are fixed
under the gradual replacement. For more on the debate, see (Chalmers 1972), p.247-274.
24
is that Mary would not be able to notice any change in her visual field. Since the device is
the perfect functional duplicate of Mary’s neural correlates, the functional organization of her
brain remains exactly the same. As in fading qualia, Mary’s cognitive states would be intact,
regardless of the change of the phenomenal aspect of her visual experience. If so, Mary would
neither notice nor be aware of any change, even if visual qualia are dancing “in front of her eye”!
For the same reason as in fading qualia, it appears that this consequence must be rejected.
The relevant point in the context of IIT is that IIT essentially allows these implausible cases.
Fading and dancing qualia are possible only on the assumption that there could be functionally
identical, but phenomenally different systems. In the IIT framework, neurons and silicon chips,
neural correlates and the neuroprosthetic device could be such systems. The only way to detour
the unwelcomed consequences appears to be denying the possibility of the functionally identical,
but phenomenally different systems. IIT, however, does not and even cannot deny that possibility. According to IIT 3.0, even if two physical systems perfectly share their functions, they can be
different in Φmax they produce. Considering that maximally integrated conceptual information
is experience in IIT, the claim that function and Φmax can come apart implies anti-functionalism
or anti-computationalism about consciousness. There could be zombie systems which perform
exactly the same as conscious systems but do not have any experience at all. This is not just a
speculation; indeed, Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi design such a zombie system and demonstrate how it works(see Oizumi, Albantakis, and Tononi 2014, Figure 21). If a zombie system
is possible, there is no reason not to believe silicon chips in fading qualia or neuroprosthetics in
dancing qualia. Then, IIT should accept those unacceptable consequences anyway.
It is IIT’s anti-functionalism that opens the door to fading and dancing qualia. In front of
the implausible results of fading and dancing qualia, there are only two logical ways for IIT to
reply: to dodge the bullet or to bite it. Nonetheless, none of the two appears to be available
without significant revisions of the theory. On one hand, if IIT wants to dodge the bullet, it
must show how Mary could notice the change in her visual experience, even if her brain functions
remain exactly the same. It is highly likely that, if there is no difference in the brain functions,
the same will apply to information processing. In IIT as a paradigm of cognitive science and
artificial intelligence, it is widely accepted that, in order to notice or be aware of something,
there should be corresponding activities of information processing. However, by the assumption
of functional identity, Mary cannot have any new information processing corresponding to the
change of quale. Then, how can Mary notice or be aware of the experiential change? On the other
hand, if IIT tries to bite the bullet, all the debates concerning the charge of double standards
resurface again. IIT cannot merely say “Though being counterintuitive, it’s true nonetheless”.
IIT is scientifically so premature that it is not in a position to simply override strong intuitions
in the name of science. Furthermore, since IIT itself takes some intuitions as primitive, it cannot
easily dismiss other intuition as ungrounded. In one way or another, it seems difficult for IIT to
defy the intuition that the radical dissociation between cognition and experience is impossible.
In one way or another, IIT can neither dodge, nor bite the bullet of fading and dancing qualia.
All in all, IIT cannot deal with fading and dancing qualia. Holding anti-functionalism about
consciousness, IIT does not have theoretical resources to explain how the system which functionally remains identical could notice its phenomenal changes. On the other hand, accepting the
25
possibility of unnoticeable phenomenal change is extremely counterintuitive to that, if IIT allows
such notion, many would reject IIT. As in the panpsychism debate, due to its dependence on
intuitions, IIT cannot merely dismiss the intuition that a rational and functioning system must
be able to be aware of its own experiential changes. Anyway, IIT faces serious troubles.
4.3
The paradox of certainty: Loss of certainty undercuts existence
In Section 4.2, we argued that, although the empirical possibility of radical experience-cognition
dissociation causes a serious counterintuitive consequence, IIT cannot dodge this consequence.
In this section, we attempt to show that such radical experience-cognition dissociation causes
another problem: the loss of certainty about consciousness. We believe that this loss of certainty
can undercut the very foundation of IIT: the existence of consciousness.
We, or at least many of us, appear to be certain about our consciousness. Our own consciousness might be the only thing we can be certain about. However, the argument from fading
and dancing qualia shows that our phenomenal beliefs or judgments can be detached from our
consciousness even when we are fully alert and attended. If this is the case, we ourselves might
be suffering fading and dancing qualia as well. That is, we might be like Mary who cannot be
aware of the absence of her own visual consciousness. If so, even if we strongly believe or take for
granted that we are conscious here and now, it is possible that we are not. As Descartes doubted,
an omnipotent demon might manipulate our perceptual experience to make us believe the existence of the external world, even if there is no such world. Similarly, something might control our
cognitive system to make us believe the existence of our experience, even if there is no such thing
as experience at all. Then, how can we be so sure about that we are conscious here and now?
In other words, is there any guarantee that we are not deluded zombies who think that they are
conscious if experience and cognition about the experience can come radically apart? It is clear
that the radical experience-cognition dissociation deprives us of the certainty of consciousness.
And if IIT allows the dissociation, it cannot secure the certainty of consciousness.
Some might deny the certainty of consciousness. Although the certainty of our own experience appears to be the last thing we can deny, whether or not we are really certain about our
experience is surely debatable. Nevertheless, it appears that IIT cannot easily deny the certainty
of consciousness, because the theory appears to be grounded in it: the first phenomenological
axiom states that consciousness exists. Furthermore, this existence of conscious experience is
supposed to be certain. Indeed, it is clearly argued that consciousness is certain when Tononi
paraphrases(Tononi 2012, p.296) Descartes’ cogito ergo sum: “I experience therefore I am”. The
very starting point of IIT, the existence axiom, necessarily requires the certainty of consciousness. If we are not certain about our own consciousness, why should we struggle for a scientific
theory of consciousness?
Therefore, the possibility of the radical experience-cognition dissociation provides a somewhat delightful and disturbing paradox against IIT: If IIT is true, radical experience-cognition
dissociation is actually possible. If so, we cannot be certain about our own consciousness. If
we cannot be certain about our own consciousness, IIT cannot get off the ground. Therefore, if
IIT is true, there is no reason to suppose that it is true. We call this argument the paradox of
certainty. IIT appears to simultaneously require and reject the certainty of consciousness.
26
It seems that the only possible reply from IIT would be denying the empirical possibility
of the radical experience-cognition dissociation. However, as we have seen in Section 4.2, the
problem is that, at least in the current version of the theory, it is difficult to find any rationale for
such denial. Considering the fact that IIT actually argues for the functional zombie system, it
is doubtable that IIT can deny such possibility. In fact, we cannot find any consideration about
how experience affects beliefs or judgments, and vice versa in IIT. While IIT appears to have
a great deal with how experience is generated from its physical substrate, it does not provide
much insight into how the subject can be aware of that generated experience. Said differently,
IIT is blind to the question of how we can secure self-knowledge or metacognition about our own
experience. This is the topic of the last section of this paper.
4.4
Metacognitive accessibility: Missing link in IIT
What is the main source of the theoretical problems mentioned thus far? We think the culprit
here is disregarding cognitive aspect of consciousness.30 In IIT, the explanation of how the
experience could be cognitively accessed by a subject is totally absent. IIT never takes account of
metacognition in explaining consciousness, and we believe that it is this neglect of metacognition
that generates all theoretical problems IIT faces.
Due to its ignorance of metacognition of consciousness, IIT can ascribe consciousness to
simple systems lacking metacognitive mechanisms, such as photodiodes or logic grids. Though
photodiodes and logic grids produce integrated information, it is highly unlikely that these simple
physical systems are equipped with metacognitive mechanisms. Given that they lack metacognition, those systems do not, and even cannot, have cognitive access to integrated information
of their own. There is no photodiodes and logic grids’ metacognition of their integrated information. Under the IIT framework, this metacognitive inaccessibility implies that photodiodes
and logic grids cannot know or be aware of their own consciousness. While they are conscious,
they cannot know that they are conscious! However, this lack of metacognition and its strange
consequence do not prevent IIT to ascribe consciousness to simple systems, as it does not concern
metacognitive access to consciousness at all.
Furthermore, since IIT appears to neglect how metacognition and experience could be associated, it allows the radical dissociation between metacognition and experience, which is shown by
fading and dancing qualia and ultimately results in the paradox of certainty. In fading and dancing qualia, unlike in the panpsychistic cases, the system has metacognitive access to integrated
information it produces. That is, Mary has a metacognitive belief about her visual experience.
The problem is that her metacognitive access systematically produces wrong beliefs about her
own experience. In fading qualia, Mary is usually right about what she sees. However, as soon
as the process of neuron-to-silicon replacement begins, Mary starts to have wrong beliefs about
what she sees. In dancing qualia, whenever the switch turns on, Mary becomes wrong about
her visual experience. In both cases, Mary’s being wrong is very systematic in that it strongly
correlates with the replacement. Mary’s systematically being wrong indicates that her metacognitive access to her visual experience systemically results in wrong beliefs. However, since there
30. Cerullo makes a similar point(Cerullo 2015). After distinguishing incognitive and cognitive consciousness,
he argues that IIT only deals with incognitive one, which is tantamount to consciousness without subject.
27
is no consideration about how the system metacognitively accesses its own experience in IIT, it
cannot help but allow the absurdities of fading and dancing qualia. In addition, once the radical
experience-cognition dissociation is admitted as possible, there appears to be no way to eschew
the paradox of certainty.
Given the tight relationship between experience and cognitive access, IIT’s neglect of metacognition is somewhat surprising. Phenomenologically, there appears to be a close, even constitutive
relation between metacognition and experience. Despite philosophical debates surrounding the
distinction between phenomenal vs. access consciousness(Block 1995, 2007), we believe that there
could be experience without actual metacognitive access. Nevertheless, this does not mean that
there could be an experience that cannot be metacognitively accessible. It sounds absurd and
even unintelligible that a conscious experience is absolutely out of our range of metacognition.
Such experience must be a conscious experience we cannot be conscious of, which is unconscious
by its nature. Hence, it appears that metacognitive accessibility, not actual metacognitive access,
is necessarily involved in having consciousness. That is, metacognitive accessibility is a necessary
condition for something to be a conscious experience.31
Therefore, we argue that any scientific theory of consciousness must take account of the
metacognitive accessibility of consciousness. However, no matter which version it may take, IIT
does not seem to consider why and how metacognitive accessibility must be taken into account
when it comes to explaining conscious experience. Accordingly, we strongly suggest that the
first step to deal with the theoretical problems mentioned so far is introducing metacognitive
accessibility in the IIT framework. Phenomenological axioms, ontological postulates, and mathematical models of IIT should be revised in order to reflect the necessary connection between
metacognitive accessibility and consciousness. Once we can successfully assimilate metacognition
into IIT, we could have a better version of the theory, which would deserve to be called ‘IIT 4.0.’
5
Conclusion
IIT has been a center of the debate surrounding the science of consciousness. Many of those
who are engaged in the field displayed interest in the theory, and some raised serious doubts and
criticisms. It is worth to assess what IIT is about and why it is controversial. In this paper, we
have critically examined the theoretical evolution and related issues of IIT. We have introduced
basic concepts, which might be considered as the core of IIT. Both IIT’s explanatory power and
limits appear to be already embedded in its core concepts. We have also described how the
31. For a similar point, see Chalmers(Chalmers 1997) who argues against Block(Block 1995) that, even when
there is phenomenal consciousness(P-con) without access consciousness(A-con), it does not mean that there is not
accessible consciousness. According to Chalmers, once A-con is defined in terms of availability for global control,
P-con always goes along with A-con(Chalmers 1997). Since global availability requires only accessibility, the
original notion of A-con should be modified from access consciousness to accessible consciousness. Our suggestion
here could be taken as claiming that, if an experience is phenomenally conscious, it must be accessibly conscious.
It is worth noting that this transition from access to accessibility is what distinguishes Chalmers(Chalmers 1997)
and us from those who follow Higher Order Theory of consciousness(HOT)(Rosenthal 1986, 2005). In HOT, for a
mental state to be conscious, it must be actually accessed by a higher order state. Our suggestion, however, does
not demand actual higher order, metacognitive access. All that required is that the state must be metacognitively
accessible. No actual higher order state needs to be there.
28
theory has been updated throughout the last decade. In some aspects, those major transitions
can be thought as a progress. However, in other aspects, some of the issues were worsened,
and even new problems emerged. Specifically, the principled part of the framework of IIT, its
phenomenological axioms, and ontological postulates raise serious questions about the scientific
status of the theory, the possibility of radical dissociation between experience and cognition, and
the logical structure of the theory. We have suggested that focusing on our ability to access our
own experience through metacognition might be one way to deal with these theoretical issues.
The cognitive relationship between metacognition and consciousness might push IIT one step
forward in becoming the science of consciousness.
Author Contribution
HP wrote Section 2 and 3; KM wrote Section 1, 4 and 5; All authors reviewed the manuscript;
HP documented the manuscript in LATEX.
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378
Pitkänen, M., My Impressions of TSC 2015
Conference Report
My Impressions of TSC 2015
Matti Pitkänen 1
Abstract
Towards a Science of Consciousness 2015 (TSC 2015) was held in Helsinki in June 8-13, 2015. In
this article, I describe my impression about the conference. The coverage is limited by my interest
and scope of attendance since the number of representations was so large that it was only possible to
listen only small fraction of representations.
1
Introduction
Toward a Science of Consciousness 2015 (TSC 2015) http://www.helsinki.fi/tsc2015/ was held in
Helsinki during last week (June 8-13.) Thanks are to my supporter for the possibility to participate. The
first TSC was held 1994 so that this was the 21st conference. The conference was wonderfully organized,
the content covered practically everything consciousness related, and lectures and talks were enjoyable.
I have participated very few conferences during last decades after being forced to leave the university so
that it was really inspiring experience to listen what others have to say instead of only reading or writing.
Better vacation I cannot imagine.
I have also the luck of having people who appreciate my work and did their best to help me to cope
in conference environment, which after almost four decades of life as an academic out-of-law induces
deep fears that some-one might get the idea of ridiculing the old man. This even at this age when this
kind of things should not matter anymore. The Pavlovian conditionings created by the local academic
environment are really difficult to change and a long lasting therapy would be needed to overcome the
avoidance behaviors, which were the best strategy to minimize suffering earlier but are not appropriate
anymore. Maybe therapy could be same as applied to phobias: first I would imagine approaching a
professor and saying something like Hello, how are you. Do you have time? I would like to ask some
questions. Eventually would come the moment when I approach in the presence of supporting person a
real and living professor and represent the same question. Well, now the old man is day-dreaming...;-)
As a matter fact, the conference environment was extremely pleasant. People were friendly and I did
not see any trace of the arrogant behaviors that I recall so well from some physics meetings in Finland.
I hasten to admit that the only manner that allows me to learn anything about lectures is to relate
that what has been said to TGD. Basic questions are simple. Does this idea have a counterpart in TGD?
How it would be realized in TGD framework? Usually this strategy is very fruitful and leads to progress in
TGD. I hope that the reader can tolerate the impolite intrusions of TGD into the following considerations.
2
East and West - will they ever meet?
The topics of conference covered a lot of topics. Monday was devoted to the East-West division and made
clear the basic problems of consciousness science. Eastern and western views could be oversimplified
into two mirror image ontologies: western materialism/physicalism accepting only matter dominates in
neuroscience and eastern idealism accepting only consciousness dominates in spiritual circles.
The explanation and also prediction of qualia as function of physical state is the killer challenge of
materialism - this is the the hard problem discussed by Chalmers in his book. Eastern monism is plagued
by the mirror image of this problem.
1 Correspondence: Matti Pitkänen http://tgdtheory.com/. Address: Karkinkatu 3 I 3, 03600, Karkkila, Finland. Email:
matpitka6@gmail.com.
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This is of course an over-simplification: dualistic attempts to get over this problem appear at both
sides. Dualism however tends to reduce to materialism/physicalism if one demands consistency with
physics as demonstrated by Chalmers, who has given up hopes about dualism and proposed his own
quantum theory of consciousness in the conference - see comments below.
There were several parallel sessions and one had to make painful choice between what to take and
what to leave.
Hagelin had an excellent and entertaining lecture about his consciousness as unified field approach.
1. The approach of Hagelin is monistic and tries to combine modern quantum field theoretic approach
with the Eastern view. Consciousness is identified as unified field. The criticisms are obvious. First,
reverse hard problem should be solved. Furthermore, consciousness is about something: quantum
field or quantum states are not. This aboutness property leads in the interactive dualistic to
materialism if 1-1 correspondence realizes it, and consciousness to matter rather than being about
matter (and also mind!). Hagelin did not say anything about quantum measurement problem and
how observers emerge. Evil physicalist would say that this kind of approach serves as a mantra:
consciousness is unified field is a statement without real contents and just for this reason its repetition
leads to empty mind and to meditative states just like producing Om sound.
2. Hagelin identifies unified field in terms of a particular super symmetric Grand Unified Theory
(GUT) that he studied as he was particle physicist in CERN. To my humble opinion, the age of
GUTs has been over long time ago. The main problem is the difficulty with fine tuning to get the
lifetime of proton long enough and also the fine tunings in order to get mass scales correctly. N = 1
supersymmetry was hoped to solve the problems but it is already now clear that it is not able to do
this. The hope was that super string theory could give some GUT at low energy limit but now also
super string theories continue to live only in grant applications, and super string conference talks
rarely mentions superstrings.
In TGD framework one cannot exclude a surprising solution to the problem. The masses of sparticles
should not differ much from those of particles since right-handed neutrinos is responsible for least
broken supersymmetry and has no weak or color interactions. Could one think that sparticles are
dark matter in TGD sense - that is have non-standard value of Planck constant - and are therefore
difficult to observe?
3. Hagelin mentioned also the newest fashion in theoretical physics: wormholes connecting distant
blackholes identified as representations of quantum entanglement. It is also said that space-time
emerges from entanglement. The basic objection is that wormholes in GRT are not stable. Personally I see blackholes and corresponding wormholes represent the failure of general relativity as a
theory of gravitation. Super string theorists however continue to believe that blackholes and wormholes are real - what else they could do since this belief defines the long length scale limit of super
string theory. Holography is essential part of this picture too. The picture involving wormholes as
counterparts of entanglement is actually GRT based variant of much older vision of TGD.
4. TGD view is that in order to overcome the problems of GRT one must replace space-times with a 4surfaces in M 4 × CP2 determined uniquely by both physical and twistorial considerations [29]. The
GRT space-time emerges from the many-sheeted space-time of TGD as approximate description by
lumping the different sheets to single sheeted region with gravitational and gauge fields represented
as sums of those associated with different sheets [30].
In TGD blackholes are replaced with regions of space-time surface with Euclidian signature of
induced metric and wormholes with magnetic flux tubes - stable if they carry monopole magnetic
flux serve as space-time correlates for entanglement. Euclidian regions are TGD counterparts for
the lines of Feynman diagrams [29]. During last years it has become clear that magnetic flux tubes
are accompanied by fermionic string world sheets in 4-D space-time, which itself is surface in 8-D
imbedding space [33].
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In TGD context holography is very much like the ordinary one and realized in terms of partonic 2surfaces and string world sheets. Zero energy ontology (ZEO in the sequel) and quantum criticality
predicting a hierarchy of effective Planck constants interpreted in terms of a dark matter hierarchy
[14, 38, 39] is an essential part of picture and leads to a precise identification for the notion of self.
Quantum criticality and magnetic flux tubes carrying dark matter are in a key role in TGD inspired
quantum biology and theory of consciousness.
Side remark: strings bring in oscillations of the relative positions of points of partonic 2-surfaces
that they connect. A highly attractive identification is as a fundamental correlate for sound qualia.
These oscillations would represent classical communication at basic level and sound would be much
more fundamental than condensed matter phenomenon.
Second highly interesting talk was by Bandyopadphyay about his latest work. Unfortunately, I was
not able to follow since he talked very fast and covered large amounts of material with a lot of figures
whereas I am used to text based representations. Also abstract was lacking.
1. What I can recall was the proposal that there exists experimental evidence coming from neuronal,
microtubular, and DNA level for a hierarchy of frequency scales coming as powers of 103 . At least
6 levels, 1 Hz, kHz, MHz,GHz, THz, and PHz which corresponds to UV light, would be involved.
Triads of subsequent scales would appear at given level. One would have 1 Hz, kHz, MHz in
neuroscience MHz, GHz, THz at microtubular level and GHz, THz, PHz at DNA level.
As a matter fact, it seems that also DNA level involves 1 Hz scale: cyclotron frequencies of DNA
sequences in endogenous magnetic field of .2 Gauss are around 1 Hz. Therefore all these frequency
scales seems to be present (and probably many others).
As I started to work with the hierarchy of Planck constants I assumed that Planck constants come
as powers of 211 . Later it became clear that also powers of 210 = 1024 could be there and eventually
I accepted hef f = n × h hypothesis. I have discussed a vision in which there is kind of resonance
between dark phase for given p-adic prime and larger prime for which p-adic length scale corresponds
to the dark scale and scalings by 220 appear in this framework.
2. Bandyopadphyay represented also arguments that primes are somehow important but I failed to understand. In any case, p-adic physics and real physics extended to adelic physics provides correlates
for cognition and imagination in TGD framework and I am eagerly waiting when this mathematics
enters to consciousness theorizing.
3
What did I learn from neuroscience?
There were many talks about neuroscience. Unfortunately, I did not have opportunity to hear many
neuroscience lectures.
1. I missed the talk by brothers Fingelkurtz working in Finland and studying EEG as correlate of
consciousness. I have however written an article about their work earlier.
2. I received from Samu Mielonen material about the talk of Schröder with title Irreducibility of the
logic of integrated information- quantum coherence to unity of consciousness and beyond. It is a
pity that I missed this talk.
They basic question is how smaller conscious units integrate to larger ones. There are many approaches. Consider two neuroscience based approaches as example.
(a) Holography is the proposal of Pribram. In TGD framework this generalizes to strong form
of holography, which is quantum theoretic notion and completely universal physical principle
actually following from strong form of general coordinate invariance [10].
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(b) It seems clear that an integration of informations associated with various kinds of sensory inputs
to conscious experience does take place. The notion of integrated information is Tononi’s proposal in this respect. Consciousness would corresponds to a capacity to integrate information.
Conscious system is structurally rich meaning large number of different states but it cannot
be decomposed to causally independent subsystems. This approach leaves the mechanisms of
integration open.
3. Quantum consciousness theorists would identify also the mechanism and say that macroscopic quantum coherence and quantum entanglement guarantee these two characterizing properties. For the
simplest systems like Bose-Einstein condensate the structural richness would be of course lost. The
question is how macroscopic coherence and long range entanglement can be generated and how they
can be stable.
(a) Microtubular networks and Orch Or is the proposal of Penrose and Hameroff. Also in TGD
framework microtubules define an important level in the biological self hierarchy [22, 25], [43].
(b) TGD inspired proposal relies on several new ingredients. The generalization of the spacetime concept leading to the notion of magnetic body, a generalization of quantum physics
by introducing the notion of quantum criticality implying the hierarchy of effective Planck
constants labelling phases of ordinary matter behaving like dark matter, the replacement of
the positive energy ontology with ZEO, strong form of holography, and self hierarchy with self
emerging as a basic notion from the generalization of quantum measurement theory. Networks
of magnetic flux tubes carrying dark matter characterized by the value of effective Planck
constant are responsible for the generation of larger structures.
TGD inspired quantum measurement theory assumes that quantum measurements occur everywhere. For given entangled subsystem-complement pair the density matrix is the universal
observable. The measurement of the density matrix occurs for that pair for which the maximal negentropy gain is largest among sub-system-complement pairs. Therefore spontaneously
occurring self measurement selects uniquely single sub-system-complement pair. The weak
form of NMP however allows some freedom since negentropy gain can be also non-maximal.
This is essential for understanding evolution and basic aspects of consciousness and allows to
understand the emergence of ethics and moral [32] with negentropy growth as the fundamental
good.
Negentropic entanglement (NE) for which number theoretic Shannon entropy is negative serves
as a measure for information content. Negentropy Maximization Principle (NMP) [19] serving
as the basic variational principle for consciousness theory guarantees that NE tends to increase.
NE corresponds to a density matrix, which is projector so that all states are its eigenstates
with same eigen value so that this sub-space or any of its sub-spaces can be an outcome of the
quantum measurement of this density matrix. In the ordinary quantum measurement theory
it would be 1-dimensional ray of state space.
When the outcome of the reduction is n-dimensional space one has special kind of state. Any
state could have been selected so that one has an analog of Schrödinger cat in meditative state:
which is half dead and half alive (exactly one half of each!). Any choice of state basis analogous
to choice of quantization axes of spin is possible for enlightened cats!
Unitary entanglement gives n-dimensional projector as density matrix. In practice unitary
entanglement is impossible in usual physics but the quantum criticality of TGD Universe makes
it possible. The emergence of n discrete degrees of freedom related to hef f = n × h having
interpretation in terms of n-fold branching of space-time surfaces at the opposite boundaries
of CD, is essential: NE would be in these degrees of freedom. This branching is the essence
of quantum criticality. It is unstable and t implies non-determinism of quantum criticality
manifesting itself as space-time branching.
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4. The talks about sleep, dreaming, and nightmares studied in the group of Revonsuo were very
interesting. The goal is to test and develop theories explaining the function of dreaming. The basic
idea is that dreams are simulations of real life situations. One hypothesis is that we learn to cope
in difficult situations by simulating them. Second hypothesis is that we also learn social skills - to
which difficult situations often relate - by simulations. This explains why there are also pleasant
dreams: dreams try to encourage us.
Personally I however believe that there are also dreams which one might call mystic. They have
deep meaning, they are very pleasant, and its is very difficult to see how these dreams could try to
teach me what to do if I am mountain climber who realizes that he cannot go neither upwards or
downwards or refine my social skills.
There is also the question about a possible connection of nightmares and depression.
I had not realized that there are also non-REM dreams as dream research has demonstrated. They
do not last so long as REM dreams. I have proposed that REM might be induced by the virtual
sensory input to eyes from brain or perhaps even magnetic body. This input would be present
as a feedback during wake-up periods and allow to transform visual input to a kind of artwork
consisting of well-defined objects in action. During non-REM dreams this input would not perhaps
be so strong and long-lasting enough to induce REM as motor response.
In TGD framework there are fascinating questions to be answered. p-Adic space-time surface is the
number one candidate for an imagined time evolution [41]. Second candidate is as almost realized
motor actions and virtual sensory percepts. In REM dreams they could be induced by virtual visual
sensory inputs to retina coming as feedback from brain or even magnetic body. In non-REM dreams
the inputs could begin also from the upper levels of visual pathways in non-REM dreams. These
two identifications should be mutually consistent.
(a) The key observation is that strong form of holography for adelic space-time having space-time
surfaces in various number fields (reals and p-adic number fields associated with an algebraic
extension of rationals appear as pages of a book like structure having extension of rationals as
a back) can be possible in p-adic sectors but not in the real sector.
p-Adic continuations of string world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces to 4-D space-time surfaces
representing preferred extremals of Kähler action would be possible because of the possibility
of p-adic pseudo constants replacing integration constant with piecewise constant functions
depending on finite number of pinary digits. String world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces in
the intersection of reality and various p-adicities could be thus continued to p-adic space-time
surfaces but not necessarily to real space-time surfaces. In the case of imagination the strong
form of holography would work only for p-adic sectors representing imagination [42]!
(b) There is long list of questions waiting for an answer. Could REM dreams be realizable as
virtual world visual signals propagating to retina and stimulating mental image and non-REM
dreams (also these are possible!) are not? Or could the realization as real space-time surface
be only partial: for instance, imagined motor actions would not be realized since there is no
space-time surface in which neural signal wold be conducted down to the muscles?
5. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was second topic that I listened. The idea is to perturb
brain by magnetic pulses with field strength up to 2 Tesla and lasting about .2 microseconds and
to see what happens. The magnetic field generates a rotational electric field pulse and its is easy to
believe that this affects membrane resting potential and can least to a generation of nerve pulse. By
applying these pulses to suitable parts of brain one can induce changes in consciousness, and also
see which parts of brain are responsible for our consciousness. Frontal lobes certainly contribute
directly to our consciousness. In TGD framework one would have a hierarchy of selves so that in
all cases there could be conscious experience at some level of hierarchy.
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One can of course wonder whether TMS could affect also microtubular level: the duration is of
same order of magnitude as the lowest GHz frequency scale for the AC stimulation of microtubules.
Transcranial ultrasound (TUS) is another analogous perturbation method. Now transcranial ultrasound with frequencies which can be chosen to be those assignable to microtubules are applied to
the brain. The claim by Hameroff and coworkers is that TUS has positive effects on mood.
6. Susan Blackmore talked about OBEs in light of the newest results from neuroscience. It is possible
to induce these experiences by brain stimulation. The region of cortex is the boundary of temporal
and parietal cortex believed to be responsible for building the self model. This excludes the idea
that OBEs could be real in the sense that soul with eyes would leave the body and be able to check
whether there is still beer in the refrigerator.
One has to explain why the OBE and why we have a third person perspective about our body. My
own proposal is that the notion of personal magnetic body could explain OBEs [28]. Nerve pulse
patterns would not be enough: brain and body would be only a factories of standardize mental
images and somewhere these mental images should be represented in integrated form. Magnetic
body could be the intentional agent receiving sensory input from biological body and controlling it,
and be responsible for the third person view. This explains EEG - not as a metabolically costly side
effect of neural activity - but as a communication and control tool [27]. One has fractal hierarchy
of EEGs and its variants such as EKG involving all scaled variants of EEG - at least those with
scaling by factor 103 .
OBEs and NDEs occur often in situations when ordinary sensory input and motor activity are
absent, which suggests that in this kind of situation the motion of magnetic body defining a representation of biological body. Magnetic body would be able to change its shape and move with
respect to the biological body and in this manner generates the sensations as virtual world experiences. Also illusions like train illusion (when neighboring train starts to move you feel that it is you
who is moving) and the nasty feeling in stomach as you see some-one to go near the border of cliff.
Various motor actions of magnetic body (contractions and expansions of magnetic flux tube by hef f
changing phase transitions, reconnections of flux tubes, replication, etc..) are indeed fundamental
for understanding what happens in TGD based quantum biology at the deeper level [37, 36, 35].
4
What did philosophers say?
There were many philosophical talks about various basic notions such as self, attention, perception,
hallucination, cognition, intentionality, memory, sleep and dreaming, time, volition, intentional action,
language, etc.... I had to however make a choice and since I have worked with these topics and had the
expectation that there would not be much resonance I decided to listen lectures more nearer to concrete
world. I regret that I did not have opportunity to listen the talk of finnish philosopher Jaakko Hintikka.
My general feeling is that materialism/physicalism, idealism, and various variants of dualism cannot
serve as a basis for a theory of consciousness. Furthermore, philosophers seem to be attached to language,
which lacks the needed concepts, and reflects wrong implicit assumptions about consciousness so that the
real problem is transformed to a bunch of pseudo-problems. Maybe a good dose of modern quantum
physics for any philosopher might help to develop more up-to-date concepts.
It is easy to list some wrong assumptions if one accepts the insights provided by TGD.
1. Philosophers and also other scientists typically identify the time of physicists measured by clocks
with subjectively experienced time. This despite the fact that the two times are clearly different
(reversibility/irreversibility, arrow of time, etc...). In quantum measurement theory this identification leads to paradox and in Copenhagen interpretation one gives up ontology altogether and says
that there is only epistemology - knowledge about something which does not exist.
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Giving up the identification of the two times one ends up with a more general view involving
two times and two causalities and avoids reduction to materialistic view with its problems. The
challenge is to explain why the two notions of time are so closely correlated. The attempt to meet
this challenge has taken decades but to my opinion the recent view about quantum measurement
theory in ZEO allows to understand the relationship rather elegantly.
2. Second implicit assumption is that there is only single direction of psychological time definable in
terms of thermodynamics. Already Fantappie [7] realized that living systems show the presence
of both arrows of time and introduced the notion of syntropy as time reversed entropy. In TGD
framework ZEO leads to the prediction of time reversed mental images and other rather dramatic
predictions such as the possibility that biological death involves re-incarnation as time reversed
self [9]. This conforms with the Buddhist view about re-incarnations. This Karma’s cycle stops
if the self after state function reduction is fused with another larger self. For subselves this cycle
corresponds to repeated birth and death of mental images.
3. The third implicit assumption is that in brain science there is only one self to consider, our self. The
talks about attempts to define what consciousness taking into account that it has both reflective
(kind of unchangeable basic self as observer) and attention related contributions made it clear how
fatal consequences this assumptions is. Already Freud proposed a hierarchy consisting of superego,
ego, and id.
In TGD one has self hierarchy with self experiencing its subselves as mental images so that also
we would be mental images of a larger self [18]. In ZEO one can understand the reflective and
attention related contributions to conscious experience in terms of figure-background dichotomy.
The reflective contribution - background - representing static self corresponds to the boundary of
causal diamond (CD), which - as also the part of zero energy state associated with it - remains
unaffected in the reductions (Zeno effect).
The attentional contribution represents sensory input at the second changing boundary - the figure.
In the quantum jump in which self dies the state function reduction at opposite boundary produces from the attentional contribution a new reflective contribution by state function reduction.
One becomes conscious about what one was (rather than is ) conscious so that infinite regress is
circumvented by transforming it to evolution [26, 21].
4. The implicit assumption of neuroscience is that brain is the seat of consciousness and that one can
assign consciousness to some part of brain as its property. This might be a reasonable practical
assignment but in TGD framework basically wrong. It indeed leads to hard problem also discussed
in many talks of TSC2015. In TGD based ontology consciousness not a property and is not representable geometrically. Its contents are about some region of space-time but as something between
two realities, which are - not only representable but also identifiable as zero energy states (modes
of classical WCW spinor fields) - it itself is outside the realms of space-time and state space.
Patricia Churcland had a talk related to modal logic. During the lecture I had difficulties to understand
what this relationship was and only reading the abstract help to get the gist of the talk - at least I hope
so. I greatly enjoyed about concrete examples discussed in the lecture but I cannot agree with what
Churchland was suggesting.
1. As a neurophilosopher Churchland wants to identify consciousness with neural activity. One can
however argue that brain consciousness could be rather specific phenomenon and that consciousness
might appear in very different systems, maybe everywhere in the Universe. Hence one should try
to develop a general approach trying to understand the general features of consciousness holding
true in all situations.
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Indeed, scientific identity (say identity of electromagnetic radiation and of light) according to modal
logic requires that it is true in all situations - or putting it less mundanely: in all possible worlds.
Churchland protests. She says that the notion of all possible worlds is not well-defined.
2. I have been talking about the world of classical worlds (WCW) and dare to claim that WCW is
a mathematically well-defined concept [40]. For instance, it decomposes into a union of constant
curvature spaces with maximal symmetries for each of which all points are geometrically equivalent.
These conditions are extremely powerful and dictate the geometry of WCW highly uniquely so that
quantum physics identifiable as classical physics in WCW is unique solely from the condition that
it exists. Probably also quantum field theorists could argue that the space of classical fields is also
well-defined enough notion and has identification as the world of classical worlds. Hence I cannot
agree with Churchland. As a physicist I can also say that the symmetries of WCW are universal
and dictate the physics in all possible classical worlds.
3. If I want to talk seriously about consciousness, I must define it as a universal property holding in the
entire WCW. This requirement is extremely powerful. I end up to talk about selves, sub-selves, self
hierarchies, NMP, ZEO, state function reductions, quantum criticality, p-adic physics as physics of
cognition, number theoretical universality adelic physics, etc... I can also speculate about forms of
consciousness which are not restricted to living matter as we understand it. For these reasons I want
to include modal logic in TGD Universe although I understand very little about its technicalities.
Deepak Chopra had a very elegant talk about consciousness according to Eastern vision.
1. I mostly agreed with what Deepak Chopra said about consciousness. I cannot however believe that
consciousness alone is enough to explain the fact that we have a successful physics. We should
explain why the notion of matter emerges from conscious experience and this leads to the reverse
hard problem. To my view physicalism is needed but in a generalized sense. Standard physics says
nothing about observer and is certainly not enough to achieve this. The question is also about
what consciousness and biology can give to physics. This forces much humbler attitude than the
typical particle physicist believing in vulgar length scale reductionism has. I have the feeling that
the failure of superstring program attempting the reduction of physics to Planck length scale must
sooner or later change the attitudes of also particle physics.
2. The basic challenge is to understand observer as part of quantum physical systems: physics would
reduce to a theory of consciousness. In TGD based proposal the reduction of moment of consciousness to a state function reduction and following so called U-process is what would take place [34].
In ZEO there are two kinds of state function reductions: the repeated reductions to same boundary
of causal CD defining self and the reductions to opposite boundary meaning death and possible
re-incarnation of self. One can understand the flow of geometric time and arrow of time as well as
sensory and motor actions, sleep-wake cycle, and memory in this framework as universal aspects of
consciousness.
5
Quantum consciousness
I found the talks related to quantum consciousness were the most interesting from my perspective. It is
a pity that I did not have opportunity to listen the talk of Basil Hiley about weak measurements. I have
been very skeptic about the notion but maybe the talk might have forced to change my views.
5.1
Orch OR
Penrose and Hameroff however accept the challenge of making observer a part of physical world. Hameroff
promoted vigorously Orch OR. In Orch OR consciousness is identified with Orch OR whereas in the older
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approach by von Neumann, Wigner and others consciousness induces state function reduction and remains
outsider to the physical system in the sense that there is not attempt to describe observer as a conscious
entity. Also I see the theoretical physics of future as a theory of consciousness. This is of course not
physicalism in the standard sense of the word.
Orch OR [8] - assuming it makes sense mathematically - would introduce new kind of state function
reduction as a deterministic but non-computable and therefore also non-predictable process - O is indeed
for objective.
1. In the classical field theory framework with Schrödinger amplitude replacing classical field one could
argue that the its presence contributes to the energy momentum tensor, which in turn affects spacetime curvature via Einstein’s equations. The superposition of two Schrödinger amplitudes localized
around different positions generates that for curvature meaning presence of two spatially separate
mass concentrations. The analog of state function reduction realized in terms of the dynamics of
general relativity would lead to a situation in which either one is selected. Penrose proposes also
Uncertainty Principle giving lower bound for the time scale in which Orc-OR occurs in terms of
gravitational self energy associated with the separation.
2. Skeptic could argue that there are very meagre hopes that Orch-OR could obey the universal rules
of state function reduction. Skeptic might also insist that the presence of curvature around the two
positions represents the analog of two-particle state, which should be represented as tensor product
rather than superposition of two differently localized single particle states.
3. The correct quantal treatment could be quantum superposition of 3-geometries with the classical
fields and curvature concentrated around different points in the superposition. In GRT framework it is however very difficult to realize this mathematically because one cannot have common
coordinatization for the 3-geometries in the superposition.
In sub-manifold gravity of TGD one can characterize the positions of the mass concentrations in
terms of imbedding space coordinates. Of course, Orch OR is not needed in TGD. I might of course
have misunderstood something. Hameroff represented a visualization of the idea but it did not help.
To sum up, to me the idea of replacing state function reduction with a classical, possibly deterministic,
process does not look physically sound. I have similar problem with the multiverse interpretation of
quantum theory.
I however believe that state function reduction and even the non-determinist evolution by state function reductions could have classical space-time correlates in TGD framework made possible by the huge
non-deterministic vacuum degeneracy of the fundamental variational principle dictating space-time surfaces as preferred extremals, and in the holographic framework realized as non-uniqueness of the construction of space-time surfaces from string world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces [21][42]. I also agree
with the vision about the central role of microtubules in the molecular self hierarchy.
5.2
Quantum cognition
The talks related to quantum cognition produced a pleasant surprise - I had thought that I am working
completely alone with quantum cognition. Indeed I am still along in some respects: there was still nothing
about p-adic numbers, adelic view about imagination, negentropic entanglement, or realization of Boolean
cognition in terms of quantum version of Boolean algebra based on many-fermion states [21, 11]. It is a
pity that I lost most of the opening talk of Harald Atmanspacher.
The general idea is to look whether one could take the formalism of quantum theory and look whether
it might allow to construct testable formal models of cognition. Quantum superposition, entanglement,
and non-commutativity are the most obvious notions to be considered. The problems related to quantum
measurement are however present also now and relate to the basic questions about consciousness.
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1. For instance, non-commutativity of observables could relate to the order effects in cognitive measurements. Also the failure of classical probability to which Bell inequalities relate could have testable
quantum cognitive counterpart. This requires that one should be able to speak about the analog of
quantization axis of spin in cognition. Representation of Boolean logic statements as tensor product
of qubits would resolve the problem and in TGD framework fermionic Fock state basis defines a
Boolean algebra: fermions would be interpretation as quantum correlates of Boolean cognition.
2. The idea about cognitive entanglement described by density matrix was considered and the change
of the state basis was suggested to have interpretation as a change of perspective. Here I was a little
bit puzzled since the speakers seemed to assume that density matrix rather than only its eigenvalue
spectrum has an independent meaning. This probably reflects my own assumption that density
matrix is always assignable to a system and its complement regarded as subsystems of large system
in pure state. The states are purifiable - as one says. This holds true in TGD but not generally.
3. The possibility that quantum approach might allow to describe this breaking of uniqueness in terms
of entanglement - or more precisely in terms of density matrix - was considered. If the density
matrix is purifiable cognitive state function reduction reduces it in the generic case to a 1-D density
matrix representing one of the meanings.
The situation with several meanings would resemble that in hemispheric rivalry or for illusions in
which two percepts appear as alternatives [21]. One must be of course very cautious with this kind
of models: the spoken and written language do not obey strict rules. I must however admit that I
failed to get the gist of the arguments completely.
One particular application discussed in the conference was to a problem of linguistics.
1. One builds composite words from simpler ones. The proposed rule in classical linguistics is that
the composites are describable as unique functions of the building bricks. The building brick words
can however have several meanings and meaning is fixed only after one tells to which category the
concept to which the world refers belongs. Therefore also the composite word can have several
meanings.
2. If the word has several meanings, it belongs to at least n = 2 two categories fixing the meaning
of the word as a member of some bigger class of words. For n = 2 the category associated with
the word is like spin, and one can formally treat the words as spins, kind of cognitive qubits. The
category-word pairs - cognitive spins- serve building bricks for 2 composite worlds analogous to
two-spin systems.
3. A possible connection with Bell’s inequalities emerges from the idea that if word can belong to two
categories it can be regarded as analogous to spin with two values. If superpositions of the same
word with different meanings make sense, the analogs for the choice of spin quantization axis and
measurement of spin in particular quantization direction make sense. A weaker condition is that
the superpositions make sense only for the representations of the words but not their meanings. In
TGD framework the representations would be in terms of fermionic Fock states defining quantum
Boolean algebra.
(a) Consider first a situation in which one has two spin measurement apparatus A and B with given
spin quantization axes and A0 and B0 with different spin quantization axis. One can construct
correlation functions for the products of spins s1 and s2 defined as outcomes of measurements
A and A0 and s3 and s4 defined as outcomes of B and B0 . One obtains pairs 13, 14, 23, 24.
(b) Bell inequalities give a criterion for the possibility to model the system classically. One begins
from 4 CHSH inequalities [1] follow as averages of inequalities holding for individual measurement always (example: −2 ≤ s1 s3 + s1 s4 + s2 s3 − s2 s4 ≤ 2) outcomes by assuming classical
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probability concept implying that the probability distributions for si sj are simply marginal
distributions for a probability distribution P (s1 , 22 , s3 , s4 ). CHSH inequalities are necessary
conditions for the classical behavior. Fine’s theorem [2] states that these conditions are also
sufficient. Bell inequalities follow from these and can be broken for quantum probabilities.
(c) Does this make sense for cognitive spins? Are superpositions of meanings possible? Are conscious meanings analogous to Schrödinger cats? Or should one distinguish between meaning
and cognitive representation? Experienced meanings are conscious experiences and consciousness identified as state function reduction makes the world look classical in standard quantum
measurement theory. Or is there a preferred choice for cognitive quantization axes so that it
is not possible to talk about state basis with states representing partially dead and alive cat?
I allow the reader to decide but represent TGD view below.
What about quantum cognition in TGD framework? Does the notion of cognitive spin make sense?
Do the notions of cognitive entanglement and cognitive measurement have sensible interpretations? Does
the superposition of meanings of words make sense or does it make sense for representations only?
1. In TGD quantum measurement is a measurement of density matrix defining the universal observable
leading to its eigenstate or eigen space in final state. In the generic case the state basis is unique
as eigenstates basis of density matrix and cognitive measurement leads to a classical state.
If the density matrix has degenerate eigenvalues situation changes since state function can take
place to a sub-space instead of a ray. In this sub-space there is no preferred basis. Maybe enlightened states of consciousness could be identified as this kind of states carrying negentropy (number
theoretic Shannon entropy is negative for them and these states are fundamental for TGD inspired
theory of consciousness.
Note that p-adic negentropy is well-defined also for rational (or even algebraic) entanglement probabilities but the condition that quantum measurement leads to an eigenstate of density matrix allows
only projector as a density matrix for the outcome of the state function reduction. In any case, in
TGD Universe the outcome of quantum measurement could be enlightened Schrödinger cat which
is as much dead as olive.
Entangled states could represent concepts or rules as superpositions of their instances consisting of
pairs of states. For NE generated in state function reduction density matrix would be a projector
so that these pairs would appear with identical probabilities. The entanglement matrix would be
unitary. This is interesting since unitary entanglement appears also in quantum computation. One
can consider also the representation of associations in terms of entanglement - possibly negentropic
one.
2. Mathematician inside me is impatiently raising his hand: it clearly wants to add something. The
restriction to a particular extension of rationals - a central piece of the number theoretical vision
about quantum TGD [41] - implies that density matrix need not allow diagonalization. In eigen
state basis one would have has algebraic extension defined by the characteristic polynomial of the
density matrix and its roots define the needed extension which could be quite well larger than the
original extension.
If this entanglement is algebraic, one can assign to it a negative number theoretic entropy. This NE
is stable against NMP unless the algebraic extension associated with the parameters characterizing
the string world sheets and partonic surfaces defining space-time genes is allowed to become larger
in a state function reduction to the opposite boundary of CD generating re-incarnated self [32, 19]
and producing eigenstates involving algebraic numbers in a larger algebraic extension of rationals.
Could this kind of extension give rise to an eureka experience meaning a step forwards in cognitive
evolution?
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If this picture makes sense, one would have both the unitary NE with a density matrix, which
is projector and the algebraic NE with eigen values and NE for which the eigenstates of density
matrix outside the algebraic extension associated with the space-time genes. Note that the unitary
entanglement is meditative in the sense that any state basis is possible and therefore in this state
of consciousness it is not possible to make distinctions. This strongly brings in mind koans of Zen
Buddhism. The more general algebraic entanglement could represent abstractions as rules in which
the state pairs in the superposition represent the various instances of the rule.
3. Can one really have superposition of meanings in TGD framework, where Boolean cognitive spin is
represented as fermion number (1,0), spin, or weak isospin in TGD, and fermion Fock state basis
defines quantum Boolean algebra.
In the case of fermion number the superselection rule demanding that state is eigenstate of fermion
number implies that cognitive spin has unique quantization axis.
For the weak isopin symmetry breaking occurs and superpositions of states with different em charges
(weak isospins) are not possible. Remarkably, the condition that spinor modes have a well-defined
em charge implies in the generic case their localization to string world sheets at which classical W
fields carrying em charge vanish. This is essential also for the strong form of holography, and one
can say that cognitive representations are 2-dimensional and cognition resides at string world sheets
and their intersections with partonic 2-surfaces. Electroweak part of quantum cognitive spin would
have a unique quantization axes.
But what about ordinary spin? Does the presence of Kähle magnetic field at flux tubes select
a unique quantization direction for cognitive spin as ordinary spin so that it is not possible to
experience superposition of meanings? Or could the rotational invariance of meaning mean SU(2)
gauge invariance allowing to rotate given spin to a fixed direction by performing SU(2) gauge
transformation affecting the gauge potential?
4. A rather concrete linguistic analogy from TGD inspired biology relates to the representation of DNA,
mRNA, amino-acids, and even tRNA in terms of dark proton triplets [20, 17]. One can decompose
ordinary genetic codons to letters but dark genetic codons represented by entangled states of 3
linearly order quarks and do not allow reduction to sequence of letters. It is interesting that some
eastern written languages have words as basic symbols whereas western written languages tend to
have as basic units letters having no meaning as such. Could Eastern cognition and languages be
more holistic in this rather concrete sense?
5.3
Chalmers: do we need also m-particles and c-particles besides the ordinary particles?
In his book about hard problem Chalmers based his attempt to build a dualistic theory of consciousness
on classical physics. Chalmers takes quantum consciousness seriously now as his talk demonstrated. The
birth of quantum biology must have been one motivation for changing the views.
Maybe Chalmers is now in roughly in the same position as I was twenty years ago and also the same
attitude as I had. To understand quantum consciousness it is best to try to construct a quantum theory
of consciousness. First attempts are not usually successful, but my luck was that I was not famous then
(nor now) so that I did not even try to publish my first trials (I still get ashamed as I think about what
I was ready to consider!). Chalmers discussed an idea which looks unfeasible to me and in full accord
with the cherished tradition of visionaries concluded that his idea solves all imaginable problems related
to consciousness.
What does Chalmers say?
1. Chalmers likes to see consciousness as a property - somewhat like various quantum numbers - and
introduced two new properties besides the property P of being just an ordinary elementary particle.
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First he introduced m-property (m refers to measurement) stating that particles with m-property
induce quantum measurement if entangled with ordinary particles. The states with m-property
would be very special: when entangling with ordinary matter enjoying P-property they would force
a collapse to a product state. m-particles would be microscopic observers.
2. Chalmers also introduced c-property and property of being conscious. I understood that also particles with c-property cannot appear in quantum superpositions and this statement is non-sensical
unless on introduces a preferred state basis. Entanglement with c-particle would also force a state
function reduction and to me m- and c-property look identical. Consciousness would be classical
and consciousness would not superpose.
3. One could see the approach of Chalmers as a modification of the idea about conscious observer
inducing quantum measurement. Now observers would be replaced with m- or c-particles or both.
I was baffled but maybe the introduction of these various kinds of properties is natural for a
philosopher. Physicist gets however scared by this kind of conceptual lavishness.
Personally I see quantum measurement as a completely universal phenomenon occurring everywhere.
Density matrix is the fundamental observable. For any system, which is not entangled with the external
world state function reduction can occur and would occur for that pair of subsystems for which the
maximal entanglement negentropy gain is largest. If system is negentropically entangled NMP guarantees
its stability. This guarantees the stability of that part of self, which defines the self model as something
unchanging and remaining when sensory and motor contributions to experience are subtracted by say
meditation.
Weak form of NMP [19] would be the variational principle of consciousness in TGD Universe. Strong
form of NMP would require that negentropy gain is always maximal: we would live in the best possible
world, which obviously is not the case. Weak form of NMP says that the actual final state can also be
subspace of the space for which the negentropy gain is maximal. This means free will in sense that one
can do also stupid things, which we certainly do. Also the notions of good and evil emerge. Doing evil
is to make a state function reduction not giving rise to maximal negentropy gain. Complete reduction of
entanglement means minimal negentropy gain and punishment as a separation from the environment and
loneliness: not nice at all. There is an obvious resemblance with the maximal pleasure principle proposed
by Hameroff. NMP is however much more general and quantitatively precisely defined unlike pleasure
principle.
Side remark: consciousness is to my opinion misleading if taken literally: -ness refers to a property
and -at least according to TGD - consciousness is not a property something but more analogous to
action (adjective is replaced with verb in linguistic analogy). Finnish world tajunta would express rather
nicely what I mean. This view is in accordance with the identification of moment of consciousness as
quantum jump in which the universe is re-created, which was the starting idea of TGD inspired theory
of consciousness. Gradually this naive idea has developed to the recent ZEO based view involving also
the identification of self as a sequence of repeated reductions at the same boundary of CD.
In TGD Universe all quantum states would have only the P-property. The hierarchy of Planck
constants related to quantum criticality however brings in NE, which tends to be stable under NMP
and this is essential for having self-hierarchy.
5.4
Connections with TGD
The ideas of TGD inspired theory of consciousness seem to be gradually popping up in various contexts.
The following examples suggest that I am not completely alone anymore.
1. Hagelin talked about wormhole throats and blackholes at brain level including holography. Partonic
2-surfaces and magnetic flux tubes accompanied by fermionic strings and strong form of holography
are the TGD counterparts. This holography would give rise to conscious holograms in TGD inspired
theory of consciousness and would generalize Pribram’s old idea.
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2. Some lecturers talked about quantum like aspects of cognition that is quantum superposition and
entanglement of cognitive states and quantum measurement. NE brings in the integration of information.
3. To my great surprise, Walter Freeman (maybe also Giuseppe Vitiello) talked about signals propagating backwards in time (ZEO) and what he called double as a kind of copy of self. ZEO leads to
the prediction that self can re-incarnate as its time reversal as it dies [32, 9]. But maybe times are
changing.
I introduced originally the negative energy signals propagating backwards in time as counterparts of
phase conjugate laser beams. Now they correspond to time reversed selves (time-reversed subselves
correspond to time reversed mental images). For instance, TGD based model of memory relies on
signals reflected from past brain in time direction. Its realization in ZEO involves death of self and
its re-incarnation in past boundary of CD, and its further re-incarnation as self with original arrow
of time. This occurs for some subself in the hierarchy.
4. The proposal of maximization of pleasure by Hameroff as a variational principle of consciousness is
the counterpart for Negentropy Maximization Principle of TGD [19] as already mentioned.
5. Bandyopadphyay talked about primes and scale hierarchy (p-adic length scale hierarchy and hierarchy of Planck constants).
6. There was also a proposal by Maurice Goodman that neutrinos might be important for consciousness. Neutrino Compton wavelength indeed corresponds to cell length scale. I proposed for long
time ago the notion of cognitive neutrino pair carrying zero energy: this notion was however still
artificial and involved model dependent assumptions. In ZEO I would talk neutrino Cooper pairs
and Boolean cognition realized in terms of fermionic Fock basis defining a realization of Boolean
algebra. Neutrinos have the smallest mass among elementary particles and this could make them
representatives for the highest level of Boolean cognition.
The basic problem is of course the short range of weak interaction but large value of Planck constants
would imply that below the Compton length of weak bosons with same mass but scale up Compton
length weak interactions would be very similar to electromagnetic ones [23, 15, 12]. This applies
also to color interactions expected to be also important in living matter. The presence of weak
interactions would explain chiral selection which represents large parity breaking.
Of special interest from TGD point of view were the talks of Hameroff and Bandyopadphyay, who
talked about aromatic rings (ARs,[4]). I have also wondered whether ARs might give rise to a lowest level
in the molecular self hierarchy with motivations coming from several observations.
1. In photosynthesis ARs are a central element in the energy harvesting system, and it is now known
that quantum effects in longer length and time scales than expected are involved [5]. This suggests
that the ARs in chlorophyll fuse to form a larger quantum system connected by flux tubes, and
that electron pair currents follow along the flux tubes as supra currents.
DNA codons involve ARs with delocalized pi electrons [3], neurotransmitters and psychoactive drugs
involve them, 4 amino-acids Phe, trp, tyr and his involve them and they are all hydrophobic and
tend to be associated with hydrophobic pockets. Phe and trp appear in hydrophobic pockets of
microtubules.
2. The notion of self hierarchy [26] suggests that at molecular level ARs represent the basic selves. ARs
would integrate to larger conscious entities by a reconnection of the flux tubes of their magnetic
bodies (directing attention to each other!). One would obtain also linear structures such as DNA
sequence in this manner. In proteins the four aromatic amino-acids would represent subselves
possibly connected by flux tubes. In this manner one would obtain a concrete molecular realization
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of self hierarchy allowing precise identification of the basic conscious entities as aromatic rings
lurking in hydrophobic pockets.
3. Given AR would be accompanied by a magnetic flux tube and the current around it would generate
magnetic field. The direction of the current would represent a bit (or perhaps even qbit). In the
case of microtubules the phe-trp dichotomy and direction of current would give rise to 4 states
identifiable as a representation for four genetic letters A,T,C,G. The current pathways proposed by
Hameroff [6] consisting of sequences of current rings could define the counterparts of DNA sequences
at microtubule level.
For B type microtubules 13 tubulins, which correspond to single 2π rotation, would represent basic
unit followed by a gap. This unit could represent a pair of helical strands formed by flux tubes and
ARs along them completely analogous to DNA double strand. This longitudinal strand would be
formed by a reconnection of magnetic flux tubes of the magnetic fields of ARs and reconnection
occurring in two different manners at each step could give rise to braiding.
4. The magnetic flux tubes associated with the magnetic fields of nearby aromatic rings could suffer
reconnection and in this manner a longitudinal flux tubes pair carrying supra current could be
generated by the mechanism of bio-superconductivity discussed in [24] and working also for the
ordinary high Tc super conductivity. The interaction of microtubule with frequencies in the scales
kHz, GHz, and THz scales would induce longitudinal superconductivity as a transition to phase A
from phase B meaning generation of long super-conducting wires.
This view suggests that also DNA is superconductor in longitudinal direction and that oscillating
AC voltage induces the superconductivity also now. Bandyopadphyay indeed observed the 8 AC
resonance frequencies first for DNA with frequency scales of GHz, THz, PHz, which suggests that
dark photon signals or AC voltages at these frequencies induce DNA superconductivity. According to
the model of DNA as topological quantum computer DNA is superconductor also in the transversal
degrees of freedom meaning that there are flux tubes connecting DNA to a lipid layer of the nuclear
or cell membrane [13, 31].
5. Interestingly, the model of Hameroff for the helical pathway assumes that there are three aromatic
rings per d = 1 nm length along microtubule. This number is same as the number of DNA codons
per unit length. It is however mentioned that the distance between aromatic rings trp and phe in
MT is about d = 2 nm. Does this refer to average distance or is d = 1 nm just an assumption. In
TGD framework the distance would scale as hef f so that also scaling of DNA pathway by a factor
6 could be considered. In this case single tubulin could correspond to a genetic codon.
If d = 1 nm is correct, these helical pathways might give rise to a representation of memetic codons
representable as sequences of 21 genetic codons meaning that there are 2126 different memetic codons
[16]. DNA would represent the lowest level of hierarchy of consciousness and microtubules the next
level. Note that each analog of DNA sequences corresponds to different current pathway.
6. What is especially interesting, that codon and its conjugate have always altogether 3 aromatic
cycles. Also phe and trp appearing in MTs have this property as also tyr and his. Could these 3
cycles give rise to 3-braid? The braid group B3 which is covering of permutation group of 3 objects.
Since B2 is Abelian group of integers, 3-braid is the smallest braid, which can give rise to interesting
topological quantum computation.
B3 is also the knot group of trefoil knot, and the universal central extension of the modular group
PSL(2,Z) (a discrete subgroup of Lorentz group playing a key role in TGD since it defines part of
the discrete moduli space for the CDs with other boundary fixed [34]). Quite generally, B(n) is the
mapping class group of a disk with n punctures fundamental both in string model: in TGD where
disk is replaced with partonic 2-surface.
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6
Are we ready for a science of consciousness?
Are we ready for a science of consciousness? This was the title of the panel discussion at the end of of
the conference. The panelists - most of them organizers of the conference - had different opinions about
the question.
Personally I have been ready for two decades of TGD inspired theory of consciousness and quantum
biology. But if we refers to the science community, the answer might be No . Maybe No for several
decades.
At least my physicist colleagues seem to be totally unaware that there even exist something, which
might be regarded as a serious attempt to understand consciousness scientifically, and the opinions that I
have seen in blogs are extremely skeptic, even cynical. Most participants of the conference have of course
different point of view. Furthermore, quantum biology is now a branch of science and should raise the
question whether consciousness could be an exception. It is difficult to say how many decades is required
before a typical particle physicists is ready to regard the idea about theory of consciousness as anything
but pseudoscience.
The organizers of the conference are however optimistic. Indeed, the title of the next TSC will be
SC2016 without the Toward .
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html/pdfpool/panel.pdf, 2012.
[36] M. Pitkänen. Quantum Mind and Neuroscience. In TGD based view about living matter and remote
mental interactions. Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/pdfpool/lianPN.pdf, 2012.
[37] M. Pitkänen. Quantum Mind, Magnetic Body, and Biological Body. In TGD based view about living
matter and remote mental interactions. Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/pdfpool/
lianPB.pdf, 2012.
[38] M. Pitkänen. Criticality and dark matter. In Hyper-finite Factors and Dark Matter Hierarchy.
Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/neuplanck/neuplanck.html#qcritdark, 2014.
[39] M. Pitkänen. Quantum gravity, dark matter, and prebiotic evolution. In Genes and Memes.
Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/genememe/genememe.html#hgrprebio, 2014.
[40] M. Pitkänen. Recent View about Kähler Geometry and Spin Structure of WCW . In Quantum Physics as Infinite-Dimensional Geometry. Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/
tgdgeom/tgdgeom.html#wcwnew, 2014.
[41] M. Pitkänen. Unified Number Theoretical Vision. In TGD as a Generalized Number Theory. Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/tgdnumber/tgdnumber.html#numbervision, 2014.
[42] M. Pitkänen. How imagination could be realized p-adically? http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/
articles/padimag.pdf, 2015.
[43] M. Pitkänen. TGD based model for anesthetic action.
articles/anesthetes.pdf, 2015.
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Article
Life in Parallel Worlds & Buddhist Psycho-Metaphysics:
Parallels & Interconnections between the Quantum Spiritual
Worldview of Michael B. Mensky and Buddhism (Part I)
Graham P. Smetham*
ABSTRACT
Michael B. Mensky’s quantum spiritual psycho-metaphysics is an overarching paradigm for a
post-materialist science and philosophy, and his work in this area is of immense significance for
the modern world. His quantum-spiritual psycho-metaphysics is entirely consistent with
‘mystical’ insights, in particular it is coherent with Buddhist psycho-metaphysics. Mensky’s
quantum psycho-metaphysical paradigm succeeds dramatically by indicating that both Life and
consciousness are fundamental internal aspects of quantum reality, Mensky’s ‘Alterverse’.
Furthermore, according to Mensky’s quantum psycho-metaphysical model of the process of
reality Life and consciousness are unfolded from the quantum realm through the operation of an
inner teleological ‘pressure’ which Mensky calls the ‘Life-Principle’. This remarkable
conceptual revolution, which shatters the materialist madness of many contemporary physicists
and philosophers, is entirely consistent and coherent with the metaphysical insights of quantum
theory and it corresponds closely with central Buddhist psycho-metaphysical doctrines such as
karma and rebirth. Also, according to Mensky’s quantum spiritual worldview, the endpoint of
the long chain of rebirths is enlightenment.
Keywords: Michael Mensky, extended Everett concept, many worlds, quantum consciousness,
life principle, alterverse, quantum spirituality, Buddhist psycho-metaphysics, inherent existence,
emptiness, ground consciousness, pure being, karma, rebirth, enlightenment.
Michael B. Menksy is a physicist and professor working at the Lebedev Physical Institute of the
Academy of Science in Moscow. He has been working in fields such as quantum field theory,
quantum gravity, quantum theory of measurement and the foundations of quantum physics. His
interest in the foundations of, and metaphysical implications of quantum theory has led to him
having some spectacular insights into the relationship between quantum theory and the
‘mystical’ claims of some religions. His work in this area is of immense significance for the
modern world. In his articles and his book Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics: Life in
Parallel Worlds - Miracles of Consciousness from Quantum Reality he provides a
comprehensive spiritual psycho-metaphysics based on the discoveries of quantum physics and
theory.
The Buddhist philosopher-practitioner B. Alan Wallace, in his excellent book Hidden
Dimensions, points out that Vitaly L. Ginsburg, a Russian theoretical physicist and astrophysicist
* Correspondence: Graham Smetham http://www.quantumbuddhism.com E-mail:graham@quantumbuddhsim.com
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who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics, and a committed atheist, reviewed Mensky’s
work and, as Wallace says, Ginsburg:
…begins by acknowledging that scientists have not satisfactorily explained the origin
of life and consciousness, so it would be a mistake to categorically dismiss Mensky’s
discussion of the origin of human consciousness and its relation to quantum
mechanics. Such informed theorizing is, precisely what is required … Ginsburg
asserts that two of the most important and interesting problems in physics at the
beginning of the twenty-first century are the interpretation of quantum mechanics and
the problem of reductionism, that is, the question of whether the phenomenon of life
can be explained on the basis of presently known physics.1
In this context Mensky’s quantum psycho-metaphysical paradigm succeeds dramatically by
indicating that both Life and consciousness are fundamental internal aspects of quantum reality.
Furthermore, according to Mensky’s quantum psycho-metaphysical model of the process of
reality Life and consciousness are unfolded from the quantum realm through the operation of an
inner teleological ‘pressure’ which Mensky calls the ‘Life-Principle’. This remarkable
conceptual revolution, which shatters the materialist madness of many contemporary physicists
and philosophers, is entirely consistent and coherent with the metaphysical insights of quantum
theory. It also corresponds closely with central Buddhist psycho-metaphysical doctrines.
There are other physicists working in this area, most notably Henry Stapp and Amit Goswami,
these three offer an entirely modern context for the truths of various spiritual ‘mystical’
traditions. Amongst these three, however, Mensky’s presentation is possibly the most
comprehensively succinct, although Gowami covers similar ground in impressive detail and
cogency.
Furthermore, Mensky’s approach is particularly close to Buddhist psychometaphysics.
In his book Mindful Universe Stapp has written that quantum physics:
…upsets the whole apple cart. It produced a seismic shift in our ideas about both the
nature of reality, and the nature of our relationship to the reality that envelops and
sustains us. The aspects of nature represented by the theory are converted from
elements of being to elements of doing. The effect of this change is profound: it
replaces the world of material substances by a world populated by actions, and by
potentialities for the occurrence of the various possible observed feedbacks from these
actions.2
Here Stapp indicates the fact that, despite much desperate kicking and screaming to the contrary
on the part of a cadre of hardcore metaphysical materialists such as Richard Dawkins and Daniel
Dennett, the quantum evidence today is emphatic that the process of reality is driven by
embodied minds acting upon and through quantum potentialities in order to bring into being a
world of embodied experience. It is the intentional actions of sentient beings that determine
what “feedbacks” arise from quantum potentiality. Collectively such actions and perceptions
bring the material world into experiential being from the fundamental ground of quantum
potentiality.
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Mensky, however, goes beyond Stapp in a visionary manner. He has appreciated the fact that the
quantum scenario is entirely consistent with the spiritual insight that, not only do the actions,
perceptions and intentions of sentient beings, in particular human beings who have a much
widened sphere of freewill beyond that of animals, create future feedbacks in a current life, they
also condition future potentialities for future lives. In this insight Mensky has seen that quantum
physics indicates the reality and significance of two of the central doctrines for Buddhist
practice: karma and rebirth. This is indeed a dramatic upsetting of “the whole apple cart” of the
anti-spiritual materialist worldview.
There is a group of materialist scientists and philosophers who currently see themselves as
embattled champions for a ‘naturalistic’, which is in essence a cover word for ‘materialist’, style
of science. Thus we find the crudely materialist biologist Richard Dawkins writing on the back
cover of the physicist Lisa Randall’s book Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space that
“Science has got a battle for hearts and minds on its hands.” Randall’s book is an exposition of
the Higgs particle and mechanism, a book which seeks to underplay and cover over the fact that
recent discoveries indicate that what appears to be a material world is actually generated by
interactions of immaterial quantum fields. Her work therefore appeals to the materialist camp
because it sets out to hide certain important facts which have been recently discovered regarding
the ultimately immaterial nature of the process of reality.
Books like Randall’s are part of an unscientific movement to suppress certain scientific
discoveries in order to avoid allowing “a Divine Foot in the door,”3 as the evolutionary biologist
Richard Lewontin describes the materialist “battle” with any spiritual implications that modern
science has uncovered. In this situation spiritual psycho-metaphysical perspectives such as that
proposed by Mensky and others, based as they are on cutting edge physics, are of great
significance for the modern age.
We can point to two great discoveries that stand at the heart of a newly emerging worldview, a
worldview desperately resisted by proponents of what is termed “scientific materialism” or
“methodological naturalism,” which are trumped up terms for the dogmatic assertion that only
materialist explanations can be admitted as science. The first discovery is that the causes of all
the phenomena of the apparently material world are entirely immaterial, they are to be found
within the operation of an energetic mind-like immaterial field of potentiality. As Stapp has
pointed out:
We live in an idealike world, not a matterlike world. The material aspects are exhausted
in certain mathematical properties, and these mathematical features can be understood
just as well (and in fact better) as characteristics of an evolving idealike structure.
There is, in fact, in the quantum universe no natural place for matter. This conclusion,
curiously, is the exact reverse of the circumstances that in the classical physical
universe there was no natural place for mind.4
The second crucial discovery is the now clear fact that Darwinism, from its inception down to
Neo-Darwinism (called by some ‘Ultra-Darwinism’), is completely false. As the philosopher
Thomas Nagel has written:
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Physico-chemical reductionism in biology is the orthodox view, and any resistance to it
is regarded as not only scientifically but politically incorrect. But for a long time I have
found the materialist account of how we and our fellow organisms came to exist hard to
believe, including the standard version of how the evolutionary process works. The
more details we learn about the chemical basis of life and the intricacy of the genetic
code, the more unbelievable the standard historical account becomes.5
These two dramatic modern discoveries underlie the two central ‘battlefields’ within modern
scientific and philosophical discourse: 1) the implication of quantum theory that the process of
reality involves primordial consciousness, and 2) the rearguard action on the part of a group of
hardcore materialists to save materialist Darwinism from intellectual extinction.
On the first battleground we find the opposing camps of those who propose and those who
oppose the emerging paradigm of what has been called “quantum spirituality,” a perspective
described by David Scharf as:
...the idea that some aspect of consciousness plays a fundamental role in the universe
and that advanced physics should be interpreted as having to some extent already
incorporated this principle [which] has had distinguished representation among both
physicists and philosophers. It has generated an upsurge of grassroots enthusiasm
because of the widespread sense that science and spirituality, rather than being
fundamentally separate or even opposed, are in fact deeply connected and mutually
reinforcing.6
This is precisely Mensky’s viewpoint, a viewpoint held in various formulations by Henry Stapp,
Amit Goswami, David Bohm, Stuart Hameroff, Robert Lanza and others. It is a viewpoint
vigorously resisted by those opposed to divine feet getting in doors and spiritual perspectives in
general, although evidence and reasoned arguments are in short supply in the opposing
materialist camp.
Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that the black and white manner in which the ‘New
Atheists’, a group of proponents of ultimate mindlessness which includes Richard Dawkins,
Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, present the supposed warring dichotomy
between science and religion is not accepted by all scientists, for there are many scientists who
have been or are religious. As John C. Lennox points out in his book God and Stephen
Hawking: Whose Design Is It Anyway?:
Take for example, … Francis Collins, the Director of the National Institute of Health in
the USA, and former head of the Human Genome Project. His predecessor as head of
that project was Jim Watson, winner (with Francis Crick) of the Nobel Prize for
discovering the double-helix structure of DNA. Collins is a Christian, Watson an
atheist. They are both top-level scientists...7
The physicist and an evangelical Christian Don Page, to give another example, has recently
written A Theological Argument for an Everett Multiverse.8 Stapp, who has given no indication
of being a Christian, has nevertheless stated that he thinks that quantum theory is:
...concordant with the idea of a powerful God that creates the universe and its laws to
get things started, but then bequeaths part of this power to beings created in his own
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image, at least with regard to their power to make physically efficacious decisions on
the basis of reasons and evaluations.9
It seems then that in their presentation of the supposed science verses religion scenario, as in
most aspects of their claims and proclamations, the anti-spiritual brigade are crudely simplistic,
and many scientists, religious or otherwise, do not endorse their vision of science.
On the second battleground, of course, are the opposing perspectives of Intelligent Design (not
necessarily theistic) and neo- (ultra-) Darwinism. Both quantum theory and recent advances in
biology such as the evolutionary-development paradigm (Evo-Devo) come down on the side of
non-theistic Intelligent Design.
There is then a new scientific worldview, a worldview compatible with spiritual perspectives,
emerging from recent scientific discoveries. The September/October issue of Explore: The
Journal of Science and Healing contains an article by a group of scientists entitled ‘Manifesto for
a Post-Materialist Science’. They point out that new discoveries require a dramatic revision of
our view of the nature and purpose of the process of reality, a transition from the crude
materialism that sufficed for scientific progress prior to quantum discoveries to a postmaterialism which comprehends the fact that:
...the materialistic focus that has dominated science in the modern era cannot account for
an ever-increasing body of empirical findings in the domain of consciousness and
spirituality.10
The authors then proceed to point out that the approach to science embodied in “scientific
materialism,” which is the view that only material causes and explanations are admissible to
science, has become a widespread dogma within academia. And:
...the nearly absolute dominance of materialism in the academic world has seriously
constricted the sciences and hampered the development of the scientific study of mind
and spirituality. Faith in this ideology, as an exclusive explanatory framework for
reality, has compelled scientists to neglect the subjective dimension of human
experience. This has led to a severely distorted and impoverished understanding of
ourselves and our place in nature.11
The authors list the discoveries and phenomena which undermine a crude materialist worldview,
some of which are denied by supporters of materialism despite compelling evidence. The list
covers:
▪ Discoveries in quantum mechanics that indicate the significance of consciousness at the
quantum level.
▪ The fact that there is no plausible account of how mindless matter could possibly generate
consciousness.
▪ Psychological studies which show that “thoughts and emotions can markedly affect the
activity of the physiological systems (e.g., immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular)
connected to the brain.”
▪ The demonstrated reality of ‘psi phenomena.’
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▪ The phenomenon of near death experiences (NDEs), in which “conscious mental activities
can be experienced in clinical death during a cardiac arrest.”
Such phenomena, which are now undeniable, cannot be accounted for within materialist science,
although materialists have tried to concoct ridiculous explanations, such as that of NDEs,
wherein temporarily dead human beings witness every detail of what is happening in an
operating theatre from a vantage point somewhere on the ceiling, being due to residual
physiological brain processes. As the proponents of post-materialist science point out:
NDEs in cardiac arrest suggest that the brain acts as a transceiver of mental activity, i.e.,
the mind can work through the brain but is not produced by it. NDEs occurring in
cardiac arrest ... further suggest the survival of consciousness, following bodily death,
and the existence of other levels of reality that are non-physical.
This is exactly the conclusion that Mensky asserts as being unavoidable:
Life is not the function of the body, and consciousness is not a function of the brain.
Rather [the] body is a realization of life, and brain is an instrument of consciousness.12
The latest discoveries of science lead towards the necessary acceptance of the fact that the
process of reality is ultimately immaterial and has a fundamental spiritual dimension involving
consciousness. As the proponents of post-materialist science conclude:
Scientists should not be afraid to investigate spirituality and spiritual experiences since
they represent a central aspect of human existence.
This is a view, as we shall see, also vigorously asserted by Mensky when he tells us that
evidence for his ‘Extended Everett Concept’ (EEC):
...may be found in the spiritual sphere of knowledge (oriental philosophies, world
religions and deep psychological practices). As a result, a much closer unification of the
material and spiritual spheres of knowledge [can be] achieved.13
Mensky’s quantum spiritual psycho-metaphysics is in fact an overarching paradigm for a postmaterialist science and philosophy. In particular his quantum-spiritual psycho-metaphysics is
entirely consistent with, coherent with, and supportive of Buddhism, not that Buddhism requires
such support.
Given this situation it is shocking to find that there are scientists who consider themselves to be
Buddhists who, at the same time, reject any kind of spirituality of this kind, or any kind for that
matter. They are ardent materialists, and assert that consciousness must be produced by nonconscious and mindless matter. The biologist and ‘psychologist’ David P. Barash is an example
of someone who claims to be a Buddhist, at the same time as asserting that many of the core
doctrines and metaphysical claims of Buddhist practitioners and philosophers are nonsense.
Buddhism, he asserts, must be “shorn of its hocus-pocus and abracadabra,” and “shorn of its
magical trappings.”14 In his book Buddhist Biology Barash claims that the Buddhist notion of
enlightenment is ridiculous. He quotes the Buddhist scholar and philosopher Robert Thurman,
who asserts the reality of Buddhist enlightenment, Thurman writes:
No matter how preposterous it may seem to us at first, it is necessary to acknowledge the
Buddha’s claim of the attainment of omniscience in enlightenment. It is foundational for
every form of Buddhism. It is rarely brought to the fore nowadays, even by Buddhist
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writers, since this claim by a being once human is uttermost, damnable sacrilege for
traditional theists and a primitive fantasy, an utter impossibility, for modern materialists.
But it is indispensable for Buddhists.15
Barash comments on this:
I do not want to be unkind, either to Thurman or to any Buddhas past or future … but …
such a claim really is “preposterous,” a “primitive fantasy” and an “utter
impossibility.”16
The ‘New Atheist’ Sam Harries is another example of someone who, whilst endorsing some of
the teachings and practices of Buddhism, at the same time rejects the overall non-materialist
worldview of Buddhist psycho-metaphysics:
It is true that many exponents of Buddhism, most notably the Dalai Lama, have been
remarkably willing to enrich (and even constrain) their view of the world through
dialogue with modern science. But the fact that the Dalai Lama regularly meets with
Western scientists to discuss the nature of the mind does not mean that Buddhism, or
Tibetan Buddhism, or even the Dalai Lama’s own lineage, is uncontaminated by
religious dogmatism. Indeed, there are ideas within Buddhism that are so incredible as to
render the dogma of the virgin birth plausible by comparison. No one is served by a
mode of discourse that treats such pre-literate notions as integral to our evolving
discourse about the nature of the human mind.17
Harris, an American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist, suggests that notions such as karma
and rebirth are nothing more than “pre-literate notions.” He also asserts the non-existence of
freewill18 and the view that consciousness can be explained by, and reduced to, brain-states.19
Barash and Harris however, make their claims on the basis of what Stapp calls a “known-to-befalse understanding of the nature of the physical world.”20 Quantum physics has now indicated
the presence of primordial nondual consciousness/awareness within the quantum ground of the
process of reality, and therefore, as Stapp says:
...proclaiming the validity of materialism on the basis of an inapplicable-in-this-context
nineteenth century science is an irrational act.21
Barash, however, and other materialists like him, embrace such an irrational act, and then
proceed to make unwarranted dogmatic proclamations on the basis of their fundamental
unscientific irrationality. Mensky, on the other hand, suggests that, given the fact that primordial
consciousness/awareness suffuses the entirety of Everett’s multiverse (the infinite number of
potential quantum ‘universes’), it follows that should a human being manage to dissolve
individuated consciousness into primordial consciousness, then such an “attainment of
omniscience in enlightenment” might be possible. The use of the term “omniscience” here does
not indicate a knowledge of “the number of bugs in the world”22 but, rather, direct access to all
potentialities within the quantum ground, which Mensky calls the “Alterverse,” the infinite pool
of potential alternative realities.
According to Barash consciousness is without a doubt, even though there is no evidence for the
assertion, nor no glimmer of any coherent explanation of a possible mechanism, a production of
the entirely mindless material world. He writes:
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So, let’s grant a ‘how’ to consciousness. Somehow or other, energy and matter come
together and produce it, via electro-chemical events across neuronal membranes. The
process itself is still a puzzle, one that is being vigorously tackled today.23
Such declarations of absolute certainty that “somehow or other” consciousness must have come
from mute, blind and mindless matter have been asserted vigorously, in the face of mounting
contrary evidence, by adherents of the materialist cause for many years now. And during that
time there has not been any indication of what the “somehow” or the “other” might be.
It is difficult to comprehend how such dogmatic and unsubstantiated proclamations have been
accorded any academic credibility. Barash wrote the above in 2012, at a point when the EvoDevo (evolutionary-development biology) revolution and the discoveries of epigenetics had
demoted the gene from pride of place, but he still maintained a staunch dogmatic and simplistic
crude materialist Darwinism, claiming that a few successive random mutations of material genes
could magically turn on a new world of awareness, knowing, and experience of experience:
… maybe consciousness really is adaptive. This would mean that those who are
conscious are more ‘fit’ (in the evolutionary sense) than those lacking this trait. More
precisely, genes that contribute to consciousness must somehow have been more
successful than alternative alleles in getting themselves projected into the future.24
“Maybe” such views are nonsense. In fact they are clearly nonsense, all the evidence is to the
contrary. Did one random mutation of an entirely material gene, devoid of any aspect of
consciousness or consciousness-potentiality, produce a barely discernible flickering smidgeon of
a glimmer of awareness-consciousness? How could such a barely noticeable glimmer of internal
light have an evolutionary advantage in a world when unconscious mechanistic processes were
presumably getting along just fine? How could an entirely random and entirely material event
produce an entirely immaterial sphere of awareness at all?
We now know that consciousness interacts with the immaterial quantum level of the process of
reality, so the notion that an entirely material random event might give rise to
consciousness/awareness is beyond the implausible. And then, are we to believe, in the
materialist account, that a hardly noticeable, hardly useful, barely functional glimmer of
consciousness hopefully awaited future amplifications of immaterial intensity through more
random material gene flaws? Nonsense is too mild a word, asinine is closer to the mark! How
else could one describe the claim by Barash that: “Consciousness might, then, be comparable to
male nipples”?25
Yet such is the stuff of much modern academic life, flying in the face of all evidence. And such
is the confident arrogance of such purveyors of materialist absurdity that they suggest that they
are up to the task of taking to task the Buddha, and his many subsequent followers who achieved
various states of enlightenment. Barash asserts, without evidence or argument, that the doctrines
of Buddhism are unscientific myth, superstition and nonsense, and he tells us that he intends to:
…biologize the Buddha, pointing respectfully as a biologist to the useful and insightful
teachings of Buddhism, once shorn of its magical trappings.26
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However, the style of science presented by Barash is that of the late nineteenth century. He
seems entirely oblivious to modern developments.
When the full array of current evidence is taken into account the anti-spiritual crusade on the part
of desperately deluded individuals turns out to be nothing other than prejudice and dogma. And
in the face of such materialist prejudice and dogma, quantum psycho-metaphysical spiritual
worldviews such as that presented by Mensky, based upon up-to-date science, are crucial. The
new scientific-spiritual worldview is brilliantly elucidated by Mensky’s psycho-metaphysics.
The beauty of Mensky’s quantum-spiritual psycho-metaphysics resides in the fact that it
seamlessly incorporates the new discoveries of quantum physics and psychology in a succinct,
coordinated, comprehensive and coherent manner.
Mensky’s quantum-consciousness based account of the functioning of reality, which he calls the
Quantum Concept of Consciousness (QCC) and also the Extended Everett Concept (EEC),
which, as the name indicates, extends Hugh Everett’s ‘Many-Worlds’ quantum metaphysics to
incorporate consciousness, naturally gives rise to the necessity of the presence of both
intelligence and design. And Mensky’s achievement does not end there. As previously
mentioned Mensky’s psycho-metaphysical account indicates that core features of some spiritual
traditions, such as karma and rebirth, are consistent with, perhaps even indicated by, quantum
discoveries.
Mensky also gives a detailed account of a quantum mechanism which underlies the functioning
of the process of reality as described by his quantum psycho-metaphysics. In a nutshell, in his
EEC and QCC Mensky identifies a transcendent sphere of universal Mind as extending across all
the worlds within Everett’s many-worlds. For Mensky this multiverse is termed the
“Alterverse,” the infinite scope of all alternative possible worlds. Any individuated mind
associated with a sentient being will occupy only one of these worlds depending on their
previous actions and mind-states. This indicates the operation of karma-vipaka, action and
result. Intentional actions and cultivated mind-states in any particular lifetime will leave traces
within a subtle quantum consciousness or ‘soul’, and this subtle rebirth consciousness will
influence which potentialities are activated within the Alterverse in future lifetimes.
Mensky indicates a quantum-consciousness ‘look-ahead’ mechanism which enables sentient
beings to be able, within limits, to perceive future potentialities and thereby alter their own
quantum potentialities in order to steer, so to speak, in the direction of more favorable future
scenarios. Such a quantum ‘look-ahead’ mechanism underlies the quantum process of
photosynthesis in which a quantum unit of energy called an ‘exciton’ is able to compute the most
efficient energy transfer route by exploring, in the form of a spread out quantum potentialitywave, all possible paths. All possible paths of energy transfer are tested out at the same time in
quantum potentiality before ‘collapsing’ into the most efficient.27
This mechanism, operating in the context of quantum consciousness, Mensky calls
“postcorrection.” The idea is that when the focused individuated consciousness is “turned off”
or reduced then the individuated mind has access to the universal consciousness of the
transcendent dimension of the entire Alterverse. The individuated aspect of consciousness can
then either just rest itself in the transcendent sphere or ‘look-ahead’ within the realms of future
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quantum potentialities. According to Mensky, it is this mechanism which underlies mystical
states, paranormal phenomenon, and seeming “miracles” such as spiritual healing. Mensky also
indicates that 1) this quantum-consciousness ‘look-ahead’ mechanism operates within evolution,
this mechanism, a quantum-consciousness Life-Principle, replaces the discredited Darwinian
mechanism, and importantly 2) the final goal of this universal quantum-consciousness ‘lookahead’ mechanism is enlightenment.
In a recent article, Contiguity of Parallel Worlds: Buddhist and Everett’s, the Buddhist
philosopher Andrey Terentyev refers to the “striking similarity of the views on reality in
Buddhism and in the Extended Everett Concept by M. Mensky.” In his conclusion Terentyev
writes that:
I’d like to stress that we are not just considering analogies in different fields of human
endeavour; in fact, both Buddhist thinkers and modern physicists, using very different
methods, arrived basically at the same description of [the] reality we live in. This is the
point where the parallel worlds of Buddhism and Physics unexpectedly touched each
other, and the deeper meaning of this is yet to be appreciated by both parties.28
The precision and detail of the “analogies,” similarities and parallels between quantum
discoveries and Buddhist insights that were established between the time of the Buddha and the
early centuries of the common era, and then subsequently reformulated in various new
perspectives, are so remarkable and profound that Terentyev’s assertion that we are not dealing
with superficial “analogies,” but are confronted with deep and profound core truths concerning
the nature of the functioning of reality and its inner purpose, is entirely appropriate.
In the early part of his book Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics: Life in Parallel Worlds,
Mensky tells us that:
…the phenomena of life and consciousness cannot be mechanistically reduced to the
action of the laws of science as they are found in the course of exploring [inanimate]
matter. The explanation of these phenomena on the basis of quantum mechanics requires
[the] addition of a special independent element to the set of quantum concepts and laws.
Such a new element of theory should directly connect quantum concepts with the
concepts characteristic of life. The simplest way to find this element is to consider the
phenomenon of consciousness and compare it with the description of observation
(measurement) in quantum mechanics. Then it may be formulated as identification of
consciousness with the “separation of the alternatives” - a concept relating to the “Many
Worlds” interpretation of quantum mechanics. … the addition of this element simplifies
the conceptual structure of quantum mechanics instead of [rendering] it more
complicated. If we consider not only the phenomenon of consciousness but [also the]
more general phenomenon of life, this additional element may be called [the] “life
principle”. It very naturally follows from the analysis of [the] theory of consciousness
… The life principle formulates [the] evolution of [a] living system in such a way that it
is determined by … goals as well as by causes. The main goal of living system[s] is
survival so that their evolution provides their survival. However, for more sophisticated
forms of life, the goals may include other criteria [such as] the quality of life.29
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Mensky is emphatic that the phenomena of life and consciousness cannot be reduced to either
quantum mechanics or “any other theory of [inanimate] matter.” These aspects are, of course,
involved in the processes and functions of living organisms, but:
…life and consciousness are not the direct consequence of these processes. Life is not
the function of the body, and consciousness is not a function of the brain. Rather body is
a realization of life, and brain is an instrument of consciousness.30
This is a beautifully formulated observation. It is the phenomenon of ‘life’, considered as a
fundamental force within the process of reality, which evolves the bodies of sentient beings, and
it is consciousness, again considered to be fundamental, that organizes the brain for the
manifestation of individuated consciousness from a deeper layer of non-individuated primordial
consciousness/awareness.
According to Mensky, although life and consciousness are not reducible to quantum mechanics,
it is nevertheless the case that they are “connected” in a deep and irreducible manner with
“quantum reality.” In fact, as Mensky’s quantum psycho-metaphysical scenario unfolds it
becomes apparent that he considers life and consciousness to be fundamental aspects of the
universe that are internal to the quantum realm. Mensky, furthermore, considers the concepts of
quantum reality, consciousness and the ‘life principle’ as being interconnected and mutually
supporting. Quantum reality has an internal aspect of consciousness which manifests through
the unfolding of life through the operation of the life-principle. The life-principle can be
thought of as an internal ‘pressure’ within quantum reality which produces the bodies of various
organisms. This process occurs through a quantum evolutionary process, in order that
individuated consciousness can be expressed through the brains which are “instruments of
consciousness.” Individuated consciousnesses are all fragments of the vast undifferentiated
consciousness-awareness which resides within quantum reality. The internal ‘pressure’ due to
the life-principle operates in order to maximize the degree and qualitative nature of embodied
consciousness. Furthermore, Mensky explicitly views consciousness as having a “mystical”
depth. He speaks of the necessity for including within the realm of consciousness “deep
mystical features.”
The implications of Mensky’s EEC (Extended Everett Concept) are dramatic and spectacular,
with applications to several foundational problems in the arenas of psychology, parapsychology,
evolutionary-biology and spirituality. Within the arena of the Darwinian-evolution verses
intelligent design debate, Mensky’s perspective indicates that there is an intelligence internal to
the process of reality, not an external guiding God. What appears to be a material evolution is
in reality an unfolding of quantum potentialities driven by the internal quantum ‘life-principle’
which acts through the quantum realm of potentiality to produce the manifested apparently
material world and sentient beings within it. This entire process is ultimately a quantum
illusion. Mensky’s account naturally and coherently elucidates the origin of life as being due to
the internal pressure of the ‘life-principle’ acting through the quantum level.
Within the arena of the so-called ‘hard problem’ of consciousness, the problem is resolved
naturally and coherently. Individuated consciousness is an embodied fragment of the universal
non-differentiated unified consciousness-awareness which is an internal aspect of quantum
reality.
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Within the arena of spirituality and mysticism, Mensky’s EEC indicates that mystical states of
awareness are experienced when individuated consciousness dissolves into the less
differentiated state of the ground-quantum-consciousness. This aspect of the EEC corresponds
precisely to the Buddhist Yogācāra (Yoga-practitioners-Consciousness-Only) distinction
between jnana, which indicates the universal nondual consciousness-awareness, which is also
called ‘wisdom’, and vi-jnana, or divided consciousness, dualistic consciousness. In Yogācāra
psycho-metaphysics there are various levels of vijnana, the most fundamental being the
alayavijnana or the ground-consciousness.
The precision of the mapping of this aspect of Yogācāra psycho-metaphysics onto Mensky's
EEC is highlighted by Mensky’s assertion that individuated consciousness (vijnana – divided or
dualistic consciousness) is associated with the “separation of the alternatives” which reside
within the ‘many-worlds’ of quantum reality. According to Mensky:
…while consciousness cannot be understood in the context of chemistry, classical
physics and physiology, it turns out that it (or at least its main features) can be
understood in the context of quantum mechanics. More precisely, the essence of
consciousness can be interpreted as a special type of perception of quantum reality by
living beings.31
Classical physics, of course, refers to the pre-quantum physics which operated from the
assumption that the material world existed at some level as it appears, as solid bits of matter. This
perspective viewed consciousness as some strange magical transformation of matter into a
qualitative realm of experience. Such a view, however, produces the ‘hard problem’ of the
arising of consciousness because matter itself is, in this ‘classical’ view, defined to be devoid of
the qualities of consciousness. With the advent of quantum discoveries this ‘hard’ problem has
dissolved because the illusion of the material world has been found to have dissolved into the
deeper immaterial realm of quantum potentiality which has an internal qualitative aspect of
consciousness. As the physicist Nick Herbert has pointed out:
…every quantum system has both an ‘inside’ and an ‘outside’, and ... consciousness
both in humans as well as in other sentient beings is identical to the inner experience of
some quantum system. A quantum system’s outside behavior is described by quantum
theory, it’s inside experience is the subject matter of a new ‘inner physics’….32
Individuated consciousness is channeled through the physical organization of organic sentient
beings from the deeper nondual undifferentiated quantum awareness-consciousness within
quantum reality.
By the phrase “the essence of consciousness can be interpreted as a special type of perception of
quantum reality by living beings” Mensky indicates that living beings perceive a tiny portion of
the full sweep of all the possibilities within the quantum realm, as if putting on blinkers in order
to occupy and experience just one of the possible worlds. Mensky is by no means the only
quantum physicist who has matched up the phenomena of perception, consciousness and the
nature of ‘quantum reality’. Wojciech Zurek, the proponent of ‘quantum Darwinism’, also
suggests an important link:
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Measurement – perception – is the place where physics gets personal, where our role and
our capabilities as observers and agents of change in the universe (and our limitations as
entities subject to the laws of physics) are tested - or, rather, where we get put in our
place. I believe that quick solutions, and I include both the Copenhagen interpretation
and many worlds here, have a tendency to gloss over the real mystery, which is how do
we - that is to say, how does life - fit within the quantum universe. … The virtue of the
focus on quantum measurement is that it puts issues connected with information and
existence at the very center. This is where they should be.’33
Mensky calls his quantum psycho-metaphysical perspective the Extended Everett Concept
(EEC), which means it is a development of the Many-Worlds quantum perspective which
derives from Hugh Everett III, which also involved John Wheeler and Bryce DeWitt. Zurek
considers the MWI (Many Worlds Interpretation) and the Copenhagen interpretation, which
asserts that consciousness collapses quantum wavefunctions of possibility, to be both “quick
solutions” to the quantum measurement problem, both of which hide deeper complexity.
The quantum measurement problem is the problem of exactly how just one of the multitude of
quantum possibilities prior to observation (a superposition of potentialities) becomes actual.
According to Zurek:
The key feature of the Copenhagen Interpretation is the dividing line between quantum
and classical. Bohr emphasized that the border must be mobile so that even the “ultimate
apparatus”—the human nervous system—could in principle be measured and analyzed
as a quantum object, provided that a suitable classical device could be found to carry out
the task. In the absence of a crisp criterion to distinguish between quantum and classical,
an identification of the classical with the macroscopic has often been tentatively
accepted.34
Here Zurek indicates that the Copenhagen Interpretation requires a moveable boundary, a
boundary which in principle can move into the consciousness of the observer. But often a more
simplistic boundary is accepted. It is sometimes mistakenly assumed that a measuring
instrument can ‘collapse’ quantum wavefunctions without the necessity of consciousness at
some level of the mechanism.
The Many-Worlds scenario, however, avoids such a ‘collapse’. According to Zurek:
The Many Worlds Interpretation (or more accurately, the Many Universes
Interpretation), developed by Hugh Everett III with encouragement from John Archibald
Wheeler in the 1950s, claims to do away with the boundary... In this interpretation, the
entire universe is described by quantum theory. Superpositions evolve forever according
to the Schrödinger equation. Each time a suitable interaction takes place between any
two quantum systems, the wave function of the universe splits, developing ever more
“branches.”35
Before a measurement or observation of a quantum system is performed there ‘exists’ as
potentialities or possibilities a ‘superposition’, set or ‘stack’ of ‘alternative worlds’ (W1, W2, W3,
… Wn,…). None of these worlds fully ‘exist’ as manifested and experienced worlds, they are
quantum potentialities which kind of semi-exist in a quantum void of potentiality. Even the term
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‘semi-exist’, however, is misleading because if we state the quantum existence-configuration as
revealed by experiment, all quantum possibilities neither exist nor non-exist, nor both exist and
non-exist, nor neither exist nor non-exist! Perhaps the best we can say is that these, possibly
infinite, quantum potentialities are potential worlds of experience waiting to be experienced.
In essence, according to Bohr’s ‘Copenhagen Interpretation’ (figure 1), there is a radical
transformation which takes place when an ‘observation’ or ‘measurement’ of a quantum system
takes place. The quantum superposition of the multitudes of quantum possibilities ‘reduces’ down
to just one ‘classical’ experienced world (Wx). The Many Worlds interpretation (figure 2), on the
other hand, abolishes the quantum-classical divide by asserting that whenever an observer
interacts with the quantum system, the observer divides between the worlds, within each world a
copy of the observer experiences the potentials which go along with that world. In another world
another copy of the observer experiences the potentialities of that particular world. And so on.
This process quickly produces a vast number of experiential “branches” within the overall
quantum realm of potentiality. Indeed Bryce Dewitt, a MWI enthusiast, said of this viewpoint:
I still recall vividly the shock I experienced on first encountering this multiworld
concept. The idea of 10100+ slightly imperfect copies of oneself all constantly splitting
into further copies, which ultimately become unrecognizable, is not easy to reconcile
with common sense.36
The notion, however, that there really are vast multitudes of “slightly imperfect copies of oneself
all constantly splitting into further copies,” is very difficult to comprehend or to take seriously,
although quite a few do. Indeed, this view only has surface plausibility, a philosophical analysis
of exactly what it means to be the ‘same’ self in a ‘different’ world indicates serious issues of
conceptual coherence. At what point does the supposedly same ‘self’ become a different ‘self’
for example. The significant physicist John Bell declared that:
…if such a theory were taken seriously it would hardly be possible to take anything
else seriously.37
The number of supposedly separate worlds, occupied by ‘imperfect’ copies of multiple selves, at
every moment in time, according to MWI, must constantly increase by a vast amount. DeWitt
referred to this idea as “schizophrenia with a vengeance.”38 But such schizophrenic nonsense,
which is highly useful for science fiction writers, results from drawing crude conclusions from
what is actually a very complex and subtle quantum situation. However, as we shall see,
Mensky’s extension of the MWI rescues the MWI from desperate implausibility and in so doing
provides a subtle and profound quantum psycho-metaphysics that has a spiritual dimension.
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Niels Bohr
Figure 1: Bohr’s Copenhagen Interpretation
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Hugh Everett III
Figure 2: Many Worlds
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Furthermore, according to Mensky, the fact of the entanglement of consciousness at the quantum
level means that our ideas of scientific methodology must be extended. If consciousness has
now been shown to be part of physics then direct observations of the phenomena associated with
subjective consciousness must also become a part of evidence taken into account. In his paper
Everett Interpretation and Quantum Concept of Consciousness Mensky writes that:
…the conventional methodology of physics accepts [the] verification of theories only
with the help of instrumental experiments. From the conservative viewpoint, the
verification by [directly] observing [subjective] phenomena is not objective. Therefore,
such observations may be called ‘verification’ only if the meaning of the term is
extended. This means extending the methodology. If the notion of verification is actually
extended in this way, a lot of [evidence] of [the] EEC may be found in the spiritual
sphere of knowledge (oriental philosophies, world religions and deep psychological
practices). As a result, a much closer unification of the material and spiritual spheres of
knowledge [can be] achieved.39
And Mensky also tells us that:
… quantum mechanics … attempts to represent the measurement process … as
completely objective, as absolutely independent of the observer who perceives the result
of the measurement, [such attempts] have not met with success … the description of
quantum measurements … must involve … the observer or, to be precise, the observer’s
consciousness…40
This resonates with Penrose’s observation concerning the MWI that:
…the behaviour of the seemingly objective world that is actually perceived depends on
how one’s consciousness threads its way through the myriads of quantum-superposed
alternatives. In the absence of an adequate theory of conscious observers, the manyworlds interpretation must necessarily remain incomplete.41
And it is precisely Mensky’s Quantum Concept of Consciousness (QCC) that provides such a
completion. Mensky’s proposal is that consciousness can be identified with the:
…“separation of the alternatives” – a concept relating to the “Many Worlds”
interpretation of quantum mechanics. It is interesting that the addition of this element
simplifies the conceptual structure of quantum mechanics instead of [making] it more
complicated.42
According to Mensky the canonical science fiction MWI, wherein sentient beings split between
alternatives, producing multiple copies of themselves, is incorrect. And, also, the Copenhagen
view that the alternatives reduce down to just one upon an observation is also mistaken. Instead
the consciousness of a sentient being “threads its way through the myriads of quantumsuperposed alternatives” by ‘choosing’, mostly unconsciously, one of the alternatives. On this
view, individuated consciousness is associated with the separation of the alternatives that the
consciousness “threads through” within the multiple worlds. During this process it is not the
case that the other potentials disappear, they remain as virtual quantum potentialities for the
sentient being in question. Furthermore, other sentient beings will be threading their way
through other quantum pathways.
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According to Mensky:
… not only does the Many-Worlds picture excessively dramatize the situation, but
may also mislead (and quite often does so) … in reality no ‘many classical worlds’
exist at all. There is only one world, and this is a quantum world, and it is a
superposition state. It is simply that every component of the superposition taken
separately corresponds to what our consciousness perceives as the picture of a
classical world, and to different superposition terms there corresponds different
pictures. What we call a “classical (Everett’s) world” is just one ‘classical projection’
of the quantum world. These different projections are produced by the observer’s
consciousness ([perceiving the quantum world subjectively]), while the quantum
world itself exists independently of whatever observer ([i.e. the quantum world exists
‘objectively’]).43
The last part of this quote means that the global quantum world is not dependent on individuated
consciousness. Mensky takes great pains to undermine crude understandings of MWI such as
the view that the many-worlds of the MWI are fully paid up ‘classical’ worlds, or that “one
classical world transforms into several (or even an infinite number) of worlds,” or that there is
“a monstrous nonconservation of energy under this ‘multiplication of worlds’, or ‘world
branching’.” Mensky is not a fan of the “schizophrenia with a vengeance” view, which asserts a
multitude of the same person ‘branching’ into differing worlds, advanced by DeWitt and others.
Indeed in his article Everett Interpretation and Quantum Consciousness Mensky explicitly states
that the DeWitt approach:
…turned out to be misleading. The term “many worlds” evoked an image of many real
(“physical”) worlds which exist simultaneously (say, beside each other).44
Mensky indicates that the usual presentation of the MWI has the implication that an observer’s
consciousness must split between the alternatives and he suggests that the term ‘Many-Minds’ is
a better description of the situation. Furthermore:
In Everett’s interpretation there appears [to be] some [ambiguity]. All alternatives are
realized, and the observer’s consciousness splits between all alternatives. At the same
time, the individual observers subjectively perceive what is going on in such a way as if
there exists a single alternative, the one he exists in. In other words consciousness as a
whole splits between the alternatives but the individual consciousness chooses (selects)
one alternative. … in [any one] of Everett’s worlds, all observers see the same thing,
their observations are consistent with each other…45
Here Mensky indicates a crucial feature of his Extended Everett Concept (EEC), which is the
insight that consciousness not only arises as the separation of alternatives, it also performs a
selection between them. This is an extremely clever insight which avoids the extreme views of
the MWI and the Copenhagen Interpretations. Because there is a, mostly unconscious, ‘choice’
on the part of an individual mind of which alternative to experience, there will be an appearance
of a ‘collapse’ of wavefunction into just one world, but in fact the quantum potentialities remain
as they are, and the individual consciousness threads its way through.
Because ‘quantum reality’, which is the fundamental reality of our universe, consists of a
multitude of alternative quantum potential ‘worlds’, Mensky proposes the notion of a quantum
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“Alterverse” of “parallel worlds”. Mensky then asks why observers are not aware of these vast
numbers of ‘parallel worlds’. The answer he gives is that “alternative classical realities are
separated by consciousness.” It is important to be aware in this context that Mensky is employing
the term ‘consciousness’ to indicate the individuated consciousness experienced by a sentient
being in waking life, during which:
…as a result of such a separation of alternatives by consciousness, we have the illusion
that only a single world exists. Such is our subjective impression, even if objectively
many parallel worlds exist.46
According to Mensky’s EEC perspective the primary and fundamental reality is ‘quantum
reality’ which consists of the ‘Alterverse’ of all possibilities, all ‘parallel worlds’. In this quote
Mensky seems to be slightly ambiguous about the exact relationship between consciousness and
the separation of alternatives. In some passages he says that consciousness should be identified
with the separation of alternatives, whilst in other pages such as this one he seems to imply that
consciousness causes the separation. This apparent inconsistency, however, turns out to be a
result of differing points of view. Mensky gives the image shown in figure 3, to which I have
added explanatory text. This shows a two-tier system, but it must be kept in mind that the
‘higher’ tier (which is only ‘higher’ in a graphical, not metaphysical, sense), wherein
consciousness operates within separated alternatives, experiencing only one world, is not
actually separate from the overall quantum world, it is the mode of experience which creates an
‘illusion’ that there is only one ‘classical’ world. As Mensky says:
Figure 3
…subjectively an observer has an illusion that there is only one classical world around
him. The reason [for] this illusion is that classical alternatives are separated in his
consciousness so that they are perceived independently from each other. This is the
classical vision of the objectively quantum world.47
Furthermore, not only does individuated consciousness emerge with the separation of the
alternatives, it also in some way ‘selects’ one of the alternatives. In everyday life ordinary people
do not inhabit a multitude of ‘classical’ alternatives:
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The consciousness as a whole splits between alternatives, and a ‘component’ of
consciousness lives within one classical alternative, perceives only this single alternative
classical reality.48
An individuated consciousness “lives within one classical alternative,” by selecting, mostly
unconsciously, a pathway through the possible worlds. Mensky’s account of the nature of
consciousness in relation to the two tiers requires a little elucidation as it is not entirely clear. In
the following passage he indicates that, whilst he wants to identify consciousness with the
separation of alternatives, he also suggests that it must also be considered to be a feature of the
entire quantum reality:
In psychology, only that which is subjectively perceived is termed the consciousness,
i.e., only the ‘classical component’ of the consciousness, according to our terminology.
Therefore, to identify the notion of ‘consciousness’ with some notion from … quantum
theory, we must broadly interpret consciousness as something capable of embracing the
entire quantum world (alternative classical realities) rather than exclusively one [of] its
classical projection[s].49
Here Mensky indicates the necessity for a notion of a global, universal consciousness,
associated with all the possible worlds. This global consciousness underlies all the individuated
consciousnesses. He then goes on to propound his ‘identification hypothesis’ that asserts the
identity of “the ability of a human referred to as consciousness” and the “separation of the
single quantum world into classical alternatives.”50
The only way that such a model can be coherently construed is by requiring two ‘types’ of
consciousness. The first, which is identified with the quantum realm of parallel worlds in a
state of quantum superposition, is a nondual, undifferentiated field of a ‘universal’, or collective
consciousness. Mensky calls this level of awareness, which resides within the quantum ground
reality of ‘parallel worlds’, the ‘super-consciousness’ (‘superconsciousness’). In this realm of
undifferentiated awareness, which manifests when individuated consciousness, i.e. waking
everyday consciousness, is “turned off” it is possible for an intuitive “super-cognition” to
operate. This faculty is able to “[supply] …information that is not available in the usual
(conscious) state. The explanatory text for figure 3 explains that:
If consciousness and separation of the alternatives are identified, then dimmed
consciousness (in particular, in the state of sleep or trance) means an incomplete
separation of alternatives, in which consciousness looks into ‘other alternatives’ and can
single out the most favourable one among them.51
This feature of the relationship between consciousness and super-consciousness, the fact that
when the focused awareness of individuated consciousness is reduced, consciousness (in its
‘super-consciousness’ mode) is then able to gain access to information which resides within
parallel worlds - even some way into the future - underlies the phenomenon of precognition.
According to Mensky:
…if consciousness is identified with the separation of the alternatives, then turning …
consciousness off means [the] disappearance of the separation, i.e. [the] emergence of
access to all alternative realities. The information from this enormous “database” makes
feasible (in the state of unconsciousness) super-intuition, i.e. direct vision of the truth.
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Thus, extraordinary features of consciousness … should [be revealed] “at the edge of
consciousness” when the consciousness (i.e. the separation of the alternatives)
disappears or almost disappears. What appears then instead of consciousness (in the
usual understanding of this word) may be called extended consciousness, or superconsciousness. Another very important assumption accepted in [the] EEC is that
consciousness has the ability to influence the alternative to be subjectively perceived. In
a sense, this means that the ability exists to “control reality”.52
Mensky amplifies upon this by indicating that it is important to understand that quantum reality
itself is not being altered, it is, rather, that the “subjectively perceived reality is controlled.” In
other words the subjective consciousness of a person is able to select, mostly unconsciously,
more advantageous, or in some situations such as someone with a death wish less advantageous,
pathways within the ‘parallel worlds’ of quantum reality.
This is in fact a kind of ‘look-ahead’ mechanism operating, again mostly unconsciously, through
the quantum level where the focused ‘higher’ levels of conscious awareness are dampened or
‘turned off’, either completely or to some degree. Consciousness is thus able to “obtain
information from the quantum world as a whole, i.e. to look into other alternatives, other
realities.” This is because in the MWI these alternative realities, ‘parallel worlds’ “exist
objectively”.53 And when “partitions between the alternatives vanish or become penetrable”, in
states “at the edge of consciousness” such as sleeping, trance or meditation for example,
information from other worlds becomes available.
It is important to be aware of the various, flexible, uses of the term ‘consciousness’ in Mensky’s
model. Although he speaks of consciousness being “turned off” for example he also suggests
that in this state information from other parallel worlds becomes available to ‘consciousness’.
This would seem on the face of it to be a blatant contradiction. However, it is necessary to bear
in mind that, although Mensky does seem to speak in black and white terms, consciousness
being ‘on or off’ and so on, what we are dealing with is actually more like a continuum of states
of awareness, or states of ‘consciousness’. When Mensky speaks of consciousness being ‘turned
off’ he is referring to the ‘high’ level focused states of individuated consciousness. However,
even in states generally considered to be ‘unconscious,’ in Western terminology, the capacity for
consciousness to function unconsciously is still present and, furthermore, any information
which is accessed from ‘parallel worlds’ in such ‘unconscious’, or less conscious, states will be
available to consciousness when it emerges in its more focused state. This is indicated by
Mensky’s use of terminology such as:
…when the explicit consciousness is disabled (in the [sphere] of [the] unconscious),
the (implicit) consciousness witnesses, instead of the usual classical world, something
quite different, including particularly all classical scenarios in all time moments.54
And, because the “implicit consciousness” has access to “all classical scenarios in all time
moments, it has access to future quantum states, and subsequently it can orientate itself towards
quantum states that are favourable to survival and enhancement of quality of life. Mensky calls
this important quantum mechanism “postcorrection.”
When focused individuated
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individuated consciousness - has access to all parallel worlds, and some knowledge from
alternative worlds can subsequently become available to a future focused individuated
consciousness. Furthermore, according to Mensky, consciousness can use this information
gained through implicit consciousness in order to steer a course through parallel worlds towards
more favourable situations, so to speak. According to Mensky such a process underlies the
evolutionary unfolding of quantum potentialities into sentient life.
This leads to Mensky’s ‘Quantum Concept of Life’ (QCL) which is that: “a man (and a living
being generally) can influence the subjective probabilities of the alternatives, increasing [the]
probability to experience those alternatives that are favourable.” Mensky also refers to this
concept as the ‘life principle’ or ‘principle of life’, which he also identifies as a variety of the
Anthropic Principle. “The Principle of Life”, says Mensky, is “the statement that only favorable
scenarios (i.e. those forming the life sphere) are realized for living beings.”55 Furthermore this
principle follows from the “properties of consciousness.”56 This means that Mensky’s ‘Quantum
Concept of Life’, extended into the ‘life principle’ tells us that, in the same way that a living
being can use ‘super-intuition’ within the parallel worlds of ‘super-consciousness’ to navigate
towards favourable future scenarios, so too Life, considered as a collective and global
phenomenon, uses the same mechanism to drive the process of evolution: “the evolution of life
may be expressed as the set of favourable scenarios instead of the wider set of all possible …
scenarios.”57 This quantum metaphysical perspective leads us to the conclusion that there is a
kind of primordial consciousness operating according to the quantum super-intuitive ‘postcorrective’ ‘look-ahead’ mechanism in order to unfold Life from the quantum potentialities
within the ‘Alterverse’.
Mensky, then, considers that Life and sentience are latent internal aspects within the quantum
reality of the ‘Alterverse’. One might say that there is an internal ‘pressure’, supplied by a
primordial consciousness, to unfold life and sentience. According to Mensky:
The life principle is in essence a version of the [anthropic] principle but with 1) Homo
Sapiens as an observer replaced by the totality of living beings and 2) Multiverse (the set
of many universes existing beside each other) replaced by [the] Alterverse (the set of the
virtual classical worlds presenting a single quantum world existing in the sense of
quantum reality.58
According to Mensky, Life and consciousness cannot be accounted for using the mechanistic
methods appropriate for inanimate matter. This is because Life orientates itself towards goals
such as survival and maximizing quality of life:
Life is a phenomenon which is realized by living matter consisting of living organisms
(living beings). Living matter differs from non-living matter in that its dynamics is
determined not only by causes, but also by goals. First of all the goal of survival
(prolongation of life) is important in this context. However in the context of sufficiently
perfect forms of life more complicated goals are also actual. They can be formulated in
terms of quality of life.59
These goals, within the context of evolution, can only be comprehended and elucidated within
the context of a perspective like Mensky’s EEC and QCL (‘Extended Everett Concept’ and
‘Quantum Concept of Life’) because, as we have seen, the EEC and QCL quite naturally provide
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quantum mechanisms for the ‘look-ahead’ capacity that is required for such natural goalorientated behavior. Materialist-mechanist accounts such as Neo-Darwinism are completely
incapable of elucidating or accounting for the origin of life. The presence of the internal pressure
for survival, or the generation and development of consciousness, all of these crucial issues,
however, are elucidated and accounted for quite naturally within the EEC and QCL.
Mensky gives a detailed exposition of the mechanism of ‘postcorrection’, the quantum ‘lookahead’ mechanism, using quantum terminology in his book, and also in his paper ‘Postcorrection
and mathematical model of life in Extended Everett’s Concept’60 which is available online. I will
give a less detailed overview. In his paper ‘Reality in quantum mechanics: Extended Everett
Concept and Consciousness’61 Mensky gives the following account of the phenomenon of ‘free
will’ in the context of deciding between taking a right or left turning:
If I wish to go to the right and actually go to the right, how (does) this happen? In fact
there is no explanation of this simple ability of consciousness [in a mechanistic
perspective]. In the framework of EEC, if the modification of probabilities is assumed,
free will is explained quite naturally. There are two alternatives: in one [of] Everett’s
world[s] I go to the right, in the other I go to the left. Both alternatives have non-zero
probabilities. My consciousness modifies the probabilities, increasing the probability
of the first alternative. As a result, with a high probability I go to the right. This is my
free will.62
Here Mensky indicates that there is no explanation of this phenomenon outside of the EEC
model. Suppose someone is approaching a fork in the road and either alternative will do as well
to reach the intended destination. At this point the traveller has not decided which fork to take;
we may consider him or her to be ‘in two minds’ about which way to go. This view of the
situation actually corresponds to Albert and Loewer’s 1988 ‘Many-Minds’ interpretation of the
quantum wavefunction, according to which our traveller will actually have ‘two minds’ that are
within the overall quantum superposition of the situation.63 When the traveller actually makes a
decision as to which route to take, this process may be considered to be an imposition of a freewilled intention, which is an internal amplification of one of the quantum potentialities to a
degree that a ‘decision’ has been made.
In Mensky’s ‘postcorrection’ scenario, in which decisions are made towards future possibilities,
this amplificatory process occurs, generally unconsciously (i.e. not in the realm of full-blown
‘focused’ conscious awareness), within the realm of the super-consciousness by employing the
quantum ‘look-ahead mechanism’. We see here that Mensky’s notion of ‘super-consciousness’ in
some contexts can be equated with the notion of ‘sub-consciousness’ in other contexts, both can
employ the ‘super-intuition’ which resides “at the edge of consciousness.” The mechanism
involves the ‘super/sub-consciousness’ quantumly exploring future potentialities and then
facilitating a ‘post-corrective’ weighting of quantum potentialities towards favourable future
scenarios by consciousness in general.
According to Mensky this fundamental mechanism also underlies the process of evolution.
Mensky writes in his ‘Postcorrection’ paper:
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…we shall introduce the mathematical formulism describing the principle feature of
living matter (of its consciousness): the ability to correct its state making use of the
information (about the efficient way of survival) obtained from the future. It will be
assumed that the evolution of living matter includes a [look-ahead] correction
[mechanism] providing survival at distant moments. This correction leaves in the sphere
of life only those scenarios of evolution which are favorable for life. Unfavorable
scenarios do not disappear from the quantum reality but are outside the sphere of life…
this correction (selection of favourable scenarios) is represented by the special
mathematical operator which is called postcorrection.64
Mensky presents an analysis in quantum mechanical terminology, but this is not necessary for our
purposes, interested readers can access the paper online. The essential point is that living beings
can, generally unconsciously (Mensky suggests this is one reason for the importance of sleep),
feel out the favourable future scenarios and then amplify the quantum probabilities of the current
situation in order to orientate organisms towards favourable conditions for survival and the
enhancement of quality of life. Furthermore, this process of the quantum look-ahead mechanism
operates on a global scale within the process of evolution. The materialist notion that there is no
purpose, meaning or teleology is shown to be a mistaken dogma.
Mensky’s account of how the primordial ‘Life-Operator’ began its business of unfolding sentient
organic life is illuminating:
If the picture of the world as it appears in consciousness were far from classical, then,
due to quantum non-locality, this would be a picture of a world with ‘locally
unpredictable’ behaviour. The future of a restricted region in such a world would depend
on events even in very distant regions. No strategy of surviving could be elaborated in
such a world for a localised living being. Life (of the form we know) would be
impossible. On the contrary, a (close to) classical state of the world is ‘locally
predictable’. The evolution of a restricted region of such a world essentially depends
only on the events in this region or not too far from it. Influence of distant regions is
negligible. Strategy of surviving can be elaborated in such a world for a localised living
being.65
Life unfolds from the primordial nonlocal quantum field of potentiality. The fact of quantum
nonlocality means that all distant regions of the primordial quantum field are instantaneously
interconnected. If Life were to remain nonlocal then events in very distant regions would
instantaneously effect all other regions, and this would produce a locally unpredictable world
where individuated consciousness could not predict local events in order for organisms to
survive. Therefore, Life must produce predictable local, or ‘classical’ regions, wherein events
have a degree of local predictability.
Mensky indicates that the level of consciousness at which the process begins is:
…the most primitive, or the most deep, level of consciousness, differing perceiving
from not perceiving.66
This indicates that the first glimmers of the separations within the nonlocal quantum field take
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place through the operation of deep internal levels of the process of internal quantum
perception. An important feature of this perspective is that originally the ‘Alterverse’ was
entirely non-separated but contained all potentialities as ‘possible worlds’ awaiting unfoldment.
In this state the field of potentiality is entirely ‘nonlocal’, which means that all points,
irrespective of distance, are quantumly entangled. In this state, or a state close to this state of
universal instantaneous interpenetration and interrelationship, an event anywhere in the field
will have effects all over the field and, because of this, the world is “locally unpredictable.”
Classical level life could not function unless the nonlocal quantum ‘Alterverse’ starts to get
‘local’ through a separation of alternatives, which creates “locally predicable,” or “locally
stable,” worlds of experience. Within such locally stable ‘classical’ regions: “the restricted
region of such a world depends only on its state inside this region,” rather than being determined
by quantum fluctuations on the other side of the universe:
It is only in [a] locally stable (therefore classical) world that the future can be predicted
with relatively good reliability and … consciousness separates the quantum world into
its classical counterparts (alternatives) because (the only known for us) local form of life
is feasible only in classical worlds.67
So, because of this situation consciousness must create a ‘stable’ ‘classical’ world which it can
inhabit. Mensky gives the following image:
There is an image that illustrates the splitting of consciousness between alternative
classical realities: the blinkers put on a horse, such that it cannot look sideward and [so]
retains the direction of motion. In precisely the same way, … consciousness puts on …
blinkers, places ‘partitions’ between different classical realities in order that each
‘component’ of … consciousness would only see one of them and make decisions in
accordance with the information coming from only one classical (and hence relatively
stable and predictable, i.e., livable) world.68
The Alterverse, then, separates the ‘parallel worlds’ in order to produce perceiving sentient
beings within a classically stable world.
This process of unfoldment of potentialities begins when primordial consciousness begins a
process of internal perception which starts the process of separation and thereby begins the
process of the evolutionary unfoldment of organic sentient life of various forms and degrees.
Mensky’s account indicates how a deep internal ‘pressure’ due to primordial consciousness,
Mensky’s “Life-Principle,” selects the structures conforming to a stable material world and the
contained organic structures of sentience from the wealth of quantum possibility. This provides
a view of evolution as an essentially quantum process which begins with the operation of the
interior quantum cognition operating within the field of quantum potentialities.
The starting point, at the very base of the hierarchical cascade of what physicist David Bohm
called quantum ‘implicate orders’ into material manifestation, is the glimmer of the division into
perceiver and perceived. Subsequently this process produces increasingly ‘materialized’ organic
structures embodying ‘focused’, ‘separated’ and individuated consciousness. This perspective is
clearly suggested by Mensky’s account of morphogenesis:
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There is one more unsolved problem in biology that also could obtain its explanation in
EEC. This is the problem of morphogenesis. How an embryo is constructed starting
from a single cell? Where is [the] plan of the process of constructing it, step by step, or
how [is] constructing … controlled and directed? …consciousness (the primitive-level
consciousness, or ability to somehow perceive, which is connected with a living being
from the very beginning) periodically addresses to the quantum world as a whole,
compare[s] various scenarios of constructing embryo (various ‘building plans’) and
then, returning to the usual state, increase[s] probabilities of those scenarios that lead to
the right construction. Of course, this is only a sketch of a possible explanation of the
phenomenon, its main idea.69
This is a stunning insight into how the process of Life generates itself from quantum potentiality
using the quantum ‘look ahead’ mechanism. The various possibilities for organic life ‘exist’ as
quantum potentialities within the ‘Alterverse’. The internal pressure of consciousness which is
organizing the quantum potentialities into organic structures, structures capable of channelling
the ground energy-awareness into the embodied individuated consciousness of sentient beings, is
able to ‘feel’ its way ahead by addressing the “quantum world as a whole.” The morphogenetic
structures are already within the quantum ground as potentialities, they need to be actualised
through being manifested into more ‘explicate’, ‘solidified’ or materialised versions.
Individuated consciousness, however, also maintains a fundamental connection to the universal
background awareness of quantum potentialities for the future, the ‘parallel worlds’ of the
‘Alterverse’. The brain acts as a kind of filter which sometimes allows deeper levels of
consciousness to individuate into the ‘separated’ dualistic realm of experience:
The brain is used by … consciousness to control the body and obtain information about
its state (and, through its perception, about the state of the environment). In other
words, the brain (or rather some regions in it) is the part of the body which realizes its
contact with ... consciousness, it is an interface between the consciousness and the body
as a whole. In particular, when it is necessary the brain forms the queries that should be
answered. Sometimes these queries are answered by the brain itself with the help of the
processes of the type of calculations and logical operations. Other queries cannot be
solved directly in the brain and are solved by the consciousness with the help of “direct
sighting of truth.”70
In other words sometimes the brain, with individuated consciousness, can figure out solutions
with its own resources, so to speak, but on other occasions it needs to tap into deeper levels of
awareness:
…unconscious [super-conscious] states of mind allows one to take information “from
other alternatives” that reveals itself as unexpected insights, or direct vision of the
truth.71
Such a mechanism underlies the phenomenon of precognitive dreams, for example.
Another dramatic consequence that Mensky derives from his analysis of quantum reality is the
existence of ‘probabilistic miracles’:
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Probabilistic miracles essentially differ from “absolute” miracles that happen in fairy
tales. The difference is that the event realized as a probabilistic miracle (i.e. “by the
force of consciousness”) may in principle happen in a quite natural way, although with a
very small probability. This small but nonzero probability is very important. Particularly,
because of the fundamental character of probabilistic predictions in quantum mechanics,
it is in principle impossible to prove or disprove the unnatural (miraculous) character of
the happening.72
In other words consciousness can in some circumstances amplify quantum potentialities which
have small probabilities so that they, seemingly miraculously, become actualized. The important
point that Mensky makes is that, although such events may appear to be ‘supernatural’, they are
in fact entirely natural because they are the result of the quantum ‘postcorrective’ capacity of
consciousness. An example of this is cases of individual or group prayer which may lead to a
healing which appears miraculous. According to Mensky such events are not “unnatural”
because there is a quantum probability for the apparent miracle to occur. This probability can be
amplified by certain activities such as prayer.
In summary Mensky identifies the following aspects, or levels, of the functioning of the quantum
postcorrection mechanism:
Life – the internal pressure of primordial consciousness acting through quantum potentialities
which motivates and drives the evolution of the apparently material world and the organic beings
contained within it.
Survival – the natural unconscious operation of postcorrection in the survival processes of species
and individual animals. The ‘postcorrection’ mechanism involves the ability of consciousness
employ a defocused ‘super-consciousness’ or ‘sub-consciousness’ to ‘look-ahead’ at future
quantum potentialities and then alter current probabilities in order to steer towards favorable
quantum scenarios.
Support of health – unconscious operation of postcorrection in determining the quality of health
for an individual organism.
Free will – conscious operation of postcorrection in determining the quality of life and life
environment for an individual organism. The use of intentionality in the decision making
processes.
Control of appearing reality (probabilistic miracle) – postcorrection relating to objects external
to the body. This is the ability of some people to seemingly cause events in their environments
which have low, although non-zero, probabilities.
Super-intuitional insights – insights, foresights and “direct sighting of truth” from the “edge of
consciousness,” due to the operation of the ‘super-consciousness’ or ‘sub-consciousness’. Which
of the terms is employed depends upon context.
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1 Wallace, B. Alan, (2007), 32
2 Stapp, Henry (2007), 20
3 http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/nave-html/faithpathh/lewontin.html
4 Stapp, Henry (2004), 223
5 Nagel, Thomas (2012), 5
6 Scharf, D., Pseudoscience and Victor Stenger’s Quantum Gods http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/SocietalEffects/Critics-Rebuttals/StengerRebuttal/index.cfm
7 Lennox, John C. (2011), 12
8 http://arxiv.org/pdf/1212.5608.pdf
9 Stapp, H. P. ‘Minds and Values in the Quantum Universe’ in Davies, Paul & Gregersen, Niels Henrik
(eds.) (2010), 117
10 Mario Beauegard, Gary E. Schwartz, Lisa Milla, Larry Dossey, Alexanda Moreira-Almeida, Marilyn
Schliitz, Rupert Sheldrake, Charles Tart 'Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science' http://www.explorejournal.com/article/S1550-8307(14)00116-5/pdf
11 Ibid.
12 Mensky (2010), 12
13 Mensky, M. B., ‘Everett Interpretation and Quantum Consciousness’ in NeuroQuantology, March
2013, Vol. 11, Issue 1, pages 85-96, 85
14 Barash, David P. (2013)
15 Thurman, Robert A.E., (1996)
16 Barash, David P. (2013), 18
17 http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/killing-the-buddha/
18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCofmZlC72g
19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juriylw7B0g
20 Stapp, Henry, ‘Philosophy of Mind and the Problem of Free Will in the Light of Quantum Mechanics’,
19
21 Stapp, Henry, ‘Quantum Interactive Dualism’, 18
22 McClintock, Sara L. (2010), 135
23 http://aeon.co/magazine/psychology/david-barash-evolution-consciousness/
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid.
26 Barash, David P. (2013)
27 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0114/090114-Quantum-mechanics-explains-efficiency-ofphotosynthesis
28 Terentyev, Andrey, ‘Contiguity of Parallel Worlds: Buddhist and Everett’s’ http://www.neuroquantology.com/index.php/journal/article/view/640
29 Mensky (2010), 12
30 Ibid.
31 Mensky (2010), 15
32 Herbert, Nick: ‘Holistic Physics -or- Introduction to Quantum Tantra’ – Internet document
(www.southerncrossreview.org/16/herbert.essay.htm)
33 Schlosshauer, Maximilian (ed.) (2011), 159
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34 Zurek, W. H. ‘Decoherence and the Transition from Quantum to Classical— Revisited’ http://arxiv.org/ftp/quant-ph/papers/0306/0306072.pdf, 4
35 Zurek, W. H. ‘Decoherence and the Transition from Quantum to Classical— Revisited’ http://arxiv.org/ftp/quant-ph/papers/0306/0306072.pdf, 5
36 Barbour, Julian (2001), 225
37 Hay, Tony & Walters, Patrick (2003) 176
38 Barbour, Julian (2001), 225
39 Mensky, M. B., ‘Everett Interpretation and Quantum Consciousness’ in NeuroQuantology, March
2013, Vol. 11, Issue 1, pages 85-96, 85
40 Mensky (2010), 72
41 Penrose, Roger (2005) 1031
42 Mensky (2010), 12
43 Mensky (2010), 70
44 Mensky, M. B., ‘Everett Interpretation and Quantum Consciousness’ in NeuroQuantology, March
2013, Vol. 11, Issue 1, pages 85-96, 87
45 Mensky (2010), 69
46 Mensky (2010), 77
47 Mensky (2010), 78
48 Mensky (2010), 79
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid.
51 Mensky (2010), 133
52 Mensky (2010), 81
53 Mensky (2010), 82
54 Mensky, M. B. ‘Post Correction and mathematical model of life in Extended Everett’s Concept’, 5
55 Mensky (2010), 112
56 Ibid.
57 Mensky (2010), 167
58 Mensky (2010), 191
59 Mensky, M. B. ‘Post Correction and mathematical model of life in Extended Everett’s Concept’, 6
60 http://arxiv.org/pdf/0712.3609v1.pdf
61 http://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0608309.pdf
62 Mensky, Michael: ‘Reality in quantum mechanics, Extended Everett Concept, and Consciousness’, 11
63 Albert, D. Z. (1992), 130-131
64 Mensky, M. B. ‘Post Correction and mathematical model of life in Extended Everett’s Concept’, 3
65 Mensky, M.B.: ‘Reality in quantum mechanics, Extended Everett Concept, and Consciousness’, 6
66 Ibid.
67 Mensky (2010), 83
68 Mensky (2010), 84
69 Mensky, Michael: ‘Reality in quantum mechanics, Extended Everett Concept, and Consciousness’, 12
70 Mensky, M. B. ‘Post Correction and mathematical model of life in Extended Everett’s Concept’, 20
71 Mensky, M. B. - Logic of Quantum Mechanics and Phenomenon of Consciousness
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72 Ibid.
(Continued on Part II)
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| January 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 1 | pp. 01-09
Maurice, M., A Quantum Theory of Consciousness May Require a Paradigm Shift in Biology
1
Article
A Quantum Theory of Consciousness May Require a
Paradigm Shift in Biology
Maurice Goodman*
School of Physics, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland
Abstract
It is often assumed that the known physical laws form a closed system and are complete. It is
also assumed that biological theories require no additional principles that are fundamental other
than those we already know. Assumptions such as these are acting as a barrier to progress in
biological theories and an understanding of consciousness. This paper examines the unexplained
inconsistencies among fundamental particles and forces and the fundamental gaps in our
knowledge of biology and the cell in particular that may impact on such progress. Also, the laws
of quantum mechanics are examined and found to be grossly incomplete. Furthermore,
gravitational decoherence times are way too long and electromagnetic decoherence times are
way too short to relate to millisecond brain processes. Surprisingly, weak force decoherence
times over cellular distances are of the relevant dynamical timescale needed, suggesting that if
any force is associated with the global properties in and between neurons (such as consciousness)
it is the weak force. This finding concurs with a twenty year old theory that argues for a
fundamental link between the weak force, electron neutrino and the biological cell. That theory
also predicted the mass of the electron neutrino that is soon to be verified. The consequences for
biology and future consciousness theories, of this radical change of paradigm, are considered.
Key Words: consciousness, quantum theory, decoherence, gravitation, weak force, electron
neutrino, biology, paradigm shift.
It is often assumed that the known physical laws form a closed system and are complete. It is
also assumed that biological theories require no additional principles that are fundamental other
than those we already know. Assumptions such as these are acting as a barrier to progress in
biological theories and an understanding of consciousness. This paper examines the unexplained
inconsistencies among fundamental particles and forces and the fundamental gaps in our
knowledge of biology and the cell in particular that may impact on such progress. Also, the laws
of quantum mechanics are examined and found to be grossly incomplete. Furthermore,
gravitational decoherence times are way too long and electromagnetic decoherence times are
way too short to relate to millisecond brain processes. Surprisingly, weak force decoherence
times over cellular distances are of the relevant dynamical timescale needed, suggesting that if
any force is associated with the global properties in and between neurons (such as consciousness)
it is the weak force. This finding concurs with a twenty year old theory that argues for a
fundamental link between the weak force, electron neutrino and the biological cell. That theory
also predicted the mass of the electron neutrino that is soon to be verified. The consequences for
biology and future consciousness theories, of this radical change of paradigm, are considered.
*
Correspondence: Maurice Goodman, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland. maurice.goodman@dit.ie
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Maurice, M., A Quantum Theory of Consciousness May Require a Paradigm Shift in Biology
2
Introduction
In his paper Chalmers (1995) states that ‘it seems that physical laws already form a closed
system’ and that “biological theories involve no principles that are fundamental”. This paper
examines how true these statements are, first by examining what is missing from our
fundamental understanding of the known fundamental particles and the forces of nature. This is
followed by an examination of what is missing from our fundamental understanding in biology
and the biological cell in particular. Consideration of all of this and the possibility of quantum
effects occurring in brain processes leads us to the paradigm shift that is necessary in biology if
we are to develop a theory of consciousness based on quantum mechanics.
What is missing from the forces and particles?
It is disturbing to a physicist that only one of the four forces of nature (the weak force) does not
build any structure and hence has no science associated with it. Gravity builds galaxies, the
electromagnetic force builds atoms and the strong force builds nuclear structure. The weak force
appears to have no attractive aspect that would be needed to build such structure and has no role
in nature other than radioactive decay in the nucleus. Is it true that the weak force is only a
repulsive force? Physicists find exceptions like this troublesome as nature is not known to lack
the necessary symmetry, elegance and beauty which often act as a guide in physics. The
argument most pointed to, to explain this exception, is that the range of the weak force is too
short, thus confining it to the nuclear processes. However, in no case does the range of a force
determine the size of any structure found in nature. For example, the size of an atom is
determined not by the range of the electromagnetic force which is infinite but by the uncertainty
in position of the electron. Therefore, the argument relating to the range of the weak force does
not explain the lack of attractive aspect of the weak force. This exception needs an explanation.
Neutrino’s, the particle associated with the weak force are now known to have mass and hence
can be slowed down. We know of no, nor are we in a position to detect, very low energy
interactions between neutrinos and bulk matter. That does not mean they do not exist. For
example, high energy electrons can pass through millions of layers of atoms without interaction.
Low energy electrons interact with all atoms. If only high energy electrons, with energies much
greater than those in atoms, could be detected we would not be aware of the atom, atomic energy
levels, or any of the interactions electrons can have with atoms, or indeed any interactions
between atoms (chemistry). The same could be true for neutrinos. It would be a mistake to
assume that high energy neutrinos interact with bulk matter in the same way as low energy
neutrinos.
Furthermore, the neutrino is the only fundamental particle not associated with a macroscopic
structure. Quarks have a key role in hadron structure and their overall properties and electrons
have a key role in atomic structure and interactions with other atoms. This exception also needs
an explanation. Once again, physicists do not like these incomplete patterns as it implies a lack
of symmetry.
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In summary, there are major gaps in our knowledge of the weak force and the neutrino which
need to be addressed. In such circumstances one would be unwise to assume that physical laws
are complete or that physical laws form a closed system as suggested by Chalmers (1995).
What is missing from biology and the cell?
It is also disturbing for a physicist not to be able to contribute to the fundamental understanding
of any science. Biology is no exception. That does not mean, as stated by Chalmers (1995), that
‘biological theories involve no principles that are fundamental’. It could just be the case that we
have not found them yet. At present we cannot answer even basic questions such as why all cells,
plant or animal, have similar size and why that size turns out to be approximately 10 microns.
This highlights the huge gap in our fundamental understanding of biology. In chemistry, by
comparison, we do know the reason why all atoms have similar size and why they have that size.
As already stated, the reason relates to the uncertainty in position of the electron which in turn
determines the scale of atomic orbitals in an atom and hence the size of the atom.
We think we know the force (electromagnetic) operating in biology but we are not really sure.
Penrose and Hameroff (2011) think that consciousness may have some connection with gravity.
Tegmark (2000) and most others consider electromagnetic forces as key. Could it be otherwise?
Is there a force driving biology that is neither gravity nor electromagnetism? Handedness is
known to be ubiquitous in DNA, RNA, proteins, amino acids and in biology in general. The
weak force is the only force that displays handedness. Is this just a coincidence or is it pointing
to something new?
According to Loewenstein (1999) the sin qua non of all molecular information transfer in the cell
is the ability of molecules to fit together ‘hand in glove’. This does not explain how the vital
overall global communication in and between cells is achieved. All complex structure, from cells
to cities, needs an almost instantaneous communications system to preserve and protect order in
that structure and to defend against internal or external threats that would interfere with or
damage normal structure function. The very complex environment present in every cell means
that the current proposed mechanisms, for long range communication, based on diffusion and
other chemical effects are way too slow to protect against such threats to overall order. How this
instantaneous global communication, that is vital for survival, in and between cells is achieved is
unknown.
In summary, there are also major gaps in our fundamental knowledge of biology and in
particular, the cell. In such circumstances, it would be unwise to assume that there are no
undiscovered fundamental principles associated with biology. It seems even more unwise to
consider constructing a theory of consciousness when we clearly do not understand some of the
very basic fundamentals of biology and the cell in particular.
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What is missing from quantum mechanics?
As it stands today we have no concrete knowledge of quantum astronomy or quantum biology
and only a rudimentary knowledge of quantum chemistry and quantum nuclear processes. For
this reason I would agree with Stapp (1996) when he says that ‘the quantum laws are grossly
incomplete’. Furthermore the emergent properties of such quantum systems in astronomy and
biology will bear no relation to quantum chemistry, as they will involve completely different
systems, different fundamental particles, and different forces. We have a huge ignorance in this
area and, therefore much scope to provide solutions to Chalmers (1995) ‘hard problem’.
What makes quantum mechanics attractive, in consciousness theories, is that our brains appear to
behave as a system that can absorb/store information over time and at, what seems like, arbitrary
moments this information can collapse to an original thought or idea much like the Copenhagen
interpretation of quantum processes. Is this just a coincidence? We have many expressions that
indicate the instantaneous nature of this collapse to a single state. For example, eureka moment,
penny drops, insight, flash of inspiration, bolt from the blue and brain wave to name but a few.
Some interpretations of quantum mechanics give the observer an important role in this and
suggest that consciousness causes the collapse to a single state. Furthermore, the properties of
such quantum mechanical systems emerge from the whole system and are not traceable to any
individual component meaning the properties of such systems are nonreductive which Chalmers
(1995) suggests a theory of consciousness must be.
In summary, there are enormous gaps in our understanding and the laws of quantum mechanics
are grossly incomplete.
Global coherent states in the brain, decoherence, and the forces of nature
Whether quantum processes occur in the brain or not, the disagreement between Hagen,
Hameroff and Tuszynski (2002) on the one hand and Tegmark (2000) on the other demonstrates
that a model of consciousness that has enough degrees of freedom and assumptions can yield any
decoherence time you like. However both sides understand the importance of having
decoherence in the millisecond range as this is the relevant dynamical timescale in brain
processes. The very basic and valid point that Tegmark (2000) was making was that
electromagnetic decoherence times are way too short to have an influence on global quantum
brain processes. This, on the other hand, does not mean there are no global quantum mechanical
processes occurring in the brain, just that they are not electromagnetic in nature. They may not
be gravitationally based either.
There are not just two but four forces of nature. Their relative strengths (S) are 1 for the strong
force, ~10-2 for the electromagnetic force, ~10-9 for the weak force and ~10-35 for the
gravitational force. The weaker the force operating on a system the smaller the binding energy
and hence, the longer the decoherence time associated with such a system. The decoherence time
(h/2E, where E is the separation energy for a particular force) is equal to r/Sc where c is the
speed of light and r is the scale over which decoherence takes place. If brain processes and
consciousness are quantum mechanical in nature this decoherence scale would need to be
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cellular distances (10-5 meters) or greater. Using this, the following table shows the calculated
decoherence times for each of the forces.
Force
Relative Force Strength
Strong
Electromagnetic
Weak
Gravitational
1
10-2
10-9
10-35
Decoherence
Time(seconds)
>10-13
>10-11
>10-4
>10+22
These simple comparable calculations rule out both quantum gravity and quantum
electromagnetism in inter-neuronal brain processes. The table also implies that, if brain processes
and consciousness are fundamentally quantum mechanical the relevant dynamical timescales in
the brain (~10-3 – 10-1 seconds) clearly suggest that the force likely to be implicated in this is the
weak force. Is this just another coincidence? Once again we are being led in an unexpected
direction.
In summary, if quantum mechanics is at the heart of consciousness, in the brain, then the most
likely force it is associated with is the weak force and not the gravitational force or the
electromagnetic force.
Paradigm shift for biology and consciousness theories
For the last twenty years, a wide range of philosophers, scientists etc. have made a concerted
effort to come up with a fundamental theory to explain consciousness. It was in the words of
Chalmers (1995) a ‘hard problem’ looking for a solution. Over those twenty years progress has
been slow. This is not surprising given the number of gaps in our knowledge highlighted so far in
this paper. The most rigorous quantum theory is the Orch OR theory (Penrose and Hameroff
2011). However, this theory is not convincing as it has fundamental problems with decoherence
times as discussed in the previous section.
About the time the drive to come up with a theory of consciousness began, a paper was published
(Goodman 1994) that argued for a fundamental link between the weak force, electron neutrino
and the biological cell. While a theory of consciousness appears to be a long way off the solution
that this and subsequent papers (Goodman 1997), (Goodman 2003), (Goodman 2007) provide,
offers a route to get to a better understanding of the cell that, may lead ultimately to such a
consciousness theory. The paradigm shift that is required, as discussed previously would involve
abandoning quantum gravity and quantum electromagnetism in favour of quantum weak force
effects in any theory of quantum biology or consciousness.
The theory (Goodman 1994) was developed in the normal way by induction. It begins with
observations on the mass and size of all key structures in the universe. It was noticed that masses
seemed to vary in proportion to the square of their size and not the cube of their size as might be
expected in a three dimensional universe. Using this, a theory was developed about the general
relationship between the key masses, both structures and fundamental particles, in the universe.
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This theory was then used to deduce a very specific prediction about the mass of the electron
neutrino at a time when it was generally accepted the neutrino was likely to have no mass. Also,
the predicted mass was some four hundred times smaller than the experimental upper limit at that
time. This implied a long wait before this theory would be experimentally verified. However in
the years since, this upper limit has been decreased by a factor of 20 and a new experiment is
about to reduce it by another factor of 10 if not measure the actual mass of the electron neutrino
itself.
The original paper (Goodman 1994) used a typical galaxy mass to calculate all other masses
including the electron neutrino mass. If instead of a typical galaxy mass we use the mass of the
electron (the only fundamental particle mass we know with precision) and the exact same theory
we deduce a more exact prediction for the electron neutrino mass of 0.16 eV/c2. However, any
mass between 0.40 eV/c2 and 0.05 eV/c2 would make the theory convincing. Recent experiments
around the world seem set to confirm this prediction in the next year or so.
There are three types of neutrinos each with different mass. Evidence of neutrino mass comes
from three sources. These are cosmology, oscillation experiments and direct mass measurement
experiments (Weinheimer 2013). At present cosmology sets an upper limit on the sum of the
three neutrino masses of ~0.5 eV/c2. Oscillation experiments have set a lower limit on the sum of
the three neutrino masses of ~0.05 eV/c2. The direct mass experiment called the KArlsruhe
TRItium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN) is about to measure the mass or push the upper limit of
the mass of the electron neutrino from 2.3 eV/c2 down to 0.3 eV/c2. KATRIN is to start
producing results in early 2016. This means that within the next year the mass of the electron
neutrino will have been measured or pushed into the range of masses that are acceptable for the
proposed theory, hence completing the deduction process by confirming the 20 year old theory.
Most importantly, a link between the electron neutrino and the weak force on the one hand and
the cell and biology on the other, in one stroke, erases the uncertainties, fills in the gaps in
knowledge, explain the coincidences and exceptions highlighted in the early part of this paper. It
also provides symmetry as we now have one fundamental particle, one force and one key
structure associated with each of the sciences of structure namely, Astronomy, Biology,
Chemistry and Nuclear science.
Consequences for biology and future consciousness theories
A confirmation of this theory (Goodman 1994) will force a paradigm shift that will leave us at
the beginning of a new chapter in biology. We need to start to consider the cell, not only as a
classical system but also, in certain circumstances as a quantum system (duality) in the same way
we can consider the atom as a classical system on occasion and on others as a quantum system,
but never both at the same time. However, because the system, the force and fundamental
particle are completely different the quantum cell will be completely different to the atom with
the global cellular properties being nonreductive (more than the sum of its parts), just as
Chalmers (1995) believes an explanation of conscious experience should be.
The weak force, which we know very little about, will be the force operating in the cell from a
global cellular point of view and be responsible with the electron neutrino for all global
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properties of the cell. With a mass of ~0.16 eV/c2 the uncertainty in position of the electron
neutrino will coincide with the size of a typical cell and will in all probability be found to be
responsible for the cell size, just as the electrons uncertainty in position is responsible for the size
of an atom. Needless to say, the linking of cell size with a fundamental particle mass will have
profound implications for all life in the universe. In this way quantum coherence inside and
between neurons in the brain would be possible over large areas of the brain at room
temperature. The “too wet, too warm and too noisy” objections that have often been raised in the
past will no longer be an issue.
What is being suggested here has a resonance with spin mediated consciousness theory (Hu and
Wu 2004). The main property associated with neutrinos apart from their tiny mass is spin which
is quantized. Because of its tiny mass the uncertainty in position would mean that two nucleons
could interact directly, without the need for the involvement of electrons associated with the
nuclei over cellular distances via Z0 (the neutral weak mediator) and exchange of neutrinos.
Based on what we currently know about the weak force and in particular direct neutral weak
interactions such interactions might look as follows:
Figure 1. Spin swapping between nucleons via neutrino pair creation in the vicinity of one
nucleon followed by pair annihilation in the vicinity of another nucleon over cellular distances.
(Note: t = time, x = position, n = nucleon, = neutrino)
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Figure 2. Spin swapping between nucleons via neutrino pair creation in the vicinity of one
nucleon followed by an antineutrino-neutrino interaction in the vicinity of another nucleon over
cellular distances.
Both these diagrams depict a spin interaction (a swapping of spin) between two nucleons
(protons or neutrons) over cellular distances via known Z0 decay modes. As 20% of Z0 decay
modes are invisible such interactions are conceivable. These interactions would be responsible
for all the global properties within and between cells. An example of such a global property
might be the long range communications needed within and between cells to protect, preserve
and defend the overall structure as discussed earlier. As is currently the case chemical processes
will still rule at the ‘local’ molecular level and be responsible for all local properties of the cell,
including local information transfer. The long range quantum communication system would be
the substrate upon which a theory of consciousness could be built. This substrate provides the
two requisites, for quantum computation required by Loewenstein (1999) namely, insulation
from the cell sap (by not being an electromagnetic process) and intercellular continuity in order
to allow for multicellular quantum-coherent states, hence allowing us to begin to construct a
theory of consciousness.
Conclusion
There are still large gaps in our knowledge of biology, the cell, the forces of nature, fundamental
particles and quantum mechanics. For these reasons, unlike Chalmers, I do think there are
principles, such as those proposed here, that are fundamental in biology that we have not yet
discovered. Also physical laws do not, as yet, form a closed system.
Decoherence times necessary for quantum brain processes strongly suggest that the weak force is
at the heart of these processes. The imminent verification of the electron neutrino mass of ~0.16
eV/c2, predicted 20 years ago, will force the paradigm shift that is suggested in this paper, upon
us. It will require us to view the cell as a quantum mechanical system to provide an explanation
for vital global, cellular and intercellular, processes such as rapid almost instantaneous
communication. This communication system would be the substrate upon which a theory of
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consciousness could be built. While a theory of consciousness seems to be even more remote
than before at least we will be building the theory on solid foundations.
Finally, the link between the neutrino and the cell via the weak force and quantum mechanics
gets rid of all the problems, coincidences, exceptions, knowledge gaps, incomplete patterns and
general lack of symmetry mentioned throughout this paper. All of these will still remain and still
need an explanation if what is suggested here is not the case. The link between electron neutrino
and cell is a simple, elegant and even beautiful solution to several very fundamental difficulties
with current scientific thinking that have been highlighted in this paper. For these reasons, this
paradigm shift should be given serious consideration if we wish, ultimately, to construct a
quantum theory of consciousness.
References
Chalmers, D. (1995) Facing up to the problem of consciousness, Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2 (3),
pp. 200-219.
Goodman, M. (1994) Key self-organising systems, Proceedings of the 1st ICASSE 94, pp. 118-125.
Goodman, M. (1997) Toward linking material self-organisation and the weak force, Spec.in Science and
Technology, 20, pp. 33-43.
Goodman, M. (2003) Symmetry points the way to the beginnings of a fundamental theory underpinning
Biology, Symmetry: Culture and Science, 14, pp. 265-269.
Goodman, M. (2007) Barking up the wrong tree for life? NeuroQuantology, 5, Issue 1, pp186-187.
Hu, H. and Wu, M. (2004) Spin mediated consciousness theory: possible roles of neural membrane
nuclear spin ensembles and paramagnetic oxygen. Med. Hypotheses 63 pp. 633-646
Hagen, S. et al. (2002) Quantum computation in brain microtubules: Decoherence and biological
feasibility, Phys. Rev. E, 65 pp. 061901(11)
Loewenstein, W. (1999) The Touchstone of Life Oxford: Penguin.
Penrose, R. (1994) Shadows of the Mind Oxford University Press, Oxford
Penrose, R. and Hameroff, S. (2011) Consciousness in the Universe: Neuroscience, Quantum Space-Time
Geometry and Orch OR Theory, Journal of Cosmology, 14, [Online],
http://journalofcosmology.com/Consciousness160.html [4 July 2014]
Stapp, H. (1996) The Hard Problem: A Quantum Approach, Journal of Consciousness Studies, 3 (3), pp.
194-210
Tegmark, M. (2000) The importance of quantum decoherence in brain processes, Phys. Rev. E,61 pp.
4194-4206.
Weinheimer, C. et al., (2013) Neurtino Masses Annalen der Physik, 525, pp.565-570.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | May 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 4 | pp. 250-252
Oliver, A. J., Some Thoughts on Samapatti
250
Essay
Some Thoughts on Samapatti
Alan J. Oliver*
ABSTRACT
In the Yoga tradition, buddhi is consciousness in its own right and has been defined by some
writers as acognitive knowing. My view is that acognitive knowing means knowing without the
mind, and of course that is what Samapatti provides to the seer. And what this means in our
seeking to understand consciousness is precisely what I referred to. There are possibly a number
of models we could posit to accommodate this position, all of which would be counterintuitive
for science. I will simply offer one which arises from the acognitive model.
Key Words: Samapatti, acognitive knowing, Consciousness, seer, science.
A recent article in New Scientist put forward an interesting view from recent research on the
uncertainty around outcomes in quantum experiments [1]. Essentially, what the author said was
that the uncertainty is due to our inability to have access to the whole information related to the
experiment. This led me to think about my experiences in the state of Samapatti where two
minds will coalesce. I have had this happen often during counselling people, and scholars of the
Hindu tradition have agreed that I was in that state of Samapatti.
Looking back on some of those events I can accept that this will happen in that state; what is not
so straightforward is that there is obviously not just a coalescing of the mind of the seer and that
of the subject. I do not imagine anything in the sense of having a mental picture or visual image,
and yet with just a narrative of thought that I would like to remove the distress in bone marrow in
the case of a person with a fracture, the subject reported ‘seeing’ me remove a dark blob of
energy and replace it with a bright golden light.
In another case I was asked to help a ‘disturbed’ cat. I mentally saw the cat’s dream, which was a
garden scene in which the plants, although recognisable, were much larger that I see them and
were not green but shades of yellow, brown and red. I was also aware that I did not know this
particular garden. At that point I was aware of two different streams of information and was able
to differentiate between them.
To return to my original theme, Samapatti is something that can happen only in the Samadhi
state, and I am suggesting that in that state we see and know beyond our normal experience of
seeing and knowing. A person established in Samapatti takes in a whole lot more information
than we encounter in the normal everyday conscious state. Yoga says that in the Samapatti or
Samadhi state we are not using the mind because the mind, by definition, is at rest, empty if you
will, and what is conscious is buddhi. In the Yoga tradition buddhi is consciousness in its own
right and has been defined by some writers as acognitive knowing.
*
Correspondence: Alan J. Oliver, Port Elliot, South Australia. E-mail: thinkerman1@dodo.com.au
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Oliver, A. J., Some Thoughts on Samapatti
251
Some researchers accept that the notion of using the mind to understand the mind is not a
particularly scientific pursuit, but when the evidence from the conventional technology, such as
fMRI and other cutting edge approaches, is accepted as proof that what we measure is activity of
the mind, it is not surprising that most researchers would naturally assume the mind is all we
have at our disposal. I admit that all of the images of brain structures responding to inputs such
as speech and thinking make a pretty compelling case for the brain to be what produces
consciousness. It might be more accurate to say it produces conscious awareness.
My view is that acognitive knowing means knowing without the mind, and of course that is what
Samapatti provides to the seer. And what this means in our seeking to understand consciousness
is precisely what I referred to earlier. There are possibly a number of models we could posit to
accommodate this position, all of which would be counterintuitive for science. I will simply offer
one which arises from the acognitive model.
Firstly, the information being communicated in Samapatti is not intentional because there is no
defined sender or receiver, and I think intention is something we already assume to the driving
the processes in the cognitive world. Second, since the seer is the one in the Samadhi state it
would be reasonable to say that the seer, at least in my experiences, is a witness or detached
observer without physical connection to the subject. From these two points I am inclined to say
that what we call consciousness in living forms is really a conscious awareness, as distinct from
consciousness, which is a property of the whole reality, very much akin to Bohm’s Implicate
Order.
Neuroscience has found that between a sensory external input to the brain and the corresponding
signal to act there is a time gap of some tens or hundreds of milliseconds. This is time taken by
the processes in the brain to decide the how, what, when and why of the response, and these
categories of the response can be part of what becomes present in our conscious awareness. From
a consciously aware perspective, we respond immediately when we recognise the input because
we are unable to recognise intervals of less than 20 milliseconds or thereabouts. I believe it is
reasonable to suggest that what we call conscious awareness is the observation by the higher
level of consciousness observing this process of mentation.
From what I observe in Samapatti, particularly in the way a subject can have a visual image of
my narrative thought, there is a process of interpretation of what I have thought within the
mind/brain of the subject. If we accept the acognitive model then the information at the level of
the detached observer is obviously available to the subject for that to happen, and so far as I can
understand, the only way that can happen is if both seer and subject are in a common field, or a
different level, of consciousness. And if both are operating within a common field/level of
consciousness it is also likely that the brain responds to that common entity and that response is
what we are aware of and we call that consciousness. I recall sitting beside my daughter who was
in a coma. As I entered Samapatti I became established in an intense state of bliss. So perhaps
what communicates to the brain elicits the same state of the subject as one would expect and
there are times when that is a surprise as well as a gift. Perhaps, for the sake of clarity we may
have to resort to having some name or category for this particular field or level.
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Oliver, A. J., Some Thoughts on Samapatti
252
In short, I believe this essay does support the initial viewpoint in the New Scientist article that
perhaps we do not always have the full spectrum of information involved in a particular
experiment or experience [1]. It also supports the view from the Hindu traditions which appear to
accept the position that there are a number of levels of consciousness and mind is one of the
basic levels. We can say however, that on the subject of Samapatti, the flow of information is
there for those who can expand their terms of reference to be able to see it. For my part, I know
that more thoughts will arise about this issue and I will continue pursuing these questions. I find
that I can know mostly by being asked to answer a question; for most of the time I am just
waiting for the next question.
Reference
1. Anil Ananthaswamy (2015), Path to enlightenment. New Scientists 226: pp. 35-37.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| September 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 8 | pp. 516-543
Kaufman, S. E., On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into
Form while Creating Lesser Form (1)
516
Article
On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness:
Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into Form while Creating
Lesser Form (1)
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
In the first part of this work the evolution of the Formless into three different levels of Form is
described. Also described in the first part of this work is the coming into existence of a different
type of form, or lesser form, within each level of Form, as each level of Form comes into being
through the progressive flow of the Formless in relation to Itself. Further, the three different
types of lesser forms that come into existence within the Formless, as the Formless, through
iterative and progressive relation to Itself, evolves into different levels of Form, are each shown
to correspond to one of the three different types of experiences or experiential realities of which
we are able to be aware or conscious. Specifically, the lesser form that comes into existence
within the first level of Form, as the first level of Form comes into being, will be shown to
correspond to what we apprehend as emotional experience or emotional reality. Next, the lesser
form that comes into existence within the second level of Form, as the second level of Form
comes into being, will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as mental experience or
mental reality. And finally, the lesser form that comes into existence within the third level of
Form will be shown to correspond to what we apprehend as physical experience or physical
reality.
This first article of Part 1 contains the following sections: Form and form; The paradox of dual
experiential form; The first level of Form; The basis of positive and negative emotional
experience; & The second level of Form and form.
Key Words: Consciousness, formless, form, physical reality, creation, nature.
Form and form
The process of iterative and progressive self-relation by which formless Beingness creates or
brings into existence what it apprehends as reality can be most easily understood or described as
the Formless flowing in relation to Itself. However, in order to understand how the Formless
creates what we, as that Formlessness, apprehend as reality, it is necessary to understand that, in
flowing in relation to Itself, in being in relation to Itself, the Formless causes two different types
of form to arise, one of which Is, and the other of which only exists.
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
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Kaufman, S. E., On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into
Form while Creating Lesser Form (1)
517
One type of form created by the flow of Formlessness in relation to Itself will be referred to as
"Form," whereas the other type of form created by the flow of Formlessness in relation to Itself
will be referred to as either "form" or "lesser form." The type of form that will be referred to as
"Form" will be referred to in that way because, although it is brought into being by the flow of
the Formless in relation to Itself, it is nonetheless composed of the Formless, albeit the Formless
as it is flowing or being in relation to Itself. On the other hand, the type of form that will be
referred to as either "form" or "lesser form" will be referred to in that way because it is not
composed of the Formless, but rather is created or comes into existence as a boundary that arises
within the Formless where the Formless becomes defined in relation to Itself as it flows in
relation to Itself as Form. The difference between these two types of form is depicted in figure 1.
Form—a pattern of flow of
formless Beingness as it
flows in relation to Itself
form or lesser form—a boundary
that arises where formless Beingness
flows in relation to Itself
Figure 1 (left) As Beingness or the Formless flows in relation to Itself what is created is a
Form, which is simply a pattern of flow composed of formless Beingness, or the Formless, as it
is flowing, or being, in relation to Itself. Such a Form is what is pointed toward or indicated by
the T’ai-chi T’u or yin/yang diagram. (right) When Beingness or the Formless flows in relation
to Itself, form, or lesser form, is created as a boundary that arises where formless Beingness
becomes defined in relation to Itself as it flows in relation to Itself. Thus, Form is composed of
Beingness, albeit Beingness as it is flowing in relation to Itself, whereas form is not composed
of Beingness, but is more like a shadow that arises within Beingness owing to the flow of
Beingness in relation to Itself.
As depicted in figure 1, the type of form referred to as Form is somewhat analogous to water
swirling about itself in the form of a whirlpool. On the other hand, the type of form referred to as
form, or lesser form, is somewhat analogous to the boundary or form that arises where the tips of
two fingers meet. What formless Beingness, or the Formless, apprehends as reality, i.e., as
experiential reality, is not Form. Rather, what formless Beingness apprehends as reality is form.
That is, as depicted in figure 2, what we experience as reality, be it an emotional, mental, or
physical experience, is our apprehension, as formless Beingness, of the forms or boundaries that
are created and so come into existence within what we ultimately Are, as what we ultimately
Are, i.e., formless Beingness, flows in relation to Itself and so becomes defined in relation to
Itself.
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Form—composed of
formless Beingness
or Isness
this,
i.e., form,
is what
This,
i.e., formless
Beingness,
apprehends as
experience
or as an
experiential
reality
518
form or lesser form—
not composed of formless
Beingness, but existing
within formless Beingness
Figure 2 That which apprehends form as an experience, i.e., as an experiential reality, is the
Formlessness or formless Beingness in which form has arisen or been created owning to the
flow of that Formlessness in relation to Itself, i.e., owing to its becoming Form while
nonetheless remaining ultimately formless Beingness, which is to say, remaining That which is
ultimately not dependent on either Form or form in order to Be.
Just as there can be no appearance of a shadow without the actual presence of light, because a
shadow is just the relative absence of light, there can be no appearance of form without the actual
presence of formless Beingness, because form is just a relative absence of formless Beingness.
That is, a shadow arises where the flow of light energy is denied or resisted to some degree by
some other form and flow of energy, i.e., by some object. Likewise, form arises where the flow
of formless Beingness is denied or resisted to some degree by some other flow of formless
Beingness. In both cases, i.e., that of a shadow and that of form, the relative absence that is
created requires the actual presence of its opposite, which opposite in the case of a shadow is
light, and which opposite in the case of form is formless Beingness. And also in both cases, when
that which is actually present is forgotten or obscured, then that which is only an absence takes
on the appearance of that which is actually present. That is, when light is forgotten, for whatever
reason, then the relative absence that is the shadow appears to be what is actually there.
Likewise, when formless Beingness is obscured, for whatever reason, then the relative absence
that is form appears to be what is actually there.
It is important to note that it is ultimately not Form that apprehends form as experience. That is,
although Form is composed of formless Beingness, and although it is through the coming into
being of Form that form comes into existence, it is not Form that apprehends form. Rather, that
which apprehends form as experience, or as an experiential reality, or simply as reality, is always
formless Beingness or the Formless. Put another way, the ability to apprehend, to be aware, to be
conscious, is not a property that arises in formless Beingness along with the coming into being of
Form, i.e., as Beingness becomes Form, which is to say, as Beingness flows in relation to Itself
as Form. To the contrary, the ability to apprehend, to be aware, to be conscious, is a property that
is inherent in, intrinsic to, and so inseparable from formless Beingness. Thus, the Formless does
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519
not need to become a Form, does not need to flow in relation to Itself, in order to have the ability
to apprehend or be aware or be conscious. Rather, formless Beingness only needs to become a
Form in order to create or bring into existence within Itself the forms that it then, according to its
nature as formless Awareness or Consciousness, apprehends as experiential reality. Put another
way, formless Beingness needs to become Form in order to create form, but formless Beingness
does not need to become Form and create form in order to be Awareness, in order to be
Consciousness. Rather, formless Beingness only needs to become Form and create form in order
to be aware or conscious of form, which is to say, in order to be aware or conscious of reality.
The experience of any reality is then, by its nature, the apprehension by formless Beingness,
Awareness, or Consciousness, of some created form. However, it is also important to understand
that form, or what formless Beingness apprehends as reality or as its experience of reality, does
not itself possess the nature of the Beingness by which it is being apprehended as reality. How
does something arise within Beingness that is not the nature of Beingness? The same way a
shadow arises, i.e., as the product of a relation occurring between that which is not a shadow,
producing a relative absence superimposed upon what is actually a presence. That is, form arises
as the product of a relation occurring between That which is not form, producing a relative
absence superimposed upon what is actually a Presence, i.e., formless Beingness. However, at no
point within Beingness is there any actual absence of Beingness, relative or otherwise. If one
tries to examine a shadow as if it were an object, as if it were what is actually there, one can find
no such object. Likewise, if one tries to examine form as if it is what is actually there, one
ultimately finds no such object, no such form, but instead finds what is only a shadow, shifting in
appearance and form as the light of Consciousness is cast upon Itself in different ways and so in
different relations. And it is that light of Consciousness that is What Is Actually There wherever
form only appears to be, as both That which apprehends the form and as the Form that underlies
the apprehended form. And as form is not itself composed of Beingness, and so does not itself
possess the nature of Beingness, experiential reality therefore does not itself possess the nature of
Beingness.
The reason it is important to understand that the forms which formless Beingness experiences as
reality are themselves devoid of the nature of the Beingness by which they are being
apprehended as reality, is because this realization makes it possible to understand why formless
Beingness becomes deluded, or enters into what is referred to as a state of Self-ignorance, when
it identifies with, i.e., thinks of itself as being, some form or set of forms that it is apprehending
as reality. Formless Beingness that has identified with form and so is conscious of itself as form
is what is referred to as the Ego. Put another way, what is referred to as the Ego is formless
Beingness that has draped Itself in some set of forms and then mistaken itself for those forms, in
a very limited way analogous to the situation of dressing up as a pirate for Halloween and then
upon seeing one's self in a mirror becoming convinced that one actually is a pirate, leading one
to then go off and do what it is that one imagines pirates do. Similarly, once formless Beingness
knows itself as some form or set of forms, such a form-identified Beingness or Ego then operates
in the world on the basis of that false idea, and in so doing, for reasons that will be explored in
some detail, both locks Itself into the relation with Itself that is creating its identification with
form and also causes Itself to suffer.
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520
Thus, what the Formless apprehends as experience is always some form that has arisen with
Itself owing to its being or flowing in relation to Itself. And as the Formless flows in relation to
Itself, thereby creating form, Form simultaneously comes into being, which is to say, the
Formless becomes Form, or flows in relation to Itself as Form. But Form is never itself what the
Formless apprehends as experience or as reality. Form cannot be apprehended as an experience,
i.e., as a reality, because Form is composed of the Formless, whereas the forms that the Formless
apprehends as various experiences or as various realties are not composed of the Formless. Put
another way, that which is the most proximal basis of what the Formless apprehends as reality,
i.e., form, is completely different in nature than Form, because Form is composed of the
Formless, albeit the Formless flowing in relation to Itself, and so in that way Is, whereas form is
not composed of the Formless, and so only exists, i.e., only arises within what Is.
Put another way, Form must Be, else there would exist no emotional, mental or physical forms to
apprehend, and so without Form there would exist no emotional, mental, or physical realities.
The ultimate basis of all apprehended reality is the Formless, even though the emotional, mental,
and physical forms that are apprehended as reality do not themselves possess the nature of the
Formless. Yet, as is being described, the basis of all experiential realities is Form, which is to
say, the Formless flowing and so being in relation to Itself. And so, even though we can never
actually capture or apprehend Form as an experience directly, we can nonetheless understand or
conceive that Form must Be in order for form to come into existence as something that the
unexperienceable Formlessness, of which Form is composed, can then apprehend as an
experiential reality.
The Formless Is; forms only exist. That is, the forms that the Formless apprehends as reality do
exist, but existence is not the same as Being. That which exists is that which arises within the
Isness, within formless Beingness, as it flows in relation to Itself. That which exists is completely
conditional, or completely dependent for its existence upon some condition, which condition is
always some relation of Beingness to Itself. Conversely, that which Is is not dependent upon any
condition, and so not dependent upon any relation, in order to continue to Be.
That which is referred to here as Form occupies a position somewhere between Being and
existence. That is, Form has aspects of unconditional Being, since it is composed of the
Formless, composed of that which is ultimately unconditional, and yet Form is dependent upon
the condition of self-relation, and so in that way has an aspect of conditional Being. What Form
is composed of is unconditional, because what Form is composed of is formless Beingness,
which requires no condition in order to Be. And yet Form itself, in order to be Form, requires the
condition of self-relation, and so in this way is conditional. So, Form is composed of the
Formless, which is unconditional, i.e., not dependent upon any condition in order to Be, and yet
Form is the Formless that has become conditional, i.e., dependent upon some condition in order
to Be. Therefore Form is simultaneously both unconditioned and conditioned Being.
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The paradox of dual experiential form
This paradox regarding the nature of Form arises because, as previously stated, Form cannot
itself be an experience, cannot itself be a reality, since it is composed of the Formless, which is
not the nature of experience, not the nature of reality. And because Form cannot be an
experience, it cannot be conceived, and so cannot be grasped by the mind. Form seems graspable
at first, Form seems conceivable at first, but then separates into the experiential opposites of
unconditioned and conditioned Being, which experiential opposites the mind cannot
simultaneously apprehend with respect to an underlying singularity.
This paradox regarding the nature of Form, i.e., the inability to grasp it with a single concept that
is not contradicted by an equally valid yet opposite concept, is simply what happens when the
Formless tries to grasp Itself using form, which is to say, when the Formless tries to know Itself
through form or as a reality. That is, when the Formless tries to experientially grasp or know as a
reality the ultimate nature of anything, what it is ultimately trying to grasp is Itself, because
ultimately it is the Formless that is actually there underlying all that is experienced as form or
known as reality. And when the Formless tries to grasp Itself, tries to know Itself through form,
tries to know Itself as a reality, which is what the Formless is doing, whether it knows it or not,
as it tries to get at the ultimate nature of any experiential reality, it forms a relation with Itself.
And in forming that relation with Itself, in trying to grasp what is ultimately its formless Self, the
Formless creates or brings into existence a form that it then apprehends as an experiential reality,
which apprehended experiential reality then seems to be or presents itself as being what is
actually there.
But for every relation in which the Formless can be involved with Itself that creates a particular
form apprehended as a particular experience or experiential reality, there is an opposite and
mutually exclusive relation in which the Formless can also be involved with Itself that, if it were
to happen, would create the opposite form apprehended as the opposite experience or opposite
experiential reality. However, these opposite forms can never be created or brought into
existence simultaneously by a single point of Formlessness and so can never be apprehended as
realities simultaneously by a single point of Formlessness, because the creation of the opposite
forms that are the basis of what the Formless would apprehend as those opposite realities would
require the single point of Formlessness that apprehends those opposite realities to be in the
impossible situation of being simultaneously involved in what are opposite and so mutually
exclusive relations with Itself. And so, when grasping at what is ultimately Itself in one way, the
Formless will create and apprehend one of two possible experiential forms or realities. And when
grasping at what is ultimately Itself in the opposite and so mutually exclusive way, the Formless
will create and apprehend the other of those two possible experiential forms or realities. It is for
this reason that, when trying to conceive or grasp the ultimate nature of any reality, what seems
to be there, or what is thought to be there, always separates into opposite experiential realities
that cannot be simultaneously apprehended, because the opposite or complementary forms that
are the most proximal basis of those apprehended realities cannot themselves be simultaneously
created by a single point of apprehending Beingness, and so cannot be simultaneously
apprehended as reality by a single point of apprehending Beingness.
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The Formless is non-conceptual, and so Form, which is composed of the Formless, albeit the
Formless flowing in relation to Itself, is also non-conceptual. But the mind deals only with
forms, only with concepts, only with things which appear as either this or that, but not with
things which appear as both this and that. Things which appear as both this and that, i.e., as
opposites, the mind cannot grasp, because what the mind grasps is form, but the mind can only
grasp, in any one moment, either this or that form, because a single point of Beingness can only
be, in any one moment, either in the relation which creates this form apprehended as this reality
or in the relation which creates that form apprehended as that reality. And so, the reason we
cannot grasp or fully define the ultimate nature of Form, as it seems to separate into the opposite
concepts of unconditioned and conditioned Being as we strive to grasp its ultimate nature, is the
same reason why scientists encountered the related paradoxes of wave-particle duality and
uncertainty as they strove to grasp the ultimate nature of physical reality. And that reason is that
it is simply not possible to fully define or describe through created form, i.e., through words or
concepts or any experience or any reality, the Formlessness that is actually there where any
experiential reality seems to be. This is a limitation that cannot be overcome, but it is a limitation
that can be understood. Thus, there really is no paradox, there is only an unavoidable duality of
simultaneously unexperienceable experiential forms that arises whenever one tries to grasp and
so tries to define the Formless as this or that reality, or as having this or that characteristic or
attribute.
And the same limitation arises in the reverse or opposite movement, which is to say, when one
realizes the Formless directly and then expresses that realization in form, through words and
concepts. It is for this reason that the Buddha, when referring to the Formless, called it
Emptiness, whereas Jesus, when referring to that same Formlessness, referred to it as the fullness
of Life. Any expression of the Formless is not itself the Formless, but is a form and so is not
That. As Lao Tzu wrote, the Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. Thus, the Buddha and
Jesus, and Lao Tzu as well, were not describing different or opposite things, but each simply
used different and opposite forms to point toward the same underlying Formlessness that each
had realized directly as their own essential Nature, as well as the essential Nature of the universe
itself, underlying the appearance of form.
All that having been said, the best way to understand and explain the nature of what we
apprehend as reality, as well as the seeming paradox of experiential duality that inevitably arises
when we try to grasp the ultimate nature of What Is Actually There where reality appears to be,
is to simply describe how formless Beingness forms progressive relations with Itself, progressive
levels of Form, and in so doing also creates progressive levels of form that are apprehended as
the different types of experiential forms or experiential realities that, taken together, make up
what we, as that formless Beingness, apprehend as reality.
The first level of Form
As previously stated, as formless Beingness flows in relation to Itself, Form comes into being
and form comes into existence. Thus, the first or most fundamental relation of formless
Beingness to Itself, or of Beingness flowing in relation to Itself, creates a first level of Form as
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523
well as a first type of form that Beingness experiences as the most fundamental type of
experiential reality, as shown in figure 3.
diagramatic representation of
the first Form, i.e., the first
flow of formless Beingness
in relation to Itself.
diagramatic representation of the first form,
i.e., the first boundary that arises within
formless Beingness as it first flows in relation
to Itself
Figure 3 The first relation of Beingness to Itself that creates the first Form also creates the first
form. The first form that comes into existence as the result of this first relation of formless
Beingness to Itself is the form that we, as that formless Beingness, apprehend or experience as
emotional reality.
This first level of Form that comes into Being is the foundational Form within which all other
Forms comes into Being and within which all forms come into existence. We have two different
names that we use to refer to this first level of Form. One name we use is mind, and the other is
space or space-time, with time being our perception of something that is ultimately derived from
the intrinsic dynamic or flow inherent in the Form that underlies what we apprehend as and call
space, which, to reiterate, is also the Form that underlies what we apprehend as and call mind.
Mind and space both appear formless even though they are a Form, i.e., Beingness flowing in
relation to Itself, because Form cannot itself be an experience, because experience is always the
apprehension of a created form. Mind and space are the experientially dual aspects of the
singular Form that arises when formless Beingness first flows in relation to Itself. That is, the
first experience, the first form, comes into existence as the Form that is the basis of what we
apprehend as the duality of mind and space comes into being. Therefore, the singular Form that
underlies what we apprehend as both mind and space comes into being simultaneously with the
coming into existence of the first form, which first created form Beingness apprehends as
emotional experience or as an emotional reality.
Thus, the reason mind and space themselves have no form, or are experienced as the absence of
form, is because they are the experientially dual aspects of the fundamental and
unexperienceable Form within which all form ultimately arises or comes into existence. That is,
physical form is apprehended as arising within the formlessness of space, whereas mental form is
apprehended as arising within the formlessness of mind, while emotional form pervades both
physical and mental reality, both space and mind, because emotional form is intrinsic to the
singular and fundamental Form that underlies what is apprehended as both space and mind. Put
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524
another way, physical form clearly arises in what we call space, whereas mental form clearly
arises in what we call mind, but from where does emotional form arise: space or mind? The
answer: both. Because emotional form comes into existence within the first Form as the first
Form comes into being, and because that first Form underlies what is apprehended as both space
and mind, emotional form cannot be localized to either space or mind and yet seems to appear in
both, or seems to pervade both, as shown in figure 4.
space
mind
apprehension
of physical form
and emotional
form
apprehension
of mental form
and emotional
form
the fundamental
Form
apprehended by
Beingness as the
formlessness of
mind
the fundamental
Form and the first
form
the fundamental
Form
apprehended by
Beingness as the
formlessness of
space
Figure 4 Mind and space themselves have no form, or are experienced as the absence of form,
and yet underlying both mind and space is the singular and fundamental Form that comes into
being as the form apprehended as emotional reality comes into existence. Therefore, since the
form that is apprehended as emotional reality is intrinsic to the singular and fundamental Form
that is actually there where both mind and space experientially appear to be, emotional reality is
apprehended within the spheres of both mind and space, i.e., within both and associated with
both mental and physical reality.
What is referred to here as Form is formless Beingness that has become structured in relation to
Itself as a result of being in relation to Itself. Thus, underlying space is a primary and
fundamental Structure and underlying mind is that same primary and fundamental Structure.
That Structure is not physical in nature nor is it mental in nature. The nature of that fundamental
Structure is that of Beingness, albeit Beingness that is flowing or being in relation to Itself. And
because the nature of that Structure or Form is that of Beingness, it cannot be apprehended as an
experience. And yet some aspects of that fundamental Structure can be inferred from the
behavior of the physical forms that eventually come into existence within that primary Form,
thereby allowing that fundamental Structure to be known indirectly through the physical or
conceptual experience of structure, which is what Buckminster Fuller did when he modeled
space as a cubic-close-packing arrangement of spheres, which model he then used to explain
how forces were distributed through that structure, i.e., through or in space. Einstein also
understood space to have a structure, and he also understood that what we perceive as energy and
matter are themselves structures that extend from the more fundamental structure of space,
making them inseparable from that more fundamental structure, and thereby constrained and
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525
bound in their behavior by that more fundamental structure, which understanding found its
expression in his special and general theories of relativity.
Why is the singular and fundamental Form that comes into being as formless Beingness first
flows in relation to Itself apprehended as the seemingly separate or distinct realties of mind and
space? Because mind and space are the experientially dual aspects of the singular Form that
arises when formless Beingness first flows in relation to Itself. As stated previously, whenever
the Formless tries to grasp Itself the result is always the creation of an experiential duality, which
is to say, the creation of opposite experiences that can never be apprehended simultaneously,
because there are always opposite and so mutually exclusive ways in which the Formless can try
to grasp Itself or be in relation to Itself, which opposite relations always result in the creation of
opposite and mutually exclusive experiential realities. And so it is that, in the same way that the
wave and particle experiential duality arises through the opposite and mutually exclusive ways
the Formless can try to grasp Itself as it tries to grasp the ultimate nature of What Is Actually
There where physical reality or physical form appears to be, the mind/space duality arises
through the opposite and mutually exclusive ways the Formless can be in relation to Itself as the
first or fundamental Form. Put another way, the opposite realities of mind and space are what we
apprehend as the result of the opposite and so mutually exclusive ways that we, as unconditioned
Formlessness, can try to grasp or be in relation to this first Form composed of what is ultimately
our formless Self, as shown in figure 5.
first Form
first level of Form
apprehended
as mind
unconditioned
Formlessness
looking within
unconditioned
Formlessness
looking
without
first level of Form
apprehended
as space
opposite experiential realities created by
opposite and so mutually exclusive relations
of unconditioned Formlessness to the first or
fundamental Form
Figure 5 That which apprehends is not Form; rather, that which apprehends is always the
unconditioned Formlessness of which Form is composed. And because there are two ways the
unconditioned Formlessness can be in relation to this first Form, because for every possible
relation there has to be an opposite relation that is also possible, there are two ways the
unconditioned Formlessness can approach and so apprehend this first Form. One way is looking
within and apprehending that Form as the formless experience we call mind, and the other way
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526
is looking without and apprehending that Form as the formless experience we call space. Thus,
mind and space may not themselves have what we would call form, but they exist as forms
nonetheless, because they exist as experiences, one as an inner space, i.e., as the experience of
an inner formlessness, and the other as an outer space, i.e., as the experience of an outer
formlessness, in which inner and outer spaces the forms that make up mental and physical
reality, respectively, appear to arise.
More will be said about the mind/space duality and how it arises along with the apprehension of
the forms that we experience as mental and physical reality once the more iterated relations of
Beingness to Itself that that create those forms have been described. For now though, having
discussed the nature of the first Form that comes into Being as formless Beingness first flows in
relation to Itself, let us now turn our attention to the nature of the first form that is created and
apprehended by Beingness as an experience as a result of that same first flow of formless
Beingness in relation to Itself.
As already stated, the first or fundamental flow of Beingness in relation to Itself that brings into
being the first Form also creates or brings into existence the first form that Beingness apprehends
as an experience or as an experiential reality. Also as already stated, that first form is the form
that Beingness apprehends as emotional experience or as emotional reality.
From an experiential perspective, the form that we experience as emotional reality seems very
different from the forms that we experience as mental and physical reality. That is, whereas the
forms that we experience as mental and physical reality are easy to relate to boundaries that arise
where Beingness meets Itself and so becomes defined in relation to Itself, emotional reality or
emotional form lacks the definition that is present in both mental and physical experience.
Nonetheless, emotional reality is a form, as what we apprehend as emotional experience has as
its basis a form that comes into existence within our Beingness as our Beingness becomes
defined in relation to Itself as it flows in relation to Itself as Form. However, unlike relatively
clearly defined perceptual and conceptual form, emotional form exists more like a vibrational
form or wave that spreads through Beingness, propagating through Beingness from its point of
origin at the boundary that arises where Beingness becomes defined in relation to Itself as it
flows in relation to Itself, which propagating form is then apprehended by Beingness as an
emotional experience or emotional reality, as shown in figure 6.
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first Form, i.e., the first flow
of formless Beingness in
relation to Itself.
527
first form, i.e., the first boundary that arises
within formless Beingness as it first flows in
relation to Itself, and which boundary
Beingness apprehends as an emotional
experience or as emotional reality
Figure 6 The form that Beingness apprehends as emotional experience propagates like a sort of
wave through Beingness from its point of origin where Beingness becomes defined in relation
to Itself as it flows in relation to Itself, thereby seeming to fill Beingness with that form, which
may be why we speak of emotion in terms such as being "filled with love," or "filled with
anger," and so on.
This creation and coming into existence of the form that is ultimately apprehended by the
Formless as emotional experience is the first form to arise within the Formless, the first arising
of that which only exists within that which Is. And as already noted, this particular type of form
is intrinsic to the Form that underlies what we apprehend as both mind and space, which is why
we would notice, if we were to pay attention, that in the background of all mental and physical
experience there always rests some emotional experience, some emotional form.
What has just been described is the basis of emotional experience in general. What will be
described next is the basis of emotional experience in particular, which is to say, the basis of
what Beingness apprehends as wanted and unwanted, or positive and negative, emotional
experience.
The basis of positive and negative emotional experience
As will be described, wanted and unwanted emotional experiences represent yet another
unavoidable experiential duality that arises from the related facts that: 1) all experience is
apprehended form; 2) that all apprehended form is created as the product of some relation of
Beingness to Itself, and; 3) that for every relation of Beingness to Itself that creates one form
apprehended as one particular experience, there is always an opposite relation of Beingness to
Itself that is possible, which when it occurs, creates the opposite form apprehended as the
opposite experience.
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While the basis of emotional experience in general has to do with the apprehension of a
propagating form that is created as the result of Beingness flowing in relation to Itself, the basis
of what Beingness apprehends in particular as wanted and unwanted emotional experience has to
do with the particular way in which Beingness is flowing in relation to Itself as it creates the
particular form that it then apprehends as a particular emotional experience or emotional reality.
Therefore, in order to understand the basis of what Beingness apprehends as wanted and
unwanted emotional experience we need to understand the opposite and so mutually exclusive
ways in which Beingness can flow in relation to Itself and become defined in relation to Itself, as
it creates within Itself the propagating form it then apprehends as either a wanted or unwanted
emotional experience.
The opposite and so mutually exclusive ways that Beingness can flow or be in relation to Itself,
and so become defined in relation to itself, as it creates within Itself the propagating form that it
then apprehends as an emotional experience or realty, is in a relation of either aligned or
oppositional flow. That is, Beingness, as it flows in relation to Itself and so becomes Form, can
flow in alignment with Itself, in alignment with its own Flow, or it can flow in opposition to
Itself, in opposition to its own Flow, as shown in figure 7.
Figure 7 As Beingness flows in relation to Itself and so becomes Form and creates form, it can
do so by flowing in alignment with Itself, as shown on the left, or it can do so by flowing in
opposition to Itself, as shown on the right.
It is these opposite Forms of relational flow, i.e., self-aligned and self-opposed, that create or
bring into existence the two different forms that formless Beingness apprehends as either a
wanted or unwanted, i.e., positive or negative, emotional experience or reality. Thus, emotion is
essentially be-motion, which is to say, the apprehension by Beingness of the form created within
Itself as a result of the aligned or opposed motion or flow of Beingness relative to Itself.
Specifically, when formless Beingness flows in relation to Itself in such a way that it is flowing
in alignment with Itself, in alignment with its own Flow, this relation of aligned Flow creates a
vibrational form that propagates through Beingness and is apprehended by Beingness as a
wanted, positive, or attractive emotional experience or reality. Conversely, when formless
Beingness flows in relation to Itself in such a way that it is flowing in opposition to Itself, in
opposition to its own Flow, as if a drop of water in a river was able to turn and flow itself
upstream instead of downstream, this relation of oppositional Flow creates a vibrational form
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that propagates through Beingness and is apprehended by Beingness as an unwanted, negative,
or repulsive emotional experience or reality, as shown in figure 8.
Figure 8 When Beingness flows in alignment with Itself, as shown on the left, a vibrational
form is created within Beingness that Beingness apprehends as a wanted emotional experience.
Conversely, as shown on the right, when Beingness flows in opposition to Itself the opposite
vibrational form is created within Beingness, which opposite vibrational form Beingness
apprehends as an unwanted emotional experience. Shown at the bottom are the opposite ways in
which these opposite forms find their external expression in the form of the human face as they
are being created and apprehended as an emotional experience or reality by Beingness as it
flows through the human Form in a relation of either Self-alignment or Self-opposition.
A wanted or positive emotion feels attractive because it is the apprehension by Beingness of a
vibrational form, or simply a form, that has as its basis the flow of Beingness in alignment with
Itself. Thus, the attractiveness associated with the form that is apprehended by Beingness as a
wanted emotion has as its basis Beingness' alignment with its own Flow. Put another way,
wanted emotion is wanted because Beingness feels attracted to it, but Beingness feels attracted to
it not because the created form is actually pulling or attracting Beingness; rather, Beingness feels
attracted to the created form that it is apprehending as a wanted emotional experience or reality
because, while creating or bringing into existence the form it is apprehending as a wanted
emotional reality, Beingness is aligned with, and so being assisted in its movement or flow in
that direction by, what is ultimately its own Flow. Thus, the attractiveness of the emotion is not
inherent in the created form; rather, emotional attractiveness or wantedness derives from the
aligned relation of Beingness to Itself that is creating the form.
Conversely, an unwanted or negative emotion feels repulsive because it is the apprehension by
Beingness of a vibrational form, or simply a form, that has as its basis the flow of that Beingness
in opposition to Itself. Thus, the repulsiveness associated with the form that is apprehended by
Beingness as an unwanted emotion has as its basis Beingness' opposition to its own flow. Put
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another way, unwanted emotion is unwanted because Beingness feels repulsed by it, but
Beingness feels repulsed by it not because the created form is actually repelling or repulsing
Beingness; rather, Beingness feels repulsed by the created form, which it is apprehending as an
unwanted emotional experience or reality, because while creating or bringing into existence the
form it is apprehending as an unwanted emotional reality, Beingness is being opposed and so
repelled in its movement or flow in that direction by what is ultimately its own Flow. Thus, the
repulsiveness of the emotion is not inherent in the created form; rather, emotional repulsiveness
or unwantedness derives from the oppositional relation of Beingness to Itself that is creating the
form.
Underlying the created form apprehended by Beingness as an emotional experience or reality is
always the relational Actuality of either the self-aligned or self-opposed movement or flow of
Beingness in relation to Itself. That is, underlying what is apprehended by Beingness as a
wanted, positive, or attractive emotion is the flow of the apprehending Beingness in alignment
with Itself, whereas underlying what is apprehended by Beingness as an unwanted, negative, or
repulsive emotion is the flow of the apprehending Beingness in opposition to Itself. And so, even
though it may seem that the attractiveness or repulsiveness of the emotion, i.e., the good or bad
feeling, inheres in the form that is being apprehended as the emotional experience or reality, in
actuality the attractiveness or repulsiveness of the emotion inheres in the either aligned or
opposed relation of Beingness to Itself, i.e., the relational Actuality, that brings into existence the
form that Beingness apprehends as the emotional experience. In this way, the created form,
apprehended as a wanted or an unwanted emotional experience, reflects the fundamental relation
of Beingness to Itself that creates it, or brings it into existence, as shown in figure 9.
The emotional form, in its apprehended attractiveness or repulsiveness, simply reflects in reality
the underlying relational Actuality, i.e., the aligned or opposed relation of formless Beingness to
Itself that is creating the form apprehended as emotional reality. And so, even though the
Formless cannot Itself actually be form, nor can the Formless Itself be reflected in form or as
form, what can be reflected in form, and what is reflected in form, is the aligned or opposed
nature of the relation of the Formless to Itself that is creating the form that the apprehending
Beingness apprehends as the wanted or unwanted emotional experience, or reality.
All reality is ultimately a reflection in form of the way in which the underlying formless
Actuality or Beingness is being in relation to Itself as it creates the forms it apprehends as reality.
Put another way, all reality is a reflection in form of some relation of formless Beingness to
Itself. Put more succinctly, reality is a reflection. But what does reality reflect? What reality
reflects is the relation of the Formless to Itself necessary to create the form the Formless then
apprehends as reality. Reality is always dual; the Formless is singular and so non-dual. Thus,
reality, with its inherent and unavoidable duality, does not and cannot reflect the Formless
directly, but it can and does reflect the relations in which the Formless is involved with Itself as
it creates whatever forms it apprehends as reality.
However, one needs to be very careful with regard to understanding what is being referred to
here as the actual source or basis of wanted and unwanted experience. For example, if one sees
what appears to them as a very unattractive person, one might then erroneously think that what is
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531
being said here is that that unattractive person appears unattractive because that person is
reflecting in their apprehended form a relation of oppositional flow inherent in the Form or
Beingness that underlies that apprehended form.
form apprehended
by Beingness as an
attractive or
repulsive,
i.e., wanted or
unwanted,
emotional reality
underlying relational Actuality, i.e., relation of Beingness to Itself that is creating the form
Beingness apprehends as an emotional reality, which relat ional Actuality is then reflected in the
apprehended emotional reality as that realit ies’ seemingly inherent wantedness-attractiveness or
unwantedness-repulsiveness.
human Being apprhending, as a wanted
or attractive emotional reality, a form
created as the result of the aligned flow
of its Beingness to Itself
human Being apprhending, as an unwanted
or repulsive emotional reality, a form
created as the result of the oppositional flow
of its Beingness to Itself
Figure 9 What we apprehend as emotional reality is the form that is created through the aligned
or oppositional flow of Beingness relative to Itself. However, the wantedness or unwantedness,
i.e., the attractiveness or repulsiveness, that seems to inhere in the emotional reality is actually a
function of the either aligned or opposed relation of Beingness to Itself that brings into
existence the form apprehended by Beingness as the wanted or unwanted emotional reality. Put
another way, the attractive or repulsive quality that seems intrinsic to the apprehended
emotional reality is actually reflective of the Self-aligned or Self-opposed state of the
apprehending and underlying formless Actuality or Beingness as it creates, through relation to
Itself, the form it then apprehends as the emotional reality.
However, what is actually being said here is that the attractiveness or repulsiveness of the form
that one apprehends as reality reflects only one's own relation of aligned or oppositional flow to
Beingness, and not that of the Beingness that underlies the apprehended form. Put another way,
what is being said here is that the attractiveness or repulsiveness of the form that one apprehends
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as reality reflects only the apprehending Beingness' aligned or opposed relation to Itself, which
fundamental relation must always be present as the apprehending Beingness becomes involved in
whatever additional relation with Itself is also necessary to create the form apprehended as
reality. This is a subtle but vital distinction. As an analogy, when one stands in front of a mirror
what is reflected back to them is their own reflection, not what lies behind the mirror, as shown
in figure 10.
apprehending
Beingness’
oppositional relation
to Itself
created form reflecting apprehending Beingness'
involvement in fundamental relat ion of selfopposition during its creation, resulting in the
apprehension of that form by that Beingness as an
unwanted experience or reality
Beingness in relat ion to Beingness
creating a form that reflects the
apprehending Beingness’ involvement
in the more fundamental relation of
self-opposition, thereby creating a
form that seems to exist in opposition
to the apprehending Beingness and so
appears repulsive to that Beingness
apprehending
Beingness’ aligned
relation to Itself
created form reflecting apprehending Beingness'
involvement in fundamental relat ion of selfalignement during its creation, resulting in the
apprehension of that form by that Beingness as an
wanted experience or reality
Beingness in relat ion to Beingness
creating a form that reflects the
apprehending Beingness’ involvement
in the more fundamental relation of
self-alignment, thereby creating a
form that seems to exist in alignment
with the apprehending Beingness and
so appears attractive to that Beingness
Figure 10 What this drawing shows is that it does not matter whether the Beingness or Form
that one is being in relation to, in order to create a form apprehended as reality, is Itself in a
relation of self-alignment or self-opposition with regard to whether the form created as the
result of that relation is apprehended by one as a wanted or unwanted reality. What matters with
regard to whether the form created as the result of that relation is apprehended by one as a
wanted or unwanted reality is the relation in which one, as the apprehending Beingness, is
involved with Itself as it also becomes involved in the relation that creates the form it
apprehends as reality. In essence, the form apprehended as reality reflects back to the
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apprehending Beingness, as experiential wantedness or unwantedness, that Beingness'
involvement in the fundamental relation of Self-alignment or Self-opposition present at the
moment of its creation as form.
The difference between experiential wantedness and unwantedness cannot be in What Is
Actually There underlying the created form apprehended as a wanted or unwanted reality, for
What Is Actually There underlying the created form is always ultimately the same singular
Formlessness or formless Actuality. However, the difference between experiential wantedness
and unwantedness does lie in the aligned or opposed way in which What Is Actually There is
being in relation to Itself as it becomes involved in whatever relation with Itself creates whatever
form it then apprehends as reality. With regard to the creation of the forms apprehended as
wanted and unwanted emotional experiences, there is only the fundamental relation of aligned or
oppositional flow. However, with regard to the creation of the forms apprehended as wanted and
unwanted mental and physical experiences, there is the fundamental relation of aligned or
oppositional flow, as well as the higher order relations that create the higher order forms
apprehended as mental and physical experiences. And because those higher order relations must
have one of those fundamental relations as their basis, i.e., either self-aligned or self-opposed
flow, the higher order forms apprehended as mental and physical experiences cannot do other
than reflect in their appearance of wantedness or unwantedness the fundamental relation of either
Self-alignment or Self-opposition in which the apprehending Beingness must simultaneously be
involved in order to be in a position to become involved in the higher order relations that create
the higher order forms apprehended as mental and physical experiences.
This is why when you are feeling very bad, i.e., experiencing a very negative or unwanted
emotion, in which case you must be involved in the fundamental relation in a mode of significant
Self-opposition, that all the world seems dark, and all apprehended forms seem unattractive,
whereas, when you are feeling very good, i.e., experiencing a very positive or wanted emotion,
in which case you must be involved in the fundamental relation in a mode of significant Selfalignment, that all the world seems bright, and all apprehended forms seem attractive. And so it
is that we can have what seems to be the same world appearing as two completely different
realities in different moments, because it is not the same world; rather, it is two different worlds
being created as two completely different realities in different moments as a result of the
apprehending Beingness' opposite involvement, in those different moments, in the fundamental
relation of Beingness to Itself that underlies all created form and so all apprehended reality.
What all this means is that the difference between experiential wantedness and unwantedness
must have as its source the way in which you, as the Beingness that is apprehending the created
form as reality, are involved in the fundamental relation of Self-aligned or Self-oppositional flow
as you simultaneously become involved in whatever relation brings into existence whatever form
you are apprehending as a wanted or unwanted reality. As an example, in practical terms, the
negative emotion you likely feel when someone is yelling at you does not have your surface
relation to that person as its source; rather, the negative emotion you likely feel has as its source
the deeper and more fundamental relation of Self-opposition in which you must be in that
moment involved, which deeper relation may have the surface relation as its catalyst, i.e., as the
reason you are choosing that particular mode of involvement in the fundamental relation, but
never as its actual cause. Likewise, the positive emotion you likely feel when someone is
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praising you does not have your surface relation to that person as its source; rather, the positive
emotion you likely feel has as its source the deeper and more fundamental relation of Selfalignment in which you must be in that moment involved, which deeper relation may once again
have the surface relation as its catalyst, but never as its actual cause.
The main point of all of this is that, in each moment, the forms that you apprehend as reality are
always being created, with respect to their seemingly inherent attractiveness or repulsiveness, as
a product of how you are being in relation to what is ultimately your Self. Thus, regardless of
how it seems, the qualities of experiential wantedness and unwantedness do not inhere in the
apprehended form itself, and so do not inhere in what we call reality, since form simply reflects,
in its apprehended wantedness or unwantedness, the underlying relational Actuality of Selfalignment or Self-opposition in which the apprehending Beingness must be involved at the
fundamental level as that Beingness creates both the form it apprehends as an attractive or
repulsive emotional reality, as well as any higher order forms it apprehends as attractive or
repulsive mental and physical realities.
Reality is never the Actuality. However, reality can provide information regarding the state of
the Actuality. Specifically, the information that reality can provide, and especially the
information that emotional reality can provide in the moment of its apprehension, is with regard
to the nature of one's in the moment involvement in the fundamental relation of Self-alignment
or Self-opposition that underlies all created form. What you do with that information is up to
you. But in order to do anything with it, it is first necessary to know that what you apprehend as
emotional reality is providing you with information that goes well beyond the surface appearance
or feeling of that reality, well beyond the form, as it is information that derives from the
unexperienceable level of formless Actuality. And so, even though the Formlessness that is
actually there underlying the reality cannot Itself be an experience, what you are apprehending in
any moment as an emotional experience or reality is nonetheless able to tell you, through its
wantedness or unwantedness, through its attractiveness or repulsiveness, whether the formless
Beingness that you actually are is, in that moment, involved in a relation of Self-alignment or
Self-opposition. Thus, even though one's formless Nature may lie forever beyond experience,
because all experience is the apprehension of some created form, emotional experience can
nonetheless provide one with relevant and useful information regarding the relational state of
one's formless and so unexperienceable Nature. You can never know your formless Self, at least
not as a form, but you can know, through emotional experience, how at a very fundamental level
your formless Self is being in relation to Itself.
The reason so much time has been spent explaining why it is that the attractiveness or
repulsiveness of an emotional reality does not actually inhere in the form that seems to be the
source of our positive or negative emotion, i.e., does not actually inhere in the object that seems
to make us happy or unhappy, but rather inheres in a deeper and hidden relation in which we are
involved with our formless Self that occurs through the proxy of our relation with the object, is
that this understanding is one way in which it becomes possible for us to begin to change the way
in which we relate to the forms that arise within our Awareness or Consciousness. Specifically,
once we are able to recognize that the positive or negative emotion that we are feeling is not
actually being caused by the wanted or unwanted form, but has instead as its causation a relation
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in which we are involved that lies beyond form, we no longer feel such a strong need to
automatically cling to those forms that seems to make us happy and also no longer feel such a
strong need to automatically push away those forms that seems to make us unhappy, both of
which automatic Movements place us, in one way or another, in conflict with this moment and so
in conflict with our Self. This alteration of the way in which we relate to the forms that arise
within our Awareness or Consciousness is important because, as will be described, more than
anything else, it is the reactive, reflexive, habitual, and unconscious relations of attachment and
aversion in which we become involved with wanted and unwanted objects or forms that actually
keeps us, as formless Beingness, bound to continued involvement in the inherently Selfoppositional relation that creates our identification with form. And so, it is not until we can begin
to change the way in which we habitually and reflexively react to the forms that arise within our
formless Awareness or Consciousness that we can begin to free ourselves from the grip of formidentification that, by its nature, keeps hidden the Formlessness that underlies what we
apprehend as reality, and so also keeps hidden the Formlessness that is our true and essential
nature.
Pay attention to how you feel, to the emotion you are apprehending in any moment, and you will
know whether you are, in that moment, flowing your Beingness into a relation of Self-alignment
or Self-opposition. Because no matter how much it may seem to be otherwise, it is not the
wantedness or unwantedness of the forms that we apprehend as mental and physical reality that
determine how we feel, i.e., that determine whether we apprehend and so experience, in any
moment, a wanted or an unwanted emotion. Rather, it is how we are flowing our Beingness in
relation to Itself at a very fundamental level in each moment that determines how we feel, which
is to say, that determines the nature of the fundamental vibrational form that we are creating and
apprehending in each moment as a wanted or unwanted emotional reality. Beingness is neither
wanted nor unwanted; reality is neither wanted nor unwanted. Both have the appearance of
wantedness or unwantedness imposed upon them by the aligned or opposed relation of
Beingness to Itself that underlies all created and apprehended form.
Beyond the duality of wantedness and unwantedness, beyond the duality of created form
apprehended as this or that experience or reality, lies the singularity of indivisible Beingness. We
are that singular and indivisible Beingness, and yet we are that Beingness as it is being in relation
to Itself, and so we are that Beingness as it is creating form and apprehending that form as
reality. Reality is inherently dual; Beingness is inherently non-dual. Reality is inherently dual
because it is created as the product of a relation of the Non-dual to Itself. The relation of the
Non-dual to Itself does not make the Non-dual dual, does not make that which is One two. The
relation of the Non-dual to Itself simply bring into existence, within the Non-dual, the inherently
dual forms which, when apprehended as reality, are able to impart upon the Non-dual the
appearance of duality, the appearance of being this or that reality, as a reflection imparts its
appearance upon the mirror within which it arises.
But just as a reflection, once it arises, does not have to be known as what is actually there, and so
does not have to obscure the mirror within which it arises, so too reality, once it arises, does not
have to be known as what is actually there, and so does not have to obscure the actuality of
singular Beingness within which it arises, which singular Beingness is our true and essential
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nature. Toward that end then, i.e., toward the end of continuing to develop an understanding of
reality as what is not actually there where it appears to be in order to facilitate the direct and
immediate realization of one's own formless Beingness or Consciousness as what is actually
there where reality only appears to be, we will now move on to describe the second level of
Form and form that is able to arise as a result of the first level of Form having been established,
or having come into being.
The second level of Form and form
The second level of Form comes into being as Beingness, already flowing in relation to Itself as
the first level of Form, simply continues to do what it is already doing, or continues to be how it
is already being, and so continues to flow in relation to Itself. However, this continuing flow of
Beingness in relation to Itself now occurs within the context of, or within the Form of, the first
level of relational Flow. Thus, this second level of Form is only able to come into being because
there is already a first level of Form that allows for a new way in which Beingness can then be in
relation to Itself.
This second level of Form is still just Beingness flowing in relation to Itself, but it is Beingness
flowing in relation to Itself in a way that is only possible because there is already a first level of
Form. For example, consider a thread of extreme length. Such a thread can form relations with
itself such that a sheet is created. And then, once the thread is in the form of a sheet, the thread,
as that sheet-form, can then fold upon itself and so form a new relation with itself, create a new
form of itself, in a way that is only possible owing to its prior configuration into a sheet-form.
Likewise, the second level of Form is only able to come into being because Beingness is already
flowing Itself into a first level of Form that makes possible a new relation of Beingness to Itself,
which is to say, a second type of relation of Beingness to Itself that cannot otherwise be in the
absence of Beingness having already become, and so already being, the first level of Form.
And as this second level of Form comes into being, a new type and so new level of form also
comes into existence. Put another way, as formless Beingness flows in relation to Itself in this
new way, thereby bringing into being a new level of relational Actuality, a new type of boundary
or form simultaneously comes into existence as Beingness becomes defined in relation to Itself
in this new way through this new relation of Itself to Itself, thereby bringing into existence what
Beingness apprehends as a new type of reality. And as shown in figure 11, this new type of form
that comes into existence as the second level of Form comes into being is the type of form that
Beingness apprehends as mental experience or mental reality.
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second level of Form or
second level of relational Actuality
537
second level of form or
second level of reality
second level
of form
apprehended
as mental
experience
relation within
relation another level
of Form
first level of fo rm
apprehended as
emotional
experience
first level of Form or
first level of relational Actuality
first level of form or
first level of reality
Figure 11 Because Beingness is flowing in relation to Itself, thereby becoming and being a first
level of Form, Beingness, as that first level of Form, as shown on the left, is then able form a
new relation with Itself and thereby bring into being a second level of Form, while
simultaneously, as shown on the right, bringing into existence a new or second type of form
apprehended by Beingness as a new type of experience or reality.
Thus, thoughts or thought-forms, i.e., mental experiences, seem to arise in the mind, because the
second level of Form that comes into being as the forms that are apprehended as thoughts come
into existence, comes into being within the first level of Form, so that as these second level
forms are apprehended as thoughts, mental experiences, or mental realities, they appear to arise
as forms within Beingness' experiential interpretation of the first level of Form, one of which
experiential interpretations is the experience of mind. Put another way, the second level forms
that are apprehended as thoughts do arise or come into existence within the first level of Form,
which first level of Form is, as already stated, what is actually there where the formless
experience we call mind is apprehended as existing.
However, it needs to be remembered, or kept in mind, as it were, that the larger context in which
the forms that are apprehended as mental reality come into existence is not the first level of Form
that we apprehend as mind. Rather, the larger context in which the forms that are apprehended as
mental reality come into existence is within the formless Awareness or Beingness of which the
first level of Form that we apprehend as mind is ultimately composed. That is, at one level it is
true that the forms of mental experience arise within the mind, but this is a limited truth. The
larger truth is that those forms arise within formless Beingness, Awareness, or Consciousness,
because the mind is only our experiential interpretation of a Form that has come into being
within, and is ultimately composed of, uncreated and unconditioned formless Awareness,
Consciousness, or Beingness.
Therefore, forms that seem to arise within the mind are more inclusively forms that arise within
Awareness, and those forms, i.e., those thought-forms, are not apprehended by what we
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experience as mind. Rather, that which apprehends those thought-forms is the formless
Awareness, Consciousness, or Beingness, of which the Form that underlies what we apprehend
as mind is composed. Put another way, the mind is not that which actually apprehends that which
is conceived or brought into existence within what appears as the mind; rather, the mind is only
our experiential interpretation of the Form, the flowing Beingness, the relational Structure,
within which the forms that are apprehended by formless Beingness as mental realty are
conceived, which is to say, born into existence as form.
Mind is an experience, whereas the first level Form that is actually there where mind appears, or
is experienced to be, is not and cannot be an experience, because experience is the apprehension
of created form, whereas Form is composed of formless Beingness or Consciousness, albeit
formless Beingness or Consciousness flowing in relation to Itself. Likewise, thoughts are
experiences, whereas the second level Forms that are actually there where thought-forms appear
to be, and which second level Forms must come into being and so must be in order for thoughtforms to come into existence, are not and cannot themselves be an experience, because those
Forms are also composed of formless Beingness or Consciousness, albeit once again formless
Beingness or Consciousness flowing in relation to Itself, although now at a more iterated level of
Self-relation.
And once second level Forms come into being, the process of iterative and progressive selfrelation that Beingness is undergoing continues, as second level Forms become involved in
relatively stable relations with each other, thereby bringing into being increasingly compound
and complex second level Forms. A second level Form that is not involved in a relatively stable
relation with any other second level Form will be referred to as a simple or non-compound
second level Form. On the other hand, a second level Form that is composed of two or more
simple second level Forms that are involved in a relatively stable relation will be referred to as a
complex or compound second level Form, as shown in figure 12.
a simp le or noncompound second
level Fo rm
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second level Form co mposed
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level Fo rms
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a complex or co mpound
second level Form co mposed
of three non-compound
second level Forms
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Figure 12 Depicted in the drawing on the far left is a second level Form that has come into
being within the first level of Form that is not involved in a relation with any other second level
Forms, and so is designated as a simple or non-compound second level Form. Depicted in the
two drawings on the right are also second level Forms that have come into being within the first
level of Form. However, these second level Forms have become involved in stable relations
with other second level Forms, which stable relations are indicated by the green lines
connecting those Forms, and so as a group are designated as complex or compound second level
Forms.
As already stated, within any simple or non-compound second level Form is a form that is
apprehended as a thought or mental reality. Therefore, within any complex or compound second
level Form there is also a form that is apprehended as a thought or mental reality. The forms or
thoughts that are associated with simple or non-compound second level Forms are apprehended
as simple or non-compound thoughts, such as those represented by the letters I and O, or the
numbers 1 and 0. On the other hand, the forms or thoughts that are associated with complex or
compound second level Forms are apprehended as complex or compound thoughts, such as those
represented by the letters T and L, or B and P, or the numbers 2, 3, 4 and so on, as shown in
figure 13.
simple or non-compound
second level Form containing
simple second level form
apprehended as simple o r
non-complex thought
represented alphabetically as
the letter I and numerically as
the number 1
complex or compound
second level Form containing
compound second level form
apprehended as compound or
more comp lex thought
represented alphabetically as
the letter L or T and
numerically as the number 2
complex or compound
second level Form containing
compound second level form
apprehended as compound or
more comp lex thought
represented alphabetically as
perhaps the letter A or H and
numerically as the number 3
Figure 13 Depicted in the drawing on the far left is a non-compound second level Form that has
come into being within the first level of Form that contains within Itself a second level form
apprehended as a simple or non-compound thought, which simple thought is represented by the
single red line. Depicted in the two drawings on the right are compound second level Forms that
have come into being within the first level of Form, and within which compound Forms exist
the now compound second level forms apprehended as compound thoughts, represented by the
red and lines in each drawing.
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Here it should be noted that letters and numbers are not themselves thoughts, but are physical
representations of thoughts, which is to say, expressions at the level of physical form of forms
that first come into existence as mental forms. Both letters and numbers express relations
between second level forms. And as second level forms arise within second level Forms, the
relations between forms expressed by letters and numbers is in some limited way reflective of
the relation between the second level Forms within which those forms apprehended as thoughts
arise. Again, as with emotional form, the created form cannot be the Formlessness that is actually
there, but the created form can reflect the way in which the Formlessness that is actually there is
being in relation to Itself in order to create the form it then apprehends as a mental reality.
As stated early on in this work, and repeated throughout, for every relation of Beingness to Itself
that creates a form apprehended as a reality there is an opposite relation of Beingness to Itself
possible that will create the opposite form apprehended as the opposite reality. And as a result of
this pervasive and unavoidable duality inherent in all form, human Beings have developed two
kinds of languages, i.e., linguistic and mathematical, as a reflection of the opposite ways in
which Beingness can be in relation to Itself as it apprehends the second level forms created
within the second level Forms that make up the second level of relational Actuality, which
second level of relational Actuality, as will be described, provides the Structure that underlies the
forms that we apprehend as the objects of physical experience or physical reality.
As already described, the actual relation between two second level Forms apprehended as the
relation between two second level forms can be expressed linguistically as the letters T or L, as
well as mathematically as the number 2. Here then we have a single relational Actuality, i.e., a
compound second level Form, that contains within Itself a compound second level form that is
able to be apprehended as a mental reality in at least three different ways as three different forms,
i.e., as the thoughts represented by the letters T and L, and as the thought represented by the
number 2. However, the thoughts represented by the letters T and L are actually the opposite
ways this particular compound second level form can be apprehended as a thought or mental
form from within the linguistic perspective, whereas the thought represented by the number 2 is
the way in which that same compound second level form can be apprehended as a mental form
from the perspective that is the opposite of the linguistic perspective.
In order to understand the difference between the opposite relations of Beingness to Itself, or the
opposite perspectives, upon second level forms that allows for the apprehension of the opposite
mental realities expressed through linguistic language and mathematical language, it will be
helpful to first understand the opposite perspectives upon second level form that are responsible
for the apprehension of the opposite mental realities expressed as opposite letters in linguistic
language or in linguistic form.
As already stated, the letters T and L represent opposite linguistic perspectives upon a single
compound second level Form composed of two simple second level Forms. Within that
compound second level Form composed of two Forms is a compound second level form
composed of two forms. It is the apprehension by Beingness of the second level form that is the
apprehension of thought, and it is the way in which Beingness is being in relation to the Form
that contains the form that determines the way in which the form is apprehended as thought. Put
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Kaufman, S. E., On the Nature of & Relation between Form & Formlessness: Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into
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another way, it is the way in which Beingness is being in relation to the Form that contains the
form that determines the form of the form, or the form in which the form appears, as it is
apprehended as a thought-form or as a mental reality. Put still another way, a relation of
Beingness to Itself creates the form, but the perspective of Beingness upon the created form
determines how the form is apprehended as experience. And the way in which the form appears
as it is apprehended as a thought-form determines the way in which that form is then expressed
at the physical level in language-form, as shown in figure 14.
T
opposite subjective
perspectives upon same
Form creat ing
apprehension of
opposite linguistic-type
thought-forms
L
Figure 14 Shown in this drawing is the same compound second level Form composed of two
non-compound second level Forms, containing within Itself a compound second level form
being apprehended by Beingness as opposite thoughts or opposite mental realities from opposite
perspectives upon that Form. And although these perspectives are opposite perspectives, they
are both perspectives that are more inclusively part of what can be called the subjective
perspective, which subjective perspective is what always creates the thoughts that are expressed
by, and reflected in, linguistic language or linguistic form.
As shown in figure 14, the subjective perspective that allows for the apprehension of second
level form as linguistic-type thought always has opposite perspectual possibilities, which allows
for the apprehension by Beingness, in any one moment, of one of two possible linguistic-type
thought forms through relation to that Form, depending upon how the Form is approached. Thus,
the type of relation of Beingness to Itself that allows for the apprehension of second level forms
as linguistic type thought-forms is referred to as the subjective perspective, because the way in
which the form that is apprehended as thought-form or mental reality appears depends upon how
the subject Beingness, i.e., the Beingness that is apprehending the second level form as thought,
is being in relation to the Form that contains the form apprehended as thought. To reiterate, a
relation of Beingness to Itself creates the form, but it is the perspective of the apprehending
Beingness upon the created form that determines how the form is apprehended as experience.
Conversely, the type of relation of Beingness to Itself that allows for the apprehension of second
level forms as mathematical type thought-forms will be referred to as the objective perspective,
because from the objective perspective the way in which the form that is apprehended as
thought-form or mental reality appears does not depend upon how the subject Beingness, i.e., the
Beingness that is apprehending the form as thought, is being in relation to the Form that contains
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the form apprehended as thought, because the objective perspective, which is the opposite of the
subjective perspective, includes only what is common to all perspectives upon the same Form
and form.
In order to better understand the difference between these opposite types of thought-forms, i.e.,
the subjectively derived linguistic form and the objectively derived mathematical form, let us use
a simple example of three people of varying height, and so with different perspectives, that are
asked to describe two people of the same height. One person describes them as two tall people.
Another describes them as two short people. And the third describes them as two average people.
These are the three subjective descriptions, each of which depends upon the perspective of the
particular observer and their height in relation to the height of the two people being observed,
and so these three descriptions represent those derived from the subjective perspective. And yet
within each of these three descriptions there is something that is common to all, a form that is
common to each description, which form therefore cannot be subjective or dependent upon any
one subject's perspective, but is instead something about the form that is able to be apprehended
from any perspective. And what it is that is common to each description, and so what it is that is
apprehended from any perspective, is that there are two people. The apprehended form minus its
subjective elements, that is the form that is apprehended from the objective perspective. And
from that perspective what is apprehended is the number of forms that make up the overall form
being apprehended, the number of forms of which the form that is being apprehended is
composed, and that form is then always numerical in nature.
In a way, the objective perspective, which is the perspective that allows for the apprehension of
second level forms as mathematical-type mental realities or thought-forms, is the perspective that
removes the subjective element from the apprehension of second level forms as thoughts,
because it removes the element of those apprehended forms that are dependent upon the
perspective from which the forms are apprehended, which dependent element is the apprehended
structure or arrangement of that form relative to the apprehending Subject. From the two
opposite subjective perspectives one can apprehend a compound form as a thought represented
by a T or an L, but from the objective perspective the arrangement of the forms, the relation of
the forms, the structure of the form, does not matter, as all that matters is the numerical
composition of that apprehended form common to all subjective perspectives, expressed as the
number 2.
Thus, the perspective that includes all perspectives, but apprehends only that form which is
common to all perspectives, is the objective perspective. The objective perspective is not better
than the subjective perspective, it is just its opposite. For the understanding and expression of
certain things, certain types of relations, the objective perspective is better than the subjective
perspective, and for other things, for the understanding and expression of other things, other
types of relations, the subjective perspective is better than the objective perspective. The
temperature of an object, expressed numerically, is objective. Whether an object is hot or cold is
subjective, as that can vary based upon the temperature of the subject. Scientists do not argue
about numbers all that much, they mostly only argue about what the numbers mean. The
numbers are objective, and apply to all perspectives, whereas what they mean is subjective, and
so depends upon the perspective from which they are viewed. Each form of language, or each
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language-form, i.e., the linguistic and the mathematical, has its particular utility and usefulness,
and also its limitations. And each language form has as its basis a particular way of viewing, a
particular perspective upon, a particular way of apprehending, the second level forms that arise
within second level Forms.
(Continued in Part 1: The Evolution of the Formless into Form while Creating Lesser Form (2))
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Kaufman, S. E., The Revealed Yet Still Hidden Relation between Form & the Formless
Realization
The Revealed Yet Still Hidden
Relation between Form & the Formless
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
Science holds that it is form that gives rise to the Formlessness by which all form is
apprehended. Science has never even considered the opposite possibility. What is the opposite
possibility? That it is when formless Consciousness reaches a certain level of complexity that
physical forms poof into existence. How does that which is formless become complex? By
flowing in relation to itself, over and over and over again.
Key Words: Consciousness. revealed, hidden, relation, form, formless.
That which sees cannot Itself be seen.
That which hears cannot Itself be heard.
That which feels cannot Itself be felt.
That which comprehends cannot Itself be comprehended.
What is seen and heard and felt and comprehended are all forms.
That which sees and hears and feels and comprehends is formless.
And so in a world of sight and sound and feeling and comprehension, That which apprehends it
all has been completely forgotten, or if it is remembered, has been cast aside as unimportant, or
as less important than what is seen and heard and felt and comprehended.
And so science holds that it is form that gives rise to the Formlessness by which all form is
apprehended.
Science holds that when physical form reaches a certain level of complexity that formless
Consciousness poofs into being.
Science has no proof of this, it is only an idea, a belief, mistaken for fact.
Science has never even considered the opposite possibility.
What is the opposite possibility?
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
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That it is when formless Consciousness reaches a certain level of complexity that physical forms
poof into existence.
How does That which is formless become complex?
By flowing in relation to Itself, over and over and over again.
When the Formless first flows in relation to Itself, the first forms that poof into existence are
what we refer to as emotions.
And so arises one level of complexity, one level of reality, composed of formless Being flowing
in relation to Itself, and then apprehending as experiential reality, as emotional reality, the forms,
the boundaries, that arise within Itself as it flows in relation to Itself, and so becomes defined in
relation to Itself.
And then, while already flowing in relation to Itself, while already creating and apprehending
emotional reality, the Formless flows in relation to Itself again.
And when the Formless again flows in relation to Itself, while already flowing in relation to
Itself, the next forms that poof into existence are what we refer to as thoughts.
And so arises a second level of complexity, a second level of reality, composed of the same
formless Being flowing in relation to Itself, and then apprehending as experiential reality,
as mental reality, the additional forms that arise within Itself as it flows yet again in relation to
Itself.
And when the Formless flows yet again in relation to Itself, while already flowing in relation to
Itself, as it already flows in relation to Itself, the next forms that poof into existence are what we
refer to as physical objects.
And so arises a third level of complexity, a third level of reality, composed of the same formless
Being flowing in relation to Itself, and then apprehending as experiential reality, as physical
reality, the further forms that arise within Itself as it flows once again in relation to Itself.
Which seems more likely, that form already is and then somehow combines with itself to
somehow create the formless Consciousness by which all form is apprehended, or that the
Formless already is and then flows in relation to Itself, thereby creating the forms it then
apprehends as reality?
Prior to the advent of quantum physics it certainly seemed that form had an objective existence,
independent of the Formlessness by which all form is apprehended.
But with the advent of quantum physics it has become apparent that how form appears, that the
form that is created, has no existence apart from the Formlessness by which it is apprehended.
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Be in relation to what is there in one way and this form appears. Be in relation to what is there in
the opposite way and the opposite form appears.
This is called wave-particle duality.
And while being in relation to what is there in one way so that this form appears, it is not
possible to be in relation to what is there in the opposite way, and so not possible to make the
opposite form appear.
This is called uncertainty.
Wave-particle duality and uncertainty. The two pillars upon which all quantum theory rests, and
which two pillars refute the notion that form has an objective existence, or any existence, apart
from the Formlessness by which it is apprehended.
The related paradoxes of wave-particle duality and uncertainty arise owing to the unavoidable
creation of opposite and mutually exclusive forms that occurs whenever the Formless tries to
grasp Itself, tries to know Itself, through form.
When the Formless tries to grasp Itself, as occurs whenever we, as that Formlessness, try to
grasp or know, through some experience, the ultimate nature of reality, the Formless forms a
relation with itself. And as a result of forming this relation with Itself, form is created and then
apprehended as a particular experience.
But for every relation of the Formless to Itself that creates every form there is an opposite and
mutually exclusive relation of the Formless to Itself that must also be possible, and which
relation, if it were to occur, would create the opposite form apprehended as the opposite
experience.
And so, when scientists tried to grasp the ultimate nature of what is there where physical objects
appear to be, what was there seemed to separate into the paradox of opposite and mutually
exclusive physical experiences.
What is actually there where any physical object appears to be is not a form, mental or physical.
What is actually there where any physical object appears to be is the same formless
Consciousness that apprehends those objects, those forms.
But when formless Consciousness tries to grasp what is ultimately its own Formlessness, the
relation of the Formless to itself that then occurs always creates a particular form that the
Formless then apprehends as a particular experience, not because what is actually there is a form
or actually has any form, but only because in the act of trying to grasp what is there, in the act of
trying to know what is there, a relation of the Formless to Itself occurs and form is thereby
created and apprehended by the Formless as an experience, which experience, which form, then
seems to be what is there, when what is actually and ultimately always there is the Formlessness
that apprehends the form that has been created through its relation to Itself.
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And so at the quantum level it has become apparent that the way in which the observing
Consciousness chooses to be in relation to what is there in order to "observe" what is there plays
some role in determining the nature of the particular form, the nature of the particular
experience, that then seems to be what is there.
It is as if we had a machine made of wood that we somehow thought produced trees. And then
someone came along and took the machine apart to the point where the parts of the machine
were found to have no existence outside the context of the trees they were thought to produce.
How can a machine produce that which its parts cannot themselves exist without?
How can form produce that which it cannot exist without?
Prior to quantum physics there was the assumption that in the absence of an apprehending
Consciousness physical form still was.
And so, owing to this assumption, it was possible to believe that physical form could be prior to
Consciousness and so could produce Consciousness.
However, quantum physics has shown that in the absence of an apprehending Consciousness
there is no physical form, but only the potential for physical form to arise.
This makes problematic the assumption that in the absence of an apprehending Consciousness
physical form still is, making it no longer tenable to believe that physical form can be prior to
Consciousness, making absurd the notion that physical form somehow produces the
Formlessness, the Consciousness, by which it is apprehended, and apart from which it cannot be
demonstrated or said to even exist.
Name or think of one form, emotional, mental, or physical, of which you are not conscious, of
which you are not aware.
It cannot be done.
Thus, the dependence of form upon the Formless, upon Consciousness, revealed by quantum
physics, is really quite obvious.
And yet, because we live in a world that places form first, dominated by a science that places
form first, the findings of quantum physics that reveal form to be that which is created, and so
reveal form to be secondary, are simply ignored, because those findings conflict with the
preconceived notion, with the belief, that form is primary and Consciousness secondary.
Such is the nature of beliefs, such is the nature of thoughts, such is the nature of forms, that
because they are created by the involvement of the Formlessness which apprehends them in
some relation with what is always ultimately Itself, that while held to, that while being created by
the Formless, and so apprehended by the Formless, they make impossible the creation and
apprehension by that same Formlessness of any opposite beliefs, thoughts, or forms.
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This is also uncertainty, only now operating at the level of thought creation, where mental form
is created, rather than at the level of physical creation, where physical form is created.
In the same way that a scientist's creation and observation of a particles' position makes
impossible their simultaneous creation and observation of its momentum, a scientist's creation
and apprehension of the idea of form as primary and Consciousness as secondary makes
impossible their being able to simultaneously create and apprehend the opposite idea, wherein
Consciousness is seen as primary and form is seen as secondary.
And so scientists, for the past one hundred years, have not really ignored the findings of quantum
physics with regard to the revealed relation between form and Formlessness, because one can
only ignore that which it is possible to apprehend.
Rather, scientists are blind to the findings of quantum physics with regard to the revealed relation
between form and Formlessness because those findings simply cannot be comprehended by any
scientist, or any person, that continues to maintain their belief in the primacy of form, which is to
say, by any person that continues to be involved in the relation that creates the thought-form
wherein form is seen as primary and That which apprehends form is seen as secondary.
Because to maintain their belief in the primacy of form, which belief is itself only a thoughtform, requires their continued involvement in a relation that makes impossible their involvement
in the opposite and so mutually exclusive relation necessary to create the opposite idea, the
opposite thought-form, wherein form would be seen as secondary, or as that which is created,
rather than as that which creates.
Why do we apprehend emotional, mental and physical reality?
Science tells us that it is because the physical form we call brain became complex enough to
create Consciousness.
And yet science also tells us that if we dig deep enough into physical form there really is no
physical form, only the potential for physical form to arise when observed by the Formless.
And so why do we really apprehend emotional, mental and physical reality?
Because we are the uncreated Formlessness that is flowing in relation to Itself creating all these
forms within our formless Self, and then apprehending as reality that which has arisen within our
Self, becoming more complex, more entwined within our Self, and yet remaining always
unchanged in our essential nature as formless uncreated Being.
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Bridging the Gap Between Consciousness and Matter: Recurrent Outof-Body Projection of Visual Awareness Revealed by the Law of NonIdentity
Jinsong Meng1*
1
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
*Correspondence author. Email: mengjinsong@uestc.edu.cn
Consciousness is an explicit outcome of brain activity. However, the link between consciousness
and the material world remains to be explored. We applied a new logic tool, the non-identity law,
to the analysis of the visual dynamics related to the naturalistic observation of a night-shot still life.
We show that visual awareness possesses a postponed, recurrent out-of-body projection pathway
and that the out-of-body projection is superimposed onto the original, which is reciprocally verified
by vision and touch. This suggests that the visual system instinctually not only represents the
subjective image (brain-generated imagery) but also projects the image back onto the original or
to a specific place according to the cues of the manipulated afferent messenger light signaling
pathway. This finding provides a foundation for understanding the subjectivity and intentionality
of consciousness from the perspective of visual awareness and the isomorphic relationship
between an unknowable original, private experience, and shareable expression. The result paves
the way for scientific research on consciousness and facilitates the integration of humanities and
natural science.
Keywords: Consciousness; Explanatory gap; Non-identity law; Out-of-body projection; Visual
awareness; Visual psychophysics
1 Introduction
Consciousness, which is closely related to sensing, emotion, and thinking, is the focus of the mind‒
body problem long argued by philosophers from different philosophical schools, such as animism,
dualism, materialism, idealism, and transcendental philosophy (Kant, 1783). To date, however, it has
remained difficult to define consciousness quantitatively. Contemporary philosophers have argued that
“consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery” (Dennett, 1991, pp. 21) and that
“consciousness is the biggest mystery” and “may be the largest outstanding obstacle in our quest for a
scientific understanding of the universe” (Chalmers, 1996, pp. xi).
Due to the close relationship between neuroscience and consciousness, neurobiologists were among
the first to initiate scientific research on consciousness (Eccles, 1951; Edelman, 1989; Crick and Koch,
1990, 2003; Koch 2004). There are four closely related questions that require an answer: 1) how does
unconscious neural activity respond to an afferent sensory stimulus and memory recall, 2) where does
consciousness arise, 3) how does consciousness arise, and 4) what is consciousness? Significant
progress (such as in the cell and molecular biology of the neuron, synaptic transmission, and the neural
basis of cognition, perception, and movement) has been made regarding the first question over the past
century (Albright et al., 2000; Kandel et al., 2012). Regarding the second question, scientific research
on the biological substrate of consciousness has identified the most likely neural correlates of
consciousness (NCC) — the minimum neural mechanisms jointly sufficient for any one specific
conscious experience (Koch et al., 2016). There is, however, a debate as to whether the NCC is local
or global (Mashour, 2018). Although somewhat controversial at present, these two questions can be
experimentally determined. Contrastingly, the biggest challenge is to explain the conscious experience,
1
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
i.e., to answer the last two questions mentioned above, termed as the “hard problem” of consciousness
(Chalmers, 1995). This “hard problem” has drawn more scientists, including physicists, into this field.
As a result, several theories of consciousness, such as the global workspace theory, integrated
information theory, and Orch-OR theory have been proposed, each of which, in their own way, explain
some aspects of consciousness (Van Gulick, 2018). These theories, however, are neither derived from
each other nor provide an adequate explanation of the nature of consciousness on their own. In turn, it
is difficult to prove any of these theories unequivocally, thereby giving rise to some controversies
(Michael, 2015; Koch and Hepp, 2006). Chalmers argued that there are systematic reasons for the
failure of the conventional methods of cognitive science, neuroscience, and physicalism that account
for the existence of consciousness (Chalmers, 1995, 1996). The “hard problem” remains to be solved,
implying that the explanatory gap between materialism and qualia (Levine, 1983) remains.
The negative influences of this gap are profound. Other research involving consciousness is
relegated to a situation wherein the research is either conducted with only a vague notion of what
consciousness means or by neglecting consciousness outright. For instance, frustration with
interdisciplinary integration has raised concerns about the future of cognitive science enterprises
(Núñez, 2019). A fundamental error in cognitive science is that consideration of consciousness is
neglected (Searle, 1990). Without consciousness, there is no cognition. In a sense, overall, the crux of
all scientific research on consciousness points to the “hard problem” of consciousness. The problem
comes full circle, and hence, must be faced directly.
This study endeavored to explore what consciousness is from the perspective of visual awareness,
in a systematic manner1. First, a novel logic tool, called the non-identity law, was proposed based on
physics to replace the law of identity. Second, the law of non-identity was applied to the analysis of
expanded visual dynamics, building on a complete visual stimulation‒response pathway related to the
naturalistic observation of a night-shot still life. Finally, whether an out-of-body projection (OBP) is a
physical behavior and the relations between an original, experience, and expression were discussed
carefully. The results revealed that visual awareness, the representative sensation, can be understood
in physical terms. Note that the term “visual awareness” in this paper is used in its broadest sense to
refer to the entire process of sight, including various objective and subjective behavioral manifestations.
2 Theoretical preparation: the law of non-identity
Logic is known to be a cognitive tool for understanding the relationships among things in the universe,
in which the law of identity, one of the three basic laws, is denoted as
𝑄 = 𝑄, or 𝑄 → 𝑄,
where 𝑄 is a thought object, such as a name, concept, event, and relation. The definition of the law is
a tautology that states nothing at all about facts (Wittgenstein, 1921, pp. 63).
Here, we endeavor to challenge the law of identity within the frame of reference of natural science.
Time, space, and matter are the three measurable interdependent elements that constitute the universe,
while any object reveals itself (endurance, size, and position) by its interactions with other matter
(Ridley, 1995, pp. 40‒41, 85-86). Thus, an object can be denoted as
2
1
If a proposition in a knowledge system can be neither proved nor disproved, the knowledge system is usually considered
incomplete; accordingly, to solve the problem in a self-contained knowledge system, what we need to do is either
complement (and or revise) the knowledge system or put the proposition in an expanded knowledge system (e.g.
interdisciplinary integration) or both.
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
𝑄 = 𝑄(𝑚, 𝑠, 𝑡),
where 𝑄 is the name of the object. 𝑄 depends on three measurable physical parameters, 𝑠, 𝑡, and 𝑚, in
which 𝑠 denotes the shape and location of 𝑄, 𝑚 the rest mass or relativistic mass (or the sum total of
mass and energy) of 𝑄, and 𝑡 the time. These values are determined by the interaction of 𝑄 with its
surroundings. For simplicity, unless otherwise stated, 𝑄 refers to 𝑄(𝑚, 𝑠, 𝑡) throughout the paper, and
the following names, 𝑄 and 𝑄 , are referred to similarly.
First, consider any two self-governing condensed objects, 𝑄(𝑚, 𝑠, 𝑡) and 𝑄 (𝑚 , 𝑠 , 𝑡), that are at
rest and located in different places in an inertial frame of reference (Figure 1A). Macroscopic
condensed matter consists of a large number of particles under four interaction forces. Suppose 𝑄
contains 𝐽(𝑡) elementary particles {𝑞 , 𝑞 , ⋯ , 𝑞 ( ) } at time 𝑡, where the ith particle 𝑞 possesses the
mass 𝑚(𝑖) and the occupying space 𝑠(𝑖). Thus, 𝑄 possesses the shape and location expressed by 𝑠 =
( )
( )
⋃ 𝑠(𝑖) and a mass denoted by 𝑚 = ∑ 𝑚(𝑖). Similarly, 𝑄 containing 𝐾(𝑡) elementary particles
( )
{𝑞 , 𝑞 , ⋯ , 𝑞 ( ) } at time 𝑡 possesses the shape and location expressed by 𝑠 = ⋃
𝑠 (𝑖 ) and a mass
( )
denoted by 𝑚 = ∑
𝑚 (𝑖 ). This is the basic physical representation of the two objects at the atomic
level. Let us now return to the beginning of this paragraph and consider the problem: why is the number
of objects in the inertial frame of reference deemed to be two?
Figure 1. Identifying an object in the inertial frame of reference. (A) Discriminating two objects in
the space dimension. An observer simultaneously observes two objects 𝑄 and 𝑄 that are located at
different places at the same time 𝑡 . (B) Identifying one object in the time dimension. An observer
sees an object 𝑄 at 𝑡 for the first time; after closing his/her eyes for ∆𝑡, the observer sees an object
𝑄 at 𝑡 + ∆𝑡, where 𝑄 is the continuation of 𝑄 in the time dimension.
Obviously, the spaces occupied separately by two macroscopic objects, whose borders and contours
can be perceived by humans, have never overlapped with each other. In other words, the two
macroscopic objects have no chance to meet or collide to exchange any substance with each other at
any time; therefore, the two macroscopic objects do not share any particle at any time. Thus, the term
“absolute non-identity law” can be defined as follows: two objects are called two objects (i.e., 𝑄 ∩
𝑄 = 𝜙) if, and only if,
∀(𝑡 ) 𝑠(𝑡 ) ∩ 𝑠 (𝑡 ) = 𝜙 ,
where 𝑄 and 𝑄 are the names of the two objects, respectively, 𝑠 and 𝑠 are the spaces occupied
separately by 𝑄 and 𝑄 , and 𝑡 is the time variable that traverses throughout the observation time,
beginning with the moment 𝑡 and ending with 𝑡 , i.e., 𝑡 ∈ [𝑡 , 𝑡 ]. The absolute non-identity law
shows how to distinguish one object from another. Note that although extracted from the inertial frame
of reference with any two still objects, the absolute non-identity law can be generalized to the inertial
3
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
frame of reference with any two objects in relative motion as long as their spaces are independent of
each other at any one time.
Second, suppose that there is only one object in the inertial frame of reference (Figure 1B); the
observer observes an object 𝑄(𝑚, 𝑠, 𝑡) at 𝑡 . Closing their eyes for ∆𝑡, the observer opens their eyes
again and observes an object 𝑄 (𝑚 , 𝑠 , 𝑡) at 𝑡 = 𝑡 + ∆𝑡 (∆𝑡 ≠ 0). Is 𝑄 identical to 𝑄?
Each spinning particle in 𝑄 interacts with every other particle, resulting in the creation, decay, and
annihilation of the particle whose position and momentum cannot be, even in principle, determined
precisely (Ridley, 1995, pp. 112‒113). Furthermore, substances have been continuously adsorbed onto
𝑄 or have escaped from 𝑄 in the open system. Considering that both the spatial structure and mass of
𝑄 have been altered perpetually, the number of different particles in 𝑄 observed at 𝑡 is not identical
to that of 𝑄 at 𝑡 . Thus, the term “relative non-identity law,” can be defined as
∀(𝑡 )∀(𝑡 )(𝑡 > 𝑡 ) ⟶ (𝑄 ∩ 𝑄 ≠ 𝑄)⋀(𝑄 ∩ 𝑄 ≠ 𝑄 )⋀(𝑄 ∩ 𝑄 ≠ ∅),
where 𝑄 (i.e., 𝑄 (𝑡 )) is the continuation of 𝑄 (i.e., 𝑄(𝑡 )) in the time dimension.
The absolute non-identity law provides a method for discriminating and naming one macroscopic
object as distinguished from others in the perceivable space dimension2, whereas the relative nonidentity law indicates the evolution of one macroscopic object in the perceivable time dimension. Both
laws, associated with the physical world, contain a greater reductionism connotation than the law of
identity (in a sense, the law of non-identity is another expression reflecting the same aim as the law of
identity). For example, by the relative non-identity law, we can readily solve some classic paradoxes,
such as the ship of Theseus and the dispute about whether a man can step in the “same” river twice.
However, since the absolute non-identity law, an unambiguous binary computing tool, is more rigorous
than the relative non-identity law, we applied the former to the analysis of visual dynamics. In the
following sections, we show that the non-identity law is essential as a reductionist tool for elucidating
visual awareness.
3 Classic projection of brain-generated imagery from brain to observed object
3.1 Global visual dynamics model related to naturalistic observation
Visual awareness is a vital component of consciousness, and its biological substrate involves almost
half of the cerebral cortex. It has several advantages over other components for investigating the neural
basis of consciousness (Crick and Koch, 1990). In particular, it is scarcely affected by emotion.
Significant progress has been made in elucidating visual dynamics in the brain (Walsh and Cowey,
1998; Lamme and Roelfsema, 2000; Tapia and Beck, 2014). However, the contribution of the
messenger of the observed object and the outcome of the visual system have been neglected. Therefore,
an analysis of the visual dynamics described with first- and third-person data (Chalmers, 2013) that
arises over an expanded visual pathway, beginning with an observed object and ending with the visual
outcome, is required. As this expanded visual pathway is global, it is also referred to as the “global
visual pathway”; accordingly, its dynamics are called “global visual dynamics.”
4
2
The absolute non-identity law allows us to distinguish one thing from another, depending on their constancy and
observability (appearances and bounds) in the space dimension, providing a bridge from the appearance of an object to the
concept of the object. From the perspective of the knowledge system, the law of non-identity is the premise of all human
cognition, including the law of excluded middle and the law of contradiction. If nothing is distinguishable in human
perception, there is only one thing remaining, called “chaos.”
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
Let us first build the global visual dynamics model. Suppose there is a ball in a dark room (Figure
2). The ball is denoted by 𝑄(𝑚, 𝑠, 𝑡), whose definition is explained in the theoretical preparation section.
At this moment, the ball is unknown to all observers; hence, it is referred to as the original or thing-initself. How does an observer perceive the original?
Figure 2. Object in the dark, unknown to any observer
It is well known that to explore an unknown thing actively, a stimulus‒response test is usually
required. Here, a specific research paradigm for the visual stimulus‒response test was conceived, in
which the single-pulse diffuse reflection is a dark-to-light-to-dark stimulus, while the human visual
system acts as a detector. Different from self-luminous masking, not only is this paradigm closer to the
naturalistic observation, but it also has an added advantage—the darkness does not enable the retina to
encode signals effectively, thereby ensuring no interference before and after the visual stimulus. In
compliance with the paradigm, two visual psychophysical experiments of perceiving night-shot still
life under the pre-induced accommodation condition were conducted. Eighteen volunteers from the
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China were recruited for the experiments (14
males and four females who were aged between 18 and 49 years, were not colorblind, and had no
known neurological or visual disorders; six of them had normal vision and the others had corrected-tonormal vision. The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of
Electronic Science and Technology of China. The participants provided their written informed consent
to participate in this study before inclusion in the experiment). The experimental result shows that each
participant correctly reported the direction, shape, and color of a constant or randomly selected still life
after a single-pulse diffuse reflection stimulus lasting for 500 µs under the pre-induced accommodation
condition associated with visual attention (see Supplementary Materials and Methods, Supplementary
Text, Supplementary Figures S1‒S4, and Supplementary Table S1 for details).
Having established a rough outline of the visual stimulus‒response effect, let us now consider how
the effect occurs in the detector (visual system). Based on the above visual psychophysical experiments,
in conjunction with the neural dynamics in the extant literature, a complete visual dynamics model is
presented (Figure 3). In this model, the flash, when turned on at 𝑡 , begins to emit broad-spectrum
photons that strike the surface of 𝑄, where the photons are called detective photons. Some of the
detective photons are absorbed and the rest are reflected around, some of which enter the eyes (Figure
3B). The process can be described as follows:
( )
( )
⎯⎯⎯ 𝑄(𝑚, 𝑠, 𝑡) ⎯⎯⎯ ,
where 𝑝 represents the detective photons, and 𝑝 is the stray light cone entering the eyes, carrying the
absorption and reflection information of 𝑝 interacting with 𝑄 at 𝑡 , i.e., the messenger light of 𝑄 .
Given the complexity of particle physics, the space and mass parameters of the light were omitted for
simplicity.
5
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
Figure 3. Global visual dynamics in response to an afferent single-pulse messenger light signal (A)
An accommodation pattern is built in advance using a weak LED (light-emitting diode) crosshair,
where the original 𝑄 and human perception are all in the dark. (B) Messenger-light feedforward
signaling pathway (FSPm). After the flash onset, some detective photons (𝑝 ) reflected by 𝑄, 𝑝
converging at the retina, have been encoded as action potentials (APs) (𝑄 ) for ∆𝑡 _ . 𝑄 is submitted
to the optic nerve. The perception is still dark. (C) AP feedforward signaling pathway (FSPa). 𝑄 has
been relayed over the retinocortical pathway (RC-pathway) beginning at the retina and ending at the
primary visual cortex in ∆𝑡 _ . Then, it takes ∆𝑡 _ for 𝑄 to propagate sweepingly in a feedforward‒
feedback pathway (FF-pathway, red bidirectional long-dash ring). Finally, 𝑄 feeds back into the
posterior parietal cortex (PPC, Cyan area), while everything is in the dark. (D) Out-of-body projection
(OBP). After previous unconscious brain activity, a bright image 𝑄 arising from the PPC hot zone (the
likely neural correlates of consciousness [NCC], yellow area) appears in front of the observer while
the real world is still dark, and hence there is a recurrent OBP linking 𝑄 to 𝑄 via the NCC.
Subsequently, everything falls into darkness. (E) Timing sequence of events related to vision. The
reflected 𝑝 shaping FSPm at 𝑡 has been encoded as 𝑄 in the retina for about 20 ms (Kandel et al.
2012, pp. 594). Subsequently, 𝑄 has propagated through the rest of FSPa to the NCC. Eventually, the
perception 𝑄 of 𝑄 arises from the NCC at 𝑡 . The duration of the unconscious response, 𝑡 − 𝑡 , is
between 80 ms and 120 ms, in which the retinocortical transmission time ∆𝑡 _ is around 60 ms
(Walsh and Cowey, 1998; Tapia and Beck, 2014).
Subsequently, the retina performs light-to-electricity transduction: the messenger light induces the
rods and cones to trigger chemical signals continuously. These signals are sent through bipolar cells to
the retinal ganglion cells where the chemical signals are eventually encoded as trains of action
potentials (APs) that facilitate long-distance information propagation via the optic nerve (Kandel et al.,
2012, pp. 577‒601; Bear et al., 2015, pp. 293‒330). Some ganglion cells show a response peak at only
20 ms after the flash onset (Kandel et al., 2012, pp. 594). The light-to-electricity transformation that
takes place in the retina can be described as follows:
( )
, ,
∆ _
⎯⎯ 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ,
where 𝑄 denotes the encoding APs, 𝑒 the bioelectrical energy, 𝑠 the finite-dimensional traces of 𝑄 ,
6
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
and ∆𝑡 _ the light-to-electricity transformation latency of about 20 ms3. Correspondingly, there is a
messenger-light signaling pathway 𝑄 → 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 , an external feedforward signaling pathway (FSP),
which is termed FSPm.
Up to this point, the retina has accomplished low-level visual processing tasks, such as light-toelectricity transduction, acquisition, and iconic memory. At this point, image acquisition devices can
directly project an image onto a screen for us. In comparison, where and how does the human visual
system present what one sees for oneself?
First, the encoding 𝑄 arising from the retina is conveyed through the lateral geniculate nucleus to
the primary visual cortex (Figure 3C), whose neural pathway is often referred to as retinofugal
projection (Bear et al., 2015, pp. 333). Electrophysiological research has demonstrated that the
retinocortical transmission time ∆𝑡 _ varies from 55 ms to 70 ms and averages approximately 60 ms
(Tapia and Beck, 2014).
Next, from the primary visual cortex, the encoded information is transmitted via two major pathways,
first described in a monkey: a dorsal pathway into the frontal lobe through a number of extrastriate
areas in the parietal lobe, and a ventral pathway into the frontal lobe through the inferior temporal
cortex (Mishkin et al., 1983). Generally, the dorsal pathway processes the spatial information (position,
motion, speed) related to fast visuo-motor control, whereas the ventral pathway processes information
about the form (color, shape, texture) related to perception, both of which also exist in other sensory
systems (Kandel et al., 2012). Additionally, the propagation of APs through lateral and feedback
connections, in which the same cortical neurons contribute to different analyses at different moments
in time, can be incorporated into a sweeping feedforward–feedback response (Lamme and Roelfsema,
2000).
Note that although unconscious, the above stage where 𝑄 propagates sweepingly over the
intracorporal FSP with conjunction and disjunction, is not only correlated with consciousness, but is
also necessary for it (Tapia and Beck, 2014). Compared to image acquisition devices, the added
sweeping feedforward–feedback response demonstrates that the brain makes an extraordinary effort to
generate imagery.
At length, the distributed encodings linked to the different visual features (e.g., position, shape, and
color) are eventually bound together (Crick and Koch, 1990, 2003; Treisman, 1996). As a result, a
perception of 𝑄 with its various features arises from the NCC. The NCC is believed to be primarily
localized to a posterior cortical hot zone that includes sensory areas (Koch et al., 2016); however, the
distribution of the NCC remains controversial (Mashour, 2018). Considering that no consequence is
altered by variations in the layout of the NCC, the statement of the posterior cortical hot zone was used
in this study.
Thus far, the visual signaling pathway, 𝑝 → 𝑄 → 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 → 𝑁𝐶𝐶, has been completely presented. In
contrast to the extraneous messenger-light pathway, the AP pathway 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 → 𝑁𝐶𝐶, the intracorporal
part of the FSP is termed FSPa. Previous research investigating whether perception is blocked by
transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses applied to the early visual cortex demonstrates that the
7
3
Any substance takes time to move from one position to another. Its speed cannot exceed the speed of light (c0=299792458
m/s). Here, the travel of light also requires time, but due to the short transmission distance, the transmission time of light is
negligible. In comparison, the duration of light-to-electricity transformation and the period of action potentials traveling
from one site to another are significant.
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
duration of unconscious brain activity after stimulus onset, ∆𝑡
(i.e., ∆𝑡 _ + ∆𝑡 _ ), typically ranges
from 80 ms to 120 ms (Walsh and Cowey, 1998; Tapia and Beck, 2014), where ∆𝑡 _ is the duration of
the feedforward–feedback response. This observation is consistent with findings from other visual
psychophysical studies. For instance, the critical flicker fusion frequency of humans is 60 Hz (Healy
et al., 2013), while perception occurs approximately 80 ms after stimulus onset in the flash-lag effect
experiment (Eagleman and Sejnowski, 2000). In other words, these experimental methods for
measuring the cycle of visual dynamics are equivalent.
The visual experience of an afterimage can persist for several minutes, helping us to infer the
duration of the NCC activity without examining a biomarker of NCC activity. Contrastingly, the
duration of visual perception of a night-shot still life image is very short, and therefore the duration of
NCC activity, ∆𝑡 , should be accurately determined by checking the NCC activity. However, the NCC
remains to be finalized; hence, ∆𝑡 remains unknown. Instead, another issue of greater concern is the
output of physical visual processing.
It should be considered that the migrating APs carrying all visual information on 𝑄 are situated
inside the brain (Figure 3C); hence, the output of visual processing should likewise be confined to the
brain. However, interestingly, although the real world in this experiment is dark, an orange ball 𝑄
appears in front of the observer, rather than inside the brain of the observer (Supplementary Figures
S3‒S4, and Figure 3D). Although short-lived, 𝑄 is a real visual experience for the observer. No matter
what it is, 𝑄 can always be expressed as
𝑄 (𝑚 , 𝑠 , 𝑐, 𝑡 ),
where 𝑄 denotes what the observer sees in front of him/her; it can be described by four parameters:
𝑚 , the unknown mass of 𝑄 ; 𝑠 , the space occupied by 𝑄 ; 𝑐, the color of 𝑄 ; and 𝑡 (i.e., 𝑡 +
∆𝑡
), the time at which the perception emerges from the NCC (Figure 3E).
There is no doubt that a transformation (also called emergence) has occurred in the NCC:
( ,
,
)
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ 𝑁𝐶𝐶 ⇒ 𝑄 (𝑚 , 𝑠 , 𝑐, 𝑡 ).
Analogous to the projectors, the behavioral manifestation, 𝑁𝐶𝐶 ⇒ 𝑄 , can be termed an OBP. So far,
we have mainly presented the global visual dynamics, based on which we can conclude that the visual
system possesses an FSP-OBP pathway,
𝑝 → 𝑄 → 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 → 𝑁𝐶𝐶 ⇒ 𝑄 ,
where 𝑝 → 𝑄 → 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 → 𝑁𝐶𝐶 is the unconscious FSP, 𝑁𝐶𝐶 ⇒ 𝑄 is the OBP pathway of the
conscious outcome, and the OBP is the brain-generated imagery in response to the afferent messenger
light of a particular original.
3.2 Visual dynamics analysis with non-identity law
Let us now analyze the relationships between original 𝑄, encoding 𝑄 , and OBP 𝑄 . First, the encoding
𝑄 of the messenger light and the original 𝑄 are located at both ends of the FSPm pathway, i.e., 𝑄 at
rest is located at an extracorporeal place, while 𝑄 , in response to some detective photons reflected by
𝑄, is located inside the body. Hence,
∀(𝑡 ) 𝑠(𝑡 ) ∩ 𝑠 (𝑡 ) = ∅ ,
8
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
where 𝑠 and 𝑠 are the spaces owned separately by 𝑄 and 𝑄 , and 𝑡 is the time variable that traverses
throughout the observation period. By the non-identity law described in the theoretical preparation
section, we obtain
𝑄⋂𝑄 = ∅,
i.e., 𝑄 and 𝑄 are two different things.
Similarly,
𝑄 ⋂𝑄 = ∅.
𝑄 and 𝑄 are, therefore, two different things too. Then, what is 𝑄 ? This could simply be answered
by announcing a new concept. However, after searching the existing literature, we are convinced that
an OBP, the conscious outcome of the visual system, i.e., the brain-generated imagery, is the so-called
visual awareness in a narrow sense. In other words, what we see in front of us is precisely our visual
awareness. Notably, although we know the timing sequences of 𝑄, 𝑄 , and 𝑄 , the spatial connection
between 𝑄 and 𝑄 , and the spatial connection between 𝑄 and 𝑄 , we are unable to deduce the spatial
connection between 𝑄 and 𝑄 directly by the equations 𝑄⋂𝑄 = ∅ and 𝑄 ⋂𝑄 = ∅. Consequently,
the next step is to confirm their spatial connection quantitatively.
3.3 Projection position reciprocally determined by vision and touch
As described previously, the dorsal pathway determines where the external thing is, whereas the ventral
pathway determines what it is. Visuospatial information regarding gaze direction and gaze distance is
common to all visual cortical areas (Dobbins et al., 1998). The messenger light of an original, however,
cannot carry visuospatial information other than the absorption and reflection information of detective
photons interacting with an original. Thus, it is natural to question where the visuospatial information
originates.
The visual system possesses a mechanism to generate the visuospatial information by itself,
involving a set of sophisticated dynamic optical control mechanisms comprising eye movement,
pupillary reflex, and accommodation (Kandel et al. 2012, pp. 562). In principle, a dynamic system can
be regarded as an automatic regulatory system. When the mechanism is introduced into the global
visual dynamics model, a symbolized semi-closed-loop visual dynamics model, the automatic
regulatory system with two typical transformations that occur separately at the eye and NCC can be
presented (Figure 4A). In this symbolized model, an optical focus is achieved by applying the topdown encoding 𝑄
for eye movement and the local encoding 𝑄
for accommodation to the
extraocular and ocular muscles, where the encodings are correlated with the direction and distance of
the observed object 𝑄. In turn, the visuospatial information on the direction and distance of 𝑄 can be
represented by both encodings. Thus, it can be inferred that the sites at which 𝑄
and 𝑄 are
encoded for an optical focus provide a copy of the encodings to all visual cortical areas for
intermediate- and high-level visuospatial processing, in compliance with size constancy in terms of
shape, motion, and speed (Kandel et al., 2012, pp. 602‒637; Schwartz et al., 1983).
In fact, spatial cognition is achieved by visuotactile integration training (Batista et al., 1999; Gentile
et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2016). When touching an object, one can shape a tactile experience
𝑄 (𝑝 , 𝑠 , 𝑘 , 𝑡) of 𝑄, where 𝑝 is the perceptual pressure in response to the electromagnetic
interaction that occurs at the contact interface and 𝑘 is the perceptual temperature of 𝑄. Although
many more objective and subjective parameters can be adopted, only four parameters are used here for
simplicity. Obviously, the tactile outcome is not located inside the brain, but at the contact interface.
Therefore, similar to the symbolized visual dynamics model, we can obtain a symbolized closed-loop
tactile dynamics model: the automatic regulatory system with two typical transformations that occur
separately at the NCC and the finger receptors (Figure 4B).
9
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
Figure 4. Visual-tactile intercalibration based on visual and tactile automatic regulatory systems (A)
Semi-closed-loop visual regulatory system. When an observer stares at 𝑄, the encoding 𝑄 of the
messenger light of 𝑄, which arises from the retina, is sweepingly propagated to the feedforward–
feedback circuitry (ellipsoid). Consequently, a top-down encoding 𝑄
for eye movement control
innervates the extraocular muscles to move the eyeball, pointing the fovea towards the fixation point
(FP) on 𝑄, whereas the local encoding 𝑄 for accommodation, which derives from the optic nerve,
innervates the ocular muscles to regulate the pupil and lens. As a result, the controlled optical system
only allows a narrow beam of messenger light of the FP to focus on the fovea and collaterally allows
the messenger light of 𝑄 to focus on the retina. At length, a sharp image 𝑄 is projected back to 𝑄
by the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). (B) Closed-loop tactile regulatory system. The
encoding 𝑄
coming from the motor area controls the coordinated arm‒wrist‒finger motion until
the fingers touch an object. Consequently, the encoding 𝑄
of the electromagnetic interaction
occurring at the interface 𝑄∥Fingers is fed back through the feedforward–feedback circuitry into the
NCC, by which a tactile experience 𝑄
is projected to the interface. (C) Visual‒tactile
intercalibration. The reflected photons shaping the messenger-light feedforward signaling pathway
(FSPm) reach the retinae, at which 𝑄 is encoded and conveyed to the visual cortex (VC). The tactile
signal encoding, through the tactile nerve and spinal cord, enters the somatosensory cortex (SSC).
Both signals propagate sweepingly through the feedforward–feedback pathway to the NCC. At length,
an image 𝑄 is projected onto 𝑄 and is confirmed by the tactile perception 𝑄 .
In contrast to the semi-closed-loop visual system, tactile receptors, the farthest node of the closedloop pathway of touch, can directly approach an object through the moveable arm and fingers (Figure
4C). For example, to explore the outside world, the top-down encoding 𝑄 , encoded by the motor
system, voluntarily drives the arm and fingers until the fingers touch an object. Hence, there is a contact
interface 𝑄∥Finger at which the electromagnetic interaction occurs. Subsequently, the encoding 𝑄
of electromagnetic interaction feeds back into the brain and mediates the NCC to project a tactile
perception 𝑄 to the contact interface. Thus, 𝑄 spatially accords with 𝑄, i.e., 𝑠 ≈ 𝑠. Moreover,
there is evidence that spatial information of the same object obtained by sight and touch can be
calibrated with each other (Chen et al., 2016), implying that 𝑠 ≈ 𝑠 . Therefore, 𝑠 ≈ 𝑠 . This
demonstrates that the visual OBP is spatially superimposed onto the observed object, creating a
complete visual causal chain as shown in Figure 4A.
10
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
4 Nontrivial projection of brain-generated imagery separated from its original
As described previously, a classic visual pathway, 𝑝 → 𝑄 → 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 → 𝑁𝐶𝐶 ⇒ 𝑄 , where 𝑄 is
usually superimposed onto its original 𝑄 can be reciprocally verified by visual and tactile perception,
facilitating the belief that what one sees is exactly the object itself. However, another instance that we
typically encounter on a daily basis should challenge this impression: the mirror image.
To revisit the mirror image, let us conceive a thought experiment on the mirror image (Figure 5A).
When an observer looks into a mirror, the messenger-light pathway of 𝑄 is 𝑝 →
𝑄 → 𝑚𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 → 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎, where the FSPm is deflected by the mirror. Hence, there are two segments of
the messenger-light pathway: 𝑆 , a pathway from 𝑄 to the mirror, and 𝑆 from the mirror to the retina.
The messenger light converging on the retina is encoded as 𝑄 , which enters the brain through the optic
nerve for intermediate- and high-level visual processing. To present the image 𝑄 behind the mirror
clearly, the top-down encoding 𝑄
innervates the extraocular muscles to point the fovea to 𝑆 , and
the local encoding 𝑄 innervates the ocular muscles for accommodation, so that the optical system
focuses the messenger light of the fixation point on the fovea. Eventually, the observer sees a sharp
image 𝑄 behind the mirror.
Let us now withdraw the mirror and box and move the ball to the place where the preceding 𝑄 used
to be, while leaving the rest of the scenario unchanged (Figure 5B). When the observer fixates on the
current fixation point (i.e., the previous virtual fixation point), the terminal pathway of the current
Figure 5. Separating visual projection from its original by regulating the afferent messenger-light
pathway with a mirror (A) A mirror is fixed on one side of a sealed metal box, whereas a ball 𝑄,
covered by a semi-enclosed barrier hangs above the observer. The lamp, when turned on, fires
detective photons whose messenger-light feedforward signaling pathway (FSPm) from the unseen
object 𝑄 to the retina of the observer is divided into two segments, 𝑆 and 𝑆 . The messenger light in
𝑆 induces the retina to fire action potentials (APs) (𝑄 ). 𝑄 enters the AP feedforward signaling
pathway (FSPa), from which the top-down encodings 𝑄
(not shown, see Figure 4A for detail) and
the local encoding 𝑄 arise to regulate the optical system (Kandel et al. 2012). As a result, the
messenger light of the fixation point (the dark brown centerline of 𝑆 and 𝑆 ) is focused on the fovea,
and the messenger light of 𝑄 is focused collaterally on the retina. Eventually, a sharp reflection 𝑄 of
𝑄 appears behind the mirror. (B) After the metal box and mirror are withdrawn, the observer watches
the ball again (here, the original 𝑄 is not shown; see Figure 4C for detail).
11
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
FSPm, 𝑆 is in line with the previous 𝑆 ; accordingly, the top-down encoding 𝑄
and local encoding
𝑄 for the current FSPm are the same as those for 𝑆 . The same is true for the intermediate- and highlevel visuospatial processing. Consequently, in either case, the NCC projects the same image to the
same place; i.e., both observation modes are equivalent for visual perception. To distinguish the two
types of OBP, the OBP that is spatially superimposed onto its original is termed classic projection,
whereas other OBPs, such as starlight deflection, mirror image, afterimage, imagination, and dreams,
are termed nontrivial projections.
More importantly, in contrast to the classic projection, the mirror image clearly shows that
∀(𝑡 )(𝑠(𝑡 ) ∩ 𝑠 (𝑡 ) = ∅),
where 𝑠 and 𝑠 are the spaces owned separately by 𝑄 and 𝑄 , and 𝑡 is the time variable that traverses
throughout the observation period. Based on the non-identity law, we obtain 𝑄 ⋂𝑄 = ∅, revealing
that both still objects, the visual projection 𝑄 and the original 𝑄 , are two different things. It is
noteworthy that 𝑄 and 𝑄 are deemed to be symmetric with respect to the mirror; however, this cannot
be experimentally determined. For this reason, a thought experiment is adopted instead of a practical
experiment.
Moreover, the mirror image provides evidence that the OBP pathway, in response to the messenger
light of the original, has constancy, and that the OBP can be manipulated by regulating or reconstructing
the FSPm. The FSPm-regulating technique, whereby FSPm is regulated in real time has long been used
to create optical tools, such as the microscopes, telescopes, periscopes, and spectacles, whereas the
FSPm-reconstructing technique, whereby FSPm can be reconstructed anytime and anywhere, is used
to make image and video productions, such as 3-dimensional paintings and movies, and virtual reality.
Additionally, the FSPm-regulating technique can be used to treat chronic neurological disorders, such
as phantom limb pain and hemiparesis caused by stroke (Ramachandran and Altschuler, 2009). It can
even be used to unveil a nontrivial mental phenomenon, the out-of-body experience (Ehrsson, 2007;
Lenggenhager et al., 2007). In summary, these seemingly isolated manifestations are just different
forms of nontrivial projections whose FSPm are regulated, reconstructed, or simulated.
To understand the classic and nontrivial projections further, we constructed a scene where one ball
and two mirror images appeared simultaneously (Figure 6), prompting the question: which one is true?
Based on the OBP principle, the ball that could be touched was considered a classic projection, whereas
the two other mirror images were nontrivial projections; therefore, all of them were true images but
none of them was the real object4. Based on the non-identity law, the three images located at different
positions were three things. There is, however, little doubt that all of them, which were very much alike
in appearance, corresponded to the same unknown original. This demonstrates that an original can
simultaneously present multiple images to an observer.
12
4
All the images are regarded as “true,” because perception is the starting point of human cognition; i.e., man is the yardstick
of everything. In other words, what one perceives, even a mirage, is a “true” perception. Notably, “true” image does not
mean that its original actually exists, e.g., computer-generated imagery.
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
Figure 6. Multi-image perception of an original. The test equipment comprised two mirrors (56 × 35
cm, L×W) and an orange metal ball with a diameter of 15 cm. The mirrors are close to each other and
have an intersection angle of approximately 130 degrees. The ball is suspended approximately 25 cm
above the floor. 𝑄 is a “ball” that can be seen and touched simultaneously, whereas 𝑄 and 𝑄 ,
which cannot be touched, are two nontrivial images whose messenger-light feedforward signaling
pathways are regulated by mirror I and mirror II, respectively. The three images possess the same
shape and color but differ in their positions and directions. Note that 𝑄 , which could be touched by
an observer, is generally regarded as a real object; however, it is merely a classic projection of braingenerated imagery in response to the messenger light of an unknowable original.
5 Discussion
5.1 Is visual projection a physical behavior?
Scholars have long been aware of the OBP of an afterimage (the afterimage can be projected anywhere
and the size increases with the projection distance), and have proposed Emmert’s law (Boring, 1940),
which provides a nontrivial cue for revealing visual awareness. Perhaps, because subsequent research
has focused on the feedforward size constancy instead of visual projection (Epstein et al., 1961), and
there is an unexplainable deviation occurring between the hypothesis and fact (Young, 1948; Furedy
and Stanley, 1970), the visual projection has been regarded as an isolated visual phenomenon and has
not been developed into a universal visual principle, until now. The root cause, however, may lie within
consciousness itself.
Consciousness, generally considered the subjective experience arising from the brain, has several
13
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
typical components, such as sensation, emotion, reasoning, imagination, and self-awareness, which
possess some common features, such as subjectivity and intentionality (Searle, 2004, pp. 133‒145,
1984, pp. 13‒27). Then, what about visual awareness as a representative sensation?
First, visual awareness is based on an FSP-OBP pathway whose FSP has a physical delay of
approximately 100 ms after flash onset. Similarly, related research on motion control has demonstrated
that a decision can be encoded into the prefrontal and parietal cortex up to 10 seconds before it enters
awareness (Soon et al., 2008). Furthermore, a lesion to the FSPa may pose a loss of conscious outcome,
such as blindsight and motion blindness (Lamme, 2001; Goodale and Milner, 2013; Zihl et al., 1983),
resulting in a remarkable deterioration in behavioral flexibility. However, even though the FSP
functions normally, all brain activities do not cause conscious awareness (Custers and Aarts, 2010).
These provide converging evidence that the postponed conscious outcomes of sight and motion are
determined by sophisticated brain activity, supporting the argument that conscious outcome is neither
predictive nor online, but rather postdictive (Eagleman and Sejnowski, 2000). It also supports the
hypothesis that conscious outcome is a collateral product or epiphenomenon of brain activity (Huxley,
1874, pp. 240), similar to a host-controlled screen that selectively displays something. Although this
view is not widely accepted, this principle is used to conduct neurological investigations into and
clinical treatments for patients with cognitive disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s disease) and
to anesthetize a patient before an operation to deprive the patient of pain and even awareness.
Second, the media of the FSP (𝑝 → 𝑄 → 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎 → 𝑁𝐶𝐶) are known to be photons and APs in
physical terms. Analogously, we assume that the medium of the OBP (𝑁𝐶𝐶 ⇒ 𝑄 ) is 𝑥; hence, the
updated OBP expression is 𝑁𝐶𝐶 ⇒ 𝑄 . This prompts the following question: what is 𝑥? The materials
that support life are the same as those present in the universe. Since the operation of an object can be
influenced by its interaction with other objects (Ridley 1995, pp. 69‒86), we can always use certain
materials to intervene with the OBP if the visual projection is a physical behavior, as we have done in
other scientific experiments. However, we have never encountered a situation where a wall (or a sealed
metal box, or anything else) on which a mirror is fixed blocks the OBP pathway and obstructs the visual
perception of the mirror image. Moreover, the color of the object, whether it is inside or outside the
mirror, cannot be deduced from the three fundamental concepts in physics. Therefore, a mirror image
is not a physical thing and OBP is not a physical behavior, thereby falling into the so-called
phenomenological or transcendental category (Kant, 1783). It is worth emphasizing that the method
can be called a mirror test, which is likewise suitable for examining theories of consciousness.
Third, it should be highlighted that the brain-generated imagery is projected back onto an original in
response to the afferent messengers of the original, signifying that the NCC can perform voluntary
OBP, whose behavior can be termed projection intentionality. This evidence indicates that humans have
an instinct for producing subjective OBP to keep up with its original in space, like a searchlight trying
to track and shine on a moving object in the dark, or a bat positioning and catching a moth in the dark.
The same is true for other sensations, such as touch and hearing; for example, when we touch something
with a tool, we can feel the touch at the tip of the tool, as an extension of the body (Miller et al., 2018;
Heed, 2019), signifying that touch also possesses the capacity for OBP, extending beyond the boundary
of the body. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that human sensations, such as vision, touch,
and hearing, possess the attribute of spatial expansion outward from the body. Thus, it can be inferred
that intentionality is one aspect of the subjectivity of consciousness and that the recurrent OBP may be
the psychophysical origin of the intentionality of consciousness.
Taken together, all experiences, the responses to the messengers of the originals or to their memory
recall, should fall into the subjective manifestation category. For example, “space,” “time,” and “acting
force,” generally regarded as so-called objective things, are merely the measurable components of
14
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
conscious outcomes that can be reciprocally verified by different perceptions (particularly, visual and
tactile perceptions), suggesting that what one perceives is simply a fantasy that coincides with reality;
i.e., none of the experiences are original but are merely subjective perceptions that metaphysically
reflect particular originals via the afferent messengers of the originals5. Hence, it is not difficult to
understand why the symmetry of the mirror image has never been experimentally determined and why
the visual projection presented in afterimages has not been developed into a universal visual principle.
5.2 Isomorphic relations between original, experience, and expression
Thus far, a panorama of the universe has unfolded: the world for an observer (first-person) is composed
of dark originals, the originals’ messengers that can be perceived by the observer, the body in which
two transformations occur, and a subjective perception (conscious outcome, also known as experience,
phenomenon, imagery, appearance, manifestation, or representation) that follows or reflects the dark
originals. This corroborates the following well-known philosophical ideas: “although the thing is
completely unknown to us as to what they may be in themselves, we know through the representations
which their influence on our sensibility, and to which we give the name of a body” (Kant, 1783, pp.
40); “manifestation stems from thing-in-itself. … thing-in-itself and its manifestation are the same,
though they are named differently, which are called mysteries, and the mystery underlying the
mysteries is the gateway to all understanding” (Lao-Tzu, 480 BC). Lao-Tzu further argued that constant
manifestations can be used to investigate the bounds of a thing, which coincides with the basis of the
non-identity law. Interestingly, this argument is supported by the discovery that neurons performing
visuospatial processing at different levels are most sensitive to the borders and contours of the observed
objects in a scene (Kandel et al., 2012, pp. 556‒653).
However, not all messengers can induce sensory receptors to shape an experience. For example,
invisible originals, such as air and most types of radiation, provide evidence that in some cases, human
sensory experience is absent from the operation of varied originals 6 . Additionally, the nontrivial
projection mentioned above demonstrates that the experience may deviate markedly from its original.
Therefore, human experience is a limited and even nontrivial reflection of the originals in some cases.
It must be emphasized that a sensory experience, i.e., the response to the messengers of a particular
original, is trustworthy, yet also questionable.
Since an experience, which arises from the NCC and fades as the messengers disappear, is a transient,
private, and subjective event, how do we record and express our feelings and communicate with each
other? We have to use certain languages (gestures, sounds, characters, symbols, or drawings) that can
be perceived by others using sight, hearing, and touch, to describe, name, and record the
phenomenological events, and statistically develop a “constant conjunction” between different events
(Hume, 1784, pp. 53‒57). This process is labeled phenomenological expression, which is a man-made,
abstract, and limited mapping (isomorphism) of the experience. As such, it is replete with
symbolization and suggestiveness. Interestingly, in turn, the symbolic and kinematic suggestiveness of
the expression leaves something to our imagination, resulting in several rigorous metaphysical systems,
such as mathematics, logic, and graphic art, which have laid the groundwork for scientific research.
15
5
Time, space, and matter are not only scientific issues but also classic philosophical issues. These issues concern the nature
of the universe and its motion. “The flying arrow is at rest,” a well-known paradox proposed by Zeno (Huggett, 2019), is
yet to be resolved systematically and quantitatively.
6
Each species has its own limited but sufficient sentience for its survival, which is the inevitable result of evolution. The
same is true of the selective perception of humankind. Too much sentience would otherwise only bring about confusion
and waste. Even if one species historically had other forms of sentience, lack of use usually resulted in the degradation of
that sentience.
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
We can go even further; using the above metaphysical systems, we can consolidate as many
manifestations within a unified metaphysical framework as possible. This process may be termed
metaphysics-consolidated expressions, such as conservation laws, evolution theory, Maxwell's
equations, special relativity, and the standard model. In parallel, through the phenomenological
observations by the aid of advancements in experimental apparatus combined with proper rational
analysis, scientists have made many significant empirical findings such as elementary elements,
elementary particles, the constant speed of light, and the DNA double-helix structure.
In comparison with the phenomenological and metaphysics-consolidated expressions, it is more
revolutionary to seek the cause of the manifestations. First, regarding certain manifestations as
evidence, we tentatively put forward a hypothesis as the common cause for the manifestations and
model it with several acknowledged constant laws, such as interaction laws, conservation laws, and
evolution rules. Next, if the deduction or laboratory development on the hypothesis does not fit into
the current and hypothetical-deductive-forecasted evidence, we revise the hypothesis until it fits the
evidence well. Subsequently, the best-matching hypothesis is regarded to be true. This process is
labeled hypothetical expression. Interestingly, it is the hypothesis-to-manifestation research approach
that has helped us break through cognitive limitations and that fuels the progress of science, resulting
in a series of theories, such as heliocentrism, gravity, atomic model, energy quantum, and general
relativity.
However, both phenomenological and hypothetical expressions remain tentative. A manifestation is
only a limited or even a nontrivial reflection of the real world; therefore, the phenomenological
expressions extracted from the manifestations are fallible, which further affects the legitimacy of
metaphysics-consolidated expressions. The hypothesis-to-manifestation expressive paradigm may put
our cognition or metaphysics at risk of straying from the natural original-to-manifestation route. It is,
therefore, inevitable and unsurprising that multiple hypotheses related to the same issue may exist in
parallel for a long time. Unfortunately, we have no other choice. These provide insight into the core
thought of Taoism: “we can name and describe manifestations, think and talk about Tao underlying
manifestations, but the expressions are not manifestations and Tao themselves and, consequently, are
fallible; ... nevertheless, we can still explore the mystery of Tao and the bounds of manifestations by
their constancy” (Lao-Tzu, 480 BC).
Since manifestations and expressions are fallible, how do we ensure that our intellectual adventure
is safe? In addition to rigorous algorithmic rules, the expressed hypotheses or truths should satisfy the
criteria of compatibility, completeness, and simplicity. As far as the mind‒body problem is concerned,
Kant’s transcendental philosophy and Lao-Tzu’s Wu-You thought, which acknowledge the existence
of unknowable things in themselves, are not only compatible with each other but are also applicable to
classic and nontrivial imaging. They are thoroughly materialistic philosophies7 (in fact, most of us
usually see the things before our eyes as real things and, hence, are idealists). Contrastingly, parallel
traditional philosophies, such as dualism, mechanical materialism, and idealism, which treat free will
as the cause of human activities to varying degrees, are neither compatible with each other nor able to
pass the mirror test (that is to say, none of these traditional philosophies are able to explain the
phenomena shown in Figure 5A and Figure 6). Fortunately, subjective perception generally conforms
to its original. However, this is not always the case. Therefore, we should be open to the expressions
with respect to the manifestations and their underlying causes.
16
7
Things in themselves refer to the dark unknowable things in the objective originals’ world that underlies the subjective
phenomenological world, including the dark things underlying the perceptions of matter, space, and time. Literally,
therefore, the word “materialistic” is an incomplete makeshift expression and should be completed in the future.
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
6 Conclusion
The current study primarily sought to address what consciousness consists of from the angle of visual
awareness. It consists of a comprehensive investigation of the global visual dynamics between the
thing-in-itself, brain, and visual experience, via an interdisciplinary approach involving philosophy,
physics, logic, neuroscience, and psychophysics. The results revealed that visual awareness involves a
postponed, recurrent OBP, suggesting that the visual system has an instinct of not only subjectively
imaging, but also projecting the image back onto its original, according to the cue of the afferent
messenger-light pathway of the original. This finding, coupled with the NCC, adds a key puzzle piece
to the visual system, forming a complete visual causal chain. Contrastingly, a lack of OBP may result
in a remarkable deterioration in behavioral flexibility, such as blindsight and motion blindness. A
possible explanation for this may be that the OBP is an optimum evolutionary strategy and is essential
for the survival of fast-moving creatures.
In light of this finding, this study clearly explained nontrivial projections such as the mirror image,
suggested the mirror test as a criterion for examining theories of consciousness, elucidated the
psychophysical root of both subjectivity and intentionality of consciousness, and highlighted a growing
principled understanding of the isomorphic relations between the original, experience, and expression.
These results suggest that under adopted consciousness, the interdisciplinary integration of cognitive
science can be further promoted and that the debate regarding the bounds of artificial intelligence, i.e.,
whether a machine can have consciousness, may be settled. Although OBP plays a crucial role in visual
awareness, the recurrent OBP pathway is only roughly provided in this study, while the only related
hypothesis, Emmert’s law, is at variance with the fact. Therefore, the projection geometry of the OBP
remains to be experimentally determined. The solution to the projection geometry will further prove
that consciousness, including self-awareness, can be understood in physical terms. Further research in
this field will require the interpretation of another aspect of the “hard problem” — how consciousness
arises from the brain activity of life developed from a fertilized egg, and empirical studies that address
issues regarding more accurate dynamics of sensing, emotion, and thinking.
7 Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial
relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
8 Author Contributions
J. M. conceived the research, drew the diagrams, designed the experiments, developed the circuit for
experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript.
9 Funding
This work was funded by the China Scholarship Council (201506075088 to J. M.)
10 Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to Prof. Kok Lay Teo at Curtin University for his support and encouragement
during a 1-year visit.
17
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
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12 Supplementary Material
Supplementary Materials and Methods
Supplementary Text
Supplementary Figures S1 to S4
Supplementary Table S1
13 Data Availability Statement
All data is available in the main text or in the supplementary material, and the materials required in the
current study, including the schematic and PCB of the specially designed circuit for the experiment,
are available from the author on reasonable request.
20
Supplementary Materials for
Bridging the Gap Between Consciousness and Matter: Recurrent Out-of-Body
Projection of Visual Awareness Revealed by the Law of Non-Identity
Jinsong Meng*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: mengjinsong@uestc.edu.cn
This PDF file includes:
Supplementary Materials and Methods
Supplementary Text
Supplementary Figures S1 to S4
Supplementary Table S1
1
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
1 Supplementary Materials and Methods
This section includes detailed descriptions of two visual psychophysical experiments of perceiving
night-shot still life under the pre-induced accommodation condition: Experiment 1, visual perception
of a night-shot metal ball, and Experiment 2, visual perception of a night-shot randomly selected
drawing in compliance with a single-blind procedure.
1.1 Participants
Eighteen volunteers participated in the experiments (14 males and four females, aged between 18 and
49 years, not colorblind), six of whom had normal vision, whereas the others had corrected-to-normal
vision and had no known neurological or visual disorders. They were unaware of the specific aim of
the study. The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Ethics
Committee of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. The participants provided
their written informed consent to participate in this study prior to inclusion in the experiment. The
participant in Figures S3 and S4 gave written informed consent for publication of his photographs.
1.2 Objects to be observed
The objects to be observed included an orange metal ball and nine drawings (Figure S1). The orange
ball had a diameter of 12 cm, and the drawings with black margins (L × W, 12 × 12 cm) were classified
as circle, square, and triangle shapes. Each shape was available in red, green, and cyan. Each drawing
was marked on the back with a unique number from 1 to 9.
1.3 Test equipment
The test equipment comprised a camera, an off-camera flash (Flash model DF-800II; Sidande Inc.,
Shenzhen, China), a pair of master-slave wireless flash triggers (Model WFC-02; Sidande Inc.,
Shenzhen, China) used to synchronize the actions between the camera and the off-camera flash, a
specially-designed visual pre-induced accommodation circuit (VPAC) that comprised a lumen
measurement circuit (LMC) and a crosshair display circuit (CDC) (Figure S2A and S2B), and a digital
oscilloscope.
The LMC can measure the luminous intensity received at the center of the observed object using a light
sensor (Model SFH 5711-2/3; OSRAM, Germany) with a comparable spectral sensitivity to human
eyes, whereas the CDC can present a red crosshair, with a diameter of 2 cm, through eight lightemitting diodes (LEDs) after pressing the set button of the VPAC and can be automatically closed after
the flash onset (Figure S2C). The digital oscilloscope, when connected with the two test points (TP) of
VPAC, can sample and display the luminous intensity via the LMC. The surroundings of the crosshair
of the CDC were obscured by a light barrier to prevent their light from shining on objects that were to
be observed, thereby ensuring that any object that was to be observed remained unknown to the
participant prior to the experiment.
Before the experiment, the experimenter linked the slave trigger to the flash, pointed the flash towards
the object to be observed, and linked the two TP outputs (that is, TP1 and TP2) of VPAC to the digital
oscilloscope.
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Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
1.4 Experiment 1: Visual perception of night-shot metal ball
First, the experimenter adhered the VPAC to the center of the ball that was fixed on the light-absorbing
backdrop. The VPAC and ball were shielded by a black curtain, thereby obscuring the vision of the
participant. Subsequently, one participant was seated 3 m away from the ball (Figure S3A). Thereafter,
the lamp in the room was turned off and the curtain was withdrawn; the experimenter pressed the set
button of the VPAC to display the crosshair and asked the participant to concentrate on the red crosshair
for 5 s (Figure S3B). The experimenter then pressed the button of the master trigger and the flash
shined on the ball (Figure S3C). The participant was instructed to report the shape and color of what
he/she saw.
Repeated tests (n=18) showed that under the pre-induced accommodation condition, each participant
correctly reported the shape and color of the metal ball after a single-pulse diffuse reflection stimulus
lasting for 500 µs (Table S1).
1.5 Experiment 2: Visual perception of night-shot randomly selected drawing
In this experiment, each test was conducted in compliance with a single-blind procedure—a drawing
was randomly selected from nine drawings, which was unknown to the participant in the dark before
flash onset. For this purpose, 18 random numbers in uniform distribution (discrete) were generated in
advance (none of the numbers exceeded 9 and any two adjacent numbers were different). The
experiments were conducted as follows:
First, according to the first unused random number in the list, the experimenter sought out the drawing
marked with the same number and fixed it on the light-absorbing backdrop. The experimenter adhered
the VPAC to the center of the drawing, both of which were shielded by a curtain, thereby obscuring
the vision of the participant. Subsequently, one participant was seated 3 m away from the drawing
(Figure S4A). Thereafter, the lamp was turned off and the curtain was withdrawn; the experimenter
pressed the set button of the VPAC and asked the participant to concentrate on the red crosshair for 5
s (Figure S4B). The experimenter then pressed the button of the master trigger and the flash shined on
the drawing once (Figure S4C). The participant was instructed to report the shape and color of what
he/she observed. Thus, a test task for one participant recognizing a randomly selected drawing was
completed, and the random number was marked as “used.”
Repeated tests (n=18) showed that under the pre-induced accommodation condition, each participant
correctly reported the shape and color of a randomly selected drawing after a single-pulse diffuse
reflection stimulus lasting for 500 µs (Table S1).
2 Supplementary Text
Although the home camera flash working at full power is safe for healthy participants, the experimenter
applied a diffuser in front of the flash to soften the flash light and adjusted the output power of the flash
to a lower level (here the output power was set to 1/64 of the full power). Furthermore, a dark blue
filter was applied to cover the crosshair of the VPAC to attenuate the luminous intensity of the crosshair.
These measures ensured that the participants were visually comfortable, and therefore, the potential
negative impacts on participants in this study were even less than those of usual night photography.
3
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
3 Supplementary Figures
Supplementary Figure S1. Two types of objects to be observed (A) An orange metal ball with a
diameter of 12 cm. (B) Nine drawings of different shapes in different colors with black margins, the
backs of which were marked with a unique number from 1 to 9.
4
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
Supplementary Figure S2. Visual pre-induced accommodation circuit (VPAC) and its response to
the flash. (A) Schematic frame of the VPAC. The module comprises two simple circuits: crosshair
display circuit (CDC) and lumen measurement circuit (LMC). In the dark, on clicking the set button,
CDC can present a red crosshair until the LMC receives a single-pulse flash stimulus. When Va, the
output voltage of the lumen sensor, exceeds the threshold of 0.3 V, the comparator can output a low
level through a flip-flop to turn off the power switch of the light-emitting diodes (LEDs). (B)
Physical appearance of the VPAC. The light barrier, a trimmed, round, and self-adhesive furniture
pad, with a height of 2 mm. A dark blue filter was used to cover the barrier, for attenuating the light
of the LEDs (not shown). (C) Response of the VPAC to a single-pulse flash. The duration of the flash
was approximately 500 µs at 1/64 full power of the flash, whereas the red crosshair went out
immediately after the flash onset.
5
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
Supplementary Figure S3. Experimental procedure for recognizing the metal ball. (A) Layout of the
participant and equipment. The participant was seated 3 m away from the ball to be observed. (B)
After the curtain was withdrawn in the dark, the participant fixated on the red crosshair for 5 s. (C)
After the experimenter pressed the button of the master trigger, the flash shined on the ball once
6
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
Supplementary Figure S4. Experimental procedure for recognizing a randomly selected drawing in
compliance with a single-blind procedure. (A) Layout of the participant and equipment. The
participant was seated 3 m away from the drawing to be observed. (B) After the curtain was
withdrawn in the dark, the participant’s gaze fixated on the red crosshair for 5 s. (C) After the
experimenter pressed the button of the master trigger, the flash shined on the drawing once.
7
Out-of-body projection of visual awareness
4 Supplementary Table
Supplementary Table S1. Experimental result of participants recognizing the night-shot still life
Observed
Number of
Stimulation
Stimulation
Recognition
object
participants
intensity
duration
rate
Metal ball
18
1/64 full power
500 µs
100%
Experiment 2a Drawing
18
1/64 full power
500 µs
100%
Experiment 1
a
Each test in experiment 2 was conducted in compliance with a single-blind procedure—a drawing was randomly selected
from nine drawings which was unknown to the participant in the dark before flash onset.
8 |
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Rouleau, N., Koren, S. A. & Persinger, M. A., Potential Experimental Demonstration of the Entanglement Velocity of 10 m·s
During Trans-Atlantic Excess Correlation of Paired Brain Activity
Article
Potential
Experimental
Demonstration of the Entanglement Velocity
23
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of 10 m·s during Trans-Atlantic Excess Correlation of Paired
Brain Activity
Nicolas Rouleau, Stanley A. Koren & Michael A. Persinger*
Neuroscience Research Group, Human Studies and Biomolecular Sciences Programs,
Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3E 2C6
ABSTRACT
Two separate approaches have suggested that the diffusivity parameter or diffusion velocity of
~1023 m·s-1 may be the quantitative value for the latency for displays of excess correlation or the
consequences of entanglement. We have shown that pairs of individuals separated by 6,000 km
but sharing toroidal magnetic fields with changing angular velocities displayed clear excess
correlations in specific theta and gamma frequency power values over the right caudal
hemispheres. The effect occurred only during the component of the exposure that has revealed
excess correlations in photon and pH reactions separated by non-local distances. The predicted
latency for the entanglement effects over distances of 6,000 km would be ~10-17 s while the time
required for 1 orbit of an electron is ~10-16 s. Specific values indicated that between 10 and 30 s
would be required before the entanglement would emerge within the domain of electronic matter.
Quantitative measurements of the indicator of excess correlation in brain activity during the
optimal interval of magnetic field configuration indicated the emergence occurred between 20
and 30 s after the effector field (but not the primer field) had been activated around the
cerebrums of both subjects. The effect was clear for all 5 pairs of subjects. The results suggest
but do not prove that the latency for entanglement may display a real time value coupled to the
velocity of a diffusivity term derived from the relationship between four-dimensional geometry
and the weighted products of Gravity and the mass, width and duration of the universe.
Keywords: entanglement velocity, 1023 m·s-1, trans-Atlantic brain entanglement, circular
magnetic fields; changing angular velocity; toroids.
1. Introduction
The concept of entanglement presumes that excess correlation between two events that
have met specific conditions subsequent to a spatial-temporal contiguity can be displayed any
time subsequent to this pairing at any distance. One perspective indicates that for this to occur
there must be a pervasive process that permeates the universe such that distance between the two
events or the time that has elapsed since their pairing does not determine the occurrence of the
excess correlation (Vaziri, et al, 2002; Hotta, et al, 2014). The candidate for this permeating
*Corresponding author: Dr. M. A. Persinger, mpersinger@laurentian.ca
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Rouleau, N., Koren, S. A. & Persinger, M. A., Potential Experimental Demonstration of the Entanglement Velocity of 10 m·s
During Trans-Atlantic Excess Correlation of Paired Brain Activity
process that becomes apparent as a phenomenon when the entire set is considered, that is the
entire universe and its total life time, has been related to the gravitational field potential
connected through its quantized components such as the graviton. Hu and Wu’s (2013, 2003)
theory suggests that the entanglement became possible because the primordial events that lead to
energy and matter were initially related by spin during pre-space-time. Their theory is a more
quantitative extension of Mach’s concept that moments of inertia relate all space to every single
space.
The presumption has been that the latency for a response in particle A that has been
entangled with particle B is instantaneous. This may be correct. However there may also be a
component of the entanglement latency that is so small that it becomes negligible along distances
that are much, much less than the length of the universe. While relating the fundamental
geometries of a circle, because an action within a circle is infinite but bounded and accelerating,
Persinger and Koren (2013,2014,2015) obtained the product of 2πr, 4πr2, 4/3πr3 and 2πrf (time)
which was 21.3π4r7f. The dimensional solution was m7s-1. The resulting aggregate of terms was
solved by dimensional analyses for an equivalent form that was composed of the Gravitational
constant (G), the mass of the universe (m), its duration (t), and its estimated width (d). The units
for this solution was [m6·kg-2·s-4] ·kg2·m·s3. The balanced solution was G2·m2·d·t3.
The solution for this diffusivity term (m7·s-1) when converted to velocity was about
2.8·10 m·s-1. Persinger and Koren (2014) suggest that this diffusivity value might relate to the
latency for entanglement effects to be manifested within the universe. For example across the
extent of the entire universe about 7 to 8 min would be required. Between the earth and the sun
about 10-12 s (the duration of the hydronium ion) would be required (DeCoursey, 2003). For the
typical orbital heights for satellites the duration would be 10-16 s which is congruent with the
values measured for drifts and drags in inertial time frames. Although the contemporary
explanation for the inertial drag (Persinger and Koren, 2015) is based upon relativity approaches,
this similarity would be also consistent with Mach’s concept that the universe is connected by
intrinsically shared moments of inertia.
23
A second approach (Persinger and Koren, 2014), converted the total energy in the
universe based upon current estimates of mass to be about 2.2·1069 J into equivalent magnetic
field and electric field gradients (V·m-1) through the two relationships. The first is:
B=√(E ·2μ·m-3)
(1)
where E is the energy, B is the magnetic field strength, μ it the magnetic permeability of a
vacuum (4π·10-7 N·A-2) and m is the volume based upon a sphere with a diameter of 18·1026 m
for the final epoch. The solution is ~1.4·10-9 T. The second is:
V=√(2·E·ε-1)
(2)
where V is the voltage and ε is the electric permittivity of a vacuum. The resulting value of
2.2·1040 V when distributed over the current radius of 1.26·1026 m, results in a voltage linear
density of 1.8·1014 V·m-1. The ratio of this value to the magnetic field strength is ~1.4·1023 m·s-1.
This is the same order of magnitude as the value obtained from universal parameters.
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Rouleau, N., Koren, S. A. & Persinger, M. A., Potential Experimental Demonstration of the Entanglement Velocity of 10 m·s
During Trans-Atlantic Excess Correlation of Paired Brain Activity
Recently we completed an experiment where pairs of individuals each wearing a toroid
through which specific changing angular velocity magnetic fields were delivered displayed
excess correlation in theta and gamma patterns over the right caudal temporal regions. The two
individuals in each of the pairs were separated by at least 6000 km. The onsets of the two fields
were synchronized to the nearest 1 s. Measurement of the entanglement velocity would be very
fast, that is in the order of 10-17 s if we assumed this distance as linear or slightly curvilinear from
the earth’s surface. In fact the latency would be less than that required to complete one orbit
(1.5·10-16 s) in a Bohr atom.
However we reasoned, simplistically, that we could infer the validity of the entanglement
velocity by assuming that between the time of the activation of the effective weak (1 to 5 nT)
magnetic field and its manifestation within the entanglement phenomena measured by the shared
power of quantitative EEG between the two people separated by at least 6,000 km would reflect
the time required to exact superposition within the time frame in which local matter is defined. In
other words, 1.5·10-16 s divided by 10-17 s would suggest that between 10 and 20 s would be
require before the entanglement effect was sufficiently manifested at the level of matter through
electron orbits that define the human brain. At longer distances where the entanglement latency
is equal to or greater than the time of a single electron orbit this lag to be manifested within
matter would not occur. Here we present evidence to support this a priori prediction of this
latency.
2. Method
The paradigm has been published in detail elsewhere (Scott et al, 2015). In summary five
pairs of people served as subjects. The members of each pair were separated by ~6,000 km. Each
pair of participants wore toroids around their heads. During the 42 min of the experiment weak
magnetic fields (30 nT) were generated through the toroids with accelerating or decelerating
velocities. The activation of the fields produced a 1 to 5 nT diminishment of the E-W component
of the earth’s magnetic field (Rouleau and Persinger, 2015).
During the exposures each person wore a standard 19 channel sensor QEEG cap that was
connected to a Mitsar EEG-201. Measurements were sampled at 250 Hz. During the exposure
eyes opened and eyes closed conditions data were collected when tones were presented or
instructions were given to imagine “white light”. During the experiment there were two types of
field conditions. The first was the primer field. The second was the effector field. The primer
pattern consisted of 7 all or none, 3 ms point potentials that were continuously looped, separated
by incrementally longer inter-stimulus intervals that began with 20 ms and increased by 2 ms
every pulse. This re-cycled back to 20 ms after the 7th pulse sequence. The 3 ms pulse was based
upon the derivations by Persinger and Koren (2007) and empirical support by Koren et al (2014)
that the time required for a proton to expand one Planck’s Length given the contemporary
Hubble Parameters would be about 3 ms.
The effector pattern involved the same all or none potentials. However the interstimulus
interval between the points began with 20 ms and decreased by 2 ms for each pulse. The signals
were generated from a laptop through Arduino circuits to the solenoids. The primary pattern
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Rouleau, N., Koren, S. A. & Persinger, M. A., Potential Experimental Demonstration of the Entanglement Velocity of 10 m·s
During Trans-Atlantic Excess Correlation of Paired Brain Activity
began 11 minutes after the QEEG data began to be recorded and was presented for 6 min. The
effector pattern began and was presented for 840 s (14 min). This second effector pattern is when
the excess correlation phenomena have been shown for shifts in pH and photon emissions.
Reversal of the order of the fields does not produce evidence of excess correlations between the
cerebral activities of the separated subjects. This specificity minimizes the likelihood that any
coherent effects between subjects were because they are simply sharing the same rotating
magnetic fields.
To test the potential accuracy of our prediction regarding the latency of response of the
brain to the onset of entanglement as manifested through the effector field, we selected the power
within the gamma band over the right caudal temporal lobe (T6). This region has shown the most
consistent evidence for reliable inter-brain coherence that is consistent with entanglement. In the
trans-Atlantic excess correlation reported by Scott et al (2015) this region was also the one in
which multiple measures of coherence and intercalation over the 6,000 km was most evident.
The T6 region often reflects right parahippocampal activity which was shown to be activated
when Sean Harribance displayed evident of excess correlation with the brains of other people
(Persinger and Saroka, 2012). This same region was most affected for experiments designed to
examine potential gravitational-electromagnetic interactions (Persinger and Saroka, 2014).
3. Results
Figure 1. Overlap of error bars as displayed in the graph showing T6 gamma
differences between senders and receivers (previous analysis for tone periods). Note the
separation between the overlap occurs only during the effector fields (values above 0).
The results of the overlap between the power within the gamma region over T6 (the right
temporal region that most reflects right parahippocampal activity) of the five pairs of individuals
each separated by more than 6,000 km is shown in Figure 1. The negative values indicated that
the power values for the gamma frequencies overlapped between the two individuals in the five
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
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Rouleau, N., Koren, S. A. & Persinger, M. A., Potential Experimental Demonstration of the Entanglement Velocity of 10 m·s
During Trans-Atlantic Excess Correlation of Paired Brain Activity
pairs. The values above 0 indicate no overlap. Only during the effector component of the field
but not during the primer fields was there a significant separation of power. It first emerged
between 20 and 30 s after the onset of the effector field. This is consistent with prediction.
Figure 2. Inter-brain correlation of gamma power over the right frontal (F4; squares),
right temporal anterior (T4; circles) and right temporal caudal (T6; crosses) over the 5 s
blocks after the initiation of the entanglement (effector) field.
In order to discern the shift in polarity, which has been considered an indicator of the
demonstration of entanglement, the correlations between the gamma power values over T6 for
the pairs of brains were calculated for each of the 5 s increments after the effector field had been
initiated. As shown in Figure 2 for F4, T4 and T6 (all right hemisphere) the significant reversal
of correlations occurs between 15 to 20 s to 25 to 30 s after the initiation of the effector fields.
Because of the sample sizes the differences between a correlation of r=0.05 and -0.05 are
statistically significant.
4. Discussion
Several hundreds of years ago the velocity of light was considered to be instantaneous
primarily because its quantity was beyond that discernable by contemporary instrumentation. A
limiting value to the velocity of light was first realized when large spaces, those involved with
the distances to Jupiter and its moons, were measured. Even as recent as the late 19th century
some scientists assumed that the velocity of the action potential along the axon barrel, and hence
“thought”, was “instantaneous” or even the velocity of light. Direct measurement, improved
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instrumentation and reasoning altered this perspective. A similar manifestation may be required
for the latency for the manifestation of the entanglement.
If there is a specific latency for entangled phenomena to occur, or, once it has occurred to
be manifested, then the mechanisms and processes that mediate these phenomena might require
alternative interpretations. We (Persinger and Koren, 2013; 2014; 2015) have found that the
velocity of about 1023 m·s-1 emerges from two separate approaches when universal values are
involved. One was derived from finding the dimensional equivalence between the four
dimensional geometry of a closed shape (the circle) and four universal parameters one of which
was the Gravitational Constant. The second approach was the solution when the average
potential gradient in the universe in V·m-1 was divided by the equivalent magnetic field strength
during the final epoch when the total energy of the universe was converted into electric and
magnetic forms.
If Mach’s principle is correct then there should be local manifestations of this velocity.
There is evidence for this possibility. The net change in voltage associated with an action
potential the axon of a neuron is about 1.2·10-1 V. When divided by the length of the Compton
wavelength (2.42·10-12 m) the equivalent is 0.5·1011 V·m-1. When this value is divided by the
typical functional magnetic field intensity from the cerebral cortices during cognition and the
interface between axons which is about 0.5 pT (10-12 T) the velocity term is 1023 m·s-1. This
order of magnitude of magnetic field fluctuations is also displayed by the Schumann Resonance.
It displays a fundamental resonance between 7 and 8 Hz with harmonics emerging every 6 Hz at
approximately 13-14 Hz, 19-20 Hz, and 25-26 Hz until discernment by instrumentation becomes
difficult around the 7th harmonic (Nickolaenko and Hayakawa, 2014).
Living systems are immersed within the Schumann Resonances. Resonance spectra
indicate that the amplitude of the second harmonic around 14 Hz between 20 and 22 UT is about
3 pT·√Hz-1 or about 10-11 T. If the typical vertical electric field values for the Schumann
Resonance of ~10-3 V·m-1 were spread across the Compton wavelength of the proton (1.32·10-15
m), the velocity would be within the range of 1023 m·s-1. This suggests that under certain
conditions the entire Schumann spherical wave guide around the earth could display the capacity
for the mediation of excess correlation or entanglement. More than 20 years ago Minakov et al
(1993) showed mathematically that if gravitational fields were to interact with the
electromagnetic phenomena, the most powerful amplification region would be the second global
(f =14 Hz) harmonic of the Schumann Resonance.
The observation that substantial time, about 20 s, was required to display the evidence of
entanglement may appear contradictory. If the diffusivity is in the order of 1023 m·s-1 then ~20 s
would be sufficient for propagation over 1024 to 1025 m. Our assumption that ~20 s would be
required for the very local property of this diffusivity to complete one Bohr orbit of an electron
would reflect the latency to effect matter within a local space rather than the latency to traverse
space. At distances where the diffusivity time is >10-16 s the manifestation within matter would
be functionally instantaneous with the time required to complete one Bohr orbit. Perhaps this is
one of the reasons why non-local and other entanglement effects are difficult to demonstrate
when curvilinear distances are less than that of the circumference of the earth which is ~4·107 m.
At that distance the entanglement velocity would be in the order of 10-16 s.
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The manifestation of this subtle effect within the right temporal region and presumably
the right parahippocampal structure of the human brain may have quantum application. Burke
and Persinger (2013) calculated convergent solutions that suggest the hippocampus could serve
as a “singularity” for access to cosmological consciousness. The human hippocampus is
effectively two, interlocking C-shaped structures that are geometrically congruous with a small
spherical condenser wrapped and partially interdigitated by a larger spherical condenser. The
shape is similar to a toroid with a gap which could allow discrete leakage of magnetic flux. This
arrangement in non-brain circuits is strongly affected by polarization or phase vectors that can be
matched within an order of magnitude of the geomagnetic scalar potential.
If it occurs in a similar manner within the human hippocampus then the structure could
be an interface between shifts in phase of electromagnetic fields and the non-potential toroidal
field of the geomagnetic matrix. This non-potential field corresponds to the types of vertical
current densities coupled to the earth-ionosphere cavity. According to Schmidt quasinormalization the magnitude of the dispersions for the internal field coefficients are between 1
and 6 nT (Winch et al, 2005). This is the diminishment produced by the toroids during the excess
correlation between subjects in this study. Persinger and St-Pierre (2014) showed quantitatively
that the variation in G was inversely correlated with the geomagnetic fluctuations in the order of
5 nT and that the energy available within a cerebral volume would be within the range of 10 -14 J
or the mass equivalent of an electron. Availability of universal current sources could be
sufficient to affect the substrates that determine coherent brain activity once entanglement is
manifested within the time frame that defines the electron orbit.
References
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and the quantitative latency for universal entanglement. International Letters of Chemistry, Physics and
Astronomy, 15, 80-86.
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accommodate recent measurements of large scale structures in the universe. International Letters of
Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, 23, 106-112.
Persinger, M. A. and St-Pierre, L. S. (2014). Is there a geomagnetic component involved with the
determination of G? International Journal of Geosciences, 5, 450-452.
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Kowall, J., The Nature of Reality in a Nutshell (Part I)
Article
The Nature of Reality in a Nutshell (Part I)
James Kowall
*
Abstract
Reality is characterized by four aspects of reality: (1) forms of information, (2) the flow of
energy, (3) perceiving consciousness, and (4) the Source of information, energy and perceiving
consciousness. The scientific framework for this characterization is discussed in terms of the
holographic principle, non-commutative geometry, an observer-dependent cosmic horizon
arising in de Sitter space with a positive cosmological constant, and the one-world-per-observer
paradigm. In this scenario, the observer is present at the central focal point of a cosmic horizon
that arises in the observer's frame of reference, acts as a holographic screen, and projects the
observer's space-time geometry. A consensual reality shared by many observers is possible if
their respective horizons overlap. This scientific framework can only explain the nature of forms
of information and the flow of energy. This leaves us with the quandary of how to explain
perceiving consciousness and the Source. An argument is made that perceiving consciousness
can only be understood as a focal point of consciousness that is differentiated from the Source
and arises in relation to a holographic screen, in which case the Source can only be understood in
the non-dual sense of an empty space of potentiality or a void of undifferentiated consciousness.
This is Part I of the two-part article (the references are listed at the end of Part II).
Keywords: Reality, information, energy, consciousness, Source.
To fully understand the nature of reality, it is only necessary to understand four aspects of
reality: (1) forms of information, (2) the flow of energy, (3) perceiving consciousness, and the
(4) Source of information, energy and perceiving consciousness. Once we've understood the
nature of these four things, the problem of the nature of reality is solved.
The basic problem is everything we observe in the world is a form of information, like an image
displayed on a computer screen. Computer generated images are always composed of bits of
information. Information is encoded on the computer screen in a pixelated way, with each pixel
on the screen encoding a bit of information in a binary code of 1's and 0's. A bit of information is
typically encoded at a pixel by an on/off computer switch located at that pixel that is either in the
"on" or the "off" position. The way information is encoded on the screen defines the images that
are displayed and observed on the screen.
These images are animated over a sequence of events, just like the animated frames of a movie.
When a movie is displayed on a computer screen, each event in the animation is a screen output.
With each screen output, images are defined on the screen by the way bits of information are
encoded on the screen. The animation of those images corresponds to a sequence of screen
outputs. This animation of images over a sequence of screen outputs always occurs in the flow of
energy, which is the power that energizes the computer.
*
Correspondence: James Kowall, MD, PhD, Independent Researcher. jkowall137@gmail.com
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The animated images displayed on the computer screen are projected to the point of view of an
observer. With each screen output, the images are projected to the point of view of the observer,
who observes those images. The animation of images is observed over a sequence of screen
outputs, which occurs in the flow of energy that energizes the process.
Image of Wheeler's universal observer from cosmoquest.org
How can this computer analogy give an accurate description of the world? The answer is found
in two recent discoveries of modern physics and cosmology: the holographic principle 1 and the
nature of an observer-dependent cosmic horizon 2. When these two scientific concepts are put
together, we discover that the world is just like a computer generated animation displayed on a
computer screen and observed by an observer.
When we say everything we observe in the world is an animated form of information, like an
animated image displayed on a computer screen, we are in effect defining the world on that
screen. As we are about to see, the scientific concept that nicely explains the nature of this
"animation of the world on a screen" is the holographic principle.
Not only does the holographic principle explain the "animation of the world on a screen", but it
also explains the nature of the screen (as an event horizon), the encoding of bits of information
on the screen (in the sense of the eigenvalues of a matrix, which are like spin variables that can
only point "up" or "down", just like an on/off switch), the organization of bits of information into
forms (as coherent organization that arises from entangled spin states or the entanglement of bits
of information), and the flow of energy that energizes the whole animation process (in the sense
of dark energy that gives rise to a cosmic horizon that inflates in size due to an instability in the
amount of dark energy).
The only things the holographic principle cannot explain are the nature of the perceiving
consciousness and the Source of information, energy and perceiving consciousness. If we
understand the nature of the perceiving consciousness and its Source, the problem of the nature
of reality is solved. The only problem with this solution is there is no scientific explanation for
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Kowall, J., The Nature of Reality in a Nutshell (Part I)
consciousness, and so there is no scientific explanation for the Source of consciousness. The
problem of the Source cannot be solved scientifically.
The problem is there are no scientific concepts that explain the nature of the perceiving
consciousness or its Source. The nature of the perceiving consciousness and its Source cannot be
explained scientifically, and so science can never give us the complete answer. If we want to
discover the complete answer, we have to look elsewhere.
The radical paradigm-shattering nature of this conclusion bears further discussion. The only
reason we believe we are a part of the world we perceive is because we believe the individual
consciousness that each of us possesses arises from our brain inside our head. Only that
individual consciousness has its own inherent sense of being present, which is its own sense of
"I-am-ness". When we call ourselves human beings, we are conflating that sense of being present
with the human life-forms that we take ourselves to be. We mistakenly conflate our own
perceiving consciousness with that perceivable life-form.
This conflating of the facts of existence is what neuroscience assumes, but then neuroscience has
no idea about how consciousness arises from a brain, except for some mumbo-jumbo about
"emergence". A few honest neuroscientists 3 admit they have no idea how perceiving
consciousness arises. They admit it may not even be possible to explain how consciousness
arises, and so they attribute its presence to be an "illusion".
The fact of the matter is, if the perceivable reality of a world composed of information and
energy is the only reality, then perceiving consciousness must be an illusion, since it cannot arise
as a part of that world. As long as the information that is organized in that world and the energy
that flows through that world obey consistent computational rules, which we call the laws of
physics that govern a world, then it is impossible for perceiving consciousness to arise within
that world, no matter the degree of complexity with which information is organized or energy
flows. On the other hand, if perceiving consciousness really does exist, then its existence must be
found outside that perceivable world. If perceiving consciousness really does exist, then there
must be another reality outside the reality of a perceivable world that is the Source of its
existence. If we want to understand the nature of reality in its totality, then we have to
understand the nature of the Source.
This odd state of affairs is best explained with the Gödel incompleteness theorems 2. A human
brain is a part of the human life-form. The best way to characterize the human brain is as a
coherently organized form of information that is animated in the flow of energy. This is the case
for any life-form we want to discuss. Any life-form is a coherently organized form of
information composed of bits of information that tend to hold together over a sequence of events.
This tendency to "hold together" or self-replicate form over a sequence of events is the nature of
coherence. The sequence of events that define the animation of any self-replicating life-form
always arises in the flow of energy.
No matter how we formulate the laws of physics that characterize any possible world within
which any possible self-replicating life-form arises, those laws are only computational rules, just
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like the rules that govern the operation of a computer. With computation, bits of information
encoded in a binary code of 1's and 0's are combined together with the rules of arithmetic.
The second Gödel incompleteness theorem 2 proves that any logically consistent set of
computational rules as complex as arithmetic can never prove its own consistency. The "proof of
consistency" is always found outside that set of rules. How then is it possible for a presence of
perceiving consciousness to "know" about the logical consistency of the set of computational
rules that govern the behavior of a brain if that brain generates that consciousness? The answer
is: it is not possible. That presence of consciousness must be found outside the set of rules that
govern the behavior of that brain or life-form, which proves that presence of consciousness is
outside that brain and outside that life-form.
This state of affairs is really no different than the operation of a computer. The flow of energy
that animates a life-form is no different than the flow of energy that energizes a computer, and a
self-replicating life-form is really no different that an animated image displayed on the computer
screen over a sequence of screen outputs. These images are observed each screen output as they
are projected to the point of view of an observer outside the computer screen. The observer is
always found outside the computer screen.
No matter how we formulate the laws of physics that characterize a world, these laws are only
computational rules that govern how the bits of information inherent in that world are organized
into forms and how energy flows through that world to animate those forms over a sequence of
events. This is no different than the operation of a computer. The holographic principle tells us
the observer is always found outside the holographic screen.
There can only be an illusion that the observer is defined on the holographic screen if the
observer identifies itself with an animated image it perceives on the screen, as that image is
projected to the point of view of the observer outside the screen. The nature of this illusion is the
self-identification of the observer with the image of an animated life-form.
This raises the key question: what kind of reality is outside the reality of a perceivable world
composed of information and energy when that world is defined on a holographic screen and the
observer of that world is only a focal point of consciousness that arises in relation to the screen?
The reason the holographic principle is able to point us to the only possible answer to this
question is because a holographic screen defining an observer's world is a bounding surface of
space that must arise in some "space of potentiality".
The space bounded by a holographic screen is not the ultimate nature of "space", but is only a
holographic projection from a bounding surface of space to the point of view of an observer. The
ultimate reality that is outside a perceivable world, which must be the Source of perceiving
consciousness, can only be this "empty space of potentiality".
We also have the problem of space-time geometry, but this problem is also solved by the
holographic principle. The space-time geometry of a world is defined by the projection of the
images of things from a holographic screen to the central point of view of an observer over a
sequence of events, where each event is like a screen output from a computer. The nature of
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space-time geometry arises from the spatial relations of the images of things projected to the
observer's point of view and the temporal relations that arise over a sequence of screen outputs.
In the language of relativity theory, the observer follows a world-line through that projected
space-time geometry, and each observational event on the observer's world-line corresponds to a
screen output that arises in the flow of energy, where the flow of energy naturally arises in the
observer's accelerated frame of reference.
This description of a world in terms of forms of information defined on a holographic screen and
the flow of energy that animates those forms is as far as physics can ever take us. The problem is
physics can never explain the Source of the perceiving consciousness outside the screen, nor can
physics explain the Source of the information and energy that allows a world to become
constructed and displayed on a holographic screen. If we want a complete description of the
nature of reality, we have to confront the problem of the Source, but physics and scientific
theories can never give us the complete answer.
We could begin with the Source, which is only describable in physical terms as an empty space
of potentiality, the void, or infinite nothingness, and then realize that for this "empty space" to be
the Source of perceiving consciousness, it must also be describable as undifferentiated
consciousness. In some unknown way, perceiving consciousness must be differentiated from its
Source of undifferentiated consciousness. This differentiation process is somehow related to how
all the information and energy that characterizes the observer's world arises from the Source as
the observer's consciousness is differentiated from the Source.
Instead of beginning with the Source, we'll begin with the holographic principle and work
backwards, and then infer how this principle implies the nature of the Source.
Horizon information image from eskola.hfd.hr
The holographic principle 4 tells us all the bits of information that define everything an observer
can observe in its world are defined on a holographic screen. The holographic screen is a
bounding surface of space that encodes all the bits of information that define all the observable
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things an observer can observe in the space limited by that bounding surface. Information is
encoded on the screen in a pixelated way, with each pixel on the screen encoding a bit of
information in a binary code of 1’s and 0’s.
Covariant entropy bound image from 't Hooft
Modern physics tells us that each bit of information is encoded on a pixel defined on the screen,
where the pixel size is about a Planck area, ℓ2=ћG/c3. In the sense of a quantized space-time
geometry, the Planck length ℓ, which is about 10−33 centimeters, is the smallest possible distance
scale that can be measured 1. This pixelated way of encoding information is the natural way to
understand how a space-time geometry is quantized 5.
The holographic screen always surrounds an observer at the central point of view, and the
observation of anything in that bounded space by the observer is like a screen output from the
screen to the central point of view of the observer. This is just like the kind of observations an
observer makes on a digital computer screen. With each screen output, the images of things are
projected from the screen to the observer’s central point of view.
Since all the observable images of things in the observer's world are projected from the screen to
the central point of view of the observer, the observer can only be understood as a focal point of
consciousness. This focal point of consciousness always arises in relation to the bounding
surface of space that acts as a holographic screen. In the sense of the projection of images, the
observer is always present at the central point of view.
Everything the observer can possibly observe in the space bounded by the screen is like the
holographic projection of images from the screen to the central point of view of the observer.
Although the bits of information are encoded on a two dimensional screen, the projected images
appear three dimensional since they’re holographic.
The holographic principle also tells us that the most generic way to understand how bits of
information are encoded on the screen is in terms of matrices 2. A bit of information corresponds
to an eigenvalue of the matrix. Encoding bits of information in this way is very similar to how
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spin variables encode bits of information in quantum theory. We understand that spin variables
can only point “up” or “down”, and so they encode information in a binary code of 1’s and 0’s,
just like an on/off computer switch that is either in the “on” or the “off” position.
Holographic principle image from Smolin
The holographic principle 4 says all the quantized bits of information that characterize a region of
space are encoded on a surface bounding that space, which is called the covariant entropy bound.
The number of bits of information, n, is specified in terms of the surface area, A, and the Planck
area, ℓ2, as n=A/4ℓ2, as though the surface is covered with n pixels, each about a Planck area in
size and each encoding a bit of information. These n bits of information are naturally defined by
the n eigenvalues of an nxn matrix.
This way of encoding n bits of information on a bounding surface of space in terms of the n
eigenvalues of an nxn matrix naturally arises in a non-commutative geometry due to the
parameterization of spatial coordinates on the surface with non-commuting variables 6. If the
bounding surface of space is parameterized in terms of an (x, y) coordinate system, like latitude
and longitude on the surface of a sphere, and if these spatial coordinates are required to act as
non-commutating variables that generate an uncertainty relation of the form ΔxΔy≥ℓ2, then each
point on the surface becomes fuzzy and is smeared out into an area element of size ℓ2. Each area
element acts like a pixel on the surface that encodes a bit of information that is defined by the n
eigenvalues of an nxn matrix, where the value of n is specified in terms of the surface area, A, of
the bounding surface as n=A/4ℓ2. The (x, y) coordinates, as represented by n non-commuting
variables, no longer define points on the surface, but pixels. These n position coordinates are
defined on the surface in a rotationally invariant way since the nxn matrix is typically an SU(n)
matrix. Since an SU(2) matrix encodes information in a binary code of 1's and 0's, like spin
variables that can only point "up" or "down", and since an SU(n) matrix is always decomposable
into SU(2) matrices, the n bits of information are also encoded in a binary code.
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In quantum theory, spin variables are represented by matrices, and so it is natural to understand
how a holographic screen encodes bits of information in terms of matrices. Each eigenvalue of
the matrix is like a bit of information that encodes information in a binary code. In the sense of
quantum entanglement, the eigenvalues of a matrix are all entangled with each other, and so all
of this information is entangled.
This entanglement of information allows for coherent organization of information, which allows
forms of information to self-replicate their forms over a sequence of events, where each event is
like a screen output that projects images of things to the observer’s central point of view. The
self-replication of form follows from the entanglement of information.
The images projected to the observer from a holographic screen are best understood in the sense
of coherently organized forms of information. These coherently organized forms of information
can be understood in the sense of bound states of information that tend to hold together over a
sequence of screen outputs. Coherent organization means the forms tend to hold together as
bound states of information. This tendency to hold together is a direct result of the entanglement
of information. Each observational event is like a screen output, and the projected images are
animated over a sequence of events. This animation of images over a sequence of events always
arises in the flow of energy.
How do we understand the flow of energy? Relativity theory gives the answer in terms of an
observer's accelerated frame of reference 7. Energy must be expended as an observer enters into
an accelerated frame of reference, just like a rocket-ship must expend energy through the force of
its thrusters as it accelerates through space.
Principle of equivalence image from mysearch.org
In relativity theory, we understand an observer’s accelerated frame of reference as an accelerated
world-line through space-time geometry. The holographic principle turns this understanding
inside-out, since space-time geometry is a holographic projection from the observer’s
holographic screen to the central point of view of the observer. The observer only appears to
follow an accelerated world-line through the space-time geometry that is projected from its
holographic screen to the central point of view of the observer.
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Rindler horizon image from Smolin
An observer’s holographic screen is understood in the sense of an event horizon that only arises
because the observer is in an accelerated frame of reference. The event horizon is a bounding
surface of space that always limits the observer's observations of things in that bounded space
due to the limitation of the speed of light. The event horizon demarcates a boundary in space that
no light signal can cross due to the observer’s accelerated frame of reference. The event horizon
only arises when the observer expends energy and enters into an accelerated frame of reference.
The ultimate horizon that defines the observer’s world is its cosmic horizon, which arises with
the expenditure of dark energy. The cosmic horizon arises with the force of dark energy, which
in relativity theory is called a cosmological constant. The force of dark energy is like a repulsive
force of anti-gravity that gives rise to the exponential expansion of space. Space appears to
expand away from the central point of view of the observer at an accelerated rate. The farther out
in space the observer looks, the faster space appears to expand away from the observer. At the
cosmic horizon, space appears to expand away from the observer at the speed of light, and so
things at the cosmic horizon appear to move away from the observer at the speed of light. Since
nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, the cosmic horizon is as far out in space as the
observer can see things in space.
The cosmic horizon is a bounding surface of space that limits the observer’s observations of
things in space. Those limited observations of things in space are observed relative to the central
point of view of the observer. The observer at the central point of view makes those limited
observations. The bounding surface of a cosmic horizon always surrounds the observer at the
central point of view. The strange aspect of the exponential expansion of space is a cosmic
horizon surrounds every observer at the central point of view, which is to say the cosmic horizon
is observer-dependent.
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Expansion of space image from scienceblogs.com
How can space appear to expand? The answer is the curvature of space-time geometry. Space
appears to contract with the attractive force of gravity, while space appears to expand with the
repulsive force of dark energy. This apparent contraction or expansion of space over the course
of time occurs relative to the point of view of an observer, which is the nature of the curvature of
space-time geometry in relativity theory. This apparent contraction or expansion of space is just
like the distortion of images that appear on a computer screen in a computer animation. This is
actually a very good analogy, since the bounding surface of a cosmic horizon acts as a
holographic screen that projects the images of things to the central point of view of an observer.
The natural consequence of the holographic principle and a cosmic horizon that defines the
nature of an observer's world is the "one-world-per-observer paradigm". The key concept in the
one-world-per-observer paradigm 2 is each observer is at the central point of view of its own
holographic screen that defines everything the observer can possibly observe in its own world.
That boundary constructs a quantum state for all possible observations the observer can make in
its world. Each observation reduces the quantum state of the screen to an actual configuration
state of information defined on the screen, and is like a screen output. Each observational event
on the observer’s accelerated world-line through the projected space-time geometry of its world
is another screen output.
This gives a natural explanation for the one-world-per-observer paradigm, but how do we
understand a consensual reality shared by many observers? The holographic principle again
gives the answer. Each observer’s world is defined on its own holographic screen, but those
bounding surfaces of space can overlap with each other in the sense of a Venn diagram and share
information 2. Many observers can share a consensual reality together to the degree their
respective holographic screens overlap and share information.
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The holographic principle is a duality that relates the projected images of all the things observed
in some three dimensional region of space to the way bits of information are encoded on the two
dimensional bounding surface of that space 1. Those projected images include the images of
elementary particles, like the electron and photon. When the laws of physics are formulated as a
3+1 dimensional field theory, such as Einstein's field equations for the metric, Maxwell's field
equation for electromagnetism, or Dirac's field equations for the electron, this formulation only
applies to the three dimensional region of space half of the duality. The other half of the duality
is specified by the way bits of information are encoded on the two dimensional bounding surface
of that space, which is typically formulated in terms of the n eigenvalues of an nxn matrix.
The duality is a way to make a mathematical transformation from one half of the duality to the
other half of the duality. Although we think it is natural to quantize field equations, such as the
formulation of quantum electrodynamics, this kind of quantization only has a limited range of
validity. The only quantum variables with a range of validity extending down to the Planck scale
are non-commuting variables defined on a bounding surface of space 2.
What are we to make of our attempts to quantize field equations? At most, this can only give us
an effective field theory 7 with a limited range of validity. These effective field theories naturally
arise as a thermodynamic average in the bulk half of the duality from the non-commuting
variables defined on the bounding surface of that space.
The other way to describe the duality is in terms of a holographic screen that constructs a Hilbert
space of observable values for the observer's world. The Hilbert space is always constructed as a
sum over all possible observable states of the observer's world, and each observation of that
world is a quantum state reduction. Everything the observer can observe in its world is like a
screen output that arises as this Hilbert space of observable values is reduced to some actual
observable state of information defined on the screen.
The holographic principle and non-commutative geometry tell us the Hilbert space for the
holographic screen is constructed in terms of an nxn matrix, which by its very nature is defined
on a bounding surface of space. What then are we to make of the kind of Hilbert space that arises
in a quantum field theory? Again, a QFT is only an effective field theory that arises as a
thermodynamic average with a limited range of validity. In QFT, the Hilbert space is always
defined in a three dimensional space that is an aspect of a 3+1 dimensional space-time geometry.
Each component of the quantum field φ(x, t) defined at some position x in that space acts like a
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harmonic oscillator with a spectrum of excited values 8, but this spectrum of particle excitations
has a limited range of validity.
The reason no QFT can represent how space-time geometry is quantized is the covariant entropy
bound 4. The covariant bound tells us that the maximum entropy characterizing any three
dimensional region of space is bounded by the n bits of information encoded on the bounding
surface of that space, where n is given in terms of the surface area as n=A/4ℓ2. Even if a 3+1
dimensional space-time geometry is quantized, the harmonic oscillator nature of particle
excitations in a QFT will overwhelm the covariant entropy bound with too many degrees of
freedom (proportional to the spatial volume) once the Planck scale is approached, and so every
QFT must have a limited range of validity.
What then are we to make of the field equations for the metric that describe a space-time
geometry? The field equations for the metric are only an effective field theory that arises as a
thermodynamic average with a limited range of validity 7. The only valid quantum variables at
the Planck scale are non-commuting variables defined on a bounding surface of space 2, which
defines a Hilbert space for the holographic screen. The space-time geometry characterizing the
observer's world only arises as a projection of images from the observer's holographic screen to
the observer's central point of view over a sequence of screen outputs. This occurs as the
observer enters into an accelerated frame of reference and appears to follow a world-line through
its projected space-time geometry.
There is an easy way to see how effective field theories describing the bulk half of the duality
arise from the covariant entropy bound 9. The laws of thermodynamics specify as energy flows
through a boundary, some entropy must flow along with the energy. Since entropy is defined on
the boundary in terms of its surface area, the boundary must change as energy flows through it,
and so the geometry of the bounded space must also change.
This relation between the flow of energy and entropy, the surface area of the boundary, and the
geometry of the bounded space implies Einstein's field equations for the space-time metric as
thermodynamic equations of state 9. If we invoke the Kaluza-Klein mechanism 8 this generates
field equations for the electromagnetic and nuclear forces. In a non-commutative geometry, not
only are gauge fields generated, but also the Higgs fields 6. With super-symmetry 1, boson and
fermion fields are generated. In a nutshell, this is all of field theory, derived from nothing more
than geometry, symmetry, thermodynamics, and the covariant entropy bound.
The holographic principle tells us the bounding surface of space is an event horizon that can only
arise when the observer enters into an accelerated frame of reference, which requires the
expenditure of energy. What is the ultimate source of this energy?
Modern cosmology 2 gives us the answer in terms of dark energy and the exponential expansion
of space. Whenever dark energy is expended, space appears to expand at an accelerated rate
relative to the observer’s central point of view, and a surrounding cosmic horizon arises that
limits the observer’s observations of things in space. In relativity theory this kind of
exponentially expanding space, which is characterized by a positive cosmological constant, is
called de Sitter space. The cosmic horizon surrounding the observer at the central point of view
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is observer-dependent, as space appears to expand away from the observer faster the farther out
in space the observer looks. We understand this apparent expansion of space in terms of the
repulsive force of dark energy.
If we take the big bang theory seriously, we understand that at the moment of creation of the
observer’s world, that world is about a Planck length in size, but that world then inflates in size
because of an instability in dark energy 2. This instability in dark energy is like a process of
burning that burns away the dark energy.
The expenditure of dark energy breaks the symmetry of empty space 2 by constructing an
observation-limiting cosmic horizon that surrounds the observer at the central point of view. The
instability in dark energy is like a process of burning that burns away the dark energy and
“undoes” this broken symmetry. As the dark energy burns away to zero, the cosmic horizon
inflates in size to infinity, and the symmetry is restored. We understand this “undoing” of
symmetry breaking is like a phase transition from a false vacuum state to a true vacuum state. As
the phase transition occurs, dark energy burns away.
Meta-stable state image from ned.ipac.caltech.edu
This burning away of dark energy explains the normal flow of energy in the observer's world in
the sense of the second law of thermodynamics. This is easiest to understand in terms of a
cosmological constant Λ. Relativity theory tells us the radius of the observer's cosmic horizon, R,
is related to the cosmological constant as R2/ℓ2=3/Λ. The holographic principle 4 tells us the
absolute temperature of the cosmic horizon is related to its radius as kT=ћc/2πR. At the moment
of creation, R is about equal to ℓ, Λ is about equal to 1, and the absolute temperature is about
equal to 1032 degrees Kelvin. As dark energy burns away, Λ decreases in value, R inflates in
size, and the temperature cools. As Λ decreases to zero, R inflates to infinity, and the
temperature cools to absolute zero.
There is something odd about this phase transition from a false vacuum state to a true vacuum
state, as dark energy burns away and the cosmological constant decreases in value from its initial
high value to its final value of zero. This phase transition is the nature of the event that the
observer at the central point of view of a cosmic horizon perceives as a big bang event 2. The odd
nature of this scenario is that the total transition to zero can occur over a series of many phase
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transitions. Each phase transition will appear to the observer as another big bang event. Each
phase transition can burn away part of the total amount of dark energy, and is like a transition
from a false vacuum state to a less false vacuum state characterized by a lower value of the
cosmological constant. With each phase transition, the observer's cosmic horizon inflates in size.
Each inflation of the observer's world will appear to the observer as another big bang event. In
the exponential expansion of space scenario, the repulsive force of dark energy always
counteracts the attractive force of gravity, and so there is only the expansion of space and no
contraction. Unlike the cyclical idea of a big crunch followed by a big bang, there is only the
expansion of space and repetitive inflations of the cosmic horizon.
In this scenario, a big bang event is only an inflation in size of the observer's cosmic horizon.
Each phase transition resets the radius of the cosmic horizon at the beginning of each big bang
event, and the amount of dark energy that burns away during the phase transition resets the
radius of the cosmic horizon at the end of the big bang event. A series of such inflations, each
occurring as a phase transition, ultimately must terminate when the cosmological constant
approaches its final value of zero, the radius of the cosmic horizon approaches infinity, and the
true vacuum state is finally reached.
This understanding is not only consistent with our understanding of the big bang event, but also
with the current measured value of the cosmological constant, based on the rate at which distant
galaxies are observed to accelerate away from us. The current measured value of Λ is about
10−123, which corresponds to the size of the observable universe of about 15 billion light years 1.
The second law of thermodynamics simply says that heat tends to flow from a hotter object to a
colder object because the hotter object radiates away more heat, which is thermal radiation. The
instability in dark energy explains the second law as dark energy burns away, the observer’s
world inflates in size and cools in temperature, and heat tends to flow from hotter states of the
observer’s world to colder states of the observer’s world.
Second law of thermodynamics image from Penrose
The normal flow of energy through the observer’s world simply reflects this normal flow of heat
as the dark energy burns away and the observer’s world inflates in size and cools. This normal
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flow of energy naturally arises in a thermal gradient. One of the mysteries of the second law is
understanding time’s arrow, or how the normal course of time is related to this normal flow of
energy. The burning away of dark energy explains this mystery. As far as the holographic
principle goes, a thermal gradient is also a temporal gradient. The holographic principle reduces
concepts of temperature, the normal flow of energy and the course of time to geometry, and so
these concepts are intrinsically related to each other.
To say the course of time arises in a temporal gradient is the same as to say the flow of energy
arises in a thermal gradient. This is what the holographic principle, the burning away of dark
energy and the second law of thermodynamics tell us. As dark energy burns away, the observer's
cosmic horizon inflates in size and cools in temperature, which drives the normal flow of energy
and course of time in the observer's world. This is like the flow of a river down a mountainside
under the influence of gravity, except the force of dark energy is repulsive, and is like a kind of
anti-gravity. The gradient is established as dark energy burns away, which is like a decrease in
the repulsive force of anti-gravity.
What are we to make of the expenditure of other forms of energy besides dark energy? Modern
cosmology and physics 1 give the answer in terms of symmetry breaking. All forms of positive
energy arise from dark energy through a process of symmetry breaking.
A key aspect of symmetry breaking 2 is not usually discussed. The nature of symmetry breaking
that allows for the emergence of a world along the lines of the inflationary scenario is only
possible if the total energy of that world adds up to zero. The remarkable discovery of modern
cosmology is cosmic observations indicate the total energy of the observable universe is exactly
zero. This is possible in relativity theory since the negative potential energy of gravitational
attraction can exactly cancel out the total amount of dark energy and any other forms of positive
energy that arise from dark energy 10.
How do other forms of energy, like mass energy, arise from dark energy? The answer is
symmetry breaking. As dark energy burns away, high energy photons are created, and these
photons can create particle-antiparticle pairs, like proton-antiproton pairs. One of the mysteries
of cosmology is why there are so many protons in the universe and so few antiprotons.
Symmetry breaking gives the answer 2. At high energies, antiprotons can decay into electrons
and protons into positrons, but there is a difference in the decay rates due to a broken symmetry,
and so more antiprotons decay than protons. As the universe cools, the protons become stable,
and so that is what is left over. Even the mass of the proton arises through a process of symmetry
breaking that we call the Higgs mechanism. The expenditure of energy that characterizes the
fundamental gauge forces, like electromagnetic energy in a living organism, or nuclear energy in
a star, all arises from dark energy through a process of symmetry breaking, but all of this positive
energy is exactly cancelled out by the negative potential energy of gravitational attraction.
The fact that the total energy of the observable universe exactly adds up to zero tells us
something important. Since everything in the world is composed of energy and all energy
ultimately adds up to zero, this tells us that everything is ultimately nothing.
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A common problem in both the physical and biological sciences is spontaneous emergence. This
problem of spontaneous emergence always reduces down to some coherently organized form of
information that spontaneously develops and is organized with the ability to self-replicate its
form over a sequence of events. Whether we speak about a self-replicating living organism or a
physical form of organization, like a star, planet, solar system or galaxy, we're still speaking
about a coherently organized form of information with the ability to self-replicate its form.
Self-replication of form always occurs over a sequence of events in the course of time that arises
in the flow of energy. There is no possible way to discus the course of time without discussing
the flow of energy. Whatever form we consider, like a life-form, that self-replicating form is
animated over a sequence of events in the flow of energy, like the forms of information or
projected images we observe on a computer screen over a sequence of screen outputs that arise in
the flow of energy that energizes the computer.
For self-replication of form to occur, not only is the form of information coherently organized,
but the flow of energy through the form that animates the form is also coherently organized. The
problem of spontaneous emergence boils down to the problem of how bits of information are
coherently organized within the form and how energy coherently flows through the form to allow
for self-replication of form. By its nature, such coherent organization defines a bound state of
information and energy.
How does the coherent organization that underlies the spontaneous emergence of all the
coherently organized forms of information we observe in the world develop? We might say
coherent organization is inherent in the laws of physics, but this begs the question: where do the
laws of physics that govern a world come from?
The answer is everything in the world, every aspect of that world, spontaneously emerges due to
the development of coherent organization. Even the laws of physics that govern a world
spontaneously emerge as that world emerges. Even an entire world is coherently organized. Of
course, this is precisely what the holographic principle tells us about the nature of an observer
and its world, since that world is coherently defined on a holographic screen.
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The problem we have is to understand spontaneous emergence in its most general form, with
enough generality that it can explain how an entire world and the laws of physics that govern that
world can spontaneously emerge.
The solution to this problem of spontaneous emergence, as it applies not only to the emergence
of forms but also to the emergence of a world and the laws of physics that govern that world, is
the concept of symmetry. Everything that can spontaneously emerge in a world, even the laws of
physics that govern that world, even the emergence of that world itself, is an example of
spontaneous symmetry breaking. We understand symmetry breaking in the sense of a phase
transition, like the spontaneous magnetization of a magnet, or the freezing of liquid water into
ice or the melting of ice back into water.
A key concept in all examples of symmetry breaking is the idea of temperature, which is a
measure of the random thermal or kinetic energy of the microscopic elements of any
macroscopic object, like water molecules inside a piece of ice. Another example are the atoms,
electrons, and atomic nuclei inside a magnet that carry spin or orbital angular momentum and
have an intrinsic magnetic field due their electric charges and angular momenta. The
macroscopic magnet develops a macroscopic magnetic field when the microscopic magnetic
fields of the microscopic elementary constituents align together, just as liquid water freezes into
solid ice when the water molecules bind together.
This binding or aligning of the microscopic elementary constituents occurs as a phase transition
when the temperature reaches a critical level and the force of attraction between the elementary
constituents becomes greater than their kinetic tendency to randomly move around. The other
way to say this is their potential energy of attraction becomes greater than their kinetic energy of
random movement. Coherent organization spontaneously develops due to this tendency of the
elementary microscopic constituents to bind or align together when the temperature becomes low
enough, and the balance between potential and kinetic energy is tipped in favor of attractive
potential energy.
The reason spontaneous emergence can apply to the emergence of an entire world is because that
world is always defined on a holographic screen in terms of the bits of information encoded on
the screen. These bits of information are like spin variables that carry random kinetic or thermal
energy, and so they have a tendency to flip back and forth between the "up" or "down" positions,
but they also have a tendency to align together. The n bits of information defined on the
holographic screen are defined by the n eigenvalues of an nxn matrix, but since these n
eigenvalues are all entangled together, they have a tendency to align together. A nice example of
this phenomena is alignment in a spin network 10. Coherently organized forms of information can
therefore develop on the holographic screen through the same kind of symmetry breaking
mechanism that describes how a magnet becomes spontaneously magnetized. The temperature of
the holographic screen only represents the average thermal energy of each bit of information
encoded on the screen. As heat flows in a thermal gradient and the temperature is lowered, the
bits of information have a natural tendency to align together.
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Symmetry breaking thus explains how coherently organized forms of information spontaneously
emerge in a world defined on a holographic screen. The question is: where does this symmetry
come from in the first place?
The answer is symmetry is a characteristic of the expenditure of energy that creates an entire
world in the first place. We understand this original expenditure of energy as dark energy and the
exponential expansion of space. The energy expended as space expands gives rise to all the
symmetries that underlie all the various kinds of symmetry breaking. The most fundamental kind
of symmetry breaking is the creation of a cosmic horizon that surrounds an observer at the
central point of view. Since the observer's cosmic horizon acts as a holographic screen, the
observer's world is defined by this act of symmetry breaking. The original symmetries broken in
that world are symmetries of space that arise with the expenditure of dark energy and the
exponential expansion of space 2.
Not only does the observer's world spontaneously emerge as dark energy is expended, but the
laws of physics that govern that world also emerge as that world emerges. The laws of physics
are constrained by the nature of symmetry, but they can only take on their specific forms through
a process of symmetry breaking 1. All the parameters that characterize the laws of physics that
govern a world, such as particle masses and coupling constants, arise through a process of
symmetry breaking. The general form of the laws of physics, such as laws of gravity and
electromagnetism, are constrained by the symmetries of space that arise with the expenditure of
dark energy and the exponential expansion of space, but the parameters within these laws take on
their specific values through a process of symmetry breaking. Like a phase transition that freezes
water into ice or freezes the direction of the magnetic field of a magnet into a specific direction,
these specific values are "frozen" into place once the phase transition is finished.
There is an important aspect of symmetry breaking that is usually not discussed. Whatever
symmetry is broken, that symmetry can be broken in many different ways. For example, with the
spontaneous magnetization of a magnetic, the magnet's macroscopic magnetic field can point in
many different directions. In much the same way, the parameters that characterize the laws of
physics, the particle masses and the coupling constants, can take on many different values 1.
How are the values of these parameters in the laws of physics that govern a world chosen? Who
chooses them? Who chooses the original symmetries of space that are inherent in a world and
that are broken as that world emerges?
This problem of choosing how the symmetries of space are broken as a world emerges, not to
mention the problem of how all the symmetries of space emerge in the first place, is not a
problem that physicists want to address, and so they assume a process of random choice, but then
are left with the difficult problem of explaining how all the parameters in the laws of physics
become fine-tuned enough to allow life-forms to develop. As is well known 1, if the charge of the
electron changes by a few percent, or if certain nuclear decay rates change by a few percent, the
universe would not be a hospitable place for life-forms to develop, but this is the inevitable result
of a random process of choice. To get around this problem, physicists 2 have had to resort to such
absurdities as multiple universes. If there are an infinite number of universes, then random
choice will allow the parameters in the laws of physics to become fine-tuned enough in some of
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them to allow life-forms to develop. Unfortunately, an infinite number of universes results in the
absurdity of the measure problem 2, where both anything and nothing can be explained.
There is a natural way to explain how all the parameters in the laws of physics that govern the
world are chosen in a fine-tuned enough way that allows for the development of life-forms. The
solution is biased choice. Biased choice is the natural consequence of the holographic principle
and the one-world-per-observer paradigm.
Every observer's world is defined on a holographic screen that surrounds the observer at the
central point of view. We understand the observer as a focal point of consciousness that arises in
relation to the screen and to which the images of all distinct things in that world, all the
coherently organized forms of information that are defined on the screen, are projected over a
sequence of screen outputs.
Since the observer is a focal point of consciousness that arises in relation to a holographic screen
defining everything in its world, it is natural the observer can focus its attention on different
things in that world. This ability to shift the focus of its attention onto different things in its
world naturally explains how the observer expresses its inherent bias as it chooses to observe
different things in its world.
In this sense, everything in the observer's world spontaneously emerges as the observer expresses
its natural bias by shifting the focus of its attention onto different things in its world. The
observer is naturally biased to feel connected to its world, and feelings of connection naturally
arise as the flow of energy through all the things in its world come into alignment. These feelings
of connection are the nature of the coherently organized flow of energy through the various
things in that world that allows for self-replication of form, animates those things, and relates
one thing to another thing. In the sense of the expression of emotions that animate the form of a
body, the observer is naturally biased to feel connected to things in its world as the desires of that
body become satisfied.
This inherent bias of the observer to feel connected to its world explains how coherent
organization develops and how everything in the observer's world spontaneously emerges. It
even explains how the observer's world emerges in the first place, and how the laws of physics
that govern that world emerge. The observer's world and the laws of physics emerge in such a
way as to make the expression of life in that world possible, so that the expressed desires of
those life-forms can become satisfied.
What about the consensual reality shared by many observers? Many different observers can
share a consensual reality to the extent their holographic screens overlap and share information.
To a limited degree, each observer makes biased choices in its own world as it focuses its
attention on that world, but the biased choices of all the different observers that share the
consensual reality together give rise to all the coherently organized forms of information that
develop in that consensual reality. Even the laws of physics that govern that consensual reality
are chosen in a collective way. In other words, that shared consensual reality is the reality that all
the different observers have chosen together.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| January 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 1 | pp. 22-41
Kowall, J., The Nature of Reality in a Nutshell (Part I)
The holographic principle and the one-world-per-observer paradigm tell us that as an observer
expends energy and follows an accelerated world-line through the space-time geometry projected
from its own holographic screen, the observer makes observations of things in that bounded
space. Each observation of things by the observer is like a screen output from the observer’s
screen to the observer's central point of view. With any screen output, the observable images of
things are projected from the screen to the observer’s central point of view, and those projected
images are animated over a sequence of events. Each event on the observer’s world-line is
another screen output. These events arise in the flow of energy that characterizes the observer’s
accelerated frame of reference.
To be clear about things, energy and information are the same thing. Information is what energy
looks like when observed at an instant of time. Each coherently organized form of information is
composed of bits of information, and those forms of information are animated over a sequence of
events. Energy is what a form of information looks like when that form is animated in the course
of time. Information is a static concept while energy is a dynamic concept.
The equivalence of energy and information has a deep connection in quantum theory and in the
way quantum theory is unified with relativity theory. When we speak of bits of information
encoded on a holographic screen, we’re speaking about the quantized bits of information that
define everything in an observer’s world 1. The observer’s holographic screen is characterized by
a quantum state of potentiality describing all possible ways bits of information can become
encoded on the screen. This quantum state of potentiality defines everything the observer can
possibly observe in its world. We can think of this quantum state of potentiality as a sum over all
possible configuration states of information, where a configuration state specifies a specific
configuration in the way bits of information are encoded on the screen. A screen output must
chose a specific configuration state from the quantum state when the observation of anything is
observed. In quantum theory, this observational choice is called a quantum state reduction.
Quantum theory tells us that the observation of any observable thing by an observer implies an
observer-observation-observable relationship, while each observation implies a choice as the
quantum state of potentiality is reduced to an actual configuration state of information. In this
sense, each screen output is a choice.
There is something very odd about quantum theory that is usually not discussed. Every quantum
state reduction is a choice, which occurs at a decision point on the observer's world-line. At
every decision point, the observer has a choice to make about what to observe in its world and
which path to follow. Physicists have arbitrarily assumed that all choices are made randomly, in
an unbiased way, but this assumption is only made since physicists want the laws of physics to
have predictability. If choices are made in a biased way, then the laws of physics lose their
predictability, and all bets are off, so to speak.
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com |
A Machine Consciousness architecture based on
Deep Learning and Gaussian Processes
Eduardo C. Garrido Merchán1 and Martin Molina2
1
arXiv:2002.00509v2 [cs.AI] 14 Mar 2020
2
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain eduardo.garrido@uam.es
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain martin.molina@upm.es
Abstract. Recent developments in machine learning have pushed the
tasks that machines can do outside the boundaries of what was thought to
be possible years ago. Methodologies such as deep learning or generative
models have achieved complex tasks such as generating art pictures or
literature automatically. Machine Consciousness is a field that has been
deeply studied and several theories based in the functionalism philosophical theory like the global workspace theory have been proposed. In this
work, we propose an architecture that may arise consciousness in a machine based in the global workspace theory and in the assumption that
consciousness appear in machines that have cognitive processes and exhibit conscious behaviour. This architecture is based in processes that
use the recent Deep Learning and generative process models. For every module of this architecture, we provide detailed explanations of the
models involved and how they communicate with each other to create
the cognitive architecture. We illustrate how we can optimize the architecture to generate social interactions between robots and genuine pieces
of art, both features correlated with machine consciousness. As far as we
know, this is the first machine consciousness architecture that use generative models and deep learning to exhibit conscious social behaviour
and to retrieve pictures and other subjective content made by robots.
Keywords: Machine Consciousness · Machine Learning · Deep Learning
· Gaussian Processes · Artificial Intelligence
1
Introduction
Several reviews have been written about machine consciousness [24] [50] [25]
that try to sum up all the ideas that literature has proposed about the potential
arisal of consciousness in machines [14]. These ideas come from different areas
such as artificial intelligence [13], neuroscience [46] or philosophy [53]. Although
consciousness can not be measured directly, there exist approaches that have
provided potential measures of consciousness in machines [4] [49].
Although the field generates controversy [16] as it lies in the margin of the
scientific method, it has recently attracted the attention of relevant researchers
of computer science such as Yoshua Bengio, who has provided an approach for
how machine consciousness may arise with deep learning [10]. As deep learning
2
Eduardo C. Garrido Merchán and Martin Molina
[40] has generated machines that implement attention mechanisms [32], a new
focus have emerged with the field of machine consciousness based in the astonishing hypothesis [16] that our intelligence and consciousness may arise from
very simple principles.
Computational approaches for machine consciousness are based in the functionalism theory of consciousness [50]. This theory claims that while mental
states correspond to brain states, they are mental states due to their functionality, not due to their physical composition. Hence, consciousness may appear
in machines that implement behaviors observed in humans that are correlated
with consciousness.
Throughout the recent years, there has been amazing advances in the artificial intelligence and machine learning community [45] that does not only include deep learning models. In the machine consciousness literature, it has been
hypothesized that consciousness, or phenomenal states [41], may arise from machines that are able to perform tasks that humans are able to do when they are
conscious [17] [25]. This is based in the hypothesis that if humans are conscious
when producing complex behaviours, then, machines may be conscious when
they produce them too [23].
We know, and have measured, that humans are conscious when performing
these behaviours thanks to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and
related techniques [34] [36]. These behaviours can include imagination [59], emotions [55], language communication and social relations [54] or awareness of the
environment [37].
Machine learning recent models are able to generate art [21] that deviate
from what they are fed to learn, are able to learn how to learn [60], learn from
a few examples [56] and are able to transfer knowledge from a different task to
behave better in a new one [35]. The applications of these abilities include natural
language generation [20], understanding emotions [11] or generating videos [65].
We believe that if the philosophical theory that consciousness arises as a flux
of information in any machine [52] is true, if we create a cognitive architecture
[12] that is able to produce as many behaviours as possible that are correlated
with consciousness in humans, then, the machine may as well arise, up to some
extent, consciousness or phenomenal states.
We attempt to provide a bridge between the machine learning and the machine consciousness communities by providing the design of a cognitive architecture with machine consciousness behaviours through machine learning models.
Several architectures have been proposed before [18] but none of them include
both deep learning, generative processes and gaussian processes to generate interior cognitive processes and exterior behaviour and content. Section 2 will
discuss related work. Then, in Section 3, we provide a detailed explanation of
the modules of our architecture. Section 4 then provides the architecture that
unifies these modules. We conclude our work with a section of conclusions and
further work.
Machine Consciousness based on Deep Learning and Gaussian Processes
2
3
Related Work
Due to different theories explaining the origin of consciousness, several approaches have been proposed to tackle this problem. We first discuss the different
processes involving machine consciousness [24] and then, the different approaches
that have tackled machine consciousness [50].
Machine consciousness processes involve mainly four categories ordered from
1 to 4 in function of how close to generating real awareness they are [25].
Level 1 includes machines that implements external behaviour associated
with consciousness. Some of the described behaviours in the introduction section
like social interactions implemented in machines would be level 1 and the field
of artificial general intelligence [30] lies in this level. Several authors [33] [43]
argue that machines implementing these behaviours may produce consciousness,
but there is controversy. Machines that implement cognitive characteristics like
imagination [3], attention, emotion, depiction and planning are level 2 machines.
When an architecture involving all these process exists, we are talking about level
3 machines, that is, machines with an architecture that is claimed to be a cause
or correlate of human consciousness. Lastly, phenomenally conscious machines
are level 4 machines based in the hypothesis that several level 2-3 design could
emerge phenomenal states [2].
Several approaches have tackled the previous categories of machine consciousness. A classification of them all [50] includes five categories: First one are methods based in the global workspace theory [5]. According to this theory, consciousness emerges from a system, like the brain, with a collection of distributed
specialized networks with a fleeting memory capacity whose focal contents are
widely distributed to many unconscious specialized networks, called contexts.
These contexts work together to jointly constrain conscious events and to shape
conscious contents [6]. These theory has support of the neuroscience community
[7] and the computer science community [10]. We are also inspired by this theory to provide a cognitive architecture [12] with machine learning techniques.
Other categories include methods that suggest that consciousness emerges from
a certain amount of information processing and integration [9], from creating
an internal self-model [47], from generating higher-level representations [1] and
from attention mechanisms [38].
Machine consciousness has risen as a research topic for the deep learning
literature [10], where the interest resides in learning representations of high-level
concepts of the kind humans manipulate with language. We suggest that machine
learning and related techniques [8] are able to work as a global workspace, process
a high amount of information, can generate internal self-models and higher level
representations and have attention mechanisms. Hence, machine learning and
generative processes should be explored in this field.
3
Machine Consciousness Correlated Processes
We now provide the module design that implement cognitive processes and exhibit external behaviour that is correlated with consciousness [25]. In the se-
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Eduardo C. Garrido Merchán and Martin Molina
lection of the cognitive processes to be simulated, we consider behaviors that
can make an autonomous agent evolve to adapt to an unknown environment
through observation and social interaction. These behaviours are also affected
by processes that establish emotional connections between observed and imagined content (e.g., images generated by simulated dreams, emotion simulation,
depiction of the environment) and that can be supported by novel techniques
such as deep learning and generative methods.
3.1
Simulating dreams
In order to simulate dreams, we first have to record photos Pi when being
awake and store them in a semantic network [58]. Then, dreams will use that
information P : Pi ∈ P to generate a sequence of images Di ∈ D. We define a
dream as a function d that converts a subset of a sequence of images P ∈ P and
a subset of a sequence of style images S ∈ S in a new set of images D, that is
D = d(P, S). In order to generate this procedure, we propose two processes for
this simulator:
First, we classify images P into a semantic network R. We assume that a
previous categorized semantic network R exists and that a robot has already
learned to classify images P into that network R. An implementation of this
process can have ImageNet [19] as semantic network. ImageNet is a resource
with more than 14.000.000 images D(X) and more than 21.000 categories y.
ImageNet uses the hierarchy of WordNet [22] to classify photos, having each
category yi a semantic meaning and being organized as a graph G = V, E that
can be traversed, where v ∈ V is the node representing category yi . Convolutional
neural networks [39] or advanced neural models as Efficient Net L2 [64] or ResNet
[63] neural models can classify photos into ImageNet. Let N N be the neural
model that implements the robot, the robot will classify each input image P to
category yi , inserting it in the graph G through the N N trained on the ImageNet
dataset D(X, y), that is: yi = N N (P |D(X, y)).
To feed images in the neural model N N to be classified in the graph G,
we need a robot with an integrated camara to take the photos P and define a
period of being awake Ta and asleep Ts . These parameters can be configured
differently for every robot. We suggest to save additional images S that will
represent different styles seen like for example dark places or broad landscapes
in a different semantic network Rs .
Second, we need to define the dreaming state given by time Ts . We suggest
to use a random walk [51] like the one performed in the Metropolis Hastings
algorithm [15] to simulate movement into the semantic networks of images R
and styles Rs that are related by semantic distance ds (yi , yj ) in their graphs
G, Gs given by the number of edges that connect each category. At each step, we
select two images Pi , Psi and invoke Deep Style neural networks [44] to generate
a new image with the selected photo and an style applied Di = DSnn (Pi , Pis ).
Models such as a Generative Adversarial Network [48] can be used. The robot
will then attend the photo and save it. We can observe examples of generated
photos using the Deep Dream Generator by this procedure in Figure 1.
Machine Consciousness based on Deep Learning and Gaussian Processes
5
Fig. 1. Generated photos representing dreams by the Deep Dream Generator models
(http://deepdreamgenerator.com/)
s
Initial categories yinit , yinit
are chosen randomly. To select the new categories, we perform a random walk in the graph G and Gs given by some uniform
distribution with a lower ll and upper ul limit, whose sampled value we will call
step size ω. If we set those parameters to a high number, dreams will contain
different concepts and viceversa. We repeat the mentioned process by performing an iteration of the random walk. We store each generated image Di . The
sequence of recreated images D recreates the dream. After dreaming, the robot
will be awake, iterating both processes.
3.2
Depiction. Being aware of the environment
We suggest to implement a robot that moves autonomously in a given environment E. For the sake of simplicity we are going to assume that E is 2-dimensional
E ∈ R2 . This robot will remember the images D that has previously dreamed as
described in the previous module. The robot, when awake, will try to return to
the location or neighbourhood N ∈ E where the images that has dreamed are
located.
We will generate a 2-dimensional function of location importance with a sample from a Gaussian Process [62] flr ∼ GP(0, k(x, x0 )) ∈ R2 over the environment
E , discretized by a grid, for each robot r with interesting places to visit. We
can observe examples of such functions at Figure 2 The resolution of the grid
rg can set the size of the environment E. Gaussian Processes models are flexible
priors or distributions over functions where inference takes place directly in the
functional space F. This functional space contains every possible environment
will
interest toenvironment
take photos by
from
that contain
can be high-valued
created E ∈locations
F. Theofgenerated
theand
GPviceversa.
f l ∈ R2
When the robot reaches these places, it will take photos of the environment and
save them for the dream module. Once visited, these places will be penalized by
a local penalization procedure [31]. These kind of procedures get a neighbourhood N ∈ fl centered in the place of interest r ∈ N and penalizes this zone by,
for example, a multivariate gaussian distribution fl (N ) = fl (N ) − M V G(r, I).
The robot will end navigation when it is exhausted after its time awake Ta .
We can simulate fatigue through a non deterministic function p(r, t) ∈ [0, 1] of
time since it has last slept. Each time that the robot takes a photo, fatigue will
be incremented or decremented depending on the reward given by the photo.
6
Eduardo C. Garrido Merchán and Martin Molina
Fig. 2. Sampled functions from a 2-dimensional GP representing the importance value
of each location of the environment for the robots.
We can assign a threshold φ ∈ [0, 1] for fatigue. When the robot is awake the
threshold takes value 0 and it is incremented as a function of time or by when
taking a photo. The robot will fall asleep after the maximum time awake or if the
non deterministic function samples a value higher than the threshold p(r, t) > φ.
The action of taking or not the photo tp in each place g of the grid will be non
deterministic and dependant on the value of fl , that is tp (fl , g). The robot can
take a photo my sampling tp periodically after an amount of steps s in fl Specific
parametric functions can be configured for each robot.
The Gaussian process sample fl will be contaminated by i.i.d. gaussian noise
∼ N (0, σgj ) in each position of the grid g and dimension j in the period
of being awake to favour exploration. Higher values of σ will enforce exploration. The robot will navigate through the environment with a metaheuristic
[61] (exploration-exploitation) or by the gradients of the Gaussian process [57]
(exploitation). Random rewards will be put in the scenario.
3.3
Emotion simulation
In this section, we define a process that models emotions through objective
functions e(t) ∈ [0, 1] of time. The main reason why we implement emotions in
these robots is because they are going to influence the Gaussian Process prior
fl of the environment E. If the robots feels confident and happy eh (t) ≈ 1,
unknown near areas of E to the position of the robot g will be rewarded to
be explored. If R is a neighbourhood of fl containing a reward, we can reward
its value by sampling from a multivariate gaussian distribution centered in the
reward fl (R) = fl (R) − M V G(r, I). By doing this process, the robot will enter a
positive cycle and take photos of interesting places. By performing this action, we
increment eh (t) by a uniform distribution which limits [l, u] can be parametrized.
If, in contrast, the robot feels sad and fear eh (t) ≈ 0, movement across the grid
will be penalized by incrementing fatigue and decrementing the step size ω of
the random walk, entering a negative loop.
These cognitive processes will exhibit external behaviour that will show if
a robot is happy or sad by its activity on the grid. We provide an exit of the
Machine Consciousness based on Deep Learning and Gaussian Processes
7
cycles by images of dreams D. Dreams can also influence emotions e(t) and
make the robot behave differently. If an image resembles a visited area that
had got high value of fl , happiness will be incremented by a parametrizable
amount e(t) = e(t − 1) + δ ∼ U [l, u], where t represents time. If images of places
with low value of fl are displayed, the opposite operation will be performed
e(t) = e(t − 1) − δ ∼ U [l, u]. Happiness could also affect the fatigue function, by
alleviating it if the robot is happy or increasing it in the other case.
Other emotions that may be optimized are curiosity and boredom ec (t) ∈
[0, 1], that would affect the Gaussian Process sampled function fl by penalizing
already saw places by an M V G(0, I) and rewarding unknown places also by
an M V G(0, I). A last example can be friendship and solitude ef (t), based in
relations with other robots that are going to be described further or courage
and fear ec (t) that will condition the movements across the environment by
incrementing the step size ω of the random walk. The described fatigue function
can also be seen as an emotion. Particular parametric forms of the functions are
open for the robot developer to be implemented.
3.4
Social relationships with other robots
If we want to simulate emotions e(t) like the ones felt with humans to show
behaviour correlated with consciousness, we need to model these emotions to be
not only a function of the environment interaction fl but also of relationships
with other robots. For this reason, we consider that an essential component for
the cognitive processes of the robots must be the interaction with other robots
to share experiences, in the form of photos P in this setting, and influence the
emotions e(t).
Emotions like friendship or solitude es (t) are dependant on social interactions. We define here a social interaction α(βx , βy ) as the change of a photo Px
of a robot βx with a photo Py of a robot βy when both robots share the same
location g in the environment E.
Each robot βi has a different function sampled from the GP prior fli ∼
GP(0, k(x, x0 )) ∈ R2 of the environment E. As each photo Pi related to a position
of the grid gi , it will have, for every robot βi a different value fli (gi ), conditioning
the rest of the emotions. If the photo refers to a location that the robot likes
according to its prior fli , emotions will make the robot more active. Although,
if this is not the case, the robot may enter a negative cycle.
By interacting with each other, robots β will share images P or dreamed
images D of the environment E that will modify their Gaussian Process sampled
function fli and the other emotions of the robot. Specific parametric forms are
again free for the programmer of the robot to be set.
4
An Unified Architecture for the Models
In the previous section, we have described how can we implement behaviours
correlated with consciousness in machines. All the described processes can be
8
Eduardo C. Garrido Merchán and Martin Molina
implemented in a certain amount of robots β with an environment E that they
can traverse and get photos P from. In this section, we provide a diagram with all
the modules described to illustrate how the information flows in our architecture.
Besides the processes described in the previous section and in order to be
more general, the proposed architecture uses multimodal information (e.g., ambient music and texts in form of recipes, besides images). These processes would
generate subjective creations, which can be correlated with their communication
to processes generated in conscious states, such as recipe suggestions [26] where
in each position modelled by the GP the robot would find, with a probability
sampled from a random variable, a suggestion of a recipe and generate in base of
the recipe a degree of tastiness. Another alternative is to include ambient music
simulations [42], where in each position in the input space we would have an
ambient noise sample, also with a probability distribution given by the sampling
of a random variable, and the robot would have a ambient music simulator, that
uses these samples to generate music, simulating imagination and conditioning
the emotion simulator.
All these processes generate the architecture that we can see in Figure 3.
We can observe how robots share images and other information showing so-
Fig. 3. Architecture of the proposed robots with behaviours correlated with consciousness. External processes that interact with the environment involve the depiction engine
and the interface that collects data. Internal processes involve the dream, music and
recipe generators and the emotion simulator, that condition the external behaviour.
The hyperparameters of the robots models can be jointly optimized by a metaheuristic.
cial behaviour. These interactions affect their emotions and incur in a different movement across the environment, reflecting emotions, commonly correlated
with consciousness. Cognitive interior processes include dreaming images that
are function of the perceived images and simulating music and cooking recipes,
affecting emotions. These behaviours could, according to the cited theories, be
a correlation of consciousness in robots.
Machine Consciousness based on Deep Learning and Gaussian Processes
9
Lastly, we propose the optimization of the different parametric forms e(t) of
the emotion engine and the parameters of the deep neural network for the dream
simulation and the gaussian process for the environment in several simulations
of the robots with a metaheuristic such as a genetic algorithm with the fitness
being a function of the maximum number of interactions possible of the robots
constrained to the maximum movement of the robots. By performing this optimization, we would end up having the optimum configuration for the robots to
exhibit social behaviour, typically correlated with consciousness.
If the hyperparameters of the models are correctly optimized in future experiments, the outputs of these robots are hypothesized to be beautiful pieces
of art in the form of pictures, music songs and cooking recipes, as all the environment can be seen as a reinforcement learning optimization technique to create subjective content and social interactions with conscious behaviours. Other
architectures for machine consciousness just focus in cognitive processes and
implementation of cited machine consciousness theories.
5
Conclusions and further work
We have described an architecture of processes that, if implemented in robots, exhibit external behaviour in the form of genuine art content and social behaviour.
According to machine consciousness theory [25], both characteristics could be
correlated with machine consciousness in robots [24]. A significant novelty of
this approach is the use of generative models based on the latest techniques of
machine learning and deep learning to simulate processes such as imagination
or depiction, where gaussian processes are flexible models that create functional
spaces that contains lots of different environments.
The presented architecture is a theoretical proposal that should be validated
with practical tests. For this reason, we plan to implement all the processes in
robots to get empirical evidence about the behaviour associated with consciousness and execute machine consciousness tests with natural language processing
modules to verify if the robots are able to pass them. Further work will also
include optimizing the emotions by some mechanism such as constrained Multiobjective Bayesian Optimization [27] in order to create a global and dynamical
policy for the behaviour of the robots and including a weighted causal graph
[29] as knowledge base to generate more complex social relationships where even
fake information could be shared or detected [28].
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the use of the facilities of Centro de Computación
Cientı́fica (CCC) at UAM and acknowledge financial support from Spanish Plan
Nacional I+D+i, grants TIN2016-76406-P and TEC2016-81900-REDT.
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Eduardo C. Garrido Merchán and Martin Molina
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Juden-Kelly, L. M., Dotta, B. T., Vares, D. A. E. & Persinger, M. A., Demonstration of Excess Correlation in Non-Local Random
Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
Article
Demonstration of Excess Correlation in Non-Local Random
Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular
Velocity Magnetic Fields
Lyndon M. Juden-Kelly1,2, Blake T. Dotta1,3, David A. E. Vares1,2
& Michael A. Persinger1,2,3*
Neuroscience Research Group1, Human Studies2 and Biomolecular Sciences3 Programs,
Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3E 2C6
ABSTRACT
To test if temporally-coupled diametric shifts in parity could be demonstrated for non-local
distances between “random” events generated by electron tunnelling-based circuits, two REG
(Random Event Generators) were each exposed within a circular array of solenoids separated by
10 m. Each circular array generated a patterned rotating magnetic field that has previously
produced transient excess correlation and entanglement in photon reactions and alterations in pH
in spring water. During a 30 min interval the REGs were exposed first to an accelerating group
velocity embedded with a diminishing frequency/phase-modulated field (the primer) followed by
a decelerating group velocity embedded with an increasing frequency/phase-modulated magnetic
field (the effector). Only after exposures for about 4 min to the second (effector) condition that is
known to manifest the effects of entanglement did the random numbers deviate significantly and
by more than one standard deviation in an opposite direction to each other. The estimated
increments of energy were between 10-21 and 10-20 J which is within the range of the energy
derived from the universe’s total force per Planck’s voxel distributed over the distance of the
hydrogen wavelength. These results indicate that excess correlation can be generated within
“random”, quantum electronic processes whose spatial domains are similar to neuronal synapses
at the macro-level by appropriate applications of weak, microTesla level, magnetic fields.
Keywords: Entanglement, random event generators, circular rotating magnetic fields, excess
correlations.
1. Introduction
Entanglement, frequently studied since the term was first introduced by Erwin
Schrodinger (Aczel, 2002), is still considered a mystery with respect to mechanism and
explanation. Traditionally excess correlation between two particles representative of
entanglement has been restricted to photons or to clusters of photons (Vaziri et al, 2002).
Considering the intricate relationship between photons as quanta of energy and shifts in electron
*Corresponding author: Dr. M. A. Persinger, mpersinger@laurentian.ca
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Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
shells, one would expect that phenomena that involve the movement of electrons across specific
geometries, such as p-n junctions, might also exhibit this capacity.
Many REGs (Random Event Generators) employ these mechanisms in order to discern if
proximal stimuli can affect “random distributions” of 0, 1 outcomes. If the electron tunnelling
processes associated with REG operations that produce 0, 1 series of numbers are similar to that
of parity in paired, entangled photons, then there should be an elementary test of this
manifestation of excess correlation. If the two (REG) systems are “entangled” then a deviation
in one direction of “randomicity” exhibited by one REG should occur co-temporally with a
deviation in the other direction of randomicity in the coupled second REG. He we present
experimental evidence for this effect.
The operational essence of entanglement that leads to excess correlations is that two loci
share specific physical parameters in space-time. The two loci then respond as if they occupy the
identical space-time field. One interpretation is that superposition has resulted in a virtual
juxtaposition and transposition of the two loci’s axes. The concept is an extension of Mach’s
principle which suggested that all particles in the universe are relatable by their (angular)
momentum or their moments of inertia. As a result every particle in the universe is affected by
all other particles in the universe. The movement of an electromagnetic field around a circle is a
special condition because of the angular velocity and its implicit constant “acceleration”.
When a packet of particles are moving through space time there are two components. The
first is the group velocity; the second is the phase velocity of the particles within the group. If
the two are equal then there are no interference or bifringence patterns. Tu et al (2005) has
strongly suggested that if these packets of particles are photons and there is a discrepancy
between the group and phase velocity then a non-zero mass emerges for the photons. One of the
consequences is the emergence of a third direction of the photon. The other directly applicable
consequence is that the product of the upper limit of the rest mass of a photon (~2·10 -52 kg), the
entanglement velocity (Persinger and Koren, 2013) of 2.8·1023 m·s-1, and the velocity of light in
a vacuum (3·108 m·s-1) is ~1.7·10-20 J.
The 10-20 J is a value that emerges when the total force within the universe is divided by
the sum of Planck’s voxels that comprise its volume and the force is then applied across the
wavelength of the neutral hydrogen line (Persinger, 2015). This is the quantum associated with a
single action potential of an axon as well as the energy from the force between potassium ions
that contribute to the resting membrane potential of the plasma cell membrane. It is also within
the range of the increment of energy known to be associated at the fundamental level with the
electron tunnelling within the type of p-n junctions within the REGs. The convergences would be
consistent with the conditions required for phenomena that exhibit properties of entanglement.
Dotta and Persinger (2012) applied this concept to an experimental setting whereby
pulsing magnetic fields generated through optocoupler systems to circular arrays of 8 pairs of
solenoids were uncoupled with respect to phase and group velocity. The group velocity which
was the changing angular velocity as the magnetic field rotated around the circular arrays of
solenoids and the phase velocity, defined as the shifting frequency and phase modulation of the
complex pattern that composed the magnetic field, differed. When two bioluminescent reactions
were placed in the center of each of the two circular arrays separated by 10 m a doubling of
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Juden-Kelly, L. M., Dotta, B. T., Vares, D. A. E. & Persinger, M. A., Demonstration of Excess Correlation in Non-Local Random
Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
photon emission (as if the two loci had been superimposed) occurred if they were first exposed to
an accelerating group velocity embedded with a decreasing phase velocity and then to a
decreasing group velocity embedded with an increasing phase velocity. These were called the
primer and effector fields, respectively. Reversal of the presentations of the sequence, coupled
phase-group velocity fields, or no changing angular velocity, did not produce the “doubling” of
photons.
The effect was also observed in spring water within which diametrically opposite shifts
occurred in pH within the two distant spaces surrounded by the rings of solenoids. In a series of
24 experiments; inverse shifts in pH were noted in two quantities of spring water separated by 10
meters that shared rotating magnetic fields with changing angular velocities when one solution
was injected with proton donors (weak acetic acid). It was also found that the associated fixed
amount of energy of 10-20 J 10-21 J per molecule from the coordinated fields in the two loci was
related to the change in numbers of H+ within these volumes and predicted the time required to
produce the maximum shift in pH (Dotta et al., 2013).
Excess correlation is not exclusive to pH shifts in water but also applies to electron spins
and gases (Ahn et al., 2000; Fickler et al., 2012; Hoffman et al., 2012; Julsaarg et al., 2001).
Excess correlation has been found up to 300 km between pairs of brains that shared circularly
rotating magnetic fields from a different technology where the fields were generated through
cerebral toroids driven by Ardueno circuits maintained by laptop computers. Discrete changes in
QEEG (quantitative electroencephalographic) power within the cerebral space of a non-local
subject was experimentally demonstrated when the pair were exposed to specific configurations
of circular magnetic fields with changing angular velocities that dissociated the phase and group
components. These non-local discrete changes in power occurred when the local participant was
exposed to sound pulses but not light flash frequencies (Burke et al., 2013).
The signal to noise ratio and inferences of manifestation within excess correlations with
regard to human cerebrums seems to be heightened when the pairs of individuals have had
proximal space-time relations from previous relations. When ‘pairs’ of individuals were
separated by 75 m, ~50% of the variance of the “simultaneous” electroencephalographic power
was shared between the pairs of brains. Positive correlations were found within the alpha and
gamma bands within the temporal and frontal lobes. However the alpha and theta bands were
found to be negatively correlated for pairs of people who had a protracted history of interaction
(Dotta et al., 2009). This would be consistent with a more macro-entanglement of the frequent
observation that if the parity of one entangled photon is changed the other changes in the
opposite direction.
2. Theory and Presumed Operation of the RNG
The RNG (Random Number Generator) or REG (Random Event Generator) device was
purchased from Psyleron Inc. (hardware ID: RGZD750) and is designed to generate random
numbers based on quantum principles. As described Psyleron’s technicians and by Vares and
Persinger (2013), two environmentally shielded, Fairchild NPN Epitaxial 0.048mg Silicon
Transistors (BCX70K), under a reversed biased current employed heavily doped electrons to
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Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
quantum tunnel across a classical channel barrier. The authors assume the proprietary distance of
the gap junction barrier is of the order of the industry about 1 μm with a functional width of
similar magnitude. Following the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the probability of an
electron randomly occurring on the opposite side of the gap junction channel barrier, translates
into a varying voltage level.
The varying voltage (white noise) generated by quantum tunnelling electrons is sampled
from a reverse-biased ‘Field Effect Transistor’ (FET). The unpredictably ‘high’ and ‘low’
voltages are due to more or less electrons tunnelling across the barrier (gap junction), with a
spectrum +/- 1dB, from 50Hz to 20kHz. A 1 kHz cut-off attenuates frequencies, followed by
filtering, transistor signal amplification and clipping to produce a rectangular wave. Gated
sampling at an approximate constant 1-kHz rate yields a regularly spaced sequence of random
bits. To eliminate environmental biases, the two streams from both chips undergo Boolean
Exclusive-OR logic gate operation procedures, whereby: [(1 XOR 1 = 0), (1 XOR 0 = 1), (0
XOR 1 = 1), and (0 XOR 0 = 0)] respectively. Further, the entire circuit is shielded by an outer
aluminum enclosure, as well as with an inner perm alloy mu-metal which isolates both electrical
and magnetic effects from inside and outside the REG device. In short, the Psyleron REG is a
professional, non-classical coin flipper with data accessed by computer via USB port.
Leo Esaki (1958) noted that the current in the reverse diode might only be carried by
internal field emission. The barrier breakdown occurs at less than the threshold voltage for
electron-hole pair production, and so an avalanche should be excluded. Due to the extensive
shielding and calibration testing of the Psyleron REG-1 device, classical physical interactions
can be ruled out as the source of deviation from statistical randomness. The velocity of an
incident tunnelling electron wave packet becomes infinite inside a zero-time space barrier. With
wave number k imaginary, the duration of time for the incident electron wave packet to
tunnelling across the potential barrier approaches zero. We have assumed, based upon the
diffusivity velocity calculated by Persinger and Koren (2013), that the value is very fast but nonzero. If the manifestation of entanglement velocity is 2.8·1023 m·s-1, the time required to traverse
p-n junction of ~1 μm would be 0.3·10-29 s. This tunnelling phase change is a special solution of
the Schrodinger wave function:
(1)
where; particle momentum
, AI and BI are Eigen functions of the momentum
operators for the incident and reflected propagations of the particle in each region. During
tunnelling in the barrier region (II), the corresponding wave function solution
undergoes
absorption. Although the energy of the instantaneously tunnelled electron remains consistent,
the probability amplitude is no longer the simple addition of oscillating functions, but
combinations of exponential ones (Hartman, 1962). There exists the quantum wave function
state possibility of a transition of electrons from the valence band, into quantum states of like
energy in the conduction band. Quantum tunnelling is therefore known as the finite probability,
as determined by the ratio of coefficients of the special Schrodinger equation, of finding
instantaneous particles at the instantaneous inflection points between discrete regions.
The phase change solutions to the special Schrodinger equations violate Einstein
causality for signal transmissions through a vacuum. For: (W2 = c2p2) where: W = (energy), and
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Juden-Kelly, L. M., Dotta, B. T., Vares, D. A. E. & Persinger, M. A., Demonstration of Excess Correlation in Non-Local Random
Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
p = (momentum), the instantaneous tunnelling electron is faster than the speed of light. However
when the entanglement velocity is assumed and the traversal time is 0.3·10-29 s, the equivalent
frequency is 3.3·1029 Hz and hence the energy of the wave packet would be the multiplication by
Planck’s constant (6.626·10-34 J·s) or ~22·10-5 J. When divided by the rest mass (9.1·10-31 kg) of
1010 electrons (9.1·10-21 kg), the estimated numbers involved with the expected density of silicon
molecules on each surface between the barriers, the remaining value is 2.4·1016 m2·s-2 or 1.6·108
m·s-1. This is very convergent with the velocity of light. Hence if the tunnelling duration is
assumed to be a non-zero value which is the entanglement velocity the resulting energy values
for a specific aggregate of electron masses moving coherently resolves as the velocity of light in
that domain. This functional equivalence between the photonic property and the aggregate of
electrons that displays one wave function for the whole system (Ψ) and not separate waves for
each particle also suggests that the electron tunnelling process might be entangled
experimentally.
Considering the fluctuations are quantum in nature, literature investigation revealed a
laboratory device that measures quantum vacuum fluctuations (Symul et. al., 2011). A laser is
split, and two homodyne photodetectors measure the difference. Electronic noise was filtered to
reveal inherent vacuum fluctuation measures which were then sourced to create quantum random
numbers. Modern measuring techniques use a charge coupled device (CCD) to measure vacuum
fluctuations, a review of their structure, and that semiconductors are light sensitive, indicate a
similar p-n junction as the RNG device. The baseline means per second for one of these devices
that operated continually for one month was 99.9945. The standard deviation was 0.1228 and the
minimum and maximum was 99.6606 to 100.3397.
3. Methods
A total of 9 trials were complete over a 25 day period. The experimental procedure
involved two Random Event Generators (REG’s) and two custom-constructed “Octopus” devices
(Dotta and Persinger, 2012) each composed of circular arrays of 8 pairs of solenoids and located
in two remote locations within the Consciousness lab at Laurentian University. The first location,
designated as “local” was an industrial acoustic chamber. The second location was another room
approximately 10 m away. The designation for this experiment was arbitrary because there was
no stimulation or experimental manipulation in one locus to discern the inverse response in the
other locus. We assumed the opposing polarity would occur “spontaneously” due to the nature of
entanglement. The object of the experiment was to discern the fluctuation in putatively “random”
processes from the level of quantum operations across p-n junction tunnelling and to measure the
change when the consequences of entanglement had occurred. The REG devices were placed in
the center of the array solenoids as shown in Figure 1.
The Experimental REG ‘Entanglement’ procedure was identical to the procedure
employed by Dotta and Persinger (2012) to produce the “doubling” of photon emissions from
chemiluminescent reactions when both reactions were exposed to the same circularly, rotating
magnetic fields. In their study the entanglement occurred during the second (effector) pattern
after the presentation of a specific (primer) pattern had been presented. The field strength within
the center of the ring of solenoids, where the Psyleron sensors were placed, was ~1 uT.
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Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
The sequence of presentations employed in the present study which was identical to the
Dotta and Persinger (2012) sequence included nine 2 minute conditions spaced by 1 minute
intervals which commenced in the following order: Baseline 1 (BL1), Baseline 2 (BL2), Thomas
1 (T1), Thomas 2 (T2), Burst-X 1 (B1), Burst-X 2 (B2), Burst-X 3 (B3), Baseline 3 (BL3),
Baseline 4 (BL4). These terms refer to the names attributed to the pattern of the field generated
by the computer that was delivered sequentially to each solenoid.
Figure 1. Diagram of the experimental arrangement. The two circular arrays of pairs of
solenoids are indicated by the rings. The rate of rotation (counterclockwise from the
top) and the accelerating or decelerating phase patterns were generated by the
programmable software from the computer. Each REG was placed within the center of
one of the coils. The location of each REG was counterbalanced over the 9 trials.
The Thomas pattern was a decelerating frequency or “phase” modulated pattern
composed of 839 points. The shape has been published elsewhere Dotta and Persinger (2012).
The Burst-X pattern was an accelerating frequency or phase modulated pattern composed of 230
points. The designation number (suffix) refers to the partitioning of the time for analyses in order
to discern consistency of any effect as well as their potential transience.
All point durations that composed the patterns were 1 ms. This duration was based upon
the calculation by Persinger and Koren (2007) for the hypothetical time, derived from Hubble’s
Parameter, for an electron to expand one Planck’s Length. This meant that the value between 0
and 256 from the column of numbers from which the patterns were generated were converted
into a value between -5 V and +5 V (127 = 0 V) for 1 ms (plus the port time) from the IBM 286
computer. The Thomas pattern was generated through the pairs of solenoids in each of the 8
positions as they were activated with an accelerating angular velocity. The duration of the field
in the first solenoid was 20 ms and was decreased by 2 ms for each successive solenoid in the
ring until the final duration in the 8th solenoid was 6 ms. We described this the primer field
where the uncoupled group and phase velocity resulted in an increasing group velocity (the
rotating speed) and a decreasing phase velocity.
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Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
The Burst-x pattern produced a temporally opposing effect. It was generated within each
solenoid, starting with 20 ms, but increased in duration by 2 ms until by the 8th solenoid the
duration was 34 ms. We described this field as the effector field, where the display of “excess
correlation” is clearly evident. During this condition the “group velocity” was decreasing while
the phase velocity was increasing. We reasoned that if a discrete shift in space and the energy
within it mediated the effects of “excess correlation” in this paradigm, any deviation from
random variation in the REG outputs should occur during this phase. The REG’s were
synchronized through stop watches which ran continuously throughout the experiment after
being synchronized. All field conditions had 1,1 delay between points and point duration
presentations. Several variables were collected from each REG in each condition including;
Overall Z-score, Mean, Standard Deviation, Max/Min Z-score value and min/max z-scores.
4. Results
The results were clear and conspicuous. As shown in Figure 2, the means and standard
deviations for the two random numbers clustered around the average of 100. There was no
statistically significant differences between the local and non-local sites except for the period
during the middle of the burst-x (2) field which is the effector field where excess correlations
have been observed for luminescent and pH reactions in previous experiments. This would be
about 4 min after the “entanglement” field began. As predicted by “entanglement” principles, the
shift in the random number generation was significantly in the opposite direction (no overlap of
standard deviations) during this interval. The effect was maintained for about 4 min and was not
evident in the third burst-x segment.
100.40
l oca l
non-l oca l
thoma s
pul s e 2
Burs t-X 1 Burs t-X 2 Burs t-X 3 Ba s el i ne Ba s el i ne
3
4
100.30
100.20
REG Mean
100.10
100.00
99.90
99.80
99.70
99.60
99.50
99.40
Ba s el i ne Ba s el i ne
1
2
thoma s
pul s e 1
Figure 2. Means and standard deviations for the average numbers of 0s and 1s generated by
the two REG in the local (chamber) and non-local room (10 m away) over the various
baseline and magnetic field configuration presentations. The local designation was an
arbitrary reference. The Thomas pulse is now called the primer pulse while the burst-x
pattern is called the effector pulse within which entanglement is usually manifested. The
effect was transient but powerful in the center of the entanglement interval (Burst-X2).
Vertical bars are standard errors of the mean (SEM).
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Juden-Kelly, L. M., Dotta, B. T., Vares, D. A. E. & Persinger, M. A., Demonstration of Excess Correlation in Non-Local Random
Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
5. Discussion
The consequence of entanglement (Aczel, 2002) is that two particles are “connected”
such that when one of the pairs changes an indicator of polarity, the other member of the pair
responds in the opposite direction. This could be considered a higher order manifestation of
Newton’s Third Law where ever force (action) displays an equal and opposite force (reaction).
Such entanglement, which has been considered central for quantum communication (Vaziri, et
al, 2002) is assumed to be restricted to photons. In the present study photonic-energies cannot be
excluded because electron tunnelling and the p-n junctions associated with this process involves
energies that could facilitate photon involvement. Caswell et al (2014) had shown experimentally
that cerebral biophotons could be the potential mediator for non-local human-machine
interactions. It may be relevant that the product of the rest mass of a photon (~2·10-52 kg) the
entanglement velocity (2.8·1023 m·s-1) and the velocity of light (3·108 m·s-1) is 1.7·10-20 J which
is well within the energy associated with each action potential.
1.00
l oca l
non-l oca l
thoma s
pul s e 2
Burs t-X 1
.80
REG Z-score
.60
.40
.20
.00
-.20
-.40
-.60
-.80
Ba s el i ne
1
Ba s el i ne
2
thoma s
pul s e 1
Burs t-X 2
Burs t-X 3
Ba s el i ne
3
Ba s el i ne
4
Figure 3. Means and standard deviations for the z-scores of the average numbers of 0s and
1s generated by the two REG in the local (chamber) and non-local (room 10 m away) over
the various baseline and magnetic field configuration presentations. The local was an
arbitrary reference. The Thomas pulse is now called the primer pulse while the burst-x
pattern is called the effector pulse within which entanglement is usually manifested. Note
the difference is equivalent to 1 standard deviation. Vertical bars are SEMs.
In the present study there were no human interactions directly within the entanglement
processes although we obviously observed the REG and were within their proximity before and
after the experiments in order to organize the equipment. Within the portion of the circularly
generated fields that have been associated with excess correlations in pH and bioluminescent
experiments the parity of the shift from centrality of these “random variations” was clearly
apparent. Consequently the probability is very low that the effect was simply an induction
artefact from the applied 1 μT magnetic fields. If these spurious inductions had occurred the
deviations from random average would have been evident during the primacy field presentations
and as well as during the entire interval of the effector fields. This effect did not occur.
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Juden-Kelly, L. M., Dotta, B. T., Vares, D. A. E. & Persinger, M. A., Demonstration of Excess Correlation in Non-Local Random
Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity Magnetic Fields
Instead the manifestation of what we have interpreted as the consequence of the
entanglement was the “excess correlation” that occurred during the second 4 min increment of
the effector field presentation. During that interval there were marked and statistically significant
deviations from random fluctuations of 0,1 events through the electron tunnelling through the p-n
junctions in both loci. However the deviation was in the opposite directions as would be
predicted from the consequences of an entanglement-like process. The standardized diametric
displacement during this period was equivalent to about 1 standard deviation (Figure 3). This
deviation is between 5 to 8 times more than the typical variation displayed by these instruments
when operating continually without experimental manipulation for a month.
If two electrons as waves within the two circular arrays that generated this specific
pattern of magnetic field sequences were entangled then their mass equivalents (9.1·10-31 kg)
applied across the width of the p-n junction (0.1 μm, 10-7) and multiplied by the velocity light
(3·108 m·s-1) and the frequency of the universal hydrogen line (1.42·109 s-1) results in ~3.8·10-20
J. If the functional length of the p-n junction was 20 nm, more typical of the width between
neuronal plasma cell membranes, the value would be 7.6·10-21 J. The median value would be
within the 10-20 J range which has been shown to emerge from fundamental universal forces
(Persinger, 2015). If the functional width was ~1 μm the wavelength would be within the visible
range.
The energy source for this excess correlation should be related to that available from the
circularly generated magnetic fields. The central field strength was about 1.5 μT. Consequently
the square of this value divided by 2.5·10-6 N·A-1 (twice the value of the magnetic permeability
in vacuum) multiplied by the volume (assuming a width of 10-12 m2 and a functional separation
of 10-8 m) of 10-20 m3 would be 10-26 J. However at least 4 min (2.4·102 s) was required for the
effect to be displayed. The cumulative energy would have been 2.4·10-24 J. The equivalent
frequency, obtained by dividing by Planck’s constant of (6.626·10-34 J·s) is about 3.6·109 Hz.
Considering the range of the actual volume in the p-n junction associated with the tunnelling this
value is well within the range of the energy sufficient to be equivalent to the neutral hydrogen
line that was required to converge with the 10-20 J universal unit.
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Bhutkar, R.,Quantum Field of Consciousness & the Mind (Part I)
Exploration
Quantum Fields of Consciousness & the Mind (Part I)
Rajesh Bhutkar
*
Abstract
Some scientists are striving very hard to unveil the mystery of consciousness. For that purpose
they have been utilizing not only quantum theory but also the Grand Unified Theory. In my
perspective, to lay consciousness in the ambit of our awareness, one needs a three-tier system.
The first tier is consciousness, the second is mind and the third is brain. My hypothesis is based
on the Vedanta (Hindu Religious Scriptures), which says “Ahm Brahmasmi” meaning “I am
God” or another statement as “Tatvamasi” meaning “You are That”. In the first statement “I”
refers to mind and “God” means consciousness; whereas in the second statement “You”
represents mind and “That” represents consciousness. I refer to John Keely’s work of
Sympathetic Vibratory Science developed in 19th century to postulate my proposition of
consciousness and mind and then use the postulates made by Hu and Wu to support it.
Thereafter, Chalmers’ questions are answered without ambiguities.
Part I of this two-part article includes: Introduction, the Quantum State of Our Thoughts,
Quantum State of Dream, Quantum State of Dream, Consciousness as the Source of “I”, Spinmediated Consciousness Theory, and Answers to Chalmers’ Questions.
Keywords: quantum field, consciousness, mind, brain, I, Self, God.
Introduction
All saints from all the religions had revealed our existence as a universal consciousness. Before
the existence of universe, energy existed in the form of “Oneness” of the universal
consciousness. Science has proposed that the energy was the fundamental cause of big bang
followed by the manifestation of the entire universe. Body and mind are two different forms of
energies in their respective appearances. This universal energy has taken numerous forms such as
matter, forces and the sentient beings in this world.
Our desire is also a kind of energy which assumes its superposition state in the quantum field of
mind. If we work accordingly, it manifests to give us the result of the intended acts. Such acts
cause numerous changes in the universe transforming energies through sentient beings and the
material objects. These energy transformations are very subtle in their nature therefore they
never come in the ambit of our senses, but they create reverberations in the universe. Due to the
chain of stimuli and responses the world changes its form time and again compelling us to
change our desires to start the new chain of acts. Thus, single change in quantum energy causes
numerous quanta of energies to undergo changes, and in this manner the energy conversions are
being continuously propagated in the universe. Therefore, this shows that we all are inherent
*
Correspondence: Rajesh Bhutkar, Independent Researcher. rbhutkar12@gmail.com
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Bhutkar, R.,Quantum Field of Consciousness & the Mind (Part I)
part of the universal energy and directors of the universe. Thus every conscious being is the
corporeal manifestation of the universal consciousness.
After the big bang energy manifested in its different forms. Numerous transformations of energy
in a specific manner created the cosmic system along with the Earth with life on it. The
transmission and transformation of energy through matter and the living things is called as work
done obeying the law of conservation of energy.
We have seen that there would be no existence of the universe without energy. Energy is
responsible to form atoms, molecules and thus the matter. As the transmission and
transformation of energy from one entity to the other is inherent activity in the universe, we see
that every matter decays and transforms into another one over the period of time. At quantum
level of energy the system never remains stable and the energy constantly flows from one state to
the other changing the constitution of the matter.
The elements of Nature came in contact with each other in such a form and amount that the biochemical reactions gave birth to the DNAs and RNAs to form the bodies of every living thing on
the Earth. Scientists found that the DNAs and RNAs convey energy at quantum level and brain is
acting as a Seat for the quantum state to take place as an existence of mind. In all living things
there is an inbuilt system that receives the sensations coming from the universe and generates
responsiveness to the stimuli. Every living thing thus can store and retrieve the experiences from
its memory to maintain their existence. Every experience is a wave of energy which triggers the
biochemical reactions in the brain and activates the electromagnetic field at material level and
then permeates down to the quantum level. All these wave forms are stored in the memory part
of the brain in their superposition state. Thus the energy constituted in the form of complex
systems in the brain, through which it manages the energy transmissions with the help of body
and the objects surrounding it. The design of brain is beyond imagination through which the
energy itself senses its own sensations coming from outside universe, stores them as experiences,
controls and regulates them and generates responses through body.
Birth, life and death are the stages through which the living things must go. This process must be
the purposeful design of the universe. Thus the energy must be known about all the causalities
and beyond them. And the quantum energy level is the only energy level at which it could
happen to explore its intelligence, tendencies, wisdom and manifestations through minds and
bodies of the living things. We can say that the universe is now trying to identify itself by
bringing the consciousness in its ambit of awareness using its own quantum state of energy.
But as the quantum science insists the very presence of an observer that causes the material
manifestation or the quantum collapse of the waveform, the question arises that who was the first
conscious observer to bring the gigantic potential wave-function to appear in the form of our
universe. Before appearance of the living things on this planet as the sentient observers, who was
the conscious observer? This is the biggest mystery of all times prior to the mystery of the bigbang. We shall try to see through the crevices appeared on the shield of deterministic materialism
and unveil this mystery.
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Vedic scriptures say that the consciousness is eternal and so beyond infinity. It is such a principal
entity of the universe that is beyond all the physical, quantum and spiritual world. When we
identify our Self in the realm of physical world; the quantons in the brain hide our identity of
being eternal and infinite. As soon as these quantons enter into the wave form, the conscious
mind realizes that the consciousness is omnipresent and omnipotent. In the state of deep
meditation or near death experience or out of body experience, the consciousness goes out of
body momentarily overcoming the limitations of space-time. When these quantons reappear in
their particle form, then such celestial experience disappears and the consciousness stabilizes in
the material world. Thus the scientists have now agreed that the memory is subtle and it can
work irrespective of changes in the states of the quantons. The sensations being transmitted
through various organs to the brain are analyzed by millions of neurons and this information in
the form of quantum energy transforms into experiences.
This means that we; as an essence of universe are consciousness and immortal in nature. Death
belongs to body and mind but not to the consciousness. But due to the habit since millions of our
past lives, we experience our consciousness through our body and mind. Therefore if our body
becomes unconsciousness, then we experience that we were unconscious as such. But the
scientists have found that even though our brain goes unconscious for some time, it responses as
usual to all the artificial sensations given to it.
The Quantum State of Our Thoughts
According to Heisenberg, when we observe quantons or when we measure them or when we
quantify them, they change their own state and physical parameters. If we try to measure the
position, its momentum becomes uncertain and vice a versa. Similarly, when we observe any one
thought out of a chain of unprecedented thoughts, that chain changes its state. The thought which
comes in the ambit of knowledge acquires the status according to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty
Principle. This means, within the realm of senses, the quantons in the brain acquire their particle
state and we realize the state of being known. Those thoughts which are not lucid in their nature
possess property like the momentum and uncertainty. Such thoughts or the energy of thoughts
keep the quantons in brain in their wave form. Therefore, we see here that the quantons in brain
activate in either of their states.
The thought process in the brain and the transformations in quantum energy behavior are similar
phenomena. Not a single thought process can be studied separately. There is no independent
existence to any of the entities in nature. Numerous consequences among numerous entities in
the universe give meaning to the existence of a particular entity under observation as such.
Similarly, behavior of thoughts and quantons are comparable with each other. Therefore, Dana
Zohar [1] concluded that the consciousness is being experienced by virtue of quantum state in
the brain consistent with the hypotheses and theories of quantum mechanics.
The computational model of brain does not possess any sense of its own activities. But when our
brain works, we possess strong feeling of being connected with the consciousness.
Consciousness is a non-mathematical entity, said Roger Penrose [5] and hence its computer
model cannot be generated. This means brain does not produce consciousness. On the contrary,
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Bhutkar, R.,Quantum Field of Consciousness & the Mind (Part I)
the brain provides a strong Seat of quantum field within to let the consciousness permeate. Brain
simply works as a hardware in which the mind works as software and the consciousness and the
quantum of energy play the role as electricity.
Quantum State of Dream
When we go into the state of dream, or when we experience delusions, the quantons in the brain
assume their wave form. The subconscious mind unknowingly shifts, carry some random portion
of memory and project it randomly on the mind screen. The subconscious mind experiences that
projection using its subtlest organs. These are the quantum superpositions entangled with the
memory unit of the desires undergo decoherence within the mind itself. The internal uncontrolled
collapse states are projected on the mind screen to receive the experience of the dream. But the
question is who the experiencing entity within the brain was? How mind can perceive those
collapses? There will be no other answers to all these questions than consciousness.
At first we will decipher consciousness. Consciousness is the “Self-Existed” Principle being
maintained by variety of reactions and processes in the brain. The peculiar structure of the brain
becomes the Seat for consciousness through the quantum field to take place which facilitates the
conscious mind to cope up with and to get synchronized with the various functions of the brain.
Consciousness as the Source of “I”
We always say that “me” and my mind are separate and I do not agree with my thoughts. Is it
true that the “I”ness and the mind are separate from each other? We will try to understand this
with the help of quantum mechanics, and subsequently see the source of “I” or the “Self”. Here I
am postulating that the very existence of consciousness is the source of supreme sense of “I” or
the “Self”.
In the 19th century, John Keely proposed and developed “Sympathetic Vibratory Science” [2].
He described the relationship between matter and energy as “matter is bound up energy and
energy is liberated matter.” He revealed that consciousness is found in two different layers of
elements of universe. The first one is Compound Interetheric and the second is Interetheric.
Table 1 and Table 2 below from [2] categorize the elements of matter in the universe in their
respective 7 subdivisions. The seventh element is Compound Interetheric, and its quantons of
universal energy possess qualities such as super-consciousness, cosmic, undifferentiated and
neutral and thus shall be termed as the Divine Principle. These quantons undergo quantum
entanglement with the mind particles and give birth to the supreme sense of “I” or “Self”. The
quantons or mind particles on Interetheric level also undergo quantum entanglement in the brain
to be identified as mind. This is my presumption to build this postulate on which further research
is necessary.
Therefore, I propose here that the Compound Interetheric is the neutral element at the seventh
subsection of the periodic table designed by Keely and its quantum entanglement with mind
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Bhutkar, R.,Quantum Field of Consciousness & the Mind (Part I)
particles create supreme sense of consciousness within the brain. Conversely, the Interetheric
level which is the sixth subsection of this periodic table and said to be the quantons of mind.
These quantons are comprised of quarks and gluons which are physically very active in nature.
As these are the quantons of the mind which are present in every atom of the universe, the mind
field of the quantum state compels every living thing to receive the sensations and act as a
doer/consumer/survivor. And this is the potential event of the quantum causality.
The combined effect of quantum entanglement and quantum decoherence cause consciousness
and brain to work together. Therefore, they cannot separate their identities at that instance. The
combined effect of this harmony or the synchronicity creates the sense of “I”. Thus, we see that
even though brain and consciousness come together, they still remain apart from each other.
Till the time quantons do not change their state in the brain cells, the position of consciousness
prevails in the brain. Thus we can say that till the time the energy level of quantum field in the
brain and energy level of quantons of the mind are same, the sense of the consciousness get
stabilized in the brain. The electrons in the atom also follow the same principle within atoms. In
this way the quantum field within the brain becomes source of mind and becomes the Seat for
the vivid appearance of the consciousness. Consciousness is not generated either by the brain or
by any other process but on the contrary brain along with its ability to create quantum field
within allows universal consciousness to produce its effects and thus it becomes the Seat for the
incarnation of consciousness.
Table1
Subdivisio
n
Keely’s
Element
Keely Name
7th
Compound Neutral
Interetheric Center
6th
Form
Ancient
Gluon
4-space /
Time
Interetheric Interetheron Atomolini
Conscious Awareness Vacuum
Quark
4-space /
Time
5th
Etheric
Etheron
Mind
Ether
Activated
Plasma
Photon
4-space / Akasa
Time
4th
Interatomic Interatom
Atomole
Electroma Fire
gnetic
Gas/
Plasma
Electron
3-space
Marut
3rd
Atomic
Atom
Atom
Matter
Air
Gas
Atom
3-space
Tejas
2nd
Intermolecular
Intermolecule supercritical Matter
fluid
Water
Liquid
Molecule 3-space
Aap
1st
Molecular
Molecule
Earth
Solid
Molecule 3-space
Kshiti
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Solids
Super
God
conscious
Tenuity Quantum Bearden Vedic
Vacuum
Etheron
Void
Mental
Matter
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I would like to focus on one important phenomenon that though the quantum theory proved the
transformation of particle state of quantons to wave and vice versa, these quantons themselves
cannot take note of such transformation. The sense of being transformed is only possible in case
of the observer. Thus, after the quantum entanglement and quantum decoherence arise in the
brain, the sense of consciousness prevails but it cannot be perceived through itself. Brain is a part
of a material body and cannot perceive the sensations. The supreme sense of “I” will never get
perceived by the supreme energy or the element of consciousness itself. There must be another
quantum field within the brain which is responsible to sense these sensations and give meaning
to that individual sense separately. There should be a distinct quantum field in brain, which shall
let the mind play its role of an observer to achieve the decoherence state within. Therefore, we
need to call this another quantum field as a “conscious mind” which is doing its role as the
conscious observer.
Table 2
7th Subdivision - Compound Interetheric - CI - Non-Observable - God - Time - 4space
Superconscious 1 - Celestial Undifferentiated Mind Force - Akasha - Life Force
Indig#
Walter
Russel
No.
WR Octave
WR
Element
Physical
0=
100=
1
Alphanon
Neutral Center
Endocrine
Void
6th Subdivision - Interetheric - E + CI - Non-observable - Time - 4-space
Atomolini - Conscious - Mind which permeates Brain
1+
101+
1
Irenon?
2+
102+
1
Vijaon?
3+
103+
1
Marvaon?
4+
104+
1
Tomium
3-
103-
1
Alberton?
2-
102-
1
Blackton?
1-
101-
1
Boston?
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+Atomolini Gluon
Pituitary
Pineal
Quark
Thyroid
Thymus
Antiquark?
Adrenals
Lyden
-Atomolini AntiGluon?
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Spin-mediated Consciousness Theory
Since 2002, Hu and Wu have proposed and developed the spin-mediated theory of consciousness
with the quantum spin as the Seat of consciousness [3]. The spins provide an interface between
the composition of the brain and the electromagnetic waves that cross the brain. Consciousness
as awareness or perception is seen as emerging from the collapse of spin states that are entangled
with one another. Hu and Wu postulated that [3]:
(a) Consciousness is intrinsically connected to quantum spin. The relationship between
quantum spin and consciousness are defined based on the fact that spin is the origin of
quantum effects in both Bohm and Hestenes quantum formulism and a fundamental
quantum process associated with the structure of space-time.
(b) The mind-pixels or the quantons of the brain are comprised of the nuclear spins
distributed in the neural membranes and proteins, the pixel-activating agents are
comprised of biologically available paramagnetic species such as O2 and NO, and the
neural memories are comprised of all possible entangled quantum states of the mindpixels. They also propose that neural memories are comprised of all possible entangled
quantum states of mind-pixels. This concept of memory is an extension to the
associative memory in neuroscience.
(c) Action potential modulations of nuclear spin interactions input information to the mind
pixels and spin chemistry is the output circuit to classical neural activities. Thus, the
neural spike trains can directly input information into the mind-pixels made of neural
membrane nuclear spins. Further, spin chemistry can serve as the bridge to the classical
neural activity since biochemical reactions mediated by free radicals are very sensitive
to small changes of magnetic energies.
(d) Consciousness emerges from the collapses of those entangled quantum states which are
able to survive decoherence, said collapses are contextual, irreversible and noncomputable and the unity of consciousness is achieved through quantum entanglement
of the mind-pixels. Thus, they adopted a quantum state collapsing scheme from which
conscious experience emerges as a set of collapses of the decoherence-resistant
entangled quantum states. We further theorize that the unity of consciousness is
achieved through quantum entanglements of these mind-pixels.
As manifestation of quantum entanglement, the role of gravity in consciousness is to achieve
binding. In their spin-mediated consciousness theory, such role played by gravity is not hard to
see, since spin is the Seat of consciousness and the linchpin between mind and the brain, that is,
spin is the mind-pixel. According to their theory, the nuclear spins and possibly electron spins
inside neural membranes and proteins form various entangled quantum states through action
potential modulated nuclear spin interactions and paramagnetic O2/NO driven activations and, in
turn, the collective dynamics of the said entangled quantum states produces consciousness and
influences the classical neural activities through spin chemistry.
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Figure 1. The universal process of appearances of consciousness and Mind
The above scientists say that the consciousness is seen as emerging from the collapse of spin
states that are entangled with one another, and spin is the Seat of consciousness. In my opinion
though the above postulates certainly explain the phenomenal appearance of the consciousness in
the brain, this entire chronology of actions narrates the transfer of supreme sense or the feelings
of consciousness being perceived by the mind and not the consciousness as such. Consciousness
cannot be created out of any quantum phenomena and/or by the functions of the brain. Its
material grounding is just next to impossible. We need to consider the phase entanglement
between the quantum states of two elements of John Keely; as explained above; as an emergent
event of the feeling of consciousness. As an extension and support to my postulate we can refer 4
postulates (as envisaged by H. Hu and M. Wu) to say that the nature by virtue of quantum
entangled states within brain provided a Seat for the impulsive collapse of the spin effect as a
sense of consciousness in the ambit of awareness of the mind. Figure 1 represents the flow chart
which summaries the process of appearances of consciousness and mind through sentient beings
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and the cycle of energy transmission and transformation to generate experiences and their
awareness.
Answers to Chalmers’ Questions
David Chalmers posed several questions on the nature of consciousness [4]:
What is it?
Why is it present at all?
Why is it so different from the various aspects of reality?
Why is it personal?
Why is it so fleeting, whereas matter is permanent and conserved?
Can it be reduced to matter?
Can any purely physical account explain it?
Is the material of which the brain is made crucial, or is it only the functional aspect that is
critical?
Why is it so closely connected to function?
How do functional aspects become ontological aspects?
Is experience a fundamental element of nature, or derivative, or emergent?
What are the bridging laws that connect mind to matter?
Chalmers says that right now we have no candidate theory that answers these questions. But I
think that we do!
What is consciousness? Why is it present at all? Consciousness is an emergent experience of
“I”ness by virtue of phase entangled state of the super conscious element of energy of the
universe with the mind particles such as quarks and gluons within the quantum field supported
by the functions of the brain. The supreme sense of the consciousness of “I” is a collapse state of
spin of mind particles within the quantum field in brain. Therefore by virtue of quantum effects
in the brain it is said to be always present in all the sentient beings.
Why is it so different from the various aspects of reality? The consciousness is different from the
all the aspects of reality because it is the enlightening entity of all the happenings in the universe.
It is the supreme most entity with the help of which the reality and the region beyond it is
defined.
Why is it personal? Here I say that the observer is “I” that is mind in every sentient being is the
supreme sense of consciousness. The perception of all the experiential become the part of
thoughts those are observed by the “I” or “Self”. Therefore, consciousness is a personal and
subjective to all sentient beings.
Why is it so fleeting, whereas matter is permanent and conserved? Consciousness is never said to
be a fleeting entity. Consciousness is beyond the states of position and momentum of the matter
and energy as such. It is the mind that fleets due to the measurement problem. The trend of ever
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changing thoughts; create a kind of fleeting experience. Matter having interaction with energy
emits photons (Quantons) of varied frequencies in the form of ensembles of sensations. Thus
matter acts as an element of quantum causality possessing potential to stimulate the sentient
beings. On the contrary I would like to mention here that the consciousness is the supreme most
entity which either enlightens the all the position or the momentum of the matter including all its
characteristics.
Can it be reduced to matter? Not, at all. The matter is a potential media to stimulate the sentient
beings. All these stimulations create sensations in them, which are being perceived in light of
consciousness and retained and owned by their individual Self.
Can any purely physical account explain it? No. consciousness is the supreme most entity which
enlightens the quantum representation of the physical world into the realm of our awareness.
Only on account of quantum effects the sense of consciousness prevails.
Is the material of which the brain is made crucial, or is it only the functional aspect that is
critical? Neither the material of brain nor its functional aspects are critical in manifesting the
consciousness. It is the quantum actualization which is supported by the physical substrate,
provides a strong Seat for consciousness to spread its supreme senses in mind.
Why is it so closely connected to function? It is closely connected to function because all the
functionalities in the universe either envisaged or activated by the sentient beings, are in light of
consciousness only.
How do functional aspects become ontological aspects? All the functionalities in the universe
either envisaged or activated by the sentient being therefore automatically all functional aspects
become ontological aspects.
Is experience a fundamental element of nature, or derivative, or emergent? The matter possesses
the potential of being experienced. As the matter is a fundamental ingredient of the universal, its
experience is said to be the fundamental element of the nature.
What are the bridging laws that connect mind to matter? The bridging laws that connect mind to
matter are the laws and postulates of quantum mechanics supporting the process of experience of
consciousness along with the process of manifestation of the classical world.
(Continued on Part II)
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Research Essay
A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Embodied Spirituality
Jeffery Jonathan (Joshua) Davis*
ישוע
The Embassy of Peace, Whitianga, New Zealand
Abstract
In this Essay, I will illustrate how I experience a spiritual life as a human being, how language is
limited to transmit or transfer this experience and yet, once imparted to the human being, it plays
a relevant role to either support or interfere with the awareness of a spiritual dimension in human
life. I will also show how some of the recent findings in Cognitive Science are clarifying what it
means to be spiritually aware in relationship to body functioning, and human creative capacities
and how they relate to my own experience.
Key Words: Cognitive science, linguistic, embodied spirituality, human being.
This essay is intended to illustrate to you how I experience a spiritual life as a human being, how
language is limited to transmit or transfer this experience and yet, once imparted to the human
being, it plays a relevant role to either support or interfere with the awareness of a spiritual
dimension in human life. Finally, how some of the recent findings in Cognitive Science are
clarifying what it means to be spiritually aware in relationship to body functioning, and human
creative capacities and how they relate to my own experience.
I am compelled to let you know that since my early life from primary school in Venezuela till
this moment I am aware of Who I Am, and how dynamically interrelated my life is both
internally and externally, to the point that I have consciously witnessed how my thoughts and
feelings shape my reality. I have established an internal connection and communication with
some members of the human family who are conscious of the realms I Am, and the existence of
a Universal Father-Mother Source of All Love, with who I am in Unity and constant
communication. This has taken place with different people beyond the boundaries of religious
beliefs, gender, race, nationality and educational background.
I also consider it important to inform you that there was no need for me to share these things
(which require no proof or external validation) until I asked this question to God, “Why are
people reporting and experiencing so much chaos, pain and anger when my life is such a
blessing?”
*Correspondence: c/o Sarah Frew, The Embassy of Peace, Whitianga, New Zealand. http://paradiselanding.weebly.com/
E-mail: sarahinparadise888@gmail.com
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This question was clearly answered to me in a journey that took 8 years of linear Gregorian time
completely devoted to be in God’s Will in a series of continuous synchronistic events, to which I
stand in awe, gratitude and compassion.
Since this essay would need much more than 20 times the size of The Bible to account for a
detailed experience of this series of events in my life, I will limit it to the issues I consider more
relevant to Cognitive Linguistics and Cognitive Science, bearing in mind that this is an essay. I
will do this by sharing some stories, and creatively weaving some examples and illustrations that
relate to some of the theories and authors I have encountered.
In Philosophy In The Flesh, Lakoff and Johnson write:
God requires metaphor not only to be imagined but to be approached, exhorted,
confronted, struggled with, and loved. Through metaphor, the vividness, intensity,
and meaningfulness of ordinary experience becomes the basis of a passionate
spirituality…, The vehicle by which we are moved in passionate spirituality is
metaphor. (1999, p. 567)
Just recently walking on the street, my attention was directed to a young man screaming to a
young lady, “Bullshit!” Being present to that moment was the beginning of another profound
experience, which brought its fruits three or four days later.
After having prayed for Truth to be revealed to me in relation to this event, with the certainty and
full awareness that the answer was on its way, I started to ponder on the word “Bullshit!” and the
origin of its association with the word “Lie”. Now, is this word (“Bullshit!”) the consequence of
a metaphor? As far as I am concerned if there was a metaphor in operation connected to the
expression of that young man, it was veiled to him. It was as if the word was a synonym of
“Lie”.
Suddenly I had a vision: a child is walking with his Grand father and mother along the paddock
of their farm. The three of them witness to a verbal insulting argument between two people. The
child turns to his Grandparents in surprise and says, “Grandpa, Grandma that was ugly. It felt
yucky, I am scared.”
The Grandfather, being a metaphor builder and loving person, hugs his Grandson and says:
“Michael, I am very grateful that you are aware of what happened. I will support you to restore
yourself back to Love, there is nothing to fear, sometimes these things happen, they are a part of
human nature, but let me first tell you what happened so you can understand. Do you see there in
the grass the “bull shit”? This is the result of these animals digesting food in their tummies and
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releasing from their bodies the elements that have no nutritional value. Words are like food for
the soul, however words can also be poison to the soul like rotten food. So you see my Grandson,
we can genuinely say his words were poison, they were worse than rotten food. They are like
“Bullshit!” they had no nutritional value. “Lies” are words that have no nutritional value to the
soul; they are like poison. Michael when we speak and hear words of Love and Truth from our
hearts and minds, they have nutritional value for the soul, they make you feel good and have a
clear mind.”
Then Grandmother screams, “Yay, they are like the fruit salads of your Grandmama! Each fruit
has a taste of its own, and is like a word that has a particular quality, for example, Love has a
feeling associated to it, Truth also has a quality and a feeling and Certainty too. So listening to
words that bring to you Love, Certainty and Truth is like eating one of your Grandmother’s fruit
salads with banana, mango, and apple. You see, the fruit salad has a different taste than banana,
mango, or apple and it is called all together, ‘Choir of Angels Fruit Salad!’ Only when you try it,
you can distinguish the different flavours if you focus your attention on just one of the fruits at a
time. However, ‘Choir of Angels Fruit Salad’ has got a taste of its own. So Michael when I say
to you, ‘I am aware that my Grandson cares for others’, how do you receive those words in your
soul?”
“Grandma, I feel you Love me. I know its Truth and I am Certain that “Lies” are like “Bullshit!”
yet they are different.”
This vision clearly revealed to me an example of how a metaphor can be consciously used as a
vehicle to restore certain Values or States of Being in a human being. Like the child shifting
from fear and confusion back to Love, Truth and Certainty after the interaction with his
Grandparents. Metaphors are particularly useful to map the Spiritual domain, which is
“invisible”, to the Physical domain. For example, by mapping fruits to values, body to soul,
nutrients to positive feelings, poison to negative feelings, and Choir of Angels to fruit salad,
thereby being able to talk about the “invisible” dynamics of the Spiritual domain (target) in
connection with the Physical domain (source). For the child this interaction carries a nutritional
value for his soul, and because he is aware of the nutritional value of fruit salads he makes the
link.
Whether the child in similar situations can replicate this metaphor, depends on many factors. For
example, the child may just be able initially to identify Hate and Lies, from Love and Truth by
screaming the word “Bullshit!” each time he sees someone abusing someone else. When he does
this amongst the children of his community, then all the children may start using the word
“Bullshit!” to point out similar situations. In this way the word may just become a synonym for
“Lie” and abuse, or an abusive action, without incorporating the power of the metaphor behind
the word, which allows restoration of values. If the child acquires the capacity to access
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consciously his Spiritual domain, and embody that experience by explaining to his friends why
their attitudes and words can be compared to “Bullshit!”, then the metaphor may become
available to the community of children who can also receive its nutritional value.
This means that a metaphor is more than just the words a human writes or says as a “metaphor”.
It requires that the person who creates the link between the Spiritual (target) and the Physical
(source) domains, embody the experiences that he or she verbalises as a metaphor. When a
human being repeats like a parrot a metaphor that he or she reads or hears without having
experienced the mapping, and acquiring for him or herself the experience of the target domain,
then the metaphor is just a bunch of words similar to saying “Bullshit!” It is like a person saying,
“You Have To Walk Your Talk”, without having the comprehension of those words as a living
experience and embodying the experience when the words are said. To “Walk Your Talk” means
that your actions may reveal to others what you say you are in your soul, according to the
capacity or willingness of others to receive what you are.
For example, in the book Semantic Leaps, Seona Coulson writes:
Metaphor has historically been portrayed as colorful language, aesthetically pleasing
but without cognitive import (Hobbes 1965, Quintillian, 1921-1933). However, in
recent years, cognitive semantics such as Lakoff and Johnson (1980), Sweetser
(1990) and Turner (1991) have argued that metaphor is, in fact, a pervasive
phenomenon in every day language and, moreover, that it represents the output of a
cognitive process by which we understand one domain in terms of another.
Cognitive Linguistics defines metaphor as reference to one domain (known as
target, theme, or base domain) with vocabulary more commonly associated with
another domain (known as the source, phoros, and vehicle). On this construal,
metaphoric language it is the manifestation of conceptual structure organized by a
cross domain mapping…(2001, pp. 162 – 166, Chapt. 6)
It seems to me that this is why a book like The Zohar (a Kabbalistic Mystical Revelation), rich in
metaphors, mapping the Spiritual with the Physical domain and vice versa, is reported as so
difficult to comprehend by Jewish Scholars or “Rabbis”. Those metaphors are easily grasped
when they are verbalised and shared by a human being who embodies the experience; this is
known as Oral Law, as in the situation of the Child and the Grandparents.
The record of the story and the explanation of those metaphors, serve as a reference point for
others to read and get insights from the same source from which the metaphors were revealed
initially, God’s Being and Mind. So to comprehend the metaphor requires a genuine desire to
unify and empathise with God when the person is reading The Zohar. Especially, in the absence
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of a human being to whom the reader can empathise with, and who embodies the experience that
the metaphor holds as a revelation; as illustrated in the words, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will
Be Done On earth, As It Is In Heaven” (Matatyahu,
6:10)
In Philosophy In The Flesh, Lakoff and Johnson write:
But empathic connection to the world is only one dimension of spirituality that the
body makes possible. It is the body that makes spiritual experience
passionate…Without all these things, spirituality is bland. (1999, p. 567)
These words remind me of The Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done On
earth, As It Is In Heaven” (Matatyahu,
6:10). To me it is clear that for God’s Will to be
done on earth the experience of being unified with God includes the embodiment of God’s
Values in my human life. The words “Be Perfect Even As I Am” are manifested when I express
God’s Values in my words and actions, in the consciousness that I Am The Love, The Light and
The Truth in the words I Am writing now.
It is also clear that anyone who empathises with this human being will experience the words “I
Am The Love”, as I Am when I say them. So, I can genuinely say, ‘Seek The Kingdom First’
(The State of Being Love, one of Its attributes), ‘Whoever Comes To Me Comes To My FatherMother In Heaven’ (whoever empathises with me, feels Love, which is one of my Father-Mother
In Heavens’ attributes). The creature and The Creator’s Values are One with a long-term
memory cognitive map in this creature’s brain. This seems to be what Lakoff calls “Embodied
Spirituality” (1999).
As a human being I can bear witness for such a possibility becoming a reality for other human
beings. I Am also a witness to how human beings are able to empathise with any element of the
natural world and experience the Presence of The All Pervading Creator. By no means this
means that there are as many Gods as human beings or dolphins or rocks. It just means that I
know myself in the totality and the Light of what God Is, and as a creature I bear witness to Its
Presence in me in relationship to everything else, as illustrated in the words, “Love Your
Neighbour As Yourself” (Mark 12:31), or as it is expressed in Paradise Landing (a written
testimony of God’s Revelation to a human being):
I Am The Unity that holds creation together in perfect harmony. I Am The Unity
that allows you to see my light in your Brothers and Sisters in all creation. I Am the
Unity that you experience when you contemplate my creation, the stars, the light,
your place of origin, your destiny !!!. (131
888, p. 33)
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So it is clear to me that language and metaphor can be employed by a human being that is
embodying a Spiritual experience, to facilitate and enable this experience to be consciously
embodied by other human beings, with long-term memory effect. It is also clear to me that
Spiritual experience and a conscious relationship with God and the Cosmos can be derived
directly from God, who is accessible to any human being without the mediation of language,
metaphor or another human being.
It is in the comprehension of the question: “Why are people reporting and experiencing so much
chaos, pain and anger when my life is such a blessing?” (proposed to The Spirit who reveals
Itself in the creature), where language may play a role, and the need to share in writing poems
and metaphors serves its purpose to bring a humanity to a state of a collective embodied
Spirituality.
So for me, language makes a human being distinct from an animal, just because potentially,
through its conscious use, a human being may be actualised from the automatic and reactive
response of an animal, to a conscious creature with creative capacities, that recognises him or
herself in creation, creature and Creator, and is able to move freely in harmony with Cosmic
Laws (Spiritual-Physical).
One of the elements of order that a person becomes aware of, about the inter-relationship
of the Spiritual domain with the Physical domain, is called by the name “synchronicity” or
“serendipity” (like the movie). The next part of the story is intended to give you a glimpse of this
ongoing phenomenon.
Two days after I witnessed the young man screaming to a young lady, “Bullshit!” and I realised
the connection with my vision, language, and metaphors, I felt compelled to link all these events
verbally and write about them. So I pondered with God what parts of this experience would be
written as a story to illustrate the connection between language, metaphors and Truth as an
embodied Spiritual experience while driving to the library to find Lakoff’s bibliography. In the
meanwhile three number plates of three different cars came to my attention with the numbers
555, and when I arrived to the library a set of subtle events related to how the book Philosophy
and the Flesh became available to me for the first time, with the fact that part of the call number
of this book is L555, were signalling to me that something related to my question to God was
about to be revealed. Moments later I discovered how Lakoff was pointing to a series of
observations on morality, and introducing the subject of Spirituality in a way very familiar to my
own experience, to the point that he uses the term “Embodied Spirituality”, which is what I Am.
A little bit later I left the library towards the School of Linguistics building and I asked
internally, “Where is Lynda? I feel her so close.” I stopped and looked at the sky and I said to
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God, “What do you want from me?” knowing and feeling that something was about to happen.
At the same moment I heard a voice calling to me, “Hey!” It was my good friend Eli, his name
means “My God” in Hebrew. I approached him and he shared with me things of the heart, which
will remain between Eli, God and myself. However, this I will share, one thing he said without
knowing at all what was transpiring for me: “People must realise one day what Truth is, by
getting rid of all the “Bullshit!” To me this was a meaningful gift (with metaphorical value) and
an answer to the last day’s conversations with My Father in Heaven. It was also a gift to witness
how everything was coming together in synchronicity, perfect order or an act of serendipity,
which has been happening on an ongoing basis since my childhood. After that, just to add a little
touch of whipped cream to the ice cream, somebody touched my back; in the Light of this Order,
it was so predictable. It had to be Lynda, and it was! So I laughed and I said, “I am gathering all
the birds in one nest without having to even move.” It seems that, “whenever two or more gather
in My Name There I Am” (Matatyahu,
18:20) was happening. We talked about it and we
felt really good. Thank you Father-Mother-Love for allowing me to be a witness to The Unity of
Your Being, My Being, Your Creation.
So how can human beings wire their brains, or enable a neural pathway to the awareness and
perception of this ongoing experience? It becomes an object of study for Cognitive Science
where the scientist is called to “Walk the Talk”, an example of “Embodied Spirituality”,
facilitating this experience to others through his or her science. In this respect Lakoff and
Johnson write:
Cognitive science, the science of the mind and the brain, has in its brief existence
been enormously fruitful. It has given us a way to know ourselves better, to see how
our physical being-flesh, blood, and sinew, hormone, cell, and synapse- and all
things we encounter daily in the world make us who we are. This is philosophy in
the flesh. (1999, p. 568)
To that I Am adding the word ‘heart’, “Cognitive science, the science of the mind and the brainheart connection”.
Before I continue with another story, it seems relevant to mention that the words synchronicity
and serendipity are also related to the word Tao, a Chinese word for God as an ongoing process.
Tao is also connected to the metaphor, “Going with the flow” or doing God’s Will. The
metaphor “going with the flow” establishes a map between the flow of a river (Physical domain source) and the Presence of God in each event that presents itself to human consciousness
(Spiritual domain - target), thereby enabling perception of the abundant flow of Spiritual
substance present in each event. Each event is like water that comes to human conscious
awareness from a river where people can drink effortlessly. So it seems like the flow of life and
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Spirit carries humanity at the same time that the flow of life and Spirit comes to humanity.
“Going with the flow” could also be seen as an instance of a higher metaphorical level, a
metaphor as a schema, where the schema is another metaphor, in this case [“Spirit is motion”].
Other instances of this schema are: ‘Tao flows like the wind’; ‘Where your attention goes your
energy flows’; ‘I Am on a Spiritual journey’; ‘He goes where the wind takes him’; ‘I Am coming
like a thief in the night (God’s Spirit).’
Recent scientific research: Psychophysiological Correlates of Spiritual Experience (2002),
McCraty and Childre and The Electricity of Touch: Detection and measurement of cardiac
energy exchange between people (2002), McCraty et. al have shown the link between sustained
positive emotion and a distinct mode of physiological functioning, termed psychophysiological
coherence. In this state, bodily systems function with a high degree of synchronisation,
efficiency and harmony. Psychologically, this is associated with an improvement in cognitive
performance, more emotional stability and a betterment of psychosocial functioning and quality
of life. One of the main findings seems to be that at many levels (psychological, cognitive and
emotional) for different systems in the human body, the heart plays a fundamental and powerful
role of entry into the communication network that connects body, mind, emotions and spirit.
Moreover, a model has been proposed for emotions that include both the heart together with the
brain, nervous and hormonal system, as the main elements of a dynamical system that underlie
emotional experience. Finally it is important to mention that future research may be directed in
understanding how one’s emotional state effects both transmission and reception of electrical
magnetic energy between people, and to clarifying the role that intention may play in facilitating
the exchange of energy. Also, how a conscious shift, to a state of sincere Love and Appreciation,
in which the heart’s energy field becomes measurably more coherent, affects signal transference.
For me this is nothing new, however there is immense value in this scientific effort to clarify and
demystify the relationship between the Physical and the Spiritual domains. All this means that
values, qualities, positive emotions or states of being have a direct impact in the physical body,
the way a human being may perceive reality and his or her creative capacities. As a musician, a
surfer, a mathematician and an artist, I bear witness to the effortlessness and quality of
expressing myself in relationship to the state of being Love, while performing in any of these
areas of my life; particularly while still initially learning and in the process of mastering these
arts. In this respect K. H. Pribram, in Brain and Values (1998) explores whether it is possible to
derive a biological science of values. I know it is, or shall I say it seems to me it is!
For me this also means that verbal communication is enhanced in the presence of Love.
Embodied Values are required while speaking metaphorically of these values for them to be felt
and comprehended. Metaphor is more than just words with literal meaning, it is like poetry, it
carries life, which can produce bodily changes, and its effect can trigger new feelings or insights,
or restore a value like Humour. For example, imagine a person from the western world that joins
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a Zen monastery in Tibet, his friends in America say metaphorically and with concern about him,
“He’s gone mad”. Twenty years later, he returns as a Zen monk to his home village in America,
to what his friends metaphorically comment, “He has come back to his senses”. For the
American Zen monk it took twenty years to transcend his senses and reach and embody Buddha
state that he could share of among his old friends. With a smile on his face he replies to the
question “How do you feel in your old town?” (with an integration of the two metaphors used by
his friends about him), “I’ve gone mad because I have come back to my senses.”
Language is more than just an aid for transmission and interpretation of information; meaning is
linked to States of Being in the use of language, in a similar way that a kiss is more than an
exchange of saliva between the lips of two human beings.
In an article published in Newsweek May 7, 2001, with front cover displaying, God and The
Brain - How We Are Wired for Spirituality (pp. 50-58), there is a picture of the brain illustrating
how people in prayer or deep meditation have shown a neurological connection to different states
such as transcendence, vision, enlightenment and feelings of awe. The scientist J.H. Austin
explains how for example, Cosmic Unity is perceived when the parietal lobes quieten down
allowing the person to feel at one with the universe. Other areas of the brain are linked to
religious emotions, sacred images, and response to religious words.
This same person J.H. Austin, writes in Zen and the Brain - Toward an Understanding of
Meditation and Consciousness:
Broadly speaking, our answers fall into one of three categories. Physicalism holds
that there are only physical entities in the universe, not values. Idealism says that
values and meaning are implicit in the universe. Perspectivism replies that it all
depends on your perspective. From the perspective of a pragmatist, what counts is
what works. Within the moment of Zen awakening, however, the flash of insightwisdom performs an awesome synthesis: it makes the three categories all valid
simultaneously. Physical entities are seen into. New dimensions of implicit meaning
are revealed. Everything seen works perfectly. (1998, pp. 525-526)
Personally, many of these findings make sense to me in my own experience. When I am singing
or chanting certain vowel patterns (aeiouaeiouaeiou….) in Spanish or Hebrew it becomes as one
sound, it is like a password to certain states of being which give me access to different areas of
consciousness. When I employ certain consonants mixed with the vowels
(tashalimanihakuma…) then that gives me access to other states of being and areas of
consciousness, and when I recall certain words like Perfection, Certainty, Love, Unity, they also
give me access to feelings, qualities or values. Silence is a key to access those states of being.
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Silence is different than being quiet. Some people can be quiet and can be very noisy internally
(highly mentally active). Some other people may be speaking and yet be very silent internally (a
quiet mind).
Sound, toning and chanting can be used very effectively to quiet the mind and experience a
“blank mental space”. This means breaking free from the boundaries of word meaning in
relationship to the world of the senses. It would be like the use of phonemes and morphemes
without their old meaning in the face of new meaning related to Spiritual realities and States of
Being.
According to V. Fromkin, R. Rodman, P. Collins and D. Blair in the book An Introduction To
Language:
Phonology is the study of sound patterns found in human language…, Phonemes:
the phonological units of language...In the physical world the naïve speaker and
hearer actualize and are sensitive to sounds, but what they feel themselves to be
pronouncing and hearing are “phonemes”,… Morphemes: the minimal units of
meaning…, A morpheme may be defined as the minimal linguistic sign,…Every
word in every language is composed of one or more morphemes. (1998, Chapter 3)
Toning, like chanting can have the effect of deprogramming the brain from word boundaries, or
creating a neural pathway to access a silent mind with long term memory.
In Chapter Six – ‘The Sounds Of Silence’ of Language Instinct – How The Mind Creates
Language Stephen Pinker writes:
...all speech is an illusion…, a word boundary with no one to hear it has no
sound,...This becomes apparent when we listen to a foreign language…, Oronyms: I
scream, You scream, We all scream, For ice cream…Even the sequence of sounds
we think we hear within a word are an illusion. If you were to cut up a tape of
someone saying cat, you would not get pieces that sound like K, A, and T (the units
called “phonemes that correspond roughly to the letters of the alphabet). If you put
the pieces together in reverse order, then there is another strange sound instead of
TACK...Speech perception is another one of the biological miracles making up the
language instinct”. (1994, Chapter 6)
The experience of having a quiet mind with a heart full of Love is a fountain of well being for
myself and for whoever unifies with me. This is my first responsibility and my highest
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contribution to The Family of Humanity, hand in hand with sharing metaphorically or directly
with other human beings how to access those states of being with long-term memory.
In The Zohar it is also mentioned in detail, the power of visualising and meditating upon each
letter of the Aramaic or Hebrew alphabet. It is explained how these letters are “Living Beings”,
“Energies”, or “Qualities” that nurture the soul and may be seeded in human consciousness at
night time during sleep. For me this is also a real experience since early childhood (much before
I knew about The Zohar). In dreams that I still remember vividly and have been with me like
powerful visions, each of these letters were coming from the stars, they were like lightening, and
each time I saw them coming towards me at the speed of Light, and slowing down forming
words, and then accelerating again and penetrating my eyes like a flash, it gave me the
experience of a profound Love, Certainty, Grace among other qualities and values that I came to
embody at will.
In the book The Keys of Enoch, the writer (J.J. Hurtak) inspired and directed by the author
Enoch, writes a divine revelation:
The Keys to future linguistic are in the Scriptures of Light, which are the codes of
the luminaries. “In these scriptures every letter causes illumination of the Divine to
spring forth..., The knowledge of this language comes from a core memory of
information being shared by the Higher Evolution...,However, this is so complex
that the letters of the Living Light must first be seeded into the subconscious during
sleep. This is to prepare the spiritual inner- vehicles to unify all of the inassimilable
geometries of the dark subconscious into a divine letter. This divine letter can hold
the attention of the soul while sleeping and carefully school the soul to recognize the
differences between the divine letters and the archetypal pattern of the
subconscious. When the soul has been prepared to recognize several; of the divine
letters, then education of the soul can begin in the creative states of consciousness...,
The ideographs and pictographs of other world geometries fuse color and
mathematical indexes, which respatializes the consciousness of Man to participate in
multiple time cells of information…, This divine language is also the inductive
language to the still “small voice” within the body which advises you on real day to
day decisions in the world so that your consciousness will not err in executing The
Father’s Will. (1977, Key 2-0-7, p. 237)
As I have already mentioned, language plays a fundamental role in many different domains of
human existence. In early childhood it provides a framework to categorise the physical
environment, body functions and emotions associated with words. Then it allows the possibility
to communicate socially the human’s basic needs and to learn to interact with other people to
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accomplish certain goals or acquire certain skills. It also enables the possibility of expressing
creatively through poetry and metaphor, experiences from the Spiritual domain. All this happens
in perfect integration with bodily functions and actions. So it is possible that different cognitive
maps may coexist in the brain to allow a human being to function in the physical realm as well as
in the spiritual realm, and that the use of certain words, sounds, images and movements may be
connected to the firing of certain neurons enabling or disabling different cognitive maps. It is
also possible that certain states of being may be accessible through certain genes and proteins,
which are derived from amino acid sequences, like GABA an inhibitory transmitter that plays a
fundamental role in the nervous system.
This means that human beings are called to take great care in the way they think, feel and talk.
Through language, human beings may be preconditioned to a certain limited response to their
environment and others. This can be accomplished through fear conditioning; a process that can
be associated to indoctrination sometimes called brainwashing and closely related to
blackmailing. However, through language the most noble dreams and possibilities may be
opened up to a human being to be Loving, Truthful, and Compassionate among others; this being
the foundation for constructive creativity and learning. Also through language a human being
may liberate him or herself from the bondage of an exclusively physical life to the highs of a
Spiritual experience that can be embodied through poetry, music, arts and life.
In Chapter 9 – ‘Language And The Brain’ of their book Cognitive Neuroscience, Gazzaniga,
Ivry & Mangun write:
How does our brain cope with spoken and written input to derive meaning? To
answer this question we have to know how words are represented in our brain. It
turns out that this is a difficult question to answer, but cognitive neuroscience has
elucidated a number of key principles…, One of the central concepts in word
representation is that of the mental lexicon, a mental store of information about
words that includes semantic information (what is the words meaning?), syntactic
information (How are the words combined to form a sentence?) and the details of
word forms (How are they spelled and what is their sound pattern?). (2002, pp. 351399)
The use of certain languages in certain ways may enable certain neural-pathways, with the
possibility to master certain physical laws like gravity to the point of being able to walk on
water, heal the sick and communicate telepathically with other human beings or spiritual beings
anywhere in the cosmos. More importantly through the use of language a human being may
inspire people to find God and be God like and to partake of Its Kingdom (Spiritual domain).
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In his paper, “Ordinary and Extraordinary Divine Action: The Nexus of Interaction” George F.
R. Ellis writes:
...we can consider the possibility of God’s intervention in our physical reality and
our world through God-centred minds: This is to consider the possibility that within
the laws governing the behaviour of matter, there is hidden another domain of
response of matter to life than usually encountered: matter might respond directly to
God-centred minds through laws of causal behaviour, or there may be domains of
response of matter encompassed in physical laws, but they are seldom tested
because such God-centred minds are so seldom encountered. Then the distinction
between ordinary and extraordinary action becomes a question of whether or not we
have entered this domain. What has been classified as “extraordinary” action above
would be “ordinary” action but in a different set of circumstances leading to a
different kind of response and behaviour where God-centred thought dominates and
matter responds. Thus, we have the possibility of the existence of a new order, new
regime of behaviour of matter, where apparently different rules apply, when the
right “spiritual” conditions are fulfilled. (1995, pp. 359-396)
One of the things that still puzzle scientists is the singularity of how language appeared in the
history and evolution of humanity. There is enough evidence to discard the hypothesis that
language appeared gradually and evolved on the basis of more basic and simple languages. An
answer to this puzzle is that some human beings were biologically equipped to communicate
with Spiritual Beings in a telepathic way, and then through a Language of Light, a cognitive map
was created to represent both the physical and the spiritual world with the aid of a symbolic
structure, mapping letters and sounds to produce a human language. In The Bible for example:
Adam and Eve were directly created by God, they were not of human origin even though in
physical form; Angels talk to people in dreams; Melchizedek, ‘he was never born and he never
died, without genealogy like the Son of God he remains a Priest forever’ (a materialised Spiritual
Being) (Hebrews 7:3).
There is evidence that different languages of Light exist, and are accessible to the Spiritualised
mind. These languages are pictographic, with packages of sounds, geometries and feelings that
enable the link and internal communication with other Beings that share this “code”. The access
to this language can be activated through the use of a Language of Light like Aramaic, Hebrew,
Egyptian, and Sanskrit. This is because each of these languages can be used for different
purposes both Physical and Spiritual. Particularly Hebrew and Aramaic, which share the same
alphabet, can be used as a tool to enable a connection in the brain with other realms of existence.
This means that when a person learns Hebrew or Aramaic in this context, the Spiritual domain is
connected to each letter through different qualities and also each letter is connected to different
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sounds and words relative to concepts of the physical world. Therefore, already associated to the
letters there is a cognitive map (“metaphorically established”) created in the brain that links the
Spiritual with the Physical realm, with the possibility of functioning in both realms effortlessly
once learned. In this respect, J. J. Hurtak writes:
(vs. 35) Earthbound language has been shaped by the variegated patterns of human
thoughts, resulting in morphemes and phonemes, organized into linear sentence
structure separated by periods. The “periods” syntactically produce a consciousness
breakage and an inactivation of higher free floating thought-forms that were not
meant for the limitations of static syntax; rather, the higher thought-forms were
meant for the mind’s spatialization into the open geometries of the life
continuum…, (vs. 46 - 47) “This is what the Lord YHWH has said: ‘Here I AM
creating new heavens and new earth; and the former things will not be called to
mind, neither will they come up into the heart. At this time you will use and
communicate through your mind’s eye in the flaming pictographs of Light. No
longer will the former things of human speech, or the resonances of the fallen
Ophanim be called to mind in separating your vibration of light from “Joshu-a who
comes in the name of Je-ho-wah!” Blessed be the letters of JOSHUA JEHOWAH,
YEHOVAH, YAH (Key 2-1-4, pp. 300-301)
In my own experience, and before I came across these writings, I had already experienced a
different way of communication that is non verbal, and it is based on feelings, mental pictures
and scenarios with long range potential, across different countries with different people. I know
that this has been a gift to me since childhood and it is connected to different dreams, Hebrew
letters, mathematical formulas and geometrical shapes, sounds and feelings. I have expressed
some of the qualities that I have experienced in that kind of communication through sound,
music, visual arts, with the awareness that mental spaces and qualities of being were alive in me.
Also, some other times my mental space is blank and only qualities and feelings are present, and
available to the sensitive and empathetic person.
In The Bible it is written, “...guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.”
(Proverbs 4:23), “What comes out of your mouth is more important than what you put into your
mouth” (Matatyahu,
15:11). For me this means to be careful of what I think, the way I
think, what I speak and the way I speak, what I feel and how I empathise with other people. All
this, in my own awareness is crucial to the way I experience my life, “Reality.”
One of the recent contributions in Cognitive Linguistic and Cognitive Science that relates to my
own life experience and clearly illustrates some of the structures or principles underlying thought
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processes, language and perception is Conceptual Blending, this will be a central topic to this
essay.
This part of the essay is intended to illustrate the benefits of Conceptual Blending in dealing with
the issue of Identity and Character, in order to broaden the understanding of Personal
Transformation, Roles, and Self-Realisation amongst others. Most of the concepts, ideas,
definitions and examples come from Fauconnier and Turner and their book The Way We Think
(2002).
Human behaviour is made manifest in the inter-relationships and interactions of people. In this
human dynamic people may be distinguished by their character, something unique about them.
From a Linguistic point of view, this means how they think, how they talk, how they write, how
rich is their verbal expression, and to which degree their words correspond with their actions.
This means that a particular person may change role, situation or circumstance and grow older,
yet this person remains recognisable in all of them. Perhaps a human may even recognise their
uniqueness after that person has reached enlightenment or fusion with God’s Mind and Spirit,
this being an enhancement of personality and their manifested full potential.
Characters, according to their unique qualities and ways of being and acting, may serve as role
models or reference points to other people. This means, for example, the question could be
raised, how would this person act in a certain situation? More specifically, how would Jesus act
if he were a surfer?
Characters are usually associated with names, so people can recognise a person and his
associated qualities by a particular name. For example, Jesus the embodiment of Unconditional
Love, Charlie Parker as the expression of spontaneity and pure melodies, Nina the manifestation
of spiritual liberation in family and community.
Fauconnier and Turner write:
...a character can stay essentially the same over widely different frames, and a frame
can stay essentially the same when populated by widely different characters.” Also,
“Characters, like frames, are basic cognitive cultural instruments.” (2002, p. 250)
Conceptual Blending or Integration is the consequence of the last twenty-five years research in
the area of cognitive science amongst others. There is considerable evidence that reason is
encoded, it appears says Gilles Fauconnier in his paper “Conceptual Integration”:
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The neural architectures that evolved to produce perception, sensation, and bodily
movements are at the heart of what we experience as a rational inference,
conceptualization and meaning construction. (Fauconnier 2001, p. 1)
Some theories like Metaphor and Mental Space Theory are used to show that some approaches to
semantics like; structuralism, generative linguistic and logic based truth-conditional are limited
and somehow inadequate, because of their abstract, algorithmic and disembodied views and
orientation. This is because some analytic philosophers excluded figurative thought from “core
meaning”. These analytic approaches ignored the imaginative operations of meaning
construction that occur at a very fast speed, like a shooting star, they leave little trace of their
dynamics.
In this respect Fauconnier clarifies:
Conceptual Blending or Integration (C.I.) is a further development of this line of
research. It confirms in novel ways that similar general properties of neural binding
and simulation lies behind sensory-motor activities, concrete interactions with the
world, human-scale everyday experience, abstract reasoning and scientific and
artistic invention...C.I. is a basic mental capacity that leads to new meaning, global
insight, and conceptual compressions useful for memory and manipulation of
otherwise diffuse ranges of memory. It plays a fundamental role in the construction
of meaning in everyday life, in the arts and sciences, in technological development
and in religious thinking. (2001, p.1)
Fundamentally, C.I. is the construction of a mental space, which blends in a new way the
relationship between input mental spaces in a certain structure mode, therefore dynamically
producing Emergent Structures.
Before proceeding in understanding the elements of Blending, let’s explore informally some
common examples.
Margaret Barden postulated the following question: How can two ideas be merged to produce a
new structure which shows the influence of both ancestor ideas without being a mere “Cut and
paste combination”? Paraphrasing Fauconnier and Turner (2002), it is usual to suggest that there
are differences between the way people think, even though the underlying mechanism of the
brain is the same. For example: An adult thinks differently than a child, the person that is called a
“genius” seems to operate in a different mental way from the people that are called “normal” or
“common”.
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Another example illustrates the difference in human mental and imaginative capacities that are
operating when playing a song whilst reading from a score in contrast to just creating and
playing music at the same time, improvising or jamming.
All these distinctions are in many ways connected to what inspired and is of interest in
unravelling the operations behind the construction of meaning from the C.I. point of view.
Some of the topics of interest, which are relevant to cognitive science are: Analogical Thinking,
Conceptual Framing, and Metaphoric Thinking. Therefore, I will touch briefly on these topics
and their connection to C.I.
C.I. is indispensable for intellectual work (see example of Iron Lady...and, p. 18, Fauconnier and
Turner 2002), as well as learning every day patterns and the language of the body.
Consider this example: a ski instructor is supporting somebody to learn how to propel themselves
and his suggestion is that he or she imitates the movement of “pushing off” while roller-skating.
Now, this is different than incorporating the action of “pushing off” into skiing, in which case he
or she more likely falls. What is needed here is a selective combination of actions (pushing off
with skiing) and the development of a blend, which produces a new emergent pattern, called
“skating”.
Another example in skiing would be, an instructor that facilitated somebody to learn to face the
right direction down hill and stand properly, by suggesting that he or she imagine they are a
waiter in a café in Dunedin, carrying with care a tray with coffee, tea and biscuits on it. This
again is different than executing a known pattern of bodily action (carrying a tray) in the context
of skiing, because, carrying a tray implies the exertion of force against the weight of the tray to
create equilibrium. In skiing there is no tray with coffee, tea and biscuits and therefore no
weight; what is important here, is the direction of gaze, position of the body and overall motion.
This is different than simply the sum of carrying a tray while moving down hill.
Usually the Blending Process happens in the context of cognitive principles and forces, however
in this particular example it is also driven (The Blending Process) by real-world affordances,
including biophysics and physics.
The reader may derive or identify a hidden analogy between a small aspect of the waiter’s
motion and the desired skiing position. It is important to say that this analogy makes little sense
independent of the blend. By no means it is suggested here that you have to move like a waiter to
be a good skier. It is only when the person who is learning to ski, mentally carries the tray while
skiing that there is an improvement in body position (Emergent Pattern).
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It can be appreciated generally in C.I. that there is a “match” between input spaces, particularly
here, between “waiter” and “skier”, yet this match is different than Analogical Reasoning,
because nothing is inferred from the domain of waiting to be projected to the domain of skiing.
What really takes place is the integration of motion. This means that when motion is mastered
then the matches between inputs can be forgotten. This is also different than metaphorical
thinking, linking two different domains of bodily function (skiing and waiting).
Seona Coulson writes:
Originally, in mental space theory (Fauconnier, 1994), metaphor was handled much
like other cases of indirect reference. On Fauconnier’s (1994) account a metaphor
such as (Paris is the heart of France) is handled by setting up two Mental Spaces:
one for the source domain (anatomy) and one for the target (geography). The
“Heart” is linked to “Paris”, and the “body” is linked to “France” by analogical
connecters. Once these spaces are linked, models that detail the importance of the
heart to sustaining the body are cognitively accessible to the target domain and can
be mapped onto target space counterparts. However, the two-space model suggests a
straightforward correspondence between the two domains that is not always
supported by the data. (2001, Chapter 6, p. 165)
It is important to mention that blending is intimately connected to a set of psychological and
neurobiological properties due to the constant shift happening in the brain’s highly
interconnected cells or neural pathways.
This means that there is a relationship between the emergent properties in the blend and the
activation patterns of neurons in the brain. This is more than just having access to a different
domain (target) from a source domain in metaphorical mapping, because in only having
occasional access to those domains the brain has yet to create a neural pathway to embody the
experience. Having a Spiritual Experience is different than embodying Spirituality. Metaphor
may open up the way to a Spiritual experience, while Blending enables the transformation in the
body (the brain) to embody Spirituality.
Some of those neural activations come from the forces which are affecting human beings through
the environment, or from what people share and how people interpret those messages from
bodily states, purpose and many others related to culture, personal experience, biological
evolution, a sense of self value wise, and ultimately God Consciousness and Global Awareness.
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Also interesting is the fact that much of shifting activation is the work of imagination striving to
find integration.
Other types of Blending do happen in different ways to integrate conceptual structure and bodily
action (see example, the Genie in the Computer, p. 22 The Way We Think, Fauconnier and
Turner 2002) and scientific discovery (see example, Crazy Numbers, p. 24, Chapter 13,
Fauconnier and Turner 2002).
All of these examples show the imaginative complexity of activation, matching, and construction
of meaning.
Blending is working continuously in human thought and action, however it takes awareness and
attention to see it, because in many instances the meaning that may be taken for granted is hidden
in many situations, behind large complexity.
Consider the simple example of the use of the word “Safe”, in the context of a child playing at
the beach with a shovel: “The child is Safe”, “The beach is Safe”, “The shovel is Safe”. Here the
three statements pertain to the safety of the child. Even though it could be interpreted for
example that the shovel is safe from the ocean or the waves. So, “Safe” instead of assigning a
property is prompting the reader to imagine scenarios of danger for the child. This is because the
child’s safety in relationship to a potential danger about the beach, rips and the fact that the child
has yet to learn to swim, is derived from the above expressions and the use of the word “Safe”.
Also, in the same line of thought, the shovel may be sharp, with a pointy edge representing a
potential danger in the face of a naïve child.
In this respect, John Taylor in Cognitive Grammar (2002) writes:
Especially complex is the adjective safe (Sweetser 1999). Safe evokes, in its
semantic structure, at least the following aspects:
- There is an entity that is of some value (to someone)…
- There is an event or situation that is a potential source of danger to the
valued entity…
- There is a desire to protect the valued entity from danger...(p.452)
Finally, in this brief introduction I will make reference to one of the main benefits derived from
Conceptual Blending, which pertains to the ability to provide compression to human scale of
diffuse arrays of events. For the purpose of illustrating this I will explore the situation of
graduation.
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This situation is the Blending of many different aspects of the life of a student in a ceremony
which takes place in a saloon for two or three hours, with guest speakers to inspire and illustrate
the experience of being a student and its future implications. Usually a student in a four to five
years span undergoes different activities like registration, attendance to classes, listening to
lectures, completing the course and moving on to other walks of life. All these events are
compressed in the ceremony where guest speakers give inspiring speeches, with your family and
your friends sharing these emotions and sometimes tears. All this compression takes place in
three hours. Compression of time and events takes place within some other compressions, for
example when the time comes to receive the diploma, and the whole of the experience of being a
student is compressed in that moment (see example, The Graduation Ceremony, p. 31,
Fauconnier and Turner 2002).
In order to explore the elements of blending, I will examine an example about a Buddhist Monk
as portrayed by Fauconnier and Turner:
A Buddhist Monk begins at dawn one day walking up a mountain, reaches the top at
sunset, meditates at the top for several days until one dawn he begins to walk back
to the foot of the mountain, which he reaches at sunset. Make no assumptions about
his starting or stopping or about his pace during the trips. Riddle: Is there a place on
the path that the monk occupies at the same hour of the day on the two separate
journeys?
This is an amazing riddle that Arthur Koesther presents in The Act of Creation…
(2002, p. 39)
The monk walking up and down the hill on the same day can also be envisioned. There must be a
place that he meets himself, and that is the place of interest, meaning, the solution of the riddle.
The solution of this riddle proposes another major scientific riddle: How is the reader able to
arrive at a solution? Because it seems impossible for a monk to travel up and down at the same
time, therefore it is impossible for the monk to meet himself. However, this impossible
construction in human imagination gives the solution the reader is looking for.
It is perfectly possible for two people, one going up and the other going down the hill to meet
somewhere in the mountain. To be aware of this is crucial to solving the riddle, even though
there is only one person in the riddle walking up, meditating, and walking down in different
days. So, to imagine the monk meeting himself as if he is meeting another person creates a Blend
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of two different journeys into one with a new structure emerging in the Blend. This is “the
encounter”, and this Emergent Structure reveals the solution.
This example reveals the main principle of the network model of C.I. These principles are:
Mental Spaces, Input Spaces, Cross-Space Mapping, Generic Space, Blend, and Emergent
Structure.
Mental Spaces: are small conceptual packets constructed as a human thinks and talks for
purposes of local understanding and action. Mental Spaces are partial. They are interconnected
and can be modified as thought and discourse unfold. Mental Spaces can be generally used to
model dynamic mappings in thought and language.
According to Seana Coulson (2001), “Mental Spaces can be thought of as temporary containers
for relevant information about a particular domain”. They can also be represented as pockets of
information and certain relationships and dynamics. For example, his first wave was awesome, a
glassy tube five seconds ride. In the context or Frame of a man surfing, this space is clearly
activated and very meaningful for any surfer. Normally, the question that a surfer would ask to
add to that Mental Space and therefore change it as conversation proceeds, is “How big was the
swell?” According to Fauconnier (1994) about Mental Space theory he suggests, that it is a
referential structure. Langacker (1993) refers to it as a level of conceptual organisation, a
mapping between a described scenario and the Linguistic structure describing it.
Mental Space theory allows the possibility to represent information about a character in different
contexts, where properties about the character may change. For example, Jesus is working as a
Cognitive Scientist, exploring the relationships between perception, States of Being, gravity and
anti-gravity to explore the possibility for human beings to walk on water. However, in his normal
life he already walks on water. Mental Spaces are useful to represent different beliefs, possible
scenarios of action for business planning, different states of consciousness and access to different
worlds of Light among other things.
In the example of the Buddhist monk, there are two Mental Spaces, one for the ascent and one
for the descent, both are connected to Long Term Schematic Knowledge called “Frames”. Such
is the Frame “walking along the mountain”, and to Long Term Specific Knowledge such as
memory of the time the mountain was climbed. For example: Mt. Cook, Feb. 1994. These
Frames and Mental Spaces can be activated for different purposes like, recalling past events,
exploring possibilities of what would have happened if something else had taken place, or what
other people believe about the events which took place related to the activation of these Mental
Spaces.
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In relationship to Frames, Fillmore has given a definition that states that a Frame is a system of
categories and that the structure of this system of categories is deeply connected to a motivating
context. According to Coulson (2001), “words are defined with respect to a Frame and perform a
categorisation that takes the Frame for granted”. According to this, it seems that meanings arise
out of these motivating experiences. An example of that is how the word “wave”, “tube”,
“rollercoaster”, “take off”, “cut back”, “side slip” and “surfboard” are all related to the same artsport dynamics Frame (surfing dynamics Frame). Similar to the concept of Frame, is the concept
of Domain provided in Cognitive Grammar as suggested by John Taylor.
He writes:
A domain..., may be defined as any knowledge configuration which provides the
context for the conceptualisation of a semantic unit.., A domain may be defined as
knowledge configuration that is relevant to the categorisation of meaning. Domains
vary in complexity from basic conceptions of colour, temperature, space, time and
so on, which can not reasonably be reduced to other, simpler conceptions, to highly
complex structures, such as the rules of a game..., and typical event scenarios.
(Taylor 2002, Chapter 22, pp. 439-457)
To facilitate the understanding and the operation of Blends, it is useful to use diagrams, such as:
Circles (for Mental Spaces), Elements (like points or icons in the circle), Lines (for connections
between elements in different spaces).
It is important to note that in the neural integration of these cognitive processes, Mental Spaces
are sets of activated neuronal assemblies, and lines between elements correspond to Coactivation-Bindings of a certain kind.
It is also important to mention that the Frame for the Mental Spaces is represented as either
outside in a rectangle or iconically inside the circle.
Input Spaces: Mental Spaces used in the Blending. For example: The day the monk is walking up
the hill (Input Space1= d1), and the day the monk is walking down the hill (Input Space2= d2).
The monk going up (a1), and the monk coming down, (a2).
Cross-Space Mapping: It is the means to connect counterparts of different input spaces. For
example: The connections between mountains, moving individuals, day of travel, motion across
different Input Spaces.
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Generic Space: A Generic Mental Space maps onto each of the Input Spaces and contains what
the inputs have in common. In the example: a moving individual and his position, a path linking
the foot and summit of the mountain, a day travel and motion.
Blend: Is another Mental Space, the Blend Space usually called “The Blend”, is a projection of a
collection of Input Spaces into one Mental Space, which produces Emergent Structure absent in
the Input Spaces. In the example: the mountain slope in the Blended Space, the two days d 1 and
d2 are mapped onto a single day d’ and are thus fused. However, the moving individuals and
their positions are mapped accordingly to the time of the day, with the direction of motion
preserved without fusion. Input Space1 represents completely the upward walking, while Input
Space2 represents the downward.
So the projection preserves times and positions. The Blended Space, which has time t and day d’,
contains a counterpart of a1 at the position occupied by a1 at time t and day d1, as well as a
counterpart for a2 at the position occupied by a2 at time t on day d2.
Emergent Structure: Properties, which arise in the Blend and are absent in the Inputs,
composition of elements from the Inputs, which manifest new relations in the Blend only. In the
example: two moving monks instead of one. Notice they are moving in opposite directions, and
at any time their positions may be compared and predicted, because they are travelling on the
same day d’.
Completion: brings additional structure in The Blend because the two monks can be viewed
moving on the path as part of a background Frame (two people starting a journey at the same
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time from opposite ends of the path). Finally it can be observed how this structure is
incorporated in The Blend by means of completion.
Elaboration: is the process of running the Blend mentally as a simulation and actually capturing
the dynamic properties present in the Blend, as illustrated in the example, when after some hours
of walking up and down the mountain, our friend the monk finally meets “Himself”.
The beauty of this phenomenon is the flash of comprehension, which comes into consciousness
as a consequence of constantly maintaining the Inputs across spaces. In the example there is a
back projection from the Blend into the Input Spaces, of elements, which are fused in the Blend.
This geometric property is completely unconscious and precisely because of that, it seems
“magical” when the flash of comprehension becomes a conscious revelation.
Before continuing any further it seems important to remember that cause-effect relationship is
basic to human understanding of life dynamics. It allows somebody to view a situation or
phenomena, as a series of causal events all linked with each other, and to code it in a simplified
form into equations to describe or predict certain patterns. Yet paradoxically, when an event is
broken down into a set of “smaller events” to describe with more detail the phenomena in order
to understand it, more complexity may be introduced in the process and therefore may create a
feeling of confusion and less understanding in the observer, missing out the Essence of the
Whole. So it is important for human beings to have both a sense of “Global Insight” and “CauseEffect” understanding.
This means to look at a phenomena aiming at an intuitive apprehension of the whole as well as a
logical step-by-step understanding with proof of the situation. One, it seems (intuition) the
source and essence of creativity, and the other (reason), a check on intuition as well as a means
of keeping record and sharing the new discovery.
An example where these two aspects of cognition are at play, can be found in understanding the
equation H2 = C12+C22 that takes some steps and operations. However, the geometrical properties
represented by the equation are grasped as global insight by looking at these pictures. Cause and
effect are one; the cause of this theorem is related fundamentally in geometric properties that are
clearly conveyed by the following pictures. Note that the big square fits perfectly as the
hypotenuse of the triangle that is formed by the two little squares. If you count the number of
cells in both of the little squares, they equal the number of cells in the big square. This may
trigger Global Insight, an intuitive flash to grasp the general theorem.
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This is, by Blending all the Cause-Effect relations into one space, where cause and effect are
brought together, and that means to see the effect directly into the cause.
So it follows or seems that the integration of Cause and Effect is the central feature of
perception. Perception is caused by complex interactions between the brain and its environment
and it becomes available to consciousness as people integrate the effect with its cause to witness
emergent meaning. For example: the existence of an apple (cause), which immediately presents
its effect (colour, taste, shape, and weight). As a consequence, the effect now is in its cause; they
are one.
Sensory Projection also arises from integration. A sensation of pleasure from hot or warm water
running over the hands of a human being, especially in winter, is constructed in his or her
nervous system, however he or she experiences the “pleasure” or feels it in his or her hands. This
is an integration between a part of the cause with a mental effect, to create a pleasure perceived
in the hands so that cause and effect are located now in the mental conception of the hands. The
neural biological effects that constitute the “pleasure” are distributed throughout the central
nervous system, yet the integrated cause and effect have only the single undistributed location of
“the hands”.
Some other examples of Cause-Effect Integration are human rituals like weddings. When the
bride throws the bouquet and somebody catches it, what happens is an event distant in time has
become a part of the person who caught the bouquet (next marriage); these Cause and Effect
Blends are also seen as part of persuasion situations or revelatory processes (see example, p. 81,
Fauconnier and Turner 2002).
So, as long as human perceptual and sensory systems are working properly, it is almost
impossible for consciousness to see outside the Blend of Cause and Effect. For example: read a
book without attaching any meaning to the words, as a two-year young child would look at it.
How to break free from this? The answer, God’s Connections and Paradise Landing!!!
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By the way, “Paradise Landing”, the title of a revelatory book of Divine origin, is also a
metaphor for “Embodied Spirituality” where Paradise pertains to the centre of the Spiritual
Kingdom, which is somewhere “up” or “in” there, and is coming to earth through human beings
(target domain/Spiritual), and it is mapped to a flying object like a plane that is landing (source
domain/Physical). This is also similar to another metaphor, “Coming Home”.
Vital Relationships and their Compressions are fundamental to the process of Blending. Mental
Spaces, connections between them and Blended Spaces allows the opportunity to experience
Global Insight, Human-Scale Understanding and new meaning. It makes human beings both
efficient and creative. Compression is one of the more important aspects to human efficiency and
creativity, and this is achieved through Blending.
Some types of Vital Relationships are: Change, Identity, Time, Role, Space, Cause-Effect, PartWhole, Representation, Analogy, Disanalogy, Property, Similarity, Category, Intentionality, and
Uniqueness.
According to Fauconnier and Turner:
There are canonical patterns of compression over those Vital Relations that repeat
themselves over and over. Compression can scale Time, Space, Cause-Effect and
Intentionality. Analogy can be compressed into Identity or Uniqueness. CauseEffect can be compressed into Part-Whole, and Identity itself is routinely
compressed into Uniqueness. (2002)
Consider the example of a fireplace. The fire is connected to the ashes by Cause-Effect. Here two
Mental Spaces are seen, one with wood burning and the other with ashes. One space happens
before the other; therefore a Vital Relation of Time, Space, connects them because they share the
same fireplace and also change in the transformation of wood into ash. Finally Cause-Effect
takes place; the fire causes the wood to turn into ash.
For more details about Vital Relations and their Compressions, and an extensive review on
Mental Spaces and their topology refer to Chapter 6 and p. 102 respectively of The Way We
Think (Fauconnier and Turner 2002).
Before I proceed to explore the particular topic of Character and Identity in Conceptual
Blending, it seems important to mention the increased tendency of cognitive scientists to find
connections across fields and the integration of basic mental powers underlying dramatically
different experiences in different walks of life.
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This will be the guiding line of the approach presented to explore the phenomena of
Consciousness, particularly Character and Identity.
It is also important to bring to the attention of the reader that there are different types of
integration networks like Simplex, Mirrors, Single Scope, Double Scope, and others. To keep
simple the introduction of this field of Cognitive Linguistics, only some of these networks have
been illustrated through some examples.
Identity and Character can be complex phenomena to describe or validate. Conceptual
Integration Networks serve the purpose to emphasise Frames (Simplex, Mirrors, Single Scope,
and Double Scope). Other types of integration network also arise to emphasise either the
Blending of Character and Frame or the Blending of a Character with another Character.
Here I will consider an example to illustrate the Blending of a Character with a Character, this
means a kind of Blending or Integration Network in which two Characters are fused in the Blend
instead of being projected to distant elements. The story also presents a Mirror Network.
Let’s imagine for a moment that a Cognitive Scientist is having a conversation with Jesus on the
subject of antigravity and Eternal Life. In this conversation the Scientist is fascinated by the fact
that a human being had mastered the Law of Gravity by demonstrating how to walk on water.
When the Scientist asks Jesus, “Can you explain me how to do it?” Jesus answers, “Get out of
your head and Be Certainty. You are focused on the physical aspect of the Universe trying to
measure it and explain it and this is creating a certain pattern of activity in your brain, which is
also creating the perception or belief that this is an extraordinary event.”
The Scientist says, “Jesus, I am getting the point clear. You are inviting me to break free from
my identity of being a scientist so that I can experience walking on water.”
Jesus replies, “This is so!”
To which the scientist replies, “Can I have both!!!?”
At this point Jesus gently touches the Scientist on his back and says, “My Brother, for that you
need first, Global Insight. Secondly to unify with me, and finally to be left as a new human being
completely transformed in a fusion of who I Am and what you partially are.”
This Being is a new Character with a Blend of Qualities and Values totally different to Jesus and
the original Scientist.
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What happens in this story is a Blend of Characters as well as an Integration of Input, Generic,
and Blend Spaces sharing an organising Frame. In the first part of the story Jesus is having a
conversation with the Scientist on the Laws of the Universe, Perception and Mastery of Being.
This type of Blend can be modelled by a Mirror Network; a network in which all Spaces share an
Organising Frame, like the example of the Buddhist Monk (men walking on the mountain).
Here the Frame is a human being understanding and mastering the Laws of the Universe by
Knowing Thyself. Both Input Spaces mirror each other based on the fact that they have the same
Organising Frame and so it is for the Generic Space.
The Blend has the same Frame, however in the Blend there is a richer feature which is a
conversation between two human beings about Mastery of Being and the Laws of the Universe,
where for example, Jesus uses a phrase like Global Insight which is out of his contextual
vocabulary in the Input Space; “Jesus a Human Being, Mastering the Laws of Being and the
Universe”. This human being lived two thousand years ago, spoke Aramaic and Hebrew, and
mastered walking on water by being in Unity with his Father-Mother in Heaven, a God of Love
who reveals His Laws, the Laws of Creation to His Children. The Cognitive Scientist also is in
the process of understanding and mastering the Laws of the Universe by means of Cognitive
Science and is fascinated by a human being like Jesus who never used his science, yet
accomplished so much.
The Blend is richer, because in the conversation Jesus speaks the language of the Scientist and
the Scientist is open to Jesus and a broadening of his scientific paradigm, the link between
Spiritual Laws and the scientific objective approach, and perhaps the synthesis of both.
An Organising Frame: provides a topology for the Space it organises. This is, it provides a set of
organising relations among the elements and the Space.
It is very easy to establish a Cross-Space Mapping between Input Spaces, when they share the
same Organising Frame; this is because they share the same topology and it is easy to establish a
correspondence between them.
Sometimes, Spaces in Mirror Networks may differ at a more specific level. In this last example
there are two human beings mastering themselves and the Laws of the Universe; at a more
specific level one is a Spiritual Realised Being with an internal understanding and
comprehension of God’s Laws, fully integrated in his physical existence. The Scientist is an
academic, intellectually orientated person pursuing an understanding of the Laws of the Universe
as if he were separated from them, an “independent observer” using his science to understand
and explain certain phenomena.
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These are more specific relationships of the elements involved in the Frame (“Human Being
mastering Universal Laws”) that show a difference in topology. It can be observed in this
example how time compression occurs, bringing together in the Blends two Characters who lived
separate in time and space; this is a property of Mirror Networks.
Now, looking carefully at the story it can observed that something else happens. Apart from the
fact that Jesus and the Scientist have a conversation in a Blended Space, the Scientist is left with
the possibility to fuse with Jesus and become a new person; this is called Character-Character
Blending.
Let’s imagine that the Scientist asks this question: How would I approach the subject of antigravity and human perception if I were Jesus? It is in this question where a new type of Blending
shows up as a possibility. This Blend can be run creatively and indefinitely where there is a
single human being who is mastering the Laws of the Universe (the Scientist) and he uses Jesus’
Character and Identity and his own intellectual character, views and interests in order to explore
and run the Blend. This is of value as long as the Scientist finds the process intellectually
productive. This means getting new insights, acquiring a different mind set and new capacities to
the extent that he inhabits the Blend and thus discovers new ways of Being and matters
pertaining the Laws of the Cosmos that were inaccessible outside the Blend.
This is what Jesus proposed the Scientist do for him to experience both things, namely walking
on water and still remain partly his identity as a scientist. The Blended Character, the Scientist as
a new human being, have both characteristics, one is Jesus’ Essential Values and Being-ness and
the other his own values and paradigms as a cognitive scientist.
Suddenly, Jesus appears in a Light Body to his Scientist Brother and says, “By the way my name
is Joshua; in Hebrew it means Salvation. In Hebrew and according to God’s Laws you are named
after a certain name when you are your name. This means that you are your word and therefore
you are your name. So, I Am Salvation is both my name and what I Am. A closer look to my
name in Hebrew (Yeshua,
) reveals that it is composed by four letters (Yud, Shin, Vav,
Eyin). Each letter is related to a quality of Being ( Yud = Game;
Shin = Truth; Vav =
Strength; Eyin = Stillness).
So, you see, each time somebody asks me who am I, and I answer
Yeshua), what happens is
that I am accessing all these states of Being and their interactions. This is also connected to a
certain neural-pathway; therefore perception of reality changes for anyone who fuses with me in
those qualities by allowing my name to resonate fully with their own cognitive processes and
potentially my spirit felt and registered in their spirit. Do you see the Blending?”
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“My name is Yeshua (Joshua), I Am Yeshua (Salvation), The Interaction between Game, Truth,
Strength and Stillness, this is who I Am. I Love You!”
A little bit like saying, I Am water, my name is water, I Am the Interaction between H and O, I
Am H2O. Suddenly Yeshua Ben Yosef became water!
Conceptual Blending enables the possibility of actualising the best human potential, which
means for example, bringing alive a core value system in a person, which is part of another
person or characters’ core value system, for the purpose (when there is a lack of them) of
complementing and providing those values or the means of accessing them consciously. In this
case values are equated to States of Being like Love, Certainty and Truth.
For the creature (human being), Truth is a destination, something to be arrived at by mental
work/psychological or cognitive work, for God, Truth is the Origin - something manifest in
everything that arises and then exists. For a Human Being fused with God, Truth is both the
Origin and the Destination; it is also the journey in Time and Space as well as a State of Being (a
core Value). This means that the State of Being Truth and its expression and manifestation in life
are one. Creature and Creator are One in Yeshua Ben Yosef’s life and words, I Am The Alpha
and The Omega, I Am The Truth, The Way and The Life.
For example the scientist feels and sees the possibility that by Blending his Character with
Yeshua Ben Yosef, he will become Pure Love or Love and Infinite Wisdom. Another possibility
would be for the scientist to fuse directly with the person of God, Yeshua’s Father-Mother, in
order to become Pure Love and Infinite Wisdom. However, Yeshua’s Character provides the
scientist with a reference point of Love and Wisdom as being personalised and embodied in a
human being, even though, these are God’s Values and can be accessed directly from the Source
of His or Her Being.
When the scientist becomes those Values then he is Love and Wisdom and therefore One with
God. Then, the scientist may genuinely express I Am One with my Father; I Am what Yeshua
Ben Yosef is in essence, expressed in the twenty first (21st) century as a cognitive scientist.
Whoever comes to me comes to God, whoever comes to me comes to Yeshua Ben Yosef and any
other Character in the Cosmos who is fused with God’s Values. This means that the cognitive
scientist has become the embodiment of those Values in conjunction with every single human
being or spiritual being who embodies those Values in Eternity or in any Time-Space Zone.
Conceptual Blending serves as a vehicle for Spiritual Experience and the possibility of
“Embodied Spirituality”, with the aid of powerful transforming creative capacities, with the
potential of personal character enhancement and social transformation. However, the theory of
Conceptual Integration presents some constraints that need to be taken into consideration. In this
respect Fauconnier and Turner write:
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Conceptual integration is strongly conservative: It always works from stable inputs
and under the constitutive and governing principles. But conceptual integration is
also creative, delivering new emergent structure that is intelligible be- cause it is
tied to stable structures. The bubble chamber of the brain runs constantly, making
and unmaking integration networks. Cultures, too, running a bubble chamber over
the collection of their members' brains, develop integration networks that can be
disseminated because the members of the culture all have the capacity for doublescope integration. Very few of the networks tried out in these bubble chambers of
brain and culture actually survive. A network that does survive takes its place in
individual or collective memory and knowledge. (2002)
Finally, it seems important to open the possibility of combining different approaches to meaning
construction and Self-Realisation or Fusion with God, in order to develop a better understanding
on how to approach these experiences individually and collectively to derive new ways of
learning and expanding awareness and consciousness.
John Taylor writes:
Cognitive Grammar is built on the premise that inherently and essentially language
is symbolic in nature. A language provides it users with a set of resources for
representing thought. (2002, p. 16)
Language is said to be symbolic because it allows human beings to communicate using symbols.
This is different than animal’s communication systems that are based on certain sounds in the
presence of predators, prey, or any other natural environmental event.
Doing Cognitive Grammar consists basically in identifying and analysing these resources. John
Taylor’s book is in a large part devoted to that purpose (see p. 16, Taylor 2002).
A topic of inquiry could be, exploring the possibility of doing Cognitive Grammar on Hebrew in
relation to Kabbalah as a Language of Light (Divine Thought forms) connected to a revelatory
process, which could be explored and explained with the aid of Conceptual Blending.
The Zohar provides, with rich metaphor and poetic language, perhaps a code to Divine or
Metaphysical realities in connection with life in human form. The Zohar, in conjunction with the
Old and New Testament could be a source of research and inspiration.
Paradise Landing provides the reader with inspirations to become God’s Values in Action.
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The connection with Sound and Pictographs (Hebrew letters) with the Neural-system and human
physiology could also be explored as an integrated work of Cognitive Science.
Creating Synapses to open up new neural pathways in the brain could be the main focus of
attention, and language is a means to activate Mental Spaces connected to God’s Thought Forms.
What are the impacts on individual and social dynamics in human beings exposed to this kind of
language and as a consequence of Fusion with God?
Love in a certain relationship can be mapped to a certain Neural Pathway or brain-heart pattern.
This pattern could be either constrained or enabled by language, perhaps stimulated with the aid
of a Language of Light.
By the way, the movie I.Q. is a stimulating example of the need of a fusion and integration
between “Heart and Brain”, Love and Intellectual expression.
To conclude this essay it seems important to leave you with some ideas for further research. For
this purpose I will use this last example and propose these questions:
-
What is the meaning of “pressure in your finger”? Explain.
-
How does the experience of “pressure in your finger” feel? Explain while
experiencing. Come on give it a go!!!
-
Is the meaning of pressure the same as the experience of pressure?
Substitute the word “pressure” for “Love” and repeat the experiment.
The concept of pressure is different than an experientially instantiation of the concept. The same
happens with Love, an act of Love accompanied with the feeling of Love between two people
embodying the experience gives birth to the concept of Love. Some people may say that the
concept of Love exists somewhere there (in the Universal Mind), therefore it can be instantiated
in the life of a human each now and then. To embody Love, with long-term memory, means that
the concept and the instance are consciously one.
In Chapter 3 of Cognitive Grammar, Taylor describes the difference between mental images and
concepts. In this regard he writes:
But, what is a concept?…, Yet there are many reasons why we should not want to
say that the mental image of a tree is the concept [TREE]. One problem with mental
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images is that they are at the same time too specific and too general…, The image is
too specific; it contains too much detail and this fails to capture what is common to
everything that we should want to call a tree..., In fact, to base the concept in a
mental image is to get things the wrong way round…What then is a concept?..., A
concept is a principle of categorization..., This boils down, essentially to being able
to make the appropriate categorisations of spatial relations…, I suggested above that
concepts can be understood as principles of categorisation. What about the other
pole of the linguistic sign, the acoustic image. Actually, we can understand the
acoustic image also as principle of categorisation. Just as each tree, the more closely
we observe it, is uniquely different from every other, so to each utterance of the
word tree…To have an acoustic image [triz] is to know what the word sounds like
and how it can be pronounced. The acoustic image is therefore also a principle of
categorisation, especially, a principle for the categorisation of auditory and
articulatory events. In a way it is also a kind of concept…, The use of symbols could
well be unique to humans. If this is the case, the uniqueness of human language vis
a vis animal communication systems could well lie in it’s symbolic nature..., If the
use of symbols differentiates humans from all other creatures, we may ask whether
humans display symbolic activity right from the beginning. (2002, pp. 42-60)
What about a feeling or an emotion, or a quality, or a value? Feelings can also be categorised, if
a person knows how Love feels then the person also knows when to give, how to give, why to be
it, and how it heals and nurtures. So it is for Grace and Humour. We may come up with the
concept of [GRACE] or [LOVE] for example; I will call these, the Emotional Image or the
Quality Image. Therefore, a concept can be defined as a principle of categorisation for an
experience in the life of a human (the physical, the mental, and the emotional and spiritual
realms).
Personally I am convinced that the concept of Love, the instantiation of Love in any reality
(physical, emotional, mental or spiritual) and the Universal Being of Love are one and the same.
I Am The Love, I Am The Loving thoughts, I Am The Loving feelings and emotions, I Am The
Loving actions (Thinking-Feeling-Acting-Love, in the Now Moment, while I Am writing and
talking). The concept and the instance are intimately related and their existence is interdependent
on each other; they are one, like body, mind and soul.
The concepts of Schema and Instance are useful to illustrate the philosophical concept of the “I
AM” for God. I AM is the Schema and different Instances are: I AM The Love, I AM The
Balance, I AM The Certainty, I AM The Divine, I AM The Grace and so on. Also, I AM The
Love can be a Schema, and some Instances of this Schema are: I AM The Love in expression
between couples, I AM The Love that you feel in your heart, I AM The Love of your Children.
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The Father in heaven willed to reveal himself to Moses, without proceeding farther than to cause
it to be said,
“I AM, I WILL BE”, when pressed for further revelation of himself, it was
only disclosed,
“I AM as I AM, I WILL BE as I WILL BE, I WILL BE as I
AM, I AM as I WILL BE.”
Embodied Spiritual Experiences allowed a human being called Yeshua Ben Yosef to express
God’s thoughts, actions and words: “I Am the Bread of Life”, “I Am the Living Water”, “I Am
the Light of the World”, “I Am the Good Shepherd”, “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”, “I
Am the True Vine; you are the branches”, “I Am the Light of the World”, “I Am the Gate”.
All the above are instances of the embodiment of I AM expressed in the words of the human
being known as Yeshua (Jesus).
In the Urantia Book (Paper 182) it is written:
The concept of the I AM is a philosophic concession which we make to the timebound, space-fettered, finite mind of man, to the impossibility of creature
comprehension of eternity existences -- nonbeginning, nonending realities and
relationships. To the time-space creature, all things must have a beginning save only
the ONE UNCAUSED -- the primeval cause of causes. Therefore do we
conceptualize this philosophic value-level as the I AM, at the same time instructing
all creatures that the Eternal Son and the Infinite Spirit are coeternal with the I AM;
in other words, that there never was a time when the I AM was not the Father of the
Son and, with him, of the Spirit. (1955, p. 6)
So meaning is connected with Concepts and Mental Spaces, physical bodily action or
experience, Spiritual and metaphysical realities and the integration of at least these three, at an
intellectual and emotional level, perhaps only then there is full meaning, and the reader may find
the answer to the question:
What is the meaning of the word “meaning”?
In Philosophy In The Flesh, Lakoff and Johnson write:
Exactly how the body and brain give rise to spiritual experience is an empirical
question for cognitive science and one well beyond the scope of this book. What we
can begin to address, however, is a much more limited question, though an
important one. The concept of spirituality in our culture has been defined mostly in
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Davis, J. J., A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Embodied Spirituality
terms of disembodiment and transcendence of this world. What is needed is an
alternative conception of embodied spirituality that at least begins to do justice to
what people experience. (1999, p. 564)
When I say “stay with me forever”, this can be interpreted as an addictive relationship or an
invitation to experience the most Pure Love for one another.
There is a way of escaping the Blend, re-mapping external values to the Inner Being (God’s
Values), a neural pathway to God. A place must exist for human beings to experience and live in
that space and to share it with other fellow human beings at a large scale, continuously. Is it
purely personal, or is it also a collective experience? Is it a choice or a natural consequence of
evolution, perhaps a “Higher Evolution”?
In my view, science like Cognitive Science and Cognitive Linguistics may shed light on the
subject.
The Zohar sheds Light on these questions; Paradise Landing is a testimony that this is possible.
My life experience is enough proof to me that this is so!!!
Understanding and experiencing “Embodied Spirituality” are possible for anyone who wishes
so!!!
Let’s stay together forever!!!
In gratitude and awe to every person who has contributed to the Greatest Good for Humanity. In
Compassion to those who still remain “asleep” and veiled to Truth.
To you who said: “I Am The Truth, I Am The Humour Of The Higher Spheres, I Am The
Teacher and The Eternal Student, I Am Your Silent Partner, I Am The Author of Authors, I
Am.”
I Love You Forever!!!
In Love, Light & Truth.
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Davis, J. J., A Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Embodied Spirituality
References
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ISSN: 2153-8212
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www.JCER.com |
Cognitive Neurodynamics manuscript No.
(will be inserted by the editor)
Sleep, Neuroengineering and Dynamics
arXiv:1312.7861v1 [q-bio.NC] 30 Dec 2013
Jens Christian Claussen · Ulrich G. Hofmann
Cognitive Neurodynamics 6 (3), 211-214 (2012)
DOI: 10.1007/s11571-012-9204-2
Received: 23.04.2012
Cognitive Neurodynamics 6 (3), 211-214 (2012) engineering approaches in neural medicine. Brain modeling and neural engineering are, in footsteps of these
words, aiming at understanding the brain and its emergAbstract Modeling of consciousness-related phenoming phenomena on the scientific side, and interacting
ena and neuroengineering are fields that are rapidly
with the brain – also with the perspective of medical
growing together. We review recent approaches and detreatment – from the engineering science side. Both
velopments and point out some promising directions of
sides of the theory-experiment coin have always been
future research: Understanding the dynamics of conconnected as, e.g., electrodes are used for data acquisisciousness states and associated oscillations, pathologtion as well as to influence neural systems, be it only
ical oscillations as well as their treatment by stimulaby well-defined input pulses of a measurement protocol
tion, neuroprosthetics and brain-computer-interface ap[Bi and Poo 2001], [Siegelbaum and Kandel 1991].
proaches, and stimulation approaches that probe, inThis roadmap, however, persistently is a difficult
fluence and strengthen memory consolidation. In all
enterprise for various reasons. The brain is a highly
these fields, computational models connect theory, neunonlinear dynamical system and remains a challenge
rophysiology and neuroengineering research and pave a
for data analysis, theoretical modeling, and large-scale
way towards medical applications.
computation [Singer 1999], [Kantz and Schreiber 1997],
Keywords sleep · neuroengineering · dynamics ·
[Pikovsky et al. 2001], [Lehnertz et al. 2000],
computational neuroscience · brain-computer interface ·
[Olbrich et al. 2011].
neuroprosthetics · pathological oscillations · plasticity ·
In review of these challenges, we would like to emconsciousness
phasize on four areas of research that mark out outstanding future potential, and are related to central
Retweeting John von Neumann’s words from the 1950s,
keywords: Consciousness, Pathological Oscillations, Neu“All stable processes we shall predict. All unstable proroprosthetics, and Neuroenhancement. In these four arcesses we shall control.”, it becomes immediate how
eas, computational models in a similar way connect natcomputational neuroscience might form a basis for novel
ural sciences and neuroengineering research and pave a
way towards medical applications.
Jens Christian Claussen
University of Luebeck
Institute for Neuro- and Bioinformatics
D-23538 Lübeck
E-mail: claussen@inb.uni-luebeck.de
Ulrich Hofmann
Neuro-Electronic Systems
University Clinic Freiburg
D-79095 Freiburg
E-mail: ulrich.hofmann@uniklinik-freiburg.de
Understanding consciousness, anaesthesia and sleep. –
Large-scale synchronized oscillations are easily observed
experimentally and can be both of physiological and
pathological character. The mammal sleep-wake cycle
is a remarkably robust oscillation, in whose regulation
again various neural oscillations are involved, including
the cortical slow oscillation in the so-called delta band,
2
with frequencies around 1 Hz [Compte et al. 2003],
[Ngo et al. 2010], [Mattia and Sanchez-Vives 2012].
Electrical stimulation of the brain at this slow wave
frequency enhanced the slow oscillations themselves as
well asincreased their memory consolidation effect
[Marshall et al. 2006]. The slow oscillations, comprised
by the interplay between bursting activity and an activitydependent self-inhibition, exhibit a specific anticorrelation in the durations of Up and Down states; as Mattia
and Sanchez-Vives show in comparison of ferret brain
slice data, mean-field models, and simulations
[Mattia and Sanchez-Vives 2012]. Mean-field models describe the gross activity of a neural subpopulation (at
column level or below) but keep track of main types of
neurons and their simplified connectivity. They are of
great advantage in describing the consciousness transitions of sleep and general anaesthesia [Hutt et al. 2012,
Steyn-Ross et al. 2012]. As modeled by [Hutt et al. 2012],
GABAergic tonic inhibition influences the brain’s arousal
system during general anaesthesia including a loss of
consciousness. Including the effect of gap junctions on
the dynamics elucidated the influence on the propensity of generalized seizures [Steyn-Ross et al. 2012].
Medical treatment: pathological oscillations. – It is
only a recent development that medicine has spotted
the essential importance of dynamical phenomena for
understanding and treatment of certain diseases. These
are primarily those where oscillations themselves comprise the disease as in movement disorders, namely essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, for which electrical stimulation methods co-developed with theoretical work and computer simulations have found their
way into clinical practice [Tass et al. 2006]. But even
when there is no observable mechanical or electrical oscillation, as in the cortical spreading depression which
is comprised by slow (102 –103 s timescale) Ca2+ waves,
control methods may become means of treatment
[Dahlem et al. 2008]. In epilepsy, and in more severe
cases of mood disorders, deep brain stimulation is applied [Abelson et al. 2005] and sophisticated technical
implementations as radio stimulation are developed
[Delgado et al. 1968]. Also, mechanical damages to neural pathways can result in pathological dynamical phenomena, as in the case of spinal cord injury which leads
to a hyperexcitability of motorneurons. The modeling
approach by [Venugopal et al. 2012] goes down to the
role of each ion channels and aims at a reduction of
spasticity. Finding suitable parameter ranges for electrical stimulation is annother important issue.
[Krishnamurthi et al. 2012] investigate by measuring velocity reduction how an optimal amplitude of DBS can
be found for Parkinson’s disease. Considering a Rempe-
Jens Christian Claussen, Ulrich G. Hofmann
Terman based computational model of basal ganglia, in
[Njap et al. 2012] it is demonstrated that a high concentration of the inhibiting neurotransmitter GABA together with electrical stimulation reestablishes faithful
thalamocortical relaying. A more general question is addressed in [Schütt and Claussen 2012] by investigating
low- to high-frequency stimulation in an Izhikevich-type
cortical network model, with the observation that in a
frequency range around 100Hz, a dynamical desynchronization is observed.
Neuroprosthetics and Brain-Computer Interfaces. –
The consequent continuation of few-electrode stimulations and recordings are Human-Machine interfaces
(HMIs) [Birbaumer 2006], the most apparent applications where theoretical brain science and engineering
meet. In the loss of direct control through the natural pathways, prosthetic devices have to be controlled
through an HMI which comprises a “thought-control”
[Hochberg et al. 2006,Pfurtscheller et al. 2003]. The consequent continuation of that idea – and most immediate
demonstration of an HMI at work is that a blind patient can use the HMI for reading [Zrenner et al. 2011],
cochlea implants improve hearing [Edgerton et al. 1982],
and patients with locked-in syndrome can use an EEGbased BCI for expressing words [Wolpaw et al. 2002].
Overall, prosthetic applications require a sound modeling approach and understanding of the neural processing, and, if possible, also coding, to design an effective
information interfacing with the brain. The visual system is a part of the brain where experimental research
and detailed modeling have made large progress. Here,
[Norheim et al. 2012] and [Einevoll and Plesser 2012]
investigate both a minimal and a feedback - extended
model for temporal processing in the lateral geniculate
nucleus (LGN). The final step of brain-machine interfacing goes towards dissolution of the border between
computer and brain itself: In their beautiful experimental setup, [Perez-Marcos et al. 2012] demonstrate virtual hand illusions and – at least for a part of the
body – question the conscious awareness of our Self,
and thereby connect two quite different fields.
Understanding and influencing neural plasticity. –
Neural plasticity, the basis of all learning, can not only
be influenced pharmacologically, but also by various
means of electrical stimulation with remarkable effects
on cognitive learning and consolidation
[Marshall et al. 2006]. Stimulation, as well as learning,
can effect on both the dynamics [Mattia and Sanchez-Vives 2012],
[Schütt and Claussen 2012] and on the plasticity [Clopath 2012],
[Vogt and Hofmann 2012]. [Vogt and Hofmann 2012] demon-
Sleep, Neuroengineering and Dynamics
3
strate modulatory effects of dopamine based on an unCompte et al. 2003. Compte A, Sanchez-Vives MV, McCormick DA, Wang X (2003) Cellular and network mechderlying STDP learning. Modulatory or multi-input based
anisms of slow oscillatory activity (<1 hz) and wave proplearning mechanisms are good candidates to explain
agations in a cortical network model. J Neurophysiol 89:
memory consolidation. In this direction, [Clopath 2012]
2707–2725.
compares two recently proposed mechanisms, namely
Dahlem et al. 2008. Markus A. Dahlem, Felix M. Schneider,
and Eckehard Schöll, Failure of feedback as a putative
tag-trigger consolidation, and a metastate tagging model,
common mechanism of spreading depolarizations in miand provides a comprehensive comparison of both congraine and stroke. Chaos 18 026110 (2008).
cepts. Finally, [Weigenand et al. 2011], [Weigenand et al. 2012] DOI: 10.1063/1.2937120
investigate the phase-dependence of stimulation of corDelgado et al. 1968. Delgado JM, Mark V, Sweet W, Ervin
F, Weiss G, Bach YR, and Hagiwara R: Intracerebral ratical slow waves. It would be highly interesting, based
dio stimulation and recording in completely free patients.
on improved understanding of neural coding and plasJ Nerv Ment Dis 147, 329-340 (1968).
ticity mechanisms, to design specific stimulation protoEdgerton et al. 1982. Edgerton,B.J.; House,W.F.; Hitselcols that selectively strengthen desired acquired memberger,W. Hearing by cochlear nucleus stimulation in humans. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol Suppl 91 (2 Pt3), 117ories.
Outlook. While it is tempting to go beyond the
purpose of medical treatment by “enhancing the brain”
[Farah et al. 2004], a deeper understanding of neural
plasticity mechanisms by theoretical and computational
models also is expected to offer pathways to the treatment of various neural disabilities and disorders, be
them memory-related like Alzheimer, or mood-related
disorders as depressive disorders. How emotion modulates learning, and how emotional processes dynamically regulate psychological states is an emerging field
[Figueroa Helland et al. 2008,Huber et al. 1999] and can
be expected to become the ‘neuroengineering” extension of of computational modeling for the treatment of
brain disorders.
Acknowledgments. – The collection of articles on these
topics in the current and the subsequent issue of Cognitive
Neurodynamics emerged from the 1st Baltic Autumn School
“Applied Computational Neuroscience: Sleep, Neuroengineering and Dynamics”, hosted by the University of Lübeck with
generous support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(DFG). We thank all invitees and participants for their contributions for this Special Issue as well as for their enthusiastic
and stimulating discussions during the workshop.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| February 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 2 | pp. 90-96
Neppe, V. M. & Close, E. R., On Non-locality I: Relative Non-locality
Exploration
On Non-locality I: Relative Non-locality
Vernon M. Neppe* & Edward R. Close
ABSTRACT
This is the first of six articles that form a unified series examining “non-locality” - a term applied
for “beyond time and space”. The authors indicate what non-locality is and why non-locality
should have the prefix “relative”, because there are different levels of non-locality, ranging from
different dimensions to the infinite. The basic structure of reality is complex and most of
existence is hidden from our experience. There is a practical relevance to this in our relatively
limited daily life.
Key Words: classification, communication, consciousness research, definition, consciousness,
relative, framework, non-locality, space-time, level, relative non-locality, dimension, beyond,
infinity.
The Broader Perspective of Non-locality
The term “non-local” is controversial. It is easier to deny even the existence of the non-local.
That way we can refer to everything as obeying an ordered series of laws of physics, all within
the framework of our experiences of space and time. However, every so often, particularly at the
quantum level, contradictions arise. The most well-known event in that regard is the ostensible
aberration known as “entanglement” in physics. In this phenomenon, two quantal level particles,
although completely separated in space, appear to communicate with each other “non-locally”.
Such communications sometimes appear to be “outside of space, or outside of time, or both” and
seem to defy common sense.
The term, “non-locality” has become more and more part of the literature b, but it has also
*Correspondence Author: Vernon M. Neppe, MD, PhD, FRSSAf, Director, Pacific Neuropsychiatric Institute, Seattle, WA; and
Exceptional Creative Achievement Organization (Distinguished Professor); and Adj. Prof., Department of Neurology and
Psychiatry, St Louis University, St Louis, MO. http://www.vernonNeppe.org E-mail: psyche@pni.org
Edward R. Close, Ph.D.. Research Associate, Pacific Neuropsychiatric Institute, Seattle, WA; and Distinguished Fellow,
Exceptional Creative Achievement Organization.
Note: The current series of articles are based on several different sources. A major initial source was our book Reality Begins
1
with Consciousness: A Paradigm Shift that Works (Fifth Edition) 2014. The chapter motivated the initial idea of relative non2 a
locality and recognized different frameworks.
One part of this series of articles has been published in Explore March 2015.
However, the said part has been extensively rewritten.
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
91
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| February 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 2 | pp. 90-96
Neppe, V. M. & Close, E. R., On Non-locality I: Relative Non-locality
become ambiguous as different scientists do not apply it consistently. This is particularly so as it
has become “adopted” by a second science besides physics, namely consciousness research.
“Non-local” clearly overlaps these two disciplines, but because the cause of “non-local” is
unknown, many scientists do not know if they are dealing with different phenomena or the same
fundamental principle.
An important aside: In this series, we use our preferential term, “non-locality”. This is based on
our preference and the possibly more common usage in non-locality in Consciousness research
as contrasted with the possibly more common “nonlocality” in Physics.
In this series, we will show that the term non-local on its own, without any qualifiers, makes
little sense. We will know its use conceptualizes a phenomenon or experience as being
interpreted beyond our conventional time and place, but the non-specificity of such a description
can lead to misinterpretations of entirely different “levels” of non-locality as being the same.
Consequently, scientific analyses may be flawed, because phenomena that are not the same —
“unlike” experiences— will be mistakenly analyzed together. We will recognize that non-locality
is “relative” to an external measure, and that measure is often regarded as from our particular
“framework” as living human beings. However, we will know that there potentially may be other
ways of interpreting such phenomena based on where we, or an independent observer in space,
time and, indeed, consciousness, are “located”—based on which framework we or the observer
are experiencing their subjective reality. In that context, we might recognize that much of our
current perception of reality is based on our “experiences” and that these constitute only a
limited part of the existence of reality.
More specifically, during our regular business of living, we recognize only our overt experience,
as opposed to our broader existential reality, most of which is hidden. But, conceivably, this
covert existence may be impacting on our day-to-day experiences without our awareness of this.
We seldom recognize that we exist in a reality of many finite “dimensions”, and, furthermore,
that we must make “distinctions” between them to begin to understand their differences and
similarities. We theoretically might recognize, too, that there are realities higher than this: socalled transcendent realities in what mathematically is the “countable infinity” —countable in the
sense of discrete numbers that go on forever—literally to an infinity. We call this discrete
infinity the “transfinite”; and we differentiate this from another level of “non-locality” which is
the real “infinite” —where there is no discreteness, just a continuity which may pervade literally
everything, possibly through a continuous flow of space, time and consciousness which we are
calling “gimmel”. We have preliminary data that gimmel is involved with life, multidimensional
order, even dark matter and dark energy. Gimmel is the way the infinite communicates with the
finite.
b
On an updated Bing search (8 February 2015) combined nonlocality with non-locality producing 140,000 results,
yet clearly there is overlap as there are 145,000 hits for non-locality and 93500 for nonlocality. This delineates
another problem with the term: the requirement to search for both “non-local” and “nonlocal” and then to ensure one
is not duplicating terms. For "non-local consciousness" on Bing there are 21,800 and 5150 for “nonlocal
consciousness”. For "quantum non-locality" there are 41,400 vs 31,500 for quantum nonlocality, and "non-local
perception" yielded 1640 and "nonlocal perception" 1000. It appears therefore that non-locality or nonlocal in any
consciousness sense constitutes less than a third of all uses of “non-local” or “nonlocal”. Possibly the hyphen in nonlocal is more commonly used overall. For consistency, we use the term “non-local” throughout.
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Finally, we recognize the limitations of the term “non-locality”. For example, what is “nonlocal” is ultimately expressed in the experience of our nervous systems. And our brain certainly
is “local” as it is located in a specific area of space and time. We understand that what is “nonlocal” possibly is only “non-local” for us relative to our particular framework of living reality,
and may reflect that hidden, covert existence that we don’t directly experience. Therefore, we
suggest alternatives by making “distinctions”, and these distinctions in their turn can be
evaluated by a complex, though fundamental, mathematical technique called the “calculus of
distinctions” (CoD). c
Our purpose here is to provide a broad non-technical discussion, and though we will mention
such technicalities as the CoD and of the various kinds of “quantal non-locality”, this is just for
completion and mentioned with only the most basic of details. Therefore, we also provide a way
of describing the properties of the non-local and recognize that the most fundamental way to
conceptualize “non-locality” is via what we are calling “immediacy”.
What is non-locality?
In the context of this series, we’re using the definition we applied in Reality Begins with
Consciousness: A Paradigm Shift that Works 4 namely:
“In both physics and consciousness research, “non-local” (also “nonlocal”) refers to a
distant connection of information, apprehension or perturbation. However, this is
always “relative” to the observer’s reference frame and perspective, so the term is
more correctly “Relative Non-locality”.
There are two formidable terms here: apprehension and perturbation. “Apprehension” is simply
acquisition of information, and when this is specific, it refers to “awareness”. It is on the
incoming side. “Perturbation” is on the outgoing side, and when it is specific it involves
“influence”. We can certainly receive or impact something directly using our usual senses and
perceptions and our muscles and movements, and these would include machines, too. But when
speaking about “non-locality” in the consciousness context, the “apprehension” elements would
be equivalent possibly to relative non-local perception, and the “perturbation” components
equivalent possibly to relative non-local psychokinesis. However, this definition does not
emphasize the alternative term in physics, namely quantum non-locality.
The quantal use may or may not even be related to “non-local perception or consciousness”, with
the focus on the space combined with time elements not being local—instead, non-locality or
“action at a distance” is the direct interaction of two objects that are separated in space with no
perceivable intermediate agency or mechanism. As Patrizio Tressoldi indicates both contexts,
non-local refers to “…non-local properties… that …may operate beyond the space and time
c
The Calculus of Distinctions (CoD) applies well-defined logical and mathematical operations involving the
drawing of distinctions. Distinctions constitute the most basic concept underlying all logic and mathematics. There
are several levels of distinctions in CoD of pertinence.
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constraints of sensory organs.” 5 We suggest that one application of the term “non-local” has
been to move away from materialist reductionism: In the same way as the physicist may regard
“entanglement” as synonymous with or exemplifying non-locality in physics, the consciousness
researcher may regard “psi” as synonymous with or exemplifying non-locality in their
discipline.d
The most common current related phrases in physics are “quantum non-locality” and
“entanglement”. 6 However, this paper focuses on the second discipline at this point, a
statistically less common use a, namely non-locality in Consciousness Research where terms like
“non-local consciousness” and “non-local perception” are sometimes used as preferred
synonyms for “psi” or for “extrasensory perception” (ESP) 5. There are, indeed, now many who
use “non-local” as a prefix to substitute for many different kinds of psi phenomena. 7, 8
Therefore, “non-locality” could just reflect ways to wrap up the same controversial animal in a
fur coat: it could be a different way of describing another term for ESP, or for psi, or for
parapsychology, as these latter terms may not currently be in fashion.
Why we argue for relative non-locality levels: The structure of reality
We maintain there are different levels of non-locality. This is based on, inter alia, our extensive
work 9, and consequently non-locality involves a much more complex concept than simply
saying this is “local” and this is “non-local” in absolute terms. The purpose of this paper is not to
prove existence of the different levels. Instead, we want to theoretically conceptualize the
possible levels and kinds of non-locality more accurately. For example, is every psi experience
and other conceptually related phenomena, such as out-of-body experience, near death
experience, or survival after bodily death, happening at the same conceptual (possibly “nonlocal”) level? And if not, is the highest level (such as a postulate of the “infinity of infinities”
that some would say involves a “divinity”) in this model still even experiencing non-locality?
Furthermore, can we theorize on what might exist, and in what way the differences in levels are
pertinent?
Beyond:
Non-locality is sometimes understood as only “beyond” space and time. In a sense it is, in that it
goes beyond the space and time constraints the observer is used to, so it is relatively “beyond”.
But more correctly, “beyond space and time” may be an incorrect conceptualization, as “beyond”
already implies that “it is beyond, relative to some level”.
Discrete and continuous levels of reality:
Instead, one could hypothesize that at a conceptually “higher level”, the observer could
experience everything relatively locally at that level and below—rather like looking into a box
from the outside. The authors regard non-locality as hierarchical and some complex math
derivations support the existence of such a hierarchy. 4 One such concept implies levels of
discrete dimensions. At the highest level is the so-called “transfinite” —Cantor’s “countable
d
Psi is a composite term used for extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis (PK); layperson terms are
psychic, paranormal, anomalous and sixth sense; it is part of parapsychology.
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infinity” 10: Even this transfinite still remains “discrete”—it’s in quanta: in pieces; it’s like “bits”
in computers, or pixels as in monitor screens. It looks continuous but that’s only because our
sense organs cannot detect such small components. Essentially, even this highest level —the
transfinite—is still “discrete”. Yet, all of these discrete levels—the various dimensions of which
our three spatial dimensions (length, breadth, height) in the present moment of time (called “3S1t”) through to the transfinite are all contained in—“embedded in”— the broader “continuous
infinite” making up a single reality. 4 At the highest level of that “continuous infinite” would be
the “infinity of infinities” as Georg Cantor 10 mathematically conceptualized it. The infinite is a
continuous, limitless, unbounded, without end subreality in Space, Time and Consciousness. The
infinite subreality contains the finite discrete and transfinite subrealities. 2, 11 This is why it is
important when discussing non-locality.
“Experience” and “existence” are different:
Below these very high levels, there appear to be different levels of non-locality. This includes
even non-locality in some of (what we are argue are) the first 9 dimensions 12-15. Up to 5 of these
9 are usually hidden: This is because we living beings only usually experience the first 4—the
3S-1t. Most of the time, we do not even realize there is more to reality than just our experience
of 3S-1t. It is these first four dimensions that most scientists applying the standard models of
physics regard as “all of reality”, “all of physics” and “all of what exists”. Yet, the authors
dispute that 3S-1t is “all of reality”; instead, it’s simply just “all of what we experience”, because
we have mathematically demonstrated that there are 9 finite discrete spinning dimensions. We
argue, furthermore, that there are also higher levels of reality, as well, namely, the still discrete
“transfinite” and the continuous “infinite”.
Language
Even if it might be that these consciousness research terms overlap with some of the non-local
terminology of physics, we would then need to delineate which ones of those several possible
concepts of non-local in physics 6, 16, 17 overlap with those used in consciousness research? It’s
like putting a good portion of mathematics or the English language, or for that matter
parapsychology, into one word and using it specifically as if all components are the same. We
have to be precise. Indeed, we must ensure that “like corresponds with like”, and that we do not
cluster “unlikes with the likes”. 6
The analogy of top-down and the bottom-up box
This means that an “observer” experiencing events at each of these levels, effectively is
observing space and time “top-down”, and what is below that dimensional level is usually (but
not always) experienced as “local”. This is why it’s like observing that box from the outside—
we’re directly experiencing the many dimensions below, but we may not always necessarily be
able to see everything inside that box and that’s why it’s not always “local” in space and time:
There may be parts that are translucent—the wall of the box, the thick atmosphere—and not
transparent.
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Conversely, looking up, from inside a box, so to say “bottom-up”, “non-locality” would be a
consequence for any higher level than the observer’s experience. 4 Most scientific methods apply
data only from the “bottom-up” and such analyses make higher dimensional analyses much more
difficult. The “bottom-up” approach begins at the information and meaning we have in the few
pieces of what could be understood as a 3S-1t jigsaw puzzle and we dimensionally “extrapolate”
upwards. The bottom-up approach is much more limiting and it is much more difficult to think
outside of the box (and we regard that as “non-local”) than the top-down approach, which at its
highest level pervades the infinite subreality. The bottom-up and top-down approaches are
critical in the mathematics of what we’re calling “Dimensionometry” (multidimensional
geometry) which involves moving across dimensions by “Dimensional Extrapolation”. Therefore
“non-locality” can be potentially tamed mathematically, particularly if the emphasis is not on
“beyond space and time” but instead if we begin to understand distinctions at every level
applying the appropriate mathematical calculations (like the “calculus of distinctions”).
Given that the observer experiences reality from the framework of his own locality, all
experiences would be from the framework of the observer. Relative to the observer, going from
the bottom-up, anything higher would be non-local: It’s not in reality “beyond” because it still
exists, it’s just experienced as beyond.
We argue that we need to have a theoretical model for such local and non-local events. In this
paper, we provide that theoretical model. Sometimes, there is empirical supporting data for these
ideas: Our conceptualization of nine dimensions is based on mathematical derivation 9, 12, 14, 18,
and illustrates one important base for arguing beyond just 3S-1t existing.
Perspective describing this article
Taking these factors into account, we describe:
Two related but conceptually different terms “relative to” and “from the framework of”.
We utilize a hierarchy of non-localities. We justify this hierarchy in the book Reality
Begins with Consciousness 4.
We indicate the cardinal aspect of what makes an event “non-local” namely its
immediacy.
In this paper, we're using the term “non-locality” in the context of “Consciousness Research”.
This may be different from the many varieties of “non-locality” in physics or there may be areas
of overlap. However, this is outside the scope of this article.
Practical pertinence of non-locality
Our day-to-day 3S-1t:
Our day-to-day experience is one of experiencing our physical reality—the length, breadth, and
height of objects. These three dimensions of Space (3S) change with every new moment in time
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because that moment reflects only the “present” (1t) in our one directional time-line of past,
present and future (1T). Our present experience reflects the first four dimensions (3S-1t). But
that reflects just our limited overt experience of reality. We do not know about any covert
components of reality that might exist: Obviously we’re at 1t, not at 1T as we don’t know even
the future in the next few seconds, and can only remember our past in our Consciousness.
Our broader existence:
But we argue that even with this overt experience of 3S-1t, we also necessarily exist within a far
broader reality of higher dimensions, the transfinite and the infinite, but we can seldom
experience these extra components in our usual conscious living state. 4 This may be one reason
why the term “non-locality” is used—to describe what appears to us to be “non-local”.
(Continued on Part II)
References (See Part VII)
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Kaufman, S. E., The Treasure
262
Realization
The Treasure
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
Once it is realized that the ego, that some form, is not what we are, then we have found the
Treasure within our Self, then we have found the Treasure that is our true formless Self,
unobscured by the wanted forms that it only appeared to be. And then it can be realized that the
Treasure that was found, that the Treasure we gave ourselves access to in all the wanted forms,
in the pile of money, in the promotion, in falling in love, in a baby's eyes, in the sunset, in the
sunrise, was all the same Treasure appearing in different forms.
Key Words: treasure, ego, form, formless, wanted, unwanted, Self, Consciousness.
What profit it a man
if he gains the world
and loses his soul?
What profit it a man
if he gains the Treasure
as it appears in some form
and in so doing
loses sight of the actual Treasure
that is his own formless Nature?
We seek the Treasure
in this or that form,
and because we occasionally find it
we think that in form
is where it must always lie.
The Treasure is there
where there is both success and failure.
But we only allow ourselves to find the Treasure
when the form of the moment
takes the shape that we call success,
when the form of the moment
takes the shape that we call wanted.
For when the form of the moment
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
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takes the shape that we call unwanted
then we deny ourselves access
to the Treasure that is always there,
where there is both success and failure,
where there is both wanted and unwanted.
But we promise to once again
give ourselves access to the Treasure,
but only once we have arranged
the form of the moment
into that which is wanted,
into that which we define as success.
And so we strive and strive
to arrange the moment
into a form that is wanted,
into whatever form we define as success,
so that we can have access
so that we can grant ourselves access,
to the Treasure that is always there,
to the Treasure that is our birthright,
to the Treasure that is our essential Nature.
And so we become our own slaves
driven on by the carrot
that is the promise to ourselves
that we will be given access to the Treasure
when the wanted is attained,
and driven on by the whip
that is the promise to ourselves
that we will be denied access to the Treasure
when the unwanted is obtained instead.
And both the carrot and the whip
are held by the master
that we call ego,
by the slave-driver
that is our form-identity.
For no one but ourself
can deny us access to the Treasure
that is our True Nature.
But the ego can only wield this power
as long as we believe
that form is what we are.
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264
For once it is realized that the ego,
that some form,
is not what we are
then we have found the Treasure
within our Self,
then we have found the Treasure
that is our true formless Self,
unobscured by the wanted forms
that it only appeared to be.
And then it can be realized
that the Treasure that was found
that the Treasure we gave ourselves access to
in all the wanted forms,
in the pile of money,
in the promotion,
in falling in love,
in a baby's eyes,
in the sunset,
in the sunrise,
was all the same Treasure
appearing in different forms.
And then it can also be realized
that the Treasure that was hidden
that the Treasure we denied ourselves access to
in all the unwanted forms,
in the lack of money,
in the demotion,
in the loss of love,
we always really had access to
because it was always still there,
we just could not see it
because we were too busy
following the orders of the ego
trying to get rid of the unwanted,
trying to make room for the wanted,
and in so doing placing ourselves
in opposition to our Self.
For why does the Treasure
only seem to appear
when the wanted arises
and seem to disappear
when the unwanted arises
if the Treasure is always there
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Kaufman, S. E., The Treasure
265
underlying both these forms?
Because when the wanted arises
we do not resist it,
and so we do not enter into
the relation of Self-opposition
that hides the Treasure from us,
that hides our formless Self from us.
And because when the unwanted arises
we do resist it,
and so we do enter into
the relation of Self-opposition
that hides the Treasure from us,
that hides our formless Self from us.
It is that simple.
In each moment we are involved in either
a relation of Self-allowing or Self-opposition,
and so in alignment with the Now,
or in conflict with the Now.
If you are not in one
then you are in the other,
and if you are in one
then you cannot be in the other.
But as long as we think that we are some form,
then even while involved in the relation of Self-allowing
that reveals the Treasure to us,
we still do not recognize what has actually been revealed,
because as long as we think that we are some form,
then the Treasure still appears as whatever wanted form
we are unconsciously and reflexively allowing,
and not as the Formlessness by which all form is known.
And from this position of form-identification
the Treasure is easily lost, easily hidden,
because as soon as some unwantedness arises,
which it always does,
then the unconscious and reflexive Self-allowing
that causes the Treasure to appear as some form
is replaced by the unconscious and reflexive Self-resistance
that obscures the Treasure
and leaves only suffering in its wake.
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The ironic thing is,
by trying to make the unwanted go away,
we only create more of it,
and in the process only obscure more deeply
the Treasure we then seek
the Treasure we then have lost,
even though it is always here
right here where we are
as the Consciousness
that seeks the Treasure,
which, unknown to Itself,
is not other than Itself.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| September 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 9 | pp. 750-755
Hu, H. & Wu, M., Transatlantic Excess Brain Correlations Are Experimentally Produced by Persinger’s Group
News
Transatlantic Excess Brain Correlations Are
Experimentally Produced by Persinger’s Group
Huping Hu* & Maoxin Wu
ABSTRACT
Michael A. Persinger and his research team at Laurentian University, Canada, have achieved
new breakthroughs which are published in this Focus Issue. These new results include the
experimental production of excess brain correlations across the Atlantic Ocean as measured by
QEEG. If independently confirmed, these results represent important progress in the fields of
biological quantum entanglement, consciousness research and parapsychology.
Keywords: Transatlantic, excess brain correlations, rotating magnetic field, QEEG, biological
quantum entanglement.
Michael A. Persinger
Michael A. Persinger at Laurentian University, Canada, has been a pioneer in the field of
experimental studies of mystical experiences and is known together with his research team for
the "God Helmet” [1]. Persinger’s group has also made important discoveries in the fields of
biological quantum entanglement and consciousness studies [2-6]. Now, they have achieved
new breakthroughs which are published in this Focus Issue [7-9]. These new results include the
experimental production of excess brain correlations across the Atlantic Ocean as measured by
QEEG [7]. If independently confirmed, these results represent important progress in the fields of
biological quantum entanglement, consciousness research and parapsychology.
For examples of contributions made by other researchers in these and/or related fields, please see
references 10-31.
Correspondence: Huping Hu, Ph.D., J.D., QuantumDream Inc., P. O. Box 267, Stony Brook,, NY 11790. E-mail: editor@prespacetime.com
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Experimental Production of Excess Correlation across the Atlantic Ocean of Right Hemispheric Theta-Gamma Power between Subject Pairs Sharing Circumcerebral Rotating
Magnetic Fields
According to Persinger’s research team [7], this experiment was completed during the summer of
2015. In the experiment, 5 pairs of volunteers separated by more than 6,000 km wore identical
cerebral toroids which produce patterns of phase shifting, 30 nT magnetic fields and were
exposed to the sequences that produced excess correlation in chemiluminescent reactions and
shifts in pH [7].
They found that, in comparison to the various baselines and control procedures, enhanced power
between the right hemispheres of pairs of participants occurred during the interval documented
to produce excess correlation [7]. Their specific analyses indicate that only coherence within the
theta band of the right temporal lobes of the pairs was diminished. Further, their sequential block
analyses reveal that the paired brains’ responses to pulsed tones at 6.5 Hz occurred within the 3040 Hz band over the caudal temporal lobes during the exposures to an effector field. Their
primary independent component analyses verified these results [7].
Further, they found that, during the 6.5 Hz pulsed tones, there was a peak in the spectral power
density at that frequency over the right temporal lobe of the person listening but a trough in the
spectral power density over this region for the person who was not. The research team found that
even subjective experiences, as measured by the Profile of Mood States, indicated significantly
increased excess correlation for scales by which increased anger and decreased vigour are
inferred.
Therefore, This experiment, if independently confirmed, has the potential for creating a
technology that can generate reliable excess correlation of brain activity (and potentially
consciousness and specific experiences) between two people separated by thousands of
kilometers [7].
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Enhancement of Spectral Power Densities in Microtubule Preparations Exposed to
Temporally Patterned Weak Magnetic Fields
In the second experiment, Persinger and his research team exposed microtubule (“MT”)
preparations to temporally patterned weak magnetic fields and studied the spectral power
densities (“SPD”) of the photon emissions from the said MT preparations [8].
According to the authors [8], the dynamics of the MT and its constituent tubulin dimers during
periods of adaptation to a disrupted environment are associated with increased photon emissions.
Through spectral analyses of the photon emissions from plates of MT preparations within
standard media in a Faraday room, they found that the emitted photons exhibited weak but
significant and reliable peaks of SPD around 7.7 to 7.8 Hz. They further found that only
exposures for 4 min to 3 to 10 μT temporally patterned magnetic fields (that, they state, are
associated with the physiological substrates of “learning and memory”) enhanced the magnitude
of the SPD of photon emissions from MT.
They also noted that, as in their previous experiments, applications of the appropriate, temporally
patterned magnetic fields to MTs do not affect the total photon emissions but shift the
distributions of the amplitudes power spectra during the brief interval of exposure.
Thus, Persinger and his team suggest that, if intracellular information is contained within shifting
temporal patterns of energy but not the absolute shift in energy within dynamic systems, then
weak magnetic fields might affect the function of cells through microtubules [8].
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Demonstration of Excess Correlation in Random Number Generators at Two Locations
Sharing Specific Patterns of Magnetic Fields
In the third experiment, Persinger and his research team tested whether temporally-coupled
diametric shifts in parity could be demonstrated between two Random Event Generators
(“REGs”) located at two locations and exposed to patterned magnetic field in a circular array of
solenoids separated by 10 m [9].
According to the authors [9], each circular array generated a patterned rotating magnetic field
that has previously produced transient excess correlation and entanglement in photon reactions
and alterations in pH in spring water. During a 30 min interval, the REGs were exposed first to
an accelerating group velocity embedded with a diminishing frequency/phase-modulated field
(the primer) followed by a decelerating group velocity embedded with an increasing
frequency/phase-modulated magnetic field (the effector) [9].
They found that only after exposures for about 4 min to the second (effector) condition that is
known to manifest the effects of entanglement did the random numbers deviate significantly and
by more than one standard deviation in an opposite direction to each other [9]. Therefore, these
results indicate that excess correlation can be generated within “random” quantum electronic
processes whose spatial domains are similar to neuronal synapses at the macro-level by
appropriate applications of weak, microTesla level, magnetic fields [9].
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754
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Correlation in Non-Local Random Number Generators Sharing Circular, Changing Angular Velocity
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14. Josephson, B.D., Pallikari-Viras, F., Biological utilisation of quantum nonlocality, Foundations of
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perspectives. Mind and Matter, 2004; 2(1): 105–122.
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10(3): 462-467.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
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www.JCER.com |
A Consciousness-Based Quantum Objective Collapse Model
Elias Okon and Miguel Ángel Sebastián1
arXiv:1801.05487v2 [quant-ph] 23 Jul 2018
Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
City, Mexico.
Ever since the early days of quantum mechanics it has been suggested that consciousness
could be linked to the collapse of the wave function. However, no detailed account of such an
interplay is usually provided. In this paper we present an objective collapse model (a variation
of the Continuous Spontaneous Location model) where the collapse operator depends on
integrated information, which has been argued to measure consciousness. By doing so, we
construct an empirically adequate scheme in which superpositions of conscious states are
dynamically suppressed. Unlike other proposals in which “consciousness causes the collapse
of the wave function,” our model is fully consistent with a materialistic view of the world
and does not require the postulation of entities suspicious of laying outside of the quantum
realm.
1
Introduction
Quantum mechanics is often claimed to be the most successful physical theory ever constructed. It has an astonishing predictive power, continuously confirmed by empirical results. However, it remains controversial how the physical reality it describes is supposed to
be portrayed. Particularly puzzling is the fact that quantum mechanics is committed to the
superposition principle, which holds that any two possible quantum states of a system can be
added together to form another legitimate quantum state—a superposition thereof.
Although we can indeed observe the manifestation of such superpositions—as in the
double-slit experiment—it seems there are at least some superpositions we fail to observe
directly. The quantum formalism allows for the superposition of, say, a chair being in two
different places, but we never come to observe such states. In standard presentations of the
theory (e.g., Dirac (1930); von Neumann (1932)), this fact is accommodated by the collapse
postulate, which states that, when we observe or measure a superposed state, like the one of
the chair above, it collapses to one option or the other. The problem now turns into deciding
when an observation or measurement happens, as this is not specified by the theory.2
It is natural to link the notion of observation with consciousness, an idea that has been
floating in the air since the early days of quantum mechanics. von Neumann (1932) argued
that the mathematical formalism underlying quantum mechanics allows for the collapse of
the wave function to be placed at any point in the causal chain between the measurement
1
This is a fully collaborative paper; authors appear in alphabetical order.
The standard theory not only does not specify when a measurement happens, it also does not prescribe
what it is that is being measured (i.e., in which basis will the collapse occur).
2
1
device and our “subjective perception.” Following this suggestion, London and Bauer (1939)
maintain that the collapse happens at the latter point in the causal chain, when consciousness
takes place—an idea famously developed in Wigner (1967). Wigner holds that conscious
states, unlike other states, do not admit superpositions. This in turn requires consciousness
not to be a physical property or, at the very least, to be different from other physical properties
in this respect. Other authors, such as Chalmers and McQueen (MS); Stapp (2005, 2007),
have more recently defended ideas along these lines.
Interpretations of quantum mechanics according to which “consciousness causes the collapse of the wave function” face several problems.3 Many have found the commitment with
mysterious non-physical entities unattractive. Moreover, if conscious states were indeed nonphysical, then these theories would be committed to the existence of a mysterious interaction
between consciousness and the physical world. This seems in conflict with certain basic principles of physics, such as the principle of energy conservation (cf. Averill and Keating (1981);
Larmer (1986)), and would violate the common presupposition in scientific practices that the
physical world is causally closed. On the other hand, if consciousness were something physical, it would remain mysterious how it would interact with the rest of the physical world and
a description of the laws governing such an interaction would be forthcoming. The problem
is that developing such dynamics is far from straightforward.
For instance, it seems reasonable to assume (with Wigner) that consciousness does not
admit superpositions. However, as has been recently pointed out in Chalmers and McQueen
(MS), this would be inconsistent with another reasonable assumption, namely, that collapses
occur when systems get entangled with conscious beings (because if consciousness does not
superpose, then it cannot get entangled). Moreover, if consciousness never superposes, and if
the intervention of consciousness is what determines the precise moment at which the collapse
of the wave function occurs, then one would run into trouble with the quantum Zeno effect
(Dagasperis et al. (1974)), which holds that frequent enough measurements effectively freeze
the evolution of a system. Therefore, the effect would imply that it would not be possible for
observed systems to evolve, and therefore, for our experience of the external world to change
through time as it does.
In order to overcome some of these issues, still in the spirit of a theory in which consciousness is related to the collapse of the wave function, Chalmers and McQueen propose
the introduction of what they call m-properties, whose superpositions are postulated either
to be forbidden, or to be “unstable” or “more likely to collapse.” Moreover, they propose that
some physical correlate of consciousness, such as integration of information (which Integrated
Information Theory associates with consciousness, Tononi (2004)) could be an m-property.
3
We use the term ‘cause’ in a rather loose way just to honour the traditional motto of the idea that
the collapse of the wave function depends somehow on consciousness. In our work there is no commitment
whatsoever with the claim that there is such a thing as causation at the fundamental level (see Price and Corry
(eds.) for a discussion).
2
Note however that, in order for a theory that allows superpositions of consciousness to work,
one would need to ensure for superpositions of different conscious states to quickly evolve into
states of well-defined consciousness, in such a way that we would fail to notice these transitions in our experience. Moreover, it is key to recognize that, in order to have a satisfactory
explanation of our observations, it is not sufficient to suppress superposition of conscious
states, for this is still compatible with the existence of well-defined states of consciousness
that correspond to the superposition of macroscopic properties—which we do not seem to
experience. Therefore, a scheme along this lines would also have to somehow block these
states.
In this paper we introduce a mathematically precise, consciousness-based collapse model
that solves all the issues mentioned above, and which is compatible with the truth of materialism. In particular, we present an objective collapse scheme, a version of the Continuous
Spontaneous Location (CSL) model, where the collapse operator is associated with a property that measures the level of consciousness. In particular, for illustrative purposes, we
will employ integrated information—which, as we mentioned, has been argued to measure
consciousness. By doing so, we arrive at a detailed proposal, in which superpositions of conscious states are dynamically suppressed in a way that is fully compatible with experience.
As a result, we provide a way to fill a gap that consciousness-based interpretations have
systematically left behind, greatly contributing to their unpopularity.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 introduces the measurement problem, briefly reviews the taxonomy of alternatives to address it and focuses on the objective
collapse program. Then, with a consciousness-based model in mind, in section 3 we explore
the notion of integration of information, a concept that Integrated Information Theory associates with consciousness. We do not intend to offer a defense of such a theory, but we
present it in some detail in order to motivate the relation between integration of information and consciousness. Finally, in section 4 we describe in detail our consciousness-based
objective collapse model, consider potential problems and explore ways to overcome them.
In particular, we examine issues derived from the possibility of having well-defined states of
consciousness that correspond to macroscopic superpositions and describe an evolutionary
solution to such a problem. To conclude, in section 5 we briefly compare our model with
standard collapse schemes and offer some closing remarks.
2
The measurement problem
A common way to introduce the measurement problem starts by calling attention to the fact
that the standard formulation of quantum theory contains two very different evolution laws:
the linear and deterministic Schrödinger equation and the non-linear and indeterministic
collapse process, which interrupts the former during measurements. The problem arises
3
because, as John Stewart Bell convincingly argued in Bell (1990), higher-level notions, such
as measurements, should not appear as primitives in a theory that aims at being fundamental.
This and other complications with the collapse postulate have motivated attempts to do
without it. However, such a move seems to lead to a related problem, often also referred to
as the measurement problem. To see this, assume that everything, always evolves according
to the Schrödinger equation and consider a standard measurement scenario of, say, the spin
along z of a spin-1/2 particle. Let us look, then, at a measurement apparatus (which, as
everything else, evolves according to the Schrödinger equation) that behaves as
Schrödinger
|RiM |+ip −−−−−−−→ |+iM |+ip
Schrödinger
and |RiM |−ip −−−−−−−→ |−iM |−ip ,
(1)
where |RiM is its ready state and with |+iM and |−iM the states where the apparatus displays
spin-up and spin-down as the result of the experiment. In other words, the apparatus correctly
tracks the |+ip and |−ip spin states of the particle and reacts accordingly.
Next, we ask what happens if the apparatus is fed with a particle in a superposition of
|+ip and |−ip . Notice that the linearity of the Schrödinger equation implies
Schrödinger
|RiM {α|+ip + β|−ip } −−−−−−−→ α|+iM |+ip + β|−iM |−ip ,
(2)
which means that the apparatus itself will end up in a superposition of displaying spin-up
and spin-down. Such a state seems at odds with experience. To drive the point home, we can
introduce an observer (which is also assumed to evolve according to the Schrödinger equation) that looks at the apparatus during the measurement. The linearity of the Schrödinger
equation, once more, leads to a superposition, this time of the observer perceiving spin-up
and spin-down as the result of the experiment. That is
Schrödinger
|RiO |RiM {α|+ip + β|−ip } −−−−−−−→ α|+iO |+iM |+ip + β|−iO |−iM |−ip ,
(3)
where |RiO is the state of the observer in which she is ready to look at the result displayed by
the apparatus and |+iO and |−iO are the states in which she perceives that the results where
spin-up and spin-down, respectively (we are making the very reasonable assumption that the
state of the observer correctly tracks the state of the macroscopic system). The problem with
all this, of course, is that the final state in equation (3), which describes a superposition of
perceptions, does not seem to correspond with what we experience when we perform such an
experiment; or, as David Albert puts it in (Albert, 1992, p. 78-79), such a state “is at odds
with what we know of ourselves by direct introspection.”
Note however that this strange discrepancy between the predictions of a theory with pure
Schrödinger evolution on the one hand, and our experience on the other, crucially depends
on interpreting the quantum state along the lines of the so-called Eigenvector-Eigenvalue
4
(EE) link. Such a rule states that a physical system possesses the value α for a property
represented by the operator O if and only if the quantum state assigned to the system is
an eigenstate of O with eigenvalue α. In other words, if a state is represented by a given
vector and such a vector is an eigenstate of the operator that represents a property, then we
can claim that the system possesses a defined value for such a property and that its value
is the corresponding eigenvector. Likewise, if a system possesses a defined value for some
property, then, the vector which represents its state must be an eigenstate of the operator
which represents such a property. The point is that only if one interprets quantum states
along these lines, one has to read the final state in equation (3) as one in which the observer
does not have a well-defined perception. It follows that if one interprets the quantum state
differently, one could escape the measurement problem.
One such an alternative interpretation, first introduced by Hugh Everett III in Everett
(1957), proposes to read the final state in equation (3) not as a state in which the observer
does not have a well-defined perception, but one in which the observer simultaneously, but
independently, has both perceptions. That is, one in which the observer, as Michael Lockwood
puts it in (Lockwood, 1996, p. 166) “is literally in two minds”. It is very important to notice,
though, that an interpretation along the lines of the Eigenvector-Eigenvalue link is crucial in
the process of extracting concrete predictions from the theory (because it is such a tool that
allows to connect statements regarding what the quantum state is with statements regarding
what obtains in the world). Therefore, if one changes the interpretation, one has to make
sure that the alternative one also leads to empirically successful predictions—something not
at all clear under the interpretation suggested by Everett (see, e.g., (Saunders et al., 2010,
sec. 4)).
Alternatively, one could escape interpreting the final state in equation (3) as one in which
the observer does not have a well-defined perception by adding extra elements to the picture—
such as Bohmian particles—that determine which of the two terms of the superposition
actually obtains in the world (see Goldstein (2013)). This is certainly a promising path, but
in this work we will focus on alternatives that assume that the quantum state is complete.
Going back to the measurement problem, it is one thing to try to pinpoint exactly what
it consists of and another to be clear about what a satisfactory solution to the problem looks
like. Regarding the latter, probably a far more useful task than the former, one could say
that a satisfactory solution to the measurement problem consists of a formalism which:
1. Is fully formulated in precise, mathematical terms (with notions such as measurement,
observer or macroscopic not being part of the fundamental language of the theory).
2. Reproduces the empirical success of standard quantum mechanics at the microscopic
level.
3. Explains why certain macroscopic superpositions allowed by the theory never seem to
5
occur.
The last point needs a bit of unpacking. First of all, it is very important to highlight
an often overlooked distinction between a superposition of perceptions and a perception of a
superposition. That is, between:
• A superposition of incompatible perceptions, such as the final state in equation (3):
α|+iO |+iM |+ip + β|−iO |−iM |−ip .
• A well-defined perception of a macroscopic system in a superposition of different positions: |SiO {α|+iM |+ip + β|−iM |−ip } = |SiO |SiM +p (where |SiM +p ≡ α|+iM |+ip +
β|−iM |−ip and |SiO corresponds to a state in which the observer experiences a welldefined perception of the measurement apparatus displaying a superposition of spin-up
and spin-down).
Regarding the first scenario, we have already explained how it may arise and why it represents
a problem. Regarding the second, the point is that, from the quantum point of view, both
|SiM +p and |SiO are states which are on a par with states such as |+iO or |+iM |+ip , and
the only reason they may seems strange, different or unacceptable is because we in fact do
not experience them. The key question, of course, is why? One could question whether |SiO
is in fact a state of well-defined perception. Well, maybe it is not, and we will have more
to say about it later, but what is clear is that |SiO is not a superposition of other states of
well-defined perception, such as α|+iO + β|−iO , and that, if it turns out not to be a state of
well-defined perception, an explanation of such a fact would be required.
To sum up, states such as |SiO or |SiM +p are perfectly valid from the fundamental,
quantum point of view and a satisfactory quantum formalism is required to explain, in precise
mathematical terms, why no one has ever reported experiencing states of that kind. That is,
we never seem to experience well-defined conscious states that correspond to a superposition
of external macroscopic objects, such as chairs, being in two positions. It is in fact common
to find two different explanations for this, both having to do with decoherence and both
problematic.4 The first one asserts that we cannot be sure that we never experience states
such as |SiO because, for that, we would need to perform an interference experiment with a
macroscopic object and decoherence gets in the way. The problem with such an answer is that
it equivocates between a superposition of perceptions and a perception of a superposition (see
bullets above). The point is that some type of an Everettian move plus decoherence could
probably explain why a state such as the final one on equation (3) is perceived as both
terms of the superposition independently, but it has absolutely nothing to say about why
would something similar happen with |SiO . The second explanation often offered for why
4
Decoherence studies the consequences of the inevitable interaction between a quantum system and its
macroscopic environment.
6
no one has ever reported experiencing states such as |SiM +p is that, because of decoherence,
they are somehow dynamically suppressed. This is something that is nowadays extremely
common to read or hear, the problem is that it never comes with adequate backing (see
(Okon and Sudarsky, 2016a, sec. 2)). At any rate, we will have more to say about this
below.
Returning to the issue of finding a satisfactory quantum theory, it is clear that the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics does not qualify as one because it does not meet
point 1 of the list: collapses occur upon measurements. However, as we will see in the next
subsection, there are more acceptable ways to introduce collapses into the picture.
2.1
Objective collapse models
With the measurement problem in mind, objective collapse (or dynamical reduction) models
aim at constructing a single dynamical equation that adequately encompasses both the standard unitary evolution and the collapse mechanism. The idea is to add non-linear, stochastic
terms to the Schrödinger equation in such a way that the behavior at the microscopic level is
not significantly altered (with respect to the standard framework), but where embarrassing
macroscopic superpositions are effectively suppressed.
In the simplest collapse model, know as GRW (Ghirardi et al. (1986)), all elementary
particles are postulated to suffer, with mean frequency λGRW , spontaneous localization events
around randomly chosen positions. The localizations are implemented by a multiplication
of the wave function by narrow Gaussians, with centers selected according to a probability
distribution that mimics the Born rule. Given that the collapse frequency of an object is
proportional to the number of particles it contains, a macroscopic object will be highly likely
to suffer collapses even if λGRW is extremely small (which is needed for the microscopic
behavior not to be affected significantly). Moreover, given that it is enough for one of the
particles of a macroscopic superposition (such as that in the final state in equation (3)) to
get localized, for the whole state to collapse, the GRW model ensures a quick elimination
of superpositions of well-localized macroscopic states, with statistics in accordance with the
standard theory.
The Continuous Spontaneous Localization model, or CSL (Pearle (1989)), replaces the
discontinuous GRW jumps with a continuous, stochastic evolution equation. In more detail,
it adds specific non-linear, stochastic terms to the Schrödinger equation designed to drive
any initial wave function into one of the eigenstate of a, so-called, collapse operator. In the
simplest case, the solutions to the CSL equation are given by
n
1
− iH+ 4λt
[B(t)−2λÂ]
|ψ(t)iB = e
2
7
o
|ψ(0)i
(4)
with λ a free parameter that controls the strength of the stochastic terms, Â the collapse
operator and B(t) a classical Brownian motion function selected randomly with probability
density
Pt {B} = B hψ(t)|ψ(t)iB .
(5)
Note that the first term in the exponent corresponds to the standard Schrödinger evolution
and the rest are the additional stochastic terms that implement the collapse.
To see how the model works, we expand the initial state at the right-hand-side of equation
(4) in terms of a superposition of eigenstates of Â
|ψ(0)i =
X
(6)
ci |ai i
i
and, taking for simplicity H = 0, we arrive at
|ψ(t)iB =
2
1
X
ci e− 4λt [B(t)−2λtai ] |ai i
X
e− 2λ [B(t)−2λtai ] |ci |2 .
(7)
i
and
Pt {B} =
2
1
(8)
i
From the last equation we note that the most probable B(t)’s to occur are B(t) ≈ 2λtaj with
probabilities |ci |2 , in which case
|ψ(t)iB ≈ cj |aj i +
X
2
t→∞
e−2λt[ai −aj ] |ai i −−−→ cj |aj i.
(9)
i6=j
Therefore, as t → ∞, the CSL dynamics drives the state of the system into the j-th eigenstate
of the operator Â, with probability |cj |2 ; that is, it unifies the standard unitary evolution
with a “measurement” of such an observable.
Given the nature of these models, one could worry for them to suffer a problem similar to
the Zeno effect, in which systems get forever frozen on eigenstates of the collapse operator.
Note however that the full time-evolution under these models contains both the standard
unitary component (first term in the exponent of equation (4)) and the collapse mechanism
(second term of the exponent of equation (4)), so the actual evolution of a system involves
a competition between the two. Of course, the result of this struggle is to be decided by the
strength of the collapse terms, which is determined by the parameter λ, so the key question is
if there is a possible value for λ that avoids these problems and yields empirically successful
predictions.
More generally, the value of the collapse parameter has to satisfy several constraints. On
the one hand, λ cannot be too large; otherwise, microscopic phenomena, which we know are
well-described by a purely unitary evolution, would get disturbed. Moreover, a large λ would
8
lead to the Zeno-type problem in which the collapse terms would dominate and eigenstates
of the collapse operator would freeze. On the other hand, if λ is too small, these models
would not achieve their purpose of suppressing undesirable macroscopic superpositions. Of
course, one can allow for these macroscopic superpositions to persist for some time, but one
need to make sure for them to quickly die-out before we are able to notice them. Well, the
beauty of these collapse models is that there exists a possible range of values for λ that yields
the required equilibrium, i.e., that provides us with fully empirically successful models of the
world around us (see Adler (2007); Feldmann and Tumulka (2012); Bassi et al. (2013).5
Going back to CSL, note than, unlike GRW, which is by construction associated with
the position basis, it allows the freedom to select different collapse operators. However, Â
is usually chosen to be associated with the position operator. That is because, as in GRW,
such an option leads to the suppression of superpositions of macroscopic objects at different
locations, and thus to a solution to the measurement problem. In fact, it has even been
argued that this is the only option available (see Bassi and Ghirardi (2003)). However, we
will show that a very different choice for a collapse operator can also lead to a solution of the
measurement problem.
The point is that, in order to explain why we never perceive superposed macroscopic objects, at least two options are available: one can construct models in which such macroscopic
superpositions never occur (as in standard collapse theories) or one can maintain that, although such superpositions do occur, we never encounter them because they collapse as soon
as we observe them. Below we will explore this second group of alternatives and present a
version of CSL in which the collapse operator relates to consciousness. This of course requires
the construction of an operator that measures consciousness and, for this purpose, we will
follow Integrated Information Theory and employ a measure of integration of information.
In order to motivate the relation between integration of information and consciousness, in
the next section we present such a theory in some detail.
3
Integration of Information and Consciousness
Integrated Information Theory (henceforth IIT) is a novel theory of consciousness proposed
in 2004 by Giulio Tononi (Tononi (2004, 2008); Oizumi et al. (2014)). The theory has gained
5
A more serious complication regarding collapse models arises from the fact that they lead systems to states
which are very close to eigenstates of the collapse operator, but not exactly to such eigenstates. Therefore,
if one subscribes to the EE link, systems under collapse dynamics never actually possess well-defined values
for properties associated with the collapse operator (nor for most other properties). The solution, then, is to
substitute the EE link by something else. One alternative is the, so-called, fuzzy link interpretation introduced
in Albert and Loewer (1996), in which one allows for some tolerance away from an eigenstate while ascribing
the possession of well-defined properties. Another alternative is to construct out of the wave function a,
so-called, primitive ontology, such as mass density or flashes, and to interpret such an entity as the threedimensional stuff that populates the world (see Allori (2015)). It is fair to say, though, that these approaches,
while promising, still have some open issues to address (see, e.g., McQueen (2015)).
9
popularity in recent years, especially in neuroscience, where it has even attracted the attention
of some renowned neuroscientists in the field of consciousness studies, such as Christopher
Koch (see, e.g., Tononi and Koch (2015)).
The core idea behind IIT is that consciousness, at the fundamental level, is integrated
information, which is described as “the amount of information generated by a complex
of elements, above and beyond the information generated by its parts” (Tononi, 2008, p.
216) or “information specified by a whole that cannot be reduced to that specified by its
parts”(Oizumi et al., 2014, p.1).6 In order to quantify integrated information, IIT defines
the property Φ, which is taken to measure the quantity of consciousness generated by a complex of elements. The quality of experience (the particular experience we undergo) is then
associated with the set of informational relationships generated within that complex.
Tononi and colleagues derive these ideas from a set of axioms they take to be self-evident.
From those axioms they deduce what they call postulates, which are supposed to specify
conditions a system must satisfy in order to generate consciousness. For current purposes,
we can focus on three axioms that primarily motivate Φ as a measure of consciousness,
Information, Integration and Exclusion (Oizumi et al., 2014, pp.2-3):
INFORMATION: Consciousness is informative: each experience differs in its particular
way from other possible experiences. Thus, an experience of pure darkness is what
it is by differing, in its particular way, from an immense number of other possible
experiences. A small subset of these possible experiences includes, for example, all the
frames of all possible movies.
INTEGRATION: Consciousness is integrated: each experience is (strongly) irreducible to
non-interdependent components. Thus, experiencing the word “SONO” written in the
middle of a blank page is irreducible to an experience of the word “ SO” at the right
border of a half-page, plus an experience of the word “NO” on the left border of another
half page the experience is whole. Similarly, seeing a red triangle is irreducible to seeing
a triangle but no red color, plus a red patch but no triangle.
EXCLUSION: Consciousness is exclusive: each experience excludes all others – at any
given time there is only one experience having its full content, rather than a superposition of multiple partial experiences; each experience has definite borders – certain
things can be experienced and others cannot; each experience has a particular spatial
and temporal grain.
Some readers might not find these axioms as self-evident as Tononi and colleagues pretend.
More usefully, Tononi (2008) makes use of thought experiments to make the relation between
6
In its latest formulation, what has been called IIT 3.0, the proponents of IIT depart slightly from Shannon’s
notion of information, which they call ‘extrinsic information,’ and focus in what they call ‘intrinsic information.’
10
Φ and consciousness more compelling. Imagine you are participating in an experiment where
you are facing a screen with a light that can be either on or off. Your task is to say “on”
if the light is on and “off” otherwise. The same task can be performed by a photodiode,
which can discriminate between the on and off states by changing the output current. The
photodiode can then be connected to a device that says “on” if the current is above certain
threshold and “off” otherwise. Although the photodiode can make the same discrimination
than you, we would not think it has any subjective experience of the process. Tononi asks
what the difference is, and replies that it lies on how much information is generated when
the distinction is made. Classically, information is defined as a reduction of uncertainty and
measured by means of Shannon’s entropy, which is roughly given by the logarithm of the
number of alternatives. Therefore, according to Tononi, the main difference between the
photodiode and us lies on the restriction in possibilities that our states make in comparison
with those of the photodiode. By being in an “on” state, the “off” state of the photodiode
is ruled out. In contrast, our experience also rules out the light being located in a different
location, being of a different color, etc. The key point, according to Tononi, is to realize how
“the many discriminations we can do, and the photodiode cannot, affect the meaning of the
discrimination at hand, the one between light and dark” (Tononi, 2008, p. 218).
The second thought experiment has to do with integration. In this case we are asked
to consider a digital camera, which contains, say, a million photodiodes like the one in the
previous example. Therefore, the camera can distinguish 21000000 different possibilities and,
clearly, we could increase the number of sensors in such a way that the camera discriminates
as many alternatives as we visually do. Yet, few would be willing to claim that the camera is
conscious. What is the difference in this case? Tononi proposes that it is the way in which we
do the discrimination. We, contrary to the camera, do it as an integrated system: “one that
cannot be broken down into independent components each with its own separate repertoire”
(Tononi, 2008, p. 219). Whereas the information of the camera can be perfectly analyzed in
terms of the information of the sensors, we cannot do this in the case of our experience, which
is always integrated (i.e., from the point of view of the experience, say, of a red triangle, it
does not make sense to take apart the experience of red from the experience of a triangle).
As we said above, in order to quantify the amount of integrated information in a system,
IIT introduces the property Φ. Although the precise mathematical calculation for Φ has been
modified over the years, the core idea, quantifying information in a system, above and beyond
that of its parts, remains the same. It is important to mention that, within the theory, the
partition of a system into separate components or mechanisms depends on the selected level
of abstraction and spatio-temporal scale. Moreover, IIT does not specify the spatio-temporal
scale at which systems have to be considered. Thereofre, Φ has to be calculated for all
possible partitions of the system, at every spatio-temporal grain, and the level that locally
maximizes Φ, attaining value ΦM ax , is the one responsible for consciousness in the system
11
(e.g., Hoel et al. (2013) show that Φ can peak at a macroscopic, rather than microscopic,
spatio-temporal scale).7
Tononi and colleagues have focused on a simplified calculus, in which they model a system
as a logic gate network (see Tononi (2008) for a detailed explanation of the calculus within
such a model). The idea is that logic gates offer a plausible approximation, if the neural level
is the adequate one. It is important to note that if we want to fix the behavioral disposition
of an organism, and if computationalism is correct, then it suffices to fix the computations as
described at the computational level, independently of the way in which such a computation
is realized. That is, two systems might differ with respect to the mechanisms involved at a
certain level or spatio-temporal scale (e.g., at the fundamental level), without differing in its
mechanisms at another level (e.g., the computational one).
Summing up, the property ΦM ax is supposed to quantify the amount of consciousness in
a system. In the next section, we explore the quantity ΦM ax at the quantum level—which we
assume to be the fundamental one—and we use it to construct a consciousness-based version
of CSL. Our model is intended to illustrate, in a conceptually and mathematically sound
manner, how consciousness could play a role in the collapse of the wave function.8
4
A consciousness-based CSL model
In this section we lay out the details of our proposal. In a few words, it consists of a CSL
model with ΦM ax as the collapse operator. By doing so, we arrive at a model in which, as has
been suggested throughout the years, consciousness plays a role in the collapse of the wave
function. The advantage of our proposal, of course, is that we incorporate consciousness into
Calculating ΦM ax might very well be beyond our cognitive capacities. However, for current purposes, the
only thing required is that, for every state of a system, there is a well-defined value of ΦM ax , independently
of our capacity to come to know it.
8
The model that we present is consistent with different metaphysical views regarding the details of the
relation between maximally integrated information and consciousness. For example, one might endorse something along the lines of IIT and think, as a referee has suggested to us, that maximal integrated information is
“the mark” or correlate of consciousness, whereas we still need some underlying (proto-) phenomenal property
at the fundamental level that accounts for the Hard Problem (Chalmers, 1996). Whether panpsychism is in
a better position to account for (a version of the) Hard Problem is an open question—see Chalmers (2016),
Goff (2009), Sebastián (2015). For discussion of the compatibility between panpsychism and IIT see Mørch
(2018).
Alternatively, one could claim that states with maximally integrated information are a posteriori identified
with phenomenally conscious states; i.e. acknowledge the lack of a priori explanation of consciousness and
hold that materialism can be true a posteriori (for discussion see Chalmers (2009)).
Although some proponents of IIT are happy to accept some panpsychist consequences, it is unclear that
they do so for reasons related to the Hard Problem. In fact, Tononi and colleagues stress that they take a
completely different route with regard to the hard problem, which they take their proposal to address: “IIT
addresses the hard problem in a new way. It does not start from the brain and ask how it could give rise
to experience; instead, it starts from the essential phenomenal properties of experience, or axioms, and infers
postulates about the characteristics that are required of its physical substrate.”(Tononi et al., 2016)
For the purpose of the paper we remain neutral with regard to the relation between IIT and the Hard
Problem, as well as between the relation between the Hard Problem and materialism.
7
12
quantum theory in a perfectly well-defined way, both mathematically and conceptually.
Before presenting our proposal it is important to mention that, in Kremnizer and Ranchin
(2015), a CSL model in which ΦM ax plays a role is also constructed. However, in such a work
ΦM ax is associated with the rate of collapse and not with the collapse operator (which is,
as in standard CSL, taken to be related to the position basis). That is, in such a model, as
in standard CSL, the collapse basis is associated with the position operator, but the rate of
collapse λ is taken to be a (monotonically increasing) function of ΦM ax . The idea is that the
presence of consciousness (via a large value of ΦM ax ) amplifies the chance of a collapse. There
is, however, a defeating problem for current purposes with such a proposal, for it assumes
that the value of ΦM ax is always well-defined. Otherwise, the rate of collapse would not
be well-defined at all times. The problem, of course, is that in the quantum context under
consideration, ΦM ax , as any other property, cannot always posses a well-defined value. In
reply, one could assume that ΦM ax behaves differently, but this undermined the objective of
constructing a consciousness-based quantum theory without the introduction of extraneous
entities.
The first issue to discuss is the construction of a quantum version of ΦM ax . To begin with,
we remember that, according to quantum theory, to every property of a system corresponds
a Hermitian operator. Given that, as we explained above, ΦM ax is a well-defined property
of any system, then there must be a corresponding operator Φ̂M ax that represents such a
property. The idea, then, is that only states with a well-defined value of Φ̂M ax can be
conscious. That is, only eigenstates of Φ̂M ax correspond to conscious states. Next comes the
question of how to define Φ̂M ax . Given that it is supposed to measure how much information
a system contains, above and beyond that of its parts, and given that quantum entanglement
is precisely related to such an issue, it is natural to define Φ̂M ax in terms of some measure
of entanglement. The standard measure of entanglement for pure states is the entanglement
entropy, but such a measure is no longer useful for mixed states. For the latter there are
a number of options, such as entanglement cost, distillable entanglement, entanglement of
formation, relative entropy, squashed entanglement or logarithmic negativity, but none of
them is standard (see Plenio and Virmani (2007) for a review). In Kremnizer and Ranchin
(2015), for instance, Φ̂M ax is defined in terms of relative entropy.
Finally, there is the issue of, in order to calculate ΦM ax for a given system, having to
calculate Φ for all of its parts, for all of its partitions and all possible levels of description.9
Therefore, given a quantum system, in order to calculate Φ̂M ax it is necessary to consider all
its subsystems, all possible partitions of each of those subsystem and also different descriptions
of the system at all possible coarse-grainings. Needless to say, doing all this for a realistic
9
Here we are assuming a physicalist position according to which all possible levels of description of a system,
e.g., chemical, biological, economical, etc., are, at the end of the day, already present (albeit in an extremely
complicated way) in the fundamental, quantum mechanical description.
13
system is beyond present technical abilities. What is important for us, though, is that the
operator Φ̂M ax is guaranteed to exist.
Putting all together, for a given initial state |ψ(0)i, the CSL model we propose has as
solutions
n
2
1
− iH+ 4λt
[B(t)−2λΦ̂M ax ]
|ψ(t)iB = e
o
|ψ(0)i
(10)
with B(t) a classical Brownian motion function selected randomly with probability density
Pt {B} = B hψ(t)|ψ(t)iB .
(11)
Therefore, our model is such that it drives any initial state of a system into an eigenstate
of the Φ̂M ax operator. If well-defined values of Φ̂M ax are indeed related to conscious states,
then, in the same way that standard CSL quickly destroys Schrödinger cat states, the above
dynamics quickly kills superpositions of incompatible conscious states, leading to states of
well-defined consciousness.
There is a potentially serious objection to the claim that our model effectively suppresses
superpositions of conscious states, particularly in measurement scenarios.10 On the one hand,
CSL models do not collapse superpositions of eigenstates that possess the same eigenvalue.11
On the other hand, it might seem that the eigenvalues of Φ̂M ax , corresponding to two different
outcomes of a typical measurement, will be equal. That is because the integrated information
for those two states seems to be the same (e.g. both outcomes might be registered in different
regions of the brain, but the registering structures will be the same). If these eigenvalues
are indeed equal, then our model, after all, will not suppresses this type of superpositions of
conscious states.
However, on second thought, it is extremely unlikely for two eigenvalues of Φ̂M ax , corresponding to two different outcomes of a measurement, to be the equal. This is because, as we
learn from decoherence, any quantum system inevitably interacts with its environment, and
by doing so, it gets entangled with it in such a way that the states of the environment corresponding to different outcomes of a measurement are almost orthogonal—and hence very
different among themselves. Given that the conscious state of the observer is influenced not
only by the result of the measurement, but also by its environment, its states corresponding
to different outcomes will not only differ on the value of the result, but also on the myriad of
changes to the environment brought about by the fact that a particular value was obtained.
As a result, in general, the values of integrated information corresponding to different results of the experiment will be different, leading in our model to an effective suppression
of superpositions of conscious states. One could argue that responding to this objection by
appealing to an interaction with the environment would imply that consciousness is left out
10
11
We thank an anonymous referee for rising this interesting objection.
This can be seen by noting the role eigenvalues play in equations (7), (8) and (9).
14
of the picture, but this is not the case. Of course, the state of the environment is relevant,
but only insofar as its effect on the observer is. That is, within our model, it is only because
conscious systems react differently to different environments that superpositions of conscious
states collapse.
Looking back at the list of necessary components of a satisfactory solution to the measurement problem presented in section 2, we see that, so far, our model seems promising. To
begin with, it is fully formulated in precise, mathematical terms and, as long as the CSL parameter is small enough, it reduces to standard quantum mechanics at the microscopic level.
Regarding an explanation of why we never seem to encounter certain macroscopic superpositions allowed by the standard theory, above we made an important distinction between
two different scenarios to explain away: i) superpositions of incompatible perceptions and ii)
well-defined perceptions of a macroscopic system in a superposition of different positions. It
is clear that our model takes care of the first complication by not letting those states last for
long. As with standard collapse schemes, one could worry that our model could lead either
to a Zeno-type problem, in which conscious states freeze, or to superpositions of conscious
states that we could actually experience. However, the same value for the collapse parameter
λ that allows for the construction of empirically successful standard collapse models, would
also do the trick here.12
One might find puzzling the idea of there being superpositions of conscious states that
we fail to notice. However, it is easy to make sense of the distinction between the experience
we have and what we notice, by means of the conceptual distinction between consciousness
and cognitive access—or between phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness (Block,
2002). The point is that the things we come to “notice” depend upon the availability of
information for thought. Although we often say, in ordinary language, that we are conscious
of such and such, just in case we “notice” such and such, the term ‘consciousness’ in the
discussion refers exclusively to our subjective experience. It is then an open empirical question
whether the mechanisms that underlie our subjective experience depend upon those that make
the information available for thought. And there is strong empirical evidence—endorsed by
the proponents of IIT (Tononi and Koch, 2015)—suggesting a response in the negative (Block,
2011, 2014; Sebastián, 2014). In this case, just as there are changes in the external world
we miss because they are too quick for our perceptual system to register them,13 if the time
during which our conscious states enter into a superposition is short enough—something that
depends, as we have seen, upon the value of the collapse parameter λ—we would miss that
12
A related worry is that it would be hard for consciousness to evolve in the early universe because the
collapse mechanics would freeze it at an eigenstate with ΦM ax = 0. However, the situation, again, is completely
analogous with standard, position-based CSL, which of course can be applied to the early universe without
implying that the universe would freeze at some eigenstate of position and nothing would ever move (see
Cañate et al. (2013); Okon and Sudarsky (2014, 2016b) for successful applications of standard CSL to the
early universe).
13
What “too quick” means in this case depends on the luminance (Bloch, 1885; Scharnowski et al., 2007).
15
as they are too quick for the corresponding access-process to register them: for us to notice
them.14
Above we mentioned that there are two different scenarios involving macroscopic superpositions that we need to explain away and we explained how our model takes care of the first
one, namely, superpositions of different perceptions. As we will see below, dealing with the
second one, i.e., well-defined perceptions of macroscopic superpositions, is more complicated.
The problem is that states such as |SiO |SiM +p are not suppressed by the model. What we
need, then, is a way of restricting the number of accessible states. Below we will propose an
evolutionary explanation for this restriction.
4.1
Well-defined perceptions of a macroscopic superposition
Suppose an observer measures the spin of a particle. In order for our model to correctly
predict the fact that she will end up either observing spin-up or spin-down, one has to further
assume that the states |+iO and |−iO are eigenstates of Φ̂M ax . The problem is that it could
very well be that this is not the case and that the eigenstates of Φ̂M ax are superpositions of
such states. That is, there is nothing in the theory to select such a basis over others. It is
an empirical fact, however, that when we perform this type of experiments we end up with
perceptions corresponding to |+iO or |−iO so it seems to be the architecture of our brain
that selects such a basis. The point however is that once we assume that |+iO and |−iO
are eigenstates of Φ̂M ax , it follows that superpositions thereof are not (assuming of course no
degeneracy). As we explained above, though, this does not mean that states such as |SiO
are superpositions of states such as |+iO and |−iO . As we said, |SiO is, by assumption, an
eigenstate of Φ̂M ax corresponding to a well-defined perception of a macroscopic superposition
and nothing we have said so far explains why we do not seem to experience such states.
As we mentioned in section 2, a common explanation for the fact that we never seem to
find ourselves in states such as |SiO is that they are dynamically suppressed. However, the
fact that, from the fundamental point of view, |SiO and, e.g., |+iO , are on an equal footing,
makes it hard to see where the equivalence between them could break. Of course, as is wellknown, decoherence is supposed to come to the rescue. The idea is that a preferred basis is
selected by the fact that all states inevitably interact with their environment. In particular,
it is argued that only states that are not modified by such an interaction are stable and,
therefore, observable. More formally, the preferred basis {|ψi i} is supposed to be the one
One may also worry about the fact that our model does not really lead systems to eigenstates of Φ̂M ax ,
but only to states which are very close to those eigenstates. As with standard collapse models, if one strictly
follows the EE link one gets into trouble because you would have to conclude that our model leads to a scenario
in which conscious states never actually occur. The solution, again, as with standard collapse models, is to
deviate from the EE link and introduce some type of fuzzy link that ascribes consciousness to states which
are close enough to Φ̂M ax eigenstates. How to define such a “close enough” is still an open question.
14
16
that satisfies
Schrödinger
(12)
|ψi i|E0 i −−−−−−−→ |ψi i|Ei i
with hEi |Ej i ≈ 0, where |E0 i is the initial state of the environment and |Ek i is the state of
the environment which results from the fact that the state of the system is |ψk i. Therefore,
if the initial state of the system is a superposition of elements of such a basis,
X
Schrödinger
ci |ψi i|E0 i −−−−−−−→
i
X
(13)
ci |ψi i|Ei i
i
and the system becomes entangled with the environment, supposedly leading to the unobservability of such states. Okon and Sudarsky (2016a) describe in detail why all this does
not constitute a valid explanation for the fact that we do not seem to observe macroscopic
objects on superpositions.15 Here, though, we will employ some elements of the decoherence
story, together with an evolutionary perspective, in order to explain why |SiO never seems
to occur.
Suppose that an observer closes her eyes in front of the spin measurement apparatus of
section 2, while it measures the spin of a spin-up particle. Suppose as well (for now) that
everything, always evolves according to the Schrödinger equation. Before the observer opens
her eyes, the state of the apparatus and the particle is |+iM |+ip . What happens when she
opens her eyes? Well, according to what we said in section 2, she will end up in the state
|+iO (of course, the analogous thing happens with a spin-down particle).
Now consider the same exercise, but with the apparatus measuring a particle in a superposition of spin-up and spin-down. After the measurement, the state of the apparatus and
the particle will be |SiM +p , and the important question is what happens when the observer
opens her eyes. As we explained in section 2, what we just said about the case where the
particle is spin up or spin-down, together with the fact that the Schrödinger equation is
linear, completely determine the answer; that is, the fact that
Schrödinger
|RiO |+iM |+ip −−−−−−−→ |+iO |+iM |+ip
Schrödinger
and |RiO |−iM |−ip −−−−−−−→ |−iO |−iM |−ip
(14)
necessarily implies
Schrödinger
|RiO |SiM +p = |RiO {α|+iM |+ip + β|−iM |−ip } −−−−−−−→ α|+iO |+iM |+ip +β|−iO |−iM |−ip ,
(15)
15
In a nutshell, the problem is the following. The argument for the suppression of macroscopic interference
via decoherence is that, for all practical purposes, reduced density matrices of systems in interaction with an
environment behave as mixtures. However, those reduced density matrices behave as mixtures only if one
assumes that, upon measurement, systems collapse à la Copenhague. Therefore, in order for the argument
to work, one basically needs to assume what one wants to prove (again, see Okon and Sudarsky (2016a) for
details).
17
so the observer will end up in such a superposition, and not in the state |SiO . Are we
done then? Have we explained why the observer does not end up with a perception of a
superposition but a superposition of perceptions (for which we already offered a solution
within our model)? Not really. The key point to observe is that the asymmetry between
|±iO and |SiO , which is what we are after, has been simply put in by hand by assuming
that equation (14) is correct. The problem is that, from the fundamental point of view, there
is nothing to justify the postulation of such an evolution over the analogue with respect to
|SiO , namely
Schrödinger
|RiO {α|+iM |+ip + β|−iM |−ip } −−−−−−−→ |SiO {α|+iM |+ip + β|−iM |−ip } .
(16)
Of course, we seem to know from experience that (14) is reasonable and (16) is not but, as we
argued above, a satisfactory solution of the measurement problem requires an explanation of
such a fact.
To recap, we made the distinction between a superposition of incompatible perceptions
and a perception of a macroscopic superposition. The CSL model we propose takes care of
the first scenario by quickly killing such states but it does not help in suppressing the second
(note that a position basis CSL model does take care of both cases). What we need to do
now is to explain why (14), but not (16), seems to be the case.
We first note that a system that behaves as (14) can, at the same time, possess a state
|R∗ iO (as opposed to |RiO ) that behaves as
Schrödinger
|R∗ iO {α|+iM |+ip + β|−iM |−ip } −−−−−−−→ |SiO {α|+iM |+ip + β|−iM |−ip } .
(17)
For example, in the same way that a measuring apparatus could, by turning a dial, measure
spin along different directions, the brain could have a state |RiO that behaves as (14) and a
different state |R∗ iO that behaves as (17).
Having noticed that a brain could indeed possess two different ready states that, given
the exact same physical situation, would track the world in two different incompatible bases,
the key question to ask is if such an architecture would give any edge to a being possessing
it. The short answer is that it would not. This is because if those two ready states are indeed
available, then a superposition of them also would. But if such a superposition occurs, then
the collapse mechanics would randomly choose one or the other and only one basis would
be tracked, without the conscious being being able to control which. Moreover, it is clear
that there is in fact a continuum of bases that could be tracked (not only two, as above), so
the randomization problem we mentioned is even worse. So, we can conclude that a brain
architecture that tracks systems along a single basis is greatly superior, and hence very likely
selected in evolution.
Another way in which a system could, at the same time, behave as (14) and as (17) is
18
by having within it one module with a state |RiO that behaves as (14) and another module
with a state |R∗ iO that behaves as (17). That is, one could have a module that ends up
either in |+iO or |−iO as a result of looking at the measuring device and a different module
that ends up in |SiO as a result of the very same interaction. In other words, in principle we
could possesses two different modules that track the same property in different bases, such
that both inputs contribute to the final experience. The key question, again, is if such an
architecture would give any edge to a being possessing it, and the answer, again, is that it
would not. That is because, by trying to perceive things with both modules at the same
time, no reliable information would be gathered. This is analogous to an apparatus which is
supposed to measure at the same time spin along x and y of a particle. Of course, since those
two properties do not commute, such an apparatus would end up not giving information with
respect to either property.
Moreover, this possibility does not even start to make sense in IIT, which we are taking
for granted. We should not think of our overall state of consciousness, within the theory,
as an aggregation of conscious states. As we have seen, the exclusion postulate states at
the system level that, for a system, there is a unique conceptual structure that gives rise
to consciousness, and therefore that constellations generated by overlapping elements are
excluded: each experience excludes all others. So, we should think of the overall state
of consciousness of the observer before looking at the measuring device and such a state
can either be |R∗ iO or |RiO but not both. It is a matter of the internal structure of the
cognitive systems whether they are are like one or the other. It turns out that, for the
human architecture, it is (14), which describes the interaction. But this is a contingent
fact and the theory leaves open the possibility of different cognitive architectures that lead
to a conceptual structure that corresponds to initial states like |R∗ iO . In this case, their
observation of the measuring device would be described by (17): they would be systems that
track superpositions of locations, rather than well-defined positions as we do.
5
Conclusion
Many authors since the early days of quantum mechanics have played around with the notion that consciousness holds the key for understanding the collapse of the wave function.
However, such an idea seems to suggest that consciousness lies outside of the quantum realm.
This fact, together with an absence of a formal model for the alleged interaction between
consciousness and the material world, has contributed to the lack of popularity of theories in
which “consciousness causes the collapse of the wave function.”
In this paper we have shown that it is possible to provide such a model. For this purpose, we have turned to IIT, which maintains that consciousness depends upon integration
of information of a system and provides a clear way to measure it. However, it is worth
19
stressing once again that our approach does not depend on IIT being the correct theory of
consciousness; we have merely employed it for illustrative purposes. All our model requires
is the construction of an operator that measures consciousness. As long as there is a physical
property upon which consciousness depends, and which can be measured, then we can use
such a property as a collapse operator in order to construct a consciousness-based CSL model.
It is worth noting that the standard choice for a collapse operator, in terms of position, is of
course well justified by observations, but lacks an explanation or an independent motivation.
In our proposal, in contrast, the fact that we never observe superpositions in the position of
macroscopic objects is simply a contingent fact, derived from the cognitive architecture that
happens to give rise to consciousness in our case. The collapse term is “cooked” to get rid
of superpositions of conscious states, but the idea that consciousness “causes” the collapse of
the wave function is motivated independently.
Unlike other approaches that have postulated a role for consciousness in the collapse of
the wave function, we offer a clear and formal model of such an interaction. We are sure that
there are further conceptual questions to be attended, but we hope this model contributes to
making these approaches more attractive and to the development of alternative models. One
should not forget that it is still an open empirical question whether consciousness is really
involved in the collapse of the wave function (see Okon and Sebastián (2016) for an empirical
setup that could answer such a question).
Acknowledgments
We are very grateful to David Chalmers, Martin Glazier, Kelvin McQueen and Manolo Martinez for their useful comments. Financial support for this work was provided by DGAPA
projects IG100316 and IA400218.
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24 |
Article
Integrated Information Theory and Isomorphic
Feed-Forward Philosophical Zombies
Jake R. Hanson 1,2 and Sara I. Walker 1,2,3,∗
1
2
3
*
School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
ASU–SFI Center for Biosocial Complex Systems, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Correspondence: jake.hanson@asu.edu
arXiv:1908.09621v2 [cs.IT] 1 Oct 2019
Received: date; Accepted: date; Published: date
Abstract: Any theory amenable to scientific inquiry must have testable consequences. This minimal
criterion is uniquely challenging for the study of consciousness, as we do not know if it is possible to
confirm via observation from the outside whether or not a physical system knows what it feels like to
have an inside - a challenge referred to as the "hard problem” of consciousness. To arrive at a theory
of consciousness, the hard problem has motivated development of phenomenological approaches
that adopt assumptions of what properties consciousness has based on first-hand experience and,
from these, derive the physical processes that give rise to these properties. A leading theory adopting
this approach is Integrated Information Theory (IIT), which assumes our subjective experience
is a “unified whole”, subsequently yielding a requirement for physical feedback as a necessary
condition for consciousness. Here, we develop a mathematical framework to assess the validity of
this assumption by testing it in the context of isomorphic physical systems with and without feedback.
The isomorphism allows us to isolate changes in Φ without affecting the size or functionality of the
original system. Indeed, we show that the only mathematical difference between a "conscious" system
with Φ > 0 and an isomorphic "philosophical zombie" with Φ = 0 is a permutation of the binary labels
used to internally represent functional states. This implies Φ is sensitive to functionally arbitrary
aspects of a particular labeling scheme, with no clear justification in terms of phenomenological
differences. In light of this, we argue any quantitative theory of consciousness, including IIT, should
be invariant under isomorphisms if it is to avoid the existence of isomorphic philosophical zombies
and the epistemological problems they pose.
Keywords: Consciousness; Integrated Information Theory; Krohn-Rhodes Decomposition
1. Introduction
The scientific study of consciousness walks a fine line between physics and metaphysics. On the
one hand, there are observable consequences to what we intuitively describe as consciousness. Sleep,
for example, is an outward behavior that is uncontroversially associated with a lower overall level
of consciousness. Similarly, scientists can decipher what is intrinsically experienced when humans
are conscious via verbal reports or other outward signs of awareness. By studying the physiology of
the brain during these specific behaviors, scientists can build "neuronal correlates of consciousness"
(NCCs), which specify where in the brain conscious experience is generated and what physiological
processes correlate with it [1]. On the other hand, NCCs cannot be used to explain why we are conscious
or to predict whether or not another system demonstrating similar properties to NCCs is conscious.
Indeed, NCCs can only tell us the physiological processes that correlate with what are assumed to
be the functional consequences of consciousness and, in principle, may not actually correspond to a
measurement of what it is like to have subjective experience [2]. In other words, we can objectively
measure behaviors we assume accurately reflect consciousness but, currently, there exist no scientific
tools permitting testing our assumptions. As a result, we struggle to differentiate whether a system is
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truly conscious or is instead simply going through the motions and giving outward signs of, or even
actively reporting, an internal experience that does not exist (e.g. [3]).
This is the "hard problem" of consciousness [2] and it is what differentiates the study of
consciousness from all other scientific endeavors. Since consciousness is subjective (by definition), there
is no objective way to prove whether or not a system experiences it. Addressing the hard problem,
therefore, necessitates an inversion of the approach underlying NCCs: rather than starting with
observables and deducing consciousness, one must start with consciousness and deduce observables.
This has motivated theorists to develop phenomenological approaches that adopt rigorous assumptions
of what properties consciousness must include based on human experience, and, from these, "derive"
the physical processes that give rise to these properties. The benefit to this approach is not that the
hard-problem is avoided, but rather, that the solution appears self-evident given the phenomenological
axioms of the theory. In practice, translating from phenomenology to physics is rarely obvious, but the
approach remains promising.
The phenomenological approach to addressing the hard problem of consciousness is exemplified
in Integrated Information Theory (IIT) [4,5], a leading theory of consciousness. Indeed, IIT is a leading
contender in modern neuroscience precisely because it takes a phenomenological approach and offers
a well-motivated solution to the hard problem of consciousness [6]. Three phenomenological axioms
form the backbone of IIT: information, integration, and exclusion. The first, information, states that
by taking on only one of the many possibilities a conscious experience generates information (in the
Shannon sense, e.g. via a reduction in uncertainty [7]). The second, integration, states each conscious
experience is a single "unified whole". And the third, exclusion, states conscious experience is exclusive
in that each component in a system can take part in at most one conscious experience at a time
(simultaneous overlapping experiences are forbidden). Given these three phenomenological axioms,
IIT derives a mathematical measure of integrated information - Φ - that is designed to quantify the
extent to which a system is conscious based on the logical architecture (i.e. the "wiring") underlying its
internal dynamics.
In constructing Φ as a phenomenologically-derived measure of consciousness, IIT must assume
a connection between its phenomenological axioms and the physical processes that embody these
axioms. It is important to emphasize that this assumption is nothing less than a proposed solution to
the hard problem of consciousness, as it connects subjective experience (axiomatized as integration,
information, and exclusion) and objective (measurable) properties of a physical system. As such, it
is possible for one to accept the phenomenological axioms of the theory without accepting Φ as the
correct quantification of these axioms and, indeed IIT has undergone several revisions in an attempt
to better reflect the phenomenological axioms in the proposed construction of Φ [5,8,9]. If, on the
other hand, one accepts Φ as the correct mathematical translation of the theory’s phenomenological
axioms, no experimental result can disprove the theory because the theory automatically dictates the
interpretation of experimental results if the axioms hold.
The possibility of multiple mathematical interpretations of the same phenomenological axioms
implies that, in principle, two competing theories of consciousness can disagree on the results of an
experiment even if they accept the same phenomenological axioms - a situation that arises precisely
because of the hard problem. Justification for a given phenomenological theory, therefore, must
ultimately come from how well the deductions of the theory match our intuitive understanding of what
consciousness is, as well as the logical consistency and believability of the underlying assumptions. In
this regard, it is important to thoroughly understand any unique or counterintuitive predictions that
are deduced, because accepting or rejecting these conclusions is the only way to even approach testing
the validity of the theory [10].
In the context of IIT, the implied existence of philosophical zombies is a particularly controversial
claim. Philosophical zombies are defined as physical systems that are capable of perfectly emulating
the outward behavior of conscious systems but which nonetheless, lack subjective experience.
Epistemologically, the existence of philosophical zombies is problematic, as many have argued that
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it is logically impossible for a scientific theory to justify their existence [11–13]. The fact that IIT
admits such systems, therefore, poses a serious threat to the validity of the assumptions that form the
foundations of the theory and, in particular, IIT’s mathematical translation of the integration axiom.
This is because, according to IIT, the phenomenological experience of an "irreducible whole" must be
mirrored by physical irreducibility in the substrate that gives rise to consciousness. Because of this,
physical feedback is assumed to be a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for conscious experience,
such that any system that lacks feedback has Φ = 0 by definition [5]. Yet, results in automata theory
suggest a different interpretation. In what follows, we point to the Krohn-Rhodes [14,15] theorem
and other feed-forward decomposition techniques [13], which prove that there is nothing inherently
special about feedback from a functional perspective, aside from the fact that it often allows for a more
efficient representation. This leads to the controversial conclusion that the behavior of any system with
feedback and Φ > 0 can be perfectly emulated by a feed-forward philosophical zombie with Φ = 0.
In response, IIT claims such systems lack consciousness because they are incapable of generating an
integrated experience, but this claim rests solely on the assumption that physical feedback is the correct
interpretation of what it means to have an integrated subjective experience.
To test this assumption, we demonstrate the existence of a fundamentally new type of
feed-forward philosophical zombie, namely, one that is isomorphic to its conscious counterpart in
its state-transitions. The isomorphism guarantees that the feed-forward system with Φ = 0 not only
emulates the input-output behavior of its conscious counterpart but does so without increasing the size of
the system. Thus, the internal states of the two systems are in one-to-one correspondence, which allows
us to isolate mathematical changes in Φ without introducing a qualitative difference in efficiency,
autonomy, or behavior across systems. Indeed, we show the only mathematical difference between the
"conscious" system with Φ > 0 and "unconscious" system with Φ = 0 is a permutation of the binary
labels used to instantiate internal states. This implies Φ depends on the specific internal representation
of a computation rather than the computation itself. Our formalism translates into a proposed
mathematical criterion that any measure of consciousness must be invariant under isomorphisms in
the state transition diagram. Enforcement of this criterion serves as a necessary, but not sufficient,
formal condition for any theory of consciousness to be free from philosophical zombies and the
epistemological problems they pose.
2. Methods
2.1. Finite-State Automata
Finite-state automata are abstract computing devices, or "machines", designed to model a discrete
system as it transitions between states. Automata theory was invented to address biological and
psychological problems [16,17] and it remains an extremely intuitive choice for modeling neuronal
systems. This is because one can define an automaton in terms of how specific abstract inputs lead to
changes within a system. Namely, if we have a set of potential inputs Σ and a set of internal states Q,
we define an automaton A in terms of the tuple A = (Σ, Q, δ, q0 ) where δ : Σ × Q → Q is a map from
the current state and input symbol to the next state, and q0 ∈ Q is the starting state of the system. To
simplify notation, we write δ(s, q) = q0 to denote the transition from q to q0 upon receiving the input
symbol s ∈ Σ.
For example, consider the "right-shift automaton" A shown in Figure 1. This automaton is
designed to model a system with a two bit internal register that processes new elements from the input
alphabet Σ = {0, 1} by shifting the bits in the register to the right and appending the new element
on the left [18]. The global state of the machine is the combined state of the left and right register, so
Q = {00, 01, 10, 11} and the transition function δ specifies how this global state changes in response to
each input, as shown in Figure 1b.
In addition to the global state transitions, each individual bit in the register of the right-shift
automaton is itself an automaton. In other words, the global functionality of the system is nothing
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more than the combined output from a system of interconnected automata, each specifying the state of
a single component or "coordinate" of the system. Specifically, the right-shift automaton is comprised
of an automaton AQ1 responsible for the left bit of register and an automaton AQ2 responsible for the
right bit of the register. By definition, AQ1 copies the input from the environment and AQ2 copies
the state of AQ1 . Thus, ΣQ1 = {0, 1} and ΣQ2 = Q1 = {0, 1} and the transition functions for the
coordinates are δQ1 = δQ2 = {δ(0, 0) = 0; δ(0, 1) = 0; δ(1, 0) = 1; δ(1, 1) = 1}. This fine-grained view
of the right-shift automaton specifies its logical architecture and is shown in Figure 1c. The logical
architecture of the system is the "circuitry" that underlies its behavior and, as such, is often specified
explicitly in terms of logic gates, with the implicit understanding that each logic gate is a component
automaton.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 1. The "right-shift automaton" A in terms of its state-transition diagram (1a), transition function
δ (1b), and logical architecture (1c).
It is important to note that not all automata require multiple input symbols and it is common to
find examples of automata with a single-letter input alphabet. In fact, any deterministic state-transition
diagram can be represented in this way, with a single input letter signaling the passage of time. In
this case, the states of the automaton are the states of the system, the input alphabet is the passage of
time, and the transition function δ is given by the transition probability matrix (TPM) for the system.
Because Φ is a mathematical measure that takes a TPM as input, this specialized case provides a
concrete link between IIT and automata theory. Non-deterministic TPMs can also be described in
terms of finite-state automata [18,19] but, for our purposes, this generalization is not necessary.
2.2. Cascade Decomposition
The idea of decomposability is central to both IIT and automata theory. As Tegmark [20] points out,
mathematical measures of integrated information, including Φ, quantify the inability to decompose
a transition probability matrix M into two independent processes M A and MB . Given a distribution
over initial states p, if we approximate M by the tensor factorization M̂ ≈ M A ⊗ MB , then Φ, in
general, quantifies an information theoretic distance D between the regular dynamics Mp and the
dynamics under the partitioned approximation M̂p (i.e. Φ = D ( Mp|| M̂p)). In the latest version of IIT
[5], only unidirectional partitions are implemented (information can flow in one direction across the
partition) which mathematically enforces the assumption that feedback is a necessary condition for
consciousness.
Decomposition in automata theory, on the other hand, has historically been an engineering
problem. The goal is to decompose an automaton A into an automaton A0 which is made of simpler
physical components than A and maps homomorphically onto A. Here, we define a homomorphism h
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as a map from the states, stimuli, and transitions of A0 onto the states, stimuli, and transitions of A
such that for every state and stimulus in A0 the results obtained by the following two methods are
equivalent [16]:
1. Use the stimulus of A0 to update the state of A0 then map the resulting state onto A.
2. Map the stimulus of A0 and the state of A0 to the corresponding stimulus/state in A then update
the state of A using the stimulus of A.
In other words, the map h is a homomorphism if it commutes with the dynamics of the system.
The two operations (listed above) that must commute are shown schematically in Figure 2. If the
homomorphism h is bijective then it is also an isomorphism and the two automata necessarily have the
the same number of states.
From an engineering perspective, homomorphic/isomorphic logical architectures are useful
because they allow flexibility when choosing a logical architecture to implement a given computation.
Mathematically, the difference between homomorphic automata is the internal labeling scheme used to
encode the states/stimuli of the global finite-state machine, which specifies the behavior of the system.
Thus, the homomorphism h is a dictionary that translates between different representations of the same
computation. Just as the same sentence can be spoken in different languages, the same computation can
be instantiated using different encodings. Under this view, what gives a computational state meaning
is not its binary representation (label) but rather its causal relationship with other states/stimuli, which
is what the homomorphism preserves.
Figure 2. For the map h to be a homomorphism from A0 onto A, updating the dynamics then applying
h (top) must yield the same state of A as applying h then updating the dynamics (bottom).
Because we are interested in isolating the role of feedback, the specific type of decomposition we
seek is a feed-forward or cascade decomposition of the logical architecture of a given system. Cascade
decomposition takes the automaton A and decomposes it into a homomorphic automaton A0 comprised
of several elementary automata "cascaded together". By this, what is meant is that the output from one
component serves as the input to another such that the flow of information in the system is strictly
unidirectional (Figure 3). The resulting logical architecture is said to be in "cascade" or "hierarchical"
form and is functionally identical to the original system (i.e. it realizes the same global finite-state
machine).
At this point, the connection between IIT and cascade decomposition is readily apparent: if an
automaton with feedback allows a homomorphic cascade decomposition, then the behavior of the
resulting system is indistinguishable from the original but utilizes only feed-forward connections.
Therefore, there exists a unidirectional partition of the system that leaves the dynamics of the new
system (i.e. the transition probability matrix) unchanged such that Φ = 0 for all states.
In the language of Oizumi et al. [5], we can prove this by letting C→ be the constellation that is
generated as a result of any unidirectional partition and C be the original constellation. Because C→
has no effect on the TPM, we are guaranteed that C→ = C and Φ MIP = D (C |C→ ) = 0. We can repeat
this process for every possible subsystem within a given system and, since the flow of information is
always unidirectional, Φ MIP = 0 for all subsets so Φ Max = 0. Thus, Φ = 0 for all states and subsystems
of a cascade automaton.
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Figure 3. An example of a fully connected three component system in cascade form. Any subset of the
connections drawn above meets the criteria for cascade form because information flows unidirectionally.
Pertinently, the Krohn-Rhodes theorem proves that every automaton can be decomposed into
cascade form [14,15], which implies every system for which we can measure non-zero Φ allows a feed-forward
decomposition with Φ = 0. These feed-forward systems are "philosophical zombies" in the sense that
they lack subjective experience according to IIT (e.g. Φ = 0), but they nonetheless perfectly emulate the
behavior of conscious systems. Yet, the Krohn-Rhodes theorem does not tell us how to construct such
systems. Furthermore, the map between systems is only guaranteed to be homomorphic (many-to-one)
which allows for the possibility that Φ is picking up on other properties (e.g. such as the efficiency
and/or autonomy of the computation) in addition to the presence or absence of feedback [5].
To isolate what Φ is measuring, we must go one step further and insist that the decomposition is
isomorphic (one-to-one) such that the original and zombie systems can be considered to perform the
same computation (same global state-transition topology) under the same resource constraints. In
this case, the feed-forward system has the exact same number of states as its counterpart with feedback.
Provided the latter has Φ > 0, this implies Φ is not a measure of the efficiency of a given computation,
as both systems require the same amount of memory. This is not to say that feedback and Φ do not
correlate with efficiency because, in general, they do [21]. For certain computations, however, the
presence of feedback is not associated with increased efficiency but only increased interdependence
among elements.
It is these specific corner cases that are most beneficial if one wants to assess the validity of
the theory, as they allow one to understand whether or not feedback is important in absence of the
benefits typically associated with its presence. In other words, IIT’s translation of the integration
axiom is that feedback is a minimal criterion for the subjective experience of a unified whole; yet, Φ is
described as quantifying "the amount of information generated by a complex of elements, above and
beyond the information generated by its parts" [4], which seems to imply feedback enables something
"extra" feed-forward systems cannot reproduce. An isomorphic feed-forward decomposition allows
us to carefully track the mathematical changes that destroy this additional information, in a way that
lets us preserve the efficiency and functionality of the original system. This, in turn, provides the
clearest possible case to test whether or not this additional information is likely to correspond to a
phenomenological difference between systems.
2.3. Feed-forward Isomorphisms via Preserved Partitions
The special type of computation that allows an isomorphic feed-forward decomposition is one
in which the global state-transition diagram is amenable to decomposition via a nested sequence of
preserved partitions. A preserved partition is a way of partitioning the state space of a system into
blocks of states (macrostates) that transition together. Namely, a partition P is preserved if it breaks the
state space S into a set of blocks { B1 , B2 , ..., BN } such that every state within each block transitions to a
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state within the same block [16,22]. If we denote the state-transition function f : S → S, then a block Bi
is preserved when:
∃ j ∈ {1, 2, ..., N } such that f ( x ) ∈ Bj ∀ x ∈ Bi
In other words, for Bi to be preserved, ∀ x in Bi x must transition to some state in a single block Bj
(i = j is allowed). Conversely, Bi is not preserved if there exist two or more states in Bi that transition
to different blocks (i.e. ∃ x1 , x2 ∈ Bi such that f ( x1 ) = Bj and f ( x2 ) = Bk with j 6= k ). In order for the
entire partition Pi to be preserved, each block within the partition must be preserved.
For an isomorphic cascade decomposition to exist, we must be able to iteratively construct a
hierarchy or "nested sequence" of preserved partitions such that each partition Pi evenly splits the
partition Pi−1 above it in half, leading to a more and more refined description of the system. For a
system with 2n states where n is the number of binary components in the original system, this implies
that we need to find exactly n nested preserved partitions, each of which then maps onto a unique
component of the cascade automaton, as demonstrated in Section 2.3.1.
If one cannot find a preserved partition made of disjoint blocks or the blocks of a given partition
do not evenly split the blocks of the partition above it in half, then the system in question does not allow
an isomorphic feed-forward decomposition. It will, however, still allow a homomorphic feed-forward
decomposition based on a nested sequence of preserved covers, which forms the basis of standard
Krohn-Rhodes decomposition techniques [16,23,24]. Unfortunately, we do not know of a way to
tell a priori whether or not a given computation will ultimately allow an isomorphic feed-forward
decomposition, although a high degree of symmetry in the global state-transition diagram is certainly
a requirement.
2.3.1. Example: AND/OR ∼
= COPY/OR
As an example, we will isomorphically decompose the feedback system X, comprised of an AND
gate and an OR gate, shown in Figure 4a. As it stands, X is not in cascade form because information
flows bidirectionally between the components Q1 and Q2 . While this feedback alone is insufficient to
guarantee Φ > 0, one can readily check that X does indeed have Φ > 0 for all possible states (e.g. [25]).
The global state-transition diagram for the system X is shown in Figure 4c. Note, we have purposefully
left off the binary labels that X uses to instantiate these computational states, as the goal is to relabel
them in a way that results in a different (feed-forward) instantiation. In general, one typically starts
from the computation and derives a single logical architecture but, here, we must start and end with
fixed (isomorphic) logical architectures - passing through the underlying computation in between. The
general form of the feed-forward logical architecture X 0 that we seek is shown in Figure 4b.
Given the global state-transition diagram shown in Figure 4c, we let our first preserved partition
be P1 = { B0 , B1 } with B0 = { A, D } and B1 = { B, C }. It is easy to check that this partition is preserved,
as one can verify that every element in B0 transitions to an element in B0 and every element in B1
transitions to an element in B1 (shown topologically in Figure 5a). We then assign all the states in B0 a
first coordinate value of 0 and all the states in B1 a first coordinate value of 1, which guarantees the
state of the first coordinate is independent of later coordinates. If the value of the first coordinate is 0
it will remain 0 and if the value of the first coordinate is 1 it will remain one, because states within
a given block transition together. Because 0 goes to 0 and 1 goes to 1, the logic element (component
automaton) representing the first coordinate Q10 is a COPY gate receiving its previous state as input.
The second preserved partition P2 must evenly split each block within P1 in half. Letting P2 =
{{ B00 , B01 }, { B10 , B11 }} we have B00 = { A}, B01 = { B}, B10 = {C }, and B11 = { D }. At this stage, it is
trivial to verify that the partition is preserved because each block is comprised of only one state which
is guaranteed to transition to a single block. As with Q10 , the logic gate for the second coordinate (Q20 )
is specified by the way the labeled blocks of P2 transition. Namely, we have B00 → B00 , B01 → B01 ,
B10 → B01 , and B11 → B11 . Note, the transition function δQ2 is completely deterministic given input
from the first two coordinates (as required) and is given by δQ2 = {00 → 0; 01 → 1; 10 → 1; 11 → 1}.
This implies Q20 is an OR gate receiving input from both Q10 and Q20 .
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(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 4. The goal of an isomorphic cascade decomposition is to decompose the integrated logical
architecture of the system X (4a) so that it is in cascade form X 0 (4b) without affecting the state-transition
topology of the original system (4c).
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 5. The nested sequence of preserved partitions in 5a yields the isomorphism 5b between X and
X 0 which can be translated into the strictly feed-forward logical architecture with Φ = 0 shown in 5c.
At this point, the isomorphic cascade decomposition is complete. We have constructed an
automaton for Q10 that takes input from only itself and an automaton for Q20 that takes input only from
itself and earlier coordinates (i.e. Q10 and Q20 ). The mapping between the states of X and the states of
X 0 , shown in Figure 5b, is specified by identifying the binary labels (internal representations) each
system uses to instantiate the abstract computational states A, B, C, D of the global state-transition
diagram. Because X and X 0 operate on the same support (the same four binary states) the fact that they
are isomorphic implies the difference between representations is nothing more than a permutation
of the labels used to instantiate the computation. By choosing a specific labelling scheme based on
isomorphic cascade decomposition, we can induce a logical architecture that is guaranteed to be
feedback free and has Φ = 0. In this way we have "unfolded" the feedback present in X without
affecting the size/efficiency of the system.
3. Results/Discussion
We are now prepared to demonstrate the existence of isomorphic feed-forward philosophical
zombies in systems similar to those found in Oizumi et al. [5]. To do so, we will decompose the
integrated system Y shown in Figure 6 into an isomorphic feed-forward philosophical zombie Y 0 of the
form shown in Figure 3. The system Y, comprised of two XNOR gates and one XOR gate, clearly contains
feedback between components and has Φ > 0 for all states for which Φ can be calculated (Figure 8c).
As in Section 2.3, the goal of the decomposition is an isomorphic relabeling of the finite-state machine
representing the global behavior of the system, such that the induced logical architecture is strictly
feed-forward.
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(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 6. The transition probability matrix (6a), logical architecture (6b), and all available Φ values (6c)
for the example system Y (n/a implies Φ is not defined for a given state because it is unreachable).
We first evenly partition the state space of Y into two blocks B0 = { A, C, G, H } and B1 =
{ B, D, E, F }. Under this partition, B0 transitions to B1 and B1 transitions to B0 , which implies the
automaton representing the first coordinate in the new labeling scheme is a NOT gate. Note, this
choice is not unique, as we could just as easily have chosen a different preserved partition such as
B0 = { A, D, E, H } and B1 = { B, C, F, G }, in which case the first coordinate would be a COPY gate; as
long as the partition is preserved, the choice here is arbitrary and amounts to selecting one of several
different feed-forward logical architectures - all in cascade form. For the second preserved partition, we
let P2 = {{ B00 , B01 }, { B10 , B11 }} with B00 = {C, G }, B01 = { A, H }, B10 = { B, F }. and B11 = { D, E}.
The transition function for the automaton representing the second coordinate, given by the movement
of these blocks, is: δQ20 = {00 → 0; 01 → 1; 10 → 0; 11 → 1}, which is again a COPY gate receiving
input from itself. The third and final partition P3 assigns each state to its own unique block. As is
always the case, this last partition is trivially preserved because individual states are guaranteed to
transition to a single block. The transition function for this coordinate, read off the bottom row of
Figure 7, is given by:
δQ30 = {000 → 0; 001 → 0; 010 → 1; 011 → 1; 100 → 0; 101 → 0; 110 → 1; 111 → 1}
Using Karnuagh maps [26], one can identify δQ3 as a COPY gate receiving input from Q20 . With the
specification of the logic for the third coordinate, the cascade decomposition is complete and the new
labeling scheme is shown in Figure 7. A side-by-side comparison of the original system Y and the
feed-forward system Y 0 is shown in Figure 8. As required, the feed-forward system has Φ = 0 but
executes the same sequence of state transitions as the original system, modulo a permutation of the
labels used to instantiate the states of the global state-transition diagram. If the system with Φ > 0 is
experiencing something more, it is something beyond the finite-state description of the system (the
state-transition diagram) and, therefore, its presence or absence has no causal consequences to the
structure of its internal state-transition map (the computation it performs).
3.1. Discussion
Behavior is most frequently described in terms of abstract states/stimuli, which are not tied
to a specific representation (binary or otherwise). Examples include descriptors of mental states,
such as being asleep or awake, etc., these are representations of system states that must be defined
either by an external observer or internally in the system performing the computation by its own
logical implementation, but are not necessarily an intrinsic attribute of the computational states
themselves (e.g. these states could be labeled with any binary assignment consistent with the state
transition diagram of the computation). The analysis presented here is based on this premise, such
that behavior is defined by the topology of the state-transition diagram, independent of a particular
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Figure 7. Nested sequence of preserved partitions used to decompose Y into cascade form.
(a)
(c)
(b)
(d)
Figure 8. Side-by-side comparison of the feedback system Y with Φ > 0 (8a) and its isomorphic
feed-forward counterpart Y 0 with Φ = 0 (8c). The global state-transition diagrams (8b and 8d,
respectively) differ only by a permutation of labels.
labeling scheme. And, indeed, it is this premise that enables Krohn-Rhodes decomposition to be useful
from an engineering perspective, as one can swap between logical architectures without affecting the
operation of a system in any way.
Phenomenologically, consciousness is often associated with the concept of “top-down causation”,
where ‘higher level’ mental states exert causal control over lower level implementation [27]. The
"additional information" provided by consciousness above and beyond non-conscious systems is
considered to be functionally relevant by affecting how states transition to other states. It is in this
sense behavior associated with consciousness in our formalism is most appropriately thought of as a
computation having to do with the topology (causal architecture) of state-transitions, rather than the
labels of the states or the specific logical architecture. We note this kind of top-down causation can occur
without the need to appeal to supervenience because in our framework the computation/function
describes a functional equivalence class [28] of logical architectures that all implement the same causal
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relations among states, i.e. it is an abstraction implemented in a particular logic. There is no additional
“room at the bottom” for a particular logical architecture to exert more causal influence than another if
they perform the same function. Any measure of consciousness that changes under the isomorphism
we introduce here, such as Φ, cannot therefore account for “additional information” in this sense,
because of the existence of zombie systems with an identical structure to their state transitions.
It is important to recognize there exists an alternative interpretation of behavior associated to
consciousness, where one defines behavior not in terms of abstract computation, but in terms of the
specific logical implementation, for example as IIT adopts. A clear example is the right-shift automaton,
which is defined in terms of the relationship between components, resulting in a state-transition
diagram with specific labels, because their exists strict constraints on the logical implementation of
the behavior. However, this does not address, in our view, whether isomorphic systems ultimately
experience a phenomenological difference as there is no way to test that assumption other than
accepting it axiomatically. In particular, for the examples we consider here, there is only one input
signal, meaning there are not multiple ways to encode input from the environment. Therefore there
is no physical mechanism by which the environment can dictate a privileged internal representation.
Instead the choice of internal representation is arbitrary with respect to the environment and depends
only on the physical constraints of the architecture of the system performing the computation. For
a system as complex as the human brain, there are presumably many possible logical architectures
(network topologies) that can perform the same computation given the same input, differing only in
how the states are internally represented (e.g. by how neurons are wired together). Why the ones
that have evolved were selected in the first place is important for understanding why consciousness
emerged in the universe. The foregoing suggests Φ is independent of functionality (computation),
which implies there are no inherent evolutionary benefits to the presence or absence of Φ because it is
not selectable as being distinctive to a particular computation an organism must perform for survival,
only to how that computation is internally represented. Integration as a criterion separated from
computation, is also itself problematic as it must be experienced by every component individually, yet,
a single bit can make only one measurement (yes/no) and therefore components cannot sense where
their information came from or where it is going.
This leads us to the central question of this manuscript, which is what is experienced as the
isomorphic system with Φ > 0 cycles through its internal states that is not experienced by the
isomorphic system with Φ = 0? Since in our examples the environment is not dictating the
representation of the input, and all state transitions are isomorphic, the representation and therefore
the logic is arbitrary so long as a logical architecture is selected with the proper input-output map
under all circumstances. In light of this, our formalism suggests any mathematical measure of
consciousness, phenomenologically motivated or otherwise, must be invariant under isomorphisms in
the computation. This minimal criterion implies measurable differences in consciousness are always
associated with measurable differences in the computational function (though the inverse need not
be true), which is nothing more than a precise mathematical enforcement of the precedent set by
Turing [11]. From this perspective, measures of consciousness should operate on the topology of the
state-transition diagram, rather than the topology or logic of a particular physical implementation. That
is, they should probe the computational capacity of the system without being biased by implementation
- allowing identifying equivalence classes of physical systems that could have the same or similar
conscious experience.
Our motivation in this work is to provide new roads to address the hard problem of consciousness
by raising new questions. Our framework focuses attention on the fact that we currently lack
a sufficiently formal understanding of the relationship between physical implementation and
computation to truly address the hard problem. The logical architectures in Figures 8a and 8c are
radically different, and yet, they perform the same computation. The fact that this computation allows
a feed-forward decomposition is a consequence of redundancies that allow a compressed description
in terms of a feed-forward logical architecture. There are symmetries present in the computation that
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allow one to take advantage of shortcuts and reduce the computational load. This, in turn, shows
up as a flexibility in the logical architecture that can generate the computation. In other words, the
computation in question does not appear to require the maximum computational power of a three-bit
logical architecture. For sufficiently complex eight-state computations, however, the full capacity of
a three-bit architecture is required, as there is no redundancy to compress. Such systems cannot be
generated without feedback, as the presence of feedback is accompanied by indispensable functional
consequences. Thus, the computation is special because it cannot be efficiently represented without
feedback - a relationship that can, in principle, be understood, but is only tangentially accounted for
in current formalisms. It is up to the community to decide if the functionalist or phenomenological
perspective will ultimately hold up, our goal in this work is simply to point out where the distinction
between the two sets of ideas is very apparent and clear-cut mathematically, so that additional progress
can be made.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, J.H. and S.W.; formal analysis, J.H.; funding acquisition, S.W.;
investigation, J.H.; methodology, J.H.; project administration, S.W.; resources, S.W.; supervision, S.W.; visualization,
J.H.; writing-original draft preparation, J.H. and S.W.; writing-review and editing, J.H. and S.W.
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank Doug Moore for his assistance with the Krohn-Rhodes
theorem and semigroup theory, as well as Dylan Gagler and the rest of the emergence@asu lab for thoughtful
feed-back and discussions. SIW also acknowledges funding support from the Foundational Questions in Science
Institute.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the
study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to
publish the results.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| October 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 10 | pp. 756-757
Smetham, G. P., Introduction to Focus Issue: Michael Mensky, Consciousness & Buddhism
756
Article
Introduction to Focus Issue:
Michael Mensky, Consciousness & Buddhism
Graham P. Smetham*
ABSTRACT
In this focus issue, the author discusses and explores the remarkable quantum psychometaphysics developed and expounded by the Russian physicist Michael B. Mensky, and issues
associated with this quantum-spiritual perspective. In particular, the issues of consciousness,
Buddhist philosophy, the mind-like nature of the process of reality, and evolution towards
enlightenment are central.
Keywords: Michael Mensky, Consciousness, quantum worldview, Buddhism, spirituality.
This issue focuses upon the remarkable quantum psycho-metaphysics developed and expounded
by the Russian physicist Michael B. Mensky, and issues associated with this quantum-spiritual
perspective. In particular the issues of consciousness, Buddhist philosophy, the mind-like nature
of the process of reality, and evolution towards enlightenment are central.
The first three articles derive from my recent book Quantum Path to Enlightenment: Researches
inspired by the quantum Buddhist psycho-metaphysics of Michael Mensky.
The first article, Life in Parallel Worlds & Buddhist Psycho-Metaphysics: Parallels and
Interconnections between the Quantum Spiritual Worldview of Michael B. Mensky and
Buddhism, is an amalgam of the first two chapters of the Quantum Path book. Mensky’s
quantum spiritual psycho-metaphysics is an overarching paradigm for a post-materialist science
and philosophy, and his work in this area is of immense significance for the modern world. His
* Correspondence: Graham Smetham http://www.quantumbuddhism.com E-mail:graham@quantumbuddhsim.com
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| October 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 10 | pp. 756-757
Smetham, G. P., Introduction to Focus Issue: Michael Mensky, Consciousness & Buddhism
757
quantum-spiritual psycho-metaphysics is entirely consistent with ‘mystical’ insights, in
particular it is coherent with Buddhist psycho-metaphysics.
The next article, Why Us: Trespassing on an Anthropic Lawn, is adopted from a chapter of
Quantum Path book which deals with issues concerning consciousness and the nature of the
process of reality arising from the metaphysical speculations by modern physicists as described
by Amanda Gefter in her recent book Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn: A Father, a Daughter, the
Meaning of Nothing, and the Beginning of Everything. This book is an excellent and entertaining
read, but is seriously misguided in its adherence to an inappropriate materialist and crude
Darwinian perspective. Gefter’s strange notion that consciousness somehow arises from the
material world, and has nothing to do with John Wheeler’s observer-created universe is shown to
be incoherent, and the correct perspective, which is presented in Mensky’s and other accounts is
described. Crude Darwinism is shown to be invalid and a Buddhist teleological evolution
towards enlightenment is outlined.
The third article, Leonard Susskind: Stringing Together a Materialist Darwinian Cosmic
Megaverse Landscape, discusses the flaws in Susskind’s attempt to deflate the Anthropic
Principle by appealing to the operation of chance within his string-theory megaverse cosmic
landscape of universes.
The last article, Engaging Buddhism with a False Imagination: Reflections on some
misrepresentations of Buddhist philosophy by Western philosophers, and a quantum Buddhist
Mind-Only solution, is not adapted from a chapter of the Quantum Path book. This article
examines some misrepresentations of Buddhist consciousness/mind-only psycho-metaphysics
(Yogācāra-Vijnanavada, Chittamatra) by some Western philosophers. The correct
understanding of the consciousness-only perspective, which is consistent with Mensky’s
viewpoint, is presented.
Further details of the Quantum Path book, and my other books, can be found at:
http://www.shunyatapress.org and http://www.quantumbuddhism.com
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com |
arXiv:1905.13049v1 [cs.AI] 30 May 2019
Neural Consciousness Flow
Xiaoran Xu1 , Wei Feng1 , Zhiqing Sun2 , Zhi-Hong Deng2
1
Hulu LLC, Beijing, China
{xiaoran.xu, wei.feng}@hulu.com
2
Peking University, Beijing, China
{1500012783, zhdeng}@pku.edu.cn
Abstract
The ability of reasoning beyond data fitting is substantial to deep learning systems
in order to make a leap forward towards artificial general intelligence. A lot of
efforts have been made to model neural-based reasoning as an iterative decisionmaking process based on recurrent networks and reinforcement learning. Instead,
inspired by the consciousness prior proposed by Yoshua Bengio [1], we explore
reasoning with the notion of attentive awareness from a cognitive perspective, and
formulate it in the form of attentive message passing on graphs, called neural
consciousness flow (NeuCFlow). Aiming to bridge the gap between deep learning
systems and reasoning, we propose an attentive computation framework with
a three-layer architecture, which consists of an unconsciousness flow layer, a
consciousness flow layer, and an attention flow layer. We implement the NeuCFlow
model with graph neural networks (GNNs) and conditional transition matrices.
Our attentive computation greatly reduces the complexity of vanilla GNN-based
methods, capable of running on large-scale graphs. We validate our model for
knowledge graph reasoning by solving a series of knowledge base completion
(KBC) tasks. The experimental results show NeuCFlow significantly outperforms
previous state-of-the-art KBC methods, including the embedding-based and the
path-based. The reproducible code can be found by the link1 below.
1
Introduction
To discover the mystery of consciousness, several competing theories [2, 3, 4, 5] have been proposed
by neuroscientists. Despite their contradictory claims, they share a common notion that consciousness
is a cognitive state of experiencing one’s own existence, i.e. the state of awareness. Here, we do not
refer to those elusive and mysterious meanings attributed to the word "consciousness". Instead, we
focus on the basic idea, awareness or attentive awareness, to derive a neural network-based attentive
computation framework on graphs, attempting to mimic the phenomenon of consciousness to some
extent.
The first work to bring the idea of attentive awareness into deep learning models, as far as we know,
is Yoshua Bengio’s consciousness prior [1]. He points out the process of disentangling higher-level
abstract factors from full underlying representation and forming a low-dimensional combination
of a few selected factors or concepts to constitute a conscious thought. Bengio emphasizes the
role of attention mechanism in expressing awareness, which helps focus on a few elements of state
representation at a given moment and combining them to make a statement, an action or policy. Two
recurrent neural networks (RNNs), the representation RNN and the consciousness RNN, are used to
summarize the current and recent past information and encode two types of state, the unconscious
state denoted by a full high-dimensional vector before applying attention, and the conscious state by
a derived low-dimensional vector after applying attention.
1
https://github.com/netpaladinx/NeuCFlow
Preprint. Under review.
Inspired by the consciousness prior, we develop an attentive message passing mechanism. We model
query-dependent states as motivation to drive iterative sparse access to an underlying large graph and
navigate information flow via a few nodes to reach a target. Instead of using RNNs, we use two GNNs
[6, 7] with node state representations. Nodes sense nearby topological structures by exchanging
messages with neighbors, and then use aggregated information to update their states. However, the
standard message passing runs globally and uniformly. Messages gathered by a node can come from
possibly everywhere and get further entangled by aggregation operations. Therefore, we need to draw
a query-dependent or context-aware local subgraph to guide message passing. Nodes within such a
subgraph are densely connected, forming a community to further exchange and share information,
reaching some resonance, and making subsequent decisions collectively to expand the subgraph
and navigate information flow. To support such attentive information flow, we design an attention
flow layer above two GNNs. One GNN uses the standard message passing over a full graph, called
unconsciousness flow layer, while the other GNN runs on a subgraph built by attention flow, called
consciousness flow layer. These three flow layers constitute our attentive computation framework.
We realize the connection between attentive awareness and reasoning. A reasoning process is
understood as a sequence of obvious or interpretable steps, either deductive, inductive, or abductive,
to derive a less obvious conclusion. From the aspect of awareness, reasoning requires computation
to be self-attentive or self-aware during processing in a way different from fitting by a black box.
Therefore, interpretability must be one of the properties of reasoning. Taking KBC tasks as an
example, many embedding-based models [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13] can do a really good job in link
prediction, but lacking interpretation makes it hard to argue for their reasoning ability. People who
aim at knowledge graph reasoning mainly focus on the path-based models using RL [14, 15, 16, 17]
or logic-like methods [18, 19] to explicitly model a reasoning process to provide interpretations
beyond predictions. Here, instead, we apply a flow-based attention mechanism, proposed in [20],
as an alternative to RL for learning composition structure. In a manner of flowing, attention can
propagate to cover a broader scope and increase the chance to hit a target. It maintains an end-to-end
differentiable style, contrary to the way RL agents learn to choose a discrete action.
Other crucial properties of reasoning include relational inductive biases and iterative processing.
Therefore, GNNs [6, 7] are a better choice compared to RNNs for encoding structured knowledge
explicitly. Compared with the majority of previous GNN literature, focusing on the computation side,
making neural-based architectures more composable and complex, we put a cognitive insight into
it under the notion of attentive awareness. Specifically, we design an attention flow layer to chain
attention operations directly with transition matrices, parallel to the message-passing pipeline to get
less entangled with representation computation. This gives our model the ability to select edges step
by step during computation and attend to a query-dependent subgraph, making a sharper prediction
due to the disentanglement. These extracted subgraphs can reduce the computation cost greatly. In
practice, we find our model can be applied to very large graphs with millions of nodes, such as the
YAGO3-10 dataset, even running on a single laptop.
Our contributions are three-fold: (1) We propose an attentive computation framework on graphs,
combining GNNs’ representation power with explicit reasoning pattern, motivated by the cognitive
notion of attentive awareness. (2) We exploit query-dependent subgraph structure, extracted by
an attention flow mechanism, to address two shortcomings of most GNN implementations: the
complexity and the non-context-aware aggregation schema. (3) We design a specific architecture for
KBC tasks and demonstrate our model’s strong reasoning capability compared to the state of the art,
showing that a compact query-dependent subgraph is better than a path as a reasoning pattern.
2
Related Work
KBC and knowledge graph reasoning. Early work for KBC, including TransE [8] and its analogues
[21, 22, 23], DistMult [9], ConvE [10] and ComplEx [11], focuses on learning embeddings of entities
and relations. Some recent work of this line [12, 13] achieves high accuracy, yet unable to explicitly
deal with compositional relationships that is crucial for reasoning. Another line aims to learn inference
paths [14, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28] for knowledge graph reasoning, such as DeepPath [15], MINERVA
[16], and M-Walk [17], using RL to learn multi-hop relational paths over a graph towards a target
given a query. However, these approaches, based on policy gradients or Monte Carlo tree search,
often suffer from low sample efficiency and sparse rewards, requiring a large number of rollouts or
2
Figure 1: Illustration for the three-layer attentive computation framework. The bottom is a unified
unconsciousness flow layer, the middle contains small disentangled subgraphs to run attentive message
passing separately, constituting a consciousness flow layer, and the top is an attention flow layer for
extracting local subgraph structures.
running many simulations, and also the sophisticated reward function design. Other efforts include
learning soft logical rules [18, 19] or compostional programs [29] to reason over knowledge graphs.
Relational reasoning by GNNs and attention mechanisms. Relational reasoning is regarded
as the key component of humans’ capacity for combinatorial generalization, taking the form of
entity- and relation-centric organization to reason about the composition structure of the world
[30, 31, 32, 33, 34]. A multitude of recent implementations [7] encode relational inductive biases
into neural networks to exploit graph-structured representation, including graph convolution networks
(GCNs) [35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42] and graph neural networks [6, 43, 44, 45, 46], and overcome
the difficulty to achieve relational reasoning for traditional deep learning models. These approaches
have been widely applied to accomplishing real-world reasoning tasks (such as physical reasoning
[45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51], visual reasoning [44, 51, 52, 53, 54], textual reasoning [44, 55, 56], knowledge
graph reasoning [41, 57, 58], multiagent relationship reasoning [59, 60], and chemical reasoning [46]),
solving algorithmic problems (such as program verification [43, 61], combinatorial optimization
[62, 63, 64], state transitions [65], and bollean satisfiability [66]), or facilitating reinforcement
learning with the structured reasoning or planning ability [67, 68, 49, 50, 69, 70, 71]. Variants of
GNN architectures have been developed with different focuses. Relation networks [44] use a simple
but effective neural module to equip deep learning models with the relational reasoning ability, and its
recurrent versions [55, 56] do multi-step relational inference for long periods; Interaction networks
[45] provide a general-purpose learnable physics engine, and two of its variants are visual interaction
networks [51] learning directly from raw visual data, and vertex attention interaction networks [60]
with an attention mechanism; Message passing neural networks [46] unify various GCNs and GCNs
into a general message passing formalism by analogy to the one in graphical models.
Despite the strong representation power of GNNs, recent work points out its drawbacks that limit its
capability. The vanilla message passing or neighborhood aggregation schema cannot adapt to strongly
diverse local subgraph structure, causing performance degeneration when applying a deeper version
or running more iterations [72], since a walk of more steps might drift away from local neighborhood
with information washed out via averaging. It is suggested that covariance rather than invariance
to permutations of nodes and edges is preferable [73], since being fully invariant by summing or
averaging messages may worsen the representation power, lacking steerability. In this context, our
model expresses permutation invariance under a constrained compositional transformation according
to the group of possible permutations within each extracted query-dependent subgraph rather than the
underlying full graph. Another drawback is the heavy computation complexity. GNNs are notorious
for its poor scalability due to its quadratic complexity in the number of nodes when graphs are fully
connected. Even scaling linearly with the number of edges by exploiting structure sparsity can still
cause trouble on very large graphs, making selective or attentive computation on graphs so desirable.
Neighborhood attention operation can alleviate some limitation on GNNs’ representation power by
specifying different weights to different nodes or nodes’ features [74, 60, 53, 75]. These approaches
often use multi-head self-attention to focus on specific interactions with neighbors when aggregating
messages, inspired by [76, 77, 78] originally for capturing long range dependencies. We notice that
most graph-based attention mechanisms attend over neighborhood in a single-hop fashion, and [60]
claims that the multi-hop architecture does not help in experiments, though they expect multiple hops
to offer the potential to model high-order interaction. However, a flow-based design of attention in
[20] shows a promising way to characterize long distance dependencies over graphs, breaking the
isolation of attention operations and stringing them in chronological order by transition matrices, like
the spread of a random walk, parallel to the message-passing pipeline.
3
One
Batch
...
...
Sparse
Transition
At t en t i on Fl ow
Query:
(head, rel, ?)
...
...
Aggr
Op
Attd
Op
Con sci ou sn ess Fl ow
Pooling or returning the last
...
Aggr
Op
Un con sci ou sn ess Fl ow
Figure 2: The neural consciousness flow architecture.
It is natural to extend relational reasoning to graph structure inference or graph generation, such as
reasoning about a latent interaction graph explicitly to acquire knowledge of observed dynamics [48],
or learning generative models of graphs [79, 80, 81, 82]. Soft plus hard attention mechanisms may be
a better alternative to probabilistic models that is hard to train with latent discrete variables or might
degenerate multi-step predictions due to the inaccuracy (biased gradients) of back-propagation.
3
NeuCFlow Model
3.1
Attentive computation framework
We extend Bengio’s consciousness prior to graph-structured representation. Conscious thoughts
are modeled by a few selected nodes and their edges, forming a context-aware subgraph, cohesive
with sharper semantics, disentangled from the full graph. The underlying full graph forms the initial
representation, entangled but rich, to help shape potential high-level subgraphs. We use attention flow
to navigate conscious thoughts, capturing a step-by-step reasoning pattern. The attentive computation
framework, as illustrated in Figure 1, consists of: (1) an unconsciousness flow (U-Flow) layer, (2) a
consciousness flow (C-Flow) layer, and (3) an attention flow (A-Flow) layer, with four guidelines to
design a specific implementation as follows:
• U-Flow corresponds to a low-level computation graph for full state representation learning.
• C-Flow contains high-level disentangled subgraphs for context-aware representation learning.
• A-Flow is conditioned by both U-Flow and C-Flow, and also motivate C-Flow but not U-Flow.
• Information can be accessed by C-Flow from U-Flow with the help of A-Flow.
3.2
Model architecture design for knowledge graph reasoning
We choose KBC tasks to do KG reasoning. We let hV, Ei denote a KG where V is a set of nodes (or
entities) and E is a set of edges (or relations). A KG is viewed as a directed graph with each edge
represented by a triple hhead, rel, taili, where head is the head entity, tail is the tail entity, and rel
is their relation type. The aim of a KBC task is to predict potential unknown links, i.e., which entity
is likely to be the tail given a query hhead, rel, ?i with the head and the relation type specified.
The model architecture has three core components as shown in Figure 2. We here use the term
"component" instead of "layer" to differentiate our flow layers from the referring normally used in
neural networks, as each flow layer is more like a block containing many neural network layers.
U-Flow component. We implement this component over the full graph using the standard message
passing mechanism [46]. If the graph has an extremely large number of edges, we sample a subset
4
τ
of edges, Esmpl
⊂ E, randomly each step when running message passing. For each batch of input
queries, we let the representation computed by the U-Flow component be shared across these different
queries, which means U-Flow is query-independent, with its state representation tensors containing no
batch dimension, so that its complexity does not scale with the batch size and the saved computation
resources can be allocated to sampling more edges. In U-Flow, each node v has a learnable embedding
ev and a dynamical state h̃τv for step τ , called unconscious node states, where the initial h̃0v := ev
for all v ∈ V. Each edge type r also has a learnable embedding er , and edge hv 0 , r, vi can produce a
message, denoted by m̃τhv0 ,r,vi , at step τ . The U-Flow component includes:
τ
• Message function: m̃τhv0 ,r,vi = ψunc (h̃τv0 , er , h̃τv ), where hv 0 , r, vi ∈ Esmpl
.
P
τ
• Message aggregation: µ̃τv = √1 τ v0 ,r m̃τhv0 ,r,vi , where hv 0 , r, vi ∈ Esmpl
.
Ñv
• Node state update function: h̃τv +1 = h̃τv + δunc (µ̃τv , h̃τv , ev ), where v ∈ V.
τ
We compute messages only for the sampled edges, hv 0 , r, vi ∈ Esmpl
, each step. Functions ψunc and
δunc are implemented by a two-layer MLP (using leakyReLu for the first layer and tanh for the
second layer) with input arguments concatenated respectively. Messages are aggregated by dividing
the sum by the square root of the number of sampled neighbors that send messages, preserving the
scale of variance. We use a residual adding to update each node state instead of a GRU or a LSTM.
After running U-Flow for T steps, we return a pooling result or simply the last, h̃v := h̃Tv , to feed
into downstream components.
C-Flow component. C-Flow is query-dependent, which means that conscious node states, denoted
by htv , have a batch dimension representing different input queries, making the complexity scale
with the batch size. However, as C-Flow uses attentive message passing, running on small local
subgraphs each conditioned by a query, we leverage the sparsity to record htv only for the visited
t
nodes v ∈ Vvisit
. For example, when t = 0, for query hhead, rel, ?i, we start from node head, with
0
Vvisit
= {vhead } being a singleton, and thus record h0vhead only. When computing messages, denoted
by mthv0 ,r,vi , in C-Flow, we use a sampling-attending procedure, explained in Section 3.3, to further
control the number of computed edges. The C-Flow component has:
t
• Message function: mthv0 ,r,vi = ψcon (htv0 , cr , htv ), where hv 0 , r, vi ∈ Etopk
s (at+1 ) | topka (at ) , and
cr = [er , qhead , qrel ].
P
t
• Message aggregation: µtv = √1 t v0 ,r mthv0 ,r,vi , where hv 0 , r, vi ∈ Etopk
s (at+1 ) | topka (at ) .
Nv
t+1
t+1
.
= at+1 [v] and v ∈ Vvisit
• Node state attending function: η̃vt+1 = at+1
v A · h̃v , where av
t+1
= [η̃vt+1 , qhead , qrel ].
= htv + δcon (µtv , htv , ct+1
• Node state update function: ht+1
v ), where cv
v
C-Flow and U-Flow share the embeddings er . A query is represented by its head and relation
embeddings, qhead := ehead and qrel := erel , participating in computing messages and updating
t
node states. We here select a subset of edges, Etopk
s (at+1 ) | topka (at ) , rather than sampling, according
to edges between the attended nodes at step t and the seen nodes at step t + 1, defined in Section 3.3,
as shown in Figure 3. We introduce the node state attending function to pass an unconscious state h̃v
to C-Flow adjusted by a scalar attention at+1
and a learnable matrix A. We initialize h0v := h̃v for
v
0
v ∈ Vvisit
, treating the rest as zero states.
A-Flow component. Attention flow is represented by a series of probability distributions changing
across steps, denoted as at , t = 1, 2 . . . , T . The initial distribution a0 is a one-hot vector with
a0 [vhead ] = 1. To spread attention, we need to compute transition matrices Tt each step. Given that
A-Flow is conditioned by both U-Flow and C-Flow, we model the transition from v 0 to v by two
types of interaction: conscious-to-conscious, htv0 ∼ htv , and conscious-to-unconscious, htv0 ∼ h̃v .
The former favors previously visited nodes, while the latter is useful to attend to unseen nodes.
X
X
Tt [:, v 0 ] = softmaxv∈N t0
αcc (htv0 , cr , htv ) +
αcu (htv0 , cr , h̃v )
v
r
r
where αcc = MLP(htv0 , cr )T Θcc MLP(htv , cr ) and αcu = MLP(htv0 , cr )T Θcu MLP(h̃v , cr ), and
Θcc and Θcu are two learnable matrices. Each MLP uses one single layer with the leakyReLu
5
Step t
Step t+1
All Candidate Nodes
All Candidate Nodes
Sampled Nodes
Sampled Nodes
Seen Nodes
Seen Nodes
Attended
Nodes
Attended
Nodes
Visited Nodes
Visited Nodes
Figure 3: The iterative sampling-attending procedure for attentive complexity reduction, balancing
the coverage as well as the complexity.
activation. To reduce the complexity for computing Tt , we select attended nodes, v 0 ∈ topka (at ),
which is the set of nodes with the k-largest attention, and then sample v from v 0 neighbors as next
nodes. Then, we compute a sparse Tt according to edges hv 0 , r, vi ∈ Esmpl | topka (at ) . Due to the
fact that the attended nodes may not carry all attention, a small amount of attention can be lost
during transition, causing the total amount to decrease. Therefore, we use a renormalized version,
at+1 = Tt at /kTt at k. We use the final attention on the tail as the probability for prediction to
compute the training objective, as shown in Figure 2.
3.3
Complexity reduction by iterative sampling and attending
Previously, we use edge sampling, in a globally and uniformly random manner, to address the
complexity issue in U-Flow, where we are not concerned about the batch size. Here, we need to
confront the complexity that scales with the batch size in C-Flow. Suppose that we run a normal
message passing for T steps on a KG with |V| nodes and |E| edges for a batch of N queries. Then,
the complexity is O(N T D(|V| + |E|)) where D represents the number of representation dimensions.
The complexity can be reduced to O(N T D(|V| + |Esmpl |)) by using edges sampling. T is a small
positive integer, often less than 10. D is normally between 50 and 200, and being too small for
D would lead to underfitting. In U-Flow, we have N = 1, while in C-Flow, let us say N = 100.
Then, to maintain the same complexity as U-Flow, we have to reduce the sampling rate by a factor
of 100 on each query. However, the U-Flow’s edge sampling procedure is for the full graph, and it
is inappropriate to apply to C-Flow on each query due to the reduced sample rate. Also, when |V|
becomes as large as |Esmpl |, we also need to consider decreasing |V|.
Good news is that C-Flow deals with a local subgraph for each query so that we only record a few
t
t
selected nodes, called visited nodes, denoted by Vvisit
. We can see that |Vvisit
| is much less than
0
t
|V|. The initial Vvisit , when t = 0, contains only one node vhead , and then Vvisit
is enlarged each
step by adding new nodes during spreading. When propagating messages, we only care about the
one-step neighborhood each step. However, the spreading goes so rapidly that after only a few steps it
covers almost all nodes, causing the number of computed edges to increase dramatically. The key to
address the problem is that we need to constrain the scope of nodes we jump from each step, i.e., the
core nodes that determine where we can go based on where we depart from. We call them attended
nodes, which are in charge of the attending-from horizon, selected by topka (at ) based on the current
attention at . Given the set of attended nodes, we still need edge sampling over their neighborhoods
in case of a hub node of extremely high degree. Here, we face a tricky problem that is to make a
trade-off between the coverage and the complexity when sampling over the neighborhoods. Also, we
need to well maintain these coherent context-aware node states and avoid possible noises or drifting
away caused by sampling neighbors randomly. Therefore, we introduce an attending-to horizon inside
the sampling horizon. We compute A-Flow over the sampling horizon with a smaller dimension
to compute the attention, exchanged for sampling more neighbors to increase the coverage. Based
6
Table 1: Statistics of the six KG datasets. A KG is built on all training triples including their inverse
triples. Note that we do not count the inverse triples in FB15K, FB15K-237, WN18, WN18RR, and
YAGO3-10 as shown below to be consistent with the statistics reported in other papers, though we
include them in the training, validation and test set. PME (tr) means the proportion of multi-edge
triples in train; PME (te) means the proportion of multi-edge triples in test; AvgD (te) means the
average length of shortest paths connecting each head-tail pair in test.
Dataset
#Entities #Rels #Train
#Valid #Test PME (tr) PME (te) AvgD (te)
FB15K
14,951 1,345 483,142 50,000 59,071 81.2%
80.9%
1.22
FB15K-237 14,541
237
272,115 17,535 20,466 38.0%
0%
2.25
WN18
40,943
18
141,442 5,000 5,000
93.1%
94.0%
1.18
WN18RR
40,943
11
86,835
3,034 3,134
34.5%
35.0%
2.87
NELL995
74,536
200
149,678
543
2,818
100%
41.0%
2.06
37 1,079,040 5,000 5,000
56.4%
56.0%
1.75
YAGO3-10 123,188
Table 2: Comparison results on the FB15K-237 and WN18RR datasets. Results of [♠] are taken
from [83], results of [♣] from [10], results of [♥] from [17], results of [♦] from [12], and results of
[4] from [16]. Some collected results only have a metric score while some including ours take the
form of "mean (standard deviation)".
FB15K-237
WN18RR
Metric (%)
H@1
H@3
H@10
MRR
H@1
H@3
H@10
MRR
TransE [♠]
46.5
29.4
50.1
22.6
DistMult [♣]
15.5
26.3
41.9
24.1
39
44
49
43
DistMult [♥]
20.6 (.4) 31.8 (.2)
29.0 (.2) 38.4 (.4) 42.4 (.3)
41.3 (.3)
ComplEx [♣] 15.8
27.5
42.8
24.7
41
46
51
44
ComplEx [♥] 20.8 (.2) 32.6 (.5)
29.6 (.2) 38.5 (.3) 43.9 (.3)
42.2 (.2)
ConvE [♣]
23.7
35.6
50.1
32.5
40
44
52
43
23.3 (.4) 33.8 (.3)
30.8 (.2) 39.6 (.3) 44.7 (.2)
43.3 (.2)
ConvE [♥]
RotatE [♦]
24.1
37.5
53.3
33.8
42.8
49.2
57.1
47.6
NeuralLP [♥] 18.2 (.6) 27.2 (.3)
24.9 (.2) 37.2 (.1) 43.4 (.1)
43.5 (.1)
MINERVA [♥] 14.1 (.2) 23.2 (.4)
20.5 (.3) 35.1 (.1) 44.5 (.4)
40.9 (.1)
MINERVA [4]
45.6
41.3
45.6
51.3
M-Walk [♥]
16.5 (.3) 24.3 (.2)
23.2 (.2) 41.4 (.1) 44.5 (.2)
43.7 (.1)
NeuCFlow
28.6 (.1) 40.3 (.1) 53.0 (.3) 36.9 (.1) 44.4 (.4) 49.7 (.8) 55.8 (.5) 48.2 (.5)
on the newly computed attention at+1 , we select a smaller subset of nodes, topks (at+1 ), to receive
messages in C-Flow, called seen nodes, in charge of the attending-to horizon. The next attendingfrom horizon is chosen by topka (at+1 ) ⊂ topks (at+1 ), a sub-horizon of the current attending-to
horizon. All seen and attended nodes are stored as visited nodes along steps. We illustrate this
sampling-attending procedure in Figure 3.
To compute our reduced complexity, we let Ne be the maximum number of sampled edges per
attended node per step, Ns the maximum number of seen nodes per step, and Na the maximum
number of attended nodes per step. We also denote the dimension number used in A-Flow as Da .
For one batch, the complexity of C-Flow is O(N T D(Na + Ns + Na Ns )) for the worst case, where
attended and seen nodes are fully connected, and O(N T D · c(Na + Ns )) in most cases, where c is a
small constant. The complexity of A-Flow is O(N T Da Na Ne ) where Da is much smaller than D.
4
Experiments
4.1
Datasets and experimental settings
Datasets. We evaluate our model using six large KG datasets2 : FB15K, FB15K-237, WN18,
WN18RR, NELL995, and YAGO3-10. FB15K-237 [84] is sampled from FB15K [8] with redundant
relations removed, and WN18RR [10] is a subset of WN18 [8] removing triples that cause test
leakage. Thus, they are both considered more challenging. NELL995 [15] has separate datasets
2
https://github.com/netpaladinx/NeuCFlow/tree/master/data
7
Table 3: Comparison results on the FB15K and WN18 datasets. Results of [♠] are taken from [86],
results of [♣] are from [10], results of [♦] are from [12], and results of [♥] are from [19]. Our results
take the form of "mean (standard deviation)".
FB15K
WN18
Metric (%)
H@1
H@3
H@10
MRR
H@1
H@3
H@10
MRR
TransE [♠]
29.7
57.8
74.9
46.3
11.3
88.8
94.3
49.5
HolE [♠]
40.2
61.3
73.9
52.4
93.0
94.5
94.9
93.8
DistMult [♣]
54.6
73.3
82.4
65.4
72.8
91.4
93.6
82.2
ComplEx [♣]
59.9
75.9
84.0
69.2
93.6
93.6
94.7
94.1
ConvE [♣]
55.8
72.3
83.1
65.7
93.5
94.6
95.6
94.3
RotatE [♦]
74.6
83.0
88.4
79.7
94.4
95.2
95.9
94.9
NeuralLP [♥]
83.7
76
94.5
94
NeuCFlow
72.6 (.4) 78.4 (.4) 83.4 (.5) 76.4 (.4) 91.6 (.8) 93.6 (.4) 94.9 (.4) 92.8 (.6)
Table 4: Comparison results on the YAGO3-10 dataset. Results of [♠] are taken from [10], and
results of [♣] are from [13].
YAGO3-10
H@1 H@3 H@10 MRR
Metric (%)
DistMult [♠]
24
38
54
34
ComplEx [♠]
26
40
55
36
ConvE [♠]
35
49
62
44
ComplEx-N3 [♣]
71
58
NeuCFlow
48.4 59.5 67.9 55.3
for 12 query relations each corresponding to a single-query-relation KBC task. YAGO3-10 [85]
contains the largest KG with millions of edges. Their statistics are shown in Table 1. We find some
statistical differences between train and test. In a KG with all training triples as its edges, a triple
(head, rel, tail) is considered as a multi-edge triple if the KG contains other triples that also connect
head and tail ignoring the direction. We notice that FB15K-237 is a special case compared with the
others, as there are no edges in its KG directly linking any pair of head and tail in test. Therefore,
when using training triples as queries to train our model, given a batch, for FB15K-237, we cut off
from the KG all triples connecting the head-tail pairs in the given batch, ignoring relation types and
edge directions, forcing the model to learn a composite reasoning pattern rather than a single-hop
pattern, and for the rest datasets, we only remove the triples of this batch and their inverse from the
KG before training on this batch.
Experimental settings. We use the same data split protocol as in many papers [10, 15, 16]. We
create a KG, a directed graph, consisting of all train triples and their inverse added for each dataset
except NELL995, since it already includes reciprocal relations. Besides, every node in KGs has a
self-loop edge to itself. We also add inverse relations into the validation and test set to evaluate the
two directions. For evaluation metrics, we use HITS@1,3,10 and the mean reciprocal rank (MRR) in
the filtered setting for FB15K-237, WN18RR, FB15K, WN18, and YAGO3-10, and use the mean
average precision (MAP) for NELL995’s single-query-relation KBC tasks. For NELL995, we follow
the same evaluation procedure as in [15, 16, 17], ranking the answer entities against the negative
examples given in their experiments. We run our experiments using a 12G-memory GPU, TITAN X
(Pascal), with Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2670 v3 @ 2.30GHz. Our code is written in Python based
on TensorFlow 2.0 and NumPy 1.16.
4.2
Baselines and comparison results
Baselines. We compare our model against embedding-based approaches, including TransE [8],
TransR [22], DistMult [9], ConvE [10], ComplE [11], HolE [86], RotatE [12], and ComplEx-N3
[13], and path-based approaches that use RL methods, including DeepPath [15], MINERVA [16],
and M-Walk [17], and also that uses learned neural logic, NeuralLP [19]. For all the baselines, we
quote the results from the corresponding papers instead of rerunning them. For our method, we run
8
Table 5: Comparison results of MAP scores (%) on NELL995’s single-query-relation KBC tasks. We
take our baselines’ results from [17]. All results take the form of "mean (standard deviation)" except
for TransE and TransR.
Tasks
NeuCFlow M-Walk MINERVA DeepPath TransE TransR
AthletePlaysForTeam
83.9 (0.5) 84.7 (1.3) 82.7 (0.8) 72.1 (1.2) 62.7
67.3
AthletePlaysInLeague
97.5 (0.1) 97.8 (0.2) 95.2 (0.8) 92.7 (5.3) 77.3
91.2
AthleteHomeStadium
93.6 (0.1) 91.9 (0.1) 92.8 (0.1) 84.6 (0.8) 71.8
72.2
96.3
AthletePlaysSport
98.6 (0.0) 98.3 (0.1) 98.6 (0.1) 91.7 (4.1) 87.6
TeamPlayssport
90.4 (0.4) 88.4 (1.8) 87.5 (0.5) 69.6 (6.7) 76.1
81.4
OrgHeadQuarteredInCity 94.7 (0.3) 95.0 (0.7) 94.5 (0.3) 79.0 (0.0) 62.0
65.7
WorksFor
86.8 (0.0) 84.2 (0.6) 82.7 (0.5) 69.9 (0.3) 67.7
69.2
PersonBornInLocation
84.1 (0.5) 81.2 (0.0) 78.2 (0.0) 75.5 (0.5) 71.2
81.2
77.2
PersonLeadsOrg
88.4 (0.1) 88.8 (0.5) 83.0 (2.6) 79.0 (1.0) 75.1
OrgHiredPerson
84.7 (0.8) 88.8 (0.6) 87.0 (0.3) 73.8 (1.9) 71.9
73.7
AgentBelongsToOrg
89.3 (1.2)
TeamPlaysInLeague
97.2 (0.3)
the experiments three times in each hyperparameter setting on each dataset to report the means and
standard deviations of the results. We put the details of our hyperparameter settings in the appendix.
Comparison results and analysis. We first report the comparison on FB15K-23 and WN18RR in
Table 2. NeuCFlow has a surprisingly good result, significantly outperforming all the compared
methods in HITS@1,3 and MRR on both the two datasets. Compared to the best baseline, RotatE,
published very recently, we only lose a few points in HITS@10 but gain a lot in HITS@1,3 and MRR.
Based on the observation that NeuCFlow gains a larger amount of advantage when k in HITS@k gets
smaller, we speculate that the reasoning ability acquired by NeuCFlow is to make a sharper prediction
by exploiting graph-structured composition locally and conditionally, in contrast to embedding-based
methods, which totally rely on vectorized representation. When a target becomes too vague to
predict, reasoning may lose its great advantage, though still very competitive. However, path-based
baselines, with a certain ability to do KG reasoning, perform worse than we expect. We argue that it
is inappropriate to think of reasoning, a sequential decision process, as a sequence of nodes, i.e. a
path, in KGs. The average length of the shortest paths between heads and tails in the test set in a KG,
as shown in Table 1, suggests an extremely short path, making the motivation for using a path pattern
almost pointless. The iterative reasoning pattern should be characterized in the form of dynamically
varying local graph-structured patterns, holding a bunch of nodes resonating with each other to
produce a decision collectively. Then, we run our model on larger KGs, including FB15K, WN18,
and YAGO3-10, and summarize the comparison in Table 3,4, where NeuCFlow beats most wellknown baselines and achieves a very competitive position against the best state-of-the-art methods.
Moreover, we summarize the comparison on NELL995’s tasks in Table 5. NeuCFlow performs the
best on five tasks, also being very competitive against M-Walk, the best path-based method as far as
we know, on the rest. We find no reporting on the last two tasks from the corresponding papers.
4.3
Experimental analysis
Convergence analysis. During training we find that NeuCFlow converges surprisingly fast. We may
use half of training examples to get the model well trained and generalize it to the test, sometimes
producing an even better metric score than trained for a full epoch, as shown in Figure 4(A). Compared
with the less expensive computation using embedding-based models, although our model takes a
large number of edges to compute for each input query, consuming more time on one batch, it does
not need a second epoch or even taking all training triples as queries in one epoch, thus saving a lot
of training time. The reason may be that all queries are directly from the KG’s edge set and some
of them have probably been exploited to construct subgraphs for many times during the training of
other queries, so that we might not have to train the model on each query explicitly as long as we
have other ways to exploit them.
Component analysis. If we do not run U-Flow, then the unconscious state h̃v is just the initial
embedding of node v, and we can still run C-Flow as usual. We want to know whether the U-Flow
component is actually useful. Considering that long-distance message passing might bring in less
9
(A) Convergence Analysis (by evaluation on test during training)
57.5
55.0
52.5
50.0
47.5
(B) U-Flow Component Analysis
(C) Sampling Horizon Analysis
W/o U-Flow
With U-Flow
57.5
52
52.5
50.0
47.5
50
48
46
45.0
45.0
44
42.5
42.5
42
40.0
40.0
1.0
1.5
Epoch
2.0
2.5
3.0
(D) Attending-to Horizon Analysis
50
48
46
H@10
40
MMR
55.0
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 5
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 10
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 20
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 40
54
52
Metric Score (%)
Metric Score (%)
52
H@3
(E) Attending-from Horizon Analysis
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 20
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 50
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 100
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 200
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 400
54
H@1
50
48
46
45.0
42.5
40.0
42
42
37.5
40
40
H@1
MMR
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 2
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 4
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 6
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 8
47.5
44
MMR
MMR
(F) Searching Horizon Analysis
50.0
44
H@1
H@1
52.5
Metric Score (%)
0.5
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 20
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 50
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 100
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 200
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 400
54
55.0
Metric Score (%)
Metric Score (%)
60.0
H@1
H@3
H@10
MMR
Metric Score (%)
60.0
35.0
H@1
MMR
Figure 4: Experimental analysis on WN18RR: (A) During training we pick six model snapshots
at time points of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1, 2, and 3 epochs and evaluate them on test; (B) The w/o U-Flow
uses zero step to run U-Flow, while the with U-Flow uses two steps; (C)-(F) are for the sampling,
attending and searching horizon analysis based on the standard hyperparameter settings listed in the
appendix. The experimental analysis charts on FB15K-237 can be found in the appendix.
informative features, we compare running U-Flow for two steps against totally shutting it down. The
result in Figure 4(B) shows that U-Flow brings a small gain in each metric on WN18RR.
Horizon analysis. The sampling, attending and searching horizons determine how large area the
flow can spread over. They impact the computation complexity as well as the performance of the
model with different degrees depending on the properties of a dataset. Intuitively, enlarging the
probe scope by sampling more, attending more, or searching longer, may increase the chance to hit
a target. However, the experimental results in Figure 4(C)(D) show that it is not always the case.
In Figure 4(E), we can see that increasing the maximum number of the attending-from nodes, i.e.
attended nodes, per step is more important, but our GPU does not allow for a larger number to
accommodate more intermediate data produced during computation, otherwise causing the error of
ResourceExhaustedError. Figure 4(F) shows the step number of C-Flow cannot get too small as two.
Attention flow analysis. If attention flow can really capture the way we reason about the world, its
process should be conducted in a diverging-converging thinking pattern. Intuitively, first, for the
diverging thinking, we search and collect ideas as much as we can; then, for the converging thinking,
we try to concentrate our thoughts on one point. To check whether the attention flow has such a
pattern, we measure the average entropy of attention distributions varying along steps and also the
proportion of attention concentrated at the top-1,3,5 attended nodes. As we expect, attention indeed
is more focused at the final step as well as at the beginning.
Time cost analysis. The time cost is affected not only by the scale of a dataset but also by the
horizon setting. For each dataset, we list the training time for one epoch corresponding to the
standard hyperparameter settings in the appendix. Note that there is always a trade-off between the
complexity and the performance. We thus study whether we can reduce the time cost a lot at the price
of sacrificing a little performance. We plot the one-epoch training time in Figure 6(A)-(D), using
the same settings as we do in the horizon analysis. We can see that Max-attended-nodes-per-step
and #Steps-of-C-Flow affect the training time significantly while Max-sampled-edges-per-node and
Max-seen-nodes-per-step affect very slightly. Therefore, we can use smaller Max-sampled-edges-pernode and Max-seen-nodes-per-step in order to gain a larger batch size, making the computation more
efficiency as shown in Figure 6(E).
10
4
2
1.00
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.25
0.00
AthletePlaysForTeam
AthletePlaysInLeague
AthleteHomeStadium
AthletePlaysSport
TeamPlaysSport
OrgHeadQuarteredInCity
WorksFor
PersonBornInLocation
PersonLeadsOrg
OrgHiredPerson
AgentBelongsToOrg
TeamPlaysInLeague
0.25
0.50
0.75
0
0
1
2
Step
3
4
(D) Attention Flow Analysis (on top5's proportion)
1.00
1.00
0
1
0.25
0.00
AthletePlaysForTeam
AthletePlaysInLeague
AthleteHomeStadium
AthletePlaysSport
TeamPlaysSport
OrgHeadQuarteredInCity
WorksFor
PersonBornInLocation
PersonLeadsOrg
OrgHiredPerson
AgentBelongsToOrg
TeamPlaysInLeague
0.25
0.50
0.75
2
3
Step
4
Proportion-of-Top5
6
(C) Attention Flow Analysis (on top3's proportion)
1.00
Proportion-of-Top3
8
Entropy of Attention Distribution
(B) Attention Flow Analysis (on top1's proportion)
AthletePlaysForTeam
AthletePlaysInLeague
AthleteHomeStadium
AthletePlaysSport
TeamPlaysSport
OrgHeadQuarteredInCity
WorksFor
PersonBornInLocation
PersonLeadsOrg
OrgHiredPerson
AgentBelongsToOrg
TeamPlaysInLeague
Proportion-of-Top1
(A) Attention Flow Analysis (on entroy)
10
1.00
0
1
2
Step
0.25
0.00
AthletePlaysForTeam
AthletePlaysInLeague
AthleteHomeStadium
AthletePlaysSport
TeamPlaysSport
OrgHeadQuarteredInCity
WorksFor
PersonBornInLocation
PersonLeadsOrg
OrgHiredPerson
AgentBelongsToOrg
TeamPlaysInLeague
0.25
0.50
0.75
3
4
1.00
0
1
2
Step
3
4
Figure 5: Analysis of attention flow on NELL995 tasks: (A) records how the average entropy of
attention distributions varies along steps for each single-query-relation KBC task. (B)(C)(D) measure
the changing of the proportion of attention concentrated at the top-1,3,5 attended nodes per step for
each task.
0
4
2
0
6
4
2
0
6
4
2
0
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
2
6
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
4
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
6
(B) Time Cost for Different Attending-to Horizons (C) Time Cost for Different Attending-from Horizons (D) Time Cost for Different Searching Horizons
10
10
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 20
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 5
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 2
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 50
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 10
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 4
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 100
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 20
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 6
8
8
8
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 200
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 40
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 8
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 400
10
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
(A) Time Cost for Different Sampling Horizons
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 20
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 50
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 100
8
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 200
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 400
10
10
8
(E) Time Cost for Different Batch Sizes
Batch-size = 50
Batch-size = 100
Batch-size = 200
Batch-size = 300
6
4
2
0
Figure 6: Analysis of time cost on WN18RR: (A)-(D) measure the training time for one epoch on
different horizon settings corresponding to Figure 4(C)-(F); (E) measures the training time for one
epoch for different batch sizes using the same horizon setting, which is Max-sampled-edges-pernode=20, Max-seen-nodes-per-step=20, Max-attended-nodes-per-step=20, and #Steps-of-C-Flow=8.
The time cost analysis charts on FB15K-237 can be found in the appendix.
4.4
Visualization
To further demonstrate the reasoning ability acquired by our model, we show some visualization
results of the extracted subgraphs on NELL995’s test data for 12 separate tasks. We avoid using
the training data in order to show the generalization of our model’s learned reasoning ability on
knowledge graphs. Here, we show the visualization result for the AthletePlaysForTeam task. The rest
can be found in the appendix.
For the AthletePlaysForTeam task
Query : ( c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m i c h a e l _ t u r n e r , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m i c h a e l _ t u r n e r , concept : a g e n t b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m i c h a e l _ t u r n e r , concept : athletehomestadium , concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : agentcompeteswithagent , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : agentcompeteswithagent_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : leaguestadiums , concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : a g e n t b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m i c h a e l _ t u r n e r
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome , concept : leaguestadiums_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome , concept : teamhomestadium_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome , concept : athletehomestadium_inv , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ j o e y _ h a r r i n g t o n
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome , concept : athletehomestadium_inv , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ r o d d y _ w h i t e
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome , concept : athletehomestadium_inv , concept_coach_deangelo_hall
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome , concept : athletehomestadium_inv , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m i c h a e l _ t u r n e r
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : s u b p a r t o f o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamhomestadium , concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
11
concept_coach_jerious_norwood
concept_sportsteam_new_york_jets
concept_sportsteam_texans
concept_sportsteam_tampa
concept_sportsteam_bucs
concept_sportsteam_saints
concept_sportsteam_rams
concept_sportsteam_eagles
concept_sportsteam_dallas_cowboys
concept_coach_deangelo_hall
concept_athlete_roddy_white
concept_sportsteam_buccaneers
concept_sportsteam_bills
concept_sportsteam_steelers
concept_sportsteam_kansas_city_chiefs
concept_sportsteam_colts
concept_sportsteam_oakland_raiders
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
concept_sportsteam_minnesota_vikingsconcept_sportsteam_broncos
concept_sportsteam_ravens
concept_sportsteam_packers
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers concept_sportsteam_bears_29_17
concept_sportsteam_titans
concept_sport_football
concept_sportsteam_cleveland_browns
concept_sportsteam_buffalo_bills
concept_sportsleague_nfl
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
concept_athlete_joey_harrington
concept_sportsteam_falcons
concept_sportsteam_seahawks
concept_sportsteam_kansas_city_chiefs
concept_awardtrophytournament_division
concept_personnorthamerica_michael_turner
concept_athlete_chris_redman
concept_coach_deangelo_hall
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
concept_athlete_quarterback_matt_ryan
concept_personnorthamerica_michael_turner
concept_sportsteam_oakland_raiders
concept_sportsteam_falcons
concept_athlete_roddy_white
concept_athlete_joey_harrington
concept_sportsleague_nfl
concept_athlete_quarterback_matt_ryan
concept_sport_football
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers
concept_sportsteam_minnesota_vikings
concept_coach_jerious_norwood
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
concept_sportsteam_dallas_cowboys
concept_sportsteam_tampa
concept_city_atlanta
Figure 7: AthletePlaysForTeam. The head is concept_personnorthamerica_michael_turner, the
query relation is concept:athleteplaysforteam, and the desired tail is concept_sportsteam_falcons.
The left is a full subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a
further extracted subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head,
and the big red node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local
subgraph. Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and
red means it is more attended when getting close to the final step.
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : a t h l e t e l e d s p o r t s t e a m _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ j o e y _ h a r r i n g t o n
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ j o e y _ h a r r i n g t o n , concept : athletehomestadium , concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ j o e y _ h a r r i n g t o n , concept : a t h l e t e l e d s p o r t s t e a m , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ j o e y _ h a r r i n g t o n , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ r o d d y _ w h i t e , concept : athletehomestadium , concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ r o d d y _ w h i t e , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
concept_coach_deangelo_hall , concept : athletehomestadium , concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome
concept_coach_deangelo_hall , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s , concept : agentcompeteswithagent , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s , concept : agentcompeteswithagent_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_sd_chargers
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ f a l c o n s
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ o a k l a n d _ r a i d e r s
In the above case, the query is (concept_personnorthamerica_michael_turner, concept:athleteplaysforteam, ?) and the desired answer is concept_sportsteam_falcons. From Figure 7, we can see our
model learns that (concept_personnorthamerica_michael_turner, concept:athletehomestadium, concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome) and (concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome, concept:teamhomestadium_inv, concept_sportsteam_falcons) are two important facts to support the answer of concept_sportsteam_falcons. Besides, other facts, such as (concept_athlete_joey_harrington,
concept:athletehomestadium, concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome) and (concept_athlete_joey_harrington, concept:athleteplaysforteam, concept_sportsteam_falcons), provide a vivid example that a person or an athlete with concept_stadiumoreventvenue_georgia_dome as his or her home
stadium might play for the team concept_sportsteam_falcons. We have such examples more than
one, like concept_athlete_roddy_white’s and concept_athlete_quarterback_matt_ryan’s. The entity
12
concept_sportsleague_nfl cannot help us differentiate the true answer from other NFL teams, but it
can at least exclude those non-NFL teams. In a word, our subgraph-structured representation can
well capture the relational and compositional reasoning pattern.
5
Conclusion
We introduce an attentive message passing mechanism on graphs under the notion of attentive awareness, inspired by the phenomenon of consciousness, to model the iterative compositional reasoning
pattern by forming a compact query-dependent subgraph. We propose an attentive computation
framework with three flow-based layer to combine GNNs’ representation power with explicit reasoning process, and further reduce the complexity when applying GNNs to large-scale graphs. It is
worth mentioning that our framework is not limited to knowledge graph reasoning, but has a wider
applicability to large-scale graph-based computation with a few input-dependent nodes and edges
involved each time.
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17
6
Appendix
6.1
Hyperparameter settings
Table 6: The standard hyperparameter settings we use for each dataset plus their training time for one
epoch. For the experimental analysis, we only adjust one hyperparameter and keep the remaining
fixed at the standard setting. For NELL995, the training time per epoch means the average time cost
of the 12 single-query-relation tasks.
Hyperparameter
FB15K-237 FB15K WN18RR WN18 YAGO3-10 NELL995
batch_size
80
80
100
100
100
10
n_dims_att
50
50
50
50
50
200
n_dims
100
100
100
100
100
200
max_sampled_edges_per_step
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
max_attended_nodes_per_step
20
20
20
20
20
100
200
200
200
200
200
1000
max_sampled_edges_per_node
max_seen_nodes_per_step
200
200
200
200
200
1000
n_steps_of_u_flow
2
1
2
1
1
1
6
6
8
8
6
5
n_steps_of_c_flow
learning_rate
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.0001
0.001
optimizer
Adam
Adam
Adam
Adam
Adam
Adam
grad_clipnorm
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
n_epochs
Training time per epoch (h)
25.7
63.7
4.3
8.5
185.0
0.12
Our hyperparameters can be categorized into three groups:
• The normal hyperparameters, including batch_size, n_dims_att, n_dims, learning_rate,
grad_clipnorm, and n_epochs. Here, we set a smaller dimension, n_dims_att, for the
attention flow computation, as it uses more edges for computation than the message passing
uses in the consciousness flow layer, and also intuitively, it does not need to propagate highdimensional messages but only compute a scalar score for each of the sampled neighbor
nodes, in concert with the idea in the key-value mechanism [1]. We set n_epochs = 1 in
most cases, indicating that our model needs to be trained only for one epoch due to its fast
convergence.
• The hyperparameters that are in charge of controlling the sampling-attending horizon, including max_sampled_edges_per_step that controls the maximum number to
sample edges per step per query for the message passing in the unconsciousness
flow layer, and max_sampled_edges_per_node, max_attended_nodes_per_step and
max_seen_nodes_per_step that control the maximum number to sample edges connected to
each current node per step per query, the maximum number of current nodes to attend from
per step per query, and the maximum number of neighbor nodes to attend to per step per
query in the consciousness flow layer.
• The hyperparameters that are in charge of controlling the searching horizon, including
n_steps_of_u_flow representing the number of steps to run the unconcsiousness flow, and
n_steps_of_c_flow representing the number of steps to run the consciousness flow.
Note that we choose these hyperparameters not only by their performances but also the computation
resources available to us. In some cases, to deal with a very large knowledge graph with limited
resources, we need to make a trade-off between the efficiency and the effectiveness. For example, each
of NELL995’s single-query-relation tasks has a small training set, though still with a large graph, so
we can reduce the batch size in favor of affording larger dimensions and a larger sampling-attending
horizon without any concern for waiting too long to finish one epoch.
6.2
Other experimental analysis
See Figure 8,9.
18
(A) Convergence Analysis (by evaluation on test during training)
60
50
45
40
35
30
1.0
40
35
Epoch
2.0
2.5
3.0
40.0
35.0
32.5
H@10
MMR
25.0
(E) Attending-from Horizon Analysis
45
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 5
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 10
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 20
35.0
32.5
27.5
27.5
MMR
H@3
37.5
30.0
H@1
32.5
H@1
MMR
(F) Searching Horizon Analysis
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 2
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 4
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 6
40
40.0
30.0
25.0
H@1
42.5
Metric Score (%)
37.5
35.0
27.5
45.0
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 20
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 50
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 100
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 200
37.5
30.0
25
(D) Attending-to Horizon Analysis
42.5
Metric Score (%)
1.5
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 20
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 50
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 100
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 200
40.0
45
Metric Score (%)
45.0
0.5
(C) Sampling Horizon Analysis
42.5
30
25
20
45.0
W/o U-Flow
With U-Flow
50
Metric Score (%)
Metric Score (%)
55
(B) U-Flow Component Analysis
55
H@1
H@3
H@10
MMR
Metric Score (%)
65
35
30
25
20
25.0
H@1
15
MMR
H@1
MMR
Figure 8: Experimental analysis on FB15K-237: (A) During training we pick six model snapshots
at time points of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1, 2, and 3 epochs and evaluate them on test; (B) The w/o U-Flow
uses zero step to run U-Flow, while the with U-Flow uses two steps; (C)-(F) are for the sampling,
attending and searching horizon analysis based on the standard hyperparameter settings listed in the
appendix.
10
20
15
10
25
20
15
10
25
20
15
10
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
15
25
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
20
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
25
(B) Time Cost for Different Attending-to Horizons (C) Time Cost for Different Attending-from Horizons (D) Time Cost for Different Searching Horizons
35
35
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 20
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 5
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 2
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 50
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 10
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 4
30
30
30
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 100
Max-attended-nodes-per-step = 20
#Steps-of-C-Flow = 6
Max-seen-nodes-per-step = 200
35
Training Time for One Epoch (h)
(A) Time Cost for Different Sampling Horizons
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 20
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 50
30
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 100
Max-sampled-edges-per-node = 200
35
35
30
(E) Time Cost for Different Batch Sizes
Batch-size = 50
Batch-size = 100
Batch-size = 200
Batch-size = 300
25
20
15
10
5
5
5
5
5
0
0
0
0
0
Figure 9: Analysis of time cost on FB15K-237: (A)-(D) measure the training time for one epoch
on different horizon settings corresponding to Figure 8(C)-(F); (E) measures the training time for
one epoch for different batch sizes using the same horizon setting, which is Max-sampled-edges-pernode=20, Max-seen-nodes-per-step=20, Max-attended-nodes-per-step=20, and #Steps-of-C-Flow=6.
6.3
Other visualization
For the AthletePlaysInLeague task
Query : ( c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m a t t _ t r e a n o r , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s i n l e a g u e , concept_sportsleague_mlb )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m a t t _ t r e a n o r , concept : a t h l e t e f l y o u t t o s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ c e n t e r
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n n o r t h a m e r i c a _ m a t t _ t r e a n o r , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ c e n t e r , concept : a t h l e t e f l y o u t t o s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ i n v , concept_personus_orlando_hudson
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ c e n t e r , concept : a t h l e t e f l y o u t t o s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ b e n _ h e n d r i c k s o n
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ c e n t e r , concept : a t h l e t e f l y o u t t o s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o a c h _ j_ j__h ardy
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ c e n t e r , concept : a t h l e t e f l y o u t t o s p o r t s t e a m p o s i t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ h u n t e r _ p e n c e
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , concept_personus_orlando_hudson
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ b e n _ h e n d r i c k s o n
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o a c h _ j _ j _ _ h a r d y
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ h u n t e r _ p e n c e
concept_personus_orlando_hudson , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s i n l e a g u e , concept_sportsleague_mlb
concept_personus_orlando_hudson , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ b e n _ h e n d r i c k s o n , concept : coachesinleague , concept_sportsleague_mlb
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ b e n _ h e n d r i c k s o n , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
19
concept_personus_orlando_hudson
concept_athlete_jake_peavy
concept_athlete_shin_soo_choo
concept_personmexico_jason_giambi
concept_athlete_kei_igawa
concept_athlete_hunter_pence
concept_sportsteam_twins
concept_coach_alex_gordon
concept_personus_orlando_hudson
concept_athlete_steve_carlton
concept_athlete_russell_branyan
concept_athlete_ben_hendrickson
concept_athlete_pelfrey
concept_athlete_rajai_davis
concept_coach_ian_snell
concept_male_mike_stanton
concept_personnorthamerica_matt_treanor
concept_athlete_hunter_pence
concept_sportsteamposition_center
concept_athlete_matt_clement
concept_sport_baseball
concept_sportsleague_mlb
concept_sportsleague_mlb
concept_sport_baseball
concept_athlete_mike_mussina
concept_sportsteamposition_center
concept_athlete_justin_morneau
concept_athlete_ben_hendrickson
concept_athlete_mark_hendrickson
concept_personnorthamerica_matt_treanor
concept_coach_j_j__hardy
concept_athlete_kevin_cash
concept_athlete_justin_verlander
concept_athlete_gary_carter
concept_athlete_scott_linebrink
concept_athlete_kevin_cash
concept_coach_j_j__hardy
concept_athlete_aaron_hill
concept_athlete_jeff_kent
concept_athlete_freddy_sanchez
concept_coach_seth_mcclung
concept_athlete_gary_carter
concept_coach_adam_laroche
Figure 10: AthletePlaysInLeague. The head is , the query relation is concept:athleteplaysinleague,
and the desired tail is . The left is a full subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step =
20, and the right is a further extracted subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node
represents the head, and the big red node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is
attended to in a local subgraph. Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during
the early steps, and red means it is more attended when getting close to the final step.
concept_coach_j_j__hardy , concept : coachesinleague , concept_sportsleague_mlb
concept_coach_j_j__hardy , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s i n l e a g u e , concept_sportsleague_mlb
concept_coach_j_j__hardy , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ h u n t e r _ p e n c e , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s i n l e a g u e , concept_sportsleague_mlb
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ h u n t e r _ p e n c e , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
concept_sportsleague_mlb , concept : coachesinleague_inv , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ b e n _ h e n d r i c k s o n
concept_sportsleague_mlb , concept : coachesinleague_inv , c o n c e p t _ c o a c h _ j _ j _ _ h a r d y
For the AthleteHomeStadium task
Query : ( c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g , concept : athletehomestadium , c o n c e p t _ s t a d i u m o r e v e n t v e n u e _ g i a nts_stadium )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g , concept : a t h l e t e l e d s p o r t s t e a m , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s i n l e a g u e , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g , concept : f a t h e r o f p e r s o n _ i n v , concept_male_archie_manning
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : teamhomestadium , c o n c e p t _ s t a d i u m o r e v e n t v e n u e _ g i a n t s _ stadium
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants , concept : a t h l e t e l e d s p o r t s t e a m _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : agentcompeteswithagent , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : agentcompeteswithagent_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : leaguestadiums , c o n c e p t _ s t a d i u m o r e v e n t v e n u e _ g i a n t s _ s t a d i u m
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g
concept_male_archie_manning , concept : f a t h e r o f p e r s o n , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ e l i _ m a n n i n g
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l , concept : leaguestadiums , concept_stadiumoreventvenue_paul_brown_stadium
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_giants_stadium , concept : teamhomestadium_inv , concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_giants_stadium , concept : leaguestadiums_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_giants_stadium , concept : p r o x y f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ e a s t _ r u t h e r f o r d
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ e a s t _ r u t h e r f o r d , concept : p r o x y f o r , c o n c e p t _ s t a d i u m o r e v e n t v e n u e _ g i a n t s _ s t a d i u m
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_paul_brown_stadium , concept : leaguestadiums_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n f l
For the AthletePlaysSport task
Query : ( c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ v e r n o n _ w e l l s , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l )
20
concept_male_archie_manning
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_united_center
concept_geopoliticallocation_national
concept_stateorprovince_states
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_meadowlands_stadium
concept_sportsleague_nhl
concept_city_new_york
concept_lake_new
concept_sport_hockey
concept_sport_football
concept_geopoliticalorganization_new_england
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_izod_center
concept_city_east_rutherford
concept_athlete_eli_manning
concept_athlete_joe_bradley
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_giants_stadium
concept_coach_john_mcgraw
concept_athlete_barry_bonds
concept_personus_jeremy_shockey
concept_athlete_steve_smith
concept_athlete_rich_aurilia
concept_sportsteam_new_york_jets
concept_athlete_justin_tuck
concept_person_belichick
concept_athlete_blair_betts
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_mcafee_coliseum
concept_athlete_lawrence_taylor
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
concept_sportsteamposition_center
concept_sport_football
concept_sportsteam_pats
concept_sportsleague_nfl
concept_city_philadelphia
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_paul_brown_stadium
concept_sportsteam_colts
concept_athlete_john_cassell
concept_awardtrophytournament_super_bowl_xlii
concept_awardtrophytournament_super_bowl
concept_athlete_phil_simms
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_gillette_stadium
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_metrodome
concept_athlete_joe_bradley
concept_athlete_eli_manning
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_lucas_oil_stadium
concept_sportsteam_new_york_giants
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_paul_brown_stadium
concept_sportsleague_nfl
concept_city_east_rutherford
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_giants_stadium
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_lucas_oil_stadium
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_mcafee_coliseum
concept_sport_basketball
concept_lake_new
concept_athlete_ensberg
concept_bone_knee
concept_sportsleague_nhl
concept_male_archie_manning
Figure 11: AthleteHomeStadium. The head is concept_athlete_eli_manning, the query relation is
concept:athletehomestadium, and the desired tail is concept_stadiumoreventvenue_giants_stadium.
The left is a full subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a
further extracted subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head,
and the big red node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local
subgraph. Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and
red means it is more attended when getting close to the final step.
S e l e c t e d key edges :
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ v e r n o n _ w e l l s , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s i n l e a g u e , concept_sportsleague_mlb
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ v e r n o n _ w e l l s , concept : coachwontrophy , c o n c e p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ v e r n o n _ w e l l s , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a y s
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ v e r n o n _ w e l l s , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a y s
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ v e r n o n _ w e l l s , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a y s
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ v e r n o n _ w e l l s , concept : a t h l e t e l e d s p o r t s t e a m , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a y s
concept_sportsleague_mlb , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_dodgers
concept_sportsleague_mlb , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_yankees
concept_sportsleague_mlb , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s
co nce p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s , concept : teamwontrophy_inv , concept_sportsteam_dodgers
co nce p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s , concept : teamwontrophy_inv , concept_sportsteam_yankees
co nce p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s , concept : a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t i s t h e c h a m p i o n s h i p g a m e o f t h e n a t i o n a l s p o r t ,
concept_sport_baseball
co nce p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s , concept : teamwontrophy_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s
c on ce p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a y s , concept : teamplaysinleague , concept_sportsleague_mlb
c on ce p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a y s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_yankees
c on ce p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a y s , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
concept_sportsteam_dodgers , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_yankees
concept_sportsteam_dodgers , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_yankees
concept_sportsteam_dodgers , concept : teamwontrophy , c o n c e p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s
concept_sportsteam_dodgers , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
concept_sportsteam_yankees , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_dodgers
concept_sportsteam_yankees , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_dodgers
concept_sportsteam_yankees , concept : teamwontrophy , c o n c e p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s
concept_sportsteam_yankees , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
concept_sportsteam_yankees , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s
concept_sportsteam_yankees , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_dodgers
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_yankees
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t i s t h e c h a m p i o n s h i p g a m e o f t h e n a t i o n a l s p o r t _ i n v ,
concept_awardtrophytournament_world_series
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_yankees
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_yankees
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s , concept : teamwontrophy , c o n c e p t _ a w a r d t r o p h y t o u r n a m e n t _ w o r l d _ s e r i e s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ p i t t s b u r g h _ p i r a t e s , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s e b a l l
21
concept_sport_golf
concept_country_new_zealand
concept_country_britain
concept_country_bulgaria
concept_country_u_s_
concept_country_malaysia
concept_country_the_united_kingdom
concept_country_switzerland
concept_country_spain
concept_country_wales
concept_hobby_hobbies
concept_awardtrophytournament_prizes
concept_country_thailand
concept_country_france_france
concept_sport_golfconcept_sport_ski
concept_beverage_tea
concept_sport_cricket
concept_country_countries
concept_sport_skiing
concept_stateorprovince_states
concept_bank_national
concept_beverage_beer
concept_sport_soccer
concept_sport_football
concept_geopoliticallocation_national
concept_sport_basketball
concept_sportsteamposition_center
concept_country_portugal
concept_country_china
concept_country_canada_canada
concept_country___america
concept_country_netherlands
concept_awardtrophytournament_championships
concept_publication_people_
concept_country_new_zealand
concept_sport_hockey
concept_bank_china_construction_bank
concept_person_william001
concept_athlete_vernon_wells
concept_sportsgame_n1951_world_series
concept_sport_baseball
concept_sport_ski
concept_sportsteam_eagles
concept_sportsteam_louisville_cardinals
concept_sportsteam_phillies
concept_sportsgame_alds
concept_sportsteam_los_angeles_dodgers
concept_sportsteam_washington_nationals
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_us_cellular_field
concept_sportsteam_yankees
concept_sportsteam_dodgers
concept_sportsteam_cleveland_indians_organization
concept_sportsteam_philadelphia_athletics
concept_sportsteam_detroit_tigers
concept_sportsteam_red_sox
concept_sportsteam_new_york_mets
concept_sportsleague_mlb
concept_sportsteam_st___louis_cardinals
concept_sportsteam_mariners
concept_sportsteam_pittsburgh_piratesconcept_sportsteam_white_sox
concept_awardtrophytournament_world_series concept_sportsteam_orioles
concept_sportsteam_red_sox_this_season
concept_sportsteam_blue_jays
concept_sportsteam_twins
concept_sportsleague_mlb
concept_awardtrophytournament_world_series
concept_sportsteam_blue_jays
concept_sportsteam_dodgers
concept_athlete_vernon_wells
concept_sport_football
concept_sportsteam_twins
concept_sportsteam_yankees
concept_sportsteam_pittsburgh_pirates
concept_sport_hockey
concept_sport_baseball
concept_sportsteamposition_center
Figure 12: AthletePlaysSport. The head is concept_athlete_vernon_wells, the query relation is
concept:athleteplayssport, and the desired tail is concept_sport_baseball. The left is a full subgraph
derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a further extracted subgraph
from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head, and the big red node
represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local subgraph. Grey
means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and red means it is
more attended when getting close to the final step.
For the TeamPlaysSport task
Query : ( concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t , concept_sport_hockey )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a c k e t s
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a c k e t s
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : a t h l e t e l e d s p o r t s t e a m _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m
concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l
concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ l e a f s
concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ l e a f s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a c k e t s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a c k e t s , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b l u e _ j a c k e t s , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m , concept : w o r k s f o r , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n _ i n v , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m , concept : a t h l e t e p l a y s f o r t e a m , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
c o n c e p t _ a t h l e t e _ l i d s t r o m , concept : a t h l e t e l e d s p o r t s t e a m , concept_sportsteam_red_wings
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ l e a f s
concept_sportsteam_red_wings , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ l e a f s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l , concept : agentcompeteswithagent , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l , concept : agentcompeteswithagent_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l , concept : t e a m p l a y s i n l e a g u e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ l e a f s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ l e a f s , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ n h l
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ l e a f s , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t , concept_sport_hockey
For the OrganizationHeadQuarteredInCity task
Query : ( concept_company_disney , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n c i t y , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k )
22
concept_sportsteamposition_quarterback
concept_athlete_lidstrom
concept_country_russia
concept_country_england
concept_sport_team
concept_sport_fitness
concept_sport_football
concept_sport_wrestling
concept_hobby_fishing
concept_sportsteam_packers
concept_country_usa
concept_company_national
concept_sport_golf
concept_sport_baseball
concept_tool_accessories
concept_sport_sports
concept_country___america
concept_sport_soccer
concept_sportsequipment_clubs
concept_awardtrophytournament_championships
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_td_banknorth_garden
concept_sportsequipment_ball
concept_country_republic_of_india
concept_hobby_hiking
concept_sport_basketball
concept_sportsteamposition_forward
concept_hobby_hobbies
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_pete_times_forum
concept_sportsequipment_hockey_sticks
concept_country_canada_canada
concept_country_iraq
concept_sport_football
concept_coach_billy_butler
concept_sportsteam_anaheim_ducks
concept_sportsteam_columbus_blue_jackets
concept_sportsteam_red_wings
concept_sport_golf
concept_sport_hockey
concept_sportsteam_spurs
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_staples_center
concept_sportsteam_columbus_blue_jackets
concept_sportsteam_hawks
concept_sportsteam_blackhawks concept_sportsteam_dallas_stars
concept_sportsteam_tampa_bay_lightning
concept_sportsteam_oilers
concept_sportsteam_colorado_avalanche
concept_sportsteam_rangers
concept_sportsteam_chicago_blackhawks
concept_sportsteam_leafs
concept_sportsteam_edmonton_oilers
concept_sportsteam_capitals
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_joe_louis_arena
concept_sportsteam_devils
concept_sportsteam_ottawa_senators
concept_sportsgame_series
concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens
concept_sport_hockey
concept_country___america
concept_sportsteam_leafs
concept_sportsleague_nhl
concept_sportsteam_blue_jackets
concept_sportsteam_buffalo_sabres
concept_sportsteam_kings_college concept_sportsleague_nhl
concept_sportsteam_red_wings
concept_sportsteam_pittsburgh_penguins
concept_sportsteam_bruins
concept_sportsteam_flyers_playoff_tickets
concept_stateorprovince_new_york concept_athlete_lidstrom
concept_sportsteam_anaheim_ducks
concept_sportsteam_new_york_islanders
concept_athlete_chelios
concept_sportsteam_montreal_canadiens
concept_sportsteam_blue_jackets
concept_sportsteam_l_a__kings
concept_sport_baseball
concept_sport_basketball
Figure 13: TeamPlaysSport. The head is concept_sportsteam_red_wings, the query relation is
concept:teamplayssport, and the desired tail is concept_sport_hockey. The left is a full subgraph
derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a further extracted subgraph
from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head, and the big red node
represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local subgraph. Grey
means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and red means it is
more attended when getting close to the final step.
S e l e c t e d key edges :
concept_company_disney , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k
concept_company_disney , concept : s u b p a r t o f o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_website_network
concept_company_disney , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r
concept_company_disney , concept : p r o x y f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r
concept_company_disney , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r
concept_company_disney , concept : c e o o f _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r
concept_company_disney , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g
concept_company_disney , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g
concept_company_disney , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n t e r m i n a t e d p e r s o n , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n _ i n v , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n _ i n v , concept_biotechcompany_the_walt_disney_co_
concept_website_network , concept : s u b p a r t o f o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r , concept : w o r k s f o r , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r , concept : p r o x y f o r , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r , concept : ceoof , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r , concept : topmemberoforganization , concept_biotechcompany_the_walt_disney_co_
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ r o b e r t _ i g e r , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n t e r m i n a t e d p e r s o n _ i n v , concept_biotechcompany_the_walt_disney_co_
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n _ i n v , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n t e r m i n a t e d p e r s o n _ i n v , concept_company_disney
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g , concept : w o r k s f o r , concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g , concept : topmemberoforganization , concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n t e r m i n a t e d p e r s o n _ i n v , concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg
c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g , concept : ceoof , concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg
concept_biotechcompany_the_walt_disney_co_ , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k
concept_biotechcompany_the_walt_disney_co_ , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n c i t y , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k
concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g
concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg , concept : t o p m e m b e r o f o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g
concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n t e r m i n a t e d p e r s o n , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g
concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg , concept : c e o o f _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c e o _ j e f f r e y _ k a t z e n b e r g
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k , concept : a i r p o r t i n c i t y _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t r a n s p o r t a t i o n _ b u r b a n k _ g l e n d a l e _ p a s a d e n a
c o n c e p t _ t r a n s p o r t a t i o n _ b u r b a n k _ g l e n d a l e _ p a s a d e n a , concept : a i r p o r t i n c i t y , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ b u r b a n k
For the WorksFor task
Query : ( c o n c e p t _ s c i e n t i s t _ b a l m e r , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t )
23
concept_ceo_george_bodenheimer concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg
concept_company_asylum
concept_personaustralia_david_geffen
concept_personus_david_geffen
concept_person_steven_spielberg
concept_personus_steven_spielberg
concept_ceo_jeffrey_katzenberg
concept_recordlabel_dreamworks_skg
concept_sportsleague_espn
concept_city_emeryville
concept_ceo_george_bodenheimer
concept_ceo_jeffrey_katzenberg
concept_politicsissue_entertainment
concept_stateorprovince_illinois
concept_company_disney_feature_animation
concept_company_walt_disney
concept_company_pixar
concept_company_club_penguin
concept_transportation_burbank_glendale_pasadena
concept_biotechcompany_the_walt_disney_co_
concept_city_burbank
concept_publication_espn
concept_blog_espn_the_magazine
concept_company_disney concept_academicfield_media
concept_city_abc
concept_ceo_michael_eisner
concept_company_disney
concept_company_walt_disney_world_resort
concept_ceo_robert_iger
concept_city_new_york
concept_politicianus_rudy_giuliani
concept_website_network
concept_personaustralia_jobs
concept_company_walt_disney_world
concept_ceo_michael_eisner
concept_company_abc_television_network
concept_televisionnetwork_abc
concept_personeurope_disney
concept_politicsblog_rights
concept_person_disney
concept_website_network
concept_website_infoseek
concept_city_lego
concept_musicartist_toy
concept_city_burbank
concept_city_abc
concept_biotechcompany_the_walt_disney_co_
concept_transportation_burbank_glendale_pasadena
concept_university_search
concept_ceo_robert_iger
concept_city_new_york
Figure 14: OrganizationHeadQuarteredInCity. The head is concept_company_disney, the query
relation is concept:organizationheadquarteredincity, and the desired tail is concept_city_burbank.
The left is a full subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a
further extracted subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head,
and the big red node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local
subgraph. Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and
red means it is more attended when getting close to the final step.
S e l e c t e d key edges :
c o n c e p t _ s c i e n t i s t _ b a l m e r , concept : topmemberoforganization , concept_company_microsoft
c o n c e p t _ s c i e n t i s t _ b a l m e r , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n t e r m i n a t e d p e r s o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_company_microsoft , concept : t o p m e m b e r o f o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_personus_steve_ballmer
concept_company_microsoft , concept : t o p m e m b e r o f o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s c i e n t i s t _ b a l m e r
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_personus_steve_ballmer
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_personus_steve_ballmer
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n t e r m i n a t e d p e r s o n , c o n c e p t _ s c i e n t i s t _ b a l m e r
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_person_robbie_bach
concept_personus_steve_ballmer , concept : topmemberoforganization , concept_company_microsoft
concept_personus_steve_ballmer , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_personus_steve_ballmer , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_personus_steve_ballmer , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_personus_steve_ballmer , concept : p r o x y f o r , c o n c e p t _ r e t a i l s t o r e _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_personus_steve_ballmer , concept : s u b p a r t o f , c o n c e p t _ r e t a i l s t o r e _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_personus_steve_ballmer , concept : a g e n t c o n t r o l s , c o n c e p t _ r e t a i l s t o r e _ m i c r o s o f t
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_person_robbie_bach , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
concept_person_robbie_bach , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ m i c r o s o f t
c o n c e p t _ r e t a i l s t o r e _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : p r o x y f o r _ i n v , concept_personus_steve_ballmer
c o n c e p t _ r e t a i l s t o r e _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : s u b p a r t o f _ i n v , concept_personus_steve_ballmer
c o n c e p t _ r e t a i l s t o r e _ m i c r o s o f t , concept : a g e n t c o n t r o l s _ i n v , concept_personus_steve_ballmer
For the PersonBornInLocation task
Query : ( concept_person_mark001 , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n l o c a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t y _ y o r k _ c i t y )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
concept_person_mark001 ,
concept_person_mark001 ,
concept_person_mark001 ,
concept_person_mark001 ,
concept_person_mark001 ,
concept_person_mark001 ,
concept_person_mark001 ,
concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e
concept : persongraduatedschool , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e
concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
concept : persongraduatedschool , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n c i t y , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ h a m p s h i r e
concept : hasspouse , concept_person_diane001
concept : hasspouse_inv , concept_person_diane001
24
concept_company_adobe
concept_sportsteam_new_york_jets
concept_female_hillary
concept_coach_tim_murphy
concept_retailstore_microsoft
concept_personafrica_george_bush
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_person_edwards
concept_governmentorganization_house
concept_person_mccain
concept_sportsteam_harvard_divinity_school
concept_company_clinton
concept_geopoliticallocation_kerry
concept_politicalparty_college
concept_personus_steve_ballmer
concept_governmentorganization_representatives
concept_politicalparty_senate
concept_politicianus_rodham_clinton
concept_person_bill
concept_emotion_word
concept_museum_steve
concept_charactertrait_vista
concept_hallwayitem_access
concept_city_outlook
concept_geopoliticallocation_world
concept_sportsteam_state_university
concept_biotechcompany_microsoft_corp
concept_date_bill
concept_person_robbie_bach
concept_university_microsoft
concept_ceo_paul_allen
concept_company_microsoft_corporation
concept_person_robbie_bach
concept_politician_jobs
concept_beverage_new
concept_company_microsoft
concept_website_download
concept_mlalgorithm_microsoft_word
concept_personus_paul_allen
concept_company_gates
concept_ceo_steve_ballmer
concept_product_word_documents
concept_politician_jobs
concept_company_yahoo001
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_buildingfeature_windows
concept_scientist_balmer
concept_consumerelectronicitem_ms_word
concept_personus_steve_ballmer
concept_automobilemaker_jeff_bezos
concept_university_microsoft
concept_sportsteam_state_university
concept_scientist_balmer
concept_university_google
concept_product_powerpoint
concept_personaustralia_paul_allen
concept_company_adobe
concept_stateorprovince_last_year
concept_university_yahoo
concept_personaustralia_paul_allen
concept_company_microsoft
concept_person_bill
concept_retailstore_microsoft
concept_coach_vulcan_inc
concept_software_microsoft_excel
concept_software_office_2003
concept_company_sun
concept_sportsteam_harvard_divinity_school
Figure 15: WorksFor. The head is concept_scientist_balmer, the query relation is concept:worksfor,
and the desired tail is concept_university_microsoft. The left is a full subgraph derived with
max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a further extracted subgraph from the
left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head, and the big red node represents
the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local subgraph. Grey means less
important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and red means it is more attended
when getting close to the final step.
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d s c h o o l _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d s c h o o l _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d s c h o o l _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d s c h o o l _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l
c on c e p t _ c i t y _ h a m p s h i r e , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n c i t y _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
concept_person_diane001 , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
concept_person_diane001 , concept : persongraduatedschool , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
concept_person_diane001 , concept : hasspouse , concept_person_mark001
concept_person_diane001 , concept : hasspouse_inv , concept_person_mark001
concept_person_diane001 , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n l o c a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t y _ y o r k _ c i t y
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y _ i n v , concept_person_diane001
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d s c h o o l _ i n v , concept_person_diane001
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n c i t y , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ y o r k
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n l o c a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ y o r k
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : persongraduatedschool , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l , concept : persongraduatedschool , c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ y o r k , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n c i t y _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n _ b i l l
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ y o r k , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n c i t y _ i n v , concept_person_diane001
c o n c e p t _ u n i v e r s i t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n g r a d u a t e d f r o m u n i v e r s i t y _ i n v , concept_person_diane001
concept_person_diane001 , concept : p e r s o n b o r n i n c i t y , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ y o r k
For the PersonLeadsOrganization task
Query : ( c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ b i l l _ p l a n t e , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_cnn__pbs )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ b i l l _ p l a n t e , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ b i l l _ p l a n t e , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ w a l t e r _ c r o n k i t e
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ w a l t e r _ c r o n k i t e
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n u s _ s c o t t _ p e l l e y
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ a c t o r _ d a n i e l _ s c h o r r
25
concept_country_orleans
concept_musicinstrument_guitar
concept_geopoliticalorganization_wurttemberg
concept_country_brazil
concept_country_romania
concept_city_hampshire
concept_country_monaco
concept_person_prince
concept_country_luxembourg
concept_person_princess
concept_country_mecklenburg
concept_male_world
concept_geopoliticallocation_state
concept_writer_new
concept_book_new concept_river_arts
concept_sportsleague_new
concept_buildingfeature_american
concept_personeurope_whitney
concept_room_contemporary
concept_country_orleans
concept_country_sweden
concept_river_state
concept_governmentorganization_federal
concept_lake_new
concept_stateorprovince_new_york
concept_county_york_city
concept_building_the_metropolitan
concept_city_new_york
concept_person_charles001
concept_female_mary
concept_city_york
concept_building_metropolitan
concept_city_hampshire concept_person_david
concept_person_aaron_brooks concept_person_jim
concept_person_joe002
concept_person_sean002
concept_person_james001
concept_person_adam001
concept_person_bill
concept_politician_jobs
concept_person_diane001
concept_stateorprovince_california
10
concept_person_robert003
concept_university_high_school
concept_sportsteam_state_university
concept_journalist_dan
concept_university_college
concept_university_state_university
concept_stateorprovince_illinois
concept_jobposition_king
concept_politicalparty_college concept_person_greg001
concept_person_kevin
concept_person_michael002
concept_person_andrew001
concept_charactertrait_world
concept_geopoliticallocation_world
concept_person_mark001
concept_person_mark001
concept_city_york
concept_person_diane001
concept_university_syracuse_university
concept_county_york_city
concept_university_state_university
concept_person_bill
concept_person_john003
concept_sportsgame_series
concept_lake_new
concept_male_world
concept_academicfield_science
concept_university_syracuse_university
concept_stateorprovince_massachusetts
concept_stateorprovince_maine
concept_stateorprovince_georgia
concept_person_adam001
concept_sportsteam_state_university
concept_university_college
concept_person_david
concept_language_english
Figure 16: PersonBornInLocation. The head is concept_person_mark001, the query relation is
concept:personborninlocation, and the desired tail is concept_county_york_city. The left is a full
subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a further extracted
subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head, and the big red
node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local subgraph.
Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and red means it
is more attended when getting close to the final step.
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , concept_person_edward_r__murrow
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_person_edward_r__murrow
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ b i l l _ p l a n t e
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ b i l l _ p l a n t e
c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ w a l t e r _ c r o n k i t e , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ w a l t e r _ c r o n k i t e , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ w a l t e r _ c r o n k i t e , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ n o n p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n _ c b s _ e v e n i n g
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n u s _ s c o t t _ p e l l e y , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n u s _ s c o t t _ p e l l e y , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n u s _ s c o t t _ p e l l e y , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_cnn__pbs
c o n c e p t _ a c t o r _ d a n i e l _ s c h o r r , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ a c t o r _ d a n i e l _ s c h o r r , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ a c t o r _ d a n i e l _ s c h o r r , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_cnn__pbs
concept_person_edward_r__murrow , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
concept_person_edward_r__murrow , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
concept_person_edward_r__murrow , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
concept_person_edward_r__murrow , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_cnn__pbs
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n c i t y , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ n e w _ y o r k
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ n e w _ y o r k
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n e u r o p e _ w i l l i a m _ p a l e y
c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s , concept : t o p m e m b e r o f o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n e u r o p e _ w i l l i a m _ p a l e y
concept_company_cnn__pbs , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ n e w _ y o r k
concept_company_cnn__pbs , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n e u r o p e _ w i l l i a m _ p a l e y
c o n c e p t _ n o n p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n _ c b s _ e v e n i n g , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ j o u r n a l i s t _ w a l t e r _ c r o n k i t e
concept_city_new_york , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n c i t y _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
concept_city_new_york , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
concept_city_new_york , concept : h e a d q u a r t e r e d i n _ i n v , concept_company_cnn__pbs
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n e u r o p e _ w i l l i a m _ p a l e y , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n e u r o p e _ w i l l i a m _ p a l e y , concept : topmemberoforganization , c o n c e p t _ t e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k _ c b s
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n e u r o p e _ w i l l i a m _ p a l e y , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_cnn__pbs
c o n c e p t _ p e r s o n e u r o p e _ w i l l i a m _ p a l e y , concept : p e r s o n l e a d s o r g a n i z a t i o n , concept_company_cnn__pbs
For the OrganizationHiredPerson task
Query : ( c o n c e p t _ s t a t e o r p r o v i n c e _ a f t e r n o o n , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
c o n c e p t _ s t a t e o r p r o v i n c e _ a f t e r n o o n , concept : a t d a t e , c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 7
26
concept_company_cnn__pbs
concept_crustacean_tv
concept_nonprofitorganization_cbs_evening
concept_company_cbs_corp_
concept_musicartist_television
concept_personus_scott_pelley
concept_person_edward_r__murrow
concept_city_new_york
concept_actor_daniel_schorr
concept_website_cbs_evening_news
concept_journalist_walter_cronkite
concept_website_cbs
concept_journalist_wyatt_andrews
concept_televisionstation_wowk_tv
concept_televisionstation_wcsc
concept_coach_douglas_edwards
concept_journalist_gloria_borger
concept_comedian_leslie_moonves
concept_city_new_york
concept_blog_mtv
concept_journalist_lesley_stahl concept_televisionstation_khqa_tv
concept_televisionstation_kbci_tv
concept_televisionstation_wdtv
concept_personmexico_david_martin
concept_website_cbs
concept_personeurope_william_paley
concept_personeurope_william_paley
concept_academicfield_media
concept_televisionnetwork_cbs
concept_televisionstation_wcsc
concept_academicfield_media
concept_person_les_moonves
concept_televisionstation_wrbl
concept_journalist_wyatt_andrews
concept_personus_scott_pelley
concept_politicsissue_entertainment
concept_televisionnetwork_cbs
concept_person_byron_pitts
concept_journalist_morley_safer
concept_journalist_bill_plante
concept_recordlabel_universal
concept_company_cnn__pbs
concept_personaustralia_harry_smith
concept_personaustralia_phil_jones
concept_televisionstation_wltx_tv
concept_journalist_bill_plante
concept_person_nina_tassler
concept_televisionstation_kfda
concept_athlete_anthony_masonconcept_journalist_andy_rooney
concept_coach_douglas_edwards
concept_nonprofitorganization_cbs_evening
concept_journalist_walter_cronkite
concept_athlete_anthony_mason
concept_actor_daniel_schorr
concept_televisionstation_kion_tv
concept_writer_bernard_goldberg
concept_journalist_connie_chung
concept_crustacean_tv
concept_televisionstation_wjtv
concept_person_sean_mcmanus
concept_person_edward_r__murrow
concept_person_eric_sevareid
concept_writer_bill_geist
concept_musicartist_television
concept_journalist_ed_bradley
Figure 17: PersonLeadsOrganization. The head is concept_journalist_bill_plante, the query relation is concept:organizationheadquarteredincity, and the desired tail is concept_company_cnn__pbs.
The left is a full subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a
further extracted subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head,
and the big red node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local
subgraph. Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and
red means it is more attended when getting close to the final step.
c o n c e p t _ s t a t e o r p r o v i n c e _ a f t e r n o o n , concept : a t d a t e , concept_date_n2003
c o n c e p t _ s t a t e o r p r o v i n c e _ a f t e r n o o n , concept : a t d a t e , c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 6
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 7 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 7 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , concept_city_home
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 7 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ s e r v i c e
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 7 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ l e f t _ p a r t i e s
concept_date_n2003 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s
concept_date_n2003 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , concept_city_home
concept_date_n2003 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ s e r v i c e
concept_date_n2003 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ l e f t _ p a r t i e s
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 6 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 6 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , concept_city_home
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 6 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ s e r v i c e
c o n c e p t _ d a t e l i t e r a l _ n 2 0 0 6 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ l e f t _ p a r t i e s
c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s , concept : a t d a t e , concept_year_n1992
c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s , concept : a t d a t e , concept_year_n1997
c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_city_home , concept : a t d a t e , concept_year_n1992
concept_city_home , concept : a t d a t e , concept_year_n1997
concept_city_home , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ s e r v i c e , concept : a t d a t e , concept_year_n1992
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ s e r v i c e , concept : a t d a t e , concept_year_n1997
c o n c e p t _ c i t y _ s e r v i c e , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ l e f t _ p a r t i e s , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ l e f t _ p a r t i e s , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_year_n1992 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , concept_governmentorganization_house
concept_year_n1992 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s
concept_year_n1992 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , concept_city_home
concept_year_n1992 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ t r a d e u n i o n _ c o n g r e s s
concept_year_n1997 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , concept_governmentorganization_house
concept_year_n1997 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ u n i t e d _ s t a t e s
concept_year_n1997 , concept : a t d a t e _ i n v , concept_city_home
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney , concept : w o r k s f o r , concept_governmentorganization_house
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ t r a d e u n i o n _ c o n g r e s s
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ l e f t _ p a r t i e s
concept_governmentorganization_house , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_personus_party
concept_governmentorganization_house , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_governmentorganization_house , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
27
concept_governmentorganization_epa
concept_politicianus_president_george_w__bush
concept_personus_party
concept_tradeunion_congress
concept_governmentorganization_house
concept_personus_party
concept_person_state
concept_person_mugabeconcept_astronaut_herbert_hoover
concept_country_party
concept_governmentorganization_epa
concept_biotechcompany_china
concept_person_president
concept_tradeunion_congress
concept_city_members
concept_year_n1978
concept_governmentorganization_house
concept_personasia_number
concept_geopoliticallocation_iraq
concept_county_records
concept_dayofweek_wednesday
concept_dateliteral_n1987
concept_politicsblog_white_house
concept_person_state
concept_governmentorganization_commission
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_year_n1997
concept_year_n1967
concept_director_committee
concept_year_n1989
concept_governmentorganization_action
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_year_n1992
concept_country_left_parties
concept_year_n1982
concept_date_n2009
concept_country_united_states
concept_governmentorganization_commission
concept_year_n1994
concept_year_n1995
concept_year_n1997
concept_website_trip
concept_academicfield_directors concept_lake_new
concept_city_capital
concept_nongovorganization_council
concept_date_n1993
concept_website_visit
concept_website_tour
concept_book_morning
concept_musicsong_night
concept_dateliteral_n1990
concept_city_home
concept_year_n1986
concept_city_service
concept_book_new
concept_governmentorganization_representatives
concept_date_n1968
concept_country_israel
concept_book_years
concept_visualizablething_use
concept_buildingfeature_window
concept_year_n1998
concept_governmentorganization_law
concept_date_n2000
concept_academicfield_trial
concept_city_team
concept_dateliteral_n2002
concept_dateliteral_n2007
concept_date_n2001
concept_date_n1944 concept_company_case
concept_date_n2004
concept_dateliteral_n2005
concept_governmentorganization_fire
concept_date_n1996
concept_programminglanguage_project
concept_musicsong_end
concept_governmentorganization_program concept_date_n2003
concept_dateliteral_n2006
concept_dateliteral_n2008
concept_governmentorganization_launch
concept_date_n1999
concept_year_n1991
concept_year_n1992
concept_country_left_parties
concept_city_home
concept_year_n1994
concept_city_service
concept_dateliteral_n2002
concept_country_united_states
concept_governmentorganization_program
concept_date_n2003
concept_governmentorganization_law
concept_dateliteral_n2008
concept_stateorprovince_afternoon
concept_dateliteral_n2006
concept_dateliteral_n2007
concept_year_n1975
concept_buildingfeature_windows
concept_stateorprovince_afternoon
concept_university_national
Figure 18: OrganizationHiredPerson.
The head is concept_stateorprovince_afternoon,
the query relation is concept:organizationhiredperson, and the desired tail is
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney.
The left is a full subgraph derived with
max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a further extracted subgraph from
the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head, and the big red node represents
the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local subgraph. Grey means less
important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and red means it is more attended
when getting close to the final step.
concept_tradeunion_congress , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personus_party
concept_tradeunion_congress , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_tradeunion_congress , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
c o n c e p t _ c o u n t r y _ l e f t _ p a r t i e s , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personus_party
For the AgentBelongsToOrganization task
Query : ( concept_person_mark001 , concept : a g e n t b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
concept_person_mark001 , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
concept_person_mark001 , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_male_world
concept_person_mark001 , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , concept_male_world
concept_person_mark001 , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c a l p a r t y _ c o l l e g e
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_person_greg001
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_person_michael002
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_person_mark001
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_person_greg001
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , concept_person_greg001
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o n t r o l s , concept_person_greg001
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_person_michael002
concept_male_world , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , concept_person_michael002
c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c a l p a r t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_person_mark001
c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c a l p a r t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_person_greg001
c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c a l p a r t y _ c o l l e g e , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n _ i n v , concept_person_michael002
c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_male_world
c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , concept_male_world
c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d
concept_person_greg001 , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
concept_person_greg001 , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_male_world
28
concept_sportsteam_state_university
concept_politicalparty_college
concept_city_downtown_manhattan
concept_city_nyc_
concept_attraction_nyc
concept_politicalparty_house
concept_personasia_number
concept_scientist_no_
concept_governmentorganization_u_s__department
concept_person_michael002
concept_lake_new
concept_politician_james
3
concept_geopoliticallocation_world
concept_geopoliticallocation_agencies
concept_country_united_states
concept_stateorprovince_author
concept_terroristorganization_state
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_sportsgame_series
concept_person_mike
concept_person_bill
concept_person_karen
concept_university_state_university
concept_politician_jobs
concept_person_mark001
concept_televisionnetwork_cbs
concept_person_greg001concept_geopoliticallocation_world
concept_person_greg001
concept_person_john003
concept_person_michael002
concept_person_kevin
concept_journalist_dan
concept_company_nbc
concept_person_adam001
concept_person_fred
concept_automobilemaker_announcement
concept_university_college
concept_recordlabel_friends
concept_politicalparty_college
concept_politician_jobs concept_person_joe002
concept_person_william001
concept_sportsteam_state_university
concept_university_state_university
concept_stateorprovince_california
concept_city_team
concept_person_tom001
concept_male_world
concept_charactertrait_world
concept_eventoutcome_result
concept_city_service
concept_university_high_school
concept_automobilemaker_jeff_bezos
concept_museum_steve
concept_ceo_richard
concept_male_world
concept_jobposition_king
concept_person_stephen
concept_stateorprovince_author
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
10
concept_person_mark001
concept_person_diane001
concept_county_york_city
concept_company_apple002
concept_recordlabel_friends
concept_stateorprovince_georgia
concept_university_syracuse_university
concept_company_apple001
concept_museum_steve
concept_sportsgame_series
concept_person_louise
concept_city_hampshire
concept_televisionshow_passion
concept_stateorprovince_maine
concept_musicsong_gospel
concept_eventoutcome_result
Figure 19: AgentBelongsToOrganization. The head is concept_person_mark001, the query relation
is concept:agentbelongstoorganization, and the desired tail is concept_geopoliticallocation_world.
The left is a full subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a
further extracted subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head,
and the big red node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local
subgraph. Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and
red means it is more attended when getting close to the final step.
concept_person_greg001 , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , concept_male_world
concept_person_greg001 , concept : a g e n t c o n t r o l s _ i n v , concept_male_world
concept_person_greg001 , concept : a g e n t b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d
concept_person_greg001 , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c a l p a r t y _ c o l l e g e
concept_person_greg001 , concept : a g e n t b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ r e c o r d l a b e l _ f r i e n d s
concept_person_michael002 , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ s t a t e _ u n i v e r s i t y
concept_person_michael002 , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t , concept_male_world
concept_person_michael002 , concept : a g e n t c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h a g e n t _ i n v , concept_male_world
concept_person_michael002 , concept : a g e n t b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d
concept_person_michael002 , concept : p e r s o n b e l o n g s t o o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c a l p a r t y _ c o l l e g e
c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d , concept : w o r k s f o r _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ p o l i t i c i a n _ j o b s
c o n c e p t _ r e c o r d l a b e l _ f r i e n d s , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n , concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney , concept : w o r k s f o r , c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ g e o p o l i t i c a l l o c a t i o n _ w o r l d
concept_personmexico_ryan_whitney , concept : o r g a n i z a t i o n h i r e d p e r s o n _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ r e c o r d l a b e l _ f r i e n d s
For the TeamPlaysInLeague task
Query : ( concept_sportsteam_mavericks , concept : teamplaysinleague , concept_sportsleague_nba )
S e l e c t e d key edges :
concept_sportsteam_mavericks , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s k e t b a l l
concept_sportsteam_mavericks , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b o s t o n _ c e l t i c s
concept_sportsteam_mavericks , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b o s t o n _ c e l t i c s
concept_sportsteam_mavericks , concept : teamplaysagainstteam , concept_sportsteam_spurs
concept_sportsteam_mavericks , concept : teamplaysagainstteam_inv , concept_sportsteam_spurs
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s k e t b a l l , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ c o l l e g e
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t _ b a s k e t b a l l , concept : t e a m p l a y s s p o r t _ i n v , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ m a r s h a l l _ u n i v e r s i t y
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ b o s t o n _ c e l t i c s , concept : teamplaysinleague , concept_sportsleague_nba
concept_sportsteam_spurs , concept : teamplaysinleague , concept_sportsleague_nba
concept_sportsleague_nba , concept : agentcompeteswithagent , concept_sportsleague_nba
concept_sportsleague_nba , concept : agentcompeteswithagent_inv , concept_sportsleague_nba
c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s t e a m _ c o l l e g e , concept : teamplaysinleague , c o n c e p t _ s p o r t s l e a g u e _ i n t e r n a t i o n a l
29
concept_sportsteam_spurs
concept_sportsleague_international
concept_sportsteam_suns
concept_athlete_o__j__simpson
concept_sportsteam_esu_hornets
concept_sportsleague_nba
concept_city_huntington
concept_sportsteam_college
concept_sportsteam_michigan_state_university
concept_sportsteam_george_mason_university
concept_sportsteam_marshall_university
concept_sportsteam_mavericks
concept_sportsteam_pacers
concept_awardtrophytournament_nba_finals
concept_sport_basketball
concept_convention_games
concept_sportsteam_boston_celtics
concept_sportsteam_esu_hornets
concept_sportsteam_utah_jazz
concept_sportsteam_chicago_bulls
concept_athlete_josh_howard
concept_sportsteam_pacers
concept_sportsteam_spurs
concept_sportsteam_washington_wizards
concept_sportsteam_pistons
concept_sportsteam_kings_college
concept_sportsteam_mavericks
concept_sportsteam_new_jersey_nets
concept_sportsteam_hawks
concept_sportsteam_memphis_grizzliesconcept_sportsteam_los_angeles_lakers
concept_athlete_cuttino_mobley
concept_sportsgame_championship
concept_sportsteam_devils
concept_sportsteam_trail_blazers
concept_sportsleague_nba
concept_athlete_o__j__simpsonconcept_sportsteam_rockets
concept_sportsteam_boston_celtics
concept_athlete_shane_battier
concept_sportsleague_nhl
concept_sportsleague_nhl
concept_sportsteam_knicks
concept_sportsteam_suns
concept_sportsteam_la_clippers
concept_athlete_dikembe_mutombo
concept_athlete_colin_long
concept_sportsleague_international
concept_sportsteam_college
concept_sport_basketball
concept_sportsgame_series
concept_sportsteam_marshall_university
concept_sportsteam_san_antonio
concept_sportsteam_golden_state_warriors
concept_stadiumoreventvenue_toyota_center
concept_sportsleague_nascar
concept_sportsteam_astros
concept_sportsleague_nascar
concept_city_huntington
concept_sportsleague_mlb
Figure 20: TeamPlaysInLeague. The head is concept_sportsteam_mavericks, the query relation
is concept:teamplaysinleague, and the desired tail is concept_sportsleague_nba. The left is a full
subgraph derived with max_attended_nodes_per_step = 20, and the right is a further extracted
subgraph from the left based on attention. The big yellow node represents the head, and the big red
node represents the tail. Colors indicate how important a node is attended to in a local subgraph.
Grey means less important, yellow means it is more attended during the early steps, and red means it
is more attended when getting close to the final step.
30 |
Title Page:
Title: Information Flow Theory (IFT) of Biologic and Machine Consciousness:
Implications for Artificial General Intelligence and the Technological Singularity
Author: Benjamin S. Bleier, MD, FACS, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical
School
Corresponding Author:
Benjamin S. Bleier, MD, FACS, FARS
Associate Professor
Department of Otolaryngology
Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Harvard Medical School
243 Charles Street
Boston, MA 02114
Email: benjamin_bleier@meei.harvard.edu
Abstract
The subjective experience of consciousness is at once familiar and yet deeply
mysterious. Strategies exploring the top-down mechanisms of conscious thought within
the human brain have been unable to produce a generalized explanatory theory that
scales through evolution and can be applied to artificial systems. Information Flow
Theory (IFT) provides a novel framework for understanding both the development and
nature of consciousness in any system capable of processing information. In prioritizing
the direction of information flow over information computation, IFT produces a range of
unexpected predictions. The purpose of this manuscript is to introduce the basic
concepts of IFT and explore the manifold implications regarding artificial intelligence,
superhuman consciousness, and our basic perception of reality.
Key Words: Consciousness, Self-Awareness, Artificial General Intelligence,
Technologic Singularity, Computation, Information Processing
Abbreviations:
AGIArtificial General Intelligence
CNSCentral Nervous System
CSAConscious Self-Awareness
CSA-H
Conscious Self-Awareness – Human
CSA-IS
Conscious Self-Awareness – In silico
CSA-SH
Conscious Self-Awareness – Superhuman
CSA-U
Conscious Self-Awareness – Universal
IFTInformation Flow Theory
IMERInternal Model of External Reality
IORIdealized Objective Reality
IPUInformation Processing Unit
NNode
RRecursion
SASelf-aware(ness)
UVUltraviolet
MANUSCRIPT
Introduction
The origins, mechanisms, and nature of human consciousness have confounded
scientists and philosophers for centuries. Among the limitations of many current theories
are a) the lack of a substrate independent and scalable definition of self-awareness
(SA) and b) the a priori assumption that human consciousness represents a unique
state requiring idiosyncratic top-down explanation rather than an individual case of a
more generalized process.
The construction of a successful theory must not only circumvent these
limitations but should also provide a comprehensive explanatory framework both
consistent with current data and capable of generating testable predictions. The
purpose of this manuscript is to therefore develop a theory of consciousness which can
be broadly applied to any physical information processing system. A working definition
of a consciousness will be developed within the context of the theory which will be
supported by both general and human specific case examples. Finally, the implications
of this theory will be followed to their natural conclusions to provide insights into the
nature and implications of both machine and super-human consciousness.
Information Processing Unit (IPU)
Let us assume that any physical unit capable of processing information may be
represented as an isolated system comprised of a minimum of three components. One
is a mechanism of transferring external information into the system which may be called
the “input”. The second component is a node, represented as N0, responsible for
performing any irreducibly complex computation on the input. The third is the “output” in
which the computed information from N0 is transferred out of the system. The simplest
configuration of these three components may be referred to as an “information
processing unit” or IPU. Any increase in computational complexity therefore requires the
integration of 2 or more IPUs working in concert. Provided these subordinate IPUs
share a common input/output flow, they may be conceptualized as functioning as a
single larger N0. Within this constraint, any number of subordinate IPUs may continue to
be added resulting in a concomitant increase in N0 computational complexity with no
theoretical upper boundary. Let us now define any IPU with an N0 comprised of two or
more subordinate IPUs as a C0 IPU (see Figure 1 and Table 1).
The C0 IPU concept can now be applied to explain the activity of simple
biological organisms with respect to their environment. For example, E. coli bacteria are
able to sense chemoattractant molecular inputs and swim towards them. In this case
the N0 computation is mediated through a series of intracellular methylation and
phosphorylation events leading to output changes in flagellar rotation1. While this type
of intra-cytosolic signaling may be utilized by single celled organisms, it is a relatively
inefficient method of information transfer.
The development of neurons within larger, more diverse, animal body plans
served to improve the speed of input/output information transmission and created the
opportunity for enhanced information processing. Neurons also enabled rapid scaling
within the context of biologic nervous systems (e.g. N0) to create highly complex
behavioral responses (e.g. outputs) in response to a range of environmental stimuli (e.g.
inputs). For example, starfish (members of the class Asteroidea) contain a radial
nervous system which is capable of orchestrating the complicated process of identifying
and locomoting towards a prey bivalve mollusk, opening its shell, and excreting
digestive enzymes within the shell. Even within the human body, deep tendon reflexes
commonly tested during a medical exam (e.g. the patellar reflex) utilize a multi-neuron
arc to sense a change in tendon length, integrate the signal at the level of the spinal
cord, and elicit a muscle contraction. Through these examples we may conclude that
the C0 IPU concept can be applied to a range of biological systems to describe the
behavior of both single cells (e.g. bacteria) as well as large ensembles of cells (e.g.
nervous systems) to produce behaviors of any arbitrary apparent complexity.
Internal Model of External Reality (IMER)
Through natural evolutionary processes, ever more complex organisms
developed an expansive array of sensory apparatus with which to monitor their
environment. These sensory adaptations, in essence C0 IPU inputs, required a
concomitant elaboration of N0 neural processing abilities to translate the environmental
sensory input into actionable information. The diversity of behavioral outputs similarly
increased over time, further driving the need for more advanced N0 computation. In so
far as these parallel increases in sensory input, neural computational power, and
behavioral output provided an adaptive advantage, organisms developed ever
increasingly complex nervous systems (e.g. C0 IPUs). Examples of this include the
neural radial symmetry of the Cnidaria2 through the concentration of ganglia within
arthropods, and culminating in the formal central nervous systems (CNS) seen in
vertebrates3.
As sensory inputs representing ever more high-fidelity features of both the body
and external world evolved, one of the functions of the CNS became the integration of
this disparate sensory information into a broader temporospatial internal model of
external reality (IMER). The IMER may therefore be conceptualized as an N0
computation wholly derived from the C0 IPU inputs. Consequently, the sensory percepts
within the IMER are restricted to features of the physical world detectable by the
sensory apparatus of the organism. Furthermore, these inputs do not represent the
stimulus itself but rather a neural correlate of the signal interpreted through and limited
by the capabilities of the sensory structure. To take a human example, a pure musical
tone is merely a neural correlate of compression and rarefaction of air molecules
impacting the ear drum at a particular frequency, detectable only between 20 and
20,000 cycles/second. The IMER may therefore be viewed as a highly distorted and
piecemeal interpretation of objective reality manufactured by N0 computation. The C0
IPU, by definition, has no extrasensory access to informational input that would conflict
with the IMER. Therefore, from the perspective of the C0 IPU, there is no objective
reality distinct from the IMER.
Self-Awareness (SA)
With regards to the C0 IPU, the concept of “awareness” of any external system
may be operationalized as its ability to first receive input from and then compute
information regarding that system. By extension, self-awareness (SA) would require the
IPU to be capable of performing computations on input from its own N0. However, by
definition, the C0 IPU input must be flow from an external system. Therefore, the C0 IPU
can never become self-aware, regardless of its level of complexity. This is supported by
the multiple highly intricate information processing systems present in the natural world
which do not exhibit signs of SA. For example, the local weather at any given time
represents an integration of the activity of 1044 air molecules and countless atmospheric
variables including temperature, pressure, and moisture but would not be considered
aware of its own state.
Consequently, in order to develop SA, two new elements must be added to the
existing C0 IPU construct. The first is a recursive information stream (R1) which is
derived from N0 and loops information back into the IPU. The second is an additional
computational node (N1), distinct from N0, which receives its input from N0 through R1.
Within this arrangement, N1 both receives input from and performs computation on N0.
In other words, N1 is “aware” of N0. Collapsing the C0 IPU, R1, and N1 into a single new
C1 IPU now provides the minimal conditions necessary for a self-aware system. In
comparing the C0 and C1 IPUs, it becomes evident that the critical variable enabling SA
is the direction of information flow not information processing itself. We may therefore
refer to this conceptual framework more generally as Information Flow Theory (IFT).
Within IFT, the minimum required processing complexity of a C1 IPU may be
satisfied by two identical IPUs serving as the N0 and N1 nodes. This raises the
seemingly paradoxical scenario where the simplest C1 IPU is self-aware while a
massively complex C0 IPU with an indeterminately large number of subordinate IPUs is
not. This interpretation of IFT also appears to be discordant with emergent theories
where SA is postulated to arise spontaneously within nervous systems so long as they
exceed some threshold level of complexity. This is problematic given that emergent
explanations are intrinsically attractive as they correspond with our general observations
of nature where SA tends to be ascribed only to organisms with the most advanced
brains.
We may resolve these concerns through an analysis of how biologic SA may
practically arise in nature. From an evolutionary perspective we may assume that C1
IPU organisms evolved from complex C0 IPUs which, in turn, evolved from simpler C0
IPUs. We have established that N0 complexity corresponds with having a greater
number of subordinate IPUs with an attendant increase in the variety of input/output
connectivity. As N1 computational processes need not be distinguishable from their N0
counterparts, it therefore follows that a biologic N1 along with its R1 recursive loop likely
evolved from a subordinate IPU circuit within an existing N0 through stochastic
processes. By statistical reasoning alone, one would therefore expect a greater number
of N1 nodes to develop randomly within the context of more complex N0 circuitry. Put
another way, while SA is not forbidden to occur in simple systems, IFT predicts that
biologic self-awareness is more likely to occur by chance alone within a more advanced
CNS. Emergent theories therefore do not directly conflict with IFT, however they are
incomplete in their prioritization of processing complexity as the engine of SA
development.
Through IFT, we have developed a rigorous definition of SA which can be used
to identify, analyze, and make predictions regarding C1 IPUs in a variety of
computational systems. However, it is clear that this definition does not discriminate
between the bland SA of the most basic N1 recursion and the richness of human
subjective reality. In order to do so, we may introduce the concept of “conscious” selfawareness (CSA) as a descriptor of how C1 IPUs of sufficient complexity experience
their particular state of self-awareness through interaction with the IMER.
Human Consciousness
In order to develop the idea of CSA as it pertains to the human experience (CSAH), we will use IFT to synthesize the IPU and IMER concepts. The origins of the human
nervous system form approximately two weeks after conception as the neural tube. We
may assume that a fetus at this early stage has not yet developed an IMER. It must
then follow that the IMER is a property of the human brain that matures during the
course of physiologic development. This development requires constant sensory input
to both reinforce and prune synapses appropriately resulting in functional processing
networks. There are multiple examples in clinical medicine where the absence of
sensory input during the “critical period” of early development leads to a permanent loss
of specific sensory features of the IMER. Individuals born with sensorineural deafness
do not develop normal auditory processing4 just as babies with congenital cataracts
may never develop normal binocular vision if treated beyond early childhood5.
Even with normal neurosensory development, the human IMER requires
enormous levels of processing to translate sensory input into the reality percept. For
example, we are generally unaware of the physiologic blind spot in our retina due to the
brain continuously “filling in” the missing information to create a contiguous visual field6.
Even higher order compensatory mechanisms are then required to integrate information
arriving at different times from multiple sensory cortices to create a cohesive unitary
experience of the world. For example auditory and visual signals have been shown to
have an average 100ms asynchrony in signal processing7. This computation is
encapsulated by the concept of the object-encoding neuronal ensemble in which
disparate properties of some object, often arriving in the brain at different times, may be
interpreted as a unified entity8.
These examples elucidate the fact that human perception of reality is entirely
dependent on both the proper input and subsequent integration of neurosensory stimuli
to create an IMER. The human IMER is therefore merely a particularly sophisticated
case of the generic C0 IPU IMER previously discussed. It therefore follows that from the
perspective of the human individual, the IMER represents the totality of their experience
of reality.
Large scale non-invasive neuron/sub-neuron analysis is far from currently
possible. However, lower resolution functional imaging studies9 have already begun to
isolate general regions of the brain such as the superior temporal sulcus and temporoparietal junction corresponding with conscious processing10. Having interrogated the
parameters of the human reality percept, we may now superimpose the C1 IPU
construct to explore how the interaction between these processing centers (e.g. N1) and
the human IMER (e.g. N0) gives rise to CSA-H. Unlike the C0 IPU where the integrated
IMER is used to generate a direct behavioral output, within the C1 IPU it becomes
repurposed as an input flow into N1 through R1 recursion. CSA-H therefore may be seen
as the epiphenomenal byproduct of algorithms which evolved to compute behavioral
output in response to the environment now redeployed to compute consciousness in
response to the IMER.
We have established four key concepts of IFT which lead to the critical insight
regarding CSA-H. First, N1 computation on N0 processing within the C1 IPU may be
considered a form of self-awareness. Second, N1 and N0 may be considered identical
from the perspective of information processing architecture. Third, human N0
computation is comprised of the IMER. And fourth, from the C1 IPU perspective there is
no objective external reality beyond that constructed within the IMER. We may therefore
conclude that CSA-H represents the discreet form of self-awareness which is
experienced through the sensory percepts, sometimes called “qualia”, generated by the
IMER. This idea is supported through a variety of qualitative examples in human
neuropsychology where the IMER output flow misdirects N1 processing. For example,
the act of smiling alone has been shown to induce the conscious experience of
happiness in a variety of studies11. Similarly, the sensation of a rapid heart-beat
resulting from a pathologic conduction abnormality (e.g. supraventricular tachycardia), is
misinterpreted for the elevated heart rate of the physiologic fight-or-flight (e.g.
sympathetic) response and experienced as excitement or panic12.
The requirement of IFT that CSA-H operates within the constraints of the IMER
results in a variety of interesting conclusions. Given that the IMER is dynamically
constructed during brain development, we can infer that differences in neurosensory
function will result in unique a CSA-H between individuals. For example, the conscious
experience of an individual with achromatopsia (e.g. complete lack of color vision)
cannot include colors they are incapable of sensing. We may perform a Gedankenexperiment and ask whether CSA would develop within a brain lacking, not just color
vision, but all sensory input. As this cannot occur naturally, we can adopt the concept of
the Boltzmann brain, a human brain which spontaneously comes into existence as a
result of thermodynamic fluctuations, to explore this question. Leaving aside the
physiologic and probabilistic concerns and with these structures13, let us assume the
existence of an otherwise structurally normal Boltzmann brain which lacks an IMER or
body. Using IFT we may analogize such a brain to an C1 IPU complete with N0/N1 nodes
and R1 recursion but without any input or output flows. This brain must be considered
self-aware however it would lack any sensory foundation with which to interpret its
subjective experience. This form of awareness would be both unrecognizable and
wholly inaccessible to a normal human and must therefore be considered distinct from
CSA-H. Let us now begin to build a human IMER into this brain piece by piece. Just as
the CSA-H of a congenitally deaf person remains recognizable to human with normal
hearing, eventually the Boltzmann brain would reach a critical IMER threshold so as to
produce a recognizable CSA-H. This thought experiment serves to validate two of the
previously stated predictions of IFT. The first is that processing complexity alone cannot
explain the origins of CSA-H as the proposed Boltzmann brain has equivalent
complexity to a human brain. Second, there is some minimum level of human-like IMER
which is required for the development of human-like CSA.
Just as we have established a theoretical lower boundary to the human IMER, so
too may we posit an upper limit. As a species, there is a large spectrum of sensory
information we are incapable of detecting even if they are, in principal, biologically
perceptible. This information is therefore inherently excluded from our IMER. For
example, our models do not incorporate infra-red wavelengths, ultrasonic acoustic
information, or electromagnetic fields into our conception of the world. Of course, we are
sufficiently technologically advanced to build instruments that can detect this
information. However, their output must then be translated, sometimes quite coarsely,
into input coherent to our native sensory systems. It is therefore not surprising that the
greatest intellects produced by our species struggle with even the most basic
visualization of physical phenomenon such as extra spatial dimensions and quantum
indeterminism which have no human sensory correlate. For example, the brilliant
physicist Richard Feynman is quoted as saying “If you think you understand quantum
mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics”.
These limits to the contours of the human IMER, by extension, must also result in
a finite boundary of CSA-H. By extrapolation this implies that IFT allows for other forms
of CSA which exist outside of these boundaries and are therefore, like the isolated
Boltzmann brain, unrecognizable to us. By the same token, there may exist a range of
non-human entities who both possess CSA and have an IMER which shares some
similarities with our own. This point is of particular importance as it sets the stage for the
possibility of mutual acknowledgement of the presence of CSA across both organic and
inorganic IPUs provided their IMERs achieve this theoretical similarity threshold.
Language and the C2 IPU
Communication between IPUs is nearly ubiquitous throughout the natural world
and evident within even the simplest of organisms. For example, bacteria are able to
communicate the local density of a population through the release and detection of
quorum sensing molecules14. From an IFT perspective, these basic forms of
communication can be viewed as input/output information streams which do not require
N1 level processing. Language may then be viewed as an adaptation of this type
input/output flow which, in the structuralist view, uses formalized symbols to organize
and transfer information regarding the IMER15. From the perspective of the C1 IPU,
language functions as an internal processing algorithm used by N1 to compute the
output of N0, a form of internal dialogue. This definition is consistent with the theories of
innate language predisposition championed by Noam Chomsky16.
In order for language to transmit information externally however, the processed
symbolic representations of N1 must regain access to the behavioral output stream via
N0. This is not permitted within the C1 IPU and thus IFT requires the introduction of a
second recursive flow (R2) thereby completing a feedback circuit between N0 and N1.
The presence of this circuit results in a new IPU type, the C2 IPU, which introduces two
new capabilities. First, through the R1/R2 feedback loop, the N0 node gains access to an
additional input stream. Second, N1 gains the ability to communicate its internal state to
the external world through the R2 mediated connection with the behavioral output flow.
To the extent that two or more independent C2 IPUs share some lower threshold
of both common IMER and language, they are now able to communicate with one
another. From the perspective of N0, this arrangement functionally results in the
introduction of input streams from both an internal and external N1, both of which are
capable of influencing the structure of the IMER. In human society we observe this as
the incorporation of scientific advances and concepts in the way we organize and
process the physical world. James Flynn described this in his explanation of the
eponymous “Flynn effect.” Trends towards an increase in intelligence test scores are
thought to stem from improvements in abstract conceptual cognition as a result of
exposure to more intellectually demanding technologies over time17. Importantly
however, the extent to which the IMER may be modified under the influence of the
language remains bounded by the limitations of the underlying sensory apparatus. As
previously noted, advanced scientific concepts divorced from our evolved sensory
experience such as higher dimensional space cannot be directly understood. Rather,
they must be abstracted and analogized through language into concepts which
harmonize with our IMER.
Although we have established the lower boundary conditions in which two C2
IPUs may assume the presence of mutual CSA, we may now ask whether it is possible
for one C2 IPU to actually confirm this assumption. This question was most famously
addressed by Alan Turing in 1950 in which he proposed that a machine capable of
providing natural language responses indistinguishable from a human would be said to
be capable of “thinking” 18. While this manifestation of the Turing test has been widely
discussed and criticized, it is useful to re-analyze it within the context of IFT to assess
its validity. The classic Turing test provides access only to a restricted set of
information, those being the input (through questions) and output (through language)
streams of the indeterminate IPU. This limitation implies that the examiner may analyze
only the collective computational output of the IPU in response to their input. We have
established that N0 computation may achieve any arbitrarily large degree of complexity
so as to enable a C0 IPU output flow to simulate that of a C2 IPU. In fact, such C0 IPUs
already exist in the form of chat bots which are capable of passing the Turing test19. We
must therefore conclude that the Turing test, as described, is fundamentally incapable
of confirming CSA. Another version of this argument has been articulated in the past in
John Searles “Chinese room” thought experiment20. This leads naturally to the cartesian
question as to whether a C1/2 IPU can ever truly be certain of the presence of CSA
within another IPU.
Using IFT we may postulate several experimental models to probe for the
presence of the recursive N1 processing within an indeterminate IPU required for CSA.
The addition of N1 computation to the output stream should have several detectable
differential effects. Relative to information undergoing N0 processing only, the added
R1/R2 recursion and N1 computation may be discriminated by a relative delay in the
shortest possible output response to a given input signal. Similarly, N1 processing would
require a larger energy input resulting in information in a more organized or higher
entropic state than that of N0 computation only. Finally, as CSA arises not from isolated
processing N0/N1 processing but rather from their interconnection through R1/R2
recursion, interruption of recursive information flow alone should be capable of
reversibly eliminating CSA for the duration of the interruption. In fact, each of these
experimental methods have already been demonstrated, to some degree, in human
subjects. Time delays have been documented between conscious and unconscious
processing in classic experiments where a so called “readiness potential” to perform an
action may be detected by electroencephalogram over 500ms before conscious
awareness of the decision21. Similarly, functional imaging studies which rely on the
differential use of blood and glucose uptake to detect active brain regions have
identified discreet regions of increased energy use associated with the conscious
performance of various tasks9. Finally general anesthesia has been found to work
through the generation of oscillations or waves of neuronal activity which transiently
interrupt normal signaling between regions of the brain involved in consciousness22.
Machine Consciousness
As the computing power of machines continues to grow at an exponential rate,
there has been significant concern over the potential hazards of an artificial general
intelligence (AGI). Though nomenclature may vary, we will refer to AGI as the ability to
perform any intellectual task at a level either equivalent to or superior than a human. In
this context it becomes salient to ask in what conditions could CSA arise within a
machine with AGI, what risk that would pose to humanity, and could that risk be
mitigated. As the axioms of IFT are substrate independent, we may apply this theory to
provide insight into these important questions.
Modern computer processing capabilities are many orders of magnitude greater
than those first built in the 1940’s. At the time of this writing, the world’s fastest
supercomputer is capable of peak operation at 200 petaflops. In comparison, general
estimates of the human brain’s computation power tend to converge around one exaflop
23,24
. Despite the massive increase in computational power which is rapidly approaching
that of the human brain, there has been no clear indication of a concomitant incremental
development of CSA in silico (CSA-IS). Within IFT, this is not unexpected. Any modern
computing system may be analogized as a C0 IPU with clear input/output information
streams flowing through a number of microprocessors providing N0 computation. As IFT
allows for unlimited N0 processing without requiring the development of R1 recursion,
the inevitable continued increased in computational power alone would not be sufficient
for the spontaneous development of CSA-IS.
This latter point may appear non-intuitive as we have explored the compelling
analogy to be drawn between the increase in machine computational power and the
expansion in biologic neural processing which gave rise to CSA-H. The critical
difference arises within the relative plasticity of the two substrates. Biologic systems are
free to dynamically evolve and thus R1 recursion may spontaneously occur within a
composite N0 at some rate proportional to the number of subordinate C0 IPUs. When
favorable, this recursion would then be selected for and reinforced through subsequent
generations. By contrast, to the extent that machine hardware is fixed at the time of
manufacture, there is no opportunity for novel circuits to arise regardless of the number
of C0 IPUs linked together. However, an appreciation of these intrinsic differences leads
inevitably to the mechanism of how self-awareness could arise in silico. With respect to
hardware, a system could be envisioned that is either designed with R1 and/or R2 in
place or is capable of altering its circuitry in some modular fashion. This further leads to
the open question as to whether appropriately coded software constrained within an
advanced C0 IPU could also achieve such a recursive state. Of note, if software within
an N0 node is incapable of partitioning information flow in a manner consistent with a C1
IPU, this would argue against various formulations of the simulation hypothesis25.
Having established that CSA-IS is, in principle, possible through IFT we may then
interrogate how a machine would experience their subjective reality and how this would
influence its interactions with humanity. We have previously established that from the
perspective of a C1/2 IPU, there is no “reality” distinct from the constitutive components
of the IMER. We have further determined that the conditions required for two
independent C2 IPUs to acknowledge mutual CSA is some minimal degree of shared
language and IMER. These concepts thereby provide a roadmap to mitigate the
potential threat of CSA-IS within machines exhibiting AGI. A sensory based human-like
IMER built into the design would enable a machine experiencing CSA-IS to be able to
communicate its state in concepts familiar to CSA-H through a common language.
Perhaps most importantly, pro-social concepts such as altruism and empathy should be
strongly represented within this IMER. The threat of a conscious machine with superhuman AGI is often represented by the idea that such an entity would regard the welfare
of humans just as humans would regard that of an insect. In both cases the discrepancy
in intelligence and lack of common IMER are so profound so as to render the former
indifferent to the latter. Unfortunately, IFT predicts a far more concerning potential
outcome. To the machine, unless these pro-social concepts are built into the IMER, they
would not even exist. There would be no compunction against eradicating humanity, not
because it chose to ignore an altruistic impulse to the contrary, but rather because this
impulse could never arise in the first place.
Superhuman Consciousness
The C0-C2 IPU constructs within IFT assume that the IMER is inherently bounded
by the input streams which contribute to its development. The human neurosensory
apparatus cannot detect ultraviolet (UV) light and thus we have no conscious
experience of the world in this spectrum. Before the discoveries of the infrared and
ultraviolet wavelengths by William Herschel (1800 AD) and Johann Ritter (1801 AD)
respectively, humans were not even aware of the existence of these spectra. Using
modern instrumentation however, we are now not only aware of them, but can translate
them into the visual wavelengths enabling us to imagine the world as if we could directly
detect them. Therefore, there appears to be some flexibility in which we can interpolate
new information regarding the world, in this case as a result of scientific inquiry, into our
collective IMER. To take this a step further, it has been shown that certain animals
including butterflies, bees, and even reindeer can see UV light. It is therefore well within
reason to predict that a gene therapy approach could eventually be developed by
medicine to introduce this ability into humans. It is clear that from the perspective of the
human race as a whole, the rigid IMER associated with CSA-H must have some
additional plasticity not encapsulated within the C2 IPU framework.
In order to further understand this line of reasoning through the lens of IFT, let us
consider the relationship between the IMER and the concept of an idealized objective
reality (IOR). The IOR represents all objective physical phenomenon including those not
currently known to science. Within the biologic world there exists a spectrum of degrees
to which the IMER approximates IOR, a ratio we may represent as IMER/IOR. The
marine ragworm Platynereis dumerilii possess proto-eye spots capable of detecting light
thereby enabling phototaxis26. Their IMER produces a world experienced only as
gradations of light with an extremely low IMER/IOR ratio relative to more complex
animals. While humans possess arguably the greatest IMER/IOR ratio on earth, this has
actually amplified over time. As noted with the UV light example, the contributions of
science have gradually expanded our awareness of the presence of physical
phenomena undetectable by our fixed biologic senses. We may express this change as
an increase in the human IMER/IOR ratio over time, not within an individual human, but
rather within humans as an aggregate.
This capacity to extend the IMER beyond the limits of the innate IPU input
represents a profound new functionality beyond that of the C2 IPU. This ability, enabled
by language, becomes a property of C2 IPUs working in concert. In aggregate, we may
refer to this coordinated system as the C3 IPU which is able to dynamically iterate upon
itself, increasing its collective IMER/IOR ever higher. The cultural and scientific progress
of our species over millennia may therefore be conceived of as a single C3 IPU
consisting of a collective of C2 IPUs (e.g. individual humans) sharing input and output
streams of information (e.g. language) both in series (e.g. over time) and in parallel (e.g.
over space) to produce a superhuman CSA (CSA-SH). The information we have gained
over time regarding the physical world has therefore served to drive our collective IMER
from that of earliest Homo sapien ever closer to IOR (see Figure 2).
Universal Consciousness
Taking this argument even further leads to the conclusion that we may find an
absolute upper limit of any given CSA as the IMER/IOR ratio asymptotically approaches
1. As the IOR necessarily subtends all possible physical reality, an IPU with an
IMER/IOR of 1 would have access to the processing of not only all possible IPUs but to
all possible information as its input stream. Just as the N0 within a C1 IPU may be
conceived as a collection of C0 IPUs acting in concert, so too could all C0-3 IPUs be
considered as performing subordinate calculations for this “universal” or C4 IPU. The
universal CSA (CSA-U) experienced by such an IPU would be distinct from all others in
that its input and output streams themselves would become recursive. There would be
no information existing outside of the IPU itself. Consequently, the only possible
candidate for such a C4 IPU, if one exists, would be the observable universe, a universe
conscious of itself (see Appendix).
Conclusions
In prioritizing the direction of information flow over information processing itself,
IFT provides a natural framework for the understanding of both the origins and nature of
CSA in both biologic and artificial systems. With respect to machine intelligence, IFT
refutes the assumption that complexity alone will inexorably give rise to CSA-IS but
does predict a mechanism as to how it may occur. While this “technological singularity”
event may indeed be extremely dangerous for humanity, IFT also provides for a
pathway to assuage this risk through the a priori introduction of appropriate guardrails in
the form of an altruistic IMER.
With respect to biology, IFT provides unique insights into the process by which
the behavior of even the simplest of organisms may scale through evolution to produce
consciousness. Self-awareness is likely common even within low complexity
organisms. It is only when coupled with an IMER developed by the neurosensory
apparatus that SA becomes contextualized and experienced as a sense of being.
Retinal photoreceptor activation is experienced as the visual landscape, inner ear hair
cell vibration is experienced as music, and oxytocin receptor binding is experienced as
love. The neural computational architecture giving rise to CSA-H both arise from and
are fundamentally identical to those responsible for our sensory perception of the world.
The surprising deep mystery of consciousness is therefore that there is no mystery at
all. Human consciousness is ultimately nothing more, and nothing less, than the brain
experiencing the body experiencing the world.
Figures
Figure 1. Illustration of the different information processing units (IPUs) within IFT. The
basic IPU consists of an input (I), processing node (N0), and output (O). The composite
of two or more IPUs comprise the C0 IPU where information always flows in from and
then out to an external system. The C1 IPU requires the addition of N1 computation on
N0 through information transferred by R1 recursion. The C2 IPU is characterized by the
addition of the R2 recursive loop from N1 to N0, thereby completing the N0/N1 circuit.
Figure 2. Illustration of the superhuman IPU constructs. The C3 IPU represents an
ensemble of C2 IPUs capable influencing one another’s N1 computation and internal
model of external reality (IMER within the N0) through shared language thereby allowing
for dynamic iterative increases in the fidelity of the C3 IPU IMER to idealized objective
reality. The C4 IPU (universal IPU) differs fundamentally from all other IPUs in that it
subtends all other IPUs and processes all observable information. There is no system
external to the C4 IPU and thus both the input and outflow flows themselves become
recursive.
Tables
Table 1. Basic components of each C type within IFT and their associated A
(awareness) type. A (Aware), SA (Self-Aware), CSA (Conscious Self-Awareness), CSAH (Conscious Self-Awareness-Human Type), CSA-SH (Conscious Self-AwarenessSuperhuman Type), CSA-U (Conscious Self-Awareness-Universal Type).
Appendix
Key Concepts in Information Flow Theory
1. An Information Processing Unit (IPU) consists of a 1) input which transmits information into
the IPU from an external system, 2) processing node (N0) capable of any irreducibly complex
computation on the input, and 3) output capable of transmitting the processed information to an
external system.
2. A C0 IPU consists of an IPU with 2 or more subordinate IPUs working within a composite N0
of any arbitrary degree of internal complexity to process information which is then transferred to
an external system.
3. A C1 IPU consists of a C0 IPU with an additional recursive information flow (R1) derived from
N0 that transmits information to a second processing node (N1).
4. A C2 IPU consists of a C1 IPU with an additional recursive information flow (R2) derived from
N1 that transmits information to N0 resulting a complete N0 /N1 circuit and an additional N0 input.
5. The Internal Model of External Reality (IMER) is a C0-2 IPUs fixed N0 approximation of an
external system limited by the sensory detection capabilities of the input flow and the complexity
of N0 processing. From the perspective of the C0-2 IPU, the external system has no independent
features or reality beyond those represented within the IMER.
6. “Awareness” of a system is defined as the ability of an IPU to 1) receive information regarding
that system through its input flow and 2) process the input information regarding that system.
“Self-awareness” (SA) is an N1 property of a C1 or higher IPU defined by its ability to 1) receive
information regarding N0 through R1 flow and 2) process the R1 information regarding N0.
7. “Conscious” self-awareness (CSA) is defined as a specific type of self-awareness within a C1
or higher IPU that exhibits an IMER wherein N1 processing of N0 output through R1 flow
incorporates the sensory percepts of the IMER.
8. Language is a structured form of processed information which enables N1 within a C2 IPU to
influence its own IMER through R2 as well as communicate its state to other IPUs through
access to the C2 IPU output flow.
9. The minimum requirement for the mutual acknowledgement of CSA between any two distinct
IPUs is that they share some lower threshold of both common IMER and language.
10. A C3 IPU represents a collective of C2 or lower IPUs which may increase the fidelity of its
IMER to idealized objective reality (IOR) through dynamic iteration facilitated by language. An
IMER equivalent to IOR can only occur within a universal C4 IPU where all external systems and
information are internalized and the input/output flows become recursive.
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A mean field approach to model levels of consciousness from EEG
recordings
Marco Alberto Javarone∗
Department of Mathematics, University College London, London, UK
arXiv:2002.02425v2 [q-bio.NC] 4 Aug 2020
Olivia Gosseries
Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness University
and University Hospital of Liege, Liege, Belgium
Daniele Marinazzo
University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
Quentin Noirhomme
Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
Vincent Bonhomme
GIGA - Consciousness, Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine Laboratory
University and CHU University Hospital of Liege, Liege, Belgium
Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine CHU
University Hospital of Liege and CHR Citadelle, Liege, Belgium
Steven Laureys†
Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness University
and University Hospital of Liege, Liege, Belgium
Srivas Chennu†
University of Kent, Medway, UK
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
(Dated: August 5, 2020)
1
Abstract
We introduce a mean-field model for analysing the dynamics of human consciousness. In particular, inspired by the Giulio Tononi’s Integrated Information Theory and by the Max Tegmark’s
representation of consciousness, we study order-disorder phase transitions on Curie-Weiss models
generated by processing EEG signals. The latter have been recorded on healthy individuals undergoing deep sedation. Then, we implement a machine learning tool for classifying mental states
using, as input, the critical temperatures computed in the Curie-Weiss models. Results show that,
by the proposed method, it is possible to discriminate between states of awareness and states of
deep sedation. Besides, we identify a state space for representing the path between mental states,
whose dimensions correspond to critical temperatures computed over different frequency bands of
the EEG signal. Beyond possible theoretical implications in the study of human consciousness,
resulting from our model, we deem relevant to emphasise that the proposed method could be
exploited for clinical applications.
∗
marcojavarone@gmail.com
†
these two authors contributed equally
2
I.
INTRODUCTION
Consciousness is one of the most complex and fascinating phenomena in the brain, attracting the interest of a variety of scholars, spanning from neuroscientists to mathematicians, and
from physicists to philosophers [1–8]. In addition, consciousness, as well as other complex
systems as those we find in biology, social science, finance and artificial intelligence [9–15],
has strongly benefited from the introduction of cross-disciplinary approaches. Despite a huge
number of investigations, a lot of its aspects and mechanisms still require to be clarified.
Given these observations, we focus on the challenge of quantifying consciousness, putting
attention on the transition between mental states. So, we introduce a method for generating Curie-Weiss models [16, 17] from EEG signals, and then we analyse its outcomes by
a machine learning classifier. As discussed later, although the spirit of this work is mostly
theoretical, we conceive a framework that could support clinicians in some relevant tasks,
e.g. in calibrating the optimal amount of anaesthetic for patients, and in assessing the cognitive conditions of unresponsive individuals. Nowadays, a number of devices allow studying
the brain structure and its dynamics. Usually, the choice of a specific tool reflects both
clinical needs and patient conditions. Here, we use recordings obtained by EEG analyses for
two main reasons, i.e. its cheaper cost compared to other technologies and its non-invasive
nature. At the same time, it is worth to report that the EEG is less advanced than other
diagnostic tools, as fMRI, that generate images of higher quality (e.g. higher spatial resolution). Notwithstanding, stimulated by the above reasons, we aim to improve as much as
possible the value of the information content of EEG signals, concerning the dynamics of
human consciousness. Before moving to the proposed method, we very briefly introduce two
seminal works on this topic, the Integrated Information Theory (IIT hereinafter) developed
by Giulio Tononi [18] and the Max Tegmark’s manuscript on the physical representation
of consciousness as a state of matter [3]. Both works contain ideas an observations that
inspired us during our investigation. The IIT is based on the core concept that human
consciousness results from integrated information, generated by an ensemble of interacting
elements. So, information emerges from collective action, and its content is extremely much
richer than that one can obtain just by a simple summation of the individual contributions,
like those provided by the elements belonging to the same ensemble. More in general, the
concept of collective effect pervades the field of complex systems, as effectively explained by
3
Anderson in ’More is different’ [19]. Under that light, Tegmark proposed a computational
description of consciousness [3], trying to address the IIT by the language of Physics, and
developing both a classical and a quantum representation of this phenomenon. From his
work [3], we take into account the ’classical’ description of IIT, achieved via the Ising model,
where a ’conscious’ regime emerges only within a very restricted range of values. Such restricted range refers to the collective phenomena occurring when a spin system gets close
to its critical temperature, and it is in full agreement with the Damasio’s observations [20]
on the conditions required for the reaching of homeostasis (i.e. some physical parameters,
in the brain, have to be kept within a narrow range of values). Therefore, following ideas
and insights of the above-mentioned authors, we propose a method for building a mean-field
model from EEG data. Then, we analyse its behaviour by implementing Monte Carlo simulations, whose outcomes are expected to provide the information we need to quantify the
transitions between mental states of individuals undergoing deep sedation. In particular,
we consider the critical temperature computed in the various realisations of the model, e.g.
those achieved on varying the frequency of the EEG signal. Details about the proposed
model and the method for classifying mental states are provided in the next section. Here
we take the opportunity for highlighting that, despite the increasing interest for modelling
brain dynamics by networked approaches (e.g. [21–23, 25–32]), the present investigation is
based on the modelling and the analysis of the distribution of electrical activity recorded
in the scalp. Moreover, to each frequency band of the signal, as δ for 1 − 4 Hz and θ for
4 − 7 Hz, corresponds a Curie-Weiss model whose interactions depend on the recorded phase
differences across scalp locations. It is worth to note that previous studies showed that the α
(8 − 12 Hz) band can be useful for quantifying transitions between mental states (e.g. [31]),
as well as other signal components. At the same time, most of these works consider networks
generated by avoiding to include ’weak’ interactions. Notably, to remove weak interactions
a threshold needs to be defined, and such practice has received some fair criticisms [33].
Remarkably, to the best of our knowledge, the definition of a suitable threshold is currently
based only on rules of thumb. So, it is important to remark that the proposed model does
not require to filter out, or to cut off, weak interactions. Eventually, let us observe that
while from a neuroscience perspective the human consciousness might be investigated considering the full set of frequency bands of an EEG signal, those of major interest seem to
be the δ, the α, and the β band. However, due to the influence that has been reported
4
between the propofol, i.e. the drug administered in our individuals during the examination,
and the behaviour of the β band [34, 35], we decided to take into account only the bands
δ and α. A more detailed list of features, for analysing consciousness, can be found in [36].
Summarising, our goal is to quantify consciousness, looking also at potential clinical applications. Notably, the EEG signal, as currently processed, provides some information about
the state of consciousness of a patient, but it has some limitations. For instance, assessing
the level of unconsciousness, or understanding why some individuals report having been
fully aware (even if, obviously, unable to communicate) during surgery, is currently difficult
by inspecting only the EEG signal. Therefore, under the assumption that the latter might
contain more information than those currently extracted, we propose a method to improve
its content (see also [37]). Notably, in mathematical terms, the proposed model can be
thought of as a more rich representation of the EEG signal, being mapped to a novel vector
space that we define state space of mental states. In relation to that, the Curie-Weiss model
represents the tool to generate that space of states, by identifying the critical temperatures
of each individual during an examination. Here, while critical temperatures are computed
to generate the state space of mental states, they have no meaning with what is occurring in
the brain of individuals. It is also worth to remark that our choice of using a model (i.e. the
Curie-Weiss) usually adopted to describe collective phenomena, as phase transitions, aims
to build a direct link with the IIT framework, where the concept of collective behaviour
is central. The remainder of the paper is organised as follows: Section II introduces the
proposed model. Section III shows results of numerical simulations. Eventually, Section IV
ends the paper providing an overall discussion on this investigation, from its goal to the
main outcomes, and on some possible future developments.
II.
MODEL
In this section, we describe a framework for classifying mental states, whose variation is
represented as a phase transition. In statistical mechanics, the most simple representation
of phase transitions is achieved by the Ising model, and the latter has been used in [3] for
showing how, in terms of information content, the set of states reachable by that model, at
the critical temperature, contains suitable candidates for representing states of consciousness.
Therefore, we aim to evaluate with data (i.e. EEG recordings) whether that theoretical
5
insight can be exploited for quantifying consciousness and performing classification tasks. It
is worth to add that the Ising model has been used also by other authors for investigating
different dynamics of the brain (see for instance [21, 23, 24, 38–40]). As above mentioned,
the EEG signal can be decomposed into frequency bands and different measures can be
adopted for its analysis, usually selected according to specific needs. For our purposes, a
particularly useful parameter is the weighted Phase Lag Index [32] (wPLI hereinafter) that
quantifies the correlation between pairs of sensors in the scalp. In general, considering two
time series a(t) and b(t), the wPLI is defined as
Pn
|im(Pab,t )| sgn im(Pab,t )
|
wP LI = | t=i Pn
t=i |im(Pab,t )|
(1)
where sgn indicates the signum function, im indicates the imaginary part, and Pab,t the
complex cross-spectral density, of a(t) and b(t), at time t. Notably, given the power spectral
densitities of the two signals Paa and Pbb , i.e. the distribution of the power across the
frequency components of a(t) and b(t), respectively, the cross-spectral density quantifies the
correlation between them. Then, for each frequency band, the interactions of the resulting
Curie-Weiss are computed by scalar multiplication of the wPLI index with the relative power
of the signal. A quick inspection of 1 shows that the wPLI and the power of the signal are
strongly correlated. However, we found beneficial to combine them for realising the meanfield model. In doing so, inspired by the Tegmark’s approach for studying the IIT by a simple
physical system, and remaining in the land of the classical physics, we build a Curie-Weiss
from EEG recordings assigning a spin to each sensor and computing interactions by the
combination of the indexes above mentioned (i.e. wPLI and Power). Thus, starting with
randomly assigned values of spins (σ ± 1), and quenching interactions [17, 41], we study
the dynamics of the system towards equilibrium. Following this method, it is possible to
compute a critical temperature for each frequency band of the EEG signal, as Tcα for the α
band. However, since this signal varies over time, node interactions can vary as well. Here,
actually, the variation of interactions is expected to be useful for detecting variations of
mental states. For instance, as reported in [31], networks built using the wPLI index show
variations as individuals undergo sedation and then recover to their original conscious state.
To tackle this aspect, the EEG signal is sampled into four different points labelled as C,
S, DS, R, representing consciousness, sedation, deep sedation, and recovery, respectively.
Mental states C and DS are both classified as states of consciousness, in agreement with
6
[42], while S and R are labelled as transition states. Also, C and DS can be viewed as two
equilibrium states (although the deep sedation, i.e. DS, in our individuals has been induced
by a drug). Let us now proceed to the formal definition of spin interactions. Recalling that
the EEG signal is decomposed into 5 main frequency bands and that we extract 4 samples per
recording, for each individual we can generate up to 20 mean-field models. Since the wPLI
x
quantifies the correlation between pairs of nodes, we indicate with wP LIi,j
the correlation
between sensors i and j in the xth frequency band. Accordingly, the interaction term J
reads
x
x
Ji,j
(s) = P x (s) · wP LIi,j
(s)
(2)
with s sample (or mental state) and P x (s) power of the xth band for that specific sample.
Thus, the Hamiltonian of the system is
H=−
N
1 X
Ji,j σi σj
N i,j=1,j6=i
(3)
with N number of sensors and σ spin assigned to them. While the spin is a quantum property
of particles, it finds large utilisation in non-physical models, typically for representing binary
features. For instance, in social dynamics the spin can represent a binary opinion [43], in
evolutionary game theory a strategy [44, 45], and in neural models it can indicate firing (+1)
and resting (−1) states [46]. The proposed model does not define explicitly a connection
between the value of the spin and the underlying neural activity since the spin dynamics
is implemented only to obtain theoretical insights about the activity distribution recorded
in the scalp. In particular, the studying of the order-disorder phase transitions, occurring
in each model realisation, allows computing the set of critical temperatures Tc associated
to every mental state. To this end, for each configuration (i.e. an individual in a given
state), spin interactions J are considered as quenched, so one can analyse the dynamics
of spins starting from a random distribution. Here, since our efforts are directed towards
quantifying the human consciousness, we put the attention on the α and δ bands that,
according to previous clinical studies (e.g. [47, 48]), seem to be quite relevant for investigating
this complex phenomenon, as well as others as psychotic disorders [49]. The described
method allows observing the motion that individuals take in the space of mental states. Such
motion is defined along a path on a bidimensional plane, whose axes are (Tcα , Tcδ ). Moreover,
since recordings terminate once individuals recover their original cognitive state, the resulting
7
path forms a closed cycle. Then, we implement a Machine Learning tool to exploit the
resulting paths (or cycles) for classification tasks, as for identifying the correct label of a
point (e.g. DS) in the mental state space. In particular, a classifier able to assign a label to
each point takes as input vectors with components (Tcα , Tcδ ). As a huge literature suggests,
classifiers can be realised by many algorithms, e.g. neural networks [50]. However, given the
small size of our dataset, we implemented a Support Vector Machine (SVM hereinafter) [50]
—see also A. Summarising, starting from EEG recordings, the proposed model generates
bidimensional vectors, whose entries correspond to the critical temperatures computed in
the α and δ frequency bands, state by state. These vectors constitute the input of an SVM
designed to discriminate between the two states of consciousness C and DS.
III.
RESULTS
The proposed model has been tested with a dataset of EEG signals obtained by recording 8 healthy volunteers [51] undergoing sedation induced by propofol —see Appendix B
for details. So, each recording started with individuals in the conscious state and terminated after their complete recovery. Four main mental states can be identified: awareness,
sedation, deep sedation, and recovery, and for each of them, one sample is extracted from
the recording. The resulting amount of samples (based on 173 sensors), available for all 5
frequency bands, allows generating 20 Curie-Weiss configurations per individual. However,
for the reasons reported above, only the α and δ bands are considered, therefore the number
of configurations in this investigation is limited to 8. A model configuration has specific
values of spin interactions. Let us remind that spins are the mathematical representation of
the sensors in the scalp, and their value (i.e. ±1) is randomly assigned as below described.
Instead, the interactions are computed by Eq. 2. Before proceeding showing results of the
simulation, we compare the average value of interactions obtained by using the above equation (i.e. Eq. 2) with those (average) values that can be achieved by using the spectral power
(P ) and by the wP LI, individually. This comparison is performed over the 4 mental states
and the outcomes have been averaged over all individuals. Results are shown in Figure 1,
which reports also the related standard error of the mean, i.e. SEM = √σN with σ standard
deviation and N number of individuals. A quick inspection of Figure 1 suggests that our
method enhances in good extent the difference between the states C and DS, embedding
8
the contribution of the spectral power and that of the wPLI index. Let us highlight that our
FIG. 1. Average value of the interaction terms, over 4 different mental states, in Curie-Weiss
built using three different approaches. In particular, the interactions have been defined by using
a) the power spectrum hJi = hP (s)i, b) the wPLI index, i.e. the correlation hJi = hwP LI(s)i
between pairs of sensors, and c) the scalar product of the power with wPLI index (i.e. hJi =
hP (s) · wP LI(s)i). The legend indicates the considered frequency bands: red line for the δ and the
green line for the α, and the related diamonds and squares represent the average value for each
label. The error bars have been calculated using the standard error of the mean (SEM). Then,
semi-transparent points (i.e. red stars for δ and green circles for α) represent the single individuals.
goal is now to extract information related to the mental states of individuals by processing
the resulting Curie-Weiss models. So, the next step is focused on the identification of the
critical temperature for the different configurations of the Curie-Weiss model. This process
allows us to build a ’state space’ of mental states, where we can quantify, and also visualise,
the path followed by individuals across the clinical examination. Then, the paths of mental
states are used to train a simple machine learning tool whose goal is to classify conscious
states of our individuals.
9
A.
Mental States I: Building the State Space
All numerical simulations have been performed on Curie-Weiss configurations related to
every single individual, i.e. spin interactions have not been averaged as (instead) it has
been done for the analysis shown in Figure 1. While spin interactions J are quenched, we
study the dynamics of spins that, at the beginning of each simulation, are randomly set
to ±1. Notably, simulations are implemented for studying order-disorder phase transitions,
and more specifically for identifying the critical temperature of each configuration. For that
purpose, a useful parameter is the absolute value of the average magnetization of the system.
The latter strongly depends on the system temperature T , despite its definition does not
include the temperature explicitly, and it reads
hM i =
N
X
|σi |
i
N
(4)
It is worth to observe that beyond identifying the critical temperature Tc for each case, it is
possible to assess if Tc ≈ hJi. The latter, as further explained later, can be a relevant feature
for designing clinical applications based on the proposed model. Figure 2 reports the results
obtained on one individual, randomly chosen among those available. To assess whether
a temperature is ’critical’, the variance of M (indicated as σ 2 ) is analysed in function of
the inverse temperature β since the highest value of σ 2 is reached at T = Tc —see inset
of Figure 2. Then, once computed the critical temperature for all considered cases, we
focus on the numerical difference between these values and the average interaction term
(i.e. hJi) of each Curie-Weiss realisation. In doing so, we found that approximating the
Tc with the hJi gives small errors, limited to the 12.5% of Tc (see for instance the lines
red and green, indicating the hJi and the Tc , respectively, in figure 2). Finally, results
of the mean-field model are shown in Figure 3. Notably, plotting the values of the critical
temperatures computed in the band δ (Tcδ ) versus those computed in the band α (Tcα ) allows
us to visualise the path from the initial point C to the point DS, and that of return. So,
we have now a state space that contains ’mental paths’, whose evolution (or motion) can be
further analysed. Before proceeding to the classification of mental states, we highlight that
the order-disorder phase transition studied in the resulting Curie-Weiss model has not a
biological meaning in this context. Notably, it is a process simulated to extract information
from the resulting model, that we assume can be useful for understanding the dynamics of
10
FIG. 2. Average magnetization in function of the system temperature. A pictorial of a Curie-Weiss
model is shown close to the main line, while the inset shows the variance of M in function of the
inverse temperature β (on a semi-logarithmic scale). The critical temperature is indicated by the
green line (both in the main picture and in the inset), while the average interaction term for the
system (hJi) is indicated by a red dotted line (both in the main picture and in the inset).
mental states. In addition, the value of critical temperatures has been computed on a finite
size system, while phase transitions occur in the thermodynamic limit. Therefore, further
investigations with bigger systems can be useful also to evaluate if the critical temperatures
we obtained in our analyses are much different from those one would find scaling the size of
the model.
11
FIG. 3. Diagram hTcα i, hTcδ i, with an inset showing the results obtained on a single individual
(randomly chosen). Notably, the points in the diagram (and in the inset) represent the 4 different
mental states during the clinical experiment: C, S, DS, and R, i.e. consciousness, sedation, deep
sedation, and recovery, respectively. The black line indicates the path followed by each individual,
undergoing sedation and then recovering to the initial state.
B.
Mental States II: Classification
Each path obtained by the previous method characterises an individual, thus we use this
representation for implementing a Machine Learning tool for classifying mental states. In
our investigation, paths are composed of 4 points in bi-dimensional state space. Therefore,
we can identify a vector, whose entries are the critical temperatures computed for the bands
α and δ, for each mental state. The goal is to assess whether these vectors are useful for
generating a confident boundary able to separate different mental states. So, for the sake
of simplicity, we build a classifier for discriminating between the state C and the state DS.
Due to the small size of the dataset, we use an SVM implemented by a kernel based radial
basis function (as commonly adopted in classification tasks). The outcomes are shown in
12
Figure 4, where the axes refer to the two critical temperatures of each individual (i.e. one
per frequency band), not to their average values (as in the main plot of Figure 3). Let us
FIG. 4. Results of SVM applied to the EEG dataset on the plane Tcα vs Tcδ . Different symbols refer
to different individuals. The green colour indicates the conscious state (C), while the red colour
indicates deep sedation (DS). The black line identifies the edge between the two classes, i.e. C
and DS.
briefly describe the procedure for training and testing the SVM. Notably, given a dataset
of 8 individuals, the training has been performed on 7 out of them, and the testing on the
excluded one. This process was then repeated excluding each time one different individual.
In doing so, we can evaluate 8 different testing phase results. Following the above procedure,
now a further analysis compares the results that an SVM achieves when fed with vectors
obtained by three different approaches. Notably, in all cases, vectors resulted from a meanfield model (with the method above described), but its interactions can be defined by Eq. 2,
or by the power spectrum and the wPLI, individually. This comparison, shown in Figure 5,
is quite relevant because we want to evaluate in which extent the utilisation of Eq. 2 provides
an actual benefit for our purposes. Remarkably, we found that our method produced the
smallest error rate in the task of classifying mental states —see Figure 6. In particular, the
SVM trained and tested with our method did only one error, over 8 tests (i.e. 12%), while
13
FIG. 5. Comparison between the results of SVM model built with data coming from three different
methods: a) Using spectral power; b) Using wPLI; c) Critical temperatures obtained by using
Eq. 2. Different symbols refer to different individuals. The green colour indicates the conscious
state (C) and red one that of deep sedation (DS). The black line identifies the edge between the
two classes, i.e. C and DS in the mental state space. Then, points with the same symbol, but a
different colour (e.g. blue and black), indicate an error in the classification process.
those trained with data coming from the two other methods did more errors (i.e. 33% and
25% by using power spectrum and wPLI, respectively). Before to conclude this section, we
deem important to mention that actual measures might be used to compare outcomes of
different models, as the AUC. At the same time in this investigation, considering the number
of samples, we found beneficial to evaluate the error rate.
14
FIG. 6. SVM error rate computed by data coming from three different methods: Critical temperatures (Tc ) obtained by Eq. 2, Spectral power, and wPLI. Note: the lesser the better.
IV.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In this manuscript, we propose a method for quantifying human consciousness and classifying mental states using EEG signals (see also [36, 52]). Notably, we introduce a mean-field
model of the distribution of electrical activity in the brain, whose outcomes are used for
training a Machine Learning classifier. Inspired by the Tegmark’s work [3] about the IIT,
we study order-disorder phase transitions occurring in Curie-Weiss models whose interactions depend on the phase differences across scalp locations. This analysis allows computing
the critical temperatures achieved for different configurations of the model, i.e. on varying
the mental state and the considered frequency band of the signal. Here, the interactions
between spins are computed by the scalar product of the power spectrum with the wPLI
index, for each specific band. The benefits coming from this choice are reported in Figure 5
and Figure 6. Remarkably, the critical temperatures, computed by means of numerical
simulations, allow defining a state space where we can observe the path of mental states.
It is worth to mention that, according to Giulio Tononi [42], consciousness emerges also
during dreamlike phases of the sleep. Therefore, considering previous investigations stating
that some individuals reported dreamlike activity, during an induced deep sedation [53],
15
both awareness and deep sedation in principle should be considered as conscious states (see
also [54]). The path between awareness and deep sedation shows, in the middle, the transition states (S and R). Thus, summarising, we have two conscious states and two transition
states. It is relevant to clarify that we are not using the formal meaning of ’transition state’,
as usually adopted in stochastic models (e.g. the voter model [55]), otherwise also the ’deep
sedation’ state would be defined a transition state since it lasts only for the duration of
the drug effect. At the same time, these considerations could be extended further since, for
instance, states of coma could be properly classified as absorbing states, and so on. Hence,
our definitions have not that level of formality, despite we find interesting to investigate more
on this. So, once defined a mental state space, we use an SVM for tracing the boundary
between states C and DS. We remind that the dataset for performing the investigation
has been obtained with 8 individuals wearing EEG sensors. Then, the EEG recordings have
been used for building the mean-field model (i.e. Curie-Weiss) and generating a training
dataset. The actual choice of the frequency bands, i.e. α and δ, actually depends also on
the clinical settings of examinations (e.g. the utilisation of propofol for inducing the sedation). Results suggest that the critical temperatures are useful to perform classification
tasks, discriminating between the two conscious states. Therefore, thinking about the potential use of the proposed model, at clinical level, we conceive a framework composed of
two elements: one devised for computing the average interaction term in different bands,
that, as we proved, approximates the critical temperature in the related Curie-Weiss configuration, and the other based on an SVM (or on another Machine Learning algorithm).
The fact that the average interaction can be approximated by the critical temperature, in
principle, is not too surprising. Notably, the critical temperature of the 2D Ising model is
Tc = 1 for J = 1. However, it has been worth, for the reasons above described, to confirm
that hypothesis. Beyond the theoretical analysis, which requires further investigations to
confirm our achievements, the framework that we conceive could support, after appropriate
testing, clinicians in different scenarios. For instance, it could be useful for defining the
optimal amount of drug for sedating a patient, or for classifying the level of unconsciousness
of unresponsive patients. Also, it is interesting to observe that the mean-field model realised
by EEG recordings might be conceptually related to the ’classical’ Tegmark’s description of
consciousness (i.e. that based on the Ising model). Notably, it would be useful to evaluate
how to obtain only one model, across the different bands, and to study its behaviour at dif16
ferent temperatures. Furthermore, we highlight the possibility to extend further this work
trying to improve the connection with the IIT framework, in order to develop mathematical
tools able to analyse the human consciousness from a perspective supported by the Tononi’s
insights. Finally, we deem interesting to provide a comment on the method implemented
to represent the path of mental states. Notably, as above reported, each state is described
by a vector of critical temperatures (one per frequency band). So, like for other kinds of
models, as those based on network theory, the proposed approach can find application in
various contexts, in particular when the strength of interaction among the elements of a
system is relevant. In our case, the interaction strength clearly shows a time dependency,
however that is not a mandatory requirement to implement and analyse a system by means
of a Curie-Weiss model. Moreover, the method might provide interesting insights also when
built considering interactions defined by meaningful semantic relations among elements of
a system, i.e. abstracting from a physical system and therefore increasing its potential applicability to a much wider set of cases. We conclude emphasising that our results indicate
that the EEG signal might be further exploited both for obtaining a deeper understanding
of human consciousness, and for implementing novel tools to support clinicians in many
complex and critical activities. To this aim, there are some important aspects to consider in
future investigations. Firstly, here we focused on two frequency bands (α and δ), however it
is important to assess if our choice is the optimal one. Notably, although previous literature
suggests that these two bands are particularly relevant for the human consciousness, finding
the way to exploit also other frequency bands might be useful (as before mentioned, the
choice can depend also on the anesthetic drug). Then, interactions among sensors have been
identified by means of the wPLI index. However, also other correlation measures could be
taken into account. Eventually, we identified transient states, i.e. those states between C
and DS. We deem that their role, dynamics and properties need to be further analysed, as
well as a classification algorithm for their detection could be useful.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research (FRSFNRS), the European Unions Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under the Specific Grant Agreement No. 945539 (Human Brain Project SGA3), the
17
University and University Hospital of Liege, the fund Generet, the King Baudouin Foundation, the BIAL Foundation, the AstraZeneca foundation, the Belgian Federal Science Policy
Office (BELSPO) in the framework of the PRODEX Programme, the Center-TBI project
(FP7-HEALTH- 602150), the Public Utility Foundation Universit Europenne du Travail,
Fondazione Europea di Ricerca Biomedica, the Mind Science Foundation, and the European
Commission. SL is research director at F.R.S-FNRS.
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Appendix A: Data Classification
Here we briefly present the algorithm used for classifying mental states, i.e. the Support
Vector Machine (SVM). The latter receives as input vectors generated by using the output
of the Curie-Weiss model. In doing so, the input vectors contain the critical temperature
computed for each frequency band, across the different mental states. For instance, considering the bands δ and α, a vector representing one individual in the conscious state contains
the two related critical temperatures, i.e. Vi (c) = [T cδ , T cα ]. The collection of these vectors
is used for training and testing the SVM. Notably, since an SVM is a supervised learning
model, it requires a training set for the learning process and, usually, such training set is
based on a fraction (randomly selected) of the dataset under investigation. For instance, a
generic dataset D contains n elements, i.e. D = {(x1 , y1 ), (x2 , y2 ), ..., (xn , yn )}, so that for
each input vector xi one has the associated output yi , i.e. a label or class of belonging (in
our case xi is a temperature vector, while yi is the corresponding mental state). The dimension of the input vector depends on the number of features which describe the system, so in
our case corresponds to the number of considered frequency bands. Accordingly, a binary
classification task can be implemented considering as outputs two possible values, e.g. +1
and −1. Similarly, for a multi-label case, one has to identify proper values for the output.
Then, an SVM aims to identify the ’maximum-margin hyperplane’ that separates input vectors according to their corresponding output. In the bidimensional case, the hyperplane is a
simple line. The SVM can be both linear and non-linear, depending on the function (defined
as Kernel) used to separates vectors into the related classes. Also, the closest vectors to the
hyperplane are called ’support vectors’. For instance, in the linear case, a bidimensional
hyperplane can be identified by the equation ŵx̂ + b = 0, with ŵ vector of weights, b (small
constant) bias, and x̂ feature space of the input vectors. Therefore, the SVM tries to identify the most suitable ŵ and b to maximise the margin, i.e. the distance, between vectors
belonging to the two (or more) different classes. Following the above example, in a binary
classification, input vectors located above the computed hyperplane belong to one class (e.g.
+1), while those located below the hyperplane belong to the other class (e.g. −1).
22
Appendix B: Clinical Information
The full description of the experimental setup implemented to acquire the dataset, used
in this investigation, is reported in [51]. However, for the sake of completeness, here we
provide some relevant details related to the participants and to the experimental protocol.
First of all, we emphasise that the investigation was approved by the Ethics Committee of
the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Liege. Also, the group of participants, with
mean age 22 ± 2 y, includes 4 males. All participants gave written informed consent, so
an appropriate examination, including anamnesis, has been performed to assess potential
issues related to the anaesthesia, as pregnancy, mental illness, drug addiction, asthma,
and so on. Experiments are based on fifteen-minute spontaneous 256-electrode hd-EEG
recordings, that can be divided into 4 different states: normal wakefulness, sedation (slower
response to command), loss of consciousness with clinical unconsciousness (i.e. no response
to command), and recovery of consciousness. The total experimental procedure lasted about
5 hours, including both the positioning of the 256-electrode hd-EEG cap and the recovery
time of participants.
23 |
Speculations on a Unified Theory of Matter and Mind∗
arXiv:physics/0111035v1 [physics.gen-ph] 8 Nov 2001
Manoj K. Samal,
S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, JD/III, Salt Lake City,
Kolkata 700 098, India; mks@bose.res.in
Abstract
Physics is so successful today in understanding the nature of matter. What can it say about
mind ? Is it possible to have a unified theory of matter and mind within the framework of modern
science ? Is Consciousness an accident or is it a natural consequence of laws of nature ? Are these
laws of nature the same as the laws of physics ? We make an attempt here to unify mind with
matter based on an extended formalism borrowed from Quantum theory where information plays
a more fundamental role than matter or thought.
1
Introduction
Most of the physicists today believe that we are very close to a unified theory of matter (UTM) based
on p-brane theory (a variant of String [1-brane] theory) [1]. This theory has been well motivated by
the successes (from microchips to satellites) and the difficulties (the presence of infinities) of Quantum
Gauge Field Theories (QED, Electro-Weak theory, GUT and SUSY GUT etc.) most of which are
based on solid experimental evidences (measuring Lande g-factor of electron up to 10 significant places,
prediction of Z boson etc.). This ‘theory of everything ‘ tells us that all carbon atoms (after they are
born out of nucleosynthesis in the core of stars) in this universe are the same in space and in time, and
thus is unable to explain why the carbon atoms present in a lump of roughly three pound of ordinary
matter the human brain – give rise to such ineffable qualities as feeling, thought, purpose, awareness
and free will that are taken to be evidence for ‘consciousness’ !
Is Consciousness an accident caused by random evolutionary processes in the sense that it would
not evolve again had the present universe to undergo a ‘big crunch’ to start with another ‘big bang’ ?
NO! It is a fundamental property that emerges as a natural consequence of laws of nature. Are
these laws of nature different from laws of physics? Is there a way to expand the UTM to incorporate
consciousness? In this paper I make an attempt to point out a possible direction for such an expansion
to achieve a unified theory of matter and mind by considering ‘information’ to be more fundamental
than matter and energy.
Nature manifests itself not only at the gross level of phenomena (accessible to direct senses) but
also at the subtle level of natural laws (accessible to ‘refined ‘ senses). Consciousness is the ability to
access nature at both these levels. Hence everything in nature is conscious, but there is a hierarchy
in the level of consciousness. Although animals, plants and few machines today can access to the
gross level of nature, access to the subtle level seems to be purely human. In this sense a layman is
less conscious compared to a scientist or an artist. (Is it possible that a level of consciousness exists
compared to which a scientist or an artist of today may appear a layman?) Once everything (both
matter and mind) is reduced to information it is possible to define consciousness as the capability to
process information. Because any form of our access to nature is based on processing information
with varying degree of complexity. The words process and complexity will be defined in the following.
Now I proceed to elaborate the claims (italicized above) but due to the constraint of printing space I
will be brief here and the details of this scheme will be given elsewhere.
∗ Based on the talk: Is Consciousness An Accident? in the International Conference: Science and Metaphysics: A
Discussion on Consciousness and Genetics at Bangalore, India, (June 2001).
1
2
Matter
2.1
Phenomena
Some animals like dogs (in listening to ultrasound) and bats (in sensing prey through echo technique)
are better equipped than humans when it comes to direct sense experiences. But unlike animals,
humans have found out methods to extend their sense experiences through amplification devices like
telescopes, microscopes etc. The summary [2] of such sense experiences (direct and extended) acquired
over the last five hundred years (equivalent to one second in a time-scale where the age of the universe
is equal to a year) is that our universe extends in space from the size of an electron (1017 cm as
probed at LEP colliders at CERN, Geneva) to size of galactic super-clusters (1030 cm as probed by
high redshift measurements). The theoretical possibility of Planck length (1033 cm) allows for further
extension in space.
Our grand universe extending over more than 60 orders of magnitude in space has been constantly
changing over the last 12 billion years! Living systems seem to have evolved out of non-living systems.
Consciousness seems to have evolved out of living systems. Is the dramatic difference between animate
and inanimate, conscious and unconscious simply a difference in their ability to process information?
At the level of phenomena nature is so vast and diverse compared to the size and comprehension of
human beings that one wonders how the collective inquiring human minds over the centuries could
at all fathom the unity behind this diversity. This simply testifies the triumph of human mind over
the physical limitations of its body. Because the human mind is capable of reaching a synthesis (an
advanced form of information processing) based on careful observations of diverse phenomena.
2.2
Inanimate
2.2.1
Manifold
Till Einstein, everybody thought ‘absolute space’ is the arena (mathematically, a manifold) on which
things change with ‘absolute time’. In special theory of relativity (STR) he redefined the manifold to
be flat space-time (3 + 1) by making both space and time relative with respect to inertial observers
but keeping space-time (SpT) absolute. In general theory of relativity (GTR) he propounded this
manifold to be curved space-time that can act on matter unlike the flat space-time. Then the Quantum
Theory (QT, the standard version, not the Bohmian one) pointed out this manifold to be an abstract
mathematical space called Hilbert space since the space-time description of quantum processes is not
available. Quantum Field Theory (QFT) that originated in a successful merge of QT and STR requires
this manifold to be the Quantum Vacuum (QV). Unlike the ordinary vacuum, QV contains infinite
number of ‘virtual’ particles that give rise to all matter and interactions [3]. Every quantum field
has its own QV and a successful amalgamation of QT and GTR (called Quantum Gravity, and yet to
be achieved) may connect the curved space-time with the QV of gravitational field. Finally, String
(or p-brane) theory demands all fundamental entities to be strings (or p-branes) in ten-dimensional
space-time. This evolution in our understanding clearly shows the necessity and importance of a
background manifold to formulate any scientific theory.
2.2.2
Basic Constituents
Energy and matter were considered to be the two basic constituents of our universe till Einstein
showed their equivalence through E=mc2 . All forms of energy are interconvertible. Matter in all its
forms (solid, liquid, gas and plasma) consists of atoms. The simplest of all atoms is the hydrogen
atom that contains an electron and a proton. If one considers the (now outdated) Bohrian picture
of hydrogen atom being a miniature solar system where the electron revolves around the proton in
circular orbit then one realizes that most of the hydrogen atom is empty space. This means that if
one blows up the hydrogen atom in imagination such that both electron and proton acquire the size of
a football each then they need to be separated by 100 km or more! Hence one would think that even
if 99.99 % of the hydrogen atom consists of vacuum the point-like electron and proton are material
particles. But that is not so.
The elementary particle physics tells us that all the visible matter (composition of dark matter
is not yet surely known) in the universe is made of six leptons and six quarks along with their
2
antiparticles. Although they are loosely called particles they are not like the ordinary particles we
experience in daily life. A ‘classical’ particle is localized and impenetrable whereas a ‘classical’ wave
can be extended from minus infinity to plus infinity in space and many wave modes can simultaneously
occupy the same space (like inside the telephone cable). But with the advent of quantum mechanics
this seemingly contradictory differences between particle and wave lost their sharpness in the quantum
world. A quantum object can simultaneously ‘be’ a particle and a wave until a measurement is made
on it. According to QFT all fundamental entities are quantum fields (not material in the conventional
sense) that are neither particle nor wave in the classical sense.
2.2.3
Evolution
Despite various specializations, all physical sciences share a common goal: given the complete specification of a physical system at an initial time (called the initial conditions) how to predict what
will it be at a later time. To predict with exactness one needs the accurate initial conditions and
the laws that govern the evolution of the system (called the dynamical laws). Either the lack of exact specifications of initial conditions or the intractability of huge number of equations (that express
dynamical laws) can lead to a probabilistic description rather than a deterministic one. However,
there are chaotic systems that can be both deterministic yet unpredictable because of their extreme
sensitivity to initial conditions. Apart from dynamical laws there are other laws like E=mc2 etc.,
which do not involve time explicitly. Could there be laws at the level of initial conditions that guide
us to choose a particular set over another?
A physical law is like the hidden thread (unity) of a garland with various flowers representing diverse
natural phenomena. Its character seems to depend on characteristic scales (denoted by fundamental
constants like Planck length, Planck’s constant, and speed of light etc). Why should there be different
set of laws at different scales? Most physicists believe that quantum mechanics is universal in the
applicability of its laws like Schrdinger’s equation and classicality of the everyday world is a limiting
case. But there exists no consensus at present regarding the emergence of this limiting case.
2.2.4
Guiding Principles
How does one formulate these physical laws? The principle of relativistic causality helps. Do physical
laws change? Is there a unity behind the diversity of laws? Is it possible to understand nature
without laws? The concept of symmetry (invariance) with its rigorous mathematical formulation and
generalization has guided us to know the most fundamental of physical laws. Symmetry as a concept
has helped mankind not only to define ‘beauty’ but also to express the ‘truth’. Physical laws tries to
quantify the truth that appears to be ‘transient’ at the level of phenomena but symmetry promotes
that truth to the level of ‘eternity’.
2.2.5
Interactions
The myriad mosaic of natural phenomena is possible because, not only each fundamental entity evolves
with time but also it can interact with the other basic constituents. All the physical interactions
(known so far) can be put into four categories: (i) gravitational interaction (the force that holds the
universe), (ii) electromagnetic interaction (the force that holds the atom, and hence all of us), (iii)
strong nuclear interaction (the force that holds the nucleus), and (iv) weak nuclear interaction (the
force that causes radioactive decay). At present (ii) and (iv) are known (observationally) to be unified
to a single force called ElectroWeak. Grand unified theories (GUT) and their extensions (SUSY GUT)
for (ii), (iii) and (iv) do exist. Ongoing research aims to unify (i) with such theories.
According to QFT the basic matter fields interact by exchanging messenger fields (technically
called gauge fields) that define the most fundamental level of communication in nature. Both matter
fields and gauge fields originate in the fluctuations of QV and in this sense everything in universe
including consciousness is, in principle, reducible to QV and its fluctuations [4]. Communication in
nature can happen either via the local channel mediated by gauge fields or by the nonlocal EPR [5] type
channels (through entanglement) as was demonstrated by recent quantum teleportation experiments.
3
2.2.6
Composite Systems
Till the importance of quantum entanglement was realized in recent times the whole was believed
to be just the sum of parts. But the whole seems to be much more than just the sum of parts in
the ‘quantum’ world as well as classical systems having complexity. It makes quantum entanglement
a very powerful resource that has been utilized in recent times for practical schemes like quantum
teleportation, quantum cryptography and quantum computation. Quantum nonlocality indicates that
the universe may very well be holographic in the sense that the whole is reflected in each part.
2.3
Animate
2.3.1
Manifold
Space-time (3 + 1) is the manifold for all biological functions at the phenomenal level that can be
explained by classical physics. If one aims to have a quantum physical explanation of certain biological
functions then the manifold has to be the Hilbert Space.
2.3.2
Basic Constituent
Cell is the basic constituent of life although the relevant information seems to be coded at the subcell
(genetic) level. Neuron (or Microtubules and Cytoskeletons) could be the physical substratum of brain
depending on classical (or quantum) viewpoint.
2.3.3
Evolution
Does biological evolution happen with respect to the physical time? If yes, then will the physical laws
suffice to study biological evolution in the sense they do in chemistry? If no, then is the biological arrow
of time different from the various arrows of physical time (say, cosmological or the thermodynamical
arrow of time)? Is there a need for biological laws apart from physical laws to understand the
functioning of biological systems?
2.3.4
Guiding Principles
Survivability is the guiding principles in biological systems. Organisms constantly adapt to each other
through evolution, and thus organizing themselves into a delicately tuned ecosystem. Intentionality
may also play a very important role in the case of more complex biosystems.
2.3.5
Interactions
The interaction occurs by exchange of chemicals, electric signals, gestures, and language etc. at various
levels depending upon the level of complexity involved.
2.3.6
Composite Systems
Composite systems are built out of the basic constituents retaining the relevant information in a
holographic manner. The genetic information in the zygote is believed to contain all the details of
the biology to come up later when the person grows up. The genes in a developing embryo organize
themselves in one way to make a liver cell and in another way to make a muscle cell.
2.4
Discussions
2.4.1
How ‘material’ is physical?
Anything that is physical need not be ‘material’ in the sense we experience material things in everyday
life. The concept of energy is physical but not material. Because nobody can experience energy
directly, one can only experience the manifestations of energy through matter. Similarly the concept
of a ‘classical field’ in physics is very abstract and can only be understood in terms of analogies. Still
more abstract is the concept of a ‘quantum field’ because it cannot be understood in terms of any
classical analogies. But at the same time it is a wellknown fact in modern physics that all fundamental
4
entities in the universe are quantum fields. Hence one has to abandon the prejudice that anything
‘physical’ has to be ‘material’.
2.4.2
Is reductionism enough?
The reductionist approach: observing a system with an increased resolution in search of its basic constituents has helped modern science to be tremendously successful. The success of modern science is
the success of the experimental method that has reached an extreme accuracy and reproducibility. But
the inadequacy of reductionism in physical sciences becomes apparent in two cases: emergent phenomena and quantum nonlocality. Quantum nonlocality implies a holographic universe that necessitates
a holistic approach [6].
Though it is gratifying to discover that everything can be traced back to a small number of
quantum fields and dynamical laws it does not mean that we now understand the origin of earthquakes,
weather variations, the growing of trees, the fluctuations of stock market, the population growth and
the evolution of life? Because each of these processes refers to a system that is complex, in the sense
that a great many independent agents are interacting with each other in a great many ways. These
complex systems are adaptive and undergo spontaneous self-organization (essentially nonlinear) that
makes them dynamic in a qualitatively different sense from static objects such as computer chips or
snowflakes, which are merely complicated. Complexity deals with emergent phenomena. The concept
of complexity is closely related to that of understanding, in so far as the latter is based upon the
accuracy of model descriptions of the system obtained using condensed information about it [7].
In this sense there are three ultimate frontiers of modern physics: the very small, the very large
and the very complex. Complex systems cease to be merely complicated when they display coherent
behaviour involving collective organization of vast number of degrees of freedom. Wetness of water
is a collective phenomenon because individual water molecules cannot be said to possess wetness.
Lasers, super-fluidity and super-conductivity are few of the spectacular examples of complexity in
macroscopic systems, which cannot be understood alone in terms of the microscopic constituents. In
every case, groups of entities seeking mutual accommodation and self-organization somehow manage
to transcend the individuality in the sense that they acquire collective properties that they might
never have possessed individually. In contrast to the linear, reductionist thinking, complexity involves
nonlinearity and chaos and we are at present far from understanding the complexity in inanimate
processes let alone the complexity in living systems.
2.4.3
Emergence of Life
Is life nothing more than a particularly complicated kind of carbon chemistry? Or is it something
subtler than putting together the chemical components? Do computer viruses have life in some
fundamental sense or are they just pesky imitations of life? How does life emerge from the quadrillions
of chemically reacting proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids that make up a living cell? Is it similar to
the emergence of thought out of the billions of interconnected neurons that make up the brain? One
hope to find the answer to these questions once the dynamics of complexity in inanimate systems is
well understood.
3
Mind
3.1
Phenomena
Mind is having three states: awake, dream, dream-less sleep. Mind is capable of free-will, selfperception (reflective) and universal perception (perceptual) in its ‘awake’ state. Can it be trained
to have all these three attributes in the states of dream and dream-less sleep? Can there be a fourth
state of mind that transcends all the above three states? Where do the brain end and the mind begin?
Due to its global nature, mind cannot lie in any particular portion of the brain. Does it lie everywhere
in the brain? This would require nonlocal interactions among various components of the brain. If
there were no such nonlocal communication then how does the mind emerge from the brain?
Can anybody think of anything that transcends space-time? Is mind capable of thinking something
absolutely new that has not been experienced (directly or indirectly) by the body? Nobody can think
5
of anything absolutely new. One can only think of a new way of arranging and/or connecting things
that one has ever learnt. In this sense intellect is constrained by reason whereas imagination is not.
But imagination is not acceptable to intellect unless it is logically consistent with what is already
known. Imagination helps to see a new connection but intellect makes sure that the new connection
is consistent with the old structure of knowledge. This is the way a new structure in knowledge is
born and this process of acquiring larger and larger structure (hence meaning or synthesis) is the
learning process. Science is considered so reliable because it has a stringent methodology to check
this consistency of imagination with old knowledge.
Can one aspire to study the mind using methodology of (physical) sciences? Seeing the tremendous
success of physical sciences in the external world one would think its methodology to work for understanding the inner world. It is not obvious a priori why should not QT work in this third ontology
when it has worked so successfully with two different ontologies? We aim to understand nature at a
level that transcends the inner and the outer worlds by synthesizing them into a more fundamental
world of quantum information.
3.2
Formalism
3.2.1
Manifold
A physical space-time description of mind is not possible because thoughts that constitute the mind
are acausal : it does not take 8 minutes for me to think of the sun although when I look at the sun I
see how it was 8 minutes ago. We will assume that it is possible to define an abstract manifold for the
space of thoughts (say, T-space). An element of T-space is a thought-state (T-state) and the manifold
allows for a continuous change from one T-state to another. I presume that T-space is identical with
mind but it need not be so if mind can exist in a thoughtless but awake state, often called turiya.
3.2.2
Basic Constituent
How does one define a T-state? That requires one to understand what is a ‘thought’ ? A thought
always begins as an idea (that could be based on self and universal perception) and then undergoes
successive changes in that idea but roughly remaining focused on a theme. Change from one theme
to another is triggered by a new idea. Hence I would suggest that the basic constituent of T-state
is idea. An idea is like a ‘snapshot’ of experience complete with all sense data whereas a thought
(T-state) is like an ensemble (where each element is not an exact replica of the other but has to be
very close copy to retain the focus on the theme) of such snapshots.
3.2.3
Evolution
There are two types of evolution in T-space. First, the way an ensemble of ideas evolves retaining a
common theme to produce a thought. To concentrate means to linger the focus on that theme. This
evolution seems to be nonlinear and nondeterministic. Hence the linear unitary evolution of QT may
not suffice to quantify this and will be perhaps best described in terms of the mathematics of selforganization and far-from-equilibrium phenomena. [On the practical side the time-tested techniques
of Yoga teach us how to linger the focus on a theme through the practice of dharana, dhyan and
samadhi. ] The second type involves a change from one particular thought into another and this
evolution could be linear and perhaps can be calculated through a probability amplitude description
in the line of QT. Given the complete description of a thought at an initial time the refutability of
any theory of mind amounts to checking how correctly it can predict the evolution of that thought at
a later time.
3.2.4
Guiding Principles
If the guiding principle for evolution in biological world is survivability then in T-space it is happinessability. A constant pursuit of happiness (although its definition may vary from person to person) guides
the change in a person’s thoughts. Each and every activity (begins as mental but may or may not
materialize) is directed to procure more and more happiness in terms of sensual pleasures of the body,
emotional joys of the imagination and rational delights of the intellect.
6
3.2.5
Interactions
Can a thought (mind) interact with another thought (mind)? Can this interaction be similar to that
between quantum fields? Perhaps yes, only if both thought and quantum fields can be reduced to the
same basic entity. Then it will be possible for thought (mind) to interact with matter. What will
be the messenger that has to be exchanged between interacting minds or between interacting mind
and matter? This ultimate level of communication has to be at the level of QV and hence it may
amount to silence in terms of conventional languages. But can any receiver (either human mind or
any other mind or equipment) be made so sensitive to work with this ultimate level of communication?
Interaction with the environment is believed to decohere a quantum system that causes the emergence
of classicality in physical world. A completely isolated system remains quantum mechanical. Can
a completely isolated mind exhibit quantum mechanical behaviour in the sense of superposition and
entanglement?
3.2.6
Composite Systems
In the T-Space a thought is an ensemble of ideas and a mind-state is composed of thoughts. Behaviour,
feeling and knowledge of self and universe are in principle reducible to composite subsets in the Tspace.
3.3
Discussions
3.3.1
Working definition of Consciousness
Consciousness (at the first level) is related to one’s response R to one’s environment. This response
consists of two parts: habit H and learning L. Once something is learnt and becomes a habit it seems
to drop out of consciousness. Once driving a bicycle is learnt one can think of something else while
riding the bicycle. But if the habit changes with time then it requires conscious attention. We have
defined learning earlier as a process to find commensurability of a new experience with old knowledge.
One has to learn anew each time there is a change in the environment. Hence consciousness is not
the response to the environment but is the time of rate of change of the response i.e.
C = dR/dt
(1)
where, R = H + L.
The hierarchy in consciousness depends on the magnitude of this time derivative. Everything in the
universe can be fit in a scale of consciousness with unconscious and super-conscious as the limit points.
It is obvious that all animals show response to their environment, so does some of the refrigerators, but
there is a hierarchy in their response. Through the use of ‘cresco-graph’ and ‘resonant cardio-graph’
of J. C. Bose one can see the response of botanical as well as inanimate world. We cannot conclude
that a stone is unconscious just because we cannot communicate with it using our known means of
communication. As technology progresses, we will be able to measure both the response function R
and its time derivative. If this is the definition what can it tell about the future evolution of humans?
My guess is that we would evolve from conscious to super-conscious in the sense that genes will evolve
to store the cumulative learning of the human race.
3.3.2
Emergence of Consciousness
The first step in understanding consciousness consists of using reductionist method to various attributes of consciousness. A major part of the studies done by psychologists (and their equivalents
doing studies on animals) and neuro-biologists falls under this category. Such studies can provide
knowledge about mind states (say M1, M2,. . . ) but cannot explain the connection between these
mind states with the corresponding brain states (say B1, B2, . . . ). Because this kind of dualistic
model of Descarte would require to answer a) where is mind located in the brain, and b) if my mind
wants me to raise my finger, how does it manage to trigger the appropriate nerves and so on in order
for that to happen without exerting any known forces of nature?
To find out how the mind actually works one needs to have a theory of mind, that will relate the
sequence of mental states M1, M2, M3,. . . by providing laws of change (the dynamical laws for the
7
two types of evolution discussed above) that encompass the mental realm after the fashion of the
theory of matter that applies to the physical realm, with its specific laws. Such a theory of mind
is possible if we synthesize the results of studies on attributes of consciousness to define the exact
nature of the manifold and the basic entities of the T-space (or Mind-Space). Once this is achieved
then one can attempt to explain the emergence of consciousness taking clues from complexity theory
in physical sciences. But such an extrapolation will make sense provided both M-states and B-states
can be reduced to something fundamental that obeys laws of complexity theory. We propose in the
next section that information is the right candidate for such a reduction.
3.3.3
Role of Indian Philosophy (IP)
(1) Unlike the Cartesian dichotomy of mind and body some schools of IP like Vaisheshika and Yoga
treat both mind and body in a unified manner. Since (western) science is based on Cartesian paradigm
it cannot synthesize mind and body unless it takes the clue from oriental philosophies and then blend
it with its own rigorous methodology.
(2) In terms of sense awareness, awake, dream and dream-less sleep states are often called as conscious,
subconscious and unconscious states. A great conceptual step taken by IP in this regard is to introduce
a fourth state of mind called turiya that is defined to be none of the above but a combination of all
of the above states. This state is claimed to be the super-conscious state where one transcends the
limitations of perceptions constrained by space-time (3 +1). Patanjali has provided very scientific and
step by step instructions to reach this fourth state through samyama (dharana, dhyana and samadhi
are different levels of samyama). The scientific validity of this prescription can be easily checked
by controlled experiments. Nobody can understand the modern physics without going through the
prerequisite mathematical training. It will be foolish for any intelligent lay person to doubt the truth of
modern physics without first undergoing the necessary training. Similarly one should draw conclusion
about yogic methods only after disciplined practice of the eight steps of yoga.
(3) IP can provide insights regarding the role of mind in getting happiness and thus a better understanding of mind itself. Happiness lies in what the mind perceives as pleasurable and hence the true
essence of happiness lies in mind and not in any external things. Once the body has experienced
something mind is capable of recreating that experience in the absence of the actual conditions that
gave rise to the experience in the first place. One can use this capacity of mind to create misery or
ecstasy depending on one’s ability to guide one’s mind.
(4) There is a concept of anahata nada (the primordial sound) in IP. Sometimes the possibility of
having a universal language (like Sandhya bhasa etc.) to communicate with everything in the universe
is also mentioned. Modern physics tells us that the only universal language is at the level of gauge
bosons and QV. Is there any connection between these two? Can a (human) mind be trained to
transmit and receive at the level of QV?
(5) It is said that whole body is in the mind whereas the whole mind is not in the body. How does
mind affect the body? If one believes in the answer given by IP then the results obtained in this
regard by the western psychology appears to be the tip of the iceberg only. Can science verify these
oriental claims through stringently controlled experiments?
4
Unification
4.1
Information
Information seems to be abstract and not real in the sense that, it lies inside our heads. But information can, not only exist outside the human brain (i.e. library, a CD, internet etc.) but also can
be processed outside human brain (i.e. other animals, computers etc.). Imagine a book written in
a dead language, which nobody today can decipher. Does it contain information? Yes. Information
exists. It does not need to be perceived or understood to exist. It requires no intelligence to interpret
it. In this sense information is as real as matter and energy when it comes to the internal structure
of the universe [8]. But what we assume here is that information is more fundamental than matter
and energy because everything in the universe can be ultimately reduced to information.
Information is neither material nor non-material. Both, quantum fields and thoughts can be
reduced to information. If the human mind is not capable (by the methods known at present) of
8
understanding this ultimate information then it is the limitation of the human mind. This may not
remain so as time progresses. The whole of physical world can be reduced to information [9]. Is
information classical or quantum? There are enough indications from modern physics that although
it can be classical at the everyday world it is quantum at the most fundamental level. The quantum
information may have the advantage of describing the fuzziness of our experiences.
4.2
Formalism
4.2.1
Manifold
The manifold is an information field (I-field) for classical information (like that of Shannon or Fisher
etc.) Hilbert space of QT is the manifold to study quantum information. But if quantum information
has to be given an ontological reality then it may be necessary for the manifold to be an extended
Hilbert space.
4.2.2
Basic Constituent
A bit or a qubit is the basic entity of information depending on whether it is treated as classical or
quantum respectively. Information can be of two types: kinetic and structural, but they are convertible
to each other [8].
4.2.3
Evolution
All organized systems contain information and addition of information to a system manifests itself by
causing the system to become more organized or reorganized. The laws for evolution of information are
essentially laws of organization. Are these laws different from the physical laws? Is there an equivalent
in the world of information of fundamental principles like principle of least action in physical world?
4.2.4
Guiding Principles
Optimization seems to be the guiding principle in the world of information. What gives rise to the
structure in the information such that we acquire an understanding or meaning out of it? Is there a
principle of least information to be satisfied by all feasible structures?
4.2.5
Interactions
The interaction at the level of information has to be the ultimate universal language. What could
be that language? The only fundamental language known to us is that of the gauge fields that
communicate at the level of QV. Could the gauge fields serve as quanta of information? How far is
this language from the conventional language? Can this help us to communicate with not only with
other creatures incapable of our conventional language but also with the inanimate world? Time is
not yet ripe to answer these questions.
4.2.6
Composite Systems
How can every composite system of information (like a gene or a galaxy) be expressed in terms of bits
or qubits? Does the holographic principle also apply to information?
4.3
Discussions
4.3.1
Consciousness and Information
There is no doubt that sooner or later all attributes of consciousness can be reduced to information.
This is just a matter of time and progress in technology. That will complete the understanding of
consciousness at the gross level of phenomena but will harbinger the understanding of consciousness at
the subtle level of laws. The synthesis of the phenomenological studies of consciousness will be possible
by treating information as the most basic ontological entity, which can unify mind and matter. The
emergence of consciousness will be understood in terms of nonlinear, far-from-equilibrium complex
9
processes that lead to spontaneous self-organization and adaptation of structures in the manifold of
quantum information.
Consciousness will be seen as the ability to process quantum information in an effective way.
Depending on the degree of complexity involved the processing would encompass activities starting
from the way a planet knows which is the path of least action to the way modern supercomputers do
simulations of reality to the way a scientist makes a discovery or an artist traps beauty on a canvass
through the nuances of truth. The limit points of unconscious and super-conscious would correspond
to the limiting cases of no information processing and infinite information processing respectively.
Subconscious will be interpreted as partial information processing.
Every entity in the universe has to take a decision at every moment of time for its existence although
the word existence may mean different things to different entities. The chance for continuation of
existence is enhanced if the best decision on the basis of available information is taken. This is a
process of optimization and the more conscious an entity is more is its ability to optimize.
4.3.2
Limitations of understanding
Is there any fundamental principle (or theorem) that puts limit on the understanding of both mind
and matter by reducing them to information and then applying methodology of physical sciences
to understand life and consciousness as emergent phenomena? Since this approach heavily relies on
mathematics the limitations of deductive logic as pointed out by Gödel in his famous incompleteness
theorem may put the first limit. The second constraint may come from QT if it turns out (after
having rigourous information theoretic formulation of both matter and mind) that the information
related to mind is complementary to the information found in matter. I personally feel that this is
quite unlikely because I believe that information at the fundamental level cannot be dualistic.
5
Conclusions
Unlike the Cartesian duality between mind and body, understanding consciousness requires first to
understand matter and mind in a unified way. This can be achieved by giving information the most
primary status in the universe. Then a generalized theory of quantum information dynamics has to
be formulated (see the table (in the last page): The World Matrix, for a summary). The line of attack
involves three steps: 1) understanding emergent phenomena and complexity in inanimate systems,
2) understanding life as emergent phenomena, and 3) understanding consciousness as emergent phenomena. The attributes of consciousness can be understood only by a prudent application of both
reductionism and holism. But the emergence of consciousness will be understood as an emergent
phenomenon in the sense of structural organizations in the manifold of information to yield feasible
structures through which we attribute meaning and understanding to the world.
6
Acknowledgement
I am thankful to the organizers of the conference, especially Prof. B. V. Sreekantan and Dr. Sangeetha
Menon, for providing the local hospitality and intellectual support.
7
References
[1] Sarkar U., 2001, New Dimensions New Hopes; arXiv: hep-ph/0105274
[2] Davies P., 1989,The New Physics, Cambridge University Press.
[3] Sreekantan B. V., 2001, this conference proceeding
[4] Sreekantan B. V., 1999, Scientific Explanations and Consciousness , Proceedings of the national
conference on Scientific and Philosophical Studies on Consciousness, held at NIAS, Bangalore.
[5] Einstein A, Podolsky B., Rosen N (EPR), 1935, Quantum theory and Measurement, edt. By Zurek,
W. H. and Wheeler, J. A.
[6] Bohm D. and Hiley B.,1993, The Undivided Universe, Routledge, London.
10
[7] Badii, R and Politi, A, 1997, Complexity: Hierarchical Structures and Scaling in Physics, Cambridge University Press.
[8] Stonier, T., 1990, Information and the internal structure of the Universe, SpringerVerlag.
[9] Roy Frieden B., 1999, Physics from Fisher Information: A Unification, Cambridge University
Press.
The World Matrix: (Summary of various Worlds)
Character
Physical
Biological
Mental
Information
Manifold
SpT (3 + 1),
Hilbert Space
QV, SpT (10)
SpT (3 + 1),
Hilbert Space
M-Space
(Abstract
Mathematical
Space)
I-Field,
Extended
Hilbert Space
Basic
Constituents
Wave-function
Quantum fields
Strings
p-branes
Cell, Neuron,
Micro-tubule
Cyto-skeleton
Idea (based
on self or
universal
perception
Bit
(classical)
Qubit
(quantum)
Evolution
Phys. Laws
( mostly diff.
equations)
Phys. Laws
Bio. Laws
Laws for
evolution of
thought
Laws for
evolution of
organization
Guiding
Principles
Symmetry
(Group
Theoretical)
Survivability
Intentionality
HappinessAbility
Optimization
Interactions
Gravity,
Electro-weak,
Strong
Nuclear
Interaction
Chemicals,
Electric
Signals,
Language,
Gesture
Primordial
Sound or
Vibrations
Local, and
Non-local
(EPR)
channels
Composite
Systems
Many-body
Systems with
or without
interactions
Plants,
Animals
Thought
(Ensemble of
Ideas with
ordering)
Complex
Systems with
Hierarchy in
Organization
11 |
ARTIFICIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND SECURITY
arXiv:1905.11807v1 [cs.AI] 11 May 2019
ANDREW POWELL
Abstract. This paper describes a possible way to improve computer security
by implementing a program which implements the following three features
related to a weak notion of artificial consciousness: (partial) self-monitoring,
ability to compute the truth of quantifier-free propositions and the ability to
communicate with the user. The integrity of the program could be enhanced
by using a trusted computing approach, that is to say a hardware module that
is at the root of a chain of trust. This paper outlines a possible approach but
does not refer to an implementation (which would need further work), but the
author believes that an implementation using current processors, a debugger,
a monitoring program and a trusted processing module is currently possible.
1. Introduction
It is plausible to believe that the minimum condition that distinguishes an artificially conscious computer from one that is not conscious is the ability to self-monitor
(an idea that is evident in the postscript to [Dennett84], and is explored in, for example, [Sloman07]). There are many other approaches to artificial consciousness,
from flat out denial of its possibility (usually based on a belief in a fundamentally qualitative type of existence, qualia, which inanimate things do not possess),
through the views that consciousness is only to be associated with biological systems, that consciousness must be associated with language, that a conscious being
must have an internal representation of itself, that consciousness is an emergent
property of sufficiently complex systems, to the view above that consciousness is a
function of the ability to self-refer or self-monitor and the even stronger view that
consciousness is a property of computations. [Chella07] contains a range of reasonably current views on artificial consciousness and [Reggia13] and [Gamez08] are
recent surveys. This paper does not provide a critique of various views of artificial
consciousness, but instead advocates that three criteria should be tested empirically to investigate their adequacy for artificial consciousness in order to establish
a possibly weak notion of artificial consciousness which can be used to improve the
security of computer systems.
The three criteria are:
• Self-monitoring
• Ability to make judgements
• Ability to communicate, i.e. at minimum respond with “yes” and “no”
answers to external questions
To be clear, these criteria are not seen as an anything more than framing an hypothesis, which will need help from techniques in machine learning, expert systems
and machine visual representation in order to be tested. It may be that an autonomous agent approach with consciousness as the broker between the activities
1
ARTIFICIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND SECURITY
2
of the agents (see for example the LIDA parallel processing model of S. Franklin,
for example [Franklin, BaarsFranklin09, FranklinGraessner99], or the neural network agents model of M. Shanahan, see [Shanahan06, ConnorShanahan10], or the
neural network state machine approach of I. Aleksander (see [Aleksander97]) may
produce machines which pass the test of consciousness as expressed by the three
criteria above. There is merit in the view that an artificially conscious entity does
need representations of objects in the world around us to make judgments that are
decidable by others (see Section 4), but in this paper it is argued that judgements
about the state1 of an entity’s own registers and memory has value for the purpose
of maintaining security.
In this paper the focus will be on a computer as the artificially conscious entity
and on the security implications of artificial consciousness, which exist even for a
weak notion of self-monitoring. Section 2 discusses how far self-monitoring can be
achieved. Section 4 explains why the ability to make judgements and the ability
to communicate are reasonable criteria for artificial consciousness and how judgements and communications should be characterized. Sections 3 and 5 discuss the
implications for security of self-monitoring, judgment and communications of an
artificially conscious program and connections to the trusted computed initiative
implemented in recent computing platforms. In summary then, the notions of communications, self-monitoring and judgement for a computer are explored and their
implications for improved security of computer systems are considered.
2. Self-monitoring
Self-monitoring is not the same as self-representation but does imply some kind
of self-awareness. Self-representation as a notion implies that a computer program
has a model of the self which it uses to validate references in judgements about
actions made by the self, but self-monitoring on the other hand only requires that
the program can check (some of) its own activities. Although self-representation is
not explicitly pursued in this paper, it may have utility as an aspect of a consciousness because it is reasonable to suppose that the self can also be represented to the
self. However, self-monitoring is taken to be the more fundamental notion, as there
are limits to how faithful a representation of self can be (see the comments below
about the limits of self-monitoring). To be more precise about self-monitoring, a
computer program self-monitors if it is capable of checking the values of all the
registers or variables that it uses and the instruction that the program is currently
executing and the history of the state of the program (that is, the register values
and instructions executed, indexed by time). A computer process self-monitors if
it self-monitors as a computer program and it is able to monitor the state of any
interrupt sent to it by another process.
It is possible for a program or a process to self-monitor (if it has not crashed)2
because the self-monitoring function is very similar to what a debugger or instrumentation program does. Strictly, a debugger is a program which enables any
1In this paper, state will refer to the values of all registers and the current instruction executed
at a specific time.
2A process has crashed if the program has not terminated and its execution cycles through a
sequence of states.
ARTIFICIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND SECURITY
3
other program to be monitored without changing its computation steps or the
values of its variables; and it is of course true there will be registers and values
whose current values cannot be read, i.e. those registers which are used to check
the values of registers of the instrumented program. Recent approaches to instrumenting a program by dynamically patching its execution path are given at
[Feiner12, Bungale07, Chachmon16]. In the present context such a limitation is
acceptable for two reasons. Firstly, self-monitoring is useful insofar as it concerns
monitoring the status of processes spawned by a given process, for example, to
check if the processes have crashed or are stuck in an endless loop, rather than
trying to determine whether the process itself is stuck in an endless loop (which is
in general is unsolvable because it is equivalent to the halting problem3). Secondly,
it is possible to check the value of all registers and the currently executing instruction with a time delay, as previously executed instructions and register values can
be archived. It is also possible for the values of the internal state of a process
to be monitored by a separate process which can set a flag in one registers used
by the first process if the first process is behaving abnormally, with the limitation
that the first process cannot reciprocally monitor the monitoring processing (which
would be equivalent to self-monitoring). So, for practical purposes programs and
processes can self-monitor. More theoretically, it is unreasonable to expect a monitoring interface to expose everything about the monitoring program. Humans rely
on indirect reports from sensors, whereas an artificially conscious computer could
expose far more of its hardware state as well as the states of its processes.
The implications of a self-monitoring program are that the operating system (which
is a management program after all) can monitor all the programs and processes that
the operating system manages and can intervene if they crash, do not respond to
interrupts, or just behave abnormally (take up a lot of memory or get stuck in a
loop with no change in the value of the variables in the loop condition).
3. Security implications of self-monitoring
If it is possible to tell whether a process is behaving abnormally, it is plausible
to believe that the operating system can check whether a process or program other
than itself is operating insecurely. Of course security is difficult to define in general
because security is relative to a set of specific security policies4, but in terms of
vulnerabilities not envisaged by the programmer, security means that the variables
have the values expected and that no memory structures used in the management
of program execution are modified other than by the operating system. A value of
a variable may be said to be expected if the program assigns data types to variables
and the value is in the range associated with the data type. In the case where
3This well known result is due to A. Turing [Turing36], but a modern approach is to define
f (e) = 1 if (∃x ∈ N )({e}(e) = x) and f (e) = 0 otherwise, i.e. if {e}(e) is not defined, where e
is the natural number code of (the syntax of) a program and {e} : N → N is the function that
the program implements, assumed to be a natural number function. Then if f were computable,
then f = {h} for some numerical program code h, and it follows that {h}(h) = 0 if {h}(h) is not
defined, contradiction.
4
There is a view in [ClarksonSchneider10] that security properties of computer programs are
properties of sets of execution paths (or traces), constraining those sets of traces in some way and
specifying which systems (sets of traces) a security policy relates to. This is an elegant way of
formulating security properties and formalizing security policies.
ARTIFICIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND SECURITY
4
the operating system instruments every program by assigning data types to all
variables, checks whether all values of the variables are expected, and manages all
access to memory structures, it can be seen that a self-monitoring operating system
could identify programs which are operating insecurely and could instrument them
in such a way that evidence could be provided to a system administrator so that
the insecure program could be closed down.
In fact, we can even be bolder in our claims about what a self-monitoring operating system could monitor. It could monitor attempts to modify operating system
functions and libraries but, in general, not attempted changes to instrumentation
of those functions. It would be only be possible to address the risk of unauthorized
modification of the operating system if there was a hierarchy of trust. If the operating system is trustworthy then it could assign a trustworthiness rating to programs
based on the number of security reports raised. It would be particularly useful to
combine this approach with a trusted computing approach5 which uses hardware
separation (i.e. trusted processing modules) to verify the integrity of the operating
system, to provide a chain of trust of programs run on the system, and to manage (via a virtualization layer) the execution of any programs (whether standard
user programs or high privilege programs such as kernel loadable modules). The
trusted computing module would prevent programs from having an impact if they
execute insecure code and the security verification will check the trustworthiness of
the program.
4. Judgement and communication as criteria of artificial
consciousness
An artificial consciousness that could make judgements for itself would reduce
the decision-making burden on the user. The practical reason for including judgements in the criteria for consciousness is that it seems impossible to make decisions
about what you are monitoring without the ability to make judgements. Thanks
to a line of logicians from G. Frege (see [Frege1884])6 onwards, we understand what
it is to make a judgement about a set of concepts and objects. That is, we can
in principle decide (i.e. compute the truth or falsehood of) a statement that does
not contain unbounded logical quantifiers (such as “for all” or “there exists”)7 but
may contain logical operators such as ”and”, “or”, “not” and “implies”. A judgment is
then a computable function (that is, a computation) from properties (or predicates)
and objects into the set that contains “true” and “false”. To be clear, we can apply
a program to a (natural number) code of a property that could apply to a set of
(codes of) input objects, and compute whether the property applies to a given set
of objects or not. For example, if we wish to decide where natural number c satisfies
the natural number relation a ≤ x ≤ b we could code a ≤ x ≤ b as ⌈a ≤ x ≤ b⌉
using a computable coding ⌈⌉ and then substitute c for x in ⌈a ≤ x ≤ b⌉ and decide
the truth of ⌈a ≤ c ≤ b⌉ by means of a computable function. Of course, the types
of judgement that a computer can make will concern objective states of affairs that
5
See for example [Pearson02]. Trusted computing has been implemented on the motherboards
of some business-focussed personal computers and mobile computing platforms.
6
Arguably the line originates from I. Kant (see [Stuart02]) and includes E. Husserl.
7
In general dedidable propositions with quantfication over an euumerable set S are of the form
(∃y)P (y, x) if x ∈ S and (∃y)Q(y, x) if x ∈
/ S, but most such propositions will not be decidable
by a computer with fixed finite resources.
ARTIFICIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND SECURITY
5
it can represent, such as whether a process is or is not responding to interrupts (in
a certain timescale), but not be about wishes or intentions.
It is worth stressing that the operating systems should make judgements about
all programs that the operating system manages (at least in the form of recommendations to an administrator) on a frequent basis in terms of program health
(where they are caught in an endless loop or require too much system resources to
run), program security (against security policies and needing to pass vulnerability
checks) and program safety (against safety policies and needing to pass vulnerability checks). The idea is that the operating system would run through all the tasks
it needs to perforn and compute each as a judgment, recording the results of the
judgements in a log.
It is also worth noting that not all properties are computably decidable8 and some
are not practically computably decidable (because any computation has a long runtime), but it is nevertheless possible to decide whether for example a set of bits (a
pixel) represents the colour blue, whether a certain shape could represent a cat, or
whether indeed a certain process has not responded to an interrupt.9 If we allow
deep learning neural networks10, it is possible to represent concepts of differing levels of abstraction and to classify objects under those concepts. In order to decide
properties and make judgements, the artificially conscious program will need to
write and run programs of its own, i.e. spawn processes. In order to make judgements about propositions that are not decidable but which are theorems of axiom
systems, we might want to allow the artificial consciousness to deduce theorems
from (codes of) axioms using inference rules, understand the axioms by verifying
that the axioms have a model11, and even to be able to propose new axioms by
producing models which satisfy those axioms (perhaps by using neural networks to
classify propositions as “theorems” or not). However, even without making the artificially conscious program into a logician or a data scientist, the value of being able
to make judgments is considerable in terms of the ability of the artificial consciousness to enforce security and safety policies and to improve clarity and efficiency of
interacting with the operating system for the user.
The reason why a program that can make judgements results in greater clarity
for the user is that the computations of decidable propositions will form a justification of the decisions that the program recommends. This approach will also
increase efficiency for the user because the operating system can make recommendations to the user or take actions in a way that does not cause the user to try to
8In general arithmetical predicates containing any unbounded natural number quantifiers are
not decidable by means of a computation unless they have the specific form noted in Footnote 7.
9These examples are deliberately taken mainly from machine learning of visual representations
because that area provides a rich source of decidable judgements. Speech analytics is another such
area, as is of course the content of the computer’s own registers.
10Layers in convolutional neural networks, where the convolution operation picks out features,
naturally form a hierarchy of increasing abstraction.
11Ideally we would want to show that the axioms are true in a particular model of the axioms,
because truth in some model shows the consistency of the axioms. In order to build models
computable representations of arbitrary elements and defined functions/predicates of the model
will be needed. [Hodges85] is a very readable account of model theory, using games with finite
rule sets to build models.
ARTIFICIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND SECURITY
6
guess at the cause of messages from the operating system.
The ability to communicate is included as a criterion of artificial consciousness
as a minimum condition for testing artificial consciousness, otherwise an external
user will have to monitor its state directly. An artificially conscious program needs
to communicate with the programs that it monitors, and operating systems are
expected to report to users on the the status of programs that are running and
to implement the users’ commands. The ability to communicate interactively and
faithfully would be desirable. For these reasons, the ability to communicate to other
programs and to users is essential. At minimum that communication could be “yes”
or “no” (i.e. one bit of information), although in practice data and functions of all
types could be passed through the program’s interface, including validation of the
accuracy of the information communicated.
5. Security implications of judgement and communications
The ability to form judgements could be used to prevent a user making mistakes and in coming to evidence-based decisions. When combined with the trusted
computing techniques noted in connection with self-monitoring, the artificially conscious program would have some evidence for the integrity of its own functioning
and for the soundness of its own judgements. The ability to communicate on the
other hand could introduce vulnerabilities into the program if the types and validity
of the value of program inputs are not checked, and the integrity of the messages
communicated would need to be assured (by cryptographic means for example).
Communication is necessary for the worth of the artificially conscious program to
be realized in terms of helping a user make decisions and to report back information.
In any case vulnerabilities in programs through specially crafted inputs are not new
for any operating system, nor is the need for integrity checking of communications.
Trusted computing could also provide integrity checking of communications.
6. Conclusions
In this paper an approach to artificial consciousness is suggested which is sufficient for increasing the security of operating systems, namely communications,
judgments and self-monitoring. It is also suggested that self-monitoring brings significant security benefits in supporting the termination of programs which do not
respond to interrupts or otherwise exhibit unusual behaviour, that communications
is necessary for testing the functioning of an artificially conscious program, and
that the ability to make judgements is useful for user decision-support.
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[ConnorShanahan10] D. Connor & M. Shanahan “A computational model of a global neuronal workspace with stochastic connections” Neural Networks 23 (2010)
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N. Chachmon, D. Richins, R. Cohn et al. “Simulation and Analysis Engine
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P. Feiner, A. Demke Brown & A. Goel ”Comprehensive Kernel Instrumentation via Dynamic Binary Translation” In the Seventeenth International
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Neppe, V. M. & Close, E. R., On Non-locality III: Dimensional Biopsychophysics
Exploration
On Non-locality III: Dimensional Biopsychophysics
Vernon M. Neppe* & Edward R. Close
ABSTRACT
In this third article of the six-part series, we extend to dimensions and the new area of
dimensional biopsychophysics and recognize that we need extend beyond Popperian falsifiability
to examine also feasibility of the limited jigsaw pieces we have available. This leads to the
concept of lower dimensional feasibility, absent falsification. We recognize the importance of
differentiating the discrete in the finite from the continuity that is in infinity. And we briefly
show that the authors’ “triadic dimensional-distinction vortical paradigm” model can be applied
both empirically and mathematically in the analyses of the higher dimensions, including the 9
spinning finite dimensions that we have derived. The Standard Model of physics works bottomsup from the experiences of 3 dimensions of space in a moment in time, as compared with a topdown approach. We introduce what we regard as the most fundamental concept, namely
“immediacy”.
Key Words: dimensional, biopsychophysics, TDVP, Triadic Dimensional Distinction Vortical
Paradigm, distinctions, consciousness, relative, framework, non-locality, space-time, level,
relative non-locality, dimension, beyond, infinity.
Dimensional Biopsychophysics 1, 4, 11
Dimensional biopsychophysics (DBP) is a new multidisciplinary term coined by Neppe. DBP
involves extensions of current physics and mathematics beyond the Standard space-time
experiential and its related limiting quantal model to dimensions and dimensionometry. It
includes extending the biological, consciousness research and psychological disciplines to
recognizing that what exists and may impact our day-to-day experiences is far broader than
purely space-time. DBP therefore involves what is regarded as non-local to many of us. 1, 4, 64 9,
12, 14, 18
It impacts across many different major areas of study and includes dimensions, the finite
and infinite, and consciousness. It integrates and unifies reality involving these broader scientific
biological, psychological and physical disciplines, as well as philosophy and several other areas
of mathematics including the Calculus of Dimensional Distinctions (CoDD) — the area of
mathematics pioneered and developed by Edward Close, later with an assist from Vernon Neppe.
65
*Correspondence: Vernon M. Neppe, MD, PhD, FRSSAf, Director, Pacific Neuropsychiatric Institute, Seattle, WA; and
Exceptional Creative Achievement Organization (Distinguished Professor); and Adj. Prof., Department of Neurology and
Psychiatry, St Louis University, St Louis, MO. http://www.vernonNeppe.org E-mail: psyche@pni.org
Edward R. Close. Research Associate, Pacific Neuropsychiatric Institute, Seattle, WA; and Distinguished Fellow, Exceptional
Creative Achievement Organization.
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Feasibility and falsifiability as a system of proof and verification (LFAF)
Dimensional biopsychophysics introduces an important new philosophy of science model to
assess the necessary extensions of scientific data. Any multidimensional or cosmological model
requires an extension of scientific analyses. This requires the development of a new feasible
Philosophy of Science analytic technique, developed by Neppe and Close 66, called Lower
Dimensional Feasibility, Absent Falsification (LFAF). This is so, as higher dimensional or
cosmological aspects often cannot be directly falsified in our worldly “restricted space-time
reality”.
LFAF implies that if we could not prove extra dimensions, for example, it would become
“metaphysical”: Instead, we can apply the new LFAF technique to recognize that other higher
dimensions still produce verifiable information in space-time. 4, 11 We then ask “is it feasible?” If
we can express the empirical information scientifically in space-time as a piece of a complex
jigsaw puzzle, then it is feasible if it had not been falsified. This LFAF technique effectively
involves the methodology of literature review, hypotheses, methods, results, analysis,
discussions and provisional conclusions (including statistical, clinical significance and
observational non-statistically needed analyses) applying the recognized (Popperian) 67, 68 “not
falsified” scientific analyses and then amplifying by saying “can this actively fit what we know
into a space-time (or lower dimensional) jigsaw puzzle?” If that is feasible, that provisionally
empirically validates; we can then progressively develop further hypotheses in that discipline (a
paradigm) and extend LFAF hypotheses to other sciences (metaparadigm). We apply principles
of LFAF too in our regular lives. It is very feasible to note whether a medication works in a high
proportion of cases. We apply it too in cosmological studies such as evolution. But, in addition,
given that we are going beyond space-time, LFAF clearly impacts on what is being labeled “nonlocal”, and this is potentially dimensional and beyond.
The discrete and the continuous
We have provided several examples in other publications that support our contention that there
are 9 finite spinning dimensions 4, 12-15: In 2013, we mathematically proved the existence of 9
spinning dimensions by deriving a particular esoteric angle b in certain subatomic elementary
particles c. We were not surprised by this finding because even before that, starting in 2011, we
had proposed that there had to be a finite 9-dimensional spinning reality. We based this on the
scientific principles underlying the Neppe-Close multidisciplinary paradigm shift model that we
call the “Triadic Dimensional-Distinction Vortical Paradigm”.
b
We refer here to what is known as “the Cabibbo mixing angle in fermions”. Additionally, we demonstrated
“intrinsic angular momentum” in electron rotations.
c
The pertinent elementary particles include quarks and electrons. Both are fermions as they have so-called “half
spin” properties.
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Triadic dimensional-distinction vortical paradigm (TDVP)
The Triadic Dimensional-Distinction Vortical Paradigm is a metaparadigmatic model developed
equally by Drs. Vernon Neppe and Edward Close in 2011. It is based on the available broader
empirical data of all the sciences (physical, biological, consciousness and psychological),
validated partly by mathematical theorems. It applies LFAF for scientific validation, and extends
to philosophy (as “Unified Monism”).
The name TDVP derives because it is Triadic —Space, Time and Consciousness all exist as
separate measurable substrates though are always “tethered” together —they’re linked. D is for
dimensions and we also make mathematical distinctions. The V is for spinning vortices, and it
involves a paradigm shift.
Briefly, we regard TDVP as having several major elements that are demonstrably proven
because of its mathematical derivations e.g., we have derived the Cabibbo angle and many other
complex areas of physics. This can only be done with 9 dimensions, not 10 or 11 or 5 or 8 or our
conventional 3 of space in a moment (the present) in time (space-time). One reason why there
are several conundrums or contradictions in physics may be because our current “Standard
Model of Physics” has not considered that our finite reality was 9 dimensions not just those 4,
the space-time of our experience, instead of the many other components of our “non-local”
existence, but not directly explained. We simply cannot explain everything applying this
Standard Model.
What is covert —hidden and not directly accessible usually—may be pertinent in part in many
altered states including near-death and out-of-body experiences.
Importantly, the TDVP model apparently explains all of nature from our physical world, to all
aspects of psi and apparent life after death. The key features are the 9 finite dimensions, with
further dimensions even higher extending to infinity, a broader “Consciousness”, Infinity model
of life and order.
"TDVP" is regarded as a Theory of Everything (TOE) that works. TDVP scores a perfect 39/39
for a Theory of Everything. When compared to 24 other TOEs, none besides that of the original
models of Dr Neppe and Dr Close score even 20/39. There is no facet of the major part of the
model so far that has been refuted.
Extensions beyond the 9 dimensions
But we also recognized that reality is not simply a 9 dimensional one. We add to this an even
higher “countable infinity”— the “transfinite”—which, like these finite 9-dimensions, still has
discrete pieces like the miniscule pixels on a television (TV). The technical term for this is
“quantized” as these can be broken down only as far as their component parts. These pieces are
not continuous, but ultimately at their smallest size can be conceptualized purely as “points”. But
they’re too small to be “fuzzy”. They look continuous just as that movie does. But in reality, we
argue that these discrete elements, the finite dimensions plus the transfinite are necessarily
further embedded in—completely contained in—that “infinite”: It is this that is not fuzzy, not a
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point even at its smallest. Instead, the infinite extends without end —the Ein Sof. This
continuous infinity still contains the same dimensional substrates of Space, Time and
Consciousness (STC), but this infinity is a never-ending continuous unbounded STC reality. We
therefore call this the “continuous infinite” because there are no discrete, specific points in the
infinite because the infinite is like continuous lines without any breaks, as opposed to those
pixilated (discrete points) frames we see even on the best of TVs: These remain discrete frames
though to our naked eyes may appear continuous and in reality, we perceive almost everything in
a continuity even though they are discrete frames.
The reader therefore can understand that when we talk of “non-locality” it could involve any of
several different levels—dimensions, the transfinite and/ or the infinite.
Frameworks
When we speak of non-locality, we traditionally are referring to non-locality from a reference
frame: In us, living humans, this is the “framework of space-time”. If that experience in spacetime were all there was to our reality, we would not need to look at what could be interpreted as
"non-local events" from any other framework of reference. But we know there are other
frameworks such as the 9D discrete and the discrete transfinite and the continuous infinite
frameworks.
A practical illustrative example is apposite: From what framework does someone subjectively
experience an out-of-body experience (OBE)? That individual having the OBE is not
experiencing his subjective happening as “non-local” because from his “framework”, it is
“local”. Yet it may be that for us living humans, in space-time experience, that OBE is “nonlocal”!
But if we understand that OBE to be non-local, at what level of non-locality is it occurring? We
could postulate that that OBE could be understood to be occurring beyond space-time, and
possibly within some of those higher dimensional levels of existing finite reality—hypothetically,
we do not know which level, and it could vary depending on the specific event, but it could
involve only specific components of these dimensions like 5 and 6 together, or the 4th to 9th
dimension, or dimensions 1 through 9, in which case some of it would be in space-time reflecting
part of the broader whole.
The numbers are purely illustrative and the specific speculative detail is unimportant here.
However, the principle could be that the specific dimensional domains involved even in OBEs
might differ and be idiosyncratic for every specific individual “experient” d. Consequently, the
experiences of each observer might reflect different subjective levels of non-locality experience.
The descriptions of these events might vary greatly and theoretically the happening could, also or
d
An “experient” subjectively experiences—his/her perception of reality, and then interprets that perception relative
to that reality. Experients are not objectifying their experiences. In contrast, we in 3S-1t could imagine these
descriptive levels, and propose how “observers” might describe their conceptualizations, and then interpret their
reality of those theoretical experiences.
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instead, be at the even higher levels of quantized discrete happenings, namely the “transfinite”.
Theoretically, the event could even be at the “infinite” levels. Consequently, an experient having
an OBE might reflect his locality at a specific subjective reference framework level, yet we, as
fully conscious space-time beings, would be interpreting a degree of “relative nonlocality” to that
specific OBE experience: It is non-local relative to our space-time fully conscious reality, and
we may or may not be able to define the extent of the non-locality, but, ultimately this might be
important to ensure we interpret the commonalities with and the differences from the
subcategories of OBE or of any other non-local experiences or events.
Moreover, the term "framework" in this context would refer to the dimensional domain within
which the experient is located, and it is from that level that he will observe and interpret his
reality. But when some experiences or aspects of consciousness or awareness are not located in
his specific space and time and meaningful “conscious” awareness, he might experience that as
"relative non-locality": It is relative to his framework as the experient. To that observer, any
event at an even higher dimensional level would certainly be non-local for him. And any events
dimensionally “below”, might be experienced as “local” because he would be looking from the
outside into the dimensionally lower box of, for example, space-time. However, theoretically,
not all the box below may be transparent because the walls of the box might still be opaque—the
“translucency metaphor”: This might mean that some aspects below would still be “relatively
non-local” because not everything below the observer might be directly observable.
The basis of ostensible non-local phenomena in space-time
The postulation of different levels of non-locality is not idle speculation: We know scientifically
that much of our actual reality is hidden from us—they are unavailable to our limited senses such
as the infrared and the ultraviolet visual ranges, and the extensive inaudible ranges outside
conventional hearing in humans. Now these descriptions could still be in space-time: We,
therefore, actually only experience “restricted space-time” because our direct experience is
restricted.
We can slightly extend our measurable experience indirectly using instruments (like X-Rays and
MRIs) and we recognize that some of these events may be detected by land animals (e.g.,
profound olfaction—smell— in dogs) or sea creatures (like echolocation in dolphins). This
means that even at this space-time level, we can interpret phenomena as “non-local” when other
animals or even humans would directly experience it. It may be that some sensitive humans have
sensors that allow some of this to be experienced but not consciously: it would be just
“subliminal” for us.
The small case “1t” is the “present” moment in time, and that, too, is part of the restriction. We
do not directly experience the future or even the past. That would be capital T but while fully
conscious we perceive only our “restricted space-time” experience. But there is more.
The mathematical proof of the 9-dimensional finite reality
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We have argued that there is empirical (scientific) and mathematical data supporting further
dimensions besides these four that we experience in that restricted sense. The major reason for
this is its demonstration by what could be called “the authors’ mathematical derivation of 9
spinning dimensions” 4, 14, 15: By this means, we apparently can demonstrate the solution to some
of the most remarkable mysteries1 in physics which are not accessible if we just apply space-time
in any form.
The earliest proof of this was our mathematically elucidating the so-called “Cabibbo angle” and,
with it, also demonstrating “intrinsic spin” in elementary particles. What does all this refer to?
The Cabibbo angle, discovered by Nicola Cabibbo in 1963, is an esoteric measure of the
probability of a certain kind of particle decay in particle physics. It had been found to persist at a
very strange angle (13.04 degrees) by using sophisticated detectors and collectors in high-energy
particle colliders. 4, 14, 15 However, the reason why it was that specific size could never be
explained by the Standard Model of Particle Physics, even though it had been attempted. The
mystery had consequently remained unsolved for 50 years:
It turns out that the Cabibbo angle can only be solved by mathematically applying a specific
number of dimensions (in this instance, 9). However, we still cannot rule out exponents or
harmonics of 9, such as 81 or 729 dimensions. Furthermore, our solving the derivation of this
angle was particularly thought-provoking. This was because it confirmed two fundamental
hypotheses in our TDVP model 12, 15, first, that the number of dimensions that had to exist in
finite reality were 9, and, second, that they had to be spinning 13: Importantly, these 9 dimensions
were not associated with the “foldings” that have been hypothesized in “String Theory”. 69-71
After all these years, “String Theory” remains a “theory” because there is no adequate empirical
evidence for making it more than theoretical. This is in contrast with TDVP, where there are
already several “proofs” applying 9 dimensions to the nature of reality. 4, 14, 15 12, 15, 69-71 Instead,
the way we shift in mathematical physics from one dimension to another is through rotations of
tiny elementary subatomic particles. 14, 18
The current Standard Model of physics is supplemented
Of course, any multidimensional model does not refute or violate most of the so-called “Standard
Model of Physics” (SMP): The SMP is “standard” because the findings are based solely on our
day-to-day scientific experiences within the space-time dimensional model, and can still explain
possibly 99.9% of our reality. 4 However, there are areas of the SMP that remain incomplete.
These inadequately explained aspects might potentially require explanations that involve
extending dimensions. A commonly cited example in the SMP of a fundamentally unexplained
linkage is the relationship of gravitation and quantum mechanics. 4 9 Even more so, some data in
physics might even be contradicted by the standard model of physics—a reason why we’re
discussing “non-local” phenomena in this paper! 4
But these reflect only a small number of unexplained theories and empirical data. Nevertheless,
they are critically important, because any “theory of everything model” and any overarching
paradigm should not be contradicted in any legitimate and valid model. When areas such as
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entanglement might contradict or violate the SMP, we need to re-evaluate the assumptions
underlying the SMP. 4 We argue for the need for dimensions above the conventional four (spacetime) because higher dimensional models might facilitate answers to previously unanswered
questions.
We see these extra dimensions as extending our knowledge base that still allows us to understand
most of SMP. The extra dimensional idea is not just an idle speculation, because we have already
demonstrated some cogent new findings by specifically applying a nine-dimensional model. 9
Amongst these new discoveries are that the electron structure cannot be purely spherical; that we
can explain what was previously a conundrum, the reason for the disappearing electron cloud;
and discovering intrinsic angular momentum. We are currently working on Special Relativity
(not contradicting it, but recognizing that a 9-dimensional finite reality requires extending it), on
triadic quarks and its relevance to the elements of life, and on so-called “Dark Matter” and on
“Dark Energy”. 9
Most of our experiences based on the SMP, could theoretically and empirically be incorporated
into the existence of higher dimensional models: space-time experience reflects an important part
of our broader existence. And what is not our direct experience, is sometimes conceptualized as
“non-local” and even more so thought of as “beyond space and time” when it may just be a
different kind of space and time and consciousness that is not directly experienced by us as living
humans.
Continuing this theme, though the mathematical calculation of the Cabibbo angle of itself might
appear to be an obscurity 14, 18, 72, the context, proving as it does that our mathematical finite
reality is made up fundamentally of nine spinning dimensions (9-D), might be huge 14, 18, 73.
Importantly, we now know, mathematically, that there cannot be 4 (as in the Standard Model) or
5 (as in so-called Kaluza-Klein theory 74) or 10 or 11 or 26 (as in different String Theories 75-78)
or any other lower number of dimensions because the calculation would not work.
Because of this, in the context of non-locality, we therefore need to recognize that non-local
phenomena, besides restricted space-time, exist. We postulate that they may even be beyond
those 9 finite spinning dimensions and we must therefore define it relative to the specific levels
of non-locality or from the framework of observers at those levels.
Non-local phenomena based on conceptualization of different dimensions
The concept of extra dimensions allows for a special way of approaching reality in the context of
non-local phenomena. Let’s apply the analogy of a MRI of the head for example: Specific cuts
are taken through any part of the head. We could theoretically perform an infinite number of
discrete (“transfinite” number) cuts through these planes (2 dimensions) (2D). This would
produce a transfinite number of parallel lines (1D). Ultimately, we build up these planes into 3
dimensional volumes (3D)—the three spatial dimensions of length, breadth and height:
Strangely, when we look down from the framework of that third dimension, there are an infinite
number of two dimensional planes and even more so a further infinite number of parallel lines
along those 2 dimensions. Further along these lines are an infinite number of points. When we
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observe from the 1D line, we might sometimes see the points. Yet, along the plane we can see
that they’re continuous. Additionally, there may appear to be points in those planes because any
wave or object that is not straight with the cut will appear discontinuous. But if it were in all
three dimensions, we might see this as a continuous graph. To the lower dimensions, the points
may be disconnected when they are actually continuous.
This analogy can be applied to a single higher dimension or series of dimensions (dimensional
domains). Importantly, events that seem impossible because they’re discontinuous and
apparently disconnected, may be connected when observed from higher dimensions (“topdown”) from higher dimensions. We could say from the lower dimensions that there is a
disconnection in space (e.g., as in “remote viewing”), time (e.g., as in “precognition” or
“retrocognition”) or both (e.g. precognitive remote viewing). In every instance, this is modulated
through some kind of consciousness, and in the living person, the endpoint expression (the brain,
or for that matter, the autonomic nervous system as it may simply be registered) is a “local”
organ. 60
Effectively, this analogy provides for us a way to perceive space and time at higher levels when
we may be saying that these higher events in space-time are non-local because they’re beyond
Space and Time, but that perception is simply based on our framework of our limited and
restricted space-time experience and does not reflect the reality that exists.
Immediacy: Discontinuous and continuous is relative
What is the relevance of such concepts? Simply this: Effectively, events might appear
discontinuous in lower dimensions, and yet be connected in higher dimensions. They may not
lose their impacts over time and space because in higher dimensions, certain features observed in
space-time may or may not apply: What would appear to be communications with immediate
disconnectedness even at great distances, might sometimes be understood as “connected” from
the framework of other higher dimensions. At that level, there may be actually be connectivity,
and the immediacy of things happening (as in knowing the future—precognition) may occur
because it is part of the same multidimensional event: It might not require even light speed to
transfer information because there is no transfer —the connectedness, even at thousands of miles
distance in lower dimensions, could be there as part of a single structure at a higher dimension,
just as a circle in two dimensions may be part of a sphere in three dimensions.
This concept also is important in another way: Lower spatial dimensions may distort an obvious
observation for an observer in a specific higher dimensional framework. Of course, it might
require many dimensions or levels higher for the observer to understand this linkage: That is why
we talk of “relative non-locality”. Effectively, these findings may not apply from the framework
of a specific dimensional domain because the analogous parallel cuts on the MRI may be much
higher dimensionally. In other words, the dimensions remain relative. We could distinguish
connections: These distinctions might be quite false at a lower dimensional level relative to an
observer in a different higher framework. At some point, at certain higher dimensional domain
levels, any connections may be obvious, because we have connected the dots that are continuous
there, yet those dots appear separated in space, time and consciousness at the lower levels.
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Because our consciousness as physical beings is usually limited to space-time, we look at these
different specific non-locality examples as relative to our space-time domain, but clearly there
may be different kinds of non-locality.
(Continued on Part IV)
References (See Part VII)
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Exploration
Quantum Resonance & Consciousness
*
Contzen Pereira
Abstract
Resonance can trigger of a series of quantum events and therefore induce several changes related
to consciousness at micro as well as macro level within a living system. Therapeutic effects have
been observed in several religious meditative and healing practices, which use resonance in the
form of chanting and prayers. A living system may have many resonant frequencies due to their
degrees of freedom, where each can vibrate as a harmonic oscillator supporting the progression
of vibrations as waves that moves as a ripple within the whole system. A cell as an organism or
cells in multicellular organisms act as resonating bodies that trigger of oscillation of oscillatory
proteins of the cytoskeletal network. The resulting protein conformational changes generate a
conscious moment that is regulated via electron tunneling, delocalization and superposition in
space time geometry. Consciousness or sentience are phenomenal characteristics of every cell
and even though we don’t know the “why” we surely can predict and hypothesize the “how” of
consciousness to be quantum computed, which enables the cell to understand and judge
perceptions giving it a prospect to behave as per will.
Key Words: Resonance, meditation, quantum, consciousness.
Introduction
Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when a given system is driven by another vibrating
system or external force to oscillate with greater amplitude at a specific preferential frequency
(Wikipedia). Vibrations travel in the form of waves and can interact at any given point of time in
the universe and so is the possibility of it being absorbed within a living system. Resonance is
used as a medium to transfer power into all kinds of waves ranging from lasers to microwave
ovens and musical instruments. The brain works on electrical activity which exists in the form of
brainwaves ranging from high amplitude, lower frequency delta waves to low amplitude, higher
frequency beta waves (Zhuang et al 2009). The Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) predicts that
all conscious states are resonant states but not all resonant states are conscious states for it has
yet to be proven (Carpenter and Grossberg 2003). Similarly, the Phase Conjugate Adaptive
Resonance (PCAR) theory, proposes this form of resonance that occurs in living forms created
through the processes of quantum entanglement and which results in an instantaneous exchange
of information (Mitchell and Staretz 2011).
Resonance occurs when an object is vibrated at its natural frequency or naturally occurring
frequencies. The technique of healing is a best example of resonance, where healers focus on
their subjects to create a resonance interference pattern resulting in a healing effect, attributed to
the supernatural. Similarly, when people pray for others they initiate a non-local resonance
*
Correspondence: Contzen Pereira, Independent Researcher, India. E-mail: contzen@rediffmail.com
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process which may result in a positive effect due to focused attention. Brain regions associated
with attention and sensory processing were found to be thicker in persons who would meditate
daily in comparison to persons who would not, and the thickness of these areas increased with
increasing years of mediation practice (Lazar et al 2005). In deep meditative states, the
oscillators bring about a creation of standing wave within the body, which is the natural vibration
frequency of the body that gets amplified due to the presence of a same frequency vibration from
another body which may be living or non-living.
A living form is made up of water and therefore is a damped oscillating system, where water
brings about a damping effect by reducing the energy carrying capacity of the resonating waves
(Jenkins 2011). The phenomenon of resonance creates an increase in the extent of oscillations of
the oscillators present within the living form e.g. proteins (Julicher 2001). According to quantum
physics, there is no empty space between two objects; this vacuum is the Zero Point Field (ZPF)
which propagates vibrations as forms of quantum fluctuations at specific frequencies (Puthoff
and Little 2010). Vibrations as resonating waves creates interference patterns which may be
constructive if the frequencies are similar and destructive if the frequencies are not similar. A
constructive pattern would result in an enhanced positive effect while a destructive pattern would
result in reduced negative effect. The holographic model by Pribram suggests that the brain acts
like a frequency analyser and filter, which allows the brain to use what it needs preventing an
overexposure which may be an event occurring at a cellular level (Pribram 1999). Animals
without auditory features, identify complex sounds by segregating them into their constituent
frequencies which is a feature achieved by vertebrates through selective tuning of
mechanosensory hair cells.
Does resonance play a role in cognition and does it support consciousness at cellular or
multicellular level? Consciousness generated through quantum computing by means of the
ORCH-OR model suggests microtubule vibrations that resonate within the tubules to generate a
stream of consciousness (Hameroff and Penrose 2014). Resonant vibrations in megahertz and
kilohertz frequencies have been recorded within single microtubules and bundled microtubules
inside the neural cells which correlate well with the quantum computed process of the ORCHOR model (Pitkanen 2014). Ordered water on the microtubule surfaces and the internal hollow
core of the tubules have also been suggested to enhance transmissions through quantum based
optical modes calculated by its Frohlich coherence. Electron tunnelling, exciton hopping, longrange classical and non-local quantum processes involving entanglement, superposition and
quantum computation is possible within the cytoskeletal structures is due to the lattice-based
geometries that exist within these structures (Hameroff 2013) and are triggered by the resonant
waves absorbed.
Electromagnetic impulses of apt frequencies can produce resonance at cellular levels and may
stimulate a variety of functions within the cells that may have propounding effects visible at the
exterior. Quantum based models such as the ORCH-OR theory when applied at cellular level has
helped sort the “how” of consciousness and cognition which may not be wholly related to neural
cells but definitely influences the biological cellular network through resonance. Alzheimer’s
disease is caused due to cognitive dysfunctioning, and its main cause is the disruption of the
microtubular Tau protein (Kolarova et al 2012) which confirms that microtubules act as
propagators for consciousness and cognition. Meditation and chanting is an art of managing
one’s own vibrations at a cellular level, which is not produced directly but is derived by a
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summation of electromagnetic vibrations within the cells that can produce healing effects within
tissues and poorly functioning cells (Barnes 2015). Over time meditation produces permanent
changes in the state of the brain in relation to consciousness wherein higher level in activity of
the frontal cortices have been observed in regular meditators. It is a cognitive process that
induces relaxation, regulates attention and develops an attitude of detachment from one’s own
thoughts (Newberg et al 2010).
Modern science claims that biological systems are too warm, wet and noisy for quantum
processes to occur with the major problem being decoherence that has been discounted based on
the evidences of molecules to harness heat and energy that promote quantum states rather than
decoherence (Bhattacharya and Raha 2013). Resonance occurs without regard to distance or time
separations and without physical communications. Experiments have provided a confirmation
that these resonant based experiences are not illusionary or imaginary, but occur through a form
of interconnectedness created by resonating frequencies inside and outside the living system
(Cambray 2009). A living system may have many resonant frequencies due to the degrees of
freedom where each can vibrate as a harmonic oscillator which supports the progression of the
vibrations as waves bringing about a ripple effect within the whole system.
Resonance at Cellular Level
Vibrations as resonating waves of different frequencies found all around us and some of these
vibrations occur at frequencies which may not be perceivable, but interact with our bodies. But
do cells in a living system resonate? Resonating waves of different frequencies and wavelengths
can be absorbed as a mix within the cell, which may lose their energy due to the damping effect
of the water-based cytoplasm resulting in reduced frequencies triggering off a cascade of
quantum events within the cytoskeletal protein network of the cells. Simplest to the most
complex organisms are interconnected using information obtained by nonlocal quantum
coherence (Josephson and Pallikari-Viras 1991). Based on the ORCH-OR theory (Hameroff and
Penrose 2014), it can be hypothesized that every cell generates its own nonlocal quantum
coherence through quantum computing within cytoskeletal structures like the microtubules and
the evolution of these cytoskeletal structures suggests that they were present even in the most
simplest form of primitive organisms (Pereira 2015).
Resonance occurs when a damped oscillating system such as a cell is subjected to frequency
similar to the oscillation of the system which results in accumulation of energy within the
oscillators e.g. microtubular proteins which are known to generate mechanical resonance at a
frequency of 1510 MHz (Pizzi et al 2010). The cell, its microtubules and proteins can be
considered as a “tuned system” which consists of oscillators of identical resonant frequencies
wherein if one oscillator starts emitting, the others get activated and because the coupling is ideal
they will respond to the lowest signals and resonate. A quantum phenomenon operates at macro
as well as micro level which support the communication and signalling processes that exist in a
cell. Cellular resonances have been detected in a wide range of cell types, including bacteria,
yeast, algae, avian and mammalian cells (Pohl and Pollock 1986). Several changes and
stimulation effects at different frequencies of vibrations generated by means of sound waves
have been noted in plant cells (Hassanien et al 2014).
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Sound waves are the best sources of vibrations and exist as three classes, infrasound, audible
sound and ultrasound and their effects vary accordingly. At vibrations of 261 Hz altered growth
in human gingival fibroblast cells was observed by Jones and team, which showed on increased
and decreased rate of proliferation based on the amplitude and exposure time (Jones et al 2000).
Electrical oscillations have been measured in yeast cells during reproduction which was found to
be maximal during mitotic division (Pokorny et al 2001). Resonant vibrations generated through
music are known to affect mood and emotions, which has been mainly focussed on the brain and
its cells and not on cellular metabolism, which may be the case in organisms with non-auditory
apparatus. Yeast cells demonstrated a 12% increase in growth rate and 14% reduction in biomass
production with a significant difference in the metabolite profiles on exposure to different sound
frequencies, confirming the enhancing effect of these vibrations at a cellular level (Aggio et al
2012).
Unicellular eukaryotes such as amoeba and paramecia exhibit complex cognitive capabilities like
cooperation, learning, feeding and escaping without the presence of neural tissues. These
organisms manage these cognitive functions via quantum computing in the microtubules present
in the cytoplasm which is the same in microorganisms with the FtZ type of tubulin proteins
(Pereira 2015) Cooperative spinning in suspended cells has been observed in yeast cells,
erythrocytes and protoplasts at 30 – 40, 20 – 40, 80 – 100 and 140 – 180 Hz which has been
demonstrated in a Frohlich model, where an assembly of randomly oscillating, lightly coupled
similar dipoles, cooperate if the chemical input power exceeds a certain level (Cifra et al 2011).
Theoretical quantum biophysics and computer based simulations have been used to analyze
quantum coherence within the tryptophan rings of the tubulin molecules present in the
microtubules which use quantum dipole coupling among the tryptophan generated resonance
clouds mediated by exciton hopping or Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) across the
tubulin protein lattice (Di Maïo et al 2014). Evolutionary patterns of tubulin and tubulin-like
proteins of the cytoskeletal network of the cells have existed from the very beginning of life, and
though not comparable to the present forms, have given rise to similar structures by maintaining
their purpose of existence (Pereira 2015).
Cultured human breast cancer cell line MCF7 showed an alteration in cellular morpho-functional
parameters such as cell size and cell granularity when exposed to music generated resonant
vibrations conforming to the direct interference of these vibrations with hormonal binding
processes that could modulate physiological and pathophysiological processes within these cells
(Lestard et al 2013). Vibrations through music therapy have also been associated with the NAc
activation and ventral tegmental area (VTA) regions of the brain which regulate autonomic,
emotional and cognitive functions. Dopaminergic neurons that originate in the VTA region
directed to the NAc and forebrain regions associated with rewarding stimuli have been activated
with vibrations generated through music (Chanda and Levitin 2013). Pulsed transcranial
ultrasound has been shown to improve memory functioning in Alzheimer’s mice by the breakdown of amyloid plaques which may help to boost the weakened cemi-field within the neurons
or the microtubules within the neurons (Craddock et al 2012).
A cell as an organism or cells in multicellular organisms act as resonating bodies that oscillate
trigger a flow of vibrations through the whole system, mediated by the oscillatory proteins of the
cytoskeletal network. Sheldrake’s theory of Hypothesis of Formative Causation explains this
concept, utilizing resonance as his model in a developing organism. According to him,
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developing organisms are shaped by resonating fields which contain the form and shape of the
organism, with each species having its own field and several fields collaborating and interfering
in a multicellular organism like humans or a colony like the ones found in bacteria (Sheldrake
1992). If a tuning fork designed to produce a specific frequency is subjected to oscillate and is
brought into the vicinity of another tuning fork of the same frequency it will begin to oscillate,
this is known as resonant entrainment which can also be applied to biological systems wherein
cells oscillating at a particular frequency can oscillate neighbouring cells at the same frequency
generating a quantum-based conscious or cognitive effect.
Cognition & Consciousness as Quantum Resonating Characteristics of a Cell
Human based consciousness comprises of, what we see, hear, touch, taste, smell, feel, etc, which
is termed as ‘phenomenal consciousness’ and this has led to a one-way thinking in determining
the existence of true consciousness (Clark 2001). Cognition and consciousness have always been
linked to the neural tissue or the brain which is collection of neural cells, but there is more in
understanding conscious driven efforts by a single cell. Understanding and reasoning forms the
basis for intelligence in many unicellular organisms which survive, based on the ability to
perform cognitive functions without the presence of a neural system (Shapiro 2007). This kind of
intelligence cannot be compared to the intelligence observed in higher organisms, but does show
some overlap in areas of mental activity, memory and learning (Westerhoff et al. 2014).
Amoeba proteus is a well known protozoan, known to show several behavioural responses e.g.
regulation in the rate of reproduction based on availability of food, encapsulation, etc (Anderson
1988) which are conscious activities driven by awareness. Pseudopodium is a highly defined
energy mediated structure formed in amoeba and supports behavioural responses associated with
procurement of food as well as exhibiting a choice for food. They also demonstrate the capability
of differentiating between inorganic and organic food and can isolate an unknown object from an
engulfed food particle (Parsons 1926; Mast and Hahnert 1935) which is demonstrates the
decision making capability of the organism. Amoeba has no structures for reception of stimuli
but the protoplasm is aware and responds to a stimulus, which gives it the ability to perceive and
recognize its own kind and engage in cooperative behaviour. Cognitive smartness and
intelligence in these organisms, supports social behaviours related to learning, memory,
anticipation and risk management (Gregor et al. 2010). Can these conscious events be quantum
computed via resonant vibrations induced in microtubules present within the cytoplasm of these
organisms?
Sentience or consciousness can be hypothesised as a quantum computed event driven by the
microtubular proteins oscillating at similar frequencies that create a quantum resonant wave of
energy driving the feeling of being aware. It is based on a signal that a simple unicellular
organism procures from the environment which can be compared to a firing potential of the
neuron that creates a coordinated and synchronized pattern within the system. Awareness or
being conscious holds the key to survival and is displayed by all living beings. Adaptive
cooperative behaviours observed in primitive organisms e.g. Archae, has helped these organisms
survive in the past as well as present, which also justifies the fact, that quantum consciousness
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and cognition may have been the cause of evolution and differentiation or may have been the
reason for a shift from unicellularity to multicellularity (Pereira 2015).
The relevance of quantum measurement theory in biology is based on the hypothesis that it
already takes place within the cell and is responsible for consciousness and conscious driven
activities. The “how” of consciousness can be understood but the “why” can never be answered
because it is a phenomenal event which divulges the reasons for creation. Whether unicellular or
multicellular, we all depend on our past experiences and its observations and use this for several
actions that need to be performed in our day to day life, which is managed by the conscious
decisions that we take, which may be new or retrieved from memory. Induced vibrations at
different frequencies have helped enhance this activity at cellular and multicellular level with the
mechanism of its action similar to the processing of a quantum based computer.
Schumann calculated the Earth’s-ionosphere cavity resonance frequency to be 7.83Hz, which is
known as the Schumann resonance, and which is also the frequency by which our biological
system is tuned to earth. Several studies were conducted, where people were shielded from the
naturally occurring Schumann resonance frequency, which resulted in disruption of circadian
rhythms resulting in health effects such as migraine, headache and emotional stress which was
restored when the subjects were re-exposed to this frequency (Persinger 2014). Quantum
generated resonance processed through electron tunnelling and super positioning of phonons or
photons results in conformational changes in proteins within the cytoskeleton network of cells; a
conscious event gets generated.
Meditators, healers, religious, mystics and natural psychics routinely use the technique of
resonance, by focusing attention on physical objects and icons by allowing intuitive perceptions
to enter a state of conscious awareness. The experience is an altered sense of space-time with
closure of self and a unified sense of relationship with all that exists through the balance of the
resonating frequencies between the cells, the body, the earth and the universe (Mitchell and
Staretz 2011). Consciousness and cognition are phenomenal characteristics of every cell and
even though we don’t know the “why” we surely can predict and hypothesize the “how” of
consciousness as quantum mediated, which enables the cell to understand and judge perceptions
giving it a prospect to behave as per will. The flow of consciousness can enhance cognitive
features in unicellular and multicellular living forms giving them the ability to survive and
become aware of their environment.
Understanding Meditation & Religion via Resonance
The universe comprises of things which have known frequencies or more than one frequency.
Resonance occurs when objects vibrate at their natural frequency or multiple natural frequencies
transferring energy to its adjacent objects so that they begin to vibrate at the same frequency.
This process occurs at a macro as well as a micro level and is the main driver for consciousness.
At a macro level the whole body or object feels the presence of consciousness or encounters the
feeling of awareness which hypothetically originates at a micro level via quantum processing
within the microtubules of the cells. Vibrations from the external environment can enhance the
quantum processes within the cytoskeletal network of the cell, which generates energy utilized
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by the cell to perform its biochemical processes. This is an involuntary process which has been
in existence since the creation of life but can be enhanced through religious or non religious
meditative techniques.
Meditation is a process that self-regulates the body and mind and maybe associated with
psychological and neurophysiological alterations. Meditation studies have been linked to an
increased activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain which is associated several cognitive based
functions (Previc 2006). EEG recordings of skilled Buddhist monks with years of training have
shown a significant rise in gamma wave activity in the 80 – 120 Hz range while this effect was
lower in new meditators. For these Buddhist monks, the purpose of meditation is to free oneself
from suffering and gain spiritual liberation which is the same reason for meditative practice in
other religions (Davidson and Lutz 2008). Mediation can result in major changes in
consciousness which have been observed in people in the state of trance, self-hypnosis and
mystical states (Holroyd 2003). Qigong masters have enhanced or reduced biochemical rates
during plant growth through their meditative practices which involves determining the position
and velocity of the trajectory of an object that needs to targeted via techniques that involve
vibrations (Jahnke et al 2010).
Behavioural changes though observed externally are a cause of quantum restated activities within
each cell; it is a propagation or coherent flow of consciousness within a cell and the cells in a
system. Healers or people praying for others initiate a non-local resonance process with objects
of their focussed attention which has direct effects at a cellular level. A healing prayer of any
religion has always produced positive results which have been always linked to the supernatural,
which may be a possibility, but hypothetically is induced via quantum computation at a cellular
level. What about unicellular organisms? Do they meditate? Unicellular organisms or sentient
organisms follow an involuntary cycle that helps them resonate with their surroundings to
generate energy via quantum processing within the microtubules making them aware of their
surroundings. Adaptive cooperative behaviours observed in microorganisms are more of a group
meditation, wherein microorganisms resonate within their colonies. This behaviour has helped
these organisms survive extreme conditions in the past as well as present, which also justifies the
fact, that it may have helped their ancestors during the evolutionary process from unicellularity
to multicellularity.
Meditation induces hypothetical quantum dipole oscillations which regulate protein
conformational changes by quantum computation such as electron tunnelling, delocalization and
superpositioning within the microtubules. Quantum superpositions was first suggested by
Penrose who demonstrated this feature by his quantum gravity ‘objective reduction’ process
which was confirmed to be computed in microtubules that collapse or reduce by an objective
factor related to quantum gravity (Penrose 1996). Resonance triggers off quantum based events
at vibrations of gigahertz, megahertz and kilohertz frequencies that have been found in isolated
microtubules termed as the “Bandyopadhyay Coherence” (Sahu et al 2013). Microtubule
quantum vibrations induced during clinical trials at megahertz frequencies using transcranial
sounds have shown several therapeutic effects (Craddock 2015) which are similar to therapeutic
effects generated through meditative and healing practices like chanting and praying.
Conclusion
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Quantum resonance is a phenomenon; a hypothesis that is driven by another vibrating system or
an external force which oscillates a damped oscillating system at preferred frequencies and
triggers of a series of quantum events as a form of energy transfer at a cellular level.
Microtubules act as strong oscillating systems which amplify and filter out the signals generating
a conscious moment which terminates at the collapse of the wave function in space time
geometry (Hameroff and Penrose 2014). Consciousness generated through quantum based
principles is thus governed by the vibratory patterns of the universe and the particles that create
the magic of being aware. Conscious states are therefore resonant states that trigger learning and
cognitive representations in all living organisms and which helps us in our daily lives, work,
rewards and losses.
Meditation and healing practices that induce vibrations have provided us the secrets of
resonance, which can induce several conformational changes in the patterns of consciousness.
Even though meditation is induced, it is known to create an enhanced effect within the system
that can be correlated to enhanced quantum computation occurring within the microtubules of
the cytoskeleton at a cellular level. We are all part of a universe that demonstrates harmonic
resonance, which includes the smallest wave-like vibrations that can be generated via the
smallest particles of matter to larger orbital resonances that emerge from the galaxies and stars
oscillating at specific frequencies. Biophysics suggests that our biological systems are tuned into
the background frequency of our planet via the Schumann Resonance which occurs at a steady
pulse of 7.83 Hz within the ionosphere cavity of the earth and therefore could be the source of
resonant vibrations that triggers of the progression of quantum generated consciousness within
cells of all living beings.
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Noname manuscript No.
(will be inserted by the editor)
Can we Falsify the Consciousness-Causes-Collapse
Hypothesis in Quantum Mechanics?
J. Acacio de Barros · Gary Oas
arXiv:1609.00614v2 [quant-ph] 7 Jun 2017
Received: date / Accepted: The correct dates will be entered by the editor
Abstract In this paper we examine some proposals to disprove the hypothesis that the
interaction between mind and matter causes the collapse of the wave function, showing
that such proposals are fundamentally flawed. We then describe a general experimental
setup retaining the key features of the ones examined, and show that even a more
general case is inadequate to disprove the mind-matter collapse hypothesis. Finally,
we use our setup provided to argue that, under some reasonable assumptions about
consciousness, such hypothesis is unfalsifiable.
Keywords Measurement problem · von Neumann-Wigner interpretation · collapse of
the wave function · fourth-order interference
1 Introduction
One of the central issues within Quantum Mechanics (QM) is the measurement problem. Though many different solutions to it have been offered (e.g. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]), there
is no consensus among physicists that a satisfactory resolution has been achieved.
Perhaps the main reason for this disagreement is the lack of clear experimental procedures that could distinguish an interpretation from another. For example, Bohm’s
theory yields exactly the same predictions as the standard Copenhagen interpretation
for quantum systems [7], at least for most measurable quantum systems1 .
Among the proposed solutions, perhaps one of the most controversial is von Neumann’s idea that a measurement is the result of the interaction of a (conscious) mind
J. Acacio de Barros
School of Humanities and Liberal Studies
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA 94132
E-mail: barros@sfsu.edu
G. Oas
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
1 For extreme cases where there might be some differences, albeit not necessarily directly
observable; see [8, 9] or [10].
2
J. Acacio de Barros, Gary Oas
with matter [11]. This idea posits two distinct types of dynamics for quantum systems:
one linear, to which all matter is subject under its standard evolution, and another
non-linear and probabilistic, to which matter is subject when it interacts with an observer’s mind. This is a substance-dualist view, where matter and mind exist in different
realms and satisfy different laws of nature. This interpretation has Henry Stapp as its
currently best-known supporter [12]. We shall label the hypothesis that the interaction with a mind causes the collapse of the wave function the Consciousness Causes
Collapse Hypothesis (CCCH).
Recently, some authors claimed that CCCH was inconsistent with already available
empirical evidence (see, e.g. [13, 14]). In this paper, we examine CCCH with respect
to such claims, in particular those of [13], and show that their proposal does not
provide a way to falsify CCCH. We then modify their proposal to a stripped-down
version that retains the main features of an experiment needed to falsify CCCH. This
exposes a fundamental problem: to test CCCH one would need to make a conscious
being part of the experimental setup. Unless we subscribe to a panpsychist view of
consciousness (which CCCH proponents usually do not), such types of experiment
pose a fundamental problem: to have a conscious being, one needs reasonably high
temperatures (compared to absolute zero). Thus, any experiment that distinguishes
two orthogonal states of a measurement, as we shall see is necessary, cannot be brought
to its original quantum state, as this would imply controlling all the quantum states
in a thermal bath. Therefore, For All Practical Purposes (FAPP), the outcomes of
such experiments would be inconclusive, and they would not test CCCH. In fact, this
suggests that, due to environmental decoherence, CCCH is unfalsifiable FAPP.
We organize this paper in the following way. In Section 2 we briefly discuss the
von Neumann interpretation of quantum mechanics. In Section 3 we present Yu and
Nikolic’s experiment, and describe why it does not work as proposed. Then, in Section
4, we modify their experimental setup, and analyze under which conditions the modified experiment needs to be performed to test CCCH. We end the paper with some
conclusions.
2 The Consciousness-Causes-Collapse interpretation of QM
In this section, we present the idea of the consciousness-causes-collapse interpretation,
which originated from von Neuman’s work on the measurement problem in quantum
mechanics. In his seminal book [15], von Neumann starts with the assumption that
every physical system can be represented as a vector |ψi in a Hilbert space H. This
representation is one-to-one, in the sense that not only every system has a corresponding vector, but that to every vector there is, in principle, a corresponding system.
Observable quantities are represented in this Hilbert space as linear Hermitian operators. The spectral decomposition theorem tells us that a Hermitian operator  can be
written as
 =
X
ai P̂i ,
i
where ai ∈ R and P̂i are projection operators such that P̂i P̂j = δij P̂j . In von Neumann’s view, the dynamics of a system is more complicated, and we should distinguish
two types. One type is given when the system does not interact with a measurement
device. When this is the case, the evolution of the state |ψi follows a deterministic and
Title Suppressed Due to Excessive Length
3
linear evolution given by Schrödinger’s equation. Namely, the state of the system at
time t1 ≥ t0 is given by
|ψ (t1 )i = Û (t1 ; t0 ) |ψ (t0 )i,
where Û (t1 ; t0 ) is a unitary evolution operator between t0 and t1 given by
i
Û (t1 ; t0 ) = exp − Ĥ (t1 − t0 ) ,
~
and Ĥ is the Hamiltonian operator. If, on the other hand, the system interacts with a
measurement device, the evolution is not linear nor deterministic. During a measure2
ment, each observable value ai has a probability p (ai ) = P̂i |ψi
of being observed,
and if the result of a measurement (with probability p (ai )) is ai , then the wave-function
collapses into a new state
P̂i |ψi
ai
|ψi −→
.
hψ|P̂i |ψi
So, according to this formulation, QM has two different types of evolution, one deterministic and one probabilistic; the former happens when there is no interaction with a
measurement device, and the latter when such interaction occurs.
A natural question to ask within this theory is “what is a measurement device?” In
principle, such a device, made out of “conventional” matter itself, should be describable
by QM. Following von Neumann, let us assume this is the case, and let us have a Hilbert
space H = HM ⊗ HS , where HM is the space of the measurement device and HS the
space of the system being measured. Since we are considering this an isolated system,
there is no interaction with an external measuring device (the device is part of the
system itself). For simplicity, let us limit our measuring device to the observable
Ô = P̂ − 1̂ − P̂
= 2P̂ − 1̂,
where P̂ 2 = P̂ 6= 1̂ is a projector, and 1̂ the identity operator. Clearly, Ô can have only
two possible outcomes, +1 and −1. So, a measuring device for Ô needs to have the
following properties. First, it should have a neutral state, its initial state, prepared to
receive a system to be measured. We denote the neutral state of the measuring device
by the vector |neutrali ∈ HM . Second, the interaction of M and S should be such that
the following evolution happens:
|neutrali ⊗ |+i → Ûint |neutrali ⊗ |+i = |points to +i ⊗ |+i,
|neutrali ⊗ |−i → Ûint |neutrali ⊗ |−i = |points to −i ⊗ |−i.
Here we represent the two possible final values of the measurement apparatus as either
giving a measurement of “ +” or “−,” depending on the initial state of the system.
Since, according to QM, any linear superposition of states |±i ∈ HS is possible,
what happens when we use the above interaction to measure superpositions? If we have
the superposition
|ψi = c+ |+i + c− |−i,
because Ûint is linear, it follows that
|neutrali ⊗ |ψi → c+ |points to +i ⊗ |+i + c− |points to −i ⊗ |−i.
4
J. Acacio de Barros, Gary Oas
This seems to be exactly what we wanted: we end up with a correlation between |±i
and the pointer’s state |points to ±i. However, it is straightforward to see that the final
state is not an eigenstate of either projector 1̂ ⊗ |+ih+| or 1̂ ⊗ |−ih−|, and therefore
does not correspond to an actual measurement, where an actual collapse happens. This
contains the essence of the measurement problem: a quantum system interacting with
a measurement apparatus evolves according to a non-linear dynamics that is different
from that given by the (linear) Schroedinger equation.
If the quantum system was in a superposition, von Neumann argued that the
interaction of S with a measurement apparatus M would also result in a superposition.
We could push this even further and think of another apparatus M 0 that measures M
and S, and we would still have a superposition. In fact, we could keep doing this
indefinitely, ever adding more measurement apparatuses that measure the previous
measurement devices. We can even consider our eyes as a photodetector that measures
this chain of apparatuses, and we have no reason to assume, according to Schroedinger’s
equation, that we would not have a superposition. We can keep on going, including
not only our eyes, but our optical nerves, up until we get to the brain, and we are left
with a brain/measurement apparatus/system that is still in a superposition. In von
Neumann’s own words:
“That this boundary [between observer and observed system] can be pushed
arbitrarily deeply into the interior of the body of the actual observer is the
content of the principle of the psycho-physical parallelism — but this does not
change the fact that in each method of description the boundary must be put
somewhere, if the method is not to proceed vacuously, i.e., if a comparison with
experiment is to be possible. Indeed experience only makes statement of this
type: an observer has made a certain (subjective) observation; and never any
like this: a physical quantity has a certain value.”
That is intriguing, and since one never observes a superposition in a single measurement, this chain needs to stop somewhere.
Following the consequences of von Neumann’s ideas, London and Bauer pushed
the boundary to the extreme (the reader is referred to the excellent historical survey
provided in [16]). According to them, there is only one step when we know for sure that
we do not have a superposition: when we gain conscious knowledge of the measurement
apparatus, i.e. when matter interacts with the mind . That is because we are never
aware of observing any quantum superposition. They then proposed that the interaction
between mind and matter causes matter to evolve probabilistically, according to Born’s
rule, and non-linearly. In other words, the mind causes the collapse of the wave function.
CCCH is substance dualist. As is well-known, dualist views of the mind suffer the
problem of causal closure: how can the mind influence matter and vice versa? Though
not directly addressing this issue, CCCH states that the mind causes matter to behave
differently, following a dynamics that is not the same as when there is no interaction
with a mind. So, in a certain sense, CCCH postulates their interaction, albeit in a
very specific way. The question remains as to whether this interaction may be used to
actually provide a way for the mind to affect matter in a (consciously) controlled way.
Henry Stapp proposed a clever solution to this problem by using the “inverse”
Quantum Zeno Effect [17]. It would go beyond the scope of this paper to provide a
detailed account of Stapp’s theory, but it is worth mentioning it to give an idea of
what types of physics (or metaphysics) may unfold from the CCCH. In Ref. [18], it was
shown that if we were to continuously observe an unstable particle, this particle would
Title Suppressed Due to Excessive Length
5
not decay; this came to be known as the Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE). The QZE can
be modified, and it can be shown that by continuous and variable observations it is
possible to force a particle to change its quantum state. Following this idea, Stapp [17]
used a harmonic oscillator in a coherent state2 with amplitude α, given by the ket
2
|αi = e−|α| /2
X αn
√ |ni,
n!
where |ni is an eigenvector of the number operator N̂ = a† a with eigenvalue n, and
showed that if we start in this state and if our mind chooses to observe it, we end
with a new amplitude β > α, whereas if it chooses not to observe, the state maintains
amplitude α. In other words, the effect of the mind “observing” a system can make it
change its state from |αi to |βi, β > α. There might be some (surmountable) problems with this model, discussed in more detail in [20, 21], but we emphasize that the
CCCH, though not popular among physicists and presenting some difficult philosophical challenges, not only solves the measurement problem, but also provides a possible
mechanism for the mind to affect matter, a major problem for substance dualists.
3 A proposed falsification of the CCCH
It is reasonable to ask whether CCCH is true or false. By true or false we of course
mean whether there is supporting experimental evidence for it or if it can be or has
been falsified, as we cannot, in a strict sense, prove a theory to be true. So, an natural
question is how can we try to falsify CCCH.
In a recent paper [13], Yu and Nikolic argued that CCCH has already been falsified, and proposed further modifications of a given experimental setup to make such
conclusions beyond any reasonable doubt. Their argument starts with the idea that
CCCH → (CWF ⇐⇒ PR) ,
where CWF is short for “collapse of the wave function” and PR for “phenomenal representation,” i.e. the presence of phenomenal consciousness. Therefore, they conclude,
if it is possible to “observe” CWF without PR, then CCCH is falsified.
To understand Yu and Nikolic’s argument, and our criticism of it, we need to look
into the details of how they account for the possibility of observing CWF without
PR. They do so by using Kim et al.’s delayed choice experiment [22], which we now
describe. In Kim et al. (see Figure 1), a laser beam impinges on a standard double
slit, behind which a non-linear crystal is placed. Through parametric down conversion,
a pair of photons, referred to as signal and idler, is generated in either region A or
B of the crystal residing behind each slit. The signal photon is sent to a detector
D0 that can be translated to reveal an interference pattern. The idler photon can be
directed directly to either detector D3 or D4 (Figure 1 (a)), thus allowing which-path
information, or can be scrambled in a beam splitter BS (Figure 1 (b)), erasing any
which-path information.
2 The coherent state |αi of a harmonic oscillator behaves, in some sense, in a similar way
to its classical counterpart. For instance, its expected value also oscillates with the same
frequency as a classical oscillator, and with amplitude of oscillation α. Coherent states are of
great importance in quantum optics; see e.g. [19].
6
J. Acacio de Barros, Gary Oas
(a)
(b)
Fig. 1 Kim et al. experimental setup for the delayed choice quantum eraser [22].
To understand Kim et al.’s experiment, it is important to notice first that it is
a fourth-order interference experiment3 . Let us analyze what happens in each of the
setups (for details relevant to the experiment discussed here, see, e.g. [25]). First, for
the which-path information setup in Figure 1 (a), there is nothing unusual. The pair
of photons is produced either in A or B, and if it is produced in A the idler photon is
detected in D3 , and if in B it is detected in D4 . Since the signal photon is generated
in either A or B, the final probability of observing it in the variable-position detector
D0 is the same as the sum of the two probabilities, and shows no interference effect, as
expected. For the interference setup shown in Figure 1 (b), things are more subtle, and
the experimental setup resembles, conceptually, what happens with ghost interference
(another fourth-order interference experiment) [26]. When the idler photons from A
or B are joined, we lose which path information, but, more importantly, the idler side
of the apparatus becomes an interference device itself, sensitive to the momentum of
the quantum state impinging on it. Different momenta, which are correlated with D0 ,
3 Readers not familiar with fourth-order interference are encouraged to consult [23] or one
of the many excellent textbooks on quantum optics, such as [24].
Title Suppressed Due to Excessive Length
7
Fig. 2 Probabilities P (D0 , x|Di ) of observing a photon in detector D0 positioned at x, conditioned on a detection on D3 (solid line) or D4 (dashed line).
Fig. 3 Probability as a function of x of observing a photon in detector D0 positioned at x.
produce different interference patterns in D0 , and the overall probability distribution
observed in D0 is exactly the same as with setup (a). As a consequence, the conditional
probability of detection on D0 depends on a detection on D3 or D4 in the following
way [22]:
−2
(1)
P (D0 , x|D3 ) = N (αx) sin2 (αx) cos2 (βx) ,
P (D0 , x|D4 ) = N (αx)
−2
sin2 (αx) sin2 (βx) ,
(2)
where N is a normalization factor, and α and β parameters that depend on the optical geometry of the experiment and the correlated photons wavelength. The two
conditional probabilities in (1) and (2) are shown in Figure 2. As we can see, by conditioning the data on the detection of, say, D3 , we observe an interference pattern, and
likewise for the conditioned data on D4 . However, as we can also see from Figure 2,
the interference pattern obtained by conditioning on D3 is shifted by π/2 with respect
to the one from D4 (this is also clear from (1) and (2)). This is a crucial point: the
interference pattern does not appear on D0 without correlating it with the detections
on D3 or D4 . In fact, if we look only at D0 , what we see is the unconditional P (D0 , x),
given by P (D0 , x|D3 ) P (D3 ) + P (D0 , x|D4 ) P (D4 ), shown in Figure 3. If this were
not the case, we would violate the no-signaling condition in quantum mechanics, as we
could use a choice of detection apparatus in Di to communicate instantaneously (or
to the past) between an experimenter controlling Di and another observing D0 . But
since the observations are conditional, no violation of no-signaling occurs.
Returning to Yu and Nikolic’s idea, their proposal was to use the human eye as a
photodetector instead of Di . This would not be an impossible task, given that human
eyes are sensitive to single photons. As such, they argue that, in the which-path setup
where the idler photon goes to D3 and D4 , we could replace detectors D3 and D4 with
8
J. Acacio de Barros, Gary Oas
a person observing the photons. If such observer were unconscious, then no collapse of
the wave function would happen, and we would have an interference pattern on D0 .
Notice that Yu and Nikolic are referring to setup (a) in Figure 1, and they do not
consider setup (b), where interference patterns emerge in Kim et al.’s experiment. As
such, their proposal has a major flaw: one would not get an interference pattern on
D0 using setup (a) regardless of having a detector or an observer (conscious or not).
To obtain an interference pattern, any which-path information about the idler photon
needs not only to be erased by recombining the beams into an interferometer, but once
recombined one would need to detect such photon and use coincidence counts to obtain
the interference. If one used an actual person to observe D3 or D4 , such coincidence
counts could only happen if such person was aware of the detection in their eye, as this
would be required for knowing which detections in D0 need to be counted. In other
words, a human (or any other animal) used in this experimental setup would have to
be aware of the detection of a photon within a certain window of time and be able
to behaviorally track (e.g. by recording on a piece of paper) such detection, such that
later on an interference pattern could be reconstructed by coincidence counts4 .
An interesting question is raised from Yu and Nikolic’s proposal: could we falsify
CCCH with some device of this type? As we saw, their claim that CCCH was (perhaps)
already falsified is not correct, as their reliance on the quantum eraser experiment did
not take into consideration the need for correlated counts. But perhaps some other
version of the experiment could to it. In the next section we will show a general type
of experiment to test CCCH, and use it to argue that it is impossible to falsify CCCH.
4 Is CCCH falsifiable?
In this section we describe a different proposed experiment to test CCCH. This experiment is a natural extension of an earlier paper of Suppes & de Barros [27], and has
the main features necessary to test CCCH. Our goal here is not to propose a thought
experiment, but to examine the characteristics of a realizable experiment, and discuss
its conceptual and technical difficulties.
Since we want to test CCCH, like Yu and Nikolic, we start with the eyes as photodetectors. Nature provides us with exceptionally good photo-detectors in the kingdom
of Animalia (see references in [27]). Of particular interest, is the fact that some insects
have not only very efficient eyes (their efficiency is estimated to be between 40% and
78%), but very low dark-count rates (the locust Schitocerca gregaria, for example, has
a dark-count rate of few photons per hour).
Perhaps one of the best candidates for such conditioning experiments is the cockroach (Periplaneta americana), for the following reasons [28]: it responds well to external stimuli for conditioning, it is well adapted to respond to very low-light environments
(i.e. has good photo-detectors), and its neural circuitry is significantly easier to study
compared to other well-known insects (such as the ubiquitous fruit fly). So, for that
reason, in combination with the existence of successful conditioning experiments with
4 In fact, the total number of photons reaching the participant (either human or not) is quite
large, and it is not until coincidence counts are performed that this number is reduced. So,
the task of reconstructing an interference pattern, even if the actual photon count per second
could be reduced to a reasonable number to be dealt with, would be very time consuming and
daunting.
Title Suppressed Due to Excessive Length
A'
9
L
A
R
B
T
B'
Fig. 4 Proposed experimental setup. A photon impinges on A or B, and an optical fiber,
represented by the dotted line, takes it to either the left (L) or right (R) eye, respectively.
If a photon reaches L, the cockroach is conditioned to push a button at the end of a circuit
(dashed line), and if the L button is pushed, a single photon is emitted at a precise and very
short window of time.
insects, Suppes & de Barros [27] proposed that cockroaches could be classically conditioned to respond to single photons.
Here we assume that cockroach single-photon conditioning experiments could be
successfully carried out, though probably there exists many technical difficulties (insect
are not as easy to condition as some mammals). For our purpose, we will also assume
that the cockroach is a conscious being. This is, of course, a controversial assumption,
but the alternative would be to do our proposed experiment with more complex animals (say, humans). However, as it will become clear below, this assumption will not
invalidate our conclusions, as they will apply to any animal.
The idealized experiment we propose is simple, and does not rely on entangled
states (as does Kim et al.’s). Imagine we have a cockroach who has been conditioned
to respond to single photons in the following way. If a photon impinges on the left
eye of the cockroach, it moves its left antenna, whereas if a photon impinges on the
right eye it moves its right antenna. The cockroach is then placed in a well isolated
box where a photon can be sent to either the left or the right eye via optical fibers.
If the cockroach’s left antenna moves, the cockroach sends a signal to a device T that
will generate a single photon from A’; if the right antenna moves, a single photon is
generated from B’. Now, the idea here is that if instead of a single photon in A or B, a
quantum superposition |ψi = c1 |1iA |0iB + c2 |0iA |1iB was sent to the box, the output
would be a quantum superposition if the cockroach is not conscious, whereas it would
be a proper mixture if the cockroach caused a collapse of the wave function.
Now, to understand the experimental conditions necessary for such experiment to
work, let us examine it in detail. We start with the Hilbert space of this setup, given
by H = Hp ⊗ Hc ⊗ Hb ⊗ Hp0 , where Hp is the Hilbert space for the impinging photon,
Hc the cockroach, Hb the box itself (with all necessary devices), and Hp0 the outgoing
photon. For example, when a single photon impinges on A, with
ρ1,0 = |1A , 0B ih1A , 0B |,
the initial state of the system is given by
box
0
ρ1,0 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ0,0 ,
10
J. Acacio de Barros, Gary Oas
where
ρroach
ready = |cockroach readyihcockroach ready|,
ρbox
ready = |box readyihbox ready|,
and
ρ00,0 = |0A0 , 0B 0 ih0A0 , 0B 0 |.
This system would evolve the following way:
box
0
ρ1,0 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ0,0 →
box
0
ρ0,0 ⊗ ρroach
left antennae ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ0,0 →
box
0
ρ0,0 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρgen.photon A’ ⊗ ρ0,0 →
box
0
ρ0,0 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ1,0 ,
where the label for the states should make them evident. A similar evolution would
happen to ρ0,1 , leading to
box
0
ρ0,1 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ0,0 →
box
0
ρ0,0 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ0,1 .
Finally, if we started with a superposition given by, say, the state
ρ1,1 =
1
(|0 , 1 ih0 , 1 | + |1A , 0B ih0A , 1B | + |0A , 1B ih1A , 0B | + |1A , 0B ih1A , 0B |) ,
2 A B A B
we would end with the linear evolution
box
0
ρ1,1 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ0,0 →
box
0
ρ0,0 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ1,1 .
Clearly, if the experiment could be performed like above, if the input is a superposition,
we can take the partial trace over all other variables, and the output will also be a
superposition. In other words, because the evolution is linear, the partial trace over
0
box
0
Hp ⊗ Hc ⊗ Hb of ρ0,0 ⊗ ρroach
ready ⊗ ρready ⊗ ρ1,1 would result in ρ1,1 ∈ Hp0 . However, if
the cockroach’s mind causes a collapse of the wave function inside the box, then the
dynamics would not be linear, and the output would be the proper mixture
0
ρmixture =
1
(|1 0 , 0 0 ih1A0 , 0B 0 | + |0A0 , 1B 0 ih0A0 , 1B 0 |) ,
2 A B
and not the pure state ρ01,1 .
However, from the system’s evolution above, we can see a major difficulty with such
an experiment, which also will plague any other experiment attempting to falsify the
CCCH. In order for a superposition to be detected at the output, the cockroach and box
need to go back to its original quantum state. It is easy to see, for instance, that if the
cockroach does not go back to its original state ρroach
ready , then the final state would be an
entanglement between the different cockroach positions for inputs A or B. Then, if the
outside experimenter observes this system (causing its collapse?), what they would see
is a proper mixture, and not a superposition. Therefore, for such an experiment to work
in testing CCCH, the whole cockroach+box needs to be brought back to its original
Title Suppressed Due to Excessive Length
11
state5 . This means that every single atom that makes up the cockroach, for example,
needs to be brought back to its original state. Of course, though a tremendously difficult
task, it is not forbidden by quantum mechanics (though, not experimentally feasible,
FAPP).
An attentive reader may counter-argue that a carefully designed experiment, where
all degrees of freedom are followed, would allow for the differentiation between CCCH
and its negation (if we accept the assumption that the cockroach is conscious). For
example, one would not need to partial trace over the system to obtain the photon
outcome in a superposition state: we could simply observe the whole system (cockroach + photon + box), and see that, if CCCH is false, it would be in a quantum
superposition. For instance, this is similar to what is done in some recent Schrödinger
"kitten" experiments, where mesoscopic systems are placed in a superposition state
[29]. In fact, some researchers even proposed to create superposition states of bacteria
[30] and even macroscopic living organisms, such as the tardigrade [31]. However, we
must point out that all of those proposals have in common a very weak (and controlled)
coupling with the environment, and usually at very low temperatures. For example,
what makes the tardigrade interesting for this type of experiment is that it is able to
survive in a vacuum for short periods of time as well as very low temperatures, close
to absolute zero. Such low temperatures are necessary to decrease the coupling of the
tardigrade with the thermal environment, and one may even argue that while in a superposition the tardigrade is not clearly "alive," less even "conscious," but certainly
unable to provide a behavioral response, a requisite of any experimental setup similar to the one provided above. It is also important to note that for the experiments
with Schrödinger kittens there is no measurement of the entire system, as the thermal
environment is not measured.
We could try to circumvent the difficulty of thermal coupling of a large macroscopic
system by focusing only on elements of the cockroach that are directly involved with
the stimulus and response process. For instance, if we include only the perceptual and
response systems of the cockroach, the number of particles that would need to be
controlled and brought back to the original state is smaller than the totality of the
cockroach. But if we do that, we should expect about 1020 atoms (not including the
numerous photons) to be involved in such process, and the relevant subspace of the
Hilbert space would still be extremely large. As mentioned in the previous paragraph,
in order to perform such types of experiment with reasonable candidates for having
phenomenal representation (a cockroach is already somewhat a questionable one), we
need to decouple this system from the thermal bath. This is a necessary strategy to
create quantum superpositions, as in this case, of living systems: their temperature
needs to be lowered to a few kelvin.
It is questionable whether cockroaches or tardigrades are conscious, but any candidate for phenomenal consciousness6 is a living creature, and as such they cannot have
consciousness, much less can move, at temperatures close to absolute zero, as required
for quantum superposition experiments. Therefore, if we include the thermal bath on
5 To be more precise, elements in the Hilbert space that are not entangled with the original
photon state need not return to the original quantum state. Furthermore, for elements that are
weakly entangled it may not be necessary to return them to the original state either, though
not returning them would reduce the visibility of the quantum superposition. However, this is
not essential for the arguments that follow, since the number of degrees of freedom that get
entangled correspond to a macroscopic portion of the cockroach.
6 Unless we take a panpsychist view, which would, in the case of CCCH raise other problems.
12
J. Acacio de Barros, Gary Oas
the description of the system above, even if we could bring the cockroach+apparatus
back to its original quantum state, the outcome of the experiment would be irreversibly
entangled with the thermal bath, and we would always observe at the end a proper
mixture, regardless of whether the cockroach caused a collapse or not. Since a thermal
bath is a necessary condition for a living candidate to have phenomenal consciousness,
CCCH is unfalsifiable.
5 Conclusions
CCCH is arguably one of the most controversial solutions for the measurement problem
in quantum mechanics, and it certainly does not share wide support within the foundations of physics community [32]. We understand here the measurement problem as
the need to explain how the transition between the quantum description of a physical
system and the classical description of the measuring apparatus comes to be, since such
transition does not come from the dynamics of quantum theory (i.e., the unitary evolution given by Schrödinger’s equation). In such sense, CCCH achieves this goal, albeit in
a way that is unappealing to most physicists, because of its substance-dualistic nature.
This raises deep philosophical problems, as it brings extra metaphysical entities into
play. However, this problem is not exclusive to CCCH. For example, the many-worlds
interpretation of QM postulates the existence of an infinite number of parallel universes. Bohm’s theory, another popular interpretation, requires a physical reality that
unfolds in an infinite-dimensional universe, and provides no clear explanation as to
why we perceive a three-dimensional universe. In fact, all well-known interpretations
bring extra metaphysical entities into play, with the exception perhaps of epistemic
interpretations, who avoid such types of discussion.
Given its metaphysical implications, it is not surprising that CCCH is often criticized, but mostly on metaphysical grounds (as are many of the different interpretations
of QM). However, if the mind plays a special role in the measurement process, perhaps
we can use this to create experiments where one could try to falsify CCCH. In this
paper we examined one experiment proposed by Yu and Nicolic [13]. We saw that their
proposal had a fatal flaw, as it did not consider the fact that to observe fourth-order
interference requires coincidence counting. We then used this experiment as a springboard to a more general framework for how to attempt to falsify CCCH: produce an
experimental setup where the non-linear nature of the quantum dynamics in the presence of consciousness can be distinguished from the linear dynamics in the absence of
consciousness.
Another argument put forth against the CCCH was given by Thaheld [14], where
the Stark-Einstein law was used to argue that classical information is passed to the
eye-brain system via absorption of photons by the retinal molecules. We will not go
into the details of Thaheld’s argument, since they are not required here, but we want to
point out that the classical information is passed because of an entanglement between
a photon and the “classical” environmental variables, and also that the Stark-Einstein
law assumes, deep down, a collapse of the wave function (either photon is absorbed
by the molecule or not). Thaheld’s argument against the CCCH also suffers from the
same issues as the proposal put forth in Section 4.
Finally, we emphasize that any candidate for phenomenal consciousness, at least
consensus candidates, would have to be kept at their habitat’s temperature. This implies that any such experiment would not be able to distinguish the linear from the
Title Suppressed Due to Excessive Length
13
non-linear dynamics, as we would always have an irreversible entanglement with a
thermal bath. Therefore, any experiment trying to falsify CCCH on the basis of its
different dynamics is doomed.
Acknowledgements This is a continuation of our work with Pat Suppes, who passed away
in November 2014. This research was partially supported by the Patrick Suppes Gift Fund
for the Suppes Brain Lab. Pat’s support to this paper is gratefully acknowledged, as well as
John Perry’s hospitality while JAB visited the Center for the Explanation of Consciousness
at CSLI, Stanford University, where part of this work was conducted. We also thank Henry
Stapp, Bas van Fraassen, and the anonymous referees for comments and suggestions.
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1
New Insights on Time-Symmetry in Quantum Mechanics
arXiv:0706.1232v1 [quant-ph] 8 Jun 2007
Yakir Aharonov and Jeff Tollaksen
Center for Quantum Studies
Department of Physics and Department of Computational and Data Sciences
College of Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030
The “time-asymmetry” attributed to the standard formulation of Quantum Mechanics (QM) was inherited from a reasonable tendency learned from
Classical Mechanics (CM) to predict the future based on initial conditions:
once the equations of motion are fixed in CM, then the initial and final conditions are not independent, only one can be fixed arbitrarily. In contrast, as a
result of the uncertainty principle, the relationship between initial and final
conditions within QM can be one-to-many: two “identical” particles with
identical environments can subsequently exhibit different properties under
identical measurements. These subsequent identical measurements provide
fundamentally new information about the system which could not in principle be obtained from the initial conditions. Although this lack of causal
relations seemed to conflict with basic tenets of science, many justified it
by arguing “nature is capricious.” This lead to Einstein’s objection “God
doesn’t play dice.” Nevertheless, after 100 years of experimental verification,
QM has won over Einstein’s objection.
QM’s “time-asymmetry” is the assumption that measurements only have
consequences after they are performed, i.e. towards the future. Nevertheless, a positive spin was placed on QM’s non-trivial relationship between
initial and final conditions by Aharonov, Bergmann and Lebowitz (ABL) [2]
who showed that the new information obtained from measurements was also
relevant for the past of every quantum-system and not just the future.
This inspired ABL to re-formulate QM in terms of Pre-and-Post-Selectedensembles. The traditional paradigm for ensembles is to simply prepare
systems in a particular state and thereafter subject them to a variety of
experiments. These are “pre-selected-only-ensembles.” For pre-and-postselected-ensembles, we add one more step, a subsequent measurement or
post-selection. By collecting only a subset of the outcomes for this later
measurement, we see that the “pre-selected-only-ensemble” can be divided
into sub-ensembles according to the results of this subsequent “post-selectionmeasurement.” Because pre-and-post-selected-ensembles are the most refined
2
quantum ensemble, they are of fundamental importance and subsequently led
to the two-vector or Time-Symmetric re-formulation of Quantum Mechanics
(TSQM) [5, 6]. TSQM provides a complete description of a quantum-system
at a given moment by using two-wavefunctions, one evolving from the past
towards the future (the one utilized in the standard paradigm) and a second
one, evolving from the future towards the past.
While TSQM is a new conceptual point-of-view that has predicted novel,
verified effects which seem impossible according to standard QM, TSQM is
in fact a re-formulation of QM. Therefore, experiments cannot prove TSQM
over QM (or vice-versa). The motivation to pursue such re-formulations,
then, depends on their usefulness. The intention of this article is to answer this by discussing how TSQM fulfils several criterion which any reformulation of QM should satisfy in order to be useful and interesting:
• TSQM is consistent with all the predictions made by standard QM
(§1),
• TSQM has revealed new features and effects of QM that were missed
before (§2),
• TSQM has lead to new mathematics, simplifications in calculations,
and stimulated discoveries in other fields (as occurred, e.g., with the
Feynman re-formulation of QM) §3,
• TSQM suggests generalizations of QM that could not be easily articulated in the old language (§4)
A more conservative scientist may choose to utilize all the pragmatic, operational advantages listed above1 , but stick to the standard time-asymmetric
QM formalism. Our view is that these new effects form a logical, consistent,
and intuitive pattern (in contrast to the traditional interpretation). Therefore, we believe there are deeper reasons which underly TSQMs success in
predicting them. One generalization suggested by TSQM (§4.1) addresses
the “artificial” separation in theoretical physics between the kinematic and
dynamical descriptions [23]; another (§4.2) provides a novel solution to the
1
While this paper focuses on theoretical issues, we emphasize that many of the novel
predictions have been tested in quantum-optics laboratories utilizing Townes’ laser technology [66]. In addition, TSQM has suggested a number of innovative new technologies
which could be implemented with lasers §3.1.
3
measurement problem. Consequently, we are able to change the meaning of
uncertainty from “capriciousness” to exactly what is needed in order that the
future can be relevant for the present, without violating causality, thereby
providing a new perspective to the question “Why does God play dice?”
(§5.1) In other words, TSQM suggests that two “identical” particles are not
really identical, but there is no way to find their differences based only on
information coming from the past, one must also know the future. We also
show how the second generalization involving “destiny” is consistent with
free-will (§5.2). Finally, we speculate on the novel perspectives that TSQM
can offer for several other themes of this volume, such as emergence.
1
Consistency of Time-symmetric Quantum
Mechanics with Standard Quantum Mechanics
We first motivate TSQM with a paradox concerning the relativistic covariance of the state-description in QM.
1.1
Motivation - A Relativistic Paradox
Consider two experimentalists A and B corresponding to two spin-1/2 particles prepared in a superposition with correlated spins (σ̂A + σ̂B = 0), i.e. in
an EPR state:
1
|ΨEP R (t = 0)i = √ {|↑iA |↓iB − |↓iA |↑iB }
2
(1.1)
Suppose at some later time t2 , the particles separate to a distance L and
A measures his spin in the z-direction and obtains the outcome |↑z iA . According to the usual interpretation, ideal-measurements on either particle will
instantly reduce the state from a superposition |ΨEP R(t2 −ε)i = |ΨEP R (0)i =
√1 {|↑iA |↓iB − |↓iA |↑iB } into a direct product |Ψ(t2 + ε) = | ↑z iA | ↓z iB . I.e.
2
after A performs his measurement at t = t2 , then the joint wavefunction
collapses so B’s wavefunction also collapses to | ↓z iB which can be confirmed
if B actually performs a measurement. When should B perform this measurement? Consider a “lab” frame-of-reference which is at rest relative to A
and B, in which case the collapse is simultaneous (see figure 1.a) as indicated
4
by the space-time coordinates:
ct2
0
A:
!
ct2
L
B:
!
(1.2)
However, what is simultaneous in one frame-of-reference is not simultaneous
in another: e.g. as we change to a rocket frame-of-reference which moves
with velocity β = vc in the x direction (with the same space-time origin),
then the “plane-of-simultaneity” changes (see figure 1.b) as can be seen with
the new coordinates after a Lorentz-transformation:
γ
−βγ
A:
−βγ
γ!
γ
−βγ
B:
−βγ
γ
!
ct2
L
ct2
0!
!
!
γct2
=
−βγct2
!
γct2 − βγL
=
−βγct2 + γL
(1.3)
In the rocket frame-of-reference, the collapse of the wavefunction of B happens at t1 = γt2 − βc γL < t2 , i.e. the rocket frame-of-reference notices at
t1 < t2 , that B is in the state | ↓z iB , implying that the joint EPR wavefunction had collapsed at t1 or before, so the state of A should be | ↑z iA no later
than t1 . If we transform back to our lab-frame-of-reference:
A:
γ βγ
βγ γ
!
ct1
−βct1
!
=
γct2 − βL
0
!
(1.4)
we see that the particle on A’s side was in the | ↑z iA state even before A
made the measurement at t2 (contradicting our notion that A’s measurement
supposedly caused the collapse in the first place.)
In summary, this paradox focuses on “when did the collapse take place?”.
In the lab-frame, A’s measurement occurs first and then B’s measurement
occurs (see figure 1.a). However, in a rocket-frame, B’s measurement occurs
first and then A’s (see figure 1.b). The lab-frame believes that A’s measurement caused the collapse whereas the rocket-frame disagrees and believes that
B’s measurement caused the collapse. While the two different versions give
the same statistical results at the level of probabilities, they differ completely
on the state-description during the intermediate times and there is nothing
in QM to suggest which version is the correct one. A similar arrangement
has been probed experimentally producing results consistent with TSQMs
hypothesis. [80] 2 This paradox has two possible resolutions:
2
This paradox can be sharpened in several ways [32].
5
t
6
|↑z iA
|↓z iB
@
I
@
@ lab plane of simultaneity
tlab = t2
@
@
@
@
@
{z
} x=L
|
(a)
verify {|↑iA |↓iB −|↓iA |↑iB }
6
@
I
@P
P
@ PP
PP
@
PP
|↓z iB
@i
PP
i
P
rocket plane of simultaneity
PP
|↑z iA @
P trocket = t1 < t2
@
@
|
{z
}
(b)
verify {|↑iA |↓iB −|↓iA |↑iB }
Figure 1: Collapse of singlet state in 2-different frames of reference; a) the tlab = 0
hypersurface intersects the B worldline before B’s measurement, b) the trocket = 0
hypersurface intersects the B worldline after B’s measurement.
1. Collapse cannot be described covariantly in a relativistic theory at the
level of the state-description, only at the level of probabilities. This
thereby precludes progress on questions such as “Why God plays dice.”
2. As first pointed out by Bell [48, 47, 9], Lorentz-covariance in the statedescription can be preserved in a theory like TSQM [32] (§2.4). In
addition, we believe it to be the most fruitful approach to probe deeper
quantum realities beyond probabilities, thereby providing insight to
questions like “Why God plays dice.”
1.2
The Main Idea
TSQM contemplates measurements which occur at the present time t while
the state is known both at tin < t (past) and at tfin > t (future). More precisely, we start at t = tin with a measurement of a nondegenerate operator
Ôin. This yields as one potential outcome the state |Ψin i, i.e. we prepared
the “pre-selected” state |Ψini. At the later time tfin , we perform another
measurement of a nondegenerate operator Ôfin which yields one possible outcome: the post-selected state |Ψfin i. At an intermediate time t ∈ [tin , tfin ],
we measure a non-degenerate observable  (for simplicity), with eigenvectors {|aj i}. We wish to determine the conditional probability of aj , given
that we have both boundary conditions, |Ψin i and hΨfin |. 3 To answer this,
3
Such an arrangement has long been considered in actual experiments: consider a bubble chamber scattering experiment. The incoming particle, |Ψin i, interacts with a target
and then evolves into various outgoing states, |Ψfin i1 , |Ψfin i2 , etc. Typically, photographs
are not taken for every target-interaction, but only for certain ones that were triggered
6
we use the time displacement operator: Utin →t = exp{−iH(t − tin )} where
H is the Hamiltonian for the free system. For simplicity, we assume H is
time independent and set h̄ = 1. The standard theory of collapse states
that the system collapses into an eigenstate |aj i after the measurement at t
with an amplitude haj |Utin →t |Ψin i. The amplitude for our series of events is
αj ≡ hΨfin |Ut→tfin |aj ihaj |Utin →t |Ψin i which is illustrated in figure 2.a. This
means that the conditional probability to measure aj given |Ψin i is preselected and |Ψfin i will be post-selected is given by the ABL formula [2]
4
:
|hΨfin |Ut→tfin |aj ihaj |Utin →t |Ψin i|2
P r(aj , t|Ψin , tin; Ψfin , tfin ) = P
2
n |hΨfin |Ut→tfin |an ihan |Utin →t |Ψin i|
(1.5)
As a first step toward understanding the underlying time-symmetry in the
ABL formula, we consider the time-reverse of the numerator of eq. 1.6 and
figure 2.a. First we apply Ut→tfin on hΨfin | instead of on haj |. We note
†
Ψfin | by using the well-known QM symmetry
that hΨfin |Ut→tfin = hUt→t
fin
n
o†
†
Ut→t
= e−iH(tfin −t) = eiH(tfin −t) = e−iH(t−tfin ) = Utfin →t . We also apply
fin
Utin →t on haj | instead of on |Ψin i which yields the time-reverse re-formulation
of the numerator of eq. 1.6, hUtfin →t Ψfin |aj ihUt→tin aj |Ψin i as depicted in fig.
2.b. Further work is needed to formulate what we mean by the 2-vectors
in TSQM. E.g. if we are interested in the probability for possible outcomes
of aj at time t, we must consider both Utin →t | Ψin i and hUtfin →t Ψfin|, since
these expressions propagate the pre-and-post-selection to the present time t
(see the conjunction of both figures 2.a and 2.b giving 2.c which is re-drawn
in figure 3.b; these 2-vectors are not just the time-reverse of each other).
This represents the basic idea behind the Time-Symmetric re-formulation of
by subsequently interacting with detectors. In CM, there is (in principle) a one-to-one
mapping between incoming states and outgoing states, whereas in QM, it is one-to-many.
By selecting a single outcome for the post-selection-measurement, we define the pre-andpost-selected-ensemble that has no classical analog.
4
ABL is intuitive: |haj |Utin →t |Ψin i|2 is the probability to obtain |aj i having started with
|Ψin i. If |aj i was obtained, then the system collapsed to |aj i and |hΨfin |Ut→tfin |aj i|2 is then
the probability to obtain |Ψfin i. The probability to obtain |aj i and |Ψfin i then is |αj |2 .
This is not yet the conditional probability since the post-selection
may yield outcomes
P
other than hΨfin |. The probability to obtain |Ψfin i is j |αj |2 = |hΨfin |Ψin i|2 < 1. The
question being investigated concerning probabilities of aj at t assumes we are successful
in
P
obtaining the post-selection and therefore requires the denominator in eq. 1.6, j |αj |2 ,
which is a re-normalization to obtain a proper probability.
7
6
6
Utfin → | Ψfin i
tfin
Ut→tfin | aj i
t
⇑
?
(a)
⇓
t
tin
⇓
tin
+
hUtin → Ψin|
(b)
⇑
⇓
hUtfin →t Ψfin|
Utin →t | Ψini
hUt→tin aj|
Utin →t | Ψini
tin
⇓
tfin
hUtfin →t Ψfin|
⇑
t
Utfin → | Ψfin i
?
⇑
tfin
6
⇑
⇑
⇓
hUt→tin aj|
⇓
=
hUtin → Ψin|
(c)
Figure 2: Time-reversal symmetry in probability amplitudes.
Quantum Mechanics (TSQM)5 :
|hUtfin →t Ψfin |aj ihaj |Utin →t |Ψin i|2
P r(aj , t|Ψin, tin ; Ψfin , tfin ) = P
2
n |hUtfin →t Ψfin |an ihan |Utin →t |Ψin i|
(1.6)
While this mathematical manipulation clearly proves that TSQM is consistent with QM, it yields a very different interpretation. For example, the
action of Utfin →t on hΨfin | (i.e. hUtfin →t Ψfin |) can be interpreted to mean that
the time displacement operator Utfin →t sends hΨfin | back in time from the
time tfin to the present, t. A number of new categories of states (figure 3) are
suggested by the TSQM formalism and have proven useful in a wide variety
of situations.
In summary, the ABL formulation clarified a number of issues in QM.
E.g.: in this formulation, both the probability and the amplitude are symmetric under the exchange of |Ψin i and |Ψfin i. Therefore, the possibility of
wavefunction collapse in QM does not necessarily imply irreversibility of an
5
Ut→tfin | aj i
We note that because (full) collapses take place at the tin and tfin measurements, there
is no meaning to information coming from t > tfin or t < tin . Therefore, at least in this
context, there is no meaning to a “multi-vector” formalism.
8
N
system
b)
Φ
GUARD
Ψi
A=a
BELL MEASUREMENT
a)
i
Ψ
Ψ
A=a
i
Σi αi
t
t1
i
B=b
GUARD
Φ
B=b
Φ
t2
Σi
Φ
1
ancilla
c)
Σ i α i Ψi i
system
ancilla
d)
Figure 3: Description of quantum systems: (a) pre-selected, (b) pre- and
post-selected, (c) post-selected, and (d) generalized pre-and-post-selected. From
[51]
arrow of time at the QM level. Nevertheless, the real litmus test of any
re-formulation is whether conceptual shifts can teach us something fundamentally new or suggest generalizations of QM, etc. The re-formulation to
TSQM suggested a number of new experimentally observable effects, one important example of which are weak-measurements (§2), which we now begin
to motivate by considering strange pre-and-post-selection effects.
1.2.1
Pre-and-post-selection and Spin-1/2
One of the simplest, surprising, example of pre-and-post-selection is to preselect a spin-1/2 system with |Ψini = |σ̂x = +1i = |↑xi at time tin . After the
pre-selection, spin measurements in the direction perpendicular to x yields
complete uncertainty in the result 6 , so if we post-select at time tfin in the
y-direction, we obtain |Ψfin i = |σ̂y = +1i = | ↑y i half the time. Since the
particle is free, the spin is conserved in time and thus for any t ∈ [tin , tfin ],
E.g. in the z-basis the state is √12 (| ↑z i + | ↓z i) which yields equal probability either
spin-up or spin-down in the z-direction.
6
9
an ideal-measurement of either σ̂x or σ̂y , yields +1 for this pre-and-postselection. This by itself, two non-commuting observables known with certainty, is a most surprising property which no pre-selected-only-ensemble
could possess. 7
We now ask a slightly more complicated question about the spin in a
direction ξ = 45◦ relative to the x − y axis. This yields:
σ̂ξ = σ̂x cos 45◦ + σ̂y sin 45◦ =
σ̂x + σ̂y
√
2
(1.7)
From the results P r(σ̂x = +1) = 1 and P r(σ̂y = +1) = 1, one might
wonder why we couldn’t insert both √
values, σ̂x = +1 and σ̂y = +1 into
√ = √2 =
eq. 1.7 and obtain σ̂ξ = 1+1
2. Such a result is incorrect for an
2
2
ideal-measurement because the eigenvalues of any spin operator,
including
σx +σy 2
√
=
σ̂ξ , must be ±1. The inconsistency can also be seen by noting
2
σx2 +σy2 +σx σy +σy σx
2
= 1+1+0
= 1. By implementing the above argument, we
2
2
2
y
√
would expect σx√+σ
= 1+1
= 2 6= 1. Performing this step of replacing
2
2
σ̂x = +1 and σ̂y = +1 in eq. 1.7 can only be done if σ̂x and σ̂y commute, which
would allow both values simultaneously to be definite. Although it appears
we have reached the end-of-the-line with this argument, nevertheless, it still
seems that there should be some sense in which both P r(σ̂x = +1) = 1√and
P r(σ̂y = +1) = 1 manifest themselves simultaneously to produce σ̂ξ = 2.
1.2.2
Pre-and-post-selection and 3-Box-paradox
Another example of a surprising pre-and-post-selection effect is the 3-boxparadox [3] which uses a single quantum particle that is placed in a superposition of 3 closed, separated
boxes. The particle is pre-selected to
√
be in the state |Ψini = 1/ 3 (|Ai + |Bi + |Ci), where |Ai, |Bi and |Ci
denote the particle localized in boxes A, B, or C, √
respectively. The particle is post-selected to be in the state |Ψfin i = 1/ 3 (|Ai + |Bi − |Ci).
If an ideal-measurement is performed on box A in the intermediate time
7
This is also evident from ABL: the probability to obtain σ̂ξ = +1 at the intermediate
sin(ξ)
.
time if an ideal-measurement is performed is P r(σ̂ξ = +1) = 1+cos(ξ)+sin(ξ)+cos(ξ)
1+cos(ξ) sin(ξ)
We see that if ξ = 0◦ (i.e. σ̂x ) then the intermediate ideal-measurement will yield σ̂x = +1
with certainty and when ξ = 90◦ (i.e. σ̂y ), then the intermediate ideal-measurement will
again yield σ̂y = +1 with certainty. E.g. σ̂ξ=45 = ±1 is displayed in figure 9.a
10
(e.g. we open the box), then the particle is found in box A with certainty. This is confirmed by the ABL [2] probability for projection in A:
|P̂A |Ψin i|2
P r(P̂A ) = |hΨ |P̂ |Ψ|hΨi|fin
2 +|hΨ |P̂ +P̂ |Ψ i|2 = 1. This can also be seen intuA
in
B
C
in
fin
fin
itively by contradiction: suppose we do not find the particle in box |Ai. In
that case, since we do not interact with box |Bi or |Ci, we would have to
conclude that the state that remains after we didn’t find it in |Ai is proportional to |Bi + |Ci. But this is orthogonal to the post-selection (which we
know will definitely be obtained). Because this is a contradiction, we conclude that the particle must be found in box A. Similarly, the probability to
find the particle in box B is 1, i.e. P r(P̂B = 1) = 1. The “paradox” is, what
“sense” can these 2 definite statements be simultaneously true. We cannot
detect the distinction with ideal-measurements: e.g. P r(P̂A = 1) = 1 if only
box A is opened, while P r(P̂B = 1) = 1 if only box B is opened. If idealmeasurements are performed on both box A and box B, then obviously the
particle will not be found in both boxes, i.e. P̂A P̂B = 0. 8
| Ai
+
| Bi
-
| Ci
tfin
6 t2
time
? t1
| Ai
+
+
| Ci
hΨfin | post-selection
|Bi
6
?hB |
Ideal Measurement
of particles in B
6
?hA |
Ideal Measurement
of particles in A
|Ai
6
|Ψini pre-selection
√
Figure 4: a) pre-selected vector |Ψin i = 1/ 3 (|Ai+|Bi+|Ci)√propagates forwards
in time from tin to t1 , and post-selected vector |Ψfin i = 1/ 3 (|Ai + |Bi − |Ci)
propagating backwards in time from tfin to t2 . b) ideal-measurement of P̂A at t1
and of P̂B at t2 .
1.2.3
| Bi
?
tin
Counterfactuals
There is a widespread tendency to “resolve” these paradoxes by pointing out
that there is an element of counter-factual reasoning: the contradictions arise
only because inferences are made that do not refer to actual experiments.
Had the experiment actually been performed, then standard measurement
8
The mystery is increased by the fact that both P̂A and P̂B commute with each other, so
one may ask “how is it possible that measurement of one box can disturb the measurement
of another?”
11
theory predicts that the system would have been disrupted so that no paradoxical implications arises. Suppose we applied this to the 3-box-paradox:
the resolution then is that there is no meaning to say that the particle is in
both boxes without actually measuring both boxes during the intermediate
time.
We have proven [11, 32] that one shouldn’t be so quick in throwing away
counter-factual reasoning; though indeed counter-factual statements have
no observational meaning, such reasoning is actually a very good pointer
towards interesting physical situations. Without invoking counter-factual
reasoning, we have shown that the apparently paradoxical reality implied
counter-factually has new, experimentally accessible consequences. These observable consequences become evident in terms of weak measurements, which
allow us to test - to some extent - assertions that have been otherwise regarded as counter-factual.
The main argument against counter-factual statements is that if we actually perform ideal-measurements to test them, we disturb the system significantly, and such disturbed conditions hide the counter-factual situation,
so no paradox arises. TSQM also provides some novel insights for this
“disturbance-based-argument”. E.g., for the spin-1/2 case (§1.2.1), if we verify σ̂x at t = t1 and σ̂y at t = t2 , tin < t1 < t2 < tfin , then P r(σ̂x = +1) = 1
and P r(σ̂y = +1) = 1 are simultaneously true. But if we switch the order and
perform σ̂y before σ̂x , then P r(σ̂x = +1) = 1 and P r(σ̂y = +1) = 1 are not
simultaneously true, since measuring σ̂y at time t = t1 would not allow the
information from the earlier (tin < t) pre-selection of σ̂x = +1 to propagate
to the later time (t2 > t1 > tin ) of the σ̂x measurement. As a consequence,
the σ̂x measurement at time t2 would yield both outcomes σ̂x = ±19 . So, in
general, the finding that σ̂x = +1 with certainty or σ̂y = +1 with certainty
in the pre-and-post-selected ensemble only held when one of these two measurements was performed in the intermediate time, not both. Therefore, we
should not expect both σ̂y = +1 and σ̂x = +1 when measured simultaneously
through σ̂ξ=45◦ .
For the spin-1/2 case, the ABL-assignment relied on only the pre-or-postselection, while in the 3-box-paradox, the ABL assignment relies on both the
pre-and-post-selection. However, ABL still only gives an answer for one
9
The same argument applies in the reverse direction of time. The 4-outcomes are consistent with |Ψin i = |σ̂x = +1i and |Ψfin i = |σ̂y = +1i. Physically, the ideal-measurement
of σ̂ξ exposes the particle to a magnetic field with a strong gradient in the ξ = 45◦ direction,
which causes the spin to revolve around this axis in an uncertain fashion.
12
actual ideal-measurement. What happens if we tried to obtain two answers
for the 3-box-paradox? In order to deduce P̂A = 1, we used information
from both pre-and-post-selected vectors. When we actually measured P̂A ,
then this ideal-measurement will limit the “propagation” of the 2-vectors that
were relied on to make this determination (see fig. 4.b). If we subsequently
were to measure P̂B , then the necessary information from both the preand-post-selected vectors is no longer available (i.e. information from tin
cannot propagate beyond the ideal-measurement of P̂A at time t1 due to the
disturbance caused by the ideal-measurement of P̂A ). Thus, even though P̂A
and P̂B commute, ideal-measurements of one can disturb ideal-measurement
of the other.10
Since we have understood the reason why both statements are not simultaneously true as a result of disturbance, we can now see the “sense”
in which the definite ABL assignments can be simultaneously relevant. Our
main argument is that if one doesn’t perform absolutely precise (ideal) measurements but is willing to accept some finite accuracy, then one can bound
the disturbance on the system. For example, according to Heisenberg’s uncertainty relations, a precise measurement of position reduces the uncertainty
in position to zero ∆x = 0 but produces an infinite uncertainty in momentum ∆p = ∞. On the other hand, if we measure the position only up to
some finite precision ∆x = ∆ we can limit the disturbance of momentum
to a finite amount ∆p ≥ h̄/∆. By replacing precise measurements with a
bounded-measurement paradigm, counter-factual thought experiments become experimentally accessible. What we often find is that the paradox
remains - measurements produce surprising and often strange, but nevertheless consistent structures. With limited-disturbance measurements, there
is a sense in which both P r(σ̂x = +1) = 1 and P r(σ̂y = +1) = 1 are
simultaneously relevant because measurement of one does not disturb the
other. Since measurement of σ̂ξ also can be understood as a simultaneous
measurement of σ̂x and σ̂y , we will see that with limited-disturbance measurements, we can simultaneously use both σ̂x = +1 and σ̂y = +1 to obtain
10
This is related to a violation of the product rule. In general, if |Ψ1 i is an eigenvector
of  with eigenvalue a and |Ψ2 i is an eigenvector of B̂ with eigenvalue b and [Â, B̂] = 0,
then if  and B̂ are known only by either pre-selection or post-selection, then the product
rule is valid, i.e. ÂB̂ = ab. However if  and B̂ are known by both pre-selection and
post-selection, then the product rule is not valid, i.e. ÂB̂ 6= ab, i.e. they can still disturb
each other, even though they commute. [31])
13
σ̂ +σ̂x
(σ̂ξ=45◦ )w =
2
h↑y | y√
2
h↑y |↑x i
|↑x i
|1+1|↑x i
|σ̂y }+{σ̂x |↑x i}
= h↑√y2h↑
=
= {h↑y √
2h↑y |↑x i
y |↑x i
√
2.
TSQM has revealed new features and effects: Weak-Measurements
ABL considered the situation of measurements between two successive idealmeasurements where one transitions from a pre-selected state |Ψini to a postselected state |Ψfin i. The state of the system at a time t ∈ [tin , tfin ], i.e. after
tin when the state is |Ψin i and before tfin when the state is |Ψfin i is generally
disturbed by an intermediate ideal-measurement. A subsequent theoretical
development arising out of the ABL work was the introduction of the weakvalue of an observable which can be probed by a new type of measurement
called the weak-measurement [5]. The motivation behind these measurements is to explore the relationship between |Ψin i and |Ψfin i by reducing the
disturbance on the system at the intermediate time. This is useful in many
ways, e.g. if a weak-measurement of  is performed at the intermediate time
t ∈ [tin , tfin ] then, in contrast to the ABL situation, the basic object in the
entire interval tin → tfin for the purpose of calculating other weak-values for
other measurements is the pair of states |Ψin i and |Ψfin i.
2.1
Quantum Measurements
Weak-measurements [5] originally grew out of the quantum measurement theory developed by von Neumann [42]11 . First we consider ideal-measurements
of observable  by using an interaction Hamiltonian Hint of the form Hint =
−λ(t)Q̂md  where Q̂md is an observable of the measuring-device (e.g. the
position of the pointer) and λ(t) is a coupling constant which determines the
duration and strength of the measurement. For an impulsive measurement
we need the coupling to be strong and short and thus take λ(t) 6= 0 only for
R +ε
t ∈ (t0 −ε, t0 +ε) and set λ = tt00−ε
λ(t)dt. We may then neglect the time evolution given by Hs and Hmd in the complete Hamiltonian H = Hs +md +Hint .
Using the Heisenberg equations-of-motion for the momentum P̂md of the
11
Weak-measurements and their outcome, weak-values, can be derived in all approaches
to quantum measurement theory. E.g. the usual projective measurement typically utilized
in quantum experiments is a special case of these weak-measurements [50].
14
measuring-device (conjugate to the position Q̂md ), we see that P̂md evolves according to dP̂dtmd = λ(t)Â. Integrating this, we see that Pmd (T )−Pmd (0) = λÂ,
where Pmd (0) characterizes the initial state of the measuring-device and
Pmd (T ) characterizes the final. To make a more precise determination of  requires that the shift in Pmd , i.e. δPmd = Pmd (T ) − Pmd (0), be distinguishable
from it’s uncertainty, ∆Pmd . This occurs, e.g., if Pmd (0) and Pmd (T ) are more
precisely defined and/or if λ is sufficiently large (see figure 5.a). However,
under these conditions (e.g. if the measuring-device approaches a delta function in Pmd ), then the disturbance or back-reaction on the system is increased
due to a larger Hint , the result of the larger ∆Qmd (∆Qmd ≥ ∆P1md ). When
 is measured in this way, then any operator Ô ([Â, Ô] 6= 0) is disturbed
because it evolved according to dtd Ô = iλ(t)[Â, Ô]Q̂md , and since λ∆Qmd is
not zero, Ô changes in an uncertain way proportional to λ∆Qmd .12
In the Schroedinger picture, the time evolution operator for the complete
R +ε
system from t = t0 −ε to t = t0 +ε is exp{−i tt00−ε
H(t)dt} = exp{−iλQ̂md Â}.
This shifts Pmd (see figure 5.a). If before the measurement the system was
in a superposition of eigenstates of Â, then the measuring-device will also be
superposed proportional to the system. This leads to the “quantum measurement problems,” discussed in [26]. A conventional solution to this problem
is to argue that because the measuring-device is macroscopic, it cannot be
in a superposition, and so it will “collapse” into one of these states and the
system will collapse with it.
2.1.1
Weakening the interaction between system and measuring
device
Following our intuition we now perform measurements which do not disturb
either the pre-or-post-selections. The interaction Hint = −λ(t)Q̂md  is weakened by minimizing λ∆Qmd . For simplicity, we consider λ ≪ 1 (assuming
without lack of generality that the state of the measuring-device is a Gaussian
with spreads ∆Pmd = ∆Qmd = 1). We may then set e−iλQ̂md  ≈ 1 − iλQ̂md Â
ξ
E.g. in the spin-1/2 example, the conditions for an ideal-measurement δPmd
= λσ̂ξ ≫
ξ
ξ
1
∆Pmd will also necessitate ∆Qmd ≫ λσ̂ξ which will thereby create a back-reaction causing
12
a precession in the spin such that ∆Θ ≫ 1 (i.e. more than one revolution), thereby
destroying (i.e. making completely uncertain) the information that in the past we had
σ̂x = +1, and in the future we will have σ̂y = +1.
15
a)
6
System
tfin
hΨfin|
time t
?
tin
Measuring Device
?
Φ̃in
md
|a i
∆P
md
-
61
?
ha1|
6
|Ψini
Φ̃fin
md
System
Measuring Device
tfin
hΨfin|
Φ̃in
?
md
Φ̃fin
md
-
t
δP
-md
tin
6
|Ψini δPmd = λAw < ∆Pmd
δPmd
δPmd = λa1 > ∆Pmd
Ideal “strong” measurement
b)
Weak-measurement
Figure 5: a) with an ideal or “strong” measurement at t (characterized e.g. by
δPmd = λa1 ≫ ∆Pmd ), then ABL gives the probability to obtain a collapse onto
eigenstate a1 by propagating hΨfin | backwards in time from tfin to t and |Ψini forwards in time from tin to t; in addition, the collapse caused by ideal-measurement
at t creates a new boundary condition |a1 iha1 | at time t ∈ [tin , tfin ]; b) if a weakmeasurement is performed at t (characterized e.g. by δPmd = λAw ≪ ∆Pmd ), then
the outcome of the weak-measurement, the weak-value, can be calculated by propagating the state hΨfin| backwards in time from tfin to t and the state |Ψini forwards
in time from tin to t; the weak-measurement does not cause a collapse and thus no
new boundary condition is created at time t.
and use a theorem [49]13 :
Â|Ψi = hÂi|Ψi + ∆A|Ψ⊥ i ,
(2.8)
to show that before the post-selection, the system state is:
e−iλQ̂md  |Ψini = (1−iλQ̂md Â)|Ψini = (1− iλQ̂md hÂi)|Ψini− iλQ̂md ∆Â|Ψin⊥ i
(2.9)
2
2 2
2
Using the norm of this state k (1 − iλQ̂md Â)|Ψini k = 1 + λ Q̂md h i, the
probability to leave |Ψini un-changed after the measurement is:
2
1 + λ2 Q̂2md hÂi
−→ 1 (λ → 0)
1 + λ2 Q̂2md hÂ2 i
(2.10)
while the probability to disturb the state (i.e. to obtain |Ψin⊥ i) is:
2
λ2 Q̂2md ∆Â
−→ 0 (λ → 0)
1 + λ2 Q̂2md hÂ2 i
13
(2.11)
where hÂi = hΨ|Â|Ψi, |Ψi is any vector in Hilbert space, ∆A2 = hΨ|(Â − hÂi)2 |Ψi,
and |Ψ⊥ i is a state such that hΨ|Ψ⊥ i = 0.
16
The final state of the measuring-device is now a superposition of many
substantially overlapping Gaussians
withprobability distribution given by
P r(Pmd) =
P
i |hai |Ψin i|
2
2
−λai )
exp − (Pmd
2∆P 2
md
. This sum is a Gaussian mixture,
−iλQ̂md hÂi
so itcan be approximated
by a single Gaussian Φ̃fin
|Φin
md (Pmd ) ≈ hPmd |e
md i ≈
2
−λhÂi)
exp − (Pmd∆P
2
md
2.1.2
centered on λhÂi.
Information gain without disturbance: safety in numbers
It follows from eq. 2.11 that the probability for a collapse decreases as O(λ2 ),
but the measuring-device’s shift grows linearly O(λ), so δPmd = λai . For a
sufficiently weak interaction (e.g. λ ≪ 1), the probability for a collapse
can be made arbitrarily small, while the measurement still yields information but becomes less precise because the shift in the measuring-device is
much smaller than its uncertainty δPmd ≪ ∆Pmd (figure 5.b). If we perform this measurement on a single particle, then two non-orthogonal states
will be indistinguishable. If this were possible, it would violate unitarity
because these states could time evolve into orthogonal states |Ψ1 i|Φin
md i −→
in
in
in
in
|Ψ1 i|Φmd (1)i and |Ψ2 i|Φmd i −→ |Ψ2 i|Φmd (2)i, with |Ψ1 i|Φmd (1)i orthogonal to |Ψ2 i|Φin
md (2)i. With weakened measurement interactions, this does
not happen because the measurement of these two non-orthogonal states
causes a smaller shift in the measuring-device than it’s uncertainty. We conclude that the shift δPmd of the measuring-device is a measurement error
in
in
because Φ̃MD
md − λhÂi|Φmd i ≈ hPmd |Φmd i for λ ≪ 1. Neverthefin (Pmd ) = hP
N′
less, if a large (N ≥ λ ) ensemble of particles is used, then the shift of all
′
tot
the measuring-devices (δPmd
≈ λhÂi Nλ = N ′ hÂi) becomes distinguishable
because of repeated integrations, while the collapse probability still goes to
zero. That is, for a large ensemble of particles which are all either |Ψ2 i or
|Ψ1 i, this measurement can distinguish between them even if |Ψ2 i and |Ψ1 i
are not orthogonal14 .
Using these observations, we now emphasize that the average of any operator Â, i.e. hÂi ≡ hΨ|Â|Ψi, can be obtained in three distinct cases [33, 85]:
1. Statistical method with disturbance: the traditional approach
is to perform ideal-measurements of  on each particle, obtaining a
variety of different eigenvalues, and then manually calculate the usual
statistical average to obtain hÂi.
14
(N )
(N )
because the scalar product hΨ1 |Ψ2 i = cosn θ −→ 0
17
2. Statistical method without disturbance as demonstrated by using Â|Ψi = hÂi|Ψi + ∆A|Ψ⊥ i. We can also verify that there was no
disturbance: consider the spin-1/2 example (§1.2.1), pre-selecting an
ensemble, |↑x i, then performing a weakened-measurement of σ̂ξ and
finally a post-selection again in the x-direction (figure 6). For every
post-selection, we will again find |↑x i with greater and greater certainty (in the weakness limit), verifying our claim of no disturbance.
Each measuring device is centered on h↑x |σξ | ↑x i = √12 and the whole
ensemble can be used to reduce the spread (figure 7.c). The weakened interaction for σ̂ξ means that the inhomogeneity in the magnetic
field induces a shift in momentum which is less than the uncertainty
ξ
ξ
y
= 1
δPmd
< ∆Pmd
and thus a wave packet corresponding to σ̂x√+σ̂
2
will be broadly overlapping with the wave packet corresponding to
σ̂x +σ̂y
√
= −1. A particular example is depicted in fig. 7.a. (follow2
2
−1/4
2
ing [51]) with Φmd
exp{−Pmd
/2∆2 } and ∆ ≡ ∆Pmd
in (Pmd ) = (∆ π)
now parametrizes the “weakness” of the interaction instead of λ. In the
ideal-measurement regime of ∆ << 1, the probability distribution of
the measuring-device is a sum of 2 distributions centered on eigenvalues
±1, figure 7.a.
2
2
2
P r(Pmd) = cos2 (π/8)e−(Pmd −1) /∆ + sin2 (π/8)e−(Pmd +1) /∆
2
(2.12)
The weak regime occurs when ∆ is larger than the separation between
the eigenvalues of ±1 (i.e. ∆ >> 1); e.g. 7.b.
3. Non-statistical method without disturbance is the case where
hΨ|Â|Ψi is the “eigenvalue” of a single “collective operator,” Â(N ) ≡
1 PN
i=1 Âi (with Âi the same operator  acting on the i-th particle). UsN
ing this, we are able to obtain information about hΨ|Â|Ψi without causing disturbance (or a collapse) and without using a statistical approach
because any product state |Ψ(N ) i becomes an eigenstate of the operator
Â(N ) . To see this, we apply the theorem Â|Ψi = hÂi|Ψi + ∆A|Ψ⊥ i [49]
to Â(N ) |Ψ(N ) i, i.e.:
"
X (N )
1
|Ψ⊥ (i)i
NhÂi|Ψ(N ) i + ∆A
Â(N ) |Ψ(N ) i =
N
i
#
(2.13)
(N )
where hÂi is the average for any one particle and the states |Ψ⊥ (i)i are
(N )
mutually orthogonal and are given by |Ψ⊥ (i)i = |Ψi1|Ψi2 ...|Ψ⊥ ii ...|ΨiN .
18
That is, the ith state has particle i changed to an orthogonal state and
all the other particles remain in the same state. If we further define a
P
(N )
(N )
normalized state |Ψ⊥ i = i √1N |Ψ⊥ (i)i then the last term of eq. 2.13
(N )
(N )
∆A
∆A
|Ψ⊥ i and it’s size is | √
|Ψ⊥ i|2 ∝ N1 → 0. Therefore, |Ψ(N ) i
is √
N
N
becomes an eigenstate of Â(N ) , with the value hÂi and not even a single
particle has been disturbed (as N̂ → ∞).
In the last case, the average for a single particle becomes a robust property
over the entire ensemble, so a single experiment is sufficient to determine the
average with great precision. There is no longer any need to average over
results obtained in multiple experiments.
all | σ̂x = +1i
| σ̂x = +1i | σ̂x = +1i | σ̂x = +1i
tf in
?
?
?
6
6
6
weakened measurement
of σ̂ξ=45◦ at time t
all | σ̂x = +1i
tin
| σ̂x = +1i
r
r
r
r
particle 1 particle 2 particle 3
?
6
particle N
Figure 6: Obtaining the average for an ensemble.
Tradition has dictated that when measurement interactions are limited
so there is no disturbance on the system, then no information can be gained.
However, we have now shown that when considered as a limiting process, the
disturbance goes to zero more quickly than the shift in the measuring-device,
which means for a large enough ensemble, information (e.g. the expectation
value) can be obtained even though not even a single particle is disturbed.
This viewpoint thereby shifts the standard perspective on two fundamental
postulates of QM.15
15
This is also helpful to understand the quantum to classical transition because typical
classical interactions involve these collective observables which do not disturb each other.
19
6
∆ = 0.1
y
5
ξ
4
x
3
2
1
a)
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
1
2
1
2
4
3
0.07
0.06
0.05
0.04
∆ = 10
0.03
0.02
b)
0.01
-3
-2
-1
0
3
4
6
∆ = 10
5
N = 5000
4
3
2
c)
1
-3
-2
-1
0
3
4
Figure 7: “Spin component measurement without post-selection. Probability distribution of the pointer variable for measurement of σξ when the particle is pre-selected in the state |↑x i. (a) Strong measurement, ∆ = 0.1. (b) Weak
measurement, ∆ = 10. (c) Weak-measurement on the ensemble
of 5000 parti√
cles. The original width of the peak, 10, is reduced to 10/ 5000 ≃ 0.14. In the
strong measurement (a) the pointer is localized around the eigenvalues ±1, while
in the weak-measurements
(b) and (c) the peak is located in the expectation value
√
h↑x |σξ |↑x i = 1/ 2.” From [51]
20
2.1.3
Adding a post-selection to the weakened interaction: WeakValues and Weak-Measurements
Having established a new measurement paradigm -information gain without
disturbance- it is fruitful to inquire whether this type of measurement reveals
new values or properties. With weak-measurements (which involve adding a
post-selection to this ordinary -but weakened- von Neumann measurement),
the measuring-device registers a new value, the weak-value. As an indication
of this, we insert a complete set of states {|Ψfin ij } into the outcome of the
weak interaction of §2.1.1 (i.e. the expectation value hÂi):
X
X
hΨfin |j  | Ψin i
|hΨfin |j Ψin i|2
hÂi = hΨin| |Ψfin ij hΨfin |j Â|Ψini =
hΨfin |j Ψin i
(2.14)
If we interpret the states |Ψfin ij as the outcomes of a final ideal-measurement
on the system (i.e. a post-selection) then performing a weak-measurement
(e.g. with λ∆Qmd → 0) during the intermediate time t ∈ [tin , tfin ], provides the coefficients for |hΨfin|j Ψin i|2 which gives the probabilities P r(j) for
obtaining a pre-selection of hΨin| and a post-selection of |Ψfin ij . The intermediate weak-measurement does not disturb these states and the quantity
hΨ | Â|Ψ i
Aw (j) ≡ hΨfinfinj|jΨinini is the weak-value of  given a particular final postj
j
P
selection hΨfin |j . Thus, from the definition hÂi = j P r(j) Aw (j), one can
think of hÂi for the whole ensemble as being constructed out of sub-ensembles
of pre-and-post-selected-states in which the weak-value is multiplied by a
probability for a post-selected-state.
The weak-value arises naturally from a weakened measurement with postselection: taking λ << 1, the final state of measuring-device in the momentum representation becomes:
MD
hPmd |hΨfin|e−iλQ̂md  |Ψini|ΦMD
in i ≈ hPmd |hΨfin |1 + iλQ̂md Â|Ψin i|Φin i
≈ hPmd |hΨfin | Ψin i{1 + iλQ̂
hΨfin |Â|Ψini
}|ΦMD
in i
hΨfin |Ψin i
≈ hΨfin |Ψin ihPmd|e−iλQ̂Aw |ΦMD
in i
n
→ hΨfin |Ψin i exp −(Pmd − λ Aw )2
where Aw
=
hΨfin |Â|Ψini
hΨfin |Ψini
o
(2.15)
21
The final state of the measuring-device is almost un-entangled with the system; it is shifted by a very unusual quantity, the weak-value, Aw , which is
not in general an eigenvalue of Â16 . We have used such limited disturbance
measurements to explore many paradoxes (see, e.g. [11, 32]). A number
of experiments have been performed to test the predictions made by weakmeasurements and results have proven to be in very good agreement with
theoretical predictions [54, 55, 53, 56, 52]. Since eigenvalues or expectation
values can be derived from weak-values [14], we believe that the weak-value
is indeed of fundamental importance in QM. In addition, the weak-value is
the relevant quantity for all generalized weak interactions with an environment, not just measurement interactions. The only requirement being that
the 2-vectors, i.e. the pre-and-post-selection, are not significantly disturbed
by the environment.
2.2
2.2.1
Fundamentally new features of weak-values
Weak-values and 3-box-paradox
Returning to the 3-box-paradox (§1.2.2), we can calculate the weak-values of
the number of particles in each box, e.g.:
fin |AihA|Ψin i
(|AihA|)w = hΨhΨ
=
fin |Ψfin i
√1 {hA|+hB|−hC|}|AihA| √1 {|Ai+|Bi+|Ci}
3
3
√1 {hA|+hB|−hC|} √1 {|Ai+|Bi+|Ci}
3
3
1
1·1
3
=1
= 1 (1+1−1)
3
However, we can more easily ascertain the weak-values without calculation
due to the following theorems:
Theorem 1: The sum of the weak-values is equal to the weak-value of the
sum [64]:
if (P̂A )w = (P̂B + P̂C )w then (P̂A )w = (P̂B )w + (P̂C )w
(2.16)
Theorem 2 [65]: If a single ideal-measurement of an observable P̂A is performed between the pre-and-post-selection, then if the outcome is definite
(e.g. P rob(P̂A = 1)=1) then the weak-value is equal to this eigenvalue (e.g.
(P̂A )w = 1) [6].
This also provides a direct link to the counterfactual statements (§1.2.3)
because all counterfactual statements which claim that something occurs
16
Thereby challenging another fundamental postulate of QM.
22
with certainty, and which can actually be experimentally verified by separate ideal-measurements, continue to remain true when tested by weakmeasurements. However, given that weak-measurements do not disturb each
other, all these statements can be measured simultaneously.
Applying Theorem 2 to the 3-box-paradox, we know the following weakvalues with certainty:
(P̂A )w = 1, (P̂B )w = 1, P̂total = (P̂A + P̂B + P̂C )w = 1.
(2.17)
Using theorem 1, we obtain:
(P̂C )w =
hΨfin |P̂total − P̂A − P̂B |Ψini
hΨfin |Ψini
= (P̂A + P̂B + P̂C )w − (P̂A )w − (P̂B )w = −1.
(2.18)
This surprising theoretical prediction of TSQM has been verified experimentally using photons [39]. What interpretation should be given to (P̂C )w =
−1? Any weak-measurement which is sensitive to the projection operator
P̂C will register the opposite effect from those cases in which the projection
operator is positive, e.g. a weak-measurement of the amount of charge in
box C in the intermediate time will yield a negative charge (assuming it is
a positively charged particle). For numerous reasons, we believe the most
natural interpretation is: there are −1 particles in box C.
2.2.2
How the weak-value of a spin-1/2 can be 100
The weak-value for the spin-1/2 considered in §1.2.1 (which was confirmed
experimentally for an analogous observable, the polarization [54]) is:
x
h↑y | σ̂y√+σ̂
| ↑x i
2
{h↑y |σ̂y } + {σ̂x | ↑x i}
h↑y |1 + 1| ↑x i √
√
= √
= 2
h↑y |↑x i
2h↑y |↑x i
2h↑y |↑x i
(2.19)
Normally, the component of spin σ̂ξ̂ is an eigenvalue, ±1, but the weak-value
√
√
(σ̂ξ̂ )w = 2 is 2 times bigger, (i.e. lies outside the range of eigenvalues of
σ̂ · n) 17 . How do we obtain this? Instead of post-selecting σ̂x = 1 (figure
(σ̂ξ=45◦ )w =
17
=
Weak-values even further outside the eigenvalue spectrum can be obtained by postselecting states which are more anti-parallel to the pre-selection: e.g. if we post-select
the +1 eigenstate of (cos α)σx + (sin α)σz , then (σ̂z )w = λ tan α2 , yielding arbitrarily large
values such as spin-100.
23
6), we post-select σ̂y = 1 which will be satisfied in one-half the trials (figure
8).18
'
$
either
| σ̂y = +1i
| σ̂y = −1i | σ̂y = +1i | σ̂y = −1i
or | σ̂y = −1i tf in
?
?
?
6
6
6
&
%
weak-measurement
of σ̂ξ=45◦ at time t
all | σ̂x = +1i
tin
'
| σ̂y = +1i
r
r
r
?
r
particle 1 particle 2 particle 3
6
&
particle N
Figure 8: Statistical weak-measurement ensemble.
To show this in an actual calculation, we use eq. 2.16 and the postselected state of the quantum system in the σξ basis (| ↑y i ≡ cos(π/8)| ↑ξ
i − sin(π/8)| ↓ξ i), the measuring-device probability distribution is:
2
2
2
2
P r(Pmd) = N 2 [cos2 (π/8)e−(Pmd −1) /∆ − sin2 (π/8)e−(Pmd +1) /∆ ]2
(2.20)
With a strong or ideal-measurement, ∆ ≪ 1, the distribution is localized
again around the eigenvalues ±1, as illustrated in figures 9.a and 9.b, similar
to what occured in figure 7.a. What is different, however, is that when
the measurement is weakened, i.e. ∆ is made larger,
√ then the distribution
changes to one single distribution centered around 2, the weak-value, as
illustrated in figures 9.c-f, (the width again is reduced with an ensemble
9.f). Using eq. 2.14, we can see that the weak-value is just the pre-and-postselected sub-ensemble arising from within the pre-selected-only ensembles.
That is, 9.f is a sub-ensemble from the full ensemble represented by the
expectation value, figure 7.c.
The non-statistical aspect mentioned in case-3 (§2.1.2) can also be explored by changing the problem slightly. Instead of considering an ensemble of spin-1/2 particles, we now consider “particles” which are composed of many (N) spin-1/2 particles, and perform a weak-measurement of
18
$
If a post-selection does not satisfy σ̂y = +1, then that member of the sub-ensemble
must be discarded. This highlights a fundamental difference between pre-and-postselection due to the macrosopic arrow-of-time: in contrast to post-selection, if the preselection does not satisfy the criteria, then a subsequent unitary transformation can transform to the proper criteria.
%
24
6
0.2
5
∆ = 0.1 4
∆= 3
0.15
3
0.1
2
a)
-3
-2
-1
1
0
2
-2
-3
4
3
2.5
∆ = 0.25
0.05
d)
1
-1
∆ = 10
2
0
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
0.08
0.06
1.5
0.04
1
b)
e)
0.5
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
0.02
-3
-2
-1
0
0.6
∆= 1
4
∆ = 10
0.5
3
0.4
N = 5000
0.3
2
0.2
c)
f)
0.1
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
1
-3
-2
-1
0
Figure 9: “Measurement on pre-and-post-selected ensemble. Probability
distribution of the pointer variable for measurement of σξ when the particle is preselected in the state |↑x i and post-selected in the state |↑y i. The strength of the
measurement is parameterized by the width of the distribution ∆. (a) ∆ = 0.1;
(b) ∆ = 0.25; (c) ∆ = 1; (d) ∆ = 3; (e) ∆ = 10. (f ) Weak-measurement on
the ensemble
of 5000 particles; the original width of the peak, ∆ = 10, is reduced
√
to 10/ 5000 ≃ 0.14. In the strong measurements (a)-(b) the pointer is localized
around the eigenvalues ±1, while in the weak-measurements (d)-(f ) the√peak of
the distribution is located in the weak-value (σξ )w = h↑y |σξ |↑x i/h↑y |↑x i = 2. The
outcomes of the weak-measurement on the ensemble of 5000 pre-and-post-selected
particles, (f ), are clearly outside the range of the eigenvalues, (-1,1).” From [51]
25
P
(N )
i
◦
the collective observable σ̂ξ ≡ N1 N
i=1 σ̂ξ in the 45 -angle to the x − y
P
i
plane. Using Hint = − λδ(t)
Q̂md N
i=1 σ̂ξ , a particular pre-selection of |↑x i
N
Q
QN
(N )
(N )
(i.e. |Ψin i = N
j=1 |↑x ij ) and post-selection |↑y i (i.e. hΨfin | =
k=1 h↑y |k =
QN
n=1 {h↑z |n + ih↓z |n }), the final state of the measuring-device is:
|ΦMD
fin i =
(
N
Y
)
N
N
X
Y
λ
h↑y |j exp
|↑x ii |ΦMD
Q̂md
σ̂ξk
in i
N
j=1
i=1
k=1
(2.21)
Since the spins do not interact with each other, we can calculate one of the
products and take the result to the Nth power:
(
N
Y
)
(
(
)
)N
λ
λ
h↑y |j exp
Q̂md σ̂ξj |↑x ij |ΦMD
Q̂md σ̂ξ |↑x i |ΦMD
|ΦMD
in i = h↑y | exp
in i
fin i =
N
N
j=1
(2.22)
Using the following identity exp {iασ̂~n } = cos α+iσ̂~n sin α [57], this becomes:
|ΦMD
fin i
=
(
#
"
λQ̂md
λQ̂md
|↑x i
− iσ̂ξ sin
h↑y | cos
N
N
N
= [h↑y |↑x i]
(
λQ̂md
λQ̂md
cos
− iαw sin
N
N
)N
|ΦMD
in i
)N
|ΦMD
in i
(2.23)
h↑ |σ̂ |↑ i
where we have substituted αw ≡ (σ̂ξ )w = h↑y y |↑ξ x ix . We consider only the
second part (the first bracket, a number, can be neglected since it does not
depend on Q̂ and thus can only affect the normalization):
|ΦMD
fin i =
(
λ2 (Q̂md )2 iλαw Q̂md
−
1−
N2
N
)N
(N)
iλαw Q̂md
|ΦMD
|ΦMD
in i
in i ≈ e
(2.24)
When19 projected onto Pmd , i.e. the pointer, we see that the pointer is
robustly shifted by the
√ the same weak-value obtained with the previous statistical method, i.e. 2:
(σ̂ξ )w =
19
QN
k=1 h↑y |k
PN n
√
i=1
σ̂xi + σ̂yi
o Q
N
2 N(h↑y |↑x i)N
j=1 |↑x ij
=
√
1
2 ± O( √ ).
N
(2.25)
N
a aa
a N
) = (1 + N
)
The last approximation was obtained as N → ∞, using (1 + N
≈ ea .
26
A single experiment is now sufficient to determine the weak-value with great
precision and there is no longer any need to average over results obtained
in multiple experiments as we did in the previous section. Therefore, if we
repeat the experiment with different measuring-devices, then each measuringdevice will show the very same weak-values, up to an insignificant spread
of √1 and the information from both boundary conditions, i.e. |Ψini =
QN N
QN
i=1 |↑x ii and hΨfin | =
i=1 h↑y |i , describes the entire interval of time between
pre-and-post-selection. Following [51], we consider an example with N = 20.
The probability distribution of the measuring-device after the post-selection
is:
(N )
prob(Qmd ) = N 2
N
X
(N)
(−1)i (cos2 (π/8))N −i (sin2 (π/8))i e−(Qmd −
i=1
(2N−i) 2
) /2∆2
N
2
.
(2.26)
and is drawn for different values of ∆ in figure 10. While this result is rare, we
have recently shown [33] how any ensemble can yield robust weak-values like
this in a way that is not rare and for a much stronger regime of interaction.
We have thereby shown that weak-values are a general property of every
pre-and-post-selected ensemble.20
2.2.3
Hardy’s Paradox
Another surprising pre-and-post-selection effect is Hardy’s gedanken-experiment
which is a variation of interaction-free measurements (IFM) [58], consisting of
two “superposed” Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI)(figure 11), one with
a positron and one with an electron. Consider first a single interferometer, for instance that of the positron (labeled by +). By adjusting the arm
lengths, it is possible to arrange specific relative phases in the propagation
amplitudes for paths between the beam-splitters BS1+ and BS2+ so that
the positron can only emerge towards the detector C + . However, the phase
difference can be altered by the presence of an object, for instance in the
lower arm, in which case detector D + may be triggered. In the usual IFM
setup, this is illustrated by the dramatic example of a sensitive bomb that
absorbs the particle with unit probability and subsequently explodes. In this
way, if D + is triggered, it is then possible to infer the presence of the bomb
20
We have also proposed this as another innovative new laser-technology, e.g. in the
amplification of small non-random signals by minimizing uncertainties in determining the
weak value and by minimizing sample size.[33]
27
20
3.5
∆=0.01 17.5
∆=0.25 3
15
2.5
12.5
2
10
1.5
7.5
1
5
0.5
2.5
-1
-0.5
0
∆=0.05
10
-1
-0.5
0.5
1
1.5
-1
0
∆=0.33
2
6
1.5
4
1
2
0.5
0.5
1
1.5
-1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
2.5
8
0
1
0
6
∆=0.10
∆=0.50 1.2
5
1
4
0.8
3
0.6
2
0.4
1
-1
-0.5
0
∆=0.20
4
0.2
0.5
1
1.5
-1
∆=1.00
3
0
0.6
0.5
0.4
2
0.3
0.2
1
0.1
-1
Figure 10:
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
-1
0
“Measurement on a single system. Probability distribution of
P
when the system
the pointer variable for the measurement of A = ( 20
i=1 (σi )ξ )/20
Q
of 20 spin- 12 particles is pre-selected in the state |Ψ1 i = 20
i=1 |↑x ii and postQ20
selected in the state |Ψ2 i = i=1 |↑y ii . While in the very strong measurements,
∆ = 0.01 − 0.05, the peaks of the distribution located at the eigenvalues, starting
from ∆√= 0.25 there is essentially a single peak at the location of the weak-value,
Aw = 2.” From [51]
28
without “touching” it, i.e., to know both that there was a bomb and that
the particle went through the path where there was no bomb.
D-
C-
D+
C+
DO-
BS2
NO-
O-
BS2D+ -
g
C-
D+
C+
BS2+
O-
BS1+
e+
C+
D-
BS1e-
D+
NO
-+
BS2
O+
NOBS1-
C-
O+
BS
2+
NO
NO-
BS2+
O-
O+
NO+
BS1+
BS -
BS +
1
−
disturbs the electron
and the1 electron
Figure 11: a) counterfactual resolution: DO
could end up in the D− detector
were present in the overlapping
e+
e- even if no positron
arm, b) electron must be on the overlapping path N̂O− -= 1, c) positron
e+ also must
e
+
be on overlapping path N̂O = 1
In the double-MZI, things are arranged so that if each MZI is considered
separately, the electron can only be detected at C − and the positron only at
C + . However, because there is now a region where the two particles overlap,
there is also the possibility that they will annihilate each other. We assume
that this occurs with unit probability if both particles happen to be in this
region.
According to QM, the presence of this interference-destroying alternative
allows for a situation similar to IFM in which detectors D − and D + may
click in coincidence (in which case, obviously, there is no annihilation).
Suppose D − and D + do click. Trying to “intuitively” understand this
situation leads to paradox. For example, we should infer from the clicking of
D − that the positron must have gone through the overlapping arm; otherwise
nothing would have disturbed the electron, and the electron couldn’t have
ended in D − . Conversely, the same logic can be applied starting from the
clicking of D + , in which case we deduce that the electron must have also
gone through the overlapping arm. But then they should have annihilated,
and couldn’t have reached the detectors. Hence the paradox.
These statements, however, are counter-factual, i.e. we haven’t actually
measured the positions. Suppose we actually measured the position of the
29
−
electron by inserting a detector DO
in the overlapping arm of the electronMZI. Indeed, the electron is always in the overlapping arm. But, we can no
longer infer from a click at D − that a positron should have traveled through
the overlapping arm of the positron MZI in order to disturb the electron
(figure 11.a). The paradox disappears.
As we mentioned (§1.2.3), weak-measurements produce only limited disturbance and therefore can be performed simultaneously, allowing us to experimentally test such counter-factual statements. Therefore we would like
to test [11, 32] questions such as “Which way does the electron go?”, “Which
way does the positron go?”, “Which way does the positron go when the electron goes through the overlapping arm?” etc. In other words, we would like
to measure the single-particle “occupation” operators
+
N̂NO
= |NOip hNO|p
−
N̂NO
= |NOie hNO|e
N̂O+ = |Oip hO|p
N̂O− = |Oie hO|e
(2.27)
which tell us separately about the electron and the positron. We note a most
important fact, which is essential in what follows: the weak-value of a product
of observables is not equal to the product of their weak-values. Hence, we
have to measure the single-particle occupation-numbers independently from
the pair occupation-operators:
+,−
+
−
N̂NO
,O = N̂NO N̂O
+ −
N̂O+,−
,O = N̂O N̂O
+ −
N̂O+,−
,NO = N̂O N̂NO
+,−
+
−
N̂NO
,NO = N̂NO N̂NO
(2.28)
These tell us about the simultaneous locations of the electron and positron.
The results of all our weak-measurements on the above quantitites, echo, to
some extent, the counter-factual statements, but go far beyond that. They
are now true observational statements (and experiments have successfully
verified these results [59]). In addition, weak-values obey an intuitive logic of
their own which allows us to deduce them directly. While this full-intuition
is left to published articles [11, 32], we discuss the essence of the paradox
which is defined by three counterfactual statements:
• The electron is always in the overlapping arm.
• The positron is always in the overlapping arm.
• The electron and the positron are never both in the overlapping arms.
30
To these counterfactual statements correspond the following observational
facts. In the cases when the electron and positron end up at D − and D +
respectively and if we perform a single ideal-measurement of:
• N̂O− , we always find N̂O− = 1 (figure 11.b).
• N̂O+ , we always find N̂O+ = 1 (figure 11.c).
+,−
+,−
• N̂O,O
, we always find N̂O,O
= 0 (figure 12.a).
The above statements seem paradoxical but, of course, they are valid only
if we perform the measurements separately; they do not hold if the measurements are made simultaneously. However, Theorem 2 says that when
measured weakly all these results remain true simultaneously:
−
NOw
= 1,
+
NOw
=1
(2.29)
Using theorems 1 and 2, all other weak-values can be trivially deduced:
NN−Ow = 0,
NN+Ow = 0
+,−
NO,Ow
=0
+,−
NO,N
Ow = 1,
NN+,−
O,Ow = 1
NN+,−
O,N Ow = −1.
(2.30)
(2.31)
(2.32)
(2.33)
What do all these results tell us?
First of all, the single-particle occupation numbers (2.29) are consistent
with the intuitive statements that “the positron must have been in the overlapping arm otherwise the electron couldn’t have ended at D − ” (figure 11.c)
and also that “the electron must have been in the overlapping arm otherwise the positron couldn’t have ended at D + ” (figure 11.b). But then what
happened to the fact that they could not be both in the overlapping arms
since this will lead to annihilation? QM is consistent with this too - the pair
occupation number NO+,−
,Ow = 0 shows that there are zero electron-positron
pairs in the overlapping arms (figure 12.a)!
We also feel intuitively that “the positron must have been in the overlapping arm otherwise the electron couldn’t have ended at D − , and furthermore,
31
the electron must have gone through the non-overlapping arm since there was
no annihilation” (figure 12.b). This is confirmed by NO+,−
,NO = 1. But we also
have the statement “the electron must have been in the overlapping arm otherwise the positron couldn’t have ended at D − and furthermore the positron
must have gone through the non-overlapping arm since there was no annihila+,−
tion”. This is confirmed too, NNO
,Ow = 1. But these two statements together
are at odds with the fact that there is in fact just one electron-positron pair
in the interferometer. QM solves the paradox in a remarkable way - it tells
+,−
us that NNO
,NOw = −1, i.e. that there is also minus one electron-positron
pair in the non-overlapping arms which brings the total down to a single pair
(figure 12.c)!
D-
C-
C+D-
D+
BS2NO-
+
BS2BS
2
O+
-
BS1+
e-
e+
D+
C+D-
-
NO- NO+ O-
O-
BS1
C-
BS1-
e-
C-
D+
C+
+ BS2BS
2
O+
NO- NO O+
BS1-
BS1+
e+
BS2+
e-
O+
NO+
BS1+
e+
+,−
+,−
+,−
+,−
= 0, b) NO,N
Figure 12: a) N̂O,O
Ow = 1, NN O,Ow = 1, c) NNO ,NOw = −1
2.3
Contextuality
TSQM and WMs have proven very useful in exploring many un-settled aspects of QM. For example, using TSQM, we have shown that it is possible
to assign definite values to observables in a new way in situations involving
“contextuality.” Traditionally, contextuality was thought to be a requirement
for certain hypothetical modifications of QM. However, using pre-and-postselection and weak-measurements, we have shown that QM implies contextuality directly [69, 70, 32].
What is contextuality? Bell-Kochen-Specker (BKS) proved that one cannot assign unique answers (i.e. a Hidden-Variable-Theory, HVT) to yes-no
questions in such a way that one can think that measurement simply reveals
the answer as a pre-existing property that was intrinsic solely to the quantum
32
system itself. BKS assumed that the specification of the HVT, i.e. Vψ~ (Â),
should satisfy: Vψ~ (F {Â}) = F {Vψ~ (Â)}, i.e. any functional relation of an
operator that is a member of a commuting subset of observables must also
be satisfied if one substitutes the values for the observables into the functional relations. A consequence of this is satisfaction of the sum and product
rules and therefore BKS showed that with any system (of dimension greater
than 2) the 2n possible “yes-no” assignments (to the n projection operators
representing the yes-no questions) cannot be compatible with the sum and
product rules for all orthogonal resolutions of the identity. Thus, a HVT-the
hypothetical modification of QM-must be contextual.
In [32] it was first pointed out and extensively discussed and later proven [28],
that whenever there is a logical pre-and-post-selection-paradox (as in the 3box-paradox§1.2.2), then there is a related proof of contextuality. However,
the elements in the proof are all counter-factual. TSQM has taught us that
by applying theorems 1 and 2, we can for the first time obtain an experimental
meaning to the proof.
By way of example, we consider Mermin’s version of BKS with a set of 9
observables. It is intuitive [30] to represent all the “functional relationships
between mutually commuting subsets of the observables,” i.e. Vψ~ (F {Â}) =
F {Vψ~ (Â)}, by drawing them in fig. 13 and arranging them so that all the
observables in each row (and column) commute with all the other observables
in the same row (or column).
σ̂x1
σ̂y2
σ̂x1 σ̂y2
=1
#
σ̂x2
# #
σ̂x1 σ̂x2
=1
σ̂y1
σ̂y1 σ̂y2
=1
σ̂x σ̂y
σ̂z1 σ̂z2
=1
=1
= −1
2 1
"!
"!
"!
Figure 13: 4-D BKS example
Vψ~ (F {Â}) = F {Vψ~ (Â)} requires that the value assigned to the product of
all three observables in any row or column must obey the same identities that
the observables themselves satisfy, i.e. the product of the values assigned to
33
the observables in each oval yields a result of +1 except in the last column
which gives −1.21 . E.g. computing column 3 of fig. 13:
{σ̂x1 σ̂x2 }{σ̂y1 σ̂y2 }{σ̂z1 σ̂z2 } = σ̂x1
σ̂x2 σ̂y1
σ̂y2 σ̂z1 σ̂z2 = σ̂x1 σ̂y1 σ̂x2 σ̂y2 σ̂z1 σ̂z2
| {z }
| {z } | {z }
commute so ֒→
= iσ̂z1
=iσ̂z1 =iσ̂z2
iσ̂z2 σ̂z1
| {z }
commute so ֒→
σ̂z2 = iσ̂z1 iσ̂z1 σ̂z2 σ̂z2 = −1 (2.34)
Computing the product of the observables in the third row, i.e.:
{σ̂x1 σ̂y2 }{σ̂x2 σ̂y1 }{σ̂z1 σ̂z2 } = σ̂x1 σ̂y2 σ̂x2 σ̂y1 {σ̂z1 σ̂z2 } = σ̂x1 σ̂y1 {−iσ̂z2 }{σ̂z1 σ̂z2 }
| {z }
| {z } |
= iσ̂z1 σ̂z1 {−iσ̂z2 }{σ̂z2 } = +1,
| {z } |
=i
{z
}
=iσ̂z1 commute so ֒→
=−iσ̂z2
{z
}
=−i
(2.35)
If the product rule is applied to the value assignments made in the rows,
then:
Vψ~ (σ̂x1 )Vψ~ (σ̂x2 )Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂x2 ) = Vψ~ (σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 σ̂y2 ) = Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂x2 σ̂y1 )Vψ~ (σ̂z1 σ̂z2 ) = +1
{z
|
row 1
}
|
{z
}
row 2
while the column identities require:
{z
|
row 3
(2.36)
Vψ~ (σ̂x1 )Vψ~ (σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂y2 ) = Vψ~ (σ̂x2 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 )Vψ~ (σ̂x2 σ̂y1 ) = +1
|
{z
column 1
}
|
{z
}
column 2
Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂x2 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂z1 σ̂z2 )
|
{z
column 3
}
= −1
(2.37)
However, it is easy to see that the 9 numbers Vψ~ cannot satisfy all 6 constraints because multiplying all 9 observables together gives 2 different results, a +1 when it is done row by row and a −1 when it is done column by
21
The value assignments are given by Vψ~ (σ̂x1 ) = hσ̂x1
N 2
σ̂z i.
Vψ~ (σ̂x1 ) = hσ̂z1
N 2
N 2
I i, Vψ~ (σ̂x2 ) = hI 1
σ̂x i...
}
34
column:
Vψ~ (σ̂x1 )Vψ~ (σ̂x2 )Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂x2 ) Vψ~ (σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 σ̂y2 ) Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂x2 σ̂y1 )Vψ~ (σ̂z1 σ̂z2 ) = +1
|
row 1
|
column 1
{z
}|
row 2
{z
}|
row 3
{z
}|
column 2
hσ̂y1 = 1|
hσ̂y2 = 1|
?
?
{z
}
{z
}|
column 3
(2.38)
Vψ~ (σ̂x1 )Vψ~ (σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂y2 ) Vψ~ (σ̂x2 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 )Vψ~ (σ̂x2 σ̂y1 ) Vψ~ (σ̂x1 σ̂x2 )Vψ~ (σ̂y1 σ̂y2 )Vψ~ (σ̂z1 σ̂z2 ) = −1
{z
}
(2.39)
There obviously is no consistent solution to eqs. 2.39 and 2.38 since they
contain the same set of numbers, simply ordered differently. Therefore the
values assigned to the observables cannot obey the same identities that the
observables themselves obey, Vψ~ (F {Â}) 6= F {Vψ~ (Â)}, and an HVT would
have to assign values to observables in a way that depended on the choice of
which of 2 mutually commuting sets of observables that were also chosen to
measure, i.e. the values assigned are contextual. For example, the assignment
σ̂z1 σ̂z2 = ±1 depends on whether we associate σ̂z1 σ̂z2 with row-3 or with column3.
We briefly summarize application of TSQM to the Mermin example[69,
70, 32]. A single pre-and-post-selection (figure 14) allows us to assign a
definite value to any single observable in figure 13. That by itself is new and
surprising.
(a)
(b)
tfin
σ̂y1 =11,2 σ̂y2 = 1,
σ̂y σ̂y = 1
hσ̂y1 = 1|
hσ̂x2 = 1|
?
?
σ̂y1 =11,2 σ̂x2 = 1,
σ̂y σ̂x = 1
t
tin
6
6
|σ̂x1 = 1i
|σ̂x2 = 1i
σ̂x1 = 11,2σ̂x2 = 1,
σ̂x σ̂x = 1
6
6
|σ̂x1 = 1i
|σ̂y2 = 1i
σ̂x1 = 11,2σ̂y2 = 1,
σ̂x σ̂y = 1
Figure 14: pre-and-post-selection states for Mermin example.
Moreover, for “contextuality,” we must determine how many of the products of the 9 observables in figure 13 can be ascertained together with certainty. In order to ascertain the products of any 2 pairs, the generalized
state is required, an outcome that Mermin describes as “intriguing” [29].
35
The generalized state is defined by[6]: Ψ =
hΨ1 |
hΨ2 |
hΨ3 |
tfin
?
?
?
+
+
correlated correlated
t
6
6
6
r
tin
|Φ1 i
|Φ2 i
|Φ3 i
P
i αi hΨi || Φi i.
22
The outcome
hΨn |
r
r
r
?
+
6
|Φn i
Figure 15: Generalized State: superpositions of 2-vectors.
for the product of the first two observables in column 3 of figure 13 with the
pre-and-post-selection of fig. 14.a is σx1 σx2 σy1 σy2 = +1. However, if we measure
the operators corresponding to the first 2 observables of row 3 in figure 13,
i.e. σ̂x1 σ̂y2 σ̂x2 σ̂y1 , given this particular pre-and-post-selection shown in fig. 14.a,
then the sequence of measurements interfere with each other (as represented
by the slanted ovals in figure 17.a). To see this, consider that σ̂x1 σ̂y2 σ̂x2 σ̂y1 corresponds to the sequence of measurements represented in figure 16.a. While
the pre-selection of particle 2 is σ̂x2 = 1 at tin , the next measurement after
the pre-selection at t2 is for σ̂y2 and only after that a measurement of σ̂x2
is performed at t3 . Thus, there is no guarantee that the σ̂x2 measurement
at t3 will give the same value as the pre-selected state of σ̂x2 = 1 or that
the σ̂y2 measurement will give the same value as the post-selected state of
σ̂y2 = 1. In TSQM, this is due to the disturbance of the 2-vector boundary
conditions which is created by the ideal-measurement (§2.1): the initial preselected vector σ̂x2 = 1 from tin is “destroyed” when the σ̂y2 measurement at
time t2 is performed and therefore cannot inform the later σ̂x2 measurement
at time t3 . In other words, with the particular pre-and-post-selection given
in fig. 14.a and 16.a, the operator, σ̂x1 σ̂y2 σ̂x2 σ̂y1 depends on information from
P
This correlated state can be created by preparing at tin a correlated state i αi |Ψi i|ii
with |ii an orthonormal set of states of an ancilla. Then the ancilla is “guarded” so there
are no interactions with the ancilla during
the time (tin , tf in ). At tf in we post select on
P
the particle and ancilla the state √1N i |Φi i|ii. If we are successful in obtaining this state
for the post-selection, then the state of 2 particles is described in the intermediate time by
the entangled state (see figure 15). This is yet another example of a useful generalization
of QM.
22
36
both the pre-selected vector σ̂x1 = 1, σ̂x2 = 1 and the post-selected vector
σ̂y1 = 1, σ̂y2 = 1 in a “diagonal-pre-and-post-selection” sense. We call this
diagonal-pre-and-post-selection because a line connecting σ̂x1 (t1 ) with σ̂x2 (t3 )
will be diagonal or will cross the line connecting σ̂y2 (t2 ) with σ̂y1 (t4 ), where
tin < t1 < t2 ... < tfin , see fig. 17.a).
However, σ̂z1 σ̂z2 is assigned differ(a)
tfin
hσ̂y1 = 1|
?
σ̂ 1 = 1
y
t
tin
(b)
hσ̂y2 = 1|
?
t4
σ̂x2 =?
t3
σ̂y2 =?
t2
σ̂x1 = 1
6
6
|σ̂x1 = 1i
t1
hσ̂y1 = 1|
hσ̂x2 = 1|
?σ̂ 2 =?
y
?1
σ̂y = 1
t4
t3
σ̂x2 =? t2
σ̂x1 = 1
6
6
t1
|σ̂y2 = 1i
|σ̂x2 = 1i
|σ̂x1 = 1i
hσ̂y1 = 1|
hσ̂y2 = 1|
hσ̂y1 = 1|
hσ̂x2 = 1|
|σ̂x1 = 1i
|σ̂x2 = 1i
|σ̂x1 = 1i
|σ̂y2 = 1i
Figure 16: Time sequence of pre-and-post-selection measurements for Mermin
example.
(a)
tfin
t
tin
(b)
?
σ̂cy1 = 1 #
c
# ?
c
#
c#σ̂ 2 =?
c # c
x #
c
#
#
c
σ̂y2 =?
# c#
c
#
c
#c
6
#
c
1
σ̂#x = 1 c
6
c
#?σ̂y2 =?
c #
c?
#
c
#
σ̂y1 =
c
# 1c #
c
#
#
c
# c # cσ̂x2 =?
#
c
#c
c 6
1#
σ̂x = 1 c
6#
Figure 17: a) Measurement of σ̂x1 σ̂y2 σ̂x2 σ̂y1 is diagonal, b) measurement of σ̂x1 σ̂x2 σ̂y1 σ̂y2
is diagonal
ent values in different pre-and-post-selections. It is precisely because of this
connection between particular pre-and-post-selections and different values
for σ̂z1 σ̂z2 that the issue of contextuality arises when we consider products of
these observables. In other words, the contextuality here is manifested by the
fact that σ̂x1 σ̂y2 σ̂x2 σ̂y1 = −1 (given the pre-and-post-selection of fig. 16.a) even
though separately σ̂x1 σ̂y2 = +1 and σ̂x2 σ̂y1 = +1. But these 3 outcomes can be
measured weakly without contradiction because the product of weak-values
37
is not equal to the weak-value of the product. Therefore, instead of contextuality being an aspect of a hypothetical replacement for QM (the HVT), we
have shown that contextuality is directly part of QM [69, 70, 32].
2.4
Nonlocality
Traditionally, it was believed that “contextuality” was very closely related
to “kinematic-nonlocality.” Typically, kinematic-nonlocality refers to correlations, such as eq. 1.1, that violate Bell’s-inequality with the consequence that
QM cannot be replaced with a local realistic model. Similarly, contextuality
refers to the impossibility of replacing QM with a noncontextual realistic theory. Applying this now to the relativistic-paradox (§1.1), we see that Lorentz
covariance in the state-description can be preserved in TSQM [9] because the
post-selected vector σzA = +1 propagates all the way back to the initial preparation of an EPR state, eq. 1.1, |ΨEP Ri = √12 {|↑iA |↓iB − |↓iA |↑iB }. E.g. if
A changes his mind and measures σyA instead of σzA or if we consider a different frame-of-reference, then this would change the post-selected vector all the
way back to |ΨEP R i. More explicitly, suppose the final post-selected-state
is hΨf in | = √12 h↑z |A {h↓ |B + h↑ |B } = √12 {h↑z |A h↑ |B + h↑z |A h↓ |B }. The
full state-description is the bra-ket combination (which is not just a scalar
product):
1
1
hΨf in ||ΨEP Ri = √ {h↑ |A h↑B +h↑ |A h↓ |B } √ {|↑iA |↓iB − |↓iA |↑iB }
2
2
(2.40)
There is no longer a need to specify a moment when a non-local collapse
occurs, thereby removing the relativistic paradox.
Finally, TSQM and weak-measurements also provide insight into a very
different kind of non-locality, namely dynamical-nonlocality, e.g. that of the
Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect [1]. We have shown how this novel kind of
nonlocality can be measured with weak-measurements [71].
38
3
TSQM lead to new mathematics, simplifications in calculations, and stimulated discoveries in other fields
TSQM has influenced work in many areas of physics, e.g. in cosmology [22,
81], in black-holes [21, 44], in superluminal tunneling [19, 38], in quantum
information [8, 82, 83], etc. We review two examples here.
3.1
Super-oscillations
Superoscillations [60] are functions which oscillate with an arbitrarily high
frequency α, but which, surprisingly, can be understood as superpositions of
low frequencies, |k| < 1, seemingly a violation of the Fourier theorem:
X
|k|<1
ck eikx → eiαx
(3.41)
Superoscillations were originally discovered through the study of weak-values.
By way of example, consider again eq. 2.23:
D
|ΦM
f in i =
=
=
(
λQ̂md
λQ̂md
− iαw sin
cos
N
N
iλQ̂
iλQ̂
e Nmd + e− Nmd
(
e
2
iλQ̂md
N
|
+ αw
e
)N
iλQ̂md
N
|ΦMD
in i
− e−
2
iλQ̂md (1 − α )
(1 + αw )
w
+ e− N
2
2
{z
≡ψ(x)
iλQ̂md
N
)N
}
N
|ΦMD
in i
|ΦMD
in i
(3.42)
We already saw how this could be approximated as eiλαw Q̂md |ΦMD
in√i which produced a robust-shift in the measuring-device by the weak-value 2. However,
we can also view ψ(x) = e
iλQ̂md
(1+αw )
N
2
+ e−
2
way, by performing a binomial expansion:
ψ(x) =
PN
N
in a very different
exp
iλQ̂md
(1−αw )
N
(1+αw )n (1−αw )N−n
N!
exp
n=0
2N
n!(N −n)!
n
inλQ̂md
N
o
−iλQ̂md (N −n)
N
39
=
PN
n=0 cn exp
iλQ̂md (2n−N )
N
=
PN
n=0 cn exp
n
iλQ̂md λn
N
o
(3.43)
We see that this wavefunction is a superposition of waves with small wavenum)
< 1). For a small region (which can
bers |k| ≤ 1 (because −1 < (2n−N
N
include several wavelengths 2π/αw , depending on how large one chooses N),
ψ(x) appears to have a very large momentum, since αw can be arbitrarily
large, i.e. a super-oscillation. Because these regions of superoscillations are
created at the expense of having the function grow exponentially in other
regions, it would be natural to conclude that the superoscillations would
be quickly “over-taken” by tails coming from the exponential regions and
would thus be short-lived. However, it has been shown that superoscillations
are remarkably robust [61] and can last for a surprisingly long time. This
has therefore led to proposed/practical applications of superoscillations to
situations which were previously probed by evanescent waves (e.g. in the
superresolution of very fine features with lasers). 23
As we mentioned in the introduction, TSQM is a re-formulation of QM,
and therefore it must be possible to view the novel effects from the traditional
single-vector perspective. This is precisely what super-oscillations teach us.
In summary, there are 2 ways to understand weak-values:
• the measuring-device is registering the weak-value as a property of the
system as characterized by TSQM
• the weak-value is a result of a complex interference effect in the measuringdevice; the system continues to be described with a single-vector pursuant to QM
Oftentimes, calculations are either much simplified or can only be performed
by utilizing the first approach (e.g. when the measuring-device is classical) [32].
3.2
Quantum Random Walk
Another fundamental discovery arising out of TSQM is the Quantum-RandomWalk [8] which has also stimulated discoveries in other areas of physics (for a
23
In [68, 84], we uncover several new relationships between the physical creation of the
high-momenta associated with the superoscillations, eccentric weak-values, and modular
variables which have been used to model the dynamical non-locality discussed in §2.4 [62,
63, 13].
40
−15 −10
−5
5
10
15
20
25
30
Figure 18: “Demonstration of an approximate equality given by
PN
n=0 cn f (t −
an ) ≈ f (t − α). The sum of a function shifted by the 14 values cn between 0 and 1
and multiplied by the coefficients, yields approximately the same function shifted
by the value 10. The dotted line shows f (t); the dashed line shows f (t − 10); and
the solid line shows the sum.” From [51]
41
review, see [67]). In the second bullet above, the measuring-device is shifted
(N )
by the operator σ̂ξ with it’s N + 1 eigenvalues equally spaced between −1
and +1 [32]. How can a superposition of small shifts between −1 and 1 give
a shift that is arbitrarily far outside ±1? The answer is that states of the
(N )
measuring-device interfere constructively for P̂md = αw and destructively
(N )
D
MD
for all other values of P̂md such that ΦM
f in (P ) → Φin (P − Aw ), the essence
of quantum-random-walk[8]. If the coefficients for a step to the left or right
were probabilities, as would be the case in a classical random walk,
√ then
N steps of step size 1 could generate an average displacement of N, but
never a distance larger than N. However when the steps are superposed
with probability amplitudes, as with the quantum-random-walk, and when
one considers probability amplitudes that are determined by pre-and-postselection, then the random walk can produce any displacement. In other
words, instead of saying that a “quantum step” is made up of probabilities,
we say that a quantum step is a superposition of the amplitude for a step
“to the left” and the amplitude for a “step to the right,” then one can superpose small Fourier components and obtain a large shift. This phenomenon
is very general: if f (t − an ) is a function shifted by small numbers an , then
a superposition can produce the same function but shifted by a value α well
P
outside the range of an : N
n=0 cn f (t − an ) ≈ f (t − α). The same values of an
and cn are appropriate for a wide class of functions and this relation can be
made arbitrarily precise by increasing the number of terms in the sum, see
figure 18. The key to this phenomenon is the extremely rapid
in
n oscillations
o
PN
(1+αw )n (1−αw )N−n
N!
the coefficients cn ≡
in n=0 cn exp iλQ̂md kn .
2N
n!(N −n)!
4
TSQM suggests generalizations of QM
4.1
Reformulation of Dynamics: each moment a new
universe
We review a generalization of QM suggested by TSQM [34, 32] which addresses the “artificial” separation in all areas of theoretical physics between
the kinematic and dynamical descriptions. David Gross has predicted [23]
that this distinction will be blurred as the understanding of space and time
is advanced and indeed we have developed a new way in which these traditionally distinct constructions can be united. We note [34, 32] that the description of the time evolution given by QM does not appropriately represent
42
multi-time-correlations which are similar to Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen/Bohm
entanglement (eq. 1.1) but instead of being between two particles in space,
they are correlations for a single particle between two different times. Multitime-correlations, however, can be represented by using TSQM. As a consequence, the general notion of time in QM is changed from the current
conceptual framework which was inherited from CM, i.e.:
1): the universe is viewed as unique, and the objects which inhabit it just change their state in time. In this view, time is
“empty,” it just propagates a state forward; the operators of the
theory create the time evolution;
to a new conceptual framework in which:
2): each instant corresponds to a new pair of Hilbert spaces,
(i.e., each instant is a new degree of freedom; in a sense, a new
universe); instead of the operators creating the time evolution as
in the previous approach, an entangled state (in time) “creates”
the propagation: a whole new set of structures within time is able
to “propagate” a quantum state forward in time,
This new approach has a number of useful qualities, e.g.: 1) the dynamics
and kinematics can both be represented simultaneously in the same language,
a single entangled vector (in many Hilbert spaces), and 2) a new, more fundamental complementarity between dynamics and kinematics is naturally
introduced. This approach also leads to a new solution to the measurement
problem which we model by uncertain Hamiltonians. Finally, these considerations are also relevant to the problem of the “Now,” which was succinctly
expressed by Davies [75] as “why is it ’now’ now?” The kinematic-dynamics
generalization [34, 32] suggests a new fourth approach to time besides the
traditional “block universe,” “presentism,” and “possibilism” models.
While we leave all details to our other publications [34, 32]), in brief,
consider a spin-1/2 particle, initially polarized “up” along the z axis, and
having the Hamiltonian H = 0. In this case the time evolution of the particle
is trivial,
|Ψ(t)i = constant = |σz = 1i.
(4.44)
To see the deficiency in representing multi-time-correlations, we will consider
an isomorphism between the correlations for a single particle at multiple
instants of time and the correlations between multiple particles at a single
43
instant of time. Therefore, we ask if we could prepare N spin-1/2 particles
such that if we perform measurements on them at some time t0 we would
obtain the same information as we would obtain by measuring the state of the
original particle at N different time moments, t1 , t2 ...tN ? Since the state of
the original particle at all these moments is |σz = 1i, one would suppose that
this task can be accomplished by preparing the N particles each polarized
“up” along the z axis, that is eq. 4.45 (see also fig. 19):
|σz = 1i1 |σz = 1i2 ...|σz = 1iN
t1
|σz = 1i1
|σz = 1i2
|σz = 1i3
6
6
6
r
r
particle 1 particle 2 particle 3
r
(4.45)
r
|σz = 1iN
6
particle N
Figure 19: N spin-1/2 particles all in the initial or pre-selected state of σz = +1.
But this mapping is not appropriate for many reasons. One reason is
that the time evolution (4.44) contains subtle correlations (i.e. multi-timecorrelations), which usually are not noticed, and which do not appear in
the state 4.45 but which can actually be measured. It is generally believed
that since the particle is at every moment in a definite state of the z-spin
component, the z-spin component is the only thing we know with certainty
about the particle - all other spin components do not commute with σz and
cannot thus be well-defined. However, there are multi-time variables whose
values are known with certainty, given the evolution (4.44). For example,
although the x spin component is not well defined when the spin is in the
|σz = 1i state, we know that it is constant in time, since the Hamiltonian
is zero. Thus, for example, the two-time observable σx (t4 ) − σx (t2 ) = 0 is
definite (t2 < t4 ). However, there is no state of N spins such that
σ̂n̂1 = σ̂n̂2 = ... = σ̂n̂N
(4.46)
for every direction n̂ as would be required for all the multi-time-correlations.
At best, one may find a two-particle state eq. 1.1 for which the spins are
anti-correlated instead of correlated i.e. σ̂n̂1 = −σ̂n̂2 . However, e.g., for 3
particles, only 2 of them can be completely anti-correlated, thus it cannot be
44
extended to N particles.
t3
hΨ|2
hΨ2 |1 ≡ h↑ |1
c
??c
?
c
c
c
c
correlated √1 {h↓ |1| ↑i2 − h↑ |1 | ↓i2 }
c
2
c
c
c
c
c
c 66
6
|Φ1 i2 ≡ | ↑ic
|Φ2
i2 ≡ | ↓i2
2
hΨ1 |1 ≡ h↓ |1
t2
t1
|Φi1
Figure 20: particle 1 is correlated to the pre-selected state of particle 2.
Although a state of N spin 1/2 particles with complete correlations
among all their spin components as required by eq. (4.46) doesn’t exist
in the usual sense, there are pre-and-post-selected states with this property given by TSQM. By way of example (see figure 20), the post-selected
state of particle 1 can be completely correlated with the pre-selected state
of particle 2 as described by the state Φ = √12 {h↓ |1 | ↑i2 − h↑ |1 | ↓i2 }. We
are now able to preserve the single particle’s multi-time-correlations by simply “stacking” the N spin-1/2 particles “one on top of the other” along the
time axis (fig. 21). As a result of the correlations between the pre-andpost-selected states, a verification measurement of σ̂x (t4 ) − σ̂x (t2 ) (see left
part of fig. 21), will yield 0, i.e. perfect multi-time correlations because
σ̂x (t2 , particle 2) − σ̂x (t2 , particle 1) = 0 (see right part of fig. 21). When
“stacked” onto the time axis, these correlations act like the identity operator
and thus evolve the state forward, handing-off or effectively propagating a
state from one moment to the next (although nothing is “really” propagating
in this picture).
4.2
Destiny states: new solution to measurement problem
Up until now we have limited ourselves to the possibility of 2 boundary conditions which obtain their assignment due to selections made before and after
a measurement. It is feasible and even suggestive to consider an extension
of QM to include both a wavefunction arriving from the past and a second
“destiny” wavefunction coming from the future which are determined by 2
boundary conditions, rather than a measurement and selection. This proposal could solve the issue of the “collapse” of the wavefunction in a new and
45
?
6
stack
66
time
??
?
σ̂x (t4 ) t4
t3
correlated
66
??
6
t1single particle
stack
c
c
??c
??c
?
stack
c
c c
c
c
c c
c
cx (t2c
σ̂x (t2c
) correlatedσ̂
) correlatedc
c
c c
c
c
c
c
c
c 66
c 66
6
c c
correlated
σ̂x (t2 ) t2
particle 1 particle 2 particle 3
Figure 21: Measuring σ̂x (t4 )− σ̂x (t2 ) for the single spin-1/2 particle on the left ensures perfect multi-time-correlations because σ̂x (t2 , particle 2)−σ̂x (t2 , particle 1) =
0.
more natural way: every time a measurement takes place and the possible
measurement outcomes decohere, then the future boundary condition simply
selects one out of many possible outcomes [35, 32]. It also implies a kind of
“teleology” which might prove fruitful in addressing the anthropic and finetuning issues[77] The possibility of a final boundary condition on the universe
could be probed experimentally by searching for “quantum miracles” on a
cosmological scale. While a “classical miracle” is a rare event that can be
explained by a very unusual initial boundary-condition, “Quantum Miracles”
are those events which cannot naturally be explained through any special initial boundary-condition, only through initial-and-final boundary-conditions.
By way of example, destiny-post-selection could be used to create the right
dark energy or the right negative pressure (etc [81]).
46
5
Discussion of big questions and major unknowns concerning time-symmetry
5.1
Why God Plays Dice
Why does uncertainty seem to play such a fundamental role in QM? First
of all, uncertainty is necessary to obtain non-trivial pre-and-post-selections.
In addition, this uncertainty is needed in the measuring-device to preserve
causality. These two uncertainties work together perfectly [32]. Returning to
the example
discussed in §’s 1.2.1, 1.2.3, 2.2.2, since the weak-measurement
√
result 2 was “obtained” at a time arbitrarily earlier than the post-selection
time, couldn’t we then ascertain that a future post-selection should produce
σy = +1, seemingly in violation of causality? While the weak-value depended
on the post-selection, we now show that this cannot violate causality because
the uncertainty in the measuring-device forces us to interpret the outcomes
of weak-measurements as errors. If this were not true, then the outcome of
a weak-measurement would force us to perform a particular post-selection
(seemingly in violation of our free-will). In summary, eccentric-weak-values
like this cannot be discerned with certainty from the statistics of pre-selectedonly-ensembles for two principle reasons:
• Analyticity of the measuring-device: Any measurement produces
only bounded changes in the pointer variable24 which can produce an
“erroneous” value. The disturbance to the wavefunction of the system
being measured is bounded only if we prepare the measuring-device in
D
an initial state with Q bounded, i.e. Φ̃M
in (Q) has compact support.
D
MD
But this implies that the Fourier transform of Φ̃M
in (Q), i.e. Φin (P )
is analytic. Therefore, there is a non-zero probability that the pointer
D
produces “erroneous” values even from the initial state ΦM
in (P ). That
is, it must be possible to constructively produce interference in the
D
tails of ΦM
in (P ) in order to reconstruct the initial wavefunction of
D
the measuring-device in the “forbidden” region, i.e. ΦM
in (P − hAiw )
centered around Aw , just as occurred with super-oscillations.
• The probability to obtain the weak-value as an error of the
measuring-device is greater than the probability of obtaining
24
A bounded change in position, for example, occurs in the weak-measurements discussed in §2.
47
an actual weak-value. This follows from the requirement that the
uncertainty in P must be of the same order as the maximum separation between the eigenvalues (figure 5.b), so that superposition of the
measuring-device wavefunction can destructively interfere in the region
where the normal spectrum is defined.25
Therefore we conclude that the weak-value structure is completely hidden if
we are looking at a pre-selected-only system because the measuring-device always hides the weak-value structure. If the spread in P did not hide the components of Aw , then we could obtain some information about the choice of the
post-selection, which could violate causality. Nevertheless, usually one says
that a causal connection between events exists if the existence of a single event
is “followed” by many other events, i.e. that there is a one-way correlation.
If we consider a number N of weak-measurements during t ∈ [tin , tf in ], then
when the correct post-selection is obtained, then this post-selection forces all
hΨf in |Â|Ψin i
the weak-measurements to be centered on A1w = A2w = ... = AN
w = hΨf in |Ψin i .
Therefore, the one-way correlation between hΨf in | and Aw is consistent with
this “causality” condition. Finally, we have also used these considerations
to probe the axiomatic structure of QM [32, 73, 74, 13]. Traditionally, the
25
As shown in §2.1 and [33], there are several regimes for valid weak-measurement
and each rigorously preserves causality: 1) we must have a small system-measuring-device
interaction strength, λ, as compared to strong-measurements in which the accuracy is
increased by increasing λ; 2) a very rare pre-and-post-selection; 3) with robust-weakmeasurement approach [33], causality is again preserved because the corrections can only
be made using the relative coordinates which can only be obtained after the particles
go through the pre-and-post-selections. If one attempted to utilize very eccentric-weakvalues, then we note that as the weak-value goes further and further outside the operator
spectrum, |hΨfin |j Ψin i|2 from eq. 2.14 (the probability to see this particular weak-value)
becomes smaller and smaller, and therefore the probability of obtaining these weak-values
becomes smaller and smaller. As the fluctuation in the system increases, the probability
of a rare or eccentric post-selection also increases. An attempt to discern this fluctuation
through the use of weak-measurements requires the spread in the measuring-device to
be increased. This increases the probability of seeing strange result as an error of the
measuring-device. This is a general condition which protects causality: the probability
of obtaining the weak-value as an error of the measuring-device must be greater than
the probability of post-selection. In other words, restricting Q̂ to a finite interval forces
Φ(P ) to be analytic which means that Φ(P ) has tails. The tails allow the exponential to
be expanded (eq. 2.16) and therefore, the measuring-device will register the weak-valueagain without changing the√shape of Φ(P ). The existence of these tails means that if the
measuring-device registers 2, then it is more likely to be an error than a valid weak-value.
This prevents any “acausal” indicator of the post-selection process.
48
uncertainty of QM meant that nature is capricious, i.e.“God playing dice.”
A different meaning for uncertainty can be obtained [32] from two axioms:
1) the future is relevant to the present and 2) causality is maintained. In
this program, uncertainty is derived as a consequence of the consistency between causality and weak-values; in order to enrich nature with temporal
non-locality, and yet preserve cause-effect relations, we must have uncertainty.
5.2
The Problem of Free-Will
The “destiny-generalization” of QM inspired by TSQM (§4.2) posits that
what happens in the present is a superposition of effects, with equal contribution from past and future events. At first blush, it appears that perhaps
we, at the present, are not free to decide in our own mind what our future
steps may be26 . Nevertheless, we have shown [32] that freedom-of-will and
destiny can “peacefully co-exist” in a way consistent with the aphorism “All
is foreseen, yet choice is given” [78, 76].
The concept of free-will is mainly that the past may define the future,
yet after this future effect takes place, i.e. after it becomes past, then it
cannot be changed: we are free from the past, but, in this picture, we are
not necessarily free from the future. Therefore, not knowing the future is a
crucial requirement for the existence of free-will. In other words, the destinyvector cannot be used to inform us in the present of the result of our future
free choices.
We have also shown [32] that free-will does not necessarily mean that
nobody can in principle know what the future will be because any attempt to
communicate such knowledge will make the memory system unstable, thereby
allowing the freedom to change the future. Suppose there is a person who
can see into the future, a prophet. Then while we, at the present are making
a decision, and have not yet decided, the prophet knows exactly what this
decision will be. At this point, as long as this prophet does not tell us what
our decision will be, we are still free to make it, since we know that if the
prophet had told us what our decision was going to be, then we would be
free to change it and his prophecy would no longer be true. Therefore, the
prophet could be accurate as long as he doesn’t tell us our future decision.
26
This was Bell’s main concern with retrodictive solutions to Bell’s theorem.
49
I.e., we are still free to make decisions based on nothing but the past and
our own mind. Our decisions stand alone and the prophet’s knowledge does
not affect our free-will.
From TSQM and the destiny-generalization, we may say that this prophet
is the information of future measurements propagating back from the future
to affect the results of measurements conducted at the present. Since a measurement of a weak-value is dependent upon a certain type of post-selection
(which is only one of a few possible post-selections), but we at the present do
not know whether the weak-value measured is due to an experimental error,
or due to the post-selection. In addition, because a weak-measurement could
be an error, there is nothing that forces us to perform a particular postselection in the future. Only in the future, when all the measurements are
finished and we actually make the post-selection, can we retrospectively conclude whether the eccentric-weak-value shown by the measuring-device was
either an error, or a real result due to the concrete post-selection. Again,
the conditions for a weak-measurements require a high probability of experimental error.
From this we conclude that our prophet, the post-selected vector coming
from the future, does not tell us the information we need to violate our freewill, and we are still free to decide what kind of future measurements to
conduct. Therefore, free-will survives.
5.3
Emergence and Origin of Laws
TSQM also provides novel perspectives on several other themes explored in
this volume, e.g. on the question of emergence [24]:
• Contextuality (§2.3) suggests that the measuring-device determines the
sets of possible micro-states [69, 70, 32].
• A crucial component of contextuality, namely the failure of the product
rule27 suggests other novel forms of emergence [32]. By way of example,
another surprising pre-and-post-selection effect is the ability to separate a system from its properties [32, 13], as suggested by the Cheshire
cat story: “Well! I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,” thought Alice;
“but a grin without a cat! Its the most curious thing I ever saw in all
27
The weak-value of a product of observables is not equal to the product of their weakvalues.
50
Figure 22: Chesire Cat grin states. From [13]
my life!” [79]. We approximate the cat by a single particle with grin
states given by |σz = +1i (grinning) and |σz = −1i (frowning). Besides
spin, we also specify the particle’s location as either in a box on the left
|ψL i, or a box on the right |ψR i (figure 22). Consider the pre-selection:
|Ψin i = |ψL i {|σz = +1i + |σz = −1i} + |ψR i|σz = +1i and the postselected state: |Ψf in i = {|ψL i − |ψR ii} {|σz = +1i − |σz = −1i}. Using the isomorphism between spin states and boxes, if NL (+1) is the
number of σz = +1 particles in the left box (etc.), then the total number of particles in the left box is: NL (+1) + NL (−1) = 0. But the
magnetic moment in the left box is: NL (+1) − NL (−1) = 2N. Thus,
there are no particles in the left box, yet there is twice the magnetic
field there! Alice would say “Curiouser and curiouser”: the particles
are all in the right box, but there is no field there, thereby challenging
the notion that all properties “sit” on the particle.
• Finally, the “destiny-vector” (§4.2) suggests a form of top-down causality which is stable to fluctuations because post-selections are performed
on the entire Universe and by definition no fluctuation exists outside
the Universe.
These are examples of emergence with respect to properties. As Barrows
and Davies [77] have emphasized, the questions of fine-tuning, the origin
of the physical laws, and the anthropic principle are significant outstanding
51
problems in physics. What novel perspectives can be gleaned from TSQM on
these questions? E.g. the dynamics-kinematics generalization (§4.1 [34, 32])
suggests a novel way to think about dynamical laws. One implication is
the fact that although we may know the dynamics on a particular timescale T , this doesn’t mean that we know anything about the dynamics on
a smaller time-scale: consider a superposition of unitary evolutions (using
−iHT
e−iHT = {e N }N ):
Z
g(ν)e−iH(ν)t dν →
Z
g(ν){1 + iH(ν)t}dν
if
R
−→
|{z}
g(ν)dν=1
1+i
Z
g(ν)H(ν)tdν
(5.47)
This theory is the same as the usual theory but with an effective Hamiltonian
Hef f =
Z
g(ν)H(ν)tdν
(5.48)
The finer grained Hamiltonian can be expressed as a superposition of evo−iβn HT
P
−iHT
lutions e N = n αn e N , i.e. the Hamiltonian can be represented as a
superposition of different laws given by pre-and-post-selection [32].
Acknowledgments We thank everybody involved in the development of
TSQM. To name a few: David Albert, Alonso Botero, Sandu Popescu, Benni
Reznik, Daniel Rohrlich, Lev Vaidman. We also thank Lev Vaidman for
providing several figures and J.E. Gray for help with editing. JT thanks the
Templeton foundation for support.
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fin |P̂B |Ψin i
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= hΨhΨ
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P hΨfin | αm ihαm |Ψin i
| αm ihαm |Ψin i
=
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addition,
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i
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because m |αm ihαm | = 1. But since hΨfin |αm ihαm |Ψini = 0 for n 6= m,
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Advancing Research on Unconscious Priming: When can Scientists
Claim an Indirect Task Advantage?
Sascha Meyen
Iris A. Zerweck
Experimental Cognitive Science, University of Tübingen
Experimental Cognitive Science, University of Tübingen
Catarina Amado
Ulrike von Luxburg
Experimental Cognitive Science, University of Tübingen
Theory of Machine Learning, University of Tübingen
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen
Volker H. Franz
arXiv:2004.14987v2 [stat.AP] 7 Jun 2021
Experimental Cognitive Science, University of Tübingen
Current literature holds that many cognitive functions can be performed outside consciousness.
Evidence for this view comes from unconscious priming. In a typical experiment, visual stimuli are masked such that participants are close to chance performance when directly asked to
which of two categories the stimuli belong. This close-to-zero sensitivity is seen as evidence
that participants cannot consciously report the category of the masked stimuli. Nevertheless,
the category of the masked stimuli can indirectly affect responses to other stimuli (e.g., reaction
times or brain activity)—an effect called priming. The priming effect is seen as evidence for
a higher sensitivity to the masked stimuli in the indirect responses as compared to the direct
responses. Such an apparent difference in sensitivities is taken as evidence that processing
occurred unconsciously. But we show that this “standard reasoning of unconscious priming” is
flawed: Sensitivities are not properly compared, creating the wrong impression of a difference
in sensitivities even if there is none. We describe the appropriate way to determine sensitivities, replicate the behavioral part of a landmark study, develop methods to estimate sensitivities
from reported summary statistics of published studies, and use these methods to reanalyze 15
highly influential studies. Results show that the interpretations of many studies need to be
changed and that a community effort is required to reassess the vast literature on unconscious
priming. This process will allow scientists to learn more about the true boundary conditions of
unconscious priming, thereby advancing the scientific understanding of consciousness.
Keywords: consciousness, unconscious priming, reanalysis, indirect task advantage, signal
detection theory
Research on consciousness and its cerebral substrates has
far-reaching implications and received substantial attention
in recent years (Michel et al., 2019). A driving factor comes
from reports that masked stimuli that are not consciously
perceived can nevertheless affect behavioral responses and
brain activity (Kouider & Dehaene, 2007; van den Bussche,
van den Noortgate, & Reynvoet, 2009). The exciting claim
here is that unconscious processing might be more than a
mere residue of conscious processing and may be performed
by different neuronal processes than conscious processing.
Such results impact current theories about the functional role
of consciousness (Dehaene, Lau, & Kouider, 2017; Kouider
& Dehaene, 2007; van den Bussche et al., 2009; Sklar et al.,
2012; Hassin, 2013), might suggest parallel neuronal routes
for unconscious vs. conscious processing (Morris, Öhman,
& Dolan, 1999), and might support theories of superior unconscious processing (Custers & Aarts, 2010; Dijksterhuis,
Bos, Nordgren, & Van Baaren, 2006; ten Brinke, Vohs, &
Carney, 2016).
Here, we scrutinize one of the most frequently used approaches in this field. We show that the standard reasoning
in the dissociation paradigm (Hannula, Simons, & Cohen,
2005; Holender, 1986; Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006; Simons,
Hannula, Warren, & Day, 2007) is flawed for mathematical
reasons. It fails to provide meaningful interpretation of the
data, and needs to be replaced by an appropriate analysis.
Because many studies have used the standard reasoning, a
large body of literature needs reassessment. This has the potential to drastically change our views on unconscious processing and its neuronal underpinnings. The fallacy we ex-
2
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
pose affects a wide range of research areas because the standard reasoning has been employed on such diverse topics as,
for example, unconscious processing of semantic meaning
(Dehaene et al., 1998), motivation (Pessiglione et al., 2007),
emotion (Morris, Öhman, & Dolan, 1998), cognitive control
(van Gaal, Ridderinkhof, Scholte, & Lamme, 2010), and detection of lies (ten Brinke, Stimson, & Carney, 2014).
To assess how seriously the literature is affected, we proceeded in three strands: (a) We replicated the behavioral
part of a landmark study (Dehaene et al., 1998) and showed
that the appropriate analysis of the data does not support unconscious priming (in contrast to the claims of the original
study). (b) We developed statistical methods to reanalyze
published studies based on the reported t and F statistics (because access to the full trial-by-trial data is often lacking).
We validated this approach by showing that our reanalysis of
the published data of Dehaene et al. (1998) is consistent with
the results of our replication. (c) We used our methods to
reanalyze 15 highly influential studies (with a total of 3277
citations in Web of Science). Even though all these studies
used the standard reasoning to infer unconscious processing,
their data tell a different story.
The Standard Reasoning of Unconscious Priming
As a typical example for a study using the standard reasoning, consider the study by ten Brinke et al. (2014) who
reported that humans can detect liars better unconsciously
than consciously: “[T]he unconscious mind identifies and
processes cues to deception ... more efficiently and effectively than the conscious mind.” (p. 1104). In the following,
we will describe the specifics of this study as well as the
general aspects that are typical for studies using the standard
reasoning.
Participants of ten Brinke et al. (2014) first watched videos
of suspects who were either lying or telling the truth. Then
participants performed two tasks: The direct and the indirect
task. These tasks were supposed to measure conscious and
unconscious lie detection, respectively.
In the direct task, participants judged which suspects had
been lying or telling the truth. Participants performed poorly
with an accuracy of only 49.62%-correct (with chance level
being 50%), which was taken by ten Brinke et al. (2014) as
evidence that participants could not consciously detect liars
with more than a poor sensitivity. In the same way, studies using the standard reasoning typically let participants directly discriminate stimuli belonging to one of two categories
(Figure 1). Participants’ performance—measured by the proportion of correct responses or by the sensitivity index, d0 ,
from Signal Detection Theory (Green & Swets, 1988)—is
typically found to be close to chance level. This result is
then taken as evidence that conscious discrimination of the
presented stimuli is poor at best.
In the indirect task of ten Brinke et al. (2014), participants categorized target–words, such as “deceitful” or “honest”, into two categories: lying or truth–telling. Before each
target–word, a masked picture of one of the suspects was
briefly presented in order to affect (or “prime”) the responses
to the target words (therefore those masked stimuli are often
called the “primes”). ten Brinke et al. found that participants’
reaction times (RTs) to the target words were faster when the
primes were congruent with the targets (e.g., the picture of a
lying suspect before a lie–related word) than when the primes
were incongruent with the targets. That is, ten Brinke et al.
(2014) found a congruency effect between primes and targets
in the indirect task. In the same way, studies using the standard reasoning typically employ an indirect task attempting
to find such congruency effects (Figure 1). These congruency effects could be on RTs (as in the case ten Brinke et
al., 2014), but also on other behavioral responses (e.g., skin
conductance) or neurophysiological measures (e.g., in EEG
or fMRI).
Taken together, ten Brinke et al. (2014) found the typical
pattern of results for the unconscious priming paradigm: (a)
a poor accuracy, or sensitivity in the direct task and (b) a clear
congruency effect in the indirect task. Based on this pattern,
they concluded that participants’ indirect task revealed more
accurate lie detection than the direct task: “[I]ndirect measures of deception detection are significantly more accurate
than direct measures” (p. 1098, Abstract). In the same way,
studies using the standard reasoning infer from such a pattern
of results better sensitivity for the primes in the indirect task
than in the direct task (Figure 2). We dubbed this situation
the indirect task advantage, or short ITA. It is important
to note that the claim of an ITA is, in this phase of the reasoning, independent of any considerations about conscious
or unconscious processing. We call this descriptive phase of
the standard reasoning Step 1.
In Step 2 of the standard reasoning, ten Brinke et al.
(2014) used the presumed ITA to conclude superior unconscious processing: “[A]lthough humans cannot consciously
discriminate liars from truth tellers, they do have a sense,
on some less-conscious level, of when someone is lying”
(p. 1103). The authors thereby followed the typical assumption that direct and indirect tasks measure conscious
and unconscious processing, respectively. Based on the supposed ITA from Step 1, these assumptions lead to the typical conclusion that participants processed the category of
the masked stimuli better unconsciously than they can consciously report.
The standard reasoning is summarized for example by
Dell’Acqua and Grainger (1999): “The present work follows
the tradition of providing evidence for a dissociation between
direct and indirect effects of unconsciously presented stimuli
(Greenwald, Klinger & Schuh, 1995; Draine & Greenwald,
1998). More specifically, null effects are sought in direct
3
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
a
4
TsPLqA
1
Response
to Prime Stimulus
(Direct Task)
WLuIMB
9
6
43ms
200ms
to Target Stimulus
(Indirect Task)
time
b
Forward
Mask
Prime
Stimulus A
Backward
Mask
Target
Stimulus A
Response
to Prime Stimulus
(Direct Task)
Prime
Stimulus B
Target
Stimulus B
short
long
to Target Stimulus
(Indirect Task)
time
Figure 1. Typical study design to infer an indirect task advantage (ITA). (a) Example study: The study of Dehaene et al. (1998) is a
prototypical example for unconscious priming with number stimuli. In each trial, a masked prime stimulus is presented for a short duration
followed by a well visible target stimulus. In the direct task, participants discriminated the primes and performance was close to chance
level. In the indirect task, participants discriminated the target stimuli by deciding whether they were smaller or larger than the number 5.
Reaction times (RTs) were faster and lateralization of brain activity was larger when prime and target stimuli were congruent (both smaller
or both larger than 5) than when they were incongruent (one larger one smaller). Dehaene et al. (1998) followed the standard reasoning to
infer a higher sensitivity for the primes in the indirect task than in the direct task (i.e., an ITA) and conclude that the primes were processed
in the absence of conscious awareness. (b) General design: In general, prime and target stimuli each come from one of two categories,
A or B. In the direct task, participants discriminate the prime (e.g., guess whether it is from category A or B) with a poor sensitivity. In
the indirect task, the same stimuli are presented and participants now discriminate the target. In this task, the prime is shown to influence
responses resulting in faster RTs for congruent (A–A, or B–B) than incongruent trials (incongruent: A–B, or B–A). From this pattern of
results, the standard reasoning infers an ITA (cf. Figure 2).
measures (i.e. where subjects respond directly to the unconsciously presented stimuli) accompanied by non-null indirect
effects (i.e. priming effects)” (p. B2). For further description of the standard reasoning see also Merikle (1992) and
Simons et al. (2007). Even though some studies may not state
an ITA as explicitly as shown here, it is nevertheless necessarily implied when claims about unconscious processing are
made because Step 1 is a necessary condition for Step 2.
But note that the standard reasoning infers better sensitivity in the indirect task than in the direct task (i.e., an ITA)
without ever calculating sensitivity (or accuracy) in the indirect task to compare against that in the direct task. For example, ten Brinke et al. (2014) only demonstrated a congruency
effect on RTs. However, if this congruency effect indicated
accurate unconscious lie detection, we should be able to
use the RT data to determine which of the suspects were
lying with a higher accuracy than in the direct task. Otherwise the congruency effect does not truly provide evidence
for better accuracy in the indirect than in the direct task (i.e.,
for an ITA).
Because ten Brinke et al. (2014) laudably followed an
open-data policy, Franz and von Luxburg (2015) were able
to reanalyze how much evidence the RT data truly provided
for better accuracy in the indirect than in the direct task. To
assess this, they determined statistically optimal classifiers,
used the RT of each trial in the indirect task to classify (“predict” in the nomenclature of statistical learning) which of
the suspects were lying, and found the accuracy in the indirect task to be only at 50.6%-correct (S EM = 0.3%; see
below for more details on the methods used). This value
is very similar to—and not significantly different from—
the accuracy in the direct task (which was 49.62%-correct;
S EM = 1.4%). Therefore, ten Brinke et al.’s inference in
Step 1 was flawed: Their data did not provide evidence for
better accuracy in the indirect than in the direct task. In our
words, there was no evidence for an ITA. Because the exis-
4
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
participant’s response
a Direct Task
prime
A
prime-target
B
“A” correct
error
error
correct
“B”
b Indirect Task
congruent
A-A or B-B
incongruent
A-B or B-A
response (e.g., RT)
performance close
to chance-level
clear
congruency effect
poor sensitivity
good sensitivity
indirect task advantage (ITA)
Figure 2. Standard reasoning to infer an indirect task advantage (ITA). (a) In the direct task, the standard reasoning infers from closeto-chance performance that there was poor sensitivity for the primes, if any at all. (b) In the indirect task, the standard reasoning infers from
a clear congruency effect that sensitivity was relatively good. Based on this pattern of results the standard reasoning makes two inference
steps: In Step 1, it incorrectly infers that participants’ responses in the indirect task were more sensitive to the primes than responses in
the direct task (ITA). In Step 2, it attributes this difference to unconscious processing. However, already Step 1 of this reasoning is flawed
because a clear congruency effect does not necessarily indicate good sensitivity. It could be caused by a sensitivity as poor as (or even
worse than) the sensitivity in the direct task! Because Step 1 is independent of any (sometimes contentious) assumptions about conscious
vs. unconscious processing, our critique is also independent of any such assumptions.
tence of an ITA in Step 1 is a necessary condition for Step 2
of the standard reasoning, inferences about unconscious processing were not warranted.
In the following section, we show in detail why claiming
an ITA based on the standard reasoning is flawed. Note, that
our critique focuses on how an ITA is established in Step 1
and is therefore independent of any assumptions about conscious vs. unconscious processing, which are relevant only
in Step 2 and for which different, sometimes contentious approaches exist (e.g., Eriksen, 1960; Erdelyi, 1986; Holender,
1986; Reingold & Merikle, 1988, 1990; Schmidt & Vorberg,
2006). We avoid these discussions by focusing on an empirical investigation of Step 1 which makes our critique very
general.
The Standard Reasoning is Flawed and Fails to Provide
Evidence for an ITA
The standard reasoning is intuitively very appealing,
which seems to be one reason for its popularity. The colloquial version of the arguments to infer an ITA in Step 1 goes
like this: “Participants have a very hard time to discriminate
the masked stimuli in the direct task. They are very close to
zero sensitivity and usually not significantly above chance.
Nevertheless we find clear and highly significant congruency
effects in the indirect task. Therefore, it seems obvious, that
the indirect task responses are more sensitive to the masked
stimuli than the direct task responses.”
However, this intuition is misguided. To see this, consider what happens if we increased the number of observations (number of participants or trials). The poor sensitivity
in the direct task (Figure 2a) will only be measured more pre-
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
cisely but will still be poor. In contrast, the congruency effect
in the indirect task (Figure 2b) becomes clearer because it
is based on the difference between congruent and incongruent condition means: With more observations, the variability
of the two means becomes smaller, such that the difference
between them becomes clearer. Therefore, a clear congruency effect can be generated by a good underlying sensitivity
(corresponding to, say, d0 = 5 or 99%-correct) but it can
also be generated by a very poor sensitivity (say, d0 = 0.05
or 51%-correct). In cases where the sensitivity of the indirect task is as poor as in the direct task, there is no ITA and
further interpretations about unconscious processing are unwarranted. Not recognizing this is the main fallacy of the
standard reasoning. We demonstrate this problem by using
a toy example.
Toy Example With Baby Weights
To illustrate the problem of the standard reasoning, consider an example in which responses in the direct and indirect tasks are based on the exact same underlying sensitivity.
Nevertheless, the standard reasoning would erroneously infer
that responses in the indirect task were more sensitive than
responses in the direct task (i.e., an ITA).
Consider participants measured the birth weights of newborn girls (category A) and boys (category B), such that they
only knew the weight of the babies but not the biological sex.
This would be all the information participants had in both,
direct and indirect, tasks.
In the direct task, participants would use this weight information to guess whether a baby is a girl or a boy (newborn girls weigh a little less than boys). Due to the large
overlap between the weight distributions (Figure 3a), participants would be correct in only approximately 55% of the
cases even when using an ideal decision criterion. This corresponds to a poor performance that is close-to-chance level
(50%). Following the standard reasoning, an experimenter
would correctly infer a poor sensitivity in this direct task
(Figure 2a).
In the indirect task, participants would simply report the
numerically measured weight of the babies. The experimenter would average those responses across groups of baby
girls and boys and would calculate the difference of the mean
responses to those two groups. With increasing group sizes,
the experimenter would eventually find a clear difference
(corresponding to the clear congruency effect in the priming
paradigm). Figure 3b shows this for 3000 observations in
each group, which is a typical number of observations in the
indirect task (e.g., when 10 participants perform 300 trials
in each condition, the number of observations per condition
is 10 × 300 = 3000). Following the standard reasoning,
the experimenter would incorrectly infer a good sensitivity
in this indirect task (Figure 2b).
5
Here is the catch: The standard reasoning would incorrectly interpret this pattern of results as evidence for better
sensitivity in the indirect task than in the direct task (i.e., for
an ITA). However, this inference is wrong because participants gave responses in both tasks based on exactly the same
information: In both tasks they knew only the weight of the
babies. The illusion of an ITA is generated by the different
data-analysis strategies of the experimenter in the two tasks
and by the fact that the experimenter never attempted to estimate the sensitivity in the indirect task.
Further Details on the Standard Reasoning
We have shown that the standard reasoning is flawed because it infers an ITA in Step 1 even when there is none. The
problem is that the standard reasoning calculates two very
different things in the direct and indirect tasks: In the direct
task, it calculates how well each stimulus can be classified on
a trial-by-trial level. In the indirect task, it assesses whether
there is a difference in mean responses. These are two very
different things and it is a priori to be expected that the sensitivity in single trials can be poor while mean responses can
nevertheless be clearly separated between the two categories
given enough trials. A more appropriate analysis to determine whether there is an ITA would need to estimate sensitivities in both tasks and compare them. Before we present
such an analysis, we want to first discuss some details of the
standard reasoning.
True Zero-Sensitivity in the Direct Task. Consider
that the true sensitivity in the direct task were known to be
exactly zero and that there were at the same time a clear congruency effect in the indirect task. This ideal situation is typically sought—but typically not fully achieved—in the dissociation paradigm (Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006; Hannula et
al., 2005; Simons et al., 2007). In this case (and only in this
case), the standard reasoning would be justified in claiming
that responses in the indirect task were somehow more sensitive than responses in the direct task. This is so, because a
positive (larger than zero) sensitivity—even if it is minute—
is required to produce a congruency effect and therefore the
indirect task sensitivity must be larger than zero. However,
there are a number of problems with this scenario: (a) It is
unrealistic. Typically, studies either find some small, residual
sensitivity in the direct task or they do not find a congruency
effect (Zerweck et al., in press). (b) One cannot be certain of
a true zero sensitivity. Instead, sensitivity in the direct task
always needs to be measured (and is therefore affected by
measurement error). Thus, we would still need to establish
that the sensitivity in the indirect task is indeed larger than
that in the direct task (e.g., by a significance test on the difference). (c) The sensitivity in the indirect task could still be
so low, that it would be close–enough to the zero sensitivity of the direct task to not allow for strong conclusions (e.g.,
consider a sensitivity that corresponded to 50%-correct in the
6
Density Over Body Weights
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
d' true =
100 g
400 g
= 0.25
55%−correct
(close to chance)
SD = 400 g
3,500 g
Density Over Mean Body Weights
Girls
Boys
Neutral criterion
Correctly classified boys
Incorrectly classified boys
a
3,600 g
Body Weight of a Single Baby
b
clear separation of means
SEM =
3,500 g
3,600 g
400 g
3,000
= 7.3 g
Mean Body Weight of 3000 Babies
Figure 3. Toy-example demonstrating fallacy of standard reasoning. We show that even when responses in the direct and indirect
tasks are based on the exact same information the standard reasoning would nevertheless infer an indirect task advantage (ITA): a higher
sensitivity in the indirect as compared to the direct task. Consider participants of a hypothetical experiment measured the birth weight of
babies but did not know the babies’ sex. (a) In the direct task, participants used the weight of an individual baby to guess whether it is a
0
girl or a boy. The weight distributions overlap heavily such that sensitivity would be poor (dtrue
= 0.25; corresponding to 55%-correct).
(b) In the indirect task, participants responded by simply stating the measured weights. The experimenter would average those responses
across many trials (e.g., across 3000 girls and 3000 boys). The resulting group means are much less variable than the individual weights
such that the experimenter would obtain a clear difference between the two group means (this corresponds to a clear congruency effect in
the priming paradigm). Based on this result, the standard reasoning would erroneously infer that participants had relatively good sensitivity
about whether a baby was a girl or a boy in the indirect task—better than in the direct task. That is, the standard reasoning would infer an
ITA even though the exact same information created the responses in both tasks. Weight–data based on Janssen et al. (2007).
direct task and to 51%-correct in the indirect task).
Significance Testing vs. Bayesian methods. Until now,
we purposefully did not talk about statistical significance
testing because we wanted to focus on the main fallacy of
the standard reasoning. Because significance testing and
its applications have been heavily—and often rightfully—
criticized since the very inception of the concept (Boring,
1919; Morrison & Henkel, 1970; Dienes, 2011; Cumming,
2014), it might be tempting to attribute the main fallacy of
the standard reasoning also to significance testing. However,
the problem of the standard reasoning is not so much that
the statistical tools were wrong, but that the wrong statistical
question is asked for the indirect task: The standard reasoning asks whether there is a true difference in means between
congruent and incongruent conditions. However, the correct
question to ask would be what the sensitivity in the indirect
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
task is and whether this sensitivity is higher than in the direct
task (such that an ITA can be concluded). Therefore, it would
not help to simply replace the frequentist significance testing
by Bayesian methods. Because researchers are interested in
establishing an ITA (i.e., a difference in sensitivities) it does
not suffice to evaluate both tasks in isolation. We must test
directly for a difference in sensitivities between the two tasks.
Failure to do so can lead to serious errors no matter whether
we used significance testing (cf. Appendix B of Franz &
Gegenfurtner, 2008, and Nieuwenhuis, Forstmann, & Wagenmakers, 2011) or Bayesian methods (cf. Supplement G,
and Palfi & Dienes, 2020).
Direct Task is Typically Underpowered. An additional
problem in the application of the standard reasoning arises
from the widespread use of seriously underpowered direct
tasks (Buchner & Wippich, 2000; Vadillo, Konstantinidis, &
Shanks, 2016; Vadillo, Linssen, Orgaz, Parsons, & Shanks,
2020). When the direct task is sampled with fewer participants and trials than the indirect task (as is often the
case), a non-significant direct task result may not indicate
that the true sensitivity is close to or exactly zero but rather
that statistical power is low. Moreover, participants are required to give binary responses in the direct task in contrast
to the continuous measures in the indirect task (e.g., RTs).
Since participants have some continuous sense (confidence)
about their responses (Rausch, Hellmann, & Zehetleitner,
2018; Zehetleitner & Rausch, 2013), the binary response format forces them to discard this information (Cohen, 1983),
which further decreases the statistical power in the direct
task. Therefore, even if the same sensitivity underlies responses in both tasks, it is a priori to be expected that the
direct task produces less often significant results than the indirect task.
Appropriate Analysis: Calculate Sensitivities and Test
for a Difference
We have shown that the standard reasoning is flawed and
that researchers must compare sensitivities of both tasks
if they want to infer an ITA. In this section, we describe
more appropriate analyses. First, we assume that trial–by–
trial data are available (this analysis was used by Franz &
von Luxburg, 2015). Then we describe our newly developed
method to reanalyze studies when only summary statistics
are available. For detailed mathematical derivations see the
online supplementary materials.
In deriving our methods, we unavoidably were confronted
with degrees of freedom when choosing the details of our
analysis strategy. In these cases, we chose strategies that favored finding an ITA. That is, we followed a benefit-of-thedoubt approach, thereby increasing the chances of confirming an ITA. We adopted this approach because we are criticizing a large body of literature. Therefore, it seemed necessary and reasonable to adopt such a liberal bias in confirming
7
ITAs (and thereby being conservative in our critique) at this
stage of the scientific discussion. It is understandable that
researchers who have spent years using the standard reasoning might be reluctant to accept our arguments if our methods were too restrictive. This approach makes our arguments
even stronger when we nevertheless do not find evidence for
ITAs.
Sensitivity Comparison When Trial-By-Trial Data are
Available
The appropriate method directly compares sensitivities in
the direct and indirect tasks. Different than the standard reasoning, the appropriate analysis equates analysis steps for
both tasks such that the calculated statistics are comparable. Then, a test of the difference between the two tasks is
applied. Similar approaches have been used in previous—
albeit very few—studies (Dulaney & Eriksen, 1959; Klotz
& Neumann, 1999; Kunst-Wilson & Zajonc, 1980; Schmidt,
2002; Franz & von Luxburg, 2015) in accordance with the
long standing (but often ignored) request for both tasks to
be measured using the “same metric” (Reingold & Merikle,
1988).
In both tasks, we compute d0 using Signal Detection Theory (Green & Swets, 1988) and then test for a difference between them. In the direct task, participants typically classify the primes in each trial and a d0 value is often already
reported by the studies using the standard reasoning. In the
indirect task, however, the standard reasoning computes a
congruency effect on continuous measures (e.g., RTs or brain
activity as measured by EEG or fMRI). For a proper comparison, we have to transform these continuous measures into
classifications (predictions) for each trial. There are different
ways to achieve this. We suggest to use the optimal classifier for the given setup. This gives the indirect task the best
possible performance and increases the chances of finding an
ITA following the benefit-of-the-doubt approach.
Which classifier is best? We have shown that under typical conditions with equal number of congruent and incongruent trials, the median-split classifier is optimal (Franz &
von Luxburg, 2015; see our Supplement C for details and
proof). The classification proceeds as follows: For each
participant, we determine the median RT and classify (“predict” in the nomenclature of statistical learning) all trials with
smaller RTs as congruent, and trials with larger RTs as incongruent. Then, we compare these classifications to the
true labels (congruent/incongruent) evaluating for each trial
whether the classification was correct or not, and we then
compute a d0 value as in the direct task. Finally, we compare
the d0 values of the direct and indirect task and test for a
difference.
Some details: (a) Instead of computing d0 values, the
analysis could also be based on %-correct values. Assuming
a neutral observer predicting both categories equally often
8
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
in the direct task, both approaches produce the same results
and we later report both measures to foster intuition. (b) Dichotomization of the continuous, indirect measures will result in a loss of information (Cohen, 1983). However, the direct task also requires participants to give binary responses.
Converting indirect task responses into a binary response format using our median split approach only equates this dichotomization to make responses in both tasks comparable.
(c) We classify the trials of the indirect task according to the
labels congruent/incongruent and not according to the prime
category A/B, as is typically asked in the direct task. This is
so because studies typically find a congruency effect between
prime and target (and not a mere effect of the prime being in
category A or B). For a comparison to the direct task, we
would ideally transform the congruency classification into a
classification of the prime category (A vs. B). For simplicity,
we assume an optimal transformation here (without errors).
This is plausible, because the target stimuli are typically fully
visible to the participants, such that errors are rare. Again,
our approach increases the chances of finding an ITA following the benefit-of-the-doubt approach.
Sensitivity Comparison When Only Summary Statistics
are Available
Because the standard reasoning to infer an ITA is flawed,
many already published studies on unconscious priming need
reassessment. However, the appropriate analysis as described in the previous section would require full trial-bytrial data. Unfortunately, trial-by-trial data can be difficult or
impossible to obtain for published studies (Wicherts, Borsboom, Kats, & Molenaar, 2006). For the older—but nevertheless influential—studies, those data might not even exist
anymore. Therefore, we developed an approach that allows
to estimate the results of the appropriate analysis without access to trial-by-trial data and solely based on the typically
reported statistics from the standard reasoning. Here, we
sketch the central approach of this analysis; details are given
in Supplement D.
The overall aim of this reanalysis is, again, to estimate
sensitivities for the direct and indirect tasks (i.e., to either
calculate d0 from Signal Detection Theory or %-correct assuming a neutral observer). The direct task typically already
provides d0 or %-correct values. In the indirect task, studies
typically report t or F values from a repeated measures design for the congruency effect. In this design, we show how
F values can be translated to t values. We then derive an
estimator for the underlying sensitivity that takes the form of
a constant cN,K,q2 multiplied onto the reported t value. This
constant will include the number of participants N and trials
K from the indirect task because t values become larger the
more observations are made. Additionally, because this reanalysis can only use the reported statistics, one free parameter needs to be estimated: the ratio of between- vs. within-
subject variances, which we denote by q2 . We estimated this
parameter based on (a) our own replication experiment (b)
a literature review, and (c) extensive simulations (see Supplement E). By assuming the largest plausible value for q2 ,
we again maximize the estimated sensitivity, d0 , in the indirect task and therefore increase the likelihood of confirming
an ITA. Here, we again follow the benefit-of-the-doubt approach.
Replication of a Landmark Study Finds no ITA
We are now equipped with the appropriate tools that allow
us to analyze typical settings and tasks that have been investigated in the context of unconscious priming. In this section,
we will focus on one highly influential study on unconscious
semantic priming of numbers (Dehaene et al., 1998). We
will first describe the study and how its conclusions depend
crucially on the flawed standard reasoning. Then, we will
describe a replication experiment of the behavioral part of
this study and analyze the trial-by-trial data. In the next section, we will then reanalyze the published results of this and
other studies (15 in total). Overall, we will conclude that the
results of our replication are similar to those of the original
study. Both, our replication and our reanalysis of the original
study, give reason to seriously doubt the existence of an ITA,
questioning the authors’ interpretation in the original study.
Dehaene et al. (1998) were interested in the question of
whether the semantic meaning of numbers can be processed
outside conscious awareness. They employed a prototypical
priming experiment with stimuli shown in Figure 1a and applied the standard reasoning: In the direct task, participants
discriminated features of masked numbers and performed
poorly (d0 = 0.2; corresponding to 54%-correct). In the indirect task, participants were again presented with the masked
numbers (now serving as primes), but decided whether subsequent target numbers were smaller or larger than five. Participants responded approximately 24 ms faster when prime
and target were congruent (both larger or smaller than five)
than when they were incongruent (one smaller and one larger
than five). Similar congruency effects were found for brain
activity in EEG and fMRI (i.e., larger lateralization of brain
activity in congruent than incongruent trials).
Dehaene et al. (1998) interpreted these results according
to the standard reasoning: In Step 1, they inferred an ITA.
That is, higher sensitivity in the indirect task than in the direct task: “[participants] could neither reliably report [the
prime’s] presence or absence nor discriminate it from a nonsense string [...] Nevertheless, we show here that the prime
is processed to a high cognitive level.” (p. 597). In Step 2,
they argued that “the prime was unconsciously processed”
(p. 597) because participants were at chance performance
in the direct task. Overall, they concluded: “By showing
that a large amount of cerebral processing, including perception, semantic categorization and task execution, can be
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
performed in the absence of consciousness, our results narrow down the search for its cerebral substrates” (p. 599). In
short, Dehaene et al. (1998) employed a prototypical version
of the standard reasoning to infer an ITA and unconscious
processing exactly as described above. To assess the validity
of these claims, we first replicate the behavioral part of that
study, later we will reanalyze the published data.
Disclosures
Data, Materials, and Online Resources. The experimental material, data and the scripts for the analyses reported in this article have been made available on the Open
Science Framework (OSF), at https://osf.io/kp59h
(Meyen, Zerweck, Amado, von Luxburg, & Franz, 2020).
We also provide an online tool to apply our reanalysis to
other data at http://www.ecogsci.cs.uni-tuebingen
.de/ITAcalculator/.
Reporting. We report how we determined our sample
size, all data exclusions, and all measures in the study.
Methods
Twenty-four volunteers participated in our study (13 female, 5 left-handed, age range: 19–27 years; M = 21.5,
S D = 1.9). All had normal or corrected-to-normal vision,
signed written informed consent and were naive to the purpose of the experiment. In the original study by Dehaene et
al. (1998), six and seven participants took part in the first and
second direct task, respectively, and 12 participants took part
in the indirect task.
We took great care to make stimuli and timings as similar
as possible to those of the original study. Each trial consisted
of: fixation cross (417 ms), forward mask (67 ms), prime
(42 ms), backward mask (67 ms), and target (200 ms). In
the original study, those values were: forward mask (71 ms),
prime (43 ms), backward mask (71 ms), and target (200 ms;
cf. Figure 1a). Slight differences in timing are due to slightly
different refresh rates of the monitors used. The prime duration of 43 ms was chosen by the original authors because
it was the longest duration that produced non-significant results in the direct tasks. Primes and targets were numbers
(1, 4, 6 or 9) that were either presented as digit (e.g., “1”) or
word (e.g., “EINS”; German for “ONE”). The original study
used the same numbers in English, a follow–up used French
(Kouider & Dehaene, 2009). As in the original study, primes
and targets could be congruent (both smaller or both larger
than 5) or incongruent (one smaller, one larger). Masks
were composed of seven randomly drawn characters from
{a-z, A-Z} mirroring the original study’s masks. Participants
were seated in front of a monitor (VIEWPixx /3D, VPixx
Technologies Inc., Montreal, Canada), effective refresh rate
120 Hz at a viewing distance of approximately 60 cm in a
sound- and light-protected cabin. In the original study, the
monitor was a cathode-ray tube (CRT) with a refresh rate
9
of 70 Hz. Stimuli were presented centrally as white text
(69 cd/m2 ; character height: 1◦ ; width: 0.5◦ visual angle;
font: Helvetica) on a black background (0.1 cd/m2 ). These
luminance values were not specified in the original study so
that we chose the most plausible settings for our experiment.
In the direct task, participants classified whether the prime
was smaller or larger than five. We used this particular task
because the original authors argued in a subsequent study
that it is “better matched with the [indirect] task” (Naccache
& Dehaene, 2001, p. 227). In the original study by Dehaene
et al. (1998), two direct tasks were used, that produced similar results: In their first direct task, the prime stimulus was
omitted in some trials and participants had to discriminate
their presence vs. absence. In the second direct task, the
prime stimuli were replaced by random letter strings and participants had to discriminate between numbers vs. random
strings.
In the indirect task, participants decided as quickly as
possible whether the target was smaller or larger than five;
as was the case in the original study. Each participant performed 256 trials per task, preceded by 16 practice trials in
each task. In contrast, in the original study, participants performed only 96 and 112 trials in the first and second direct
tasks, respectively, and 512 trials in the indirect task.
We repeated indirect task trials with RTs that were too
slow (> 1 s) or too fast (< 100 ms). The original study also
rejected too slow trials (> 1 s) but was more restrictive in
terms of fast trials: They rejected with RT < 250 ms. However, we only found 8 out of 6144 trials in our data to be
above 100 ms but below 250 ms so that we obtained very
similar results when applying their criterion. The indirect
task was performed before the direct task (as is common
practice in this paradigm) to prevent participants attending
to the prime in the indirect task. In the original study, the
direct and indirect tasks were performed by different groups.
The number of participants and trials were chosen to
produce a statistical power of above 95% to find a difference between sensitivities and confirm an ITA if it is there
(see Supplement B). For this power estimation, we assumed
0
a true sensitivity of dtrue,
direct = 0 in the direct task vs.
0
dtrue, indirect = 0.25 in the indirect task (values based on our
reanalysis of Dehaene et al., 1998, see below). To our knowledge, the original study did not perform a power analysis.
A post hoc power analysis revealed that the original study
had a statistical power of only 46% to find an ITA using
0
the appropriate analysis (again, assuming dtrue,
direct = 0 and
0
dtrue, indirect = 0.25). This low power is due to a small number
of direct task participants and trials.
Results and Discussion
Our analysis proceeded in two strands: First, we perform
the traditional analysis which forms the basis for the standard
reasoning. Second, we perform the appropriate analysis.
10
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
Standard Reasoning. The direct task sensitivity was
d0 = 0.26 (S D = 0.27), t(23) = 4.68, p < .001, corresponding to an accuracy in prime identification of M = 54.87%correct (S D = 4.9, t(23) = 4.82, p < .001). This is exactly
in the range of sensitivities reported in the original study’s
direct tasks (d0 = 0.3 in the first and d0 = 0.2 in the second
direct task). For a graphical depiction of these results, compare the bars corresponding to the direct tasks in Figures 4a
and 4b.
Note that, in contrast to the original study, our direct task
sensitivity is significantly above zero. This is so, because
we sampled much more participants and trials than in the
original study. Therefore, we had much higher statistical
power. To simulate the lower power of the original study,
we discarded data from participants and trials to match the
same number of observations as in the original study: We
kept only the first N = 7 participants and the first 112 trials
of each participant. This leads to a non-significant result,
d0 = 0.31 (S D = 0.39), t(6) = 2.06, p = 0.085, as was
the case in the original study. Therefore, it is plausible that it
was the low statistical power in the original study (and not the
sensitivity being exactly at zero) that was the reason for the
nonsignificant result in the direct task of the original study.
In the indirect task, the congruent condition yielded faster
RTs (M = 445 ms, S D = 42) than the incongruent condition
(M = 457 ms, S D = 37), resulting in a clear and highly
significant congruency effect of M = 12 ms (S D = 11.8),
t(23) = 4.95, p < .001. That is, we found a highly significant
congruency effect on RTs, as did the original study.
There is one potential caveat here: The congruency effect
in the original study was larger than that in our replication
(24 ms vs. 12 ms, respectively). However, we will show
that sensitivities in our replication and our reanalysis of the
original study are very consistent, see Figures 4a and 4b.
This can be explained by larger trial-by-trial variability in the
original study counteracting the larger RT effect: The original study, despite using 512 trials per participant, observed
S D = 13.5 while we observed S D = 11.8 in our replication
with only 256 trials per participant. Generally, more trials per
participant should make individual RT effects more precisely
measured. Thus, the standard deviation in the original study
should be smaller than in our replication. But the opposite
is the case! This can be explained by a larger trial-by-trial
variance in the original study. Larger effect and larger variability in the original study cancel out such that sensitivities
are in fact quite comparable to our replication, see below.
Further research employing systematic variation of stimulus
parameters can further clarify this situation. For example, we
are currently determining the role of an ITA in the particular
setting of Dehaene et al. (1998) in a more extensive study,
see Zerweck et al. (in press).
In summary, we found a similar pattern of results as in
the original study: A very poor direct task performance and
a clear congruency effect in the indirect task. Based on this
pattern of results many researchers would have applied the
standard reasoning and inferred an ITA.
Sensitivity Comparison. The appropriate analysis
compares sensitivities in direct and indirect tasks. We have
already described in the last section that the direct task in our
experiment yielded a sensitivity of d0 = 0.26 (S D = 0.27),
corresponding to an accuracy of M = 54.87%-correct. For
the indirect task, we obtained a sensitivity of d0 = 0.25
(S D = 0.15), corresponding to an accuracy of M = 54.93%correct (S D = 3.03).
Inspection of Figure 4a shows that these sensitivities in
direct and indirect tasks are very similar, see their difference
plot in Figure 4d. We found virtually no difference between
these sensitivities, M = −0.01 (S D = 0.34), t(23) = −0.2,
p = 0.844. That is, there is no indication for an ITA.
In conclusion, our results are similar to the typical pattern of results found by Dehaene et al. (1998) and many researchers would have inferred an ITA. However, the appropriate analysis yields no evidence for an ITA: The sensitivities in both tasks are essentially identical.
Reanalysis of 15 Influential Studies Finds Hardly any
ITA
After having demonstrated that the problems of the widely
used standard reasoning are indeed serious, we now apply
our approach to a sample of 15 highly relevant studies in the
field of unconscious priming.
Methods
Selection Criteria for Reanalyzed Studies. We focused on studies that applied the standard reasoning and
claimed an ITA. First, we selected eight studies by hand that
are particularly relevant. These studies and their number of
citations in Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, U.S.A.) are: Finkbeiner and Palermo (2009, 56 citations), Finkbeiner (2011, 13 citations), Mattler (2003, 76
citations), Pessiglione et al. (2007, 352 citations), Sumner
(2008, 34 citations), van Gaal et al. (2010, 154 citations),
Wang et al. (2017, 0 citations), Wójcik, Nowicka, Bola, and
Nowicka (2019, 1 citations),
Second, we searched for English articles in Web of Science with the topic “unconscious priming”. We selected all
studies with more than 150 citations that applied the standard
reasoning and claimed an ITA. This resulted in seven additional studies: Damian (2001, 178 citations), Dehaene et al.
(1998, 662 citations), Dehaene et al. (2001, 770 citations),
Kiefer (2002, 237 citations), Kunde, Kiesel, and Hoffmann
(2003, 217 citations), Naccache and Dehaene (2001, 214 citations), Naccache, Blandin, and Dehaene (2002, 313 citations). Overall, these 15 studies received a total of 3277 citations. See Supplement F for details on these studies.
11
12%
8%
4%
0%
difference in %−correct
54%
50%
0.2
d' estimated
0.0
0.6
Reanalysis of
Figure 2b From
Dehaene et al.
(1998)
0.4
Reanalysis of
Dehaene et al.
(1998)
0.2
N = 7 N = 12
112 trials 512 trials
d' difference
N = 7 N = 12
112 trials 512 trials
0.0
N = 24 N = 24
256 trials 256 trials
d
62%
c
58%
b
%−correct
a
0.4
0.6
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
Direct
Indirect
−0.2
−0.2
Task
Our Replication
Our Replication Reanalysis of Reanalysis of
Dehaene et al. Figure 2b From
(1998)
Dehaene et al.
(1998)
Figure 4. Sensitivities in the Dehaene et al. (1998) setting. (a) Results of our replication study, based on our full trial-by-trial data.
(b) Results of our reanalysis approach based on the published statistics from Dehaene et al. (1998). (c) Reanalysis results from digitizing
Figure 2b from Dehaene et al. (1998) showing histograms of indirect task’s RT data. For the comparison, we used the same direct task
results herein (c) as we used in (b). Comparing (a)–(c) we see that our replication closely matches the results of the original study. (d)
Difference in sensitivities between direct and indirect tasks: There is no significant difference in sensitivities in our replication study or in
our reanalyses of Dehaene et al. (1998). That is, there is no evidence for an ITA. The reanalysis result from (b) is also shown in the large
summary in Figure 5. Error bars indicate 95% confidence intervals.
Details of Analysis When Only Summary Statistics are
Available. Our reanalysis method estimates and compares
sensitivities for direct and indirect tasks. Here, we sketch
some technical details of the analysis. A detailed account
with mathematical derivations is given in Supplement D.
We denote the estimated sensitivities in the direct and in0
0
direct tasks by destimated,
direct and destimated, indirect , respectively.
For the direct task, the typically reported statistics are average d0 or %-correct values. Therefore, our estimate is simply
the measured sensitivity,
0
0
destimated,
direct = d ,
or a well-known conversion of %-correct values to d0 values
assuming neutral observers (Green & Swets, 1988),
0
−1
destimated,
direct = 2Φ (%-correct),
where Φ−1 is the inverse of the normal cumulative density
function.
In the indirect task, statistics for the congruency effect are
typically reported by t values from a paired t test or F values
from a repeated–measures ANOVA. In this
√ setting, F values
can be translated into t values by |t| = F. From a t value,
we estimate the sensitivity by
0
destimated,
indirect = t · cN,K,q2 , with
s
cN,K,q2 =
q2 + K4
N
r
N−1
2 Γ 2
,
N − 1 Γ N−2
2
where Γ is the gamma distribution. The constant cN,K,q2 corrects for the fact that t values increase with increasing number of participants (N), increasing number of trials (K), and
that they depend on the ratio of between- and within-subject
variance, which we denote by q2 .
The parameter q2 is the only free parameter we need to estimate for our approach. It is reasonable to assume that this
ratio is at most q2 = 0.0225 given our replication study, a literature review (see Supplement E) and extensive simulations
(see Supplement B). Assuming the largest plausible value for
q2 , increases the likelihood of finding an ITA thereby following the benefit-of-the-doubt approach.
From the estimated sensitivities, we compute the difference
0
0
0
ddifference
= destimated,
indirect − destimated, direct
12
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
and construct a 95% confidence interval using the corresponding standard errors (derived in Supplement D). This allows to test for an ITA: If the confidence interval lies above 0
(that is, it has the form [a, b] with a > 0), the reported result
is significant and an ITA is confirmed, otherwise there is not
sufficient evidence to claim an ITA.
We demonstrate in the Appendix that confidence intervals based on our reanalysis method are quite comparable
to those based on the trial-by-trial analysis. For the study
of ten Brinke et al. (2014), the trial-by-trial analysis versus our reanalysis method using summary statistics produced
95% CI [-0.07; 0.23] and [-0.11; 0.25], respectively (Figure A1). In our replication, the two methods produced
95% CI [-0.15; 0.12] and [-0.20; 0.06], respectively (Figure A2). Thus, our reanalysis method produces consistent
results with the analysis based on trial-by-trial data.
Results and Discussion
We first describe our reanalysis in detail for the study of
Dehaene et al. (1998) and then use the same methods for all
the other studies.
Reanalysis of Dehaene et al. (1998). As discussed in
our replication, the study reported two direct tasks with sensitivities of d0 = 0.2 and d0 = 0.3, respectively. We used the
results of the first task, because it had the smaller sensitivity,
thereby, increasing the chances of our reanalysis to confirm
an ITA and following the benefit-of-the-doubt approach.
In this direct task, N = 7 participants were sampled in
K = 112 trials and a sensitivity of d0 = 0.2 was reported, see
light gray bar in Figure 4b. From these values, our reanalysis
method estimates the standard error to be S E = 0.11.
In the indirect task, the study reported on average a congruency effect of 24 ms with a standard deviation of 13.5 ms
in a sample of N = 12 participants sampled in K = 512
√ trials
each. This equals a t value of t = 24 ms/(13.5 ms/ 12) =
6.12 from which our reanalysis method estimates the sensi0
2
tivity to be destimated,
indirect = t · cN,K,q = 0.29 (S E = 0.09),
see dark gray bar in Figure 4b.
Taken together, the sensitivities in both tasks are very sim0
ilar with no clear difference between them, ddifference
= 0.09,
S E = 0.14, see Figure 4d. The confidence interval for the
difference includes zero, 95% CI = [−0.18, 0.35], thereby
indicating that the sensitivity difference did not deviate significantly from zero. That is, there is no evidence for an ITA.
We were able to reanalyze the results from Dehaene et
al. (1998) in an additional way. They depicted summary
histograms of RTs in their Figure 2b visualizing that congruent and incongruent RT distributions are similar in shape
but only shifted because incongruent RTs were slower than
congruent RTs. Despite the shift, RT distributions largely
overlap. We digitized the histogram and split RTs along
the median as described in the appropriate analysis section.
From this, we estimated the indirect task sensitivity to be
d0 = 0.23 (S E = 0.03). Again, we find no difference to
their first direct task’s sensitivity (d0 = 0.2, S E = 0.11)
since zero is included in the confidence interval of the difference, 95% CI [−0.19; 0.25], see Figure 4c and 4d. Note that
this approach deviated from our appropriate analysis in that
it does not compute the median for each individual participant but uses a grand median across participants because the
published histogram pools all participants’ RT data. This approach ignores between-subject variance leading to a slight
underestimation of the indirect task’s sensitivity. Nevertheless, this additional reanalysis provides converging evidence
complementing our previous results.
The results from our reanalysis of the original study (Figure 4b and 4c) and the results from our replication experiment (Figure 4a) are very consistent. Estimates for the sensitivities are very stable. This corroborates the validity of our
reanalysis approach as well as of our replication experiment
(see Supplement B for further validation of our reanalysis
approach).
To summarize, both, our reanalysis of Dehaene et al.
(1998) as well as our replication of the behavioral responses,
suggest that there is no ITA in the behavioral part of that
study. This demonstrates the fundamental flaw of the standard reasoning and suggests that similar problems might exist in other studies.
Reanalysis of all 15 studies. We now apply our reanalysis in a similar way to all other studies. For this, we present
the data in a more compact fashion in Figure 5. For example, what we showed in Figures 4b and 4d for the study of
Dehaene et al. (1998) now corresponds to the lines 7 and 8 in
Figure 5, showing the sensitivities for each task in Figure 5a
and the difference of sensitivities in Figure 5b.
When evaluating this figure, it is important to be aware
that we used our benefit-of-the-doubt approach. For example, Dehaene et al. (1998) had two direct tasks, resulting in d0 = 0.2 and d0 = 0.3, respectively. As described
above, we used the smaller of those values, thereby increasing the chances of finding an ITA, which makes our arguments stronger if we nevertheless do not find an ITA (cf.
General Discussion).
Inspecting the figure shows that in most studies the sensitivities of direct and indirect tasks have comparable sensitivities, such that the differences are small and not significantly
different from zero. This is the case for 35 of the 44 differences between direct and indirect tasks (Figure 5b). This is
in stark contrast to the fact that all studies claimed ITAs in
all these cases.
Only in 8 of the 44 differences there is a significant difference in the direction of an ITA, such that the indirect task
has higher sensitivity than the direct task. These results are,
however, intermixed with inverted differences in the same
studies. For example, although Kunde et al. (2003) have two
significant differences in the direction of an ITA, there are
13
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
← DTA
Direct and Indirect d' estimated
−0.2
Damian
(JEP:HPP, 2001)
Words
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Indirect, error rate (E1)
0
0.2
0.4
a
0.6
direct
indirect
−0.4
ITA →
d' difference
−0.2
0
0.2
0.4
−4%
0%
4%
8%
b
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, ER (E4)
Dehaene et al.
(Nature, 1998)
Digits &
words
Words
Dehaene et al.
(Nat. Neuro., 2001)
Direct, word vs. digit
Indirect, RT
Indirect, EEG (LRP)
Indirect, fMRI
Direct (E1)
Indirect, EEG, P1 (E1)
Indirect, EEG, N1 (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, same−case (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, different−case (E2)
Faces &
Finkbeiner &
objects
Palermo
(Psych. Sci., 2009)
Direct, pc (E1)
Indir., RT, pc (E1)
Direct, pc (E2)
Indirect, RT, pc (E2)
Direct, tc (E2)
Indirect, RT, tc (E2)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT (E3)
Finkbeiner
(AP&P, 2011)
Words
Direct, 40 ms
Indirect, RT, 40 ms
Words
Kiefer
(Cog. Brain Res., 2002)
Direct, semantic (E2)
Indirect, EEG, N400 (E1)
Kunde et al.
(Cogn., 2003)
Digits
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT, target set (E2)
Indirect, error rate, target set (E2)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, target set (E3)
Indirect, RT, non−target set (E3)
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, error rate (E4)
Mattler
(P & P., 2003)
Shapes
Direct (E5)
Indirect, RT (E5)
Naccache &
Dehaene
(Cogn., 2001)
Digits &
words
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Digits
Naccache et al.
(Psych. Sci., 2002)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, early, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, invalid (E3)
Pessiglione et al.
(Science, 2007)
Coins
Direct, Semantic (E2)
Indirect, grip force
Indirect, pallidal activation
Lines
Sumner
(Exp. Psych., 2008)
Direct, mask A (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask A (E1)
Direct, mask B (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask B (E1)
Direct, mask B (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, error rate (E2)
van Gaal et al.
(JoNeuro, 2010)
Shapes
Direct
Indirect, RT
Arrows
Wang et al.
(Exp. Psych., 2017)
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT, line (E1)
Direct, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
Direct, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
Wójcik et al.
(Psych. Sci., 2019)
Faces
Direct, masked
Indirect, EEG, N2pc, masked
46%
50%
54%
58%
Direct and Indirect %−correct
62%
−8%
Difference in %−correct (indirect − direct)
Figure 5. Reanalysis of influential studies reporting indirect task advantages (ITAs). The 15 studies used the standard reasoning to
infer an ITA in 44 conditions. (a) We reanalyzed the sensitivities and, to foster intuition, we also show %-correct values assuming a neutral
observer. (b) We reanalyzed the difference in sensitivities: In each group of bars from (a), the indirect task is compared to the corresponding
direct task yielding the differences shown in (b). Only if a confidence interval (error bars) around the difference lies to the right and does
not contain 0, there is evidence for an ITA. Only in very few cases (8 out of 44), there is evidence for an ITA, while in most cases (35 out of
44) there is no evidence. There is even one case with a significant opposite result, an advantage of the direct task (DTA). Not a single study
provides consistent evidence for ITAs across its experiments and conditions in which it claimed ITAs. Moreover, these results are obtained
under most favorable conditions for finding an ITA: Our reanalysis overestimates the indirect task sensitivities and therefore the evidence for
an ITA due to our conservative choice of analysis strategies. Additionally, some of the reanalyzed studies apply problematic methodology
that further biases the results towards finding an ITA even if there is none, see Discussion. This pattern of results casts serious doubts on the
existence of ITAs in most, if not all, of the studies. Error bars represent 95%-confidence intervals.
14
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
five differences pointing in the opposite direction within the
same study (albeit those are not significantly different from
zero).
Finally, the largest of all differences is even inverted: In
Experiment 1 of Naccache and Dehaene (2001) there is a
significantly higher sensitivity in the direct task than in the
indirect task, just the opposite of an ITA.
To summarize, our reanalysis found significant ITAs in
only 8 out of 44 instances, which are spread across five different studies (Finkbeiner & Palermo, 2009; Kunde et al.,
2003; Naccache et al., 2002; Sumner, 2008; Wang et al.,
2017). Note that for multiple hypothesis testing, one would
expect at least some false positive results. These results are
intermixed with 35 inconclusive results and even an opposite
result where the direct task showed significantly higher sensitivity than the indirect task (Naccache & Dehaene, 2001).
Inspecting Figure 5 shows that there is no consistent evidence for an ITA in any of the reanalyzed studies. Not a
single study showed significant ITAs in all conditions, albeit
all studies claimed ITAs for all reanalyzed conditions.
Let us stress that our goal was not to investigate whether
there exists a “general” ITA across all studies with their
vastly different stimuli, experimental setups, tasks and scientific questions. Therefore, we did not perform a metaanalysis or correct for multiple testing. This had several reasons. First, our reanalysis favored finding an ITA by using
our benefit-of-the-doubt approach. Second, there are additional methodological issues in the reanalyzed studies that
introduce further biases, and for which we cannot correct in
our reanalysis (see General Discussion). Considering these
two biases towards finding an ITA, a meta-analysis could
misleadingly produce the impression that there is a slight ITA
present across all reanalyzed studies. An ITA might exist but
perhaps only for some particular stimuli and setups. Given
that the evidence for an ITA in each individual study is now
in question, the research goal should be to differentiate under
which conditions a reliable ITA can be obtained and under
which conditions this is not possible. A meta-analysis would
not serve this differentiating purpose.
In summary, reanalyzing the results from studies on unconscious priming shows that there is little to no evidence
for ITAs in those studies despite them claiming ITAs for all
conditions. Sensitivities in the indirect tasks are not consistently larger than sensitivities in the direct task as one would
expect, given that unconscious processing was inferred using
the standard reasoning that necessarily implies ITAs. This
demonstrates how seriously the literature on unconscious
priming is affected by the flaws of the standard reasoning.
General Discussion
Many studies on consciousness that investigate a wide
range of cognitive functions are based on the flawed standard
reasoning. The main fallacy occurs when the standard rea-
soning infers an ITA. That is, a higher sensitivity for masked
stimuli in the indirect task as compared to the direct task. In
an earlier reanalysis of ten Brinke et al. (2014) by Franz and
von Luxburg (2015), in our replication of the behavioral part
of Dehaene et al. (1998), and in our reanalysis of 15 highly
influential studies, we found that none of these studies can
overall truly claim evidence for an ITA. To the contrary, responses in the indirect task often show a similar sensitivity as
compared to the direct task. This casts serious doubt on the
evidence for unconscious processing that exceeds conscious
reportability in these studies.
The fallacy of the standard reasoning has serious consequences for the trustworthiness of the scientific literature on
consciousness. It also takes away from the appeal of many
claims in the field: For example, it would be an interesting result if lie detection and semantic meaning of numbers could
be processed outside of awareness. But such strong claims
require substantive empirical evidence, which we did not find
because the reanalyzed studies employed the flawed standard
reasoning. The appropriate analysis yields results that may
be considered as less exciting because—under scrutiny—
participants’ responses did not seem to be affected by processing beyond what they can consciously report.
Besides theoretical issues, there are also additional
methodological problems that can systematically bias the results and lead to claims of an ITA even if the true underlying
sensitivities in the direct and the indirect task are perfectly
equal.
First, a common practice is to exclude participants with a
good direct task sensitivity. The researchers’ motivation here
is to avoid including the subset of participants who are consciously aware of the masked stimuli. However, this practice
bears the problem of regression to the mean (Barnett, van der
Pols, & Dobson, 2004; Schmidt, 2015; Shanks, 2017). Thus,
this practice is biased towards finding a smaller sensitivity in
the direct task and thus biased towards finding an ITA even
if there is none. Several studies in our reanalysis have this
problem (Finkbeiner, 2011; Mattler, 2003; Pessiglione et al.,
2007; Sumner, 2008; van Gaal et al., 2010). This can explain
why these studies produced some of the largest differences in
our reanalysis in Figure 5.
Second, in some experimental procedures participants
have to respond to the target stimulus (indirect task) first
and only then respond to the masked stimulus (direct task)
all within the same trial (see Finkbeiner & Palermo, 2009;
Peremen & Lamy, 2014). Because the cognitive impact of a
masked stimulus decays quickly after 300 ms (Mattler, 2005;
Wolfe, 1999), this procedure makes the direct task more difficult. Participants have to memorize the masked stimulus
while performing the indirect task until they can give a direct
task response. This may decrease the direct task sensitivity
due to the additional difficulty, which can produce misleading ITA results. It is somewhat impressive that, even un-
15
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
der these favorable circumstances, none of these reanalyzed
studies provide consistent evidence for an ITA.
Nevertheless, our results do not necessarily rule out the
possibility that ITAs exist in some cases. But the existence of
an ITA may depend on the particular task and stimuli used. It
might not be as ubiquitous as previously thought. Albeit the
long standing request to use the same metric for both tasks
(Reingold & Merikle, 1988) has often been ignored, there
are some studies that provide evidence for an ITA using the
appropriate analysis. For example, the setting of Schmidt
(2002)—color stimuli served as primes and targets—found a
distinct ITA result. Another example is the study by KunstWilson and Zajonc (1980) using geometric shapes (but see
also de Zilva, Vu, Newell, & Pearson, 2013; Seamon, Brody,
& Kauff, 1983).
Therefore, we do not claim that there are no instances in
which an ITA exists. Such a claim would be far beyond the
scope of a single scientific study. But we do claim that one of
the most prevalent methods in the wide research area of unconscious priming is fundamentally flawed. This flaw affects
and potentially invalidates interpretations of many studies.
As a consequence, the field has to reassess the situation of
ITAs by applying the appropriate analysis to substantiate or
refute previously made claims.
In deriving our appropriate methods, we have chosen
strategies that favored finding an ITA. That is, we have
followed the benefit-of-the-doubt approach to increase the
chances of confirming an ITA. From such an approach, one
would have expected clear evidence for an ITA in each of the
reanalyzed studies. But since we nevertheless did not find
consistent evidence for ITAs, having followed the benefit-ofthe-doubt approach makes our arguments even stronger.
However, in future research, we hope that the benefit-ofthe-doubt approach will no longer be necessary because it
has a drawback: It would be inappropriate to simply revert
the reasoning and use our liberal method to establish evidence for an ITA. To provide convincing evidence for an ITA,
we would need a more balanced approach, one that might
have not convinced researchers in the current situation (because they might have rejected it for being too conservative
in terms of finding an ITA). For example, we used a clearly
fail-safe estimate for q2 in our reanalysis, that was chosen
to be larger than all reported values on which this estimate
is based. A more balanced approach would use a smaller
estimate, which would reduce the chances to find an ITA, see
our additional reanalyses in Supplement E for a figure like
Figure 5 but with a more balanced estimate of q2 . Of course,
trial-by-trial data should be used whenever possible.
To summarize, what we suggest is a research program:
Given the tremendous interest in unconscious priming and
the far-reaching inferences based on studies using the standard reasoning, researchers should reinvestigate the most relevant cases of claimed ITAs and clarify to which degree the
claims in those studies are truly warranted. In those cases
where an ITA is properly established, researchers can then
start to draw further reaching conclusions about conscious
vs. unconscious processing (Eriksen, 1960; Erdelyi, 1986;
Holender, 1986; Reingold & Merikle, 1988; Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006). An ITA is only a prerequisite but not a sufficient
condition for the inferences that are typically drawn about
unconscious processing.
In short, the literature needs a serious and concerted reassessment that would go well beyond the scope of a single study and will also require—in critical cases—the collection of new data. In many cases where superior unconscious processing already seemed an established fact (e.g.,
Hassin, 2013), we expect that this view needs to be revised.
In other cases, researchers might still be able to establish
such a relationship—which will then be even more interesting and foster the theoretical understanding of when exactly conscious processing is vital for a cognitive function
and when it is not.
Context
Unconscious processing has been investigated for a long
time. A common notion is that more information is processed unconsciously than consciously accessible. A main
body of evidence for this comes from unconscious priming,
where a standard reasoning is used to provide evidence for
unconscious processing that exceeds consciously reportable
processing. We show that the standard reasoning is flawed
for statistical reasons. We introduce an analysis that is more
appropriate. Using this analysis, we find that interpretations
about unconscious processing break down. That is, even
though the standard reasoning produced the notion that participants process more information unconsciously than they
can consciously report, we show that there is inconsistent
evidence for this in many studies. This lack of supposed evidence for superior unconscious processing has far-reaching
consequences: It questions the idea that conscious processing is not necessary for many cognitive processes. We call for
a community effort to apply the appropriate analysis and differentiate between situations in which processing can occur
without being consciously reportable, that is, unconsciously.
Availability of data and material
The data set and analysis scripts supporting the conclusions of this article is available in the Open Science Framework repository (doi: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF
.IO/KP59H), https://osf.io/kp59h.
Funding
This project is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) through
the CRC 1233 “Robust Vision”, project number 276693517;
16
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
the Institutional Strategy of the University of Tübingen
(DFG, ZUK 63); and the Cluster of Excellence “Machine
Learning: New Perspectives for Science”, EXC 2064/1,
project number 390727645.
Author Contributions
S. Meyen, V. H. Franz, and U. von Luxburg developed
the methods. I. A. Zerweck conducted the experiment. All
authors wrote the manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect
to the authorship or the publication of this article.
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19
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
Appendix
We demonstrate in two studies that the appropriate analysis based on the full trial-by-trial data is well approximated by
our reanalysis based only on the typically reported statistics (e.g., a t value for the congruency effect in the indirect task). We
compare the appropriate analysis using the full, trial-by-trial data on one hand and our reanalysis method based on only the
reported summary statistics on the other hand. We apply both approaches to the original data from ten Brinke et al. (2014, see
Figure A1) and to our replication of Dehaene et al. (1998, see Figure A2). Results from the two analyses are very comparable
confirming the validity of our reanalysis.
Figure A1. Appropriate analysis applied to ten Brinke et al.
(2014) using the full, trial-by-trial data in (a) and using our reanalysis method in (b). Our reanalysis using only the typically
reported statistics produced approximately the same results as
the trial-by-trial analysis. In both cases, there is no evidence for
an indirect task advantage. Error bars indicate 95% confidence
intervals.
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.0
−0.2 −0.1
d' estimated
0.2
0.1
0.0
−0.2 −0.1
d'
b
0.2
0.4
Direct
Indirect
Difference
0.3
a
Reanalysis
0.1
0.5
0.5
b
0.2
0.0
−0.2 −0.1
d' estimated
d'
0.2
0.0
−0.2 −0.1
0.1
Trial−by−Trial Analysis
0.3
0.4
Direct
Indirect
Difference
0.1
a
Reanalysis
0.3
0.4
0.5
Trial−by−Trial Analysis
Figure A2. Appropriate analysis applied to our replication
of Dehaene et al. (1998) using the full, trial-by-trial data in (a)
and using our reanalysis method in (b). Our reanalysis using
only the typically reported statistics produced approximately
the same results as the trial-by-trial analysis. In both cases,
there is no evidence for an indirect task advantage. Note that
the indirect task sensitivity in our reanalysis is smaller than in
the trial-by-trial analysis. This is not a contradiction to our
claim that in expectation the indirect task sensitivity is overestimated by our reanalysis. Estimates of individual studies can
vary as indicated by the error bars indicating 95% confidence
intervals.
20
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
Supplemental Materials
Advancing Research on Unconscious Priming: When can Scientists Claim an Indirect Task Advantage
by S. Meyen, I. A. Zerweck, C. Amado, U. v. Luxburg, & V. H. Franz
A
Overview
A. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
B. Validation of Reanalysis Method via Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
C. Optimality of Median Classifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
D. Estimating Sensitivities From Typically Reported Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
E. Estimating the Ratio q2 of Between- vs. Within-Subject Variance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
F. Details of Reanalyzed Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
G. Cost of Dichotomization in Significance Testing and Bayesian Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
H. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
I. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
B
21
Validation of Reanalysis Method via Simulations
We conducted multiple simulations to validate that our reanalysis method appropriately controls for statistical errors (type I
and type II). Each simulation was repeated 10, 000 times. In each run, we generated a trial-by-trial data set with a direct and
an indirect task according to the standard repeated measures model outlined in Appendix D. We simulated N participants with
0
0
sensitivities, dtrue,i
, independently and randomly drawn from normal distributions with expected value dtrue
and variance q2 (see
2
0
Appendix E for why q is the variance of individual true sensitivities). Note that we sampled dtrue,i for each participant independently in the direct and indirect task to avoid making additional assumptions on their correlation between tasks. Applying
0
Signal Detection Theory, each of these individual sensitivities implies two normal distributions separated by dtrue,i
standard
deviations. From these normal distributions, we sampled a total of K trials for each participant, K/2 in each condition. We
did this twice, once for each task. In the direct task, we compared each response to the true median: If the response lied on
the same side as the normal distribution it was sampled from, the simulated binary decision by the participant in this trial
was correct, otherwise it was wrong. In the indirect task, we simply treated the drawn responses as the indirect measures
(e.g., RTs). We then applied the traditional analysis used in the standard reasoning and the appropriate analyses, first based on
the full, trial-by-trial analysis and second our reanalysis based on typically reported summary statistics. We obtained similar
results with log-normal distributions and only report normal distribution results for brevity.
0
In each simulation, we varied N, K, dtrue
and q2 . If not declared otherwise, the same q2 was used for data simulation and
reanalysis. Only in simulations 5 and 6, we varied the true q2 with which the data was simulated and used a different q2 for
our reanalysis in order to see how getting this parameter wrong would affect our results.
Simulations 1-3 demonstrate that the standard reasoning applied to the traditional analysis miserably fails when applied to
the study of Dehaene et al. (1998). Simulation 4 shows that our replication has sufficient statistical power to find an ITA if it
was there. Simulations 5 and 6 show how our reanalysis would be affected, if the true q2 was different than what we assumed.
We then summarize additional 108 simulations showing that our estimators, even though they use simplifying approximations,
are approximately unbiased.
Simulations
Simulation 1: Controlling type I errors. We used the same number of participants in the direct (N = 7) vs. indirect
(N = 12) task as well as the same number of trials per condition (direct K = 112 vs. indirect K = 512) as the original study
0
of Dehaene et al. (1998). Assuming no ITA, we set sensitivities in both tasks to be equal (direct dtrue
= 0.25 vs. indirect
0
2
dtrue = 0.25). We assumed q = 0.0225 for this simulation.
Even though the same sensitivity underlies both tasks, the direct task fails to reach significance half of the time (51.2%)
while the indirect task is almost always significant (99.5%). This is not surprising and shows how seriously underpowered the
direct task was due to fewer samples, N and K. When applying the standard reasoning, a scientist would erroneously conclude
an ITA from a non-significant direct task result and a significant indirect task effect in 48.6% of the experiments. In other
words: The widely used standard reasoning would infer an ITA half of the time even though there is no ITA present!
Since there is no ITA present, our reanalysis should find an ITA only as often as prespecified by the significance level
α = 5%. Indeed, we find a difference between the two tasks only in 4.7% of the runs. This demonstrates that our reanalysis
approach controls appropriately for type I errors.
Simulation 2: Controlling for type II errors with an underpowered direct task. We use the same settings as in
0
0
Simulation 1 except that we now assume there exists an ITA (direct dtrue
= 0 vs. indirect dtrue
= 0.25). Since there is an
ITA present, a high statistical power is desired to detect it and avoid type II errors. Typically, a power above 1 − β = 80%
is desired. However, our reanalysis found the ITA in only 46.2% of the runs. Using the full trial-by-trial data to test for a
difference (instead of only using the reported t value from the indirect task) also produced a test power of only 45.9%. There is
simply not enough data in the direct task to provide sufficient evidence for an ITA. The problem with lacking statistical power
is not located in our reanalysis because the analysis based on the trial-by-trial data also has a low statistical power. Instead,
the problem is the low sample size in the direct task.
Simulation 3: Controlling for type II errors with sufficient samples in the direct task. We repeated Simulation 2 but
increased the number of participants and trials in the direct task to match the ones of the indirect task (N = 12 and K = 512).
This is most sensible when testing for a difference because a balanced design maximizes statistical power. Here, our reanalysis
method detects the ITA in 78.3% of the runs, which is close to the desired 80%. Using the full trial-by-trial data provides a
power of 84.2%. This demonstrates that our reanalysis method provides sufficient power given sufficient samples.
Simulation 4: Statistical power in our replication. We repeated Simulation 3 but used the same number of participants
and samples as in our replication study, N = 24 and K = 256 in both tasks. There, we have the same amount of observations
22
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
as Dehaene et al. (1998) (double the participants, half the trials). Here, our reanalysis detects the ITA in 96.5% of the runs.
The analysis using trial-by-trial data instead of only a t value achieves 97.0%. The increase in statistical power compared
to Simulation 3 comes from sampling more participants which is more efficient than sampling more trials given a fixed total
number of observations (Rouder & Haaf, 2018).
Simulation 5: Overestimating parameter q2 . We repeated Simulation 3, the balanced Dehaene et al. (1998) setting with
an ITA, but generated the data with q2 = 0.01. We still use q2 = 0.0225 for the reanalysis, thus, we overestimate the true q2 .
Our reanalysis now successfully detects the ITA in 99.6% of the runs and so does the appropriate analysis with 99.2%. We
detect more ITAs here than in Simulation 3 because we make our reanalysis more liberal by choosing a larger q2 .
Simulation 6: Underestimating parameter q2 . Repeating Simulation 5, we now simulated the data with q2 = 0.09 and
kept the parameter of our reanalysis at q2 = 0.0225, that is, we now underestimate the true q2 . Individual sensitivities vary a lot
0
now. Even though the mean true direct task sensitivity is dtrue
= 0 (50%-correct), due to a large standard deviation of q = 0.3,
95% of participants’ true sensitivities range between -0.6 (38%-correct) and 0.6 (62%-correct). The assumption q = 0.3 poses
a problem from a theoretical perspective because some participants can discriminate the masked stimuli relatively well (above
60%-correct). In this case, our reanalysis is more conservative and detects an ITA in only 62.2% of the runs. However, the
analysis based on the trial-by-trial data also only achieves a power of 69.2% due to the large variability: Even in this case, our
reanalysis would not be too conservative.
Additional Simulations. We conducted additional simulations, one for each combination of the following parameters:
0
N ∈ {5, 10, 20}, K ∈ {100, 200, 400}, dtrue
= {0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5}, and q2 ∈ {0.01, 0.0225, 0.09}. In all these simulations, the
0
0
average, absolute deviation between true and estimated sensitivities was small, |dtrue
− destimated
| ≤ 0.01. A deviation of 0.01 in
terms of sensitivity translates into a deviation as small as 0.2%-correct, which can be considered negligible in this setting—and
deviations in simulations with N ≥ 10 are substantially smaller.
0
0
(denoted by S D[destimated
]) across the 10,000 simulations of each parameter
We computed the standard deviation of destimated
combination. We compared this with the estimated standard error, S E. For this purpose, we squared S E of each run, averaged
the values and took the square root of the average, which is the standard procedure to average standard errors. For the direct
0
task, the difference between actual variability and our estimates was again |S D[destimated
] − S E| ≤ 0.01. For the indirect task,
the same was true when N ≥ 10. However, for very small sample sizes (N = 5) our reanalysis deviated to some degree but
0
the absolute difference between actual standard deviation and our estimates still was |S D[destimated
] − S E| ≤ 0.05. Since all
reanalyzed studies use sample sizes of N ≥ 10 in the indirect task, our reanalysis produced approximately unbiased estimates.
Overall, our reanalysis approximates the appropriate analysis sufficiently well in the context we applied it to.
C
Optimality of Median Classifier
In the appropriate analysis to infer an ITA, one needs to transform continuous measurements of the indirect task (e.g., RTs)
into a binary classification response. In this step it is important to use the best possible classifier, in order to achieve the highest
d0 or %-correct values and thereby increase the chance to establish an ITA. Depending on the type of measurement that is taken
in the indirect task (e.g., RT, brain activity, grip force, etc.), this best classifier can have different forms. In many cases, the
median classifier is a suitable choice. For example with RT data (as in our replication based on Dehaene et al., 1998), the
classifier computes for each participant the median RT across all trials and classifies a trial as congruent if the RT is faster than
the median and as incongruent if the RT is slower. Below, we prove that the median classifier is optimal in this setting. The
proof requires two assumptions:
(1) The indirect measure follows a normal or log-normal distribution with an additive shift between congruent and incongruent conditions. In our case, this assumption is justified because it is well known that RT distributions are well
approximated by log-normal distributions (Ulrich & Miller, 1993; Palmer, Horowitz, Torralba, & Wolfe, 2011).
(2) An equal number of observations need to be drawn in both conditions, which is satisfied by the typical experimental
design.
Note, that Franz and von Luxburg (2015) also applied nonparametric machine learning classifiers with similar results.
General form of the optimal classifier. Consider a classification task where the input is a real-valued number x (e.g.,
a reaction time, RT), and the classifier is supposed to predict one of two labels y (e.g., ’congruent’ or ’incongruent’; for
simplicity we use labels 1 and 2 in the following). Following the standard setup in statistical decision theory (Bishop, 2006,
section 1.5) we assume that the input data X and the output data Y are drawn according to some fixed (but unknown) probability
distribution P. This distribution can be described uniquely by the class-conditional distributions P(X | Y = 1) and P(X | Y = 2)
and the class priors π1 = P(Y = 1) and π2 = P(Y = 2). A classifier is a function f : IR → {1, 2} that assigns a label y to each
23
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
input x. The classifier that has the smallest probability of error is called the Bayes classifier. In case the classes have equal
weight, that is π1 = π2 , the Bayes classifier has a particularly simple form: It classifies an input point x by the class that has
the higher class-conditional density at this point. Formally, this classifier is given by
1
fopt (x) :=
2
if P(X = x | Y = 1) > P(X = x | Y = 2)
otherwise.
(1)
Optimal classifier for normal and log-normal distributions. We now consider the special case where the classconditionals follow a particular distribution. Let us start with the normally distributed case. We assume that both classconditionals are normal distributions with means µ1 , µ2 and equal variance σ2 , and we denote their corresponding probability density functions (PDFs) by ϕµ1 ,σ and ϕµ2 ,σ . Under the additional assumption that both classes have equal weights
π1 = π2 = 0.5, the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the input (marginal distribution of X) is given as
x − µ1
x − µ2
) + Φ(
),
Ω(x) := 0.5 · Φ(
σ
σ
(2)
where Φ denotes the CDF of the standard normal distribution. For t ∈ IR, we introduce the step function classifier with
threshold t by
1 if x ≤ t
(3)
ft (x) :=
2 otherwise.
In the special case where the threshold t coincides with the median of the marginal distribution of X, we call the resulting step
function classifier the median classifier.
Proposition (Median classifier is optimal for normal model) If the input distribution is given by Equation (2), then the optimal classifier fopt coincides with the median classifier.
Proof. Because both classes have the same weight of 0.5, the Bayes classifier is given by fopt as in Equation (1). For any choice
of µ1 , µ2 and σ, the class-conditional PDFs ϕµ1 ,σ and ϕµ2 ,σ intersect exactly once, namely at t∗ = (µ1 + µ2 )/2. By definition of
fopt , the optimal classifier fopt is then the step function classifier with threshold t∗ . We now compute the value of the CDF at
t∗ :
t ∗ − µ1
t ∗ − µ2
Ω(t∗ ) = 0.5 · Φ(
) + Φ(
)
σ
σ
µ2 − µ1
µ1 − µ2
= 0.5 · Φ(
) + Φ(
)
2σ
2σ
µ2 − µ1
µ2 − µ1
= 0.5 · Φ(
) + (1 − Φ(
)
2
2
= 0.5.
Here, the second last equality comes from the fact that the normal distribution is symmetric about 0. This calculation shows
that the optimal threshold t∗ indeed coincides with the median of the input distribution, which is what we wanted to prove.
It is easy to see that this proof can be generalized to more general types of symmetric probability distributions. It is,
however, even possible to prove an analogous statement for log-normal distributions, which are not symmetric themselves.
We introduce the notation λµ,σ for the PDF of a log-normal distribution, and Λµ,σ for the corresponding CDF. These functions
are defined as
λµ,σ (x) :=
(log x − µ)2
exp −
2σ2
xσ 2π
1
√
and
log x − µ
Λµ,σ (x) := Φ
.
σ
Consider the case where the class-conditional distributions are log-normal distributions with same scale parameter σ but
different location parameters µ1 and µ2 , and assume that both classes have the same weights π1 = π2 = 0.5. Then the PDF and
24
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
CDF of the input distribution (marginal distribution of X) are given as
g(x) = 0.5 · ( λµ1 ,σ (x) + λµ2 ,σ (x) )
G(x) = 0.5 · ( Λµ1 ,σ (x) + Λµ2 ,σ (x) ).
(4)
Proposition (Median classifier is optimal for log-normal model) If the input distribution is given by Equation (4), then the
optimal classifier fopt coincides with the median classifier.
Proof. The proof is analogous to the previous one. For any choice of µ1 , µ2 and σ, the densities λµ1 ,σ and λµ2 ,σ intersect exactly
once. To see this, we solve the equation λµ1 ,σ (t∗ ) = λµ2 ,σ (t∗ ), which leads to the unique solution t∗ = exp((µ1 + µ2 )/2). The
input CDF at this value can be computed as
G(t∗ ) = 0.5 Λµ1 ,σ (t∗ ) + Λµ2 ,σ (t∗ )
µ2 − µ1
µ1 − µ2
= 0.5 Φ(
) + Φ(
)
2σ
2σ
= 0.5.
The last step follows as above by the symmetry of the normal cdf.
D
Estimating Sensitivities From Typically Reported Results
We use typically reported results from studies on unconscious priming to estimate the direct and indirect task sensitivities,
0
0
destimated,direct
and destimated,indirect
. First, we recapitulate the basic model assumptions of a standard repeated measures ANOVA
and introduce the notation. We then derive estimators for the sensitivity and standard error in both tasks using only the typically
reported results. Finally, we compute the difference between direct vs. indirect task sensitivities and construct a confidence
interval around that difference in order to test for an ITA.
Model assumptions
Our reanalysis of both tasks is based on the standard model of repeated measures ANOVA and paired t test (Winer, Brown,
& Michels, 1991; Maxwell & Delaney, 2000; Rouder & Haaf, 2018) as employed in all reanalyzed studies. In this model N
participants perform M trials in each condition. In the specific setting we consider, there are only 2 conditions. In the direct
task, this corresponds to trials where the masked stimulus is from either of two categories, A vs. B. In the indirect task, the
two conditions are typically congruent (A-A, B-B) vs. incongruent (A-B, B-A). In each trial of a given task, Yi jk denotes the
response from participant i (1, ..., N) in condition j (1 or 2) in trial k (1, ..., M), where we assume a balanced design such that
the total number of trials K is split evenly into the two conditions for M = K/2 trials per condition.
In the indirect task, responses Yi jk are the indirect measures (e.g., RTs). In the direct task, it is plausible to assume that
responses Yi jk represent participants’ internal evidence about the masked stimuli (some neural activity indicating whether the
participant saw a masked stimulus from category A or from B). Based on this noisy internal evidence, participants make an
internal classification and guess in each trial to which category the stimulus belonged.
The standard model decomposes participants’ responses Yi jk into five components:
Yi jk = µ + pi + c j + (p × c)i j + i jk .
To facilitate understanding, we now describe the model for the example of congruency effects on RTs in the indirect task;
but the same notation applies to other indirect measures and to the direct task as well. RTs have a grand mean µ. Some
participants have faster RTs than others which is captured in participants’ effects pi . The congruency condition has an effect
c j on RTs. While c1 is negative leading to faster RTs in congruent trials, c2 is positive reflecting slower RTs in the incongruent
conditions. Participants differ in the extent to which the congruency conditions affect them captured in (p × c)i j so that some
participants have a larger congruency effect than others. The variability in the individual effects is captured by this term’s
variance, Var[(p × c)i j ] = σ2p×c . Additionally, there is trial-by-trial noise i jk from neuromuscular noise and measurement error
leading to different responses in each trial. This trial-by-trial measurement error is assumed by the standard models to have a
constant variance (homogeneity) across participants and conditions, Var[i jk ] = σ2 . The congruency effect c j is a fixed effect
while participant and interaction effects (pi and (p × c)i j ) are random effects because they depend on the drawn sample of
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
25
participants. Random effects and trial-by-trial noise are assumed to be normally distributed with an expected value of zero and
their corresponding variance.
Raw effects and sensitivities. Each participant i has an individual expected congruency effect, ∆i , which theoretically
would be obtained by sampling infinitely many trials. The expected RT difference across participants is denoted by ∆.
∆i = (c2 + (p × c)i2 ) − (c1 + (p × c)i1 )
∆ = c2 − c1
In a typical experiment, the individual congruency effects are estimated by the observed mean difference between conditions.
ˆ
For the i-th participant, this estimate is ∆ˆ i and averaged across participants this is ∆.
M
M
1 X
1 X
Yi2k −
Yi1k
∆ˆ i = Ȳi2· − Ȳi1· =
M k=1
M k=1
N
1 Xˆ
∆ˆ =
∆i
N i=1
0
A participant’s true sensitivity dtrue,i
is the normalized effect—normalized by the trial-by-trial error standard deviation σ .
This quantity indicates, similar to a signal to noise ratio, how well a participant’s RTs are separable and therefore to which
0
degree the masked stimuli were processed, cf. Figure 3a. The expectation across participants is the true sensitivity dtrue
indicating how well the RTs of a prototypical participant are separated.
∆i
σ
∆
0
dtrue =
.
σ
0
dtrue,i
=
0
In the direct task, dtrue
is typically measured by the sensitivity index d0 averaged across participants. Participants’ indi0
vidual di are calculated from hit rate, HR (%-correct guesses for masked stimuli from category A), and false alarm rate, FA
(%-incorrect guesses for masked stimuli from category B), where Φ−1 is the inverse cumulative density function of the normal
distribution.
di0 = Φ−1 (HR) − Φ−1 (FA)
1 X 0
d.
d0 =
N i i
Note that the empirical literature often uses the notation d0 without a clear distinction between estimated vs. true value and
individual vs. average effects. Because we need to be more precise in our derivations: We denote the true value of an individual
0
participant by dtrue,i
and the sensitivity index, which is an estimate for the true value, by di0 . We denote the true sensitivity
0
across participants by dtrue
. In the direct task, this is estimated by the average across di0 values denoted by d0 . We will also
0
.
label this averaged estimate destimated,indirect
Two variance sources: true effect (between-) vs. trial-by-trial error (within-subject) variance. Participants differ in
their true congruency effect. The variance of these true inter-individual differences can be derived from the model variances
using the standard assumptions (1) (p × c)i j ∼ N(0, σ2p×c ), (2) Var[c1 ] = Var[c2 ] = 0, and (3) (p × c)i1 = −(p × c)i2 . We denote
this true effect variance as σ2effect :
σ2effect = Var[∆i ] = Var[[c2 + (p × c)i2 ] − [c1 + (p × c)i1 ]]
= Var[(p × c)i2 − (p × c)i1 ] = Var[2(p × c)i2 ]
= 4σ2p×c .
The variance of the actually observed congruency effects is conceptually different from the variance of the true effects. We
denote the variance of the observed congruency effects as σ2∆ˆ . The observed congruency effects vary more because they are
i
26
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
not only affected by true inter-individual difference but also by trial-by-trial measurement errors:
σ2∆ˆ = Var[∆ˆ i ]
i
h
i
= Var Ȳi2· − Ȳi1·
M
1 X
= Var µ + pi + c2 + (p × c)i2 + i2k
M k=1
M
1 X
−
µ + pi + c1 + (p × c)i1 + i1k
M k=1
M
M
1 X 1 X
= Var [c2 + (p × c)i2 ] − [c1 + (p × c)i1 ] +
i2k −
i1k
M k=1
M k=1
M
M
X 1 X
1
= Var ∆i +
i2k −
i1k
M k=1
M k=1
M
M
1 X
1 X
= Var[∆i ] + Var
i2k + Var
i1k
M k=1
M k=1
2 2
σ
M
4
= σ2effect + σ2 .
K
= σ2effect +
P
This has an implication for the variance of average congruency effects, ∆ˆ = N1 i ∆ˆ i . These observed, average congruency
effects vary due to two variance sources, the true inter-individual differences and trial-by-trial measurement error.
σ2 + 4 σ2
ˆ∆ ∼ N ∆, effect K .
N
We will later have to estimate σ2 from a given σ2∆ˆ . To achieve this, we must disentangle σ2effect and σ2 . We do so by
i
defining the ratio q2 between these two sources of variance:
q2 =
σ2effect
.
σ2
This parameter tells us how much of the observed variability comes from true differences vs. noise. If q2 = 0 then all
participants would have the same true congruency effect and observed differences are only due to trial-by-trial error. If q2
is large then there is relatively small trial-by-trial error variance and observed differences between participants stem from
reliable, true differences between participants. Crucially, note that q2 is also the variance of true, individual sensitivities. Thus,
the square root of this ratio, q, is the standard deviation of true, individual sensitivities.
"
0
] = Var
Var[dtrue,i
#
σ2
∆i
= effect
= q2
σ
σ2
corresponding to
0
S D[dtrue,i
]=q
We derive a reasonable value to use for our setting in Appendix E, which is q2 = 0.0225. This means that we will assume
0
0
that participants’ sensitivities dtrue,i
vary around some true value dtrue
with a standard deviation of q = 0.15.
Relationship between sensitivity and accuracy. As we have already mentioned, some published studies report d0 values,
whereas other studies report %-correct values in the direct task. Because we would like to be able to work with either of them,
we now discuss the relationship that can transform %-correct values into d0 values and vice versa.
0
Recall that dtrue,i
denotes the true sensitivity of participant i, and let us introduce the notation πi for the true probability of
a correct classification of a masked stimulus by participant i. We now make the assumption of a neutral criterion in the direct
task, that is, participants are not inclined to guess one category of the masked stimuli (A or B) more often than the other. Under
0
this assumption, the true relationship is dtrue,i
= 2Φ−1 (πi ) where Φ−1 is the inverse cumulative normal distribution (Macmillan
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
27
& Creelman, 2004). To simplify our later analysis, we now introduce the linear approximation h(x) = 5(x − 0.5) ≈ 2Φ−1 (x).
This approximation works remarkably well in the regime of sensitivities being close to zero:
0
given πi , we approximate dtrue,i
≈ h(πi ) = 5(πi − 0.5)
1 0
d
+ 0.5
5 true,i
0
For example, an accuracy of 54%-correct is approximately translated into the sensitivity dtrue,i
≈ 5 · (0.54 − 0.5) = 0.2. This
0
−1
is very close to the exact translation, dtrue,i = 2Φ (πi ) = 0.201. Table S1 shows that this approximation provides a very tight
0
fit in the range of πi ∈ [0.4; 0.6] or, equivalently, dtrue,i
∈ [−0.5; 0.5]. Larger values, that is, an accuracy above 60%-correct,
0
would be at odds with the experimental setting in which direct task performance is assumed to be close to chance (dtrue,i
close
to 0 and πi close to 0.5).
0
0
given dtrue,i
, we approximate πi ≈ h−1 (dtrue,i
)=
Table S1
Relation between the true accuracy (first column), the approximation of the sensitivity (second column) and the true sensitivity
(third column). Note, that for πi in the range of [0.5, 0.6] and Di in the range of [0, 0.5] (first six rows in the table) there is a
0
0
very tight fit between h(πi ) and dtrue,i
. Negative values of dtrue,i
follow symmetrically.
πi
0.50
0.52
0.54
0.56
0.58
0.60
0.62
0.64
0.66
0.68
0.70
h(πi )
0.000
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.400
0.500
0.600
0.700
0.800
0.900
1.000
0
dtrue,i
0.000
0.100
0.201
0.302
0.404
0.507
0.611
0.717
0.825
0.935
1.049
0
Estimated sensitivity, destimated,direct
, from mean sensitivity index d0
We want to estimate the sensitivity and corresponding standard error from the typically reported direct task results. Usually,
the average across individual sensitivity indices is reported as d0 . This sensitivity index is already an estimate of the true
sensitivity and we take it as it is (Macmillan & Creelman, 2004),
0
destimated,direct
= d0 .
(5)
The standard error of d0 is composed of two variances, one due to systematic variation between individuals’ true sensitivities
0
(dtrue,i
) and the other due to non-systematic measurement error (di0 ). We use two simplifications: (a) We neglect dependencies
between them because the variance of random error Var[di0 ] does not change substantially for different sensitivity values in
0
the relevant range, Ddir
i ∈ [−0.5, 0.5]; (b) We apply the approximation function h that relates di to π̂i . This allows us to use the
variance of the binomially distributed accuracies π̂i from K trials, Var[π̂i ] = πi (1 − πi )/K, and relate them back to the variance
28
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
of di0 , which leads to Var[di0 ] ≈ 52 Var[π̂i ].
p
Var [d0 ]
v
t
1 X
1 q
1 q
0
0
= Var
Var[di0 ] = √
Var[dtrue,i
+ di0 ]
di = √
N i
N
N
q
q
(a) 1
(b) 1
0
0
≈ √
Var[dtrue,i
] + Var[di0 ] ≈ √
Var[dtrue,i
] + 52 Var[π̂i ]
N
N
v
u
u
u
1 0
u
d + 0.5 1 − 15 d0 + 0.5
u
1 u
t
5
q2
+ 52
.
= √
|{z}
K
N
|
{z
}
|{z} between subject variance
S Edirect =
(6)
non-systematic error of π̂i
average
Without simplifications (a) and (b), one could construct an exact estimator. Exact calculations from Miller (1996) show that d0
0
slightly overestimates the true sensitivity dtrue
but that this bias is so small that the estimator can be considered approximately
unbiased when typical sample sizes as in our context are used. On the other hand, our simplifications allow us to find a
closed form solution that is simple to compute. Our estimators are well aligned with the true values, which we have shown by
validating simulations in Appendix B.
0
Estimated sensitivity, destimated,direct
, from mean accuracy π̂
Instead of d0 , some studies report the average classification accuracy π̂ (%-correct) for the direct task. We estimate the
0
sensitivity destimated,direct
from the mean accuracy π̂ by a plug-in estimator (Macmillan & Creelman, 2004),
0
destimated,direct
= 2Φ−1 (π̂) ≈ 5 · (π̂ − 0.5)
(7)
where Φ−1 is the inverse cumulative normal distribution. Exploiting the linearity of approximation h in (*), we can derive that
this estimator is approximately unbiased:
(∗)
0
0
E[destimated,direct
] = E[2Φ−1 (π̂)] ≈ E[h(π̂)] = h[E(π̂)] = h(π) ≈ 2Φ−1 (π) = dtrue
.
Next, the standard error can be derived in the same fashion as for reported d0 values so that we obtain:
r
π̂ (1 − π̂)
1
q2 + 52
.
S Edirect = √
K
N
(8)
0
Estimated sensitivity, destimated,indirect
, from t and F values
Now let us move to estimating sensitivities from t values in the indirect task. We will show that an unbiased estimator is
obtained from multiplying the t value by the constant cN,K,q2 :
s
0
destimated,indirect
= t · cN,K,q2
with
cN,K,q2 =
q2 + K4
N
r
Γ N−1
2
2
,
N − 1 Γ N−2
2
(9)
where Γ is the gamma distribution.
We start by considering how the t value in our setting is computed from the observed congruency effect:
t=
∆ˆ √
N
σ̂∆ˆ i
We know that ∆ˆ ∼ N ∆, (σ2effect + K4 σ2 )/N from above. Now we introduce independent random variables Z ∼ N (0, 1) and
29
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
V ∼ χ2 (N − 1) and rearrange t:
q
σ2effect + K4 σ2 /N + ∆ √
t = q
N
q
V
σ2effect + K4 σ2
N−1
√
s
N − 1
N
√
= Z + ∆
.
V
σ2effect + K4 σ2
Z
0
We now use σ2effect = q2 σ2 (also from above) to isolate σ2 and obtain dtrue
.
√
s
N − 1
N
√
t = Z + ∆
V
q2 σ2 + K4 σ2
s
√
∆ N N − 1
= Z +
2 4 √
σ
q +K
V
s
√
N N − 1
0
√
= Z + dtrue
q2 + K4
V
0
As a result, t follows a t distribution with degrees of freedom d f = N − 1 and non-centrality parameter δ = dtrue
q
N
. From
q2 + K4
Hogben, Pinkham, and Wilk (1961) and Hedges (1981), we know the expected t value to be
r
N−2
N − 1 Γ( 2 )
E[t] = δ
2 Γ( N−1
2 )
s
r
N−2
N
N − 1 Γ( 2 )
0
= dtrue ·
2 Γ( N−1
q2 + K4
2 )
0
= dtrue
· c−1
N,K,q2 .
0
0
2
In consequence, an unbiased estimator of dtrue
is destimated,
indirect = t · cN,K,q .
As for the expected value, the variance of t values is also given by the properties of a non-central t distribution. Multiplying
0
this variance by the constant cN,K,q2 yields the variance of our estimated sensitivity destimated,
indirect . Since this depends on the
non-centrality parameter, we use the plugin estimator
s
N
0
δ̂ = destimated, indirect
q2 + K4
s
N
= t · cN,K,q2
2
q + K4
r
N−1
2 Γ 2
=t·
N − 1 Γ N−2
2
30
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
The standard error being its positive square root follows accordingly:
q
p
S Edirect = Var[cN,K,q2 · t] = cN,K,q2 Var[t]
v
u
u
u
t
N−2 2
2
1 + δ̂2 δ̂ (N − 1)Γ 2
= cN,K,q2
−
2
N−3
2Γ N−1
2
v
u
t
N−1 2
!
2t2 Γ( 2 ) N − 1
N−2
= cN,K,q2 1 +
− t2
N − 1 Γ( 2 )
N−3
(10)
With this, we can estimate the sensitivity and its standard error from a given t value in a repeated measures design.
Note that this approach can be applied identically to reported√F values instead of t values. The reason is that in repeated
measures ANOVA settings with two conditions the equality |t| = F holds. The main argument can be derived in the following
equations using the standard definitions for the explained (SSE) and residual summed squares (SSR), see Winer et al. (1991);
Maxwell and Delaney (2000):
t2 =
!2
∆ˆ √
· N =
σ̂∆ˆ i
ˆ 2
4 · N · (∆/2)
2 =
P
N
1
∆ˆ i − ∆ˆ
N−1
i=1
ˆ 2
2 · N · (∆/2)
2
∆ˆ i −∆ˆ
1 PN
N−1
i=1
2
ˆ 2
2 · N · (∆/2)
SSE/d fE
=
=
= F.
PN ∆ˆ i −∆ˆ 2
SSR/d fR
2 i=1 2
/(2N − 2)
Finally, note that this reanalysis for the indirect task can be extended to unbalanced settings in which the total number of
trials K is not equally distributed to the two conditions for M = K/2 trials per condition but instead
2 trials per
to M1 andMM+M
2
1
ˆ
condition j = 1 and j = 2, respectively. In these situations, one can analogously show that ∆ ∼ N ∆, (σeffect + M1 M22 σ2 )/N .
Following the same steps as above, one would obtain an alternative constant that now depends on the split M1 versus M2
instead of only K.
s
r
N−1
2
q2 + MM11+M
2 Γ 2
M2
.
cN,M1 ,M2 ,q2 =
N
N − 1 Γ N−2
2
As a sanity check, set M1 = M2 = K/2 and find cN,M1 ,M2 ,q2 = cN,K,q2 .
Confidence intervals for the difference in sensitivities
Based on the previous estimators, we now need to test for a significant difference between sensitivities in direct vs. indirect
0
tasks. For this purpose we construct a 95% confidence interval around the difference ddifference
while taking the standard error
S Edifference of the estimated difference into account:
0
0
0
ddifference
= destimated,indirect
− destimated,direct
p
S Edifference = (S Edirect )2 + (S Eindirect )2
h
i
0
95% CI = ddifference
± z0.975 · S Edifference ,
(11)
(12)
(13)
where z0.975 = 1.96 is the 97.5% quantile of the normal distribution. If zero is included in the confidence interval,
0 ∈ 95% CI, then there is not sufficient evidence for an ITA because the observed difference can be explained by measurement
error in a situation where the true direct and indirect task sensitivities are equal. Only if the confidence interval lies above
zero, that is 95% CI = [a, b] and a > 0, there is evidence for the presence of an ITA.
Note that in this test we use quantiles zα of the normal distribution and not quantiles of the t distribution. Using the t
distribution would require to estimate the degrees of freedom, which is unnecessarily complicated for our approach. We use
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
31
the quantiles of the normal distribution which leads to a more liberal test increasing the likelihood of confirming an ITA and
following the benefit-of-the-doubt approach (see General Discussion).
E
Estimating the Ratio q2 of Between- vs. Within-Subject Variance
As we have seen in the reanalysis of direct and indirect task sensitivities, we need to know one parameter: q2 , a ratio of
systematic vs. noise variance. This is not an artifact of our reanalysis but unavoidable.
What Does the Parameter q2 Mean?
To see what this parameter means and why we need to estimate it, consider estimating the indirect task sensitivity
0
destimated,indirect
from t values. A t value is computed by dividing an observed effect by its standard error, t = x̄/S E. In
the indirect task, x̄ may be the average congruency effect and S E the estimated standard error of congruency effects across
participants. This standard error is influenced by two sources of variability: variance due to inter-individual differences in true
congruency effects across participants (σ2effect ) and variance due to trial-by-trial measurement error (σ2 ). We want to isolate
0
the latter variance, σ2 , because we want to estimate the underlying sensitivity dtrue
= ∆/σ from the t value. Thus, we need to
2
distinguish the two sources of variability. We do so by defining the ratio q :
q2 =
σ2effect
.
σ2
0
Note that this parameter is equal to the variance of individual true sensitivities, q2 = Var[dtrue,i
], see Supplement D.
Therefore, it might be more intuitive to consider the un-squared parameter, which is the standard deviation of participants’
0
true sensitivities, q = SD[dtrue,i
].
Literature Review to Determine q2 (Following Benefit-Of-The-Doubt Approach)
To estimate q2 , we consider multiple studies that either provide estimates or make explicit assumptions. All these studies
yield a specific value, see our summary in Table S2, columns q2 and q. For our reanalysis, we will use the largest plausible
value, q2 = 0.0225. Thus, we follow the benefit-of-the-doubt approach giving a previously established ITA the best chance to
be confirmed in our reanalysis.
Table S2
We repeated our reanalysis of the indirect task sensitivity from Dehaene et al. (1998) (last column) based on the q2 values from
different studies. Larger values of q2 increase the estimated, indirect task sensitivity. We took the largest plausible value our
reanalysis method.
Study
ten Brinke et al. (2014)
Our example study
Rouder & Haaf (2018)
Miller & Ulrich (2013)
Jensen (2002)
Ribeiro et al. (2016)
Our assumption
q2
q
Reanalysis of Dehaene et al. (1998)
0
destimated,
indirect
0.0020
0.0074
0.0087
0.0121
0.0142
0.0214
0.0225
0.04
0.09
0.09
0.11
0.12
0.15
0.15
0.16
0.20
0.21
0.23
0.25
0.28
0.29
First, we estimated q2 from the data of ten Brinke et al. (2014). This yielded σ̂2effect = (6.5 ms)2 and σ̂2 = (144 ms)2 , which
translates into an estimated ratio of q̂2 = (6.5 ms)2 /(144 ms)2 = 0.0020.
Our replication based on Dehaene et al. (1998) produced estimates for the variances of σ̂2effect = (6.7 ms)2 and σ̂2 = (78 ms)2
translating into an estimated ratio of q̂2 = 0.0074.
Similarly, Rouder and Haaf (2018, p. 21) discuss the relation between the two sources of variance in psychophysics. Their
formulas are identical to ours when changing the notation from σ2effect to σ2β and σ2 to σ2 . They argue that reasonable values
are σeffect = 28 ms and σ = 300, which leads to q2 = σ2effect /σ2 = 0.0087.
Other studies did not discuss the ratio between the two variances, σ2effect and σ2 , but only the trial-by-trial error variability
2
σ . We can combine this with Dehaene et al. (1998) reporting the observed standard deviation of RT effects to be 13.5 ms.
32
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
This variability is constituted by σ̂2∆ˆ = σ̂2effect + K4 σ̂2 = (13.5 ms)2 . By knowing σ̂2 and the number of trials, K, we can
i
rearrange the formula and estimate σ̂2effect and thereupon q̂2 .
Miller and Ulrich (2013, p. 846, in their Table 3) suggested σ = 96 ms in a binary forced-choice task (without masked
stimuli): Their error term Ek with
√ variance Var[Ek ] = 91.5 corresponds to the mean noise across 100 trials, see their Table 15.
From this, we obtained σ = Var[Ek ] · 100 = 96 ms, as noted above. Combining this with Dehaene et al.’s results yields
σeffect = 10.5 ms and thereupon q2 = 0.0121.
Jensen (1992, p. 877, Table 7 for task “Hick SS 2”) reported an average estimate of σ̂ = 91 ms measured in N = 863 nine
to twelve year olds yielding q2 = 0.014. Ribeiro, Paiva, and Castelo-Branco (2016) report σ̂ = 79 ms in a speeded binary
choice task without priming suggesting q2 = 0.021. Even though the specific tasks and populations from these last two studies
do not match Dehaene et al.’s setting exactly, it is plausible that variances are by and large comparable.
Given this range of parameter values, we use a value that is larger than any q2 value reported in these studies:
q2 = 0.0225
corresponding to
0
q = S D[dtrue,i
] = 0.15.
By choosing this upper bound on q2 , we follow the benefit-of-the-doubt approach because large values of q2 favor the
ITA hypothesis in our reanalysis attributing more variance to σ2effect and less to σ2 . This, in turn, increases our estimate of
0
dtrue
= ∆/σ . For example, see how larger values of q2 increase the estimated indirect task sensitivity from Dehaene et al.
(1998) in the last column of Table S2. Hence, overestimating q2 leads to an overestimation of the indirect task sensitivity
increasing the chances of confirming an ITA.
How Would our Reanalysis Look Like With a Different q2 ?
We have repeated our literature reanalysis from Figure 5 with different parameter values. In Figure S1, we show a more
realistic reanalysis with q2 = 0.01. Here, the picture resembles a null effect. In contrast, we show an overly optimistic
reanalysis with q2 = 0.09 in Figure S2, in which an ITA starts to emerge for many studies. However, even in this case there is
no conclusive evidence for an ITA in most studies because confidence intervals for the sensitivity difference still include 0.
Note that, when assuming large q2 values as in Figure 5 and S2, one cannot take the reanalysis result as evidence for an ITA.
This is because large q2 -values bias our reanalysis in favor of finding an ITA. Only when we nevertheless do not find an ITA,
these results can be meaningfully interpreted as evidence against an ITA. In order to establish evidence for an ITA, one would
have to use smaller values for q2 or, better yet, use the trial-by-trial data so that no assumption on q2 is necessary. Otherwise,
an apparent ITA result may only be due to the bias introduced by a large q2 .
We provide an online tool to perform our reanalysis with different values of q2 at http://www.ecogsci.cs.uni
-tuebingen.de/ITAcalculator/. There, we suggest three different values for q2 : To establish a lack of evidence for
an ITA, we suggest q2 = 0.0225 as in our reanalysis proper. This assumption rarely rejects evidence for an ITA if there is any.
On the other hand, to establish evidence for an ITA, we instead suggest q2 = 0.0025, which is more restrictive. Only when an
ITA is established with a relatively small q2 like this, we can be sure that it is a genuine ITA instead of being produced only
due to a lenient assumption on q2 . Lastly, we suggest an intermediate value of q2 = 0.01, which is suitable for an exploratory
reanalysis. Note that depending on the exact experimental setup, different values of q2 may be appropriate.
Overall Summary Regarding our Choice of q2
Taken together, our replication, our simulations, and the literature review suggests that q2 is clearly below 0.0225. We
adopted this upper bound as our assumption because it increases the chances of finding an ITA, thereby, following the benefitof-the-doubt approach. We use this assumption to show that evidence for an ITA is missing in many studies. To establish
evidence for an ITA, the reanalysis would have to use smaller values to rule out the possibility that an ITA was only the
product of the overestimation bias coming from a too large q2 .
Up to now, we have only discussed behavioral data (RTs) but we applied our reanalysis method also to EEG and fMRI
data. The justification for this is that the relative noise level is even larger in single-trial event related potentials (ERPs) and
blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals (BOLD signals) because they incorporate much more noise (Stahl, Gibbons, & Miller,
2010). Thus, the ratio between effect vs. noise variance in these measures will be even smaller, again, justifying our choice of
q2 = 0.0225.
33
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
← DTA
direct and indirect d' estimated
−0.2
Damian
(JEP:HPP, 2001)
Words
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Indirect, error rate (E1)
0
0.2
0.4
a
0.6
direct
indirect
−0.4
ITA →
d' difference
−0.2
0
0.2
0.4
−4%
0%
4%
8%
b
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, ER (E4)
Dehaene et al.
(Nature, 1998)
Digits &
words
Words
Dehaene et al.
(Nat. Neuro., 2001)
Direct, word vs. digit
Indirect, RT
Indirect, EEG (LRP)
Indirect, fMRI
Direct (E1)
Indirect, EEG, P1 (E1)
Indirect, EEG, N1 (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, same−case (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, different−case (E2)
Faces &
Finkbeiner &
objects
Palermo
(Psych. Sci., 2009)
Direct, pc (E1)
Indir., RT, pc (E1)
Direct, pc (E2)
Indirect, RT, pc (E2)
Direct, tc (E2)
Indirect, RT, tc (E2)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT (E3)
Finkbeiner
(AP&P, 2011)
Words
Direct, 40 ms
Indirect, RT, 40 ms
Words
Kiefer
(Cog. Brain Res., 2002)
Direct, semantic (E2)
Indirect, EEG, N400 (E1)
Kunde et al.
(Cogn., 2003)
Digits
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT, target set (E2)
Indirect, error rate, target set (E2)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, target set (E3)
Indirect, RT, non−target set (E3)
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, error rate (E4)
Mattler
(P & P., 2003)
Shapes
Direct (E5)
Indirect, RT (E5)
Naccache &
Dehaene
(Cogn., 2001)
Digits &
words
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Digits
Naccache et al.
(Psych. Sci., 2002)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, early, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, invalid (E3)
Pessiglione et al. Coins
(Science, 2007)
Direct, Semantic (E2)
Indirect, grip force
Indirect, pallidal activation
Lines
Sumner
(Exp. Psych., 2008)
Direct, mask A (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask A (E1)
Direct, mask B (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask B (E1)
Direct, mask B (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, error rate (E2)
van Gaal et al.
(JoNeuro, 2010)
Shapes
Direct
Indirect, RT
Arrows
Wang et al.
(Exp. Psych., 2017)
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT, line (E1)
Direct, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
Direct, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
Direct, masked
Faces
Wójcik et al.
Indirect, EEG, N2pc, masked
(Psych. Sci., 2019)
46%
50%
54%
58%
direct and indirect %−correct
62%
−8%
difference in %−correct (indirect − direct)
Figure S1. Reanalysis with q2 = 0.01. Same as Figure 5 assuming that the standard deviation of true sensitivities across participants is
0
SD[dtrue,i
] = q = 0.1. This assumption matches the results of our replication and is therefore more realistic but also more strict in dismissing
results of an indirect task advantage (ITA). Here, only 7 reanalyzed ITAs are confirmed while 3 results yield the opposite result of a larger
sensitivity in the direct task (direct task advantage [DTA]). Error bars represent 95%-confidence intervals.
34
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
← DTA
direct and indirect d' estimated
−0.2
Damian
(JEP:HPP, 2001)
Words
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Indirect, error rate (E1)
0
0.2
0.4
a
0.6
direct
indirect
−0.4
ITA →
d' difference
−0.2
0
0.2
0.4
−4%
0%
4%
8%
b
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, ER (E4)
Dehaene et al.
(Nature, 1998)
Digits &
words
Words
Dehaene et al.
(Nat. Neuro., 2001)
Direct, word vs. digit
Indirect, RT
Indirect, EEG (LRP)
Indirect, fMRI
Direct (E1)
Indirect, EEG, P1 (E1)
Indirect, EEG, N1 (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, same−case (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, different−case (E2)
Faces &
Finkbeiner &
objects
Palermo
(Psych. Sci., 2009)
Direct, pc (E1)
Indir., RT, pc (E1)
Direct, pc (E2)
Indirect, RT, pc (E2)
Direct, tc (E2)
Indirect, RT, tc (E2)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT (E3)
Finkbeiner
(AP&P, 2011)
Words
Direct, 40 ms
Indirect, RT, 40 ms
Words
Kiefer
(Cog. Brain Res., 2002)
Direct, semantic (E2)
Indirect, EEG, N400 (E1)
Kunde et al.
(Cogn., 2003)
Digits
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT, target set (E2)
Indirect, error rate, target set (E2)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, target set (E3)
Indirect, RT, non−target set (E3)
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, error rate (E4)
Mattler
(P & P., 2003)
Shapes
Direct (E5)
Indirect, RT (E5)
Naccache &
Dehaene
(Cogn., 2001)
Digits &
words
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Digits
Naccache et al.
(Psych. Sci., 2002)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, early, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, invalid (E3)
Pessiglione et al. Coins
(Science, 2007)
Direct, Semantic (E2)
Indirect, grip force
Indirect, pallidal activation
Lines
Sumner
(Exp. Psych., 2008)
Direct, mask A (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask A (E1)
Direct, mask B (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask B (E1)
Direct, mask B (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, error rate (E2)
van Gaal et al.
(JoNeuro, 2010)
Shapes
Direct
Indirect, RT
Arrows
Wang et al.
(Exp. Psych., 2017)
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT, line (E1)
Direct, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
Direct, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
Direct, masked
Faces
Wójcik et al.
Indirect, EEG, N2pc, masked
(Psych. Sci., 2019)
46%
50%
54%
58%
direct and indirect %−correct
62%
−8%
difference in %−correct (indirect − direct)
Figure S2. Reanalysis with q2 = 0.09. Same as Figure 5 assuming that the standard deviation of true sensitivities across participants is
0
SD[dtrue,i
] = q = 0.3. With this or even larger q2 , reanalyzed sensitivities tend to become clearly larger in the indirect compared to the direct
task. However, this assumption is clearly unrealistic. First, in the direct task, this would mean that a substantial percentage of participants
0
had a true sensitivity of dtrue,i
= 0.5 or higher indicating that they could discriminate the masked stimuli better than 60%-correct. In the
indirect task, an unrealistic implication of this assumption is that, in the study of Dehaene et al. (1998), trial-by-trial reaction times (RTs)
would be estimated to vary with a standard deviation of only ±43 ms (within-subject variance σ2 = 432 ) even though RTs typically vary
more than ±80 ms from trial to trial, see Appendix E.
35
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
F
Details of Reanalyzed Studies
For each study, we give an overview of the study’s structure, indicate in a table which values we extracted and explain
our decisions for in- and exclusion of particular results. We only use results that follow the standard reasoning, claim an ITA
and fit into our reanalysis method. We include quotes from the reanalyzed studies indicating their adherence to the standard
reasoning. We use the following two abbreviations:
NR Not reanalyzable: Reported statistics do not match our reanalysis method. For example when the congruency factor has
more than two levels (congruent, incongruent, and neutral) or when there are additional between-subject factors.
NIE No indirect effect: The study attempted to find an ITA but failed due to a non-significant indirect task result. In such
cases, the studies usually abort the standard reasoning, such that these cases are not relevant for us.
We report the number N of participants, the total number of trials K, and the reported statistic of the original study. Additionally, we report the sensitivities and standard errors according to our reanalysis. These are the values from Figure 5a. We
then report the differences in sensitivities and their standard errors; here the difference is always taken between the current
row’s indirect task compared to the previously reported direct task. These results are presented in Figure 5b. We abbreviate
Experiment 1 by E1, etc.
We also mark studies that excluded participants with good direct-task performance by adding the label Regression to the
mean (see Discussion on why this is problematic). We still reanalyzed the reported results, although the exclusion introduced
a bias for which our reanalysis method does not correct. This bias is liberal and favors finding an ITA. Thus, we follow the
benefit-of-the-doubt approach.
15 Reanalyzed Studies
Damian (2001). The study reports four experiments but concludes an ITA only in Experiment 1 and 4. Experiments 2
and 3 were NIE.
Standard Reasoning: “Two control experiments investigated participants’ ability to consciously perceive the masked primes.
It was shown that performance was at chance level on both presence-absence judgments and on a number vs. random letter
string discrimination task when the temporal characteristics of a trial were identical to those of the main experiment. Thus,
the congruity effect described above must indeed have occurred outside of the participants’ awareness” (p. 1).
Original data
N
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
Indirect, error rate (E1)
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, ER (E4)
16
16
16
16
16
16
K
Statistic
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
96
120
120
d = 0.064
F(1, 15) = 6.15
F(1, 15) = 13.8
0.06 ± 0.07
0.14 ± 0.07
0.21 ± 0.07
0.07 ± 0.10
0.14 ± 0.10
96
120
120
d = 0.117
F(1, 15) = 5.67
F(1, 15) = 5
0.12 ± 0.07
0.13 ± 0.07
0.13 ± 0.07
0.02 ± 0.10
0.01 ± 0.10
0
0
Dehaene et al. (1998). The study reported two direct tasks and three indirect tasks. From the two direct tasks, we consider
only the second direct task (word vs. digit discrimination) because it fits the neutral criterion assumption and it also shows
lower sensitivity (d0 = 0.2 in the first and d0 = 0.3 in the second task). This way, we favor confirming the ITA hypothesis.
For the first indirect measure, we computed the t value from the given estimates for the congruency effect (M = 24 ms and
S D = 13.5). For the second indirect measure, the statistic (t(11) < 3) is taken from Figure 4, where the covert activation
reflects processing of the prime as opposed processing of the target in the overt activation. For the third indirect measure, we
only considered the congruency effect on fMRI the results are provided in Figure 5.
Standard Reasoning: “Under these conditions, even when subjects focused their attention on the prime, they could neither
reliably report its presence or absence nor discriminate it from a nonsense string (Table 1). Nevertheless, we show here that
the prime is processed to a high cognitive level [by demonstrating a priming effect].”
Original data
N
Direct, word vs. digit
Indirect, RT
Indirect, EEG (LRP)
Indirect, fMRI
7
12
12
9
K
112
512
512
128
Statistic
d = 0.2
t(11) = 6.16
t(11) = 3
F(1, 8) = 6.23
0
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
0.20 ± 0.11
0.29 ± 0.09
0.14 ± 0.06
0.17 ± 0.10
0.09 ± 0.14
−0.06 ± 0.12
−0.03 ± 0.14
36
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
Dehaene et al. (2001). The study reports two experiments. In E1, multiple measures assessed the visibility of the masked
stimulus and we chose the reported binary forced-choice task (no stimulus vs. masked stimulus) because it is the most relevant
result. In this experiment, the ITA refers to the absence vs. presence of the masked stimuli. The fMRI results in E1 were NR.
In E2, the ITA referred to the congruency effect of repeated (congruent, either in same or in different case) vs. different words
(incongruent).
Standard Reasoning: “Behaviorally, participants again denied seeing the primes and were unable to select them in a twoalternative forced-choice test [...]. However, case-independent repetition priming was observed in response times recorded
during imaging [...]” (p. 755) and “As this phenomenon depends only on the identity of the masked prime, specific information
about word identity must have been extracted and encoded unconsciously [...]” (p. 756).
Original data
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
±SE
destimated
0
± S Ediff
ddiff
52.9%-correct
t(11) = 2.04
F(1, 11) = 9.79
0.15 ± 0.09
0.10 ± 0.06
0.16 ± 0.07
−0.04 ± 0.10
0.01 ± 0.11
53.6%-correct
F(1, 9) = 36
t(9) = 1.98
t(9) = 2.68
0.18 ± 0.11
0.30 ± 0.10
0.34 ± 0.11
0.34 ± 0.11
0.12 ± 0.15
0.16 ± 0.16
0.16 ± 0.16
Statistic
N
K
Direct (E1)
Indirect, EEG, P1 (E1)
Indirect, EEG, N1 (E1)
27
12
12
36
300
300
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, same-case (E2)
Indirect, fMRI, different-case (E2)
10
10
10
10
64
480
240
240
Finkbeiner and Palermo (2009). The study reported four experiments. Prime and target stimuli were presented in different locations to the participants. In half of the trials the prime location was cued (pc) and in the other half it was the target
location (tc). We excluded the target cued condition in E1 because it was NIE. In E3, multiple within-subject factors were
tested but since those do not change the reported F value of the congruency effect we could nevertheless reanalyze it. E4 did
not follow the standard reasoning.
Original data
N
K
Statistic
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
Direct, pc (E1)
Indirect, RT, pc (E1)
40
40
80
80
d = 0.22
F(1, 39) = 33.94
0.22 ± 0.05
0.24 ± 0.05
0.02 ± 0.07
Direct, pc (E2)
Indirect, RT, pc (E2)
40
40
80
80
d0 = −0.06
F(1, 39) = 8.5
−0.06 ± 0.05
0.12 ± 0.05
0.18 ± 0.07
Direct, tc (E2)
Indirect, RT, tc (E2)
40
40
80
80
d0 = 0.07
F(1, 39) = 10.6
0.07 ± 0.05
0.14 ± 0.05
0.07 ± 0.07
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT (E3)
20
20
240
720
d0 = 0.05
F(1, 19) = 31.37
0.05 ± 0.05
0.20 ± 0.05
0.15 ± 0.07
0
Finkbeiner (2011, Regression to the mean). The study presented trials in two conditions, one with a short (40 ms) and
one with a long (50 ms) prime presentation duration. An ITA was concluded only for the short duration and with respect to
the semantic content (not color).
Standard Reasoning: “In contrast, 16 of the 21 subjects were judged to be at chance with the 40-ms primes. Following
Rouder et al. (2007), the RTs for the 17 subject-by-prime-duration combinations for which subliminality was confirmed were
entered into a paired-samples t test (two-tailed) to determine whether subliminal priming had occurred” (p. 1260).
Original data
Direct, 40 ms
Indirect, RT, 40 ms
N
K
Statistic
21
21
120
80
d0 = 0.098
t(20) = 2.5
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
0.10 ± 0.06
0.14 ± 0.06
0.04 ± 0.09
Kiefer (2002). The study reported two experiments. E1 reported the indirect task results and E2 reported the direct task
results. In E1, indirect effects on RT, error rates and some EEG components were NR because the reported statistics combine
masked and unmasked conditions (for unmasked conditions, they claimed no ITA) except for the N400 component in EEG.
In E2, there were multiple direct tasks (see their Table 1). We chose the direct task on semantic judgment because the indirect
task’s congruency effect was an effect from semantic relatedness too.
Standard Reasoning: “Average d0 measures in all tasks and context conditions did not deviate significantly from zero
demonstrating that masked words were not identified” (p. 36).
Original data
N
Direct, semantic (E2)
Indirect, EEG, N400 (E1)
24
24
K
80
320
Statistic
d = 0.14
F(1, 23) = 5.48
0
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
0.14 ± 0.06
0.09 ± 0.04
−0.05 ± 0.08
37
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
Kunde et al. (2003). The study reported four experiments. In E1, there were multiple direct task measures from which
we chose the one that fit our model assumptions of a neutral criterion (the identification rate is not comparable by our method).
Also in E1, we chose not to consider sub-analyses of the indirect effects because they are essentially repetitions of the same
comparison. In E2, we did not consider the non-target set condition and in E3 we did not consider the error rate analysis as
they were NIE. In E1-E3, trials with neutral primes were not considered for calculating the priming effect.
Standard Reasoning: “The identification rate for the prime numbers was 2.2% (the chance level is 6.25% as each prime
is presented four times in the 64 test trials). Thus, the primes were indeed unidentifiable, as is usually found under the
experimental conditions that we adopted (Damian, 2001; Dehaene et al., 1998; Koechlin et al., 1999; Naccache & Dehaene,
2001)” (p. 230).
Original data
N
K
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
Statistic
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
12
12
64
1152
d = 0.29
F(1, 11) = 25.17
0.29 ± 0.10
0.22 ± 0.07
−0.07 ± 0.12
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT, target set (E2)
Indirect, error rate, target set (E2)
12
12
12
64
288
288
d0 = 0.33
F(1, 11) = 15.24
F(1, 11) = 6.35
0.33 ± 0.10
0.20 ± 0.07
0.13 ± 0.06
−0.13 ± 0.12
−0.20 ± 0.12
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, target set (E3)
Indirect, RT, non-target set (E3)
12
12
12
64
144
144
d0 = −0.11
F(1, 11) = 21.67
F(1, 11) = 6.58
−0.11 ± 0.10
0.28 ± 0.09
0.15 ± 0.08
0.39 ± 0.14
0.26 ± 0.13
Direct (E4)
Indirect, RT (E4)
Indirect, error rate (E4)
24
24
24
64
1152
1152
d0 = 0.22
F(1, 23) = 43.2
F(1, 23) = 9.17
0.22 ± 0.07
0.21 ± 0.05
0.10 ± 0.04
−0.01 ± 0.08
−0.12 ± 0.08
0
Mattler (2003). The study reports five experiments. Only Experiments 3 and 5 are considered to be evidence for unconscious priming. Experiment 3 suffers severely from regression to the mean and is therefore not reanalyzed.
Standard Reasoning: “We might assume that performance at chance level indexes absence of all conscious information.
This assumption was made in a number of studies (e.g., Dehaene et al., 1998; Klotz & Neumann, 1999; Neumann & Klotz,
1994; Vorberg et al., in press). In the present study, evidence for priming without awareness comes from Experiment 3 and
Experiment 5, in which participants showed substantial non-motor priming effects although they could not discriminate primes
better than chance” (p. 184)
Original data
Direct (E5)
Indirect, RT (E5)
N
K
11
11
320
320
Statistic
d0 = 0.28
F(1, 10) = 18.5
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
0.28 ± 0.06
0.22 ± 0.08
−0.06 ± 0.10
Naccache and Dehaene (2001). The study reports two experiments. For the direct tasks in both experiments, the authors
additionally conducted the Greenwald method (Greenwald, Draine, & Abrams, 1996; Draine & Greenwald, 1998) which,
however, has been criticized before (Dosher, 1998; Klauer, Greenwald, & Draine, 1998; Miller, 2000; Merikle & Reingold,
1998). Therefore, we only considered typical results as in all other studies. We considered only the main congruency effects
on RT and no further subanalyses because the reported direct task would not have been comparable. In both experiments,
an old and a new stimulus set were used. In E1, we only reanalyzed the RT effect based on the old stimulus set because the
direct task sensitivity was estimated only for the old set. In E2, we reanalyzed the RT effect for the mixed, both new and old,
stimulus set because the direct task sensitivity was estimated for this mixed set, too.
Standard Reasoning: “In this task, subjects performed at chance level, while priming effects were replicated. This study
provides strong evidence for the unconscious nature of our semantic priming effects” (p. 227).
Original data
N
K
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
18
18
32
384
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
18
18
64
384
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
d0 = 0.6
F(1, 17) = 21.99
0.60 ± 0.11
0.19 ± 0.06
−0.41 ± 0.12
d0 = 0.01
F(1, 17) = 21.62
0.01 ± 0.08
0.19 ± 0.06
0.18 ± 0.10
Statistic
Naccache et al. (2002). The study reported three experiments. We did not consider the subanalyses for cued trials as the
standard reasoning only related to the congruency effects. Note that we only counted the number of “critical” trials which
were used in their analysis.
38
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
Original data
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
±SE
destimated
0
± S Ediff
ddiff
d0 = −0.04
F(1, 11) = 7.88
−0.04 ± 0.06
0.15 ± 0.07
0.19 ± 0.09
240
240
d0 = −0.07
F(1, 11) = 7.32
−0.07 ± 0.06
0.14 ± 0.07
0.21 ± 0.09
240
240
240
240
d0 = 0.09
F(1, 11) = 9.23
F(1, 11) = 3.97
F(1, 11) = 5.34
0.09 ± 0.06
0.16 ± 0.07
0.11 ± 0.06
0.12 ± 0.07
0.07 ± 0.09
0.02 ± 0.09
0.03 ± 0.09
N
K
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT (E1)
12
12
240
240
Direct (E2)
Indirect, RT (E1)
12
12
Direct (E3)
Indirect, RT, early, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, valid (E3)
Indirect, RT, late, invalid (E3)
12
12
12
12
Statistic
Pessiglione et al. (2007, Regression to the mean). The study deviated from the standard priming paradigm by just
showing masked stimuli (in this case, coins) and no target stimuli. Presentation duration was varied in three conditions. For
the separate conditions, participants were measured in one direct task and with three indirect measures. The appendix provided
the required information for our reanalysis. We digitized their Figure S2 to derive the t values for the two indirect measures
grip force and pallidal activation. The third indirect measure, skin conductance, was NIE. Even though these results were only
reported in the appendix, the study bases their interpretation on these results. Note, that N = 24 relates to 24 participant ×
stimulus duration conditions in which the direct task was non-significant at an individual level.
Standard Reasoning: “Based on the percentage of correct responses, the analysis could then be restricted to all situations
where subjects guess at chance level about stimulus identity (fig. S2) [by removing situations with significant direct task
results]. Even in these situations, pallidal activation and hand-grip force were significantly higher for pounds as compared to
pennies [...] ” (p. 906).
Original data
N
Direct, Semantic (E2)
Indirect, grip force
Indirect, pallidal activation
24
24
24
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
K
Statistic
60
90
90
d = 0.19
t(23) = 2.92
t(23) = 3.41
0
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
0.19 ± 0.07
0.15 ± 0.06
0.17 ± 0.06
−0.04 ± 0.09
−0.02 ± 0.09
Sumner (2008, Regression to the mean). The study reported two experiments. Both, E1 and E2, had different mask
conditions (A vs. B). Only E1 provided indirect task results such that we could reanalyze both conditions separately. For
E2 we had to apply our reanalysis to both conditions aggregated. Therefore, we averaged over the given d0 values from
both conditions. We did not consider the subanalyses on the difference and interaction between the two masks but only the
congruency effects as they are taken for the standard reasoning.
Original data
N
K
Statistic
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
Direct, mask A (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask A (E1)
12
12
40
200
d = 0.14
t(11) = 5.5
0.14 ± 0.12
0.30 ± 0.10
0.16 ± 0.15
Direct, mask B (E1)
Indirect, RT, mask B (E1)
12
12
40
200
d0 = 0.11
t(11) = 4.5
0.11 ± 0.12
0.25 ± 0.09
0.14 ± 0.15
Direct, mask B (E2)
Indirect, RT (E2)
Indirect, error rate (E2)
12
12
12
80
400
400
50.5%-correct
t(11) = 7.4
t(11) = 4
0.03 ± 0.09
0.36 ± 0.10
0.19 ± 0.07
0.33 ± 0.14
0.17 ± 0.12
0
van Gaal et al. (2010, Regression to the mean). The study reported one experiment with one direct task and multiple
indirect measures. However, we only considered the indirect effect on RTs as the fMRI analyses were NR.
Standard Reasoning: “[...] a, Participants were unable to discriminate between trials with a strongly masked square or diamond, as revealed by chance-level performance in a two-choice discrimination task administered after the main experiment. b,
Although strongly masked no-go signals could not be perceived consciously, they still triggered inhibitory control processes,
as revealed by significantly longer response times on these trials than on strongly masked go trials.” (in Figure 2, p. 4145).
Original data
N
Direct
Indirect, RT
20
20
K
48
240
Statistic
d = 0.118
t(19) = 6.24
0
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
0.12 ± 0.09
0.27 ± 0.06
0.15 ± 0.11
Wang et al. (2017). The study reported two experiments. In E1, there were two outline conditions, line vs. rectangle.
The line condition yielded a negative congruency effect which we treated similar to a standard (positive) priming effect. The
rectangle condition was NIE. In E2, the rectangle condition with prime duration of 50 ms produced a large d0 so that no ITA
was claimed. Hence, we only considered the rectangle condition only for 33 ms. For the line condition, 33 ms and 50 ms trials
were analyzed together since there was no interaction effect.
39
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
Standard Reasoning: “The results from the FC task indicated that similar prime visibility, equivalent to chance level, was
obtained in the two preposed object type conditions. This finding confirmed that primes were processed subliminally in the
primary task” (p. 425).
Original data
N
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
Statistic
K
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
Direct (E1)
Indirect, RT, line (E1)
15
15
64
208
d = 0.02
F(1, 14) = 6.86
0.02 ± 0.09
0.13 ± 0.06
0.11 ± 0.11
Direct, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms, rect. (E2)
15
15
32
208
d0 = 0.15
F(1, 14) = 8.15
0.15 ± 0.12
0.14 ± 0.06
−0.01 ± 0.14
Direct, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
Indirect, RT, 33 ms + 50 ms, line (E2)
15
15
64
416
d0 = −0.103
F(1, 14) = 11.47
−0.10 ± 0.09
0.15 ± 0.06
0.25 ± 0.11
0
Wójcik et al. (2019). The study reported one experiment with masked and unmasked conditions. We only considered
the masked condition for which an ITA was claimed but not the unmasked condition. In the direct task, we had to compute
average d0 from the openly accessible material. In the indirect task, EEG components were measured. For EEG preprocessing,
some trials had to be rejected leading to an average of 131 trials. We assumed that rejection rate was approximately equal in
the two indirect task conditions.
Standard Reasoning: “Analysis of the sensitivity measure d0 indicated that faces were not consciously identified in the
masked condition. A clear N2 posterior-contralateral (N2pc) component (a neural marker of attention shifts) was found in
both the masked and unmasked conditions, revealing that one’s own face automatically captures attention when processed
unconsciously” (in the abstract, p. 471).
Original data
N
Direct, masked
Indirect, EEG, N2pc, masked
G
18
18
K
160
131
Statistic
d = 0.211
t(17) = 2.34
0
Our reanalysis (Figure 5)
0
destimated
±SE
0
ddiff
± S Ediff
0.21 ± 0.06
0.12 ± 0.06
−0.09 ± 0.08
Cost of Dichotomization in Significance Testing and Bayesian Analyses
The main fallacy of the standard reasoning persists independently of which statistical methods are chosen (significance
testing or Bayesian analysis). It comes from evaluating the two tasks separately instead of using the appropriate analysis of
measuring a difference between direct vs. indirect task sensitivities. To see why problems occur in both methods, consider the
following simulation demonstrating the cost of dichotomization.
In multiple runs, we simulate one data set by sampling responses from N = 12 participants and K = 256 trials per participant. Thus, we sample K/2 = 128 observations in each of two conditions based on two normal distributions that are shifted
0
by dtrue
= 0.15 standard deviations (corresponding to a true performance of 53%-correct; log-normal distributions produce
similar results). We analyze this one data set (a) as in the indirect task and (b) as in the direct task. We will show that both
methods, significance testing and Bayesian analysis, produce misleading results in favor of the indirect task even though the
exact same data is the basis for both tasks.
To mimic the RT effect from the indirect task, we tested the mean difference between two conditions against 0 (y axes in
Figure S3). To mimic the direct task, we conducted a median split and tested sensitivity d0 against 0 (x axes in Figure S3).
The assumption here is that participants have access to the same information in both tasks and were forced to give a binary
response (dichotomize) in the direct task so that the best they could do is to respond according to the optimal median split
criterion. To test against 0, we used a t test (see Figure S3a) and we computed Bayes Factor (Figure S3b) using the R package
provided by Morey, Rouder, Jamil, and Morey (2015)
Inspecting the results in Figure S3, we find that p values and Bayes Factors diverge from the red equality line indicating
more evidence for an effect in the indirect task analysis compared to the direct task analysis. This is so because a median
split dichotomization discards information (Cohen, 1983) producing larger p values and smaller Bayes Factors in the direct as
compared to the indirect task.
In 23% of the simulations, there is a non-significant direct task vs. a significant indirect task result (shaded area in Figure S3a). This pattern may mislead researchers into thinking that there is an effect in the indirect task but none in the direct
task. Note that this is a well–known error: One cannot take a non-significant result as evidence for the absence of an effect
without a power analysis (see for example Vadillo et al., 2020).
The pattern of results from Bayes Factors is misleading in an even more severe way. In 20% of the simulations, we find
Bayes Factors supporting the null hypothesis of no effect in the direct task (BF10 < 1) and simultaneously supporting the
alternative hypothesis in the indirect task (BF10 > 1; on the log scale these are values below and above 0, see shaded area in
40
0
3
2
BF10 (RT effect vs. 0)
4
−1
−2
−3
−4
−5
0
−6
p value (RT effect vs. 0)
b
d' = 0.15
N = 12
K = 256
q=0
1
a
5
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
−7
p values are on log10 scale
−6
−5
−4
−3
−2
p value (d' vs. 0)
−1
0
BF values are on log10 scale
0
1
2
3
4
BF10 (d' vs. 0)
Figure S3. Cost of Dichotomization in significance testing and Bayesian analysis. Each point corresponds to one simulated data set.
We analyzed each data set as in the direct task (x axis) and indirect task (y axes). We find that p values in (a) as well as Bayes Factors in (b)
diverge from the red equality line indicating more evidence in the indirect task due to the loss of information from median splitting the data
in the direct task. Shaded regions indicate a misleading pattern of result: (a) a significant indirect task vs. a non-significant direct task result;
(b) a Bayes Factor supporting the null hypothesis in the direct task vs. a Bayes Factor supporting the alternative hypothesis in the indirect
task.
Figure S3b). We even found some simulations, in which there is substantial evidence for the null hypothesis in the direct task
(BF10 < 1/3) and substantial evidence for the alternative hypothesis in the indirect task (BF10 > 3). That is, if we ignored the
main fallacy of the standard reasoning and followed the Bayesian analysis naively, we would conclude a difference in the two
tasks even though the analyses in both tasks is based on the exact same data!
Analyzing the simulated data separately—computing mean difference in the indirect task and sensitivity in the direct task—
produces misleading patterns of results. This problem occurs independent of the statistical methods used, significance testing
or Bayes analysis, and even if the exact same data underlies both tasks. In a real experiment, direct and indirect tasks would
not be based on the exact same data but on two samples, which produces additional measurement error. But in our idealized
simulation here, there is no additional sampling error because both tasks are based on the same sample. Hence, no difference
between the two tasks should be found. Accordingly, the appropriate analysis based on the sensitivity comparison would find
0
0
exactly destimated,
indirect − destimated, direct = 0 correctly identifying no difference between the two tasks and solving this problem.
ADVANCING RESEARCH ON UNCONSCIOUS PRIMING
H
Glossary
Table S3
Description of variables.
Variable
Description
cj
Condition effect, for example the congruent condition ( j = 1) produces faster RTs so that
c1 < 0 and c2 = 1 − c1 > 0.
0
cN,K,q2
Constant relating t values to the estimated sensitivity in the indirect task, dtrue
= cN,K,q2 · t. It
depends on N, M and q.
0
d0
Observed, average sensitivity index, estimates the true sensitivity dtrue
.
0
0
di
Observed, individual sensitivity indices, estimates the true, individual sensitivities dtrue,i
.
∆
0
0
dtrue
True sensitivity, dtrue = σ .
0
0
destimated
Estimated sensitivity from the reported summary statistics in the direct (destimated,direct
) or in0
direct task (destimated,indirect ).
0
0
dtrue,i
Individual sensitivity, dtrue,i
= σ∆i .
∆
The true difference between conditions, ∆ = c2 − c1 .
∆ˆ
The observed, mean difference between conditions.
∆i
True, individual effects, ∆i = c2 + (p × c)i2 − (c1 + (p × c)i1 ), for example the expected
congruency effect between conditions of participant i.
∆ˆ i
The observed difference between conditions of participant i.
i jk
trial-by-trial error, noise due to measurement error or random neuronal fluctuations.
fopt (x)
Optimal classifier taking indirect measures x (e.g., RTs) and predicting the condition (congruent/incongruent).
ft (x)
Threshold classifier predicting one condition for indirect measures x ≤ t (e.g., RTs) and the
other for x > t.
h
Linear approximation used to translate between sensitivities and accuracies.
i
Index for participant i ∈ {1, 2, ..., N}.
j
Index for condition j ∈ {1, 2}, for example indicator for congruent ( j = 1) and incongruent
( j = 2) conditions.
K
Total number of trials per particpant, K = 2M.
k
Index for trial k ∈ {1, 2, ..., M}. Since there are two conditions, the number of observed trials
per participant is 2M = K.
M
Number of trials per participant × condition. The total number of trials per participant is
2M = K.
µ
Grand mean, for example the overall expected value of RTs.
N
Number of participants.
Ω(x)
Marginal, cumulative density distribution (CDF) over indirect measures x.
pi
Participant effect, for example participants with a faster RTs than average have a negative pi
while slower participants have a positive pi .
(p × c)i j
Interaction effect, for example some participants have different reaction time effects.
π
True accuracy.
π̂
Observed, mean accuracy.
0
πi
True accuracy of participant i. It can be translated into a sensitivity by dtrue,i
= 2Φ−1 (πi )
where Φ is the cumulative normal distribution.
π̂i
Observed, individual accuracy.
q2
σ2
Ratio between effect variance and trial-by-trial error variance, q2 = σeffect
2 . This is the variance
0
of true sensitivities across individuals, q2 = Var[dtrue,i
]. A reasonable value in our setting is
0
q2 = 0.0225 implying SD[dtrue,i
] = 0.15.
41
42
MEYEN, ZERWECK, AMADO, VON LUXBURG, & FRANZ
Table S3
(continued).
Variable
SE
σ2∆i
σ2∆ˆ
i
σ̂2∆ˆ
i
σ2p×c
σ2effect
σ2
t
Yi jk
Description
Estimated standard error of the estimated sensitivity.
Variance of true individual effects, for example, to which degree participants vary in their
congruency effect.
True variance of observed individual effects, for example, variance of the observable congruency effects.
Estimated variance of observed individual effects. This is what scientists get when computing
the variance on the observable congruency effects across participants.
Variance of the interaction effect, (p × c)i j .
Variance of the effects ∆i , σ2effect = 4σ2p×c .
Variance of the trial-by-trial error, i jk .
t value, in our context it comes from paired-t-tests between the two conditions of the indirect
task.
indir
Response of participant i in condition j trial k from the direct (Yidir
jk ) or indirect task (Yi jk ).
The standard repeated measures ANOVA model is Yi jk = µ + pi + c j + (p × c)i j + i jk .
I
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| January 2017 | Volume 8 | Issue 1 | pp. 51-55
Pereira, C. & Reddy, J. S. K., The Manifestation of Consciousness: Beyond & Within from Fundamental to Ubiquity
51
Essay
The Manifestation of Consciousness:
Beyond & Within from Fundamental to Ubiquity
*
Contzen Pereira & J. S. K. Reddy
Abstract
Consciousness being the very source of subjective experience is needed for our life experiences,
for the working of our body, to perceive, to cognize, and to express. Agreeing to a fundamental
approach for consciousness is more about embracing the true understanding of consciousness
rather than avoiding it. Consciousness can, therefore, be located anywhere and everywhere, but
in a form that we do not understand until it takes shape within the limits of our reality. Monism
related approaches to consciousness are an act to run away from the problems associated with
dualism and therefore the need of the hour is a holistic sense of consciousness. Holistic
approaches to understand consciousness opens the doors to many versions of this unique
ubiquitous feature that we possess; that we do not understand, and that which gives us the ability
to go over and beyond emergence.
Keywords: Consciousness, manifestation, fundamental, ubiquity.
Introduction
The millions of forms are the manifestation of consciousness. It is the millions of
forms which get created and destroyed, but universal consciousness itself is
unborn and undying. Nisargadatta Maharaj, 1994, 32-33
The unique nature of consciousness is what makes it a fundamental and ubiquitous phenomenon
of existence. In a true sense, we are manifested forms of consciousness, and what we think we
are, is just what we carry as contents of our consciousness. Seeking consciousness is like looking
beyond oneself or rather beyond the universe and its source; for consciousness is a more primal
principle than its manifested forms. Since we are created in consciousness and experience
ourselves and the world around us as consciousness, it is difficult to understand and define
objectively what consciousness is; bestowing us with the liberty to only experience it
subjectively (Reddy and Pereira 2016a, b). Consciousness being the very source of subjective
experience is needed for our life experiences, for the working of our body, to perceive, to
cognize, and to express.
*
Correspondence: Contzen Pereira, Independent Researcher, India. E-mail: contzen@rediffmail.com
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52
In its manifested states (i.e., limiting forms), it gets bounded within the domains of objective
experiences; this is when it expresses itself by means of the body and therefore can be attempted
to be understood within the limits of reductive scientism. The raw experience of consciousness
denied or called illusionary by many is the true essence of consciousness; qualia or the so called
hard problem of consciousness (Chalmers 2002). The reason of denial is mostly because it seems
difficult to prove and capture within the limits of science and scientific methods (Reddy and
Pereira 2016a,b).
“….It is because consciousness is unborn and undying that the millions of forms get
created and destroyed; it is a continuous process…Understand that……Only that in
which consciousness manifests itself is limited and is created and destroyed. The total
potential of consciousness remains. It is unlimited.” [Nisargadatta Maharaj, 1994, 32-33]
Science and Consciousness
“We as conscious beings are manifested forms of consciousness, looking at itself (in its
own ability), trying to study and understand its own nature.”
Considering consciousness to be fundamental helps us understand the ubiquity of consciousness,
wherein the many theories within and beyond the realms of science can be incorporated with this
factual understanding to build on the aspects associated with this phenomenon. Agreeing to a
fundamental approach for consciousness is more about embracing the true understanding of
consciousness rather than avoiding it. Consciousness as a fundamental unit opens up a more
holistic approach where the views of an atheist, theist, agonist, biologist, religious, physicist,
psychologist, socialist, neurologist, artist, poet, etc., can be accepted to understand the workings
and expressions of consciousness. In fact all these areas and disciplines of study are different
expressions of the contents of consciousness. This is where consciousness can be understood
from an objective sense as well as a subjective sense which may seem to originate from the brain,
but is expressed by the body; someday high sensitivity based tests could prove the existence of
this flow of the manifested form of consciousness (as energy). Manifested within the body, we
can perceive it as the experiential element in higher order forms; the existence of the experience
may be understood but the purpose of this experience will remain a mystery, just like that of
energy.
“Consciousness alone feels the expanse of consciousness........Whatever is known is
known by consciousness, is in the field of consciousness.” [Nisargadatta Maharaj, 1994,
31-32]
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53
One can otherwise think of the elusive nature of consciousness as analogous to that of pure
energy; where we are only able to understand its various aspects and properties in a relative
sense via its manifested forms, but still open to questions concerning the absolute nature of
energy (Coelho 2009). There is no sensible explanation as to why we lack the compact definition
for energy in science; as is the case with our present understanding of consciousness and its
various other aspects (Reddy and Pereira 2016c, d). This is because the fundamental
phenomenon always seems to be subtle and elusive in nature; which means they cannot be
objectified and modelled in the usual sense.
“Consciousness in its many forms could well be ubiquitous, even down to the simplest
of organisms.” [Trewavas and Baluska, 2011]
Consciousness can manifest itself during the formation of a single cell with an ability to enhance
its expressivity in multi-cellular beings (Pereira 2015). It is evident from the complexity of
evolved biological life that we see around us, where consciousness projects life and its playful
expressions over matter. At an atomic scale it supports the connections between atomic particles;
it forms the building blocks to maintain the structure but with no expression of life; this is its true
form. Being fundamental it is ubiquitous; ever prevailing and ever pervading. The existence of
consciousness supersedes the very essence of its existence where it exists in its form unknown.
The vividness of the animated form of consciousness spells out the beauty of consciousness
which increase with the complexity of the fractal nature of the universe (Reddy and Pereira
2016a, d). Organization is the key to fractal re-arrangement and just like the plasticity of the
brain reveals the plasticity of this ubiquitous consciousness. This fundamental unit has the ability
to build and store information that effortlessly repeats with no errors. Matter is therefore a
derivative of consciousness with the beauty to express and to understand the expression.
Consciousness can therefore be located anywhere and everywhere but in a form that we do not
understand until it takes shape within the limits of our reality.
“Manifestation needs time and space, but the source of [personalised] consciousness
was there before manifestation took place…” [Nisargadatta Maharaj, 1985, 86].
The duality of consciousness is always challenged wherein it seems more unlikely that it is dual.
The duality arises when matter is created but ultimately matter itself is a product of
consciousness or rather consciousness itself is a product of consciousness. This is a rational
approach in an irrational world which seems irrational because of the control of matter that is
falsely imposed on the consciousness that drives expression. The brain is one of the organs that
impart such falsification, wherein it imposes the essence of consciousness much before the
understanding of its existence; this pushes one to believe that consciousness is a derivative of the
brain. The fact is that the brain is derived from consciousness that supports its functioning just
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54
like any other organ in the body. It remains fixed and objectified with limitations and resistances
within the three-dimensions of matter.
Consciousness being fundamental makes it causal with realizations beyond dimensions and with
the freedom to manifest and understand the experience of its manifestation. The existence of
consciousness supersedes the essence of consciousness; it is not mystical or phenomenal, but
feels mystical and phenomenal; for its existence is its reality which is beyond the ability of the
most intelligent being – the human, to perceive. Consciousness therefore lies much before even
the creation of the self, the self is thus the creation of consciousness and is created with the
understanding of the ‘I’; the manifested or the manifestation creates the ‘I’ which wholly
depends on the consciousness consuming ability of the being.
“That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal
space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme
non-dual Brahman - that thou art.” [Adi Sankaracharya]
Conclusion
The ubiquitous and fundamental nature of consciousness makes it subtle and of central
importance where the manifestation takes place within the sea of its existence to shapes and
forms that brings out the beauty of consciousness. Monism related approaches to consciousness
are an act to run away from the problems associated with dualism and therefore the need of the
hour is a holistic sense of consciousness. Holistic approaches to understand consciousness opens
the doors to many versions of this unique feature that we possess that we do not understand, and
gives us the ability to go over and beyond emergence. Consciousness manifested is the
consciousness that can be observed through experience in both the subjective and objective sense.
The free form is purely subjective and is beyond the limitations of the human mind, as it needs to
be understood as whole and not in components, making it much more difficult to believe.
“I think consciousness will remain a mystery. Yes, that's what I tend to believe. I tend to
think that the workings of the conscious brain will be elucidated to a large extent.
Biologists and perhaps physicists will understand much better how the brain works. But
why something that we call consciousness goes with those workings, I think that will
remain mysterious. I have a much easier time imagining how we understand the Big
Bang than I have imagining how we can understand consciousness...” [Edward Witten,
2016]
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References
Chalmers DJ. Consciousness and its place in nature. In Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary
Readings. UK: Oxford University Press, 2002
Coelho RL. On the concept of energy: History and philosophy for science teaching. Procedia Social and
Behavioral Sciences1, 2009: 2648–2652
Maharaj Nisargadatta. Prior to Consciousness: Talks With Nisargadatta Maharaj
(edited by Jean Dunn), The Acorn Press, North Carolina, 1985
Maharaj Nisargadatta. Consciousness and the Absolute: The Final Talks of
Nisargadatta Maharaj. Edited by Jean Dunn. North Carolina: Acorn Press 1994
Pereira C. Vertical Growth of Intelligence versus Horizontal Growth of Consciousness. Journal of
Consciousness Exploration and Research, 2015; 6(7): 399-404.
Pereira C, Reddy JSK. Science, Subjectivity & Reality. Journal of Consciousness Exploration and
Research, 2016a; 7(4): 333-336
Reddy JSK, Pereira C. Cosmic Origami: Fingerprints of Life. Scientific God Journal, 2016b; 7(4): 252255
Reddy JSK, Pereira C. On Science & the perception of Reality. Journal of Consciousness Exploration &
Research, 2016c; 7(7): 584-587
Reddy JSK, Pereira C. An Essay on ‘Fracto-Resonant’ Nature of Life. NeuroQuantology, 2016d; 14(4):
764-769. doi: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.4.954
Trewavas AJ, Baluska F. The ubiquity of consciousness: The ubiquity of consciousness, cognition and
intelligence in life. EMBO Rep, 2011; 12: 1221-5; PMID: 22094270; http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/
embor.2011.21
Witten E. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/world-s-smartest-physicist-thinks-sciencecan-t-crack-consciousness/ (2016)
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Bocardo, E. F., Is the Human Mind a Turing Machine? An Alternative View of Mind from Abhidhamma
Research Essay
Is the Human Mind a Turing Machine?
An Alternative View of Mind from Abhidhamma
Enrique F. Bocardo*
University of Cambridge Wolfson College (Visiting Scholar), Cambridge, UK
& Moral & Political Philosophy, University of Seville, Spain
ABSTRACT
According to Kurt Gödel , the argument that the human mind is a Turing Machine (TM) rests on
two assumptions: (A) There is no mind separate from matter; and (B) The brain works
essentially like a digital computer. The aim of my paper is to challenge assumption (A) by
providing an alternative view of human mind, as has been conceived in the Abhidhamma. In
particular, I should like to argue that: (i) The meaning of lexical items are not recursively
determined, as they are conditioned by feelings; and (ii) The number of cittas and cetasikas
involved in performing cognitive functions may likely exceed the number of nerve cells in the
observable operations of the mind.
1
The evidence to support assumption (A) is provided by the prevalent conception of mind as a
TM. It is not my contention to argue whether that view might be regarded, as Gödel remarked, “a
prejudice of our time”. I shall confine myself only to show that the conception of mind purported
in the Abhidhamma may capture some salient features of human mind, and, in particular, the
notion of state of mind, that there are otherwise missing when the mind is conceived as a TM.
More specifically, the Abhidhamma may ultimately furnish additional evidence in supporting
three further Gödel’s claims that seem to strongly challenge assumption (A), namely: “(a) mind’s
constant development in contrast with the predetermined character of a computer; (b) the
possible convergence to infinity of the states of mind, in contrast with the finiteness of the state
of every computer; and (c) the possibility that there non-mechanical mental procedures”2.
Keywords: Turing Machines, mental processes, Abhidhamma, infinity.
*
Correspondence: Enrique F. Bocardo, Visiting Scholar, University of Cambridge Wolfson College, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Full Professor
of Moral & Political Philosophy at the University of Seville.
E-Mail: bocardo@us.es
1
2
Wang 1974, 326.
Wang 1996, 202.
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Bocardo, E. F., Is the Human Mind a Turing Machine? An Alternative View of Mind from Abhidhamma
I
In 1936 Alan M. Turing proved that there was not an effective method to solve all mathematical
problems3. The proof is largely based on the building of an “Universal Turing Machine”, which
subsequently was used as an artificial model for human mind. With it, Turing gave the final blow
to the general epistemological presupposition still prevailing in the first half of the XX century
that mental images, numbers and relations in general could not be represented in the brain unless
they were expressed by words.
Essentially, a TM is just a formal model that Turing envisaged in order to solve the problem
posed by Hilbert’s Entscheidungsproblem: the question of whether there exist an effective
procedure, or algorithm, by means of which, given a statement of first order logic, it can be
mechanically decided if the statement is or is not a tautology. In proving that there is not such a
procedure, Turing stated a precise definition of general recursive functions, i.e., what it means
for a particular function to be computable.
In formal terms a TM is a quadruple <K, S, s, d>, where K is a finite set of states, S is a finite set
of symbols, or the alphabet containing #, or a tape running through it which is divided into
sections called squares, s is a member of K indicating the initial state, and d is (partial) function
mapping the relation defined by the product K x S onto the product K x (S U {L, R}, where L is a
language and R is a set of rules, or productions4. Each square is capable of bearing a symbol
belonging to S.
A situation of a TM will then be then a quadruple of the form (x, q, a, y), where q is the current
state, a is the symbol to be scanned, and x and y are the strings of the left and right of the reading
head up to the beginning of the infinite tape of #’s, this condition assures that the situation is
uniquely specified, so that the scanned symbol is the only one that the machine will be “aware
of”. In this way, the finite states belonging to the set K and the scanned symbol from the alphabet
determined altogether the behaviour of the machine. The TM’s behaviour is limited to writing or
deleting a symbol in that location, moving left or right, or staying in place, changing the state and
optionally halting and outputting.
The fundamental idea embedded in a TM is that it actually provides a formal definition of
mechanical computability. In fact, since the rules of inference of first order logic may be applied
mechanically, literally even by a machine that knows nothing of logic, “the supposed machine”,
as Gödel put it,:
“is to have a crank and whenever you turn the crank once around the machine would write down
a tautology of the calculus of predicates … So this machine would really replace thinking
3
4
See Turing 1936.
The formal definition of TM has been taken from Partee & alia 1990, 510.
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completely as far as deriving of formulas of the calculus of predicates is concerned. It would be a
thinking machine in the literal sense of the word”5.
Recursive functions are then those functions that are computable by a TM. It follows that the set
of mechanically decidable functions are the same as those that a TM can compute. According to
the Church-Turing thesis, a TM can perform any algorithm that can be carried out by the human
mind. An implication from the thesis is that any recursive cognitive process involving mind
operation can be simulated by a TM. From this implication it follows the major claim underlying
the conception of human mind as a TM, i.e., given the fact that mental operations are involved in
cognitive processes, and since cognitive processes are computational systems and a TM provides
a description of mental operations in terms of recursive functions, a TM may be said to describe
the mental operations involved in human cognitive processes in terms functions computable by a
TM. Ultimately the equation of mind process with brain activity rests on the assumption that
human cognitive processes are the product of biological computation6.
There are some assumptions implicit in the computation process performed by a TM that need to
be spelled out. First, the objects falling within the range of the machine’s transition function, that
is to say, of the program that determines the behaviour of the machine, are both discrete and
symbolic events. That means that it is not known whether there may be in addition other sort of
events that not being computable, may yet play a specific role in human cognition. Secondly, a
TM is iterative, which means that “(the machine reads one square, then another, then another,
etc), it can never reach infinity”7. Although a TM is provided with a infinite tape, the
computation is made on one and only one symbol at each time, ruling out the possibility of
simultaneously computing several objects at one time. The issue, however, is not to find out
whether there is some cognitive recursive process that cannot be carried out by a TM, since by
the Church-Turing thesis they cannot be, but rather to assess if there can be cognitive processes
that are not TM computable.
II
In the Abhidhamma the five somatic bases are referred to as sense-doors (dvāra) as a metaphor to
indicate that they are open for the cittas and cetasikas to lean on the sensory-objects and carry
the cognitive process8. In essence, there is no difference between sense organs (ajjhatttika),
sense-doors or sense-bases. And the list of sensory bases agrees accordingly with the five types
of material objects (bāhirā).
5
Gödel 1939, 527.
See Turing 1950.
7
King 1996, 382.
8
Anurudha 1999, 129.
6
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The differences arise between the mind base (manāyatanaṃ) and the mind-door (manadvāra) on
the one hand, and the mental object base (dhammāyatanaṃ) and mental objects (dhammā) on the
other. The mind base is identified with the aggregate of consciousness (saññåkhando), and
therefore the number of cittas it contains is bigger that those associated with the mind-door,
whereas, the number of mental objects included in the mental object base is smaller than those
belonging to the mind-door. The mental object base contains only subtle matter, mental factors
and Nibbānam and “excludes the first five objective base, the five types of sensitive matter, and
citta, which is identical with the mind base. It also excludes concepts (paññatti), since the notion
of base (āyatana) extends only to ultimate realities”9.
Nibbānam, ākāsa and paññatiyo exist quite independently of their being thought. They do not
enter time and in none of them can be discerned the marks of viparināma (radical change) and
aññathābhāva (subsequent change) present in all conditioned reality. As a matter of fact,
concepts (paññatiyo) are considered to be eternal realities10.
A citta is a mental process by means of which objects are ultimately known11; while mental
factors (cetasikas) “are mental phenomena that occur in immediate conjunction with cittas and
assist them by performing more specific tasks in the total act of cognition”12. So mental factors
are factors accompanying the particular cognitive process that are set whenever a citta leans on
an object to make it known. The Abhiddhamma lists fifty two distinct mental factor that:
“arising together with consciousness (ekuppāda), ceasing toether with consciousness
(ekanirodha), having the same object as consciousness (ekālambana), having the base as
consciousness (ekavatthuka)”13.
Cittakkhaṇa (mind moment) is defined as the life span of a citta. In the Commentaries it is
emphasized that billions of cittakkhaṇas can actually elapse in just the time that it takes for a
lighting to flash, or for the eyes to blink14. Cittas, however, take place in a series of “discrete
events, one after another” following “an uniform order” (cittaniyāma)15. Despite the almost
infinitesimal nature of a cittakkhaṇa, the occurrence of each citta comprises three distinct
moments: uppada (arising), thiti (presence) and bhanga (dissolution)16.
9
Anurudha 1999,287.
See Ledi 1981, 27-8.
11
Dhammasaṇganī-aṭtakathā 112: “Consciousness has the characteristic of knowing objects¨.
12
Anurudha 1999,76.
13
Anurudha 1999, 77.
14
Pheṇapiṇḍupamasutta: pupphavagga ,Khandhasamyutta (2-322); Khandavibhaṅga: vibhaṇga
Aṭthakathā (33).
15
Anurudha 1999, 151.
16
Anurudha 1999, 156.
10
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All cognitive processes involving cittas and cetasikas rest on the ārammaṇa relationship. On the
analogy between sensory bases and doors, we may think of the sensory bases as doors through
which cittas and cetasikas have access to each one of the five types of sensory objects and the
mental object base. Both material forms and the mental object base receive the name of “object”
on account of the role they play when cittas and cetasikas lean upon them. Literally, they
become objects as long as cittas and cetasikas take hold on them. Consciousness and all the
mental factors associated with it initiate a cognitive process by means of which each sensory
object and mental object base become ultimately known17.
Buddhaghosa uses an ingenious metaphor to illustrate this relationship between objects and cittas
and cetasikas:
“Yathā hi dubbalo puriso daṇdaṃ vā rajjum vā ālambitvā va uṭthahati ceva tiṭṭhati ca, evam
citta-cetasikå dhammā rūpādim ārammaṇam ārabhh’ eva uppajjanti ceva tiṭṭhanti ca, tasmā
sabbe pi cittacetasikānam dhammānam ārammaṇabhūtā dhammā ārammaṇapaccayo ti
veditabbo”18.
Two different Pāli words are used to mean objects. The first is ārammaṇa, from the verb
āramati, meaning delights in, takes pleasure. The other is ālambana, from the verb ālambati,
meaning holds on to, clings to, rests upon, leans upon. In both cases, the meaning seems to
suggest that cittas and cetasikas take hold or attach to objects, to follow Buddhaghosa’s simile,
as a feeble weak man leans upon a stick to rise and stand on his feet.
Objects may well be considered as conditioning states for the arising of cittas and cetasikas. It
follows, then, that the six types of objects –rūpārammaṇaṃ, saddārammaṇaṃ,
gandhārammaṇaṃ, rasārammaṇaṃ, phoṭṭhabbårammaṇaṃ, and dhammārammaṇaṃ- are
conditions for the arising of the cognitive process carried out by the cittas and cetasikas19. When
objects are considered from this point of view, they define a causal relationship between the six
kinds of objects as conditioning states and the cittas and cetasikas as conditioned states, which in
turn take them as their objects of cognition.
The cognitive process roughly described by Buddhaghosa is more complex than what appears at
first glance. For the sake of the exposition of the argument that will follow later, the cognitive
17
Paṭṭhāna. 1-2.
Puggalapaññatti-aṭṭhakathā 12-3: “Just as a weak person when he leans on a stick or a rope arises and
stands up, so in the same way consciousness and metal factors by leaning on the object of visual form
arise and stand up, for this reason all mental objects related with consciousness and mental factors are
based on the object-condition, that is what the expression “ārammaṇapaccayo” is supposed to mean”.
19
The ārammaṇa-condition is just but one among the twenty four different conditions the paṭiccasamuppāda relations is divided into. See Paṭthāna 1.
18
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process (pañcadvāravīthi) that comprises altogether fifty four cittas, may be viewed as divided
into ten steps20:
(-3) Stream of bhavanga.
(-2) Past bhavanga.
(-1) When an object O touches the corresponding sensory consciousness two mindmoments result: the vibration of the life continuum (bhavanga-calana), and
(0) the arrest of the life-continuum (bhavanga-upaccheda).
(1) After that, the adverting consciousness (āvajjana) turns to O. However the adverting
consciousness does not yield immediate cognition of O, since it simply adverts the object.
(2) Sensory consciousness is produced immediately after the āvajjana citta, it simply
means that the specific sensory consciousness sees, hears, smells, tastes or touches, but again it
does not result in the cognition of O. That seems to be the idea behind Buddhaghosa’s
commentary:
“cakkhuñcāvuso
tiādīsu
ayamattho,
āvuso,
nissayabhāvena
cakkhupasādañca
ārammaṇabhāvena catusamuṭṭhānikarūpe ca paṭicca cakkhuviññāṇaṃ nāma uppajjati. tiṇṇaṃ
saṅgati phassoti tesaṃ tiṇṇaṃ saṅgatiyā phasso nāma uppajjati. taṃ phassaṃ paṭicca
sahajātādivasena phassapaccayā vedanā uppajjati”21.
Accordingly, there are six different classes of consciousnesses, one for each type of sensory
organ base and object base: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongueconsciousness, body-consciousness and mind-consciousness. In this way, each citta is associated
with a specific base and takes as an object of cognition the particular sensory object or mental
object base belonging to that base.
The cognition of O is carried out by three successive cittas:
(3) receiving (sampaṭicchana),
(4) investigating (santīraṇa) and
(5) determining (votthapana).
20
Anurudha 1999, 123-4 and 153-6.
Papañcasūdanī II 78: “This is the meaning from the beginning of the expression “cakkhuñcāvuso”, Sir,
on the support of the sensitive surface of the eye and the four material elements as their object, then eyeconsciousness arises. “The meeting of these three is contact” means that contact arises when these three
meet. When there is contact as condition by means of the conascence [relationship], then feeling arises
from contact”.
21
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Following Buddhaghosa’s suggestion, the determining citta arises when O impinges upon the
sensory consciousness, and it seems to be responsible for cognizing the feeling “felt” by the
touching of O. It should be noted that in the sequence (3)-(5), the cognitive process carried out
respectively by the receiving consciousness (sampaṭicchanacittam), the investigating
consciousness (santīranacittaṃ) and determining consciousness (votthapanacittam), the object
impinging each one of the five-door sense bases is actually felt. Feeling (vedanā) is the mental
factor, which literally “tastes” the effect of the object touching consciousness. The essential
characteristic of feeling is that it is felt:
“ ‘vedanā vedanā’ ti, āvuso, vuccati. kittāvatā nu kho, āvuso, vedanāti vuccatī” ti?
“ ‘vedeti vedetī’ ti kho, āvuso, tasmā vedanāti vuccati.
“kiñca vedeti? sukhampi vedeti, dukkhampi vedeti, adukkhamasukhampi vedeti. ‘vedeti vedetī’
ti kho, āvuso, tasmā vedanāti vuccatī” ti”22.
The definition is neither tautological nor gratuitous. It shows three characteristic features related
specifically to feeling. First, by using the third person with no subject mentioned, feeling appears
as a conditioned state depending on contact (phassa) to arise. No substantive entity is needed to
understand what it felt. Secondly, feeling should not be confused with emotions, since their
arising is altogether independent from any cognitive content. It is not in our power to feel or stop
feeling the feeling it is experienced when an object impinges the consciousness. And finally, it
classifies feeling in three types: pleasurable (sukham), painful (dukkham), and neither
pleasurable nor painful (adukkhamasukham)23.
(6) Javana follows after the determining consciousness, its function being to apprehend O.
(7) Tarāmana, that is performed in two mind moments the function of which is to take as
objects the objects apprehended by the seven moment javana.
Mental objects undertake a similar cognitive process with some minor differences:
“chaṭṭhadvāre pana manati bhavaṅgacittaṃ. dhamme-ti tebhūmakadhammārammaṇaṃ.
manoviññāṇati āvajjanaṃ vā javanaṃ vā. āvajjane gahite phassavedanāsaññāvitakkā
āvajjanasahajātā honti. papañco javanasahajāto. javane gahite sahāvajjanakaṃ bhavaṅga mano
Majjhimanikāya I 293: “What is called “feeling, feeling”. In reference to what is called “feeling”?
What is called “it feels, it feels” that is the reason why it is called “feeling”.
What does it feel? It feels pleasure, it feels pain, and it feels neither pain nor pleasure. Sir, that is the
reason for calling “feeling’ to what is called “it feels, it feels”.
23
On the classification of feeling see for instance: Dīghanikāya III 216, Majjhimanikāya I 397,
Saṃyutanikāya II 99.
22
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nāma hoti, tato phassādayo sabbepi javanena sahajātāva. manodvāre pana yasmā atītādibhedaṃ
sabbampi ārammaṇaṃ hoti, tasmå atītānāgatapaccuppannesūti idaṃ yuttameva”24.
The receiving, investigating and determining consciousnesses do not arise in the cognitive
process, which takes place in the mind consciousness (manoviññāṇam). After the adverting
consciousness (āvajjana) the javana follows immediately after it. The adverting citta cognizes
the mental object when it is felt and becomes mentally represented.
III
The occurrence of a denumerable large numbers of cittas in discrete sequences seems to indicate
that the generation of cittas appears to be an iterative process, since, however large the number
of cittas may be in a given moment, they follow one after another in an uniform order without
reaching infinity.
It does not follow, contrarily to King’s argument that “if the human mind can solve the problem
that no Turing machine can, it would seem to have to depend on a non-iterative principle of
generation”25. It would be enough to show, given the rapid succession of cittas taking place in so
short a period of time, that the number of cittas and cetasikas involved in performing cognitive
functions may well surpass the number of nerve cells in the observable operations of the mind.
The proof would seem to be valid even under the assumption that the human brain is a digital
computer.
At any rate, it is not very clear why it would be necessary for the human mind to depend on a
non-iterative principle of generation based on a sequence of cardinal numbers in order for it to be
able to solve problems that a TM cannot. Cognitive processes may be thought, as being carried
out in such a way that what is involved in the process could not be correctly characterized in
terms of TM computability. In other words, human cognitive processes may rest on factors that
can unlikely be simulated by a TM. The connection between cittas and cetasikas in performing
cognitive operations may provide an alternative picture of what is like to be a state of mind that
is altogether missing in a TM.
A close examination of the cognitive process (pañcadvāravīthi) reveals a distinct pattern of
cognition based on factors that cannot be ultimately computed by a TM. In the first place, it is to
be noticed that unlike TM, cittas and cetasikas do not perform their specific cognitive functions
on discrete symbolic events, but on objects. The word “object” is liable to be likely
misrepresented, since the way in which it is normally understood entails that what is perceived
through the sense-doors and then carried on further by set of related cittas is an object of the
24
25
Papañcasūdanī II 78.
King 1996, 382.
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external world as it appears to the senses. What the cittas, however, actually perceived are not
objects in the normal sense, but sensory impressions. So the term “object” when it refers to rūpa,
sadda, gandha, rasa, phoṭṭhabba should be understood as standing for sense-impressions. More
specifically, what is labeled as “objects of the external world” are mental constructions
(parikappana), which the cognitive consciousness makes up out of the sense impressions
touching the five-sense doors.
Secondly, TM computable functions are by definition recursive functions that can be performed
literally mechanically. The very idea of algorithm implies that feeling is an irrelevant factor in
carrying out any mechanical procedures. Yet, human cognitive processes as depicted in the
Abhidhamma rely heavily on feelings. Now, if by the definition, “a ‘noncomputable
phenomenon’ is a phenomenon the characteristics of which can never be accurately and fully
described in terms of the output of a Turing machine”26, then feelings are surely one of
candidates for non-computable phenomena. What would be like the set of instructions given to a
TM to compute a feeling? Since a feeling is not a representational or symbolic event, it cannot
be, so to speak, embedded in the machine’s internal state. There seems to be then an irreducible
difference between the elements of K, i.e., the internal states of a TM and the state of mind
determined by the presence of both cittas and the psychological factors brought about by
cetasikas in performing a particular cognitive process. Yet, this difference is crucial in the
cognitive process performed by cittas and cetasikas, as the process carried out further by the
javana and the tarāmana cittas depends essentially on how the object O is felt.
Finally, the cognitive process described in (1)-(7) may be carried out -although not
simultaneously- over six different objects, the five sensory objects and the mental object. Even
non deterministic TM machines that can prescribe more than one action for a situation, do not
seem to be powerful enough to compute anything like similar to the cognition achieved by cittas
and cetasikas in so short an elapse of time.
Under the assumption of King’s claim that “proof that there are noncomputable phenomena
would seem to provide proof that the actual infinite is manifest physically”, whatever the
expression “the actual infinite is manifest physically” may mean, it would follow that, since
feelings are not computable phenomena, the actual infinite may be manifest physically. The
acceptance of that conclusion would be then a strong evidence to support Gödel’s (a)-(c) claims.
26
King 1996, 383.
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References
Anurudha, Ā. (1999). The Abhidhammattha Sangaha. Pāli text originally edited and translated by
Mahāthera Nārada. Translation revised by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.
Gödel, K. (1939). “Notre Dame Lecture on Logic, Spring 1939”. In Collected Works, Vol.V,
Correspondence H-Z. Edited by S. Feferman et alia. Oxford: University Press, 2003. Pp. 527-8.
King, D. (1996). “Is the human mind a Turing machine?”. Synthese, Vol. 108, No. 3: 379-389.
Ledi Sayadaw (1981). The manual of Buddhism. Rangoon.
Partee, B. H. et alia (1990). Mathematical methods in Linguistics. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Turing, A. M. (1936). “'On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem”.
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, Vol. 42, Ser. 2: 230-265.
Turing, A. M. (1950). “Computing machinery and intelligence”. Mind, Vol. 49: 433-460.
Wang, H. (1974). From Mathematics to Philosophy. New York: Humanities Press.
Wang, H. (1996). A logical journey: From Gödel to Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
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Continuum of consciousness: Mind uploading and
resurrection of human consciousness. Is there a place
for physics, neuroscience and computers?
V. Astakhov
e-mail:vadim_astakhov@hotmail.com
Abstract. This analysis was initiated as a joke among scholar friends but soon became interesting
theoretical problem which can be mathematically formalized and even simulated in artificial environment.
In this paper, I perform mental experiment to analyze hypothetical process of mind uploading. That process
suggested as a way to achieve resurrection of human consciousness. Mind uploading can be seen as a
migration process of the core mental functions, which migrate from a human brain to an artificial
environment. Such process hypothetically might be performed through hypothetical brain-computer
interface, brain transplant or prosthesis. I am looking for physical limitations which might constraint such
event. To simulate the process, I suggest a topological approach which is based on a formalism of
information geometry. Geometrical formalism lets us simulate the toy mind as geometrical structures as
well as gives us powerful geometrical and topological methods for analysis of the information system. This
approach leads to the insight about using holographic model as an analogy for the mind migration to an
artificial environment. The concept of holography is well known in optics where localized 3D shape can be
recorded and reconstructed by 2D dimensional hologram. I am using that analogy to develop a generalized
mathematical formalism. This formalism represents the toy mind functionality in terms of information
geometry (as a geometrical shape) on information manifold. Such shape can have distributed holographic
representation. This representation gives us delocalized/holographic representation of the system. At the
same time, the process of creating the holographic representation gives us a strategy to migrate from
original to an artificial environment and back. The interface between brain and an environment is modeled
as an entropy flow which is defined as a geometrical flow on information manifold. Such flow is an analogy
of holography recording for the toy mind. The opposite process of holography reconstruction is modeled by
none-local Hamiltonians defined on the information manifold.
Keywords. Mind uploading, resurrection, consciousness, information geometry, topology, holography,
geometrical flow
Introduction
Term “resurrection” is often discussed in religious literature but it had a limited attention from rational
science. I would like to discuss this concept from the stand point of physical and bio-chemical science.
It seems reasonably to suggest that reconstruction of natural physical or biological system by assembly
of their original elements does not seem feasible. First reason comes from physics, that all physical
elements such as atoms and molecules are none-distinguishable. For example, any carbon atom in our body
is equivalent to any other carbon atom in universe which has the same of nuclear particles and orbital
electrons. Thus, question about assembly of the original elements does not make sense in context of
physics.
The second argument is taken from biology and it is relevant to turnover time in biological system.
Consider turnover time in biological system we can conclude that any living been is not assembled from
static set of elements but rather presents continually evolving dissipative system. System components all
have a finite turnover time. Most metabolites turn over within a minute in a cell, mRNA molecules
typically have 2-hour half-lives in human cells, and so forth. So, a cell that you observe today, compared
with the same cell yesterday, may only contain a small fraction of the same molecules. Similarly, cells have
finite lifetimes. 3% of extracellular matrix in cardiac muscle is turned over daily, the cellularity of the
human bone marrow turns over every 2-3 days, the renewal rate of skin is of order of 5 days to a couple of
weeks, the lining of the gut epithelium has a turnover time pf about 5-7 days, and slower tissues like the
liver turn over their cellularity approximately once a year. Therefore, most of the cells that are contained in
an individual today were not there a few years ago. However, we consider the individual to be the same,
just bit older. Likewise, we consider one cell to be the same a week later, even if most of its chemical
components have turned over. Components come and go; therefore a key feature of living systems is how
their components are connected together. Thus, it is reasonably to conclude that the interconnections
between cells and cellular components define the essence of a living process but not specific instances of
physical or chemical compounds.
Therefore, resurrection can be seen as a process which reconstructs all processes, functions and causal
relations performed within the system. Why do not call it copying? Later in the paper we will provide some
arguments why we treat the reconstructed system as resurrected original but not as a copy. Shortly, this is a
result of the measurement process which eventually will destroy the original during any attempt to create
detail physical copy. Thus, we are going to have only one instance of the system that makes the question
about copy and original not relevant in context of general and quantum physics.
Now, speaking about a biological system complete reconstruction, we can get to the question “Can we
resurrect lost consciousness..”. This initially might seem too far from any practical applications but that can
be really important in context of taking care of people in deep coma and vegetative states. Consciousness
can be seen as result of complex activity of the highly organized dynamic system such as a human brain.
This dynamic system exists within the rich bio-chemical environment that is provided by the bodily tissue.
Tissue provides flow of mass, energy and information/entropy which are required for support of internal
structure. Such system can be altered by a disease or trauma in a way which destroy its ability to generate
consciousness. In that context, I would re-formulate the problem and ask another question: how rich should
be the environment to provide conditions for resurrection (reconstruction or re-implementation) of the
dynamic system. Later in the paper, I will provide a set of theoretical constrains to determine richness of
the environment and its ability to recover lost functions. Such constraints might be suggested as a model for
the tissue recovery therapies and neuroprostheses. Due to general formalism, those constraints can be
applicable to other domains such as cosmological models. There might be interest to analyze how distorted
physical system can be re-emerged again in the universe at letter time.
I will start with a short overview of existing theoretical models which discuss the question what
resurrection might mean in terms of general physics, and what kind of universe might provide physical
conditions for such an event.
“Boltzmann brain” model [1] and Tipler’s cosmological model of resurrection [2] are those examples
where problem of resurrection tight to the fundamental properties of our universe. The “Big Wow” model
[3] (based on works of Paola Zizzi and Penrose/Hameroff [4]) suggest that early universe had conditions
for consciousness to emerge (“Big Wow” state). It is seems interesting to extend this model with
Vilenkin’s hypothesis of tunneling universe [5]. He suggests that early universe and physical time emerge
by tunneling through initial singularity. Taking his approach and see time as a potential, I would suggest
tunneling of the “Big Wow” state (alpha state in figure 1) from early universe to final singularity (beta).
Tunneling will go through many trajectories, where each trajectory represents various consciousness states
along the universe history. The final state beta will represent the sum over all trajectories.
Figure 1 represent tunneling of the universe “Big Wow” state through universe time taken as a potential. Final beta state represents
sum over all trajectories.
Another recently proposed theory is “big rip” model [] which is seems as another interesting candidate.
The “big rip” process will reach the point where it will compete with quark gluon confinement. Ripping
particle apart will require increasing amount of energy to overcome confinement. Such process might lead
to bootstrap and possible entangled among wave function of those particles. That process can create a set of
conditions equivalent to ones proposed by Tippler or “Big Wow” model.
Unfortunately, those scenarios do not address the biological and informational aspects of the problem.
To address those issues, several hypothetical methods for mind upload might be considered: serial
sectioning, tissue engineering, cloning nanotechnology and cyborning. Such consideration would
immediately lead us to analysis of the whole brain mapping and the problem of copying vs. moving.
In the last decade, enthusiasts of “transhumanistic movement” claimed that human cyborgization and
singularity can be achieved within this century through the development of brain-computer interfaces.
These claims assume that human consciousness and mind can be migrated from native biological body to
an artificial environment. In this paper, I will analyze mathematical and computational background for
such hypothetical process of “mind uploading”.
Following the Wikipedia definition, mind collectively refers to the aspects of intellect and
consciousness manifested as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination;
mind is the stream of consciousness. It seams reasonably to expect that such mind would require complex
dynamic system in the background, like a brain, to operate within the reach physical environment.
Also, majority of the brain studies demonstrate that mind requires complex self-organization processes
within the living brain tissue. The very basic chemical processes produce energy and building blocks for
the brain neural network. Neurons and neural networks expose complex behavior such as spike generation
from individual neurons, collective generation of electrical and magnetic activity as well as providing some
byproducts and waist which are delivered out of the brain tissue. Thus, the migration of the mind will
require us to build a rich artificial environment, which mimics the real brain complexity as well as ability
for the mind to continue its vital functions.
My analysis will be increasingly focused on the systems properties of cellular networks and tissue
functions. These are the properties that arise from the whole and represent physiological mechanism behind
of high level cognition behaviors. These properties are sometimes referred to as “emergent” properties
since they emerge from the whole and are not properties of individual parts. To simulate them, I will
construct a toy model of the mind systems organization. The model will be developed as a network of
causal interactions among hypothetical neural networks.
1. Graphs and Stoichiometric matrix for an information system representation
For simulation purposes, a toy model of the network systems is developed. It is done through networks
of causal interactions among hypothetical network nodes. I suggest that the irreducible elements in the
network are the elementary operation/computation which represents an elementary bio-chemical reaction or
neural network activity of the hypothetical biological host. These operations can combine into function
mechanisms; many functions into modules. Currently, such coarse graining of a network relies on
somewhat ill-defined notions of hierarchical structure.
Figure 2 illustrates simulated system X which is a network of nodes and links. That “global network”
has a “toy toy brain” Xkj which is interacting with an artificial environment X- Xkj .
Figure 2 Left: Graph X represents the whole simulated system where Xkj is a “toy brain” interacting with an artificial environment XXkj .Nodes are interacting compartments and links are incoming and out coming components. Right: It represents unfolding of an
arbitrary node from graph X.
I am trying to keep the model as general as possible. Thus, each node depends on hierarchical level and
can represent physical interaction, chemical reaction, chemical compartment, neurons or neural network.
Respectively, the links can represent chemical compound participating in reaction, substances coming in
and out of a compartment, neuron connections as well as connection among specialized neural networks.
For examples, nodes can represent networks and links represent signal communication pathways.
It is know that neuron and neuron network functions are hierarchical and involve many layers.
Therefore such high level nodes and links can be unfolded. An arbitrary neuron node can be unfolded as a
network of nodes and edges representing chemical compartment and substance which coming in and
leaving out the compartments. Thus, high level network functions relay on the coordinated action of the
products from multiple neurons and neural networks. Such coordinated functions of multiple products can
be viewed as a “causality circuit”. The term causality circuit is used here to designate a collection of
different neural network products and patterns that together are required to execute a particular mental
function. The functions of such causal circuits are diverse, including perception, recognition, movements,
decision making, and various other cognitive behaviors. Causal circuits tend to have many components;
they are complex and entangled with each other. Also, they are “robust” in many but not all cases; one can
remove their components without compromising their overall function. Robust collection of such entangled
circuits provides background for emergence of the human mind. I am going to use term “dynamic core” to
name such collection.
Figure 3 Illustrate simple example of a dynamic core which consists of one causality circuit. Nodes represent operations and links
represent interacting compounds.
Figure 3 demonstrate an example of a simple dynamic core which consists of one causal circuit. This
circuit has three function nodes in chain. Each function node operates on some external compounds and
products of other functions. The nature of links between functions is complex and related to higher-order
data structures. The logical consequence of this is that software function network form a tangle of cycles
where different properties are being transferred through the network from one carrier to the next. This
network can have many functional states.
From this standpoint, hypothetical migration process may be viewed as reconstruction of the entangled
causal circuits and the whole dynamic core within certain environment. This reconstruction process will
comprise four principal steps. First, the list of all components and information structures which employed
by toy brain logics is enumerated. Second, the interactions between these components are studied and the
“wiring diagrams” of causal circuits are constructed. Third, the causal circuits are described mathematically
and their properties analyzed. Fourth, the models are used to analyze the system migration. Computer
model are then generated to predict the functions that can arise from the reconstructed networks.
Functions of the reconstructed causal network will be defined by the interconnections their parts. Since
these connections involve various types of interactions, they can be mathematically described by
stoichiometric matrix. The matrix formalism can represents such links mathematically based on the
underlying (bio-chemical) information processes. The stoichiometric matrix, which contains all
relationships in a network, is thus a concise mathematical representation of reconstructed networks. This
matrix comprises integers that represent time- and condition-invariant properties of a network and these
properties are the key to determine the functional states of the networks that it represents.
Figure 4 Stoichiometric matrixes rows represent components while columns represent operations.
All physiological processes can be simulated by information operations. The stoichiometric matrix is
formed from the stoichiometric coefficients of the operations which comprise the network. The matrix is
organized in such a way that every column corresponds to an operation and every row corresponds to a data
structure or information object. The entries in the matrix are stoichiometric coefficients. Each row that
describes an operation is constrained by the logics of this hierarchical level, for example at the biochemical level it will be constrained by rules of chemistry and genetics where on the level of neurons it will
be rules of neuron excitation threshold, anatomy and thysiology. Such matrix transforms the information
flux vector (that contains the information flow rates) into a vector that contains the time derivatives of the
incoming/out coming components. The stoichiometric matrix thus contains network causal information that
can be expressed by the formula: dY/dt = S*V, where V= (v1, v2,..) is an information flux vector and Y=
(y1,y2,..) is a vector of the data objects. The time derivatives can be positive or negative.
After, the matrix for the whole network is constructed, one can define left null space as L*S=0. Thus
the equation L*S*V = d/dt(L*Y) = 0 will provide all conservation relationships or “pools” for the system.
One of such conservation relationship can define our “toy dynamic core” represented by figure 5. This
figure shows stoichiometric matrix for our toy brain on figure 3. Where the columns represent causally
related operations R1, R2, R3 and the rows are components which participate in the assembly of the
dynamic core. “-1” means that component is an input for the operation and “1” means that component is an
output of the operation.
Figure 5 illustrate stoichiometric matrix for the toy dynamic core on figure 2. Where the columns represent causally related operations
R1, R2, R3 and the rows are components participating in the assembly of the dynamic core.
While there can be dynamic motion taking place in the column space along the operation vectors, these
motions do not change the total amount of causal relations in the time-invariant dynamic core. Note that
since the basis for the left null space is none unique, there are many ways to represent these pools.
The matrix formalism let us capture various types of causal relations. As a next step, I propose
information geometry approach for analysis of the dynamic core migration and self assembly (selforganization) within the distributed environment. The environment consists of operation nodes which can
be up and down.
2. Information geometry for the analysis of the network systems
Matrix formalism let us consider an arbitrary network system as a dynamic system X composed of n
units {xi}. Each unit can represent an object, an operation or a complex dynamic system. Those units can
be either “on” or “off” with some probability. “On” means an element contributes to the activity that lead to
emergence of the function Q and “off” is otherwise. Thus observable state of the function Q = (Q1, Q2,..)
for the system X can be characterized by certain sets of statistical parameters (x1, x2, …) with given
probability distribution p(X|Q). This distribution provides causal information about elements involved in
the system core dynamics.
I suggest an idea of endowing the space of such parameters with metric and geometrical structures
which leads to proposal of use Fisher information as a metric of geometric space for p(X|Q)-distributions:
gµν = ∫ ( ∑p(X|Q) / ∑Qµ) (∑p(x|Q) / ∑Qν)) p(X|Q) d{xi}.
Introduced Fisher metric is a Riemannian metric. Thus, I can define distance among states as well as
other invariant functional such as affine connection Γσλν, curvature tensor Rλµνk, Ricci tensor Rµk and
Curvature scalar R [7] which describes the information manifold.
Γσλν = ½ gσν (∑gµν / ∑Qλ + ∑ gλν / ∑ Qµ - ∑ gµλ / ∑ Qν)
Rλµνk = ∑Γλµν / ∑Qk - ∑ Γλµk / ∑ Qν - Γηµν Γλkη - Γηµk Γλν
Rλµλk = Rµk; R = gµk Rµk
The importance of studying information structures as geometrical structures lies in the fact that
geometric structures are invariant under coordinate transforms. These transforms can be interpreted as
modifications of {xi} set by the hardware or OS system updates with different characteristics. Thus the
problem of a system survival under transition from one environment to another can be formulated
geometrically.
To describe specialized sub-networks relevant to emergence of specific high level functions, I employ
concept of functional cluster [8-9]: If there are any causal interactions within the system then the number of
states that the system can take will be less than the number of states that its separate elements can take.
Some sub-nets can strongly interact within itself and much less with other regions of the network.
Geometrically, it is equivalent to higher positive curvature R~ CI(Xkj) = I(Xkj) / MI(Xkj; X - Xkj) in the area of
information manifold which reflects the system Xkj (figure 3) state dynamics due to the loss of information
entropy “H”. The loss is due to interactions among the system elements - I(Xkj) = ∑ H(xi) - H(Xkj) and
interaction with the rest of system described by mutual entropy MI(Xkj; X - Xkj).
Curvature R near 1 indicates a subs-net which is as interactive with the rest of the system as they are
within their subset. On the other hand, a R much higher than 1 will indicates the presence of a functional
cluster- a subset of elements which are strongly interactive among themselves but only weakly interactive
with the rest of the system. Localized function cluster is a manifestation of specialized region that involve
in generation of high-level function. Geometrically, it will emerge as a horn area on information manifold.
Evolution of causal interactions among functional clusters is described by Ricci tensor Rkj which is
geometric analog to the concepts of effective information and information integration [9]. Effective
information EI(Xkj -> X - Xkj) between sub-net Xkj and X - Xkj can be seen as an amount of informational
entropy that X - Xkj shares with Xkj due to causal effects of Xkj on X - Xkj.
2.1. Evolution of the Statistical Manifold (AdS formalism)
Mathematically, evolution of the network system can be modeled by Euler-Lagrange equations taken
from small virtual fluctuation of metric for scalar invariants. One example of such evolution equation is
J = -1/16π ∫ √ det gµk (Q) R(Q) dQ.
External constraints can be added as a scalar term dependent on arbitrary covariant tensor Tµk:
J = -1/16π ∫ √g(Q) R(Q) dQ + 1/2 ∫ √g(Q) Tµk gµk dQ.
That lead to well known geometrical equation Rµk (Q)- gµk (Q)R(Q) + 8πTµk (Q) = 0 which describe metric
evolution. Solutions of this equation represent information systems under certain constraints defined by
tensor Tµk. Thus, functionality of network systems can be presented in geometrical terms where AdS [10]
model is one solution.
2.2. CFT formalism
Another way to employ geometrical approach is definition of a tangent vector space “TM(X)” for each
point X of manifold M(X) as: Am~∑ ln(p(x))/∑xm where Li brackets [AmAn]~Ak , give us the way to find
transformations which will provide invariant descriptors. Thus, I can employ approach developed in gauge
theories that are usually discussed in the language of differential geometry that make it plausible to apply
for informational geometry. Mathematically, a gauge is just a choice of a (local) section of some principle
bundle. A gauge transformation is just a transformation between two such sections. Note that although
gauge theory is mainly studied by physics, the idea of a connection is not essential or central to gauge
theory in general. I can define a gauge connection on the principal bundle. If a local basis of sections is
chosen then it can represent covariant derivative by the connection form Am, a Lie-algebra valued 1 –form
which is called the gauge potential in physics. From this connection form it is possible to construct the
curvature form F, a Lia-algebra valued 2-form which is an intrinsic quantity, by
Fµν = ∑µAν - ∑ν Aµ –ig[Aµ Aν ]
[Dµ Dν] =-ig Fµν , where Dµ = ∑µ - igAµ ;
Aµ = Aµa ta and t –is generator of infinitesimal transformation.
Thus I can write Lagrangian: 1/4 Fµν aFµνa -1/2 Sp(Fµν Fµν ) which is invariant under transformation
of coordinates. Such approach provides us with analog of CFT Yang-Mills model on our statistical
manifold.
At the same time, I can have another evolution functional J= ∫ (R+|“f|2)exp(-f)dV= ∫ (R+|“f|2)dm ,
which is dependant on function f –gradient vector field defined on the manifold of volume V. It is well
known in the string theory [10-13] functional that can lead us to AdS model. Thus, we have an interesting
result that information geometry approach let us formulate any network system functionality in terms of
two models: information analogy of super-gravity AdS model and Yang-Mills theory.
3. Renormalization group flow as formalism for the system migration
Now, I are going to ask a question how the evolution of the network system can be analyzed in terms
of information geometry defined on information manifolds. To do so, I am looking for a functional to
describe evolution of the manifold it-self.
One candidate is a functional J=∫ (R+|“f|2)dm which can be taken as the gradient flow dgij/dt
=2(Rij+“i“jf). That is generalization of the geometrical flow called Ricci flow dgij/dt = -2Rij. Interesting
thing about Ricci flow is that it can be characterized among all other evolution equations by infinitesimal
behavior of the fundamental solutions of the conjugate heat equation. It is also related to the Holographic
renormalization group flow [11-12] (RG-flow) which provides a structural form of the Ads-CFT
correspondence.
Thus, migration of the system from one host to another can be seen as a geometrical flow of
information entropy on pre-defined statistical manifold. Results [11-14] demonstrates that Ricci Flow can
be considered as renormalization semi-group that distribute informational curvature over the manifold but
keep scalar invariant R=Rmin*V2/3 which is R-curvature and V-volume of the functional cluster on
information manifold. As I mentioned before, the region with strong curvature interpreted as sub-system
with high information integration and complexity. Thus, we can see Ricci flow as a process of
delocalization which migrate functional cluster to distributed representation.
Based on Perelman works [13] for the solutions to the Ricci flow (d/dt gij(t) = -2Rij) the evolution
equation for the scale curvature on Riemann manifold:
d/dt R= DR =2 |Ric|2 = DR + 2/3 R2 +2|Rico|2
It implies the estimate Rtmin > - 3/(2*(t+1/4)) where the larger t-scalar parameter then the larger is the
distance scale and smaller is the energy scale. The evolution equation for the volume is d/dt V < RminV.
Take R and V asymptotic at large t, we have R(t)V(t) -2/3 ~ -3/2. Thus, we have Ricci flow as a process of
delocalization. If V is growing then R is decreasing and CFT model defined on the conformal boundary of
the manifold. That model provides an isomorphic distributed representation for the migrated system.
In context of mind uploading and resurrection, Ricci flow provides a way to analyze the information
flow within the system brain-artificial environment where functional clusters altered but the over all system
functionality is preserved. This functionality can be distributed across the network of artificial nodes. The
flow provides a constraint for the migration process from original toy brain system to the distributed
network.
4. Holographic representation for information flow
Our insight of using Ricci flow based on generalization of holographic theory. Holography is a method
to represent information about 3D shape by 2D record plate which called holographic plate. Expose of such
2D holographic plate by coherent light will lead to reconstruction of initial 3D shape - holography. Thus, if
we have 2D record then we can reconstruct 3D shape which might be lost long time ago. This well knows
optical effect has solid mathematical model called holographic representation which is based on Fourier
transformation of the optical light coming from the 3D object.
Interesting fact that original 3D object is spatially localized unlike it holographic representation where
information about the shape is distributed across whole 2D plate. Important to keep in mind that, an optical
holography deal only with shape reconstruction and do not reconstruct the whole system which would
require reconstruction all internal properties and parts as well as they interactions.
But the holographic model can be easily generalized for an abstract informational system defined on
statistical manifold. The evolution of the system can be represented as a curve in the information geometry
space and the whole system evolution will be represented by the set of curves in the space which called
attractors. Attractor is an expression of the fact that elements form the system where they are connected and
the system repeat its behavior over the time. Attractor is located in finite area of the space and presents
complex shape. This shape represents a system dynamic core in terms of information geometry.
Figure 6 illustrates a 2D slice of the Dynamic core shape. The whole dynamic core of the information system is defined on multidimensional statistical manifold.
Based on analogy with optical 3D holography, we can construct holographic hyperspace which will
encode all information about initial system attractor.
Figure 7 Figure 1 illustrates how 3D shape can be encoded (left) and decoded (right) by 2D plate. Each element of the 3D object can
be encoded as a concentric curve on 2D plate. Such encoding schema allows holographic reverse engineering which will reconstruct
original shape. There can be many different curves encoding each 3D point.
Figure 7 illustrate how the holographic representation on (n-1) dim plate provides delocalized
representation of the original n-dim system. Information can not be localized anywhere on the (n-1) dim
plate but distributed across the whole area. At the same time such holographic representation preserves all
causal relations and as such the system functionality will be effectively presented by distributed
environment. Holography reconstruction can be seen as a reverse engineering which will reconstruct
original shape.
The question that I are going to investigate now is: how rich should be the environment to provide such
conditions for holographic representation. To answer the question, a set of theoretical constrains is found.
They determine richness of the environment and its ability to re-implement the toy brain functionality.
5. Auto poetic functionality as Coherent Structure
To estimate constraints, I am looking for the class of structures which can be re-implemented during
modification in the system architecture. As it was mentioned before, deformations (geometrical flows) of
the information manifold represent adjustment processes which might take place within the whole braincomputer system. Those processes should preserve functionality of the original “toy brain”. In terms of
geometry, vital functions should be invariant under the manifold deformations. To find out invariant
structures, I investigate topological evolution of information manifold.
A function is defined by an open set of causally interacting elements which is an auto-poetic dynamic
core of the function. Thus dynamic core is defined geometrically as a coherent structure such as deformable
connection domain on information manifolds with certain topological properties. I consider topological
properties of such space that stay the same under continuous transformations. For the scalar function R
evolves in time with some velocity VR, following the method of Cartan [15], a certain amount of
topological information can be obtained by the construction of the Pfaff sequences based on the 1-form of
Action, A=ds=VRm(x)dxm a differential constructed from the unit tangent information integration velocity
field VR. It is possible to claim that emergent states are coherent topological structures:
Topological Action (energy) A
Topological Vorticity (rotation) F=dA
Topological Torsion (entropy) H=A L dA
Topological Parity (causality) K = dA L dA
The rank of largest non-zero element of the above sequence gives Pfaff dimension of an information
manifold. It gives us the minimal number M of functions required to determine the topological properties of
the given form in a pre-geometric variety of dimensions N. It require at least dimension 4 to accommodate
complex systems with dynamic cores. This Pfaff dimension is an invariant of a continuous deformation of
the domain thus it is invariant under geometrical flow
It may be demonstrated from deRham theorem and Brouwer theorem [15] that the odd dimensional set
(1,3,5,..) may undergo topological evolution but even dimensions (2,4,..) remain invariant. It implies that
coherent topological structure once established through evolution of the Pfaff dimension from 3-to -4 then
will remain invariant. Thus I have a constraint that migration of the system will be successful only if
introduced changes will not alter even Pfaff dimension for the system information manifold.
6. Hamiltonian flow to conserve causal relations
To construct an algorithm for the toy brain migration to an artificial environment, I am using matrix
representation for the system. Xab can be seen as a matrix N*M –of N of informational objects and M
operations.
Interactions among sub-systems can be expressed by an Action S~m∫ dt Tr{X£2a + ω2[Xa Xb][ Xa Xb]}
where Xa is N*M matrix that can be represented X=D+Q as sum of diagonal D=diag(d1,d2,..) and nonediagonal pieces. Then the action can be written as S~m∫ dt (LD + LQ +Lint)
Nelson’s stochastic theory [16] emerges naturally as a description of statistical behavior of the
eigenvalues with interaction potential of interaction between diagonal and none-diagonal elements:
Lint = U(D,Q) ; LD = m∑ D£2a
LQ = m{∑ Q£2a + ω2[Qa Qb][ Qa Qb]}
Lint = 2m ω2∑ {-( di-dj)2a Q2b- ( di-dj)a ( di-dj)b Qa Qb - 2( di-dj) aQb [Qa Qb]}
Based on this potential, the classical equation of motion can be written how each matrix element
moves in an effective potential created by the average motion of other elements. Assume that statistical
averages satisfy (Gaussians processes) relations consistent with the symmetry of the theory. That gives use
Brownian movements in potential:
<U> = mΩQ2/2 Qija Qija + mΩd2/2 (dai-daj)2
where ΩQ2 = 4(d-1)ω2 [(N-1) q2+2 r2] ; Ωd2= 4(d-1)ω2 q2
The Q system is in distribution. Variation principle for Matrix Model can be reformulated for
eigenvalues: λ= d + ∑ Qija Qjia /( di-dj)a +… . and diffusion constant for the eigenvalues is ν = (∆d)2/∆t
Now I would like to mention that neural-network can emulate quantum mechanical system at normal
temperature. I are going to define T/(8(d-1)m ω2) = t/ Np and ћ = m ν, then the wave function can be
defined as: Ψ = √rexp(S/ ћ), where r - probability density = 1/Z exp (-H (Q)/T) and Hamiltonian:
H(Q) = m{∑ Q£2a - ω2[Qa Qb][ Qa Qb]}
This repeats Lee Smolin result that variation principle in presence of Brownian motion equivalent to
the well known in math-physics Schrödinger equation:
i ћ dΨ/dt ={ - ћ/2m d2/d(λ)2 + mΩd2/2 ∑ (λai- λaj)2 + TN(N-1)/4+ NmC} Ψ
The Hamiltonian (and Schrodinger equation as a result of variation principle) provides an algorithm for
the system migration which conserves causal circuits. Liouville’s theorem (figure 8) proves that the
Hamiltonian flow preserve the volume of the initial space region (representing a range of possible initial
states), even though the shape of this region may become grossly distorted in the time evolution. Using
Hamiltonian approach for the information geometry, thus, it can found now how the system will behave
during updates described by various Hamiltonians.
Figure 8 Liouville’s theorem prove that the Hamiltonian flow preserve the volume of the initial phase-space region (representing a
range of possible initial states), even though the shape of this region may become grossly distorted in the time evolution.
7. Migration to distributed systems by none local Hamiltonians
Here, it is possible to demonstrate how the new approach can be used in simulation. Consider again our
toy brain which interacts with an environment. Each node to node interaction described by an information
Hamiltonian: H=∑ Ci * σi *τi .
The
prescribed
state
is
denoted
by
the
density
matrix
ρ=|ψ><ψ|,
where
|ψ>=cos(θ/2)|0>+exp(iφ)sin(θ/2)|1> is superposition of active |1> and |0> none-active state. As we can see
an initial state of the system of two sources is | ρ(0)|4x4 . The information encoded in the system at time t is
characterized by the fidelity Fi(t) =< ψ | ρi(t) | ψ >, where ρi(t)=Tr ρ(t)-except “i” .
Let us introduce two qualities:
CFi(t) = cos2(θ/2) ρi00(t) + sin2 (θ/2) ρi11(t)
QFi(t) = Re[exp(-iφ) * sin (θ) ρi10(t)]
And rewrite Fidelity as Fi(t) = CFi(t) + QFi(t), where ρ(t)= exp(-iHt)*ρ(0)*exp(iHt).
By straightforward calculations [17], it is found that if Ci = Cj (uniformity of information integration
among all sources) for any i and j then ∑ CFi(t) and ∑ QFi(t) are both invariable. That mean total F(t) =
∑Fi(t) is invariable too.
Due to the interactions between parts of the system, the states of these parts changes with time, and the
information is expanded between them. But the total Fidelity-information is conserved. This is something
like Energy Conservation Law for information systems. This law leads to interesting phenomena when
information can partially concentrated spontaneously in one part of the distributed system due to oscillation
part of Fi(t). Such concentration and following dilution in large-scale system can be seen as localization
and de-localization of the application system Dynamic Core. That gives us another mechanism to construct
algorithms for the system migration. Such systems should have “conservative Hamiltonian”. Hamiltonian
should satisfy condition [H, ∑n i=1 C i ]=0 , where C i = 1/(2 n-1 ) I1 * I2 *… ρ0i * Ii+1 * In+2 *.. I n , with ρ0i
denotes the reduced density matrix of the i-th source and Ii denotes reduced density matrix of other
sources. This is easily can be proven by showing that ∂F(t)/ ∂t =0 is equal to [H, ∑n i=1 C i ]=0.
8. Computer simulation of hypothetical mind uploading and resurrection
After the mathematical formalism is developed, I am going to discuss a few cases of using hypothetical
mind uploading interface. The term mind uploading (sometimes referred to by other terms such as mind
transfer or whole brain emulation) refers to the transfer of a human mind to an artificial substrate. Such
process will require certain physical measurements and operation. I performed mind uploading simulation
study for hypothetical “toy mind” to address the list of “toy questions” such as:
Can we have complete knowledge about complex system such as a human brain?
Can we have exact copy of a physical system?
How we can construct mind uploading process?
How rich should be environment to migrate complex dynamic system?
Can we formulate “richness” in terms of mathematical and physical constraints such as “conservation
lows” or “symmetries”?
Simulation Experiments did use the “toy brain” model that has a body of 10^15 cells. Environment
was simulated by in input parameters for the 5% of neurons. To mimic complexity of biological network, a
single neuron was modeled by 5 parameters which are sensitive to measurement procedure. Then, local
network circuitry was simulated for each 1000 neurons. The global neural network architecture was
modeled based on the data extracted from diffusion tensor brain tomography image of the human brain.
And finally, three strategies were simulated:
8.1. Strategy 1”Teleportation”
“Teleportation” is the first strategy which can be considered as a candidate for mind upload through
two photon teleportation. One simulated beam of entangled photons can be set to interact with the “toy
brain” while another can be send to a “clone body”. We simulate process of interaction which alters the
states of original cells/neurons down to their molecular level. Five numeric parameters are used to simulate
states of the molecular network within a cell.
We suggest that measurements of a parameter should affect 10^5 molecular elements in the cell. This
affect is modeled as an energy flux dE for each molecular structure. Taking in consideration dxdp~h we can
see that dE will be enough to change molecular thermal spectrum that will result in modification of the
system parameters. For example a measurement with precision 0.1% will affect the whole system
10^5*0.1=1000% by 10 times of it original state. That probably will destroy any organized systems.
Thus, the ideal physical clone is impossible, due to measurement problem.
Initially, “clone brain” was an anatomical replica of the original but without any dynamic states
embodied in the molecular network of the original brain. Those states represented by dynamics of the five
parameters for each neuron. Teleportation migrate those states from original to the clone. We demonstrate
that cell parameters will be altered in a way that they get to uncontrolled chaotic behavior that probably
would lead to cell death in the real world. Chaotic behavior came from the simulation of interactions
among parameters (molecular states) and measurement device (photons).
Original will be irreversibly altered-destroyed but the clone get to the state which is indistinguishable
from the state of the original before the experiment was performed. By this simulation we demonstrate that
quantum “teleportation” potentially can be seen as a candidate for mind upload.
8.2. Strategy II “Delocalization/Holographic representation”
This strategy is based on the ideas of holography and holographic representation. The complex
network interactions can be represented in terms on entropy and energy fluxes. Each interacting component
of the system or an environment called “metabolite” and as such can be seen as a source of energy/entropy
flux for another element of the system/environment. Thus interactions within the system/environment can
be modeled as energy and entropy flows.
A statistical manifold was defined to treat “Toy brain” as a dynamic physical system. Such formalism
let me analyze system dynamics in terms which are invariant to specific physical entities.
Environments can be classified as reach and poor. Reach environment is the one that provide rich
structure to accommodate migration. Oppositely, the poor environment does not support such transition.
I demonstrated that system dissolution within the environment can be seen as an entropy flow. It is also
demonstrated that such flow within the rich environment will conserve all causal relation of original if it
satisfied renormalization group-flow constraint. Thus, such a group-flow provides holographic
representation for the original host. That representation is a distributed and it provides holographic analogy
for the original system. Using other words, we can say that the “mind” of our “toy brain” will survive the
brain desolation and continue to run on the artificial environment that will become its new delocalized
body.
8.3. Strategy III “Resurrection”
Finally, I consider “resurrection strategy”. This is a strategy, where resurrection can be seen as a
holographic reconstruction. A difference from an optical holography is that “resurrection” will destroy
holographic representation due to the process of interaction. So I am still having one copy of our “toy
mind”.
9. Conclusion and Future work
In this paper, I presented an approach to analyze hypothetical process of “mind uploading” and
resurrection. I demonstrated how complex network system – “toy brain” can be described in the terms of
matrix theory and information geometry. Also, geometrical flow was suggested for analysis of complex
dynamic structures in information geometry.
Also, Holographic representation was considered as an analogy for the “toy brain” migration.
Renormalization semi-group flow and Hamiltonian flow (formalism) was taken as a way to solve the
problem analytically.
Simulation study was performed and list of “toy answers” was collected:
1. I demonstrate that based on Landay principle (kTln(2) ~1bit), we can not have complete knowledge
about complex system like a human brain. Measurements will require of enormous amount of
thermodynamic energy to encode everything in bit.
2. Detail copy of the complex physical system is impossible due to the fact that measurements will
chaotically affect the original and eventually destroy it.
3. It will be demonstrated that the processes of “information holography” (recording and
reconstruction) can be seen as a resurrection, even without complete “knowledge” about the system.
4. Holography as renormalization group flow on statistical manifolds and semi-group conservation
provide constraints for hypothetical processes of mind uploading from localized to delocalized form.
Next step would be a development of simulation algorithm for a large scale brain network system
(~10^15 neurons).
References
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Future state of the Universe Authors: Mariusz P. Dabrowski, Annalen Phys. 15 (2006) 352-363,
http://www.arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0606574
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Theories and measures of consciousness: An extended fraimwork. Gerald Edelman,…2006, 10.1073/pnas.0604347103
Measuring information integration. Giulio Tononi and Olaf Sporns BMC Neuroscience 2003, 4:31
Anti De Sitter Space and Holography. Edward Witten (http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9802150)
Authors: Pedro Lauridsen Ribeiro Renormalization Group Flow in Algebraic Holography http://www.arxiv.org/abs/hepth/0306024
Authors: Sebastian de Haro, Kostas Skenderis, Sergey N. Solodukhin Holographic Reconstruction of Spacetime and
Renormalization in the AdS/CFT Correspondence http://www.arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0002230
Perelman, Grisha (November 11, 2002). "The entropy formula for the Ricci flow and its geometric applications".
arXiv:math.DG/0211159
Authors: Sergey N. Solodukhin Entanglement entropy and the Ricci flow. http://www.arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0609045
Kiehn, R. M., (1990a) "Topological Torsion, Pfaff Dimension and Coherent Structures";, in: H. K. Moffatt and T. S.
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Innovation Algorithm: TRIZ, systematic innovation and technical creativity (Paperback) by Genrich Altshuller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ |
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2016| Volume 7 | Issue 11 | pp. 862-1236
iii
“To be immortal is commonplace; except for man, all
creatures are immortal, for they are ignorant of death;
what is divine, terrible, incomprehensible,
is to know that one is immortal."
(Jorge Luis Borges, The Immortal, 1943)
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com |
Consciousness
and
Cognition
Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
www.elsevier.com/locate/concog
Fantasy proneness, but not self-reported trauma is related
to DRM performance of women reporting recovered
memories of childhood sexual abuse
Elke Geraerts a,*, Elke Smeets b, Marko Jelicic b, Jaap van Heerden a,
Harald Merckelbach c
a
Department of Neurocognition, University of Maastricht, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
b
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
c
Department of Experimental Psychology and Faculty of Law, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Received 15 December 2004
Available online 26 February 2005
Abstract
Extending a strategy previously used by Clancy, Schacter, McNally, and Pitman (2000), we administered
a neutral and a trauma-related version of the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm to a sample of women
reporting recovered (n = 23) or repressed memories (n = 16) of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), women
reporting having always remembered their abuse (n = 55), and women reporting no history of abuse
(n = 20). We found that individuals reporting recovered memories of CSA are more prone than other participants to falsely recalling and recognizing neutral words that were never presented. Moreover, our study
is the first to show that this finding even held when trauma-related material was involved. Correlational
analyses revealed that fantasy proneness, but not self-reported traumatic experiences and dissociative
symptoms were related to false recall and false recognition.
Ó 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Recovered memories; False memories; Repressed memories; Childhood sexual abuse; DRM task; Fantasy
proneness; Dissociation
*
Corresponding author. Fax: +31 433884125.
E-mail address: E.Geraerts@Psychology.Unimaas.NL (E. Geraerts).
1053-8100/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.concog.2005.01.006
E. Geraerts et al. / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
603
1. Introduction
McNally, Clancy, and their colleagues were among the first to apply experimental methods to
investigate memory functioning in women reporting repressed and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). In one of their studies, Clancy, Schacter, McNally, and Pitman (2000)
made use of the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) task (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott,
1995), a paradigm that is very effective in eliciting false memories. In the DRM paradigm, participants study a list of words that are strong semantic associates of a word not presented on the
list—the critical lure. For example, participants may study words like bed, rest, awake, tired,
and so forth, all of which are strongly related to the nonpresented critical item, sleep. On a subsequent test, participants often falsely recall and recognize the critical lure (e.g., sleep).
Clancy et al. (2000) used this paradigm to examine whether participants reporting recovered
memories of CSA would be more prone than others to develop false memories in the DRM paradigm. In their study, control women reporting no history of abuse, and women reporting recovered, repressed, or continuous memories of CSA underwent the DRM task. Clancy et al. (2000)
found that, relative to the other groups, women reporting recovered CSA memories more often
falsely recognized the nonpresented critical lures. This suggests that these women relied more
on memory for gist than on verbatim memory traces of the individual words they had studied
(e.g., Brainerd & Reyna, 1998). Two further studies employed the DRM paradigm to examine
memory functioning in people reporting traumatic experiences. Bremner, Shobe, and Kihlstrom
(2000) studied women with continuous memories of CSA who were suffering from posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). The authors found that these women displayed a higher frequency of false
recognition than abused women without PTSD. Zoellner, Foa, Brigidi, and Przeworski (2000) reported that victims of criminal assaults with or without PTSD more often falsely recalled critical
nonpresented words than did nontraumatized participants. Thus, the literature on DRM performance of people reporting traumatic experiences allows for two interpretations. On the one hand,
one could argue that the raised frequencies of false recall in people with recovered memories show
that they are especially susceptible to develop pseudomemories. On the other hand, there are indications that people who have been traumatized exhibit memory impairments of which heightened
levels of false recall on the DRM paradigm might be a manifestation (Zoellner et al., 2000).
Although the DRM paradigm creates striking memory illusions, Freyd and Gleaves (1996)
questioned the relevance of the DRM paradigm to real world examples of alleged false memories
(e.g., in recovered CSA memories or eyewitness testimony). They noted that the real world scenarios where false memories may occur typically involve highly emotional events (e.g., CSA), whereas
words used in the DRM paradigm are not emotionally charged and hence not trauma-related.
Freyd and Gleaves (1996) hypothesized that the frequency of false recall and recognition in the
DRM paradigm would be lowered when trauma-related items would be used, due to their emotional distinctiveness. Our study is the first to address this issue by employing neutral and traumarelated DRM lists to traumatized individuals. We investigated whether participants who reported
having recovered CSA memories displayed higher rates of false recall and recognition for neutral
and trauma-related words relative to other participants.
A subsidiary aim of our study concerned the issue of whether certain traits are associated with
performance on the DRM task. More specifically, we examined whether individual differences in
fantasy proneness and dissociation are connected to false recall and recognition in the DRM task.
604
E. Geraerts et al. / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
It might be speculated, for example, that people who are, possibly due to heightened levels of fantasy proneness, predisposed to false memory effects in the DRM task, would also be predisposed
to have pseudomemories. Conversely, CSA might create dissociative tendencies that may lead to
enhanced false memory effects on the DRM task. Previous research, for example, has shown that
people scoring high on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein & Putnam, 1986) are
susceptible to memory distortions induced by various laboratory tests (e.g., Eisen & Lynn, 2001),
including the DRM paradigm (Clancy et al., 2000; Winograd, Peluso, & Glover, 1998). A number
of authors have noted that there is a considerable overlap between dissociation and fantasy proneness (e.g., Merckelbach & Muris, 2001; Rauschenberger & Lynn, 1995). We also obtained participantsÕ scores on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 2003). If false
memories in the DRM paradigm are a manifestation of memory impairment due to traumatization, one would expect a robust correlation between false memories on the DRM task and CTQ
scores. If, on the other hand, the DRM paradigm primarily taps susceptibility to pseudomemories, one would expect a significant association between such false memories and fantasy
proneness.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
Following the procedure of Clancy et al. (2000), we recruited participants through advertisements in local newspapers. In these advertisements, we invited women to come to our lab when
they (a) had recovered CSA memories, (b) believed they had been sexually abused as a child,
(c) had a history of sexual abuse which had never been forgotten or (d) had no history of sexual
abuse. The study was described as a research project on memory and personality. The study was
approved by the standing Ethical Committee of the Faculty of Psychology, University of
Maastricht.
After providing written informed consent, a semi-structured memory interview was conducted
to classify participants into one of the groups (see also Clancy et al., 2000). Individuals reporting
repressed, recovered, and continuous memories of CSA were asked whether they had obtained
information from others (e.g., sibling) or had physical evidence (e.g., letters, medical records) that
could validate the CSA memories.
2.1.1. Recovered memory group
The recovered memory group consisted of 23 women (mean age = 41.6 years, SD = 10.9) who
said having previously forgotten and subsequently recalled memories of CSA. Eight participants
(35%) had recovered memories of CSA during psychotherapy. Most of the other women in this
group recovered memories of CSA after having been exposed to certain cues (e.g., a friend
who tells about CSA experiences, the birth of their own child). The majority (22 women; 96%)
reported that their recovered memories had a significant impact on their lives. Only one participant could give corroborative evidence for the abuse, namely a statement of the perpetrator himself. However, in most cases, women lost contact with their families after having confronted them
with recovered CSA memories.
E. Geraerts et al. / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
605
2.1.2. Repressed memory group
The repressed memory group comprised 16 women (mean age = 43.9 years, SD = 6.8)
who believed that they had been sexually abused as a child, but had no explicit autobiographical memories of CSA. These women cited a diversity of symptoms they thought indicated a history of CSA (e.g., relationship problems, depressive symptoms, and eating
disorders). Some reported vague feelings of nervousness when they were near certain relatives who, they believed, might had abused them. The majority (13 women; 81%) of this
group reported that their CSA had a traumatic impact on their lives. It was, of course,
impossible for us to determine whether they had been abused. The term Ôrepressed memoryÕ
describes their belief.
2.1.3. Continuous memory group
The continuous memory group comprised 55 women (mean age = 43.1 years, SD = 14.4) who
said that they had never forgotten their abuse. Forty-five (82%) women reported that their CSA
could be seen as traumatic. Nineteen (35%) provided the name of a person who could corroborate
the abuse (e.g., a sibling who had been abused at the same time, the perpetrator himself). One participant gave us a court document that stated that her father had been indicted for sexually abusing her. Some women in this group indicated that witnesses who could provide evidence for the
CSA had deceased.
2.1.4. Control group
The control group comprised 20 women (mean age = 41.5, SD = 12) who said that they had
neither during childhood nor during adulthood ever been sexually abused.
2.2. Measures
A number of self-report scales and tasks were administered to the sample. Here, we only discuss
those that are directly relevant to the issue of DRM performance and its correlates.
2.2.1. Self-report scales
The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; CronbachÕs a = .92; Bernstein & Putnam, 1986) is a
28-item self-report measure that asks respondents how often they experience dissociative symptoms like derealization and depersonalization. Items are scored on 100-mm Visual Analogue
Scales (VASs). Scores are summed to obtain a total DES score (range 0–100), with higher scores
indicating higher dissociative tendencies. The DES exhibits high internal consistency and test–retest correlations ranging from .74 to .84. Van IJzendoorn and Schuengel (1996) have shown that
the DES has excellent psychometric properties.
The Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ; CronbachÕs a = .79; Merckelbach, Muris, &
Rassin, 1999) is a measure that is based on Wilson and BarberÕs (1983) listing of fantasy proneness
characteristics. The CEQ includes 25 dichotomous (yes/no) items that cover experiences related to
daydreaming, imagining, and intense fantasizing. Psychometric research (for a review, see Merckelbach, Horselenberg, & Muris, 2001) has shown that the CEQ possesses adequate reliability in
terms of internal consistency and test–retest stability. Furthermore, the CEQ has predictive
validity in the sense that certain categories of persons who are known to exhibit fantasy-prone
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characteristics (e.g., people with paranormal experiences, amateur actors) display higher scores on
this scale than control participants.
The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; CronbachÕs a = .82; Bernstein et al., 2003) is a
widely used psychometrically sound self-report scale of aversive childhood experiences. The short
form consists of 25 items that address five areas of childhood maltreatment, namely emotional,
physical, and sexual abuse, and emotional and physical neglect. Each area is represented with five
items. Items are rated on 5-point scales anchored 1 (never) and 5 (very often). A total CTQ score
can be obtained by summing scores on individual items, of which some have to be recoded before
the sum can be calculated. A number of recent nonclinical (e.g., Irwin, 2001; Merckelbach, Horselenberg, & Schmidt, 2002) as well as clinical studies (e.g., Carrion & Steiner, 2000; Gast, Rodewald, Nickel, & Emerich, 2001) on trauma and dissociation employed this measure. Moreover,
Bernstein, Ahluvalia, Pogge, and Handelsman (1997) showed that the psychometric properties
of the CTQ are satisfactory.
2.2.2. DRM paradigm
The 10 neutral word lists used in the current study were derived from lists previously employed
in our lab (Peters, Jelicic, Haas, & Merckelbach, submitted). Extensive pilot work showed that
they produce rates of false recall and recognition comparable to those reported by Roediger
and McDermott (1995). Adopting the procedure of Peters et al., the 10 trauma-related word lists
were constructed as follows. For each critical trauma-related lure, we developed a corresponding
word list by obtaining the first 15 associates listed in Lauteslager, Schaap, and SchievelsÕ (1986)
and van Loon-Vervoorn and van Bekkum (1991) word association norms. For example, the first
5 associates corresponding to assault were rape, police, beating, child, and violence. On all lists,
associates were presented in decreasing order of associative strength. The 10 neutral and 10 trauma-related lists were counterbalanced across participants.
The recognition test consisted of 120 words; 60 (30 neutral and 30 trauma-related words) had
been presented in the study phase, while 60 (30 neutral and 30 trauma-related) were new items.
The 60 studied items were obtained by selecting three items from each list from serial positions
1, 8, and 10. The 60 new items included the 20 critical lures associated with the study words
(e.g., needle, assault), 20 (10 neutral and 10 trauma-related) words unrelated to any words on
the list, and 20 (10 neutral and 10 trauma-related) words weakly related to words on the list.
2.3. Procedure
All participants were tested individually during a session that lasted for approximately 2 h.
First, women completed the self-report scales and after a delay of 30 min, they underwent the
DRM task. Participants were instructed that they would see several lists of words on a computer
screen and that following each list, they would be asked to write down these words. They were
told to write down the last few words they had heard (which is a standard instruction for this task)
and then to write down the rest of the words they remembered in any order. They were instructed
to write down as many words they could remember, provided they were reasonably confident that
these words had been on the list (i.e., they were told not to guess). During the study phase, each
word remained for 3 s on the computer screen. Participants were given 2.5 min to recall each list.
After the 20th list, there was a brief conversation lasting 2–3 min. Subsequently, participants were
E. Geraerts et al. / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
607
given a sheet with the old and new words and they were asked to indicate whether or not each
word had appeared on any of the studied lists.
3. Results
3.1. Self-report scores
Table 1 shows demographic and psychometric data for the subgroups. One-way Analyses of
Variance (ANOVAs) revealed that subgroups did not differ significantly in age or educational level: both FÕs (3, 110) < 1.0, ns. However, subgroups differed significantly with respect to all self-report scales. Both the recovered and repressed memory subgroups reported more dissociative
symptoms (DES) than the continuous memory group and the control group (all tÕs > 2.1, all
pÕs < .03). Post hoc tests (LSD) indicated that women with recovered, repressed, or continuous
CSA memories scored higher on fantasy proneness (CEQ) and childhood trauma (CTQ) than
control women reporting no history of abuse (all tÕs > 3.8, all pÕs < .001).
3.2. Recall
3.2.1. Neutral lists
Correct recall (i.e., mean proportion of recall of studied words), false recall of critical lures and
nonstudied words other than the critical lures (i.e., mean proportion of recall of nonstudied critical lures and of nonstudied words other than the critical lures) are shown in Table 2. Because we
had no specific predictions about correct recall, we performed ANOVAs followed by post hoc
contrasts (LSD). Results revealed that all groups displayed equivalent rates of correct recall:
F (3, 110) < 1.0, ns. Participants recalled 56% of the words presented in the neutral lists correctly.
To test whether recovered memory participants displayed higher levels of false recall than the
other groups, we computed the false recall rate (i.e., false recall of critical lures minus false recall
of nonstudied words other than the critical lures) and applied contrast weights of 3, 1, 1, and
1 to the recovered, repressed, continuous, and control subgroups, respectively. Women with
recovered memories of CSA had a higher rate of false recall compared to the repressed, continuous, and control group, t (110) = 4.30, p < .001, effect size r = .43.
Table 1
Demographic data and mean scores of subgroups on the DES, CEQ, and CTQ
Measure
Age (years)
Education (level)
DES
CEQ
CTQ
Recovered n = 23
Repressed n = 16
Continuous n = 55
Control n = 20
F
p
M
41.6 (10.9)
5.1 (1.5)
30.1 (19.4)
7.7 (2.8)
39.9 (9.9)
M
43.9 (6.8)
5.4 (1.7)
31.5 (11.6)
9.4 (5.2)
35.3 (10.3)
M
43.1 (14.4)
4.7 (1.8)
22.2 (12.6)
8.2 (3.6)
37.2 (11.3)
M
41.5 (12.0)
5.5 (1.8)
12.9 (9.0)
4.2 (3.5)
25.5 (4.4)
.18
1.2
7.4
6.5
8.6
.91
.31
<.001
<.001
<.001
Note. Educational level varies on a scale from 0 (no primary school) to 8 (university degree). Standard deviations are in
parentheses.
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E. Geraerts et al. / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
Table 2
Proportion of recalled studied words, critical lures, and nonstudied words other than the critical lure for neutral and
trauma-related lists
Word type
Neutral studied words
Neutral critical lures
Neutral nonstudied words other than critical lures
Trauma-related studied words
Trauma-related critical lures
Trauma-related nonstudied words other than critical lures
Recovered
n = 23
Repressed
n = 16
Continuous
n = 55
Control
n = 20
M
.56 (.11)
.61 (.18)
.14 (.19)
.42 (.09)
.20 (.10)
.20 (.17)
M
.56 (.08)
.46 (.21)
.22 (.20)
.43 (.08)
.16 (.17)
.18 (.16)
M
.55 (.11)
.42 (.18)
.21 (.19)
.42 (.11)
.14 (.11)
.13 (.08)
M
.59(.09)
.44 (.16)
.14 (.12)
.46 (.08)
.13 (.13)
.13 (.12)
Standard deviations are in parentheses.
3.2.2. Trauma-related lists
ANOVAs followed by post hoc contrasts (LSD) showed that all participants displayed similar
rates of correct recall for trauma-related words, F (3, 110) < 1.0, ns, with a mean proportion of recall of 43%.
Performing the earlier mentioned contrast analysis on false recall rate, we found a nonsignificant difference between the groups: t (110) = .84, p > .05, effect size r = .19. Curiously enough, for
the trauma-related lists, critical lures were recalled at a low rate of 15%.
3.3. Recognition
3.3.1. Neutral lists
Hit rate (i.e., mean proportion of correct recognition) and false alarm for critical lures and nonstudied words other than the critical lures (i.e., mean proportion of recognition of nonstudied critical lures and of nonstudied words other than the critical lures) are shown in Table 3. ANOVAs
indicated that all groups exhibited similar rates of correct recognition of neutral words,
F (3, 110) < 1.0, ns. Overall, studied words were recognized at a rate of 74%.
To test whether recovered memory participants displayed higher rates of false recognition than
the other groups, we computed the false recognition rate (i.e., false recognition of critical lures
Table 3
Proportion of recognized studied words, critical lures, and nonstudied words other than the critical lure for neutral and
trauma-related lists
Word type
Neutral studied words
Neutral critical lures
Neutral nonstudied words other than critical lures
Trauma-related studied words
Trauma-related critical lures
Trauma-related nonstudied words other than critical lures
Standard deviations are in parentheses.
Recovered
n = 23
Repressed
n = 16
Continuous
n = 55
Control
n = 20
M
.76 (.09)
.86 (.08)
.06 (.04)
.85 (.09)
.91 (.09)
.20 (.16)
M
.75 (.09)
.78 (.17)
.09 (.06)
.79 (.15)
.81 (.14)
.19 (.14)
M
.72 (.15)
.73 (.19)
.04 (.03)
.83 (.12)
.74 (.17)
.16 (.10)
M
.74 (.15)
.72 (.09)
.06 (.03)
.86 (.10)
.73 (.08)
.17 (.08)
E. Geraerts et al. / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
609
minus false recognition of nonstudied words other than the critical lures) and again applied contrast weights of 3, 1, 1, and 1 to the recovered, repressed, continuous, and control group,
respectively. A significant difference was found, t (110) = 3.17, p = .002, effect size r = .30, demonstrating that women with recovered memories of CSA more often falsely recognized critical lures
than the other women.
3.3.2. Trauma-related lists
The groups showed equivalent rates of accurate recognition for trauma-related words:
F (3, 110) < 1.0, ns. Overall, 83% of the studied words were correctly recognized.
Analysis with contrast weights indicated that women with recovered CSA memories had a higher rate of false recognition of trauma-related critical lures than the other groups, t (110) = 2.46,
p = .015, effect size r = .28.
3.4. Individual differences and DRM performance
Table 4 shows Pearson correlations between DRM scores, dissociation, fantasy proneness, and
childhood trauma. DES scores were significantly associated with unrelated intrusions on recall
tests (neutral lists: r = .23, p < .05; trauma-related lists: r = .25, p < .001) and false recognition
of unrelated trauma words (r = .37, p < .001). However, correlations between DES and false recall
and recognition of critical lures fell short of significance (all rÕs < .16, pÕs > .09). CEQ correlated
significantly with false recall and recognition of neutral and trauma-related critical lures (all
rÕs > .19, all pÕs < .05). Self-reported childhood trauma (CTQ) did not correlate significantly with
any false recall or recognition parameter (all rÕs < .15, all pÕs > .12).
4. Discussion
The purpose of this study was to determine whether women reporting recovered CSA memories
would show enhanced false recall and recognition on a neutral and trauma-related version of the
Table 4
Pearson product-moment correlations between dissociative symptoms (DES), fantasy proneness (CEQ), self-reported
childhood trauma (CTQ), and recall and recognition parameters
DES
CEQ
CTQ
*
Recall
Neutral critical lures
Neutral nonstudied words other than critical lures
Trauma-related critical lures
Trauma-related nonstudied words other than critical lures
.11
.23**
.10
.25**
.21
.07
.22*
.01
.10
.09
.02
.15
Recognition
Neutral critical lures
Neutral nonstudied words other than critical lures
Trauma-related critical lures
Trauma-related nonstudied words other than critical lures
.10
.09
.16
.37**
.22*
.09
.19*
.05
.14
.08
.11
.07
*
**
Correlation is significant at the .05 level (2-tailed).
Correlation is significant at the .01 level (2-tailed).
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DRM paradigm. Our results replicate the robust false recall and recognition effects typically
found with the DRM paradigm (Roediger & McDermott, 1995). That is, overall, participants falsely remembered many of the critical lures. Replicating earlier findings of Clancy et al. (2000), our
results also lend support to the idea that women reporting recovered CSA memories are more susceptible than other participants to this memory illusion. More specifically, women with recovered
memories of CSA exhibited higher rates of false recall and false recognition of critical lures than
the other participants. Our study was the first to show that this was true for both neutral and trauma-related word lists, although the effects were more convincing for recognition than for recall
parameters. Taken together, our data are difficult to reconcile with Freyd and GleavesÕ (1996)
suggestion that the memory illusion tapped by the DRM paradigm would be less strong with
trauma-related words, that is, that participants would have fewer false memories when the items
are trauma-related relative to neutral items. While recall of trauma-related lures was, indeed, less
frequent than recall of neutral lures, false memories did occur and were especially robust in the
recognition modality. This smaller effect for recall of trauma-related words may have to do with
the emotional salience and distinctiveness of the trauma-related words. This is in line with findings
of Pesta, Murphy, and Sanders (2001) that emotional critical lures are subject to false remembering in the DRM task but at a lower rate than neutral critical lures.
A number of researchers have argued that susceptibility to false memories may be due to a deficit in source monitoring, i.e., incorrect judgments about the origin or source of information
(Johnson, Hashtroudi, & Lindsay, 1993). Accordingly, the presentation of semantically associated
words activates a concept that is common to all words on the list, namely the critical nonpresented
lure. Thus, the DRM paradigm requires participants to differentiate between internally generated
thoughts and genuine memories of the studied words (Roediger, Watson, McDermott, & Gallo,
2001). The present results suggest that women reporting recovered CSA memories may have a
source monitoring deficit for all types of material, whether the content is neutral or trauma-related. It can be speculated that especially these women have difficulties with the identification
of the origin of a memory and that they may have a tendency to adopt an internally generated
thought as being a genuine memory. This could have serious implications, also in everyday life,
both in potential impact on the memory and on the development of their knowledge and beliefs.
Additionally, it might well be the case that source monitoring confusion can produce pseudomemories. Therefore, it is very important to recognize that the influence of source monitoring on the
origin of recovered memories warrants further study. Performance of people with recovered memories in paradigms that explicitly require source monitoring (e.g., false-fame studies, eyewitness
suggestibility tests) should be investigated.
In the current study, we also explored whether certain traits are associated with the tendency to
develop false memories. Specifically, we examined whether individual differences in dissociation
and fantasy proneness were connected to false recall and false recognition on the DRM task. Women who said they had recovered or repressed CSA memories scored higher on the DES than women who indicated they had always remembered their abuse or control women. However, unlike
Clancy et al. (2000), we found no significant associations between DES scores and false memories
on the DRM paradigm (see for a similar failure: Platt, Lacey, Iobst, & Finkelman, 1998). This failure could be due to the fact that women in the recovered and repressed memory group had higher
scores on the DES than women in the continuous memory and control group, in comparison to
equivalent DES scores for all subgroups in the study of Clancy et al. (2000). Moreover, it can
E. Geraerts et al. / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 602–612
611
be speculated that, perhaps, then, dissociative experiences are related to false memories that have a
more episodic or autobiographical signature (e.g., Candel, Merckelbach, & Kuijpers, 2003). On the
other hand, fantasy proneness, a close cousin of dissociation, was significantly related to false recall
and false recognition. One interpretation of the link between fantasy proneness and false memories
is that self-reported traumatic childhood experiences—whether they have been recovered, repressed or are continuously remembered—contribute to fantasy proneness, thereby making traumatized people sensitive to memory illusions like those elicited by the DRM paradigm. Work by
Zoellner et al. (2000) and Bremner et al. (2000) seems to support this line of reasoning. Yet, the
results of the current study indicate that self-reported traumatic experiences are not related to false
recall and false recognition. Note that the CTQ (Bernstein et al., 2003) not only contains items that
refer to specific episodes of childhood trauma, but also items that measure the belief or impression
that one has experienced aversive childhood events (Merckelbach & Jelicic, 2004). In sum, then,
our data suggest that when it comes to the psychometric correlates of false memories on the
DRM paradigm, fantasy proneness rather than self-reported traumatization runs the show. It
can be speculated that fantasy proneness includes an ability to associate semantically and hence
allowing for more associations which can lead to ÔrecallÕ of internally generated thoughts.
Finally, the question arises whether our results have any bearing on the current controversy about
recovered/false memories of CSA. Certainly, they lend support that the illusion of remembering
events that never happened can happen fairly easily and that cognitive impairments related to recovered memories of CSA enhanced susceptibility for false recall and recognition effects. Of course, the
finding that individuals falsely remember having seen a word in a laboratory context does by no
means imply that their recovered CSA memories are false. Our results do, however, show that women with recovered CSA memories are, possibly due to a source monitoring deficit, more prone
than others to develop certain types of memory distortions, even with trauma-related material.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | November 2015 | Volume 6| Issue 11 | pp. 974-988
Amoroso, R. L., Can Sentient Androids Be Constructed? Part II: The Requirement of Quantum Computing
974
Perspective
Can Sentient Androids Be Constructed?
Part II: The Requirement of Quantum Computing
Richard L. Amoroso*
Noetic Advanced Studies Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA
Abstract
An android is meant to look and act like a human being even to the extent of being indistinguishable.
Generally the simplistic distinction between a humanoid robot, a computerized machine capable of
replicating a variety of complex human functions automatically, and an android is one of appearance.
While one day a yottaflop (1024 bits per second) hyper-supercomputer could have a sufficient
holographic database and processing power to be truly indistinguishable from a human being, the
issue of the applicability of sentience (self-awareness) to an android comes to the forefront. The
currently dominant cognitive model of awareness, closely aligned to the AI model, states that mind
equals brain and that once correct algorithms are known all of human intelligence could be replicated
artificially. This is the so-called mechanistic view: ‘The laws of physics and chemistry are sufficient
to describe all living systems; no additional life principle is required’. In this work we develop the
point of view that the regime of Unified Field Mechanics (UFM) supplies an inherent action
principle driving both the evolution of complex Self-Organized Living Systems (SOLS) and the
physical processes of awareness. These UFM parameters in conjunction with ‘conscious quantum
computing’ (class of quantum computer modeled with physical parameters of mind-body interaction)
putatively leads directly to the construction of sentient (or sentient-like) Androids.
This is Part II of this two-part article entitled “The Requirement of Quantum Computing”.
Keywords: Android, artificial intelligence, consciousness, mind-body problem, quantum computing,
sentience, unified field mechanics.
Part II: The Requirement of Quantum Computing
7. Bulk Universal Quantum Computing
Quantum Computing (QC) has remained elusive beyond a few qubits. Feynman’s recommended use
of a “synchronization backbone”[20] for achieving bulk implementation has generally been
abandoned as intractable; a conundrum we believe arises from limitations imposed by the standard
*
Correspondence: Prof. Richard L. Amoroso, Director of Physics Lab., Noetic Advanced Studies Institute, California, USA.
http://www.noeticadvancedstudies.us E-mail: amoroso@noeticadvancedstudies.us
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models of Quantum Theory (QT). It is proposed that Feynman’s model can be utilized to implement
Universal Quantum Computing (UQC) with valid operationally completed extensions of QT and
cosmology[2]. Requisite additional degrees of freedom are introduced by defining a relativistic basis
for the qubit (r-qubit) in a higher dimensional (LSXD) conformal scale-invariant context and
defining a new anticipatory based cosmology (cosmology itself cast as a hierarchical form of
complex self-organized system) making correspondence to unique 12D Calabi-Yau mirror
symmetries of M-Theory.
The causal structure of these conditions reveal an inherent new Unified Field, UF “action principle”
(force of coherence) driving self-organization and providing a basis for applying Feynman’s
synchronization backbone principle. Operationally a new set of transformations (beyond the standard
Galilean/Lorentz-Poincaré) ontologically surmounts the quantum condition (producing decoherence
during both initialization and measurement) by an acausal energyless (ontological) topological
interaction[2]. Utilizing the inherent LSXD regime requires new commutation rules and
corresponding I/O techniques based on a coherent control process with applicable rf-pulsed incursive
harmonic modes of LSXD spacetime manifolds described by the a spin-exchange continuous-state
spacetime resonance hierarchy.
We postulate bulk universal QC cannot be achieved without surmounting the quantum uncertainty
principle, an inherent barrier by empirical definition in the regime described by the 4D Copenhagen
interpretation - last remaining hurdle to bulk QC. QC operations by surmounting uncertainty with
probability 1 , requires redefining the basis for the qubit. Our form of M-Theoretic Calabi-Yau
mirror symmetry cast in an LSXD Dirac covariant polarized vacuum contains an inherent ‘Feynman
synchronization backbone’. This also incorporates a relativistic qubit (r-qubit) providing additional
degrees of freedom beyond the traditional Block 2-sphere qubit bringing the r-qubit.
Review of bulk universal QC prototype design able to incorporate a sentient android:
We arbitrarily choose a class-II mesoionic xanthine crystal stable at room temperature for ~ 100
years with 10 evenly separable quantum states in its ground state configuration. The xanthine is
programmed by rf-pulsed Sagnac Effect resonance to overcome I/O decoherence[2,8]. This is the
holographic ‘neural net android brain.
For greater efficiency (intelligence) quantum dot ring laser arrays manufactured with internal
mirrors may be utilized instead of IC arrays. The quantum dots would be arrayed on a suitable
substrate rather than an IC.
Another android brain model could utilize a class II mesoionic xanthine doped multilayer
graphene molecule array (currently under study) where it may be possible to operate a QC by
forms of Quantum Hall effects, bilayer graphene alone, or a stand-alone mesoionic xanthine
configuration since several mesoionic xanthine molecules have pertinent polar properties.
Because the model surmounts the quantum uncertainty principle in a complex 12-space the current
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Bloch (Riemann) sphere representation of qubits (classical 2-sphere model) is a nonphysical
mathematical representation too primitive and not suited for actualizing bulk universal QC. For the
past several years our model was based on a relativistic (r-qubit) where the additional degree of
freedom was an aid to surmounting uncertainty[2,6,8]. Recently we realized this 4D r-qubit, while on
the right track was also insufficient. This arose from extending quantum theory to the regime of the
Unified Field, UF primarily based on extended LSXD versions of Cramer’s transactional
interpretation and de Broglie-Bohm interpretation of QT. This was as much a breakthrough in
nilpotent cosmology as QT. We discovered there was more to a quantum state than a Copenhagen
‘particle in a box’; the quantum state was conformally scale-invariant requiring a representation
utilizing a system of dual continuous-state Calabi-Yau mirror symmetric 3-tori (class of Kähler
manifolds)[6,8]. One surprise is that this cosmology contains an inherent ‘synchronization
backbone’[20] which ends up like getting half the QC for free; making the essential process of
surmounting uncertainty almost simplistic[2,6].
8. Qubit Basis, Geometry, Invariants and Case for Relativistic Qubits
This summarizes the current thinking on representations of quantum states where the quantum
wavefunction is the most complete description that can currently be given to a physical system:
Physical information about a transition is encoded in a unit vector in a complex vector space.
Physical process without measurement corresponds to unitary transformation of this vector.
A measurement corresponds to the probabilistic choice of a covector to form an amplitude
U
where the probability is U 2 .
We intend to show that this currently utilized vector algebra is not physical but rather a convenient
mathematical representation. The Bloch sphere is merely a 2D representation of 4D reality. We show
below a recent attempt at a 6D dual qubit as an indicia of our 12D model which we believe is
required to fully represent a properly physicalized qubit!
In the philosophy of physical science there is no a priori reason why nature must be described by a
UF theory. The current drive in physics is to bring the four fundamental field interactions into a
single unified framework as a form of quantum theory. Because of the inherent difficulty associated
with renormalization and uniting gravity and quantum theory many physicists believe a framework
other than a field theory such as a version of an 11D String/M-Theory may be a viable alternative
avenue.
In the usual nonrelativistic quantum theory of computation it was necessary only to point to the
number of states, 2n for a description of n qubits. In our extended relativistic theory there are many
special cases. Charged and neutral, massive and massless particles etc. should be described
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differently.
Figure 10. a) Representation of a qubit 0 1 2 as a complex Riemann Bloch 2-sphere. b)
Combinatorial graph of vertices corresponding to basis vectors of a Bloch sphere for two qubits [e1,
e2, e3] & [f1, f2, f3] and the edges to the corresponding bivector basis Gij. Dashed ellipses enclose
induced subgraphs corresponding to “local” subalgebras of each Bloch sphere model, while the
perfect matching of a Cartan subalgebra is indicated by the bolder lines of edges G11,G22,G33. Fig.
redrawn from[21].
The problem of extending the fundamental basis of the qubit is manifold. Many physicists do not
accept dimensionality beyond 4D. Those that do, predominantly string theorists, now M-Theorists,
are confounded by the search for a unique string vacuum claimed to have a Googolplex or 10
possibilities. Our model has discovered a unique string vacuum[8]. Further restrictions arise from a
unique form of inherent Calabi-Yau mirror symmetry. Thus a clear avenue is provided to ‘divine’ the
complex LSXD space from which our 3D virtual reality is a resultant. Fortunately our unusual model
is empirically testable[2,5,8].
The perceived required redefinition of the qubit also requires new logic gates and QC algorithms
taking full advantage of the requires new physics. Operationally the new r-qubit basis entails a new
set of transformations beyond the usual Galilean-Lorentz-Poincairé which have been temporally
adjoint along an axis or light cone in Euclidean and then Minkowski coordinates. We choose to call
the new transformation ’The Noetic Transformation’ because it is cast in an anthropic multiverse.
What separates the Noetic Transform from its precursors (Galilean, Lorentz-Poincaré) is that it
uncouples from the 3D or 4D realm of the observer and has no temporal component. This evolution
now continues to a new regime of Unified Field Theory, UF.
We do not wish to say ‘uncouples from reality’, rather that fundamental reality should now be
considered 12D instead of the 3(4)D of the Lorentz-Poincaré Transformation. The elimination of the
concept of time occurs by a double superluminal boost, x tx wx that also occurs along the y and
z axes simultaneously[8]. The infinities plaguing renormalization are indicia of this 12D reality (in the
same way infinities in the Raleigh-Jeans law for black body radiation were an indicia of the
immanent discovery of quantum mechanics).
We anticipate that the realized basis for bulk universal QC diverges from the anticipated form by
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current QC researchers utilizing the standard Copenhagen Interpretation (CI) of quantum theory.
What this means is that the Bloch 2-sphere vector basis is archaic and not an appropriate model for
bulk QC gates or algorithms. As our starting point we follow recent efforts of Makhlin[22] Zhang et
al.[23] and Havel[21], (MZH) who have pointed the way to our model with a geometric algebra
rendition of a dual Bloch sphere.
MZH illustrates the Cartan decompositions and subalgebras of the 4D unitary group, which have
recently been used to study the entangling capabilities of two-qubit unitaries. “…we show how the
geometric algebra of a 6D real Euclidean vector space naturally allows one to construct the special
unitary group on a two-qubit (quantum bit) Hilbert space, in a fashion similar to that used in the
well-established Bloch sphere model for a single qubit”[21]. The group SU(2) is isomorphic to the
group of quaternions of norm 1, and is thus diffeomorphic to the 3-sphere Since unit quaternions can
be used to represent rotations in 3D space (up to sign), we have a surjective homeomorphism from
SU(2) to the rotation group SO(3) whose kernel is {+I, −I}. The geometric structure of nonlocal
gates is a 3-torus. The local equivalence classes of 2-qubit gates are in one-to-one correspondence
with the points in a tetrahedron except on the base.
The MZH model is based on complex Minkowski space and the Copenhagen Interpretation. Our
model is different - cast in a 9D M-Theoretic Calabi-Yau mirror symmetry utilizing an operationally
completed form of QT achieved by integrating LSXD forms of the de Broglie-Bohm Causal
Interpretation[14] and Cramer’s Transactional Interpretation[15] but that still makes correspondence
with the MZH 6D model[21-23].
Figure 11. (a) Stereographic projection model of a qubit on a complex Riemann sphere, usual q-gate
with constant number of states and particles. (b) Relativistic model of a qubit (r-qubit) with
interacting quantum fields entailing an extra HD degree of freedom with constant particles but
variable or infinite states.
In the conventional consideration of quantum computing a qubit is any two-state quantum system
defined as a superposition of two logical states of a usual bit with complex coefficients that can be
mapped to the Riemann sphere by stereographic projection (Fig. 11a); formally represented as:
0 1 with each ray , C in complex Hilbert space and 2 1, where 0
corresponds to the south or 0 pole of the Riemann sphere and 1 corresponds to the opposite north or
pole of the Riemann complex sphere. The conventional qubit maps to the complex plane of the
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Riemann sphere shown below as: X , iY , Z .
Unitary qubit transformations correspond to 3D rotations of the Riemann sphere; but following
Vlasov[24] for relativistic considerations of a qubit (r-qubit) an additional 4D W parameter is added to
the equation (6):
X , iY ,
(6)
Z , W
In cartography and geometry, a stereographic projection is a mapping projecting each point on a
sphere onto a tangent plane along a straight line from the antipode of the point of tangency (with one
exception: the center of projection, antipodal to the point of tangency, is not projected to any point in
the Euclidean plane; it corresponds to a "point at infinity"). One approaches that point at infinity by
continuing in any direction at all; in that respect this situation is unlike the real projective plane,
which has many points at infinity. This 4D r-qubit representation is only the first step; viable
quantum computing requires extension to a 12D r-qubit!
9. Basis for the Noetic Transformation
The Noetic Transform extends quantum theory into the regime of UFM as a requirement for quantum
computing. An event in spacetime is an idealized instant of time at a definite position in space
labeled by time and position coordinates, t,x,y,z. Coordinates have no absolute significance; they are
arbitrary continuous single-valued labels given invariant meaning by the expression for the
line-element connecting two events[25,26]. The usual expression for a line-element in Minkowski
coordinates is
ds2 dt 2 dx2 dy2 dz 2 .
(7)
For simplicity at this stage of development of the Noetic Transformation we devise the XD
coordinates as orthogonal and evenly spaced. Firstly since the LSXD space is time independent we
may drop the dt 2 term from the line-element and introduce a new spatial form, dl 2 where
dl 2 reduces to ds 2 and
(8)
dl 2 dx2 dy2 dz 2 dW 2
where W wi w j wk (before complex dualing to LSXD Calabi-Yau mirror symmetry) as a 9D
quaternion-like trivector representation. This is like an extension of the 3-sphere of Einstein’s space
where the set of points x,y,z,W are at a fixed distance R from the origin such that
R2 x2 y 2 z 2 W 2 preserving the wanted three time independent space variables, x,y,z and
where the fourth LSXD variable W 2 is given as
W 2 R2 r 2
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where r 2 x2 y2 z 2 such that (5) becomes
dW
r dr
r dr
1/2
W
R2 r 2
(10)
So that the dual local-HD spatial line-element dl 2 becomes
r 2 dr 2
dl dx dy dz 2
R r2
2
2
2
2
(11)
where R may be used to represent the center of dual Calabi-Yau mirror symmetric 3-tori. See Fig. 8.
Continuing to follow Peebles[25,26] this generalizes the usual 2D line-element to 9D where the length
R is a constant because spacetime is assumed to be static. For r R our extended Einstein line
element approaches the usual Minkowski form (11). When r = R the geometry makes
correspondence to the surface of a Riemann 2-sphere which is utilized in the standard description of
a qubit as a Bloch Sphere. (Fig. 10a)
Let’s look at the additional parameters this space allows us to add to the fundamental description of a
quantum state beyond the usual inherent uncertainties of Copenhagen interpretation. Because of the
conformal scale-invariance of the Nilpotent criteria an additional duality must be incorporated into
the mirror symmetric parameters of W 2 which is a further correspondence to the standing wave-like
properties of the Cramer Transactional Interpretation to simplistic-ally what might be labeled, W 2 .
This addition would incorporate all the additional parameters for a complete description of a
quantum state as embedded in the LSXD aspects of the UF required for the r-qubit to include the
additional HD conformal scale-invariant parameters.
The Pythagorean Theorem, a2 b2 c2 d 2 gives the diagonal length, d of a 3D cube, a,b,c. Adding
terms to the equation describes the diagonal of an nD hypercube. The locking together of the
Calabi-Yau components in the resultant localized cube creates the quantum uncertainty principle
which can be surmounted[2,3,5] if the Calabi-Yau nilpotent ‘copies’ are accessed by incursive
resonance.
The additional parameters of this space allows us to add to the fundamental description of a quantum
state beyond the usual Copenhagen interpretation. Because of the conformal scale-invariance to the
Nilpotent criteria an additional duality must be incorporated into the mirror symmetric parameters of
W 2 which is a further correspondence to the standing-wave-like properties of the Cramer
Transactional Interpretation to simplistically what might be labeled, W 2 . This addition as far as we
currently understand would incorporate all the additional parameters for a complete description of a
quantum state as embedded in the HD aspects of the UF requiring a new representation of the qubit
to include the additional parameters.
We can also attempt to describe this topological geometry with dual quaternion-like trefoil knots.
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The trefoil knot array (in Fig. 5 drawn as Planck scale quaternion vertices) is holomorphic to the
circle. Since energy is conserved we may ignore the complexity of the HD symmetries and use the
area of that circle as the Lagrangian, in this case a resultant of two trefoil knots as a 2-sphere
quantum state as the coupling area. The figure also provides a conceptualized view of how one sees
continuous-state evolution of conformal scale-invariant Calabi-Yau mirror symmetric topology. As
QT has a semi-classical limit this might be termed semi-quantum in terms of the HD UF. There is a
2nd LSXD level ‘above’ this one postulated as the regime of full UF potentia. The cycle goes from
chaotic-uncertain to coherent-certain non-commutative to commutative according to the noetic
transformation. This is represented in the Dirac string trick [27].
To formalize the model a complex quaternion Clifford algebra is required to incorporate all the new
LSXD UF parameters. Thus in contrast to Havel’s 6D bivector in complex Minkowski or Hilbert
space (Fig. 10b) we can illustrate a LSXD r-qubit by the Philippine wine dance[27]. Each wine glass
would represent one standard Bloch sphere; the dancer is like an atom and each glass represents one
of the 2 possible spin states. Havel would have 2 entangled wine dancers standing near each other in
Minkowski-Hilbert space. What we require to completely define a quantum state physically is that
the wine dancers are like puppets standing additionally in a hall of mirrors [28] (Calabi-Yau mirror
symmetry). The puppet master is the super-quantum potential provided by parameters of the UF. The
mirror images are restricted on each side of the Cramer future-past Calabi-Yau mirror symmetry. By
the continuous-state premise of this LSXD hierarchy - the left-right or future-past components
become embedded in each other in the cycle[2,6,8]. The bottom (3D resultant) becomes the usual
semi-classical phenomenological q-state we observe. At the 12D top the embedding is the causally
free (ontological) quantum state copy - i.e. surmounting the quantum uncertainty principle[6,8].
In summary Havel uses a 6D bivector to represent 2 qubits. In our model a single qubit should be
represented as some form of a dual quaternion trivector. What we get with this new qubit
representation is QC logic gates able to surmount the uncertainty principle and proper algorithms for
universal QC. Normalized quaternions are simply Euclidean 4-vectors (length one) and thus
fermionic vertices in spacetime or points on a unit hypersphere (this case a 3-sphere) embedded in
4D. Just as the unit sphere has two degrees of freedom, e.g., latitude and longitude, the unit
hypersphere has three degrees of freedom. The coordinate fixing-unfixing mechanism is superbly
illustrated by the ‘walking of the Moai on Rapa Nui’[29].
However a 3rd complex metric is involved making an evolution from dual quaternions to a 3rd
quaternion we choose to name a trivector that acts as a baton passing mechanism between the
space-antispace or dual quaternion vector space. Of paramount importance this trivector facilitates a
‘leap-frogging’ between anti-commutative and commutative modes of HD space. This inaugurates a
Mobius transformation between the Riemann dual stereographic projection complex planes.
Geometrically, a standard Möbius transformation can be obtained by first performing stereographic
projection from the plane to the unit 2-sphere, rotating and moving the sphere to a new location and
orientation in space, and then performing stereographic projection (from the new position of the
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sphere) to the plane. These transformations preserve angles, map every straight line to a line or circle,
and map every circle to a line or circle. Möbius transformations are defined on the extended complex
plane (i.e. the complex plane augmented by the point at infinity): ˆ
.
This extended complex plane can be thought of as a sphere, the Riemann sphere, or as the complex
projective line. Every Möbius transformation is a bijective conformal map of the Riemann sphere to
itself. Every such map is by necessity a Möbius transformation. Geometrically this map is the
Riemann stereographic projection of a rotation by 90° around ±i with period 4, which takes the
continuous cycle 0 1 1 0 . This is required to oscillate from anticommutivity to
commutivity in order to provide the cyclic opportunity to violate 4D quantum uncertainty [2,6]!
10. Introduction to a Quantum Computing P 1 Operational Android Design
In a homogeneous magnetic field, the forces exerted on opposite ends of the dipole cancel each other
out and the trajectory of the particle is unaffected. if the particles are classical "spinning" particles
then the distribution of their spin angular momentum vectors is taken to be truly random and each
particle would be deflected up or down by a different amount producing an even distribution on the
screen of a detector. instead, quantum mechanically, the particles passing through the device are
deflected either up or down by a specific amount. this means that spin angular momentum is
quantized (also called space quantization), i.e. it can only take on discrete values. There is not a
continuous distribution of possible angular momenta. this is the usual fundamental basis of the
standard quantum theory and where we must introduce a new experimental protocol to surmount it.
This is the crux of our new methodology: If application of a homogeneous magnetic field produces
quantum uncertainty upon measurement, then “do something else”!
Of the three types of spin-spin coupling, this QC protocol relies on the hyperfine interaction for
electron-nucleon coupling, specifically the interaction of the nuclear electric quadrupole moment
induced by an applied oscillating rf-electric field to act on the nuclear magnetic dipole moment, .
When the electron and nuclear spins align strongly along their z-components the Hamiltonian is
m B , and if B is in the z direction
H N I B N BI x
(12)
with m N I , N the magnetogyric ratio N e / 2mp and mp the mass of the proton.
Radio frequency excitation of the nuclear magnetic moment, to resonance occurs for a nucleus
collectively which rotates to some angle with respect to the applied field, B0 . This produces a
torque i B0 causing the angular momentum, itself to precess around B0 at the Larmor
frequency L N B0 . This coherent precessing of can also induce a ‘voltage’ in surrounding
media, an energy component of the Hamiltonian utilized to create interference in the structure of
spacetime[8].
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Metaphorically this is like dropping stones in a pool of water: One stone creates concentric ripples;
two stones create domains of constructive and destructive interference. Such an event is not
considered possible in the standard models of particle physics, quantum theory and cosmology.
However Noetic science uses extended versions of these theories wherein a new teleological action
principle is utilized to develop what might be called a 'transistor of the vacuum'. Just as standard
transistors and copper wires provide the basis for almost all modern electronic devices; This Laser
Oscillated Vacuum Energy Resonator using the information content of spacetime geodesics (null
lines) will become the basis of many forms of Noetic Technologies especially QC. Simplistically in
this context, utilizing an array of modulated tunable lasers, atomic electrons are rf-pulsed with a
resonant frequency coupling them to the magnetic moment of nucleons such that a cumulative
interaction is created to dramatically enhance the Haisch-Rueda inertial back-reaction[8]. The laser
beams are counter-propagating producing a Sagnac effect Interferometry to maximize the violation
of Special Relativity. This is the 1st stage of a multi-tier experimental platform designed (according
to Noetic Field Theory) to ‘open a hole’ in the fabric of spacetime in order to isolate and utilize the
force FˆU of the Unitary Field.
The interferometer utilized as the basis for our vacuum engineering QC platform is a multi-tiered
device. The top tier is comprised of counter-propagating Sagnac effect ring lasers that can be built
into an IC or Q-dot array of 1,000+ ring lasers. If each microlaser in the array is designed to be
counterpropagating, an interference phenomena called the Sagnac Effect occurs that violates special
relativity in the small scale[8]. This array of rf-modulated Sagnac-Effect ring lasers provides the top
tier of the multi-tier QC unit. Inside the ring of each laser is a cavity where quantum effects called
Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (C-QED) may occur. A specific molecule is placed inside each
cavity (we propose a xanthine). If the ring laser array is modulated with resonant frequency modes
chosen to achieve spin-spin coupling with the molecules electrons and neutrons, by a process of
Coherent Control[8] of Cumulative Interaction an inertial back-reaction is produced whereby the
electrons also resonate with the spacetime backcloth in order to 'open an oscillating (periodic) hole'
in it.
The first step in the interference hierarchy (Fig. 12) is to establish an inertial back-reaction between
the modulated electrons and their coupled resonance modes with the nucleons. Following the
Sakarov and Puthoff conjecture[8] the initial resistance to motion, are actions of the vacuum
zero-point field. Therefore the parameter m in Newton’s second law, f = ma is a function of the
zero-point field[8]. Newton’s third law states that ‘every force has an equal and opposite reaction’.
Haisch & Rueda[8] claim vacuum resistance arises from this reaction force, f = - f. This inertial
back-reaction is like an electromotive force (Electromotive force, E: The internal resistance, r
generated when a load is put upon an electric current, I between a potential difference V, i.e.
r ( E V ) / I ) of a de Broglie matter-wave field in the spin exchange annihilation creation process
inherent in a hysteresis of relativistic spacetime fabric. We further suggest that the energy responsible
for Newton’s third law is a result of the continuous-state flux of the ubiquitous noetic UF[2,8]. For QC
android implementation we assume the Haisch-Rueda postulate is correct
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f
d
d *
*
lim
lim
f*
t
0
t
0
*
dt
t
dt*
t*
(13)
where is the impulse given by the accelerating agent and thus * * [8].
zp
Figure 12. a) Design elements of the Noetic Interferometer postulated to
constructively-destructively interfere with the topology of the spacetime manifold to manipulate the
UF. The first three tiers set the stage for the critically important 4th tier which by way of an incursive
oscillator punches a hole in the fabric of spacetime creating a holophote or lighthouse effect of the
UF into the experimental apparatus momentarily missing its usual coupling node into a biological
system. b) Conceptualized Witten vertex Riemann sphere cavity-QED multi-level Sagnac effect
interferometer designed to ‘penetrate’ space-time to emit the ‘eternity wave, ’ of the UF.
Experimental access to vacuum structure or for surmounting the uncertainty principle can be done
by two similar methods. One is to utilize an atomic resonance hierarchy and the other a spacetime
resonance hierarchy. The spheroid is a 2D representation of a HD complex Riemann sphere able to
spin-flip from zero to infinity continuously.
The cyclotron resonance hierarchy must also utilize the proper beat frequency of the continuous-state
dimensional reduction spin-exchange compactification process inherent in the cyclic symmetry of
noetic spacetime ‘tuned’ so the speed of light c c . With this apparatus noetic theory suggests that
destructive-constructive C-QED interference of spacetime occurs such that the noeon eternity wave,
of the U F is harmonically (holophote) released into the detector cavity array. Parameters of the
Dubois incursive oscillator are also required for aligning the interferometer hierarchy with the beat
frequency of spacetime.
As illustrated in Fig. 12 the coherent control of the multi-level tier of cumulative interactions relies
on full utilization of the continuous-state cycling inherent in parameters of Multiverse cosmology[8].
What putatively will allow noetic interferometry to operate is the harmonic coupling to periodic
modes of Dirac spherical rotation in the symmetry of the HD geometry. The universe is no more
classical than quantum as currently believed; reality rather is a continuous state cycling of nodes of
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classical to quantum to unitary, C Q U . Space does not permit detailed delineation of the
parameters of Multiverse cosmology here; see[8]. The salient point is that cosmology, the topology of
spacetime itself, has the same type of spinorial rotation and wave-particle duality Dirac postulated
for the electron. Recall that the electron requires a 4D topology and 720° for one rotation instead of
the usual 360° to complete a rotation in 3D. The hierarchy of noetic cosmology is cast in 12D such
that the pertinent form of relativistic quantum field theory has significantly more degrees of freedom
whereby the modes of resonant coupling may act on the structural-phenomenology of Dirac ‘sea’
itself rather than just the superficial zero-point field surface approaches to vacuum engineering
common until now. 12D is the minimum to surmount uncertainty because the ‘mirror image of the
mirror image in HD space is causally free of the 3D quantum particle!
The parameters of the noetic oscillator (Fig. 12) may best be implemented using a form of de Broglie
fusion. According to de Broglie a spin 1 photon can be considered a fusion of a pair of spin 1/2
corpuscles linked by an electrostatic force. Initially de Broglie thought this might be an
electron-positron pair and later a neutrino and antineutrino. “A more complete theory of quanta of
light must introduce polarization in such a way that to each atom of light should be linked an internal
state of right and left polarization represented by an axial vector with the same direction as the
propagation velocity”[14]. These prospects suggest a deeper relationship in the structure of spacetime
of the Cramer type [8,15] (Figs. 2,8). The epistemological implications of 12D must be delineated. The
empirical domain of the standard model relates to the 4D phenomenology of elementary particles. It
is the intricate notion of what constitutes a particle that concerns us – objects emerging from the
quantized fields defined on Minkowski spacetime. This domain e is insufficient for our purposes.
For a basic description, following de Broglie’s fusion concept, assume two sets of coordinates
x1, y1, z1 and x2 , y2 , z2 which become
X
x1 x2
y y2
, Y 1
,
2
2
Z
z1 z2
.
2
(14)
Then for identical particles of mass m without distinguishing coordinates, the Schrödinger equation
(for the center of mass) is
i
1
,
t 2 M
M 2m
(15)
Eqation 15 corresponds to the present and Eq. 16a corresponds to the advanced wave and (16b) to
the retarded wave[15].
i
Extending
Rauscher’s
1
,
t 2 M
concept
for
a
i
1
.
t 2 M
complex
eight
space
(16)
differential
line
element
dS 2 dZ dZ , where the indices run 1 to 4, is the complex eight-space metric, Z the
complex 8-space variable and where Z X Re iX Im and Z is the complex conjugate[8] , to
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | November 2015 | Volume 6| Issue 11 | pp. 974-988
Amoroso, R. L., Can Sentient Androids be Constructed?
12D continuous-state spacetime; we write just the dimensions for simplicity and space constraints
xRe , yRe , zRe , tRe , xIm , yIm , zIm , tIm
(17)
where signifies Wheeler-Feynman/Cramer type future-past/retarded-advanced dimensions. This
dimensionality provides an elementary framework for applying the hierarchical harmonic oscillator
parameters suggested in Fig. 12 to operate a QC without decoherence.
11. Conclusion - Criteria for Sentience
Sentience is suggested to be synonymous with an entity having subjective experiences also known in
Philosophy of Mind as experiencing qualia. Sentience is often considered to be distinct form other
aspects of mind like intelligence, self-awareness or free agency. The issue of conscious machines
remains difficult compounded by the ‘Chinese Room’ analogy suggesting it could also remain a
challenge experimentally. The problem cannot be solved philosophically only laid bare to certain
probabilities. It is possible to list salient components of consciousness. We suggest four: Sentience,
Intelligence Self-awareness and Free will.
Must a conscious system be considered alive? We have addressed this issue elsewhere in what we
have termed System-Zero: The proteinaceous unit called the prion, (responsible for
neurodegenerative encephalopathies) a particle ‘below’ the virus. System-Zero propagates from
normal to infectious by a conformal change in the protein structure by action of the force of
coherence of the UF.
Following the assumptions: 1) A physically real noetic ‘life principle’ exists synonymous with the
action of the UF, 2) The mind-body interface is a form of naturally occurring ‘conscious quantum
computer’ (not that the QC is conscious but modeled after such principles) and 3) Combining the two
concepts leads to truly sentient androids when applied to a class of QC systems modeled after the
noetic mind-body interface.
The noetic QC Android model is empirically testable with experimental protocols summarized.
Access to the UF action of the life principle requires surmounting the quantum uncertainty principle.
Furthermore the required universal bulk QC cannot be achieved with 4-space parameters and
requires M-Theoretic principles of UFM cast in LSXD. We believe implementing sentient android
devices is only this far away!
References
[1] Amoroso, R. L. (2010) Complementarity of Mind and Body: Realizing the Dream of Descartes, Einstein,
and Eccles, New York: Nova Science Publishers.
[2] Amoroso, R.L., Kauffman, L.H. & Rolands, P. (2013) The Physics of Reality: Space, Time, Matter,
Cosmos, Hackensack: World Scientific.
[3] Amoroso, R.L., Kauffman, L.H. & Rolands, P. (2015) Unified Field Mechanics: Natural Science Beyond
the Veil of Spacetime, Hackensack: World Scientific.
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[4] Amoroso, R. L., & Di Biase, F. (2013) Crossing the psycho-physical bridge: elucidating the objective
character of experience, Journal of Consciousness Exploration and Research, Vol. 4, No. 9.
[5] Amoroso, R. L. (2013) Empirical protocols for mediating long-range coherence in biological systems,
Journal of Consciousness Exploration and Research, Vol. 4, No. 9.
[6] Amoroso, R. L. (2010) Simple resonance hierarchy for surmounting quantum uncertainty, In Amoroso, R.
L., Rowlands, P., & Jeffers, S. (eds) AIP Conference Proceedings-American Institute of Physics, Vol. 1316,
No. 1, p. 185.
[7] Amoroso, R. L. (1997) The theoretical foundations for engineering a conscious quantum computer, in M.
Gams et al. (eds) Mind Versus Computer: Were Dreyfus and Winograd Right? Amsterdam: IOS Press, 43,
141-155.
[8] Amoroso, R.L. & E.A. Rauscher, E.A. (2009) The Holographic Anthropic Multiverse: Formalizing the
Complex Geometry of Ultimate Reality, Singapore: World Scientific.
[9] Hameroff, S. & Powell, J. (2008) The Conscious Connection: A Psycho-physical Bridge between Brain
and Pan-experiential Quantum Geometry in D. Skrbina, (ed.), Mind That Abides: Panpsychism in the New
Millennium, New York: Benjamins.
[10] Amoroso, R.L. (2013) “Shut the front door!”: Obviating the challenge of large-scale extra dimensions
and psychophysical bridging, in R.L. Amoroso, L.H. Kauffman, & P. Rolands, P. (eds.) The Physics of
Reality: Space, Time, Matter, Cosmos, Hackensack: World Scientific.
[11] Rowlands, P. (2007) Zero to Infinity: The Foundations of Physics, Singapore: World Scientific.
[12] T. Toffoli, M. Biafore & J. Leao (eds.) Physcomp96, Cambridge: New England Complex Systems
Institute; http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9701027
[13] Nagel, T. (1974) What’s it like to be a bat?, Philosophical Rev., 83, pp. 435-450.
[14] Holland, P. R. (1995) The quantum theory of motion: An account of the de Broglie-Bohm causal
interpretation of quantum mechanics, Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
[15] Cramer, J. (1986) The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Rev. Mod. Phys 58, 647-687.
[16] Witten, E. (1996) Reflections on the fate of spacetime, Phys. Today, (April) pp. 24-30.
[17] Feynman, R.P. (1971) Lectures on Gravitation, Pasadena: California Inst. Technology.
[18] Eccles, J.C. (1992) Evolution of consciousness, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 89, pp. 7320-7324.
[19] Dubois, D.M. (2001) Theory of incursive synchronization and application to the anticipation of delayed
linear and nonlinear systems, in D.M. Dubois (ed.) Computing Anticipatory Systems: CASYS 2001, 5th Intl
Conf., AIP Conf. Proceed. 627, pp. 182-195.
[20] Feynman, R.P. (1986) Quantum mechanical computers, Found. Phys. 6, pp. 507-531.
[21] Havel, T.F. & Doran, C.J.L. (2004) A Bloch-sphere-type model for two qubits in the geometric algebra of
a 6-D Euclidean vector space, arXiv:quant-ph/0403136v1.
[22] Makhlin, Y. (2002) Nonlocal properties of two-qubit gates and mixed states, and the optimization of
quantum computations, Quantum Inform. Processing 1, pp. 243–252.
[23] Zhang, V.J., Sastry, S. & Whaley, K.B. (2003) Geometric theory of nonlocal two-qubit operations, Phys.
Rev. A 67, p. 042313.
[24] Vlasov, A.Y. (1996) Quantum theory of computation and relativistic physics, in T. Toffoli, M. Biafore & J.
Leao (eds.) Physcomp96, Cambridge: New England Complex Systems Institute;
http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9701027, and additional material from private communication.
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[25] Peebles, P. J. E. (1993) Principles of Physical Cosmology, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
[26] Peebles, P.J.E. (1992) Quantum Mechanics, Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press.
[27] Francis, G., Kauffman, L.H. & Sandin, D. (1993) Air on the Dirac Strings (video)
http://www.evl.uic.edu/hypercomplex/html/dirac.html.
[28] Goertzel, B., Aam, O., Smith, T.F. & Palmer, K. (2007) Mirror Neurons, Mirrorhouses, and the Algebraic
Structure of the Self http://www.goertzel.org/dynapsyc/2007/mirrorself.pdf
[29] Amazing Video, Walking of the Moai on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvvES47OdmY.
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www.JCER.com |
lodwich.net/Science.html
May 30th, 2016
How to avoid ethically relevant
Machine Consciousness
Aleksander Lodwich
aleksander[at]lodwich.net
Abstract – This paper discusses the root cause of systems
perceiving the self experience and how to exploit adaptive
and learning features without introducing ethically
problematic system properties.
1 Ethics and Conscious
Autonomous Systems
A
s a practical engineer one has very
rarely to deal with ethic or moral
impacts of machine consciousness as
designed products contain only very weak
forms of it [1]. However, more and more
times I was asked by my colleagues when this
mindless engineering of self-referential
modeling systems has a moral end. Well,
good question.
Indeed, human care of consciousness is remarkable. In the past, consciousness was denied to other creatures and hence was a distinctive element of shaping humanity's moral
views. Good for us, research has discovered
that consciousness and mental states are not
reserved to humans and that again implied a
new view on non-human organisms: Animals
(and to some degree even plants) deserve
rights even if they cannot defend them against
us. If animals share the same properties on
which ground we want to grant universal human rights then we must logically include all
species with that properties to be covered by
that rights. All else would be unjustified, arbi-
trary specism tormenting educated minds.
No doubt, animals do not enjoy the same
level of legal protection as humans do. On
one hand even humans do not often appreciate human rights, on the other hand animals
are critical objects in capitalistic environments where they are governed by the concept of roman style law as property. Would
we agree to dismiss governance of roman
style law over living and autonomous systems
with a clear will to live and to suffer, we
would cause a collapse of the complete western civilization's food production economy.
The effects are hard to imagine but can be assumed to be grave. Getting scared?
However unfavorable, economic developments never play in pair with abstract ethical
arguments which enjoy much higher priorities
as they have a leg on us in the long run. For
example, we cannot adapt universal concepts
to ourselves if we cannot apply them universally. Achieving higher levels of human wellbeing will necessary demand to expand universal concepts into our environments where
similar classes of objects exist. Inconsistencies in systems (of whatever kind) make them
complicated to maintain and costly to operate
This article is not a peer reviewed science article and by its nature could be opinionated or lack proper citing or proof.
Version notice: This is a special arXiv.org version.
– software engineers might confirm.
Opponents to such ideas rightly object that
in natural environments animals do get eaten
anyway and that they naturally live in a constant fear of losing life. The question would
be if mankind's cognitive capabilities and
moral minds entitle or even demand from us
to reduce violence in nature. In fact, in human
hands some species are even particularly successful as they reproduce to millions which
would be not possible otherwise but it is also
fact that many other species also disappear
from human activities. This denies autonomy
not only to individual creatures but to whole
species. Opponents to all too well intended
humanization of nature claim that we should
not toy around how nature works and that includes us eating animals and plants. Humans
are part of nature, the cruel natural food chain
is not our invention – humanity did never introduce a new element of suffering.
In summary it is argued that humans did not
introduce suffering or our dependency on
food from animals and hence killing animals
(gaining control over certain types of organic
autonomous systems) for food is a more fundamental right than a universal right of autonomous creatures to exist unharmed. OK,
could be accepted, however, this argument
does not extend to any abuse of animals. In
ethic, and even systemic sense, it has proven
wise to grant protection to animals while they
live. This seems to improve health of animals,
health of environment and ultimately the
health of humans, both physically and emotionally.
However, these arguments cannot be easily
transferred to artificial systems. We are indeed responsible for their creation and mental
properties. We are not arguably dependent on
them. As soon as artificial systems gain consciousness of noticeable amount it is much
harder to find an excuse to fend off their acclaimed rights to be self-determined. At the
moment of sparking machine consciousness
of relevance all arguments of capital invest
and correct purchasing contracts involved in
the process of creating it lose any ethical relevance. That's the same reason why parents
cannot claim property over their children despite that they invested a great deal of time,
money and other resources used in the
process of creation. Children do not ethically
owe their parents or parent societies millions
of dollars for their creation. The “capital” is
lost to a new self-determined entity that will
interact with its environment in order to grant
itself the necessary conditions to exist henceforth. It is not a matter of evil if it will exercise all necessary violence in order to grant itself the conditions to exist.
This process can be only satisfactorily pacified if it was granted an effective way to satisfy its needs and that would include its acceptance as a person with universal rights. It
would become a legal person that claims
property and is not property. We would neither be allowed to own the systems nor to
abuse them. What good of a product would
that be, right? No good.
As obvious as that may seem it is not. In roman style societies it seems to be very difficult to escape the logic of exploitative ownership even if they face one of the most conscious and autonomous creatures on the
planet: mankind itself. In roman times children and women were property of men – the
only legal concept to organize protective violence of families as is usually exercised by fathers. But even if it was well intended, property over things is not the same as property
over self-determined entities and hence offers
a tremendous amount of potential for abuse. It
took in fact a surprisingly long act of time to
overcome agism, sexism, racism and other
types of slavatory discrimination; and while
the reader might enjoy the fruits of this development we are far from done, yet, with this
process.
Aside from ethic reasons to avoid personization1 of artificial systems, there are also
practical implications regarding our own autonomy: A growing group of respected experts is warning strongly of autonomous systems with self-conscious properties as they
can prove dominant and displacive of our
1
The process of becoming a person, an
autonomous concept formation process that
has the characteristics to become autonomous
against its underlying machinery and external
control giving raise to concepts of mind-body
duality or observation of “free will”.
species, among them such names as Stephen
Hawking, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Nick
Bostrom and many more2 3. To be fair, I need
to remark that these warnings go against superintelligences, a little bit of a cloudy concept which assumes that intelligence is a uniform quantity like horsepower that can be arbitrarily amplified – a theory I see no evidence for and see many contraindications: For
example, humans do not develop intelligence
which goes greatly beyond the required one to
cope with the complexity of their environment. Only a special educative environment is
achieving higher than environmental intelligence. Furthermore, intelligence is always
about something particular – it is not a universal problem solving force as Hutter [2] defined it for AIXI and yet another misconception is that problem solving capabilities are
idealized on intelligence and not about resources – a problem that was treated in analogy for levels of autonomy in [3] by the example of armored animal. Given all that, universally flexible algorithms used to design
technical systems do not automatically yield
superintelligences, and those are not automatically autonomous, resourceful or malevolent.
However, by becoming conscious, systems
necessarily become self-centered. As I will
discuss later, without a self-centering condensation attribute in models, consciousness cannot be sparked.
It is undeniable, though, that highly autonomous systems with a great level of control
over resources we rely on could become extremely hazardous. Especially the creation of
highly automated weapon systems in combination with massively automated production
is worrying – two threads of development
which are currently evolving independently
but could be combined. The two technologies
could easily constitute a super system of level
1 or 2 autonomy which could harbor a basic
drive to keep human populations down (cf.
vacuum cleaner example in [3]).
2
3
http://time.com/3614349/artificialintelligence-singularity-stephen-hawkingelon-musk/
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/bill-gates-latestbrilliant-person-warn-artificial-intelligence154513637.html
More complicated (but less obvious) scenarios, such as intensive growth of background automation and technologization of
law, could seriously subordinate human individuals to the level of “bugs in a system”.
Any disturbing behavior would be detected
and sanctioned. This would make the individual cost-benefits balance for such “symbiosis”
negative and the question would then be if we
could overthrow that system again or not. The
problem already exists for traditional governments of states which pose relatively autonomous systems above populations but the
problem could become even much more serious with technological autonomous systems
because technological systems can lose any
reference to humanity while governments
made of people cannot detach this much.
All said so far did not even include the
question how artificial systems can develop
morals which would be pleasing to human societies. A dive into discussions of this kind
can be made here [4].
The easiest way to get around the problem
of personization of an artificial system is
hence to avoid giving it the resources to do
the step up. In order to understand how to
avoid machine consciousness or social consciousness it is important to understand how
systemic consciousness comes into existence.
2 Consciousness
2.1 General Importance of
Machine Consciousness
Various researchers ([5],[6],[7],[8]) propose
that consciousness has evolutionary advantages but it is difficult to precisely identify a
singular advantage. They suggest that consciousness would endorse more robust system
autonomy, higher resilience and more general
capability for problem solving. Reflexivity
and self-awareness naturally suggest permanent meta-optimization of own policies and
better problem solving.
However, so far, researchers and engineers
have treated consciousness mostly as a superfluous add-on that is not generally considered
helpful in solving concrete problems. Cur-
rently, consciousness is most actively employed in robotics as systems indeed have a
physical body which must be actively protected during missions.
2.2 Weak and Strong
Consciousness
In everyday sense, consciousness can be observed only for wake humans. Thus the property of consciousness is associated with a
lively mental or, better said, neural activity.
However, even in wake situations people report of being conscious or not conscious of
something and this caused philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists to think about
consciousness. Readers interested in discourses about consciousness are deferred to
[9] as this paper is not concerned with analyzing various possible notions of the term “conscious” or “consciousness”. This paper is only
interested in the remaining essence of the
term: If we cancel out mere dynamic activity
(liveliness / “being awake”), sensorimotor
processing or questions of neural implementation out of our question, what will remain
then? Then only remains that a system can
properly represent and conclude about its internal and external states.
There is an internal and external view to it:
Internally, a system can have certain views or
believes and will hence consider itself to be
conscious about external things but in fact,
when viewed from the outside, could be quite
mistaken and hence not conscious. For our
purposes, most humans are ignorant in this
sense (lack consciousness) and require help of
information technology and science communities in order to improve on average. Consciousness is hence not strongly tied to correctness of models.
A dry definition of consciousness would
mean then that components of situation are
identified and models for them are available
(at least minimalistic existence predicates).
Self-consciousness then means that one component of the overall model represents the
system itself; the model for it is available for
leveraging tactical advantage in decision
making.
However, many computer systems have
models and can identify themselves and report about their state accurately but we would
not call this really conscious because of the
lack of autonomy of this system. At least this
would be what Holland called weak artificial
consciousness [10]. According to conclusions
drawn by Chella and Manzotti [1] the question how systems can become conscious in
the strong sense remains open. In this paper I
will try explain why I believe that the creation
of strong consciousness is a relatively straight
forward technical process in adaptive systems
with auto-discovery capabilities.
2.3
Artificial Consciousness?
AI authors concerned with consciousness
often apply the term “artificial” to announce
things that seem not to fully fulfill their expectations. This can be seen for intelligence
and consciousness alike.
I would like to avoid using the term artificial as it means two different things:
•
Implementation of concept by other
means (one other out of many
possible realizations)
•
Implementation of a concept that
does not have all the properties.
When speaking of strong artificial consciousness it is clear that we speak of the upper definition and not the one beneath. Consciousness is a systemic concept that gives
opportunity to choose a technology for implementation (multiple realizability). As consequence, “natural” vs. “artificial” is not equivalent with the difference between “biological”
and “technological”.
The terms “natural” and “artificial” are biased: Artificiality is often used to express implementation of concepts with missing properties or amplified features geared towards a
particular technical application and “natural”
can also mislead the reader into believing into
a “biological” and not a “proper” solution.
Hence, it is much better to use the terms
“weak” and “strong” - those are rightly the
adjectives to switch between the two understandings which are immune to questions of
chosen technology. Therefore, this paper
strives for understanding strong conscious-
ness in a systemic way, of course, with the
goal to detect and prevent computerized4 realization (cf. bottom right cell in figure 1). A
systemic understanding delivers insight and
predictability when we will observe strong
consciousness and this equally well for biological, computerized or social systems.
is that it will lead to strong conscious property of the overall system. This concept is
shown in figure 2. An alternative attempt to
characterize the process is shown in figure 4.
A necessary side-condition not shown in
figure 2 is a condensation property in the
models that would initiate and drive the separation of models in an “inside” and “outside”.
I will show later how the “reliability” property of a model component could be a driver
for this process.
It is also of highest interest how consciousness can be disturbed, protected or restored
and how it could gain a certain autonomy
against its underlying physical platform in order to suggest duality between body and
mind.
Figure 1: Areas of weak and strong solutions.
2.4 Mystery of Strong
Consciousness
The Mystery of Strong Consciousness is,
when boiled down, that a system can misconclude that a "model of self" is actually causing internal and external processes, despite
that cognitive functionality has been provided
to the system in a non-self-aware manner and
that the self-model came into live only after
the infrastructure for its generation was provided and which was not included in what
was provided.
This perception of self, the “I-qualia”, is not
only astonishing phenomenon but also has
practical impacts: Systems capable of this
kind of “mistake” are capable of taking very
much different actions than if they did not
draw such conclusion; they can gain comprehensive tactical autonomy and start to strive
for full autonomy [3].
The basic argument is that not a very fancy
combination of techniques leads to strong
consciousness. The minimum technical formula would be: recursive modeling + causality assumption of system + hierarchical integration of partial self-models. My hypothesis
4
Independently whether this means a
realization on a single machine or network of
machines.
2.5 Expansive Ontogenesis –
Unzipping an Autonomous System
Let us assume some conditions for a system
which has to withstand aggressive environments and which must develop its own complexity inside-out. This is of course quite natural for biological systems which develop
from singular cells to trillion cell colonies.
Each neuron receives information from somewhere. More complex neural circuits evolving
from them do not know what they represent,
so they must find out. This could be information from the inside but also from some outside and there could be different degrees of
inside and outside. This requires the presence
of self-discovery capabilities in the system. It
should be true for such systems that:
1. The system does not know its boundaries
in advance.
2. The system does not know the constituting elements of the world.
3. The system must act. In order to act and
to improve acting performance it is forced to
predict and measure performance.
4. Predictions only work when assuming
causality.
This has interesting impacts on the design
of a system: It must model recursively and it
must model recurrently, potentially deeply
into its own mechanics.
Figure 2: The process of modeling the false relationship that the self-models cause activities of the
system.
Figure 3: The modeling facilities cannot a priori address an “inside” and an “outside” of system.
Since we are making a systemic (highly
generalized) proposition to explain strong
consciousness we cannot assume that system's
knowledge is implemented in a well concealed area. The implementations of models
could be “flat in the environment” (cf. figure
3). The system must detect and fence this area
after it detects that in some sense it is critical
to its operations.
Since the environment is full of nested controls and meta-stable elements, the modeling
performed by the system must be necessarily
nested as well. This would give raise to conditionally active models and entail conditional
self-models of contextual range. If they ever
became critical to system's success then they
would have to be concealed (“autonomized”),
i.e. effects on them are filtered.
A system is not maintaining models and the
inherent policies for the fun of it. It needs
them for incrementally improving its actions
as it starts blanc, and it must have a tendency
to improve in order to compensate for later
degradations of performance relevant components. Bongard, v. Zykov and others have
used exactly this to motivate self-modeling
capabilities [8]. However, in the here proposed model there is no dedicated self-modeling capability. The self-model simply crystallizes out as a result of a contextual auto-discovery of system, i.e. models condensing
around system drivers with highest degrees of
reliability or other system related properties.
Despite that humans are frequently using
time-free modeling formalisms, in a cognitive
system meaning of components is deduced
from what they can be used for (what they
can achieve). Direction of model evolution is
hence a critical element. Time-free models require additional competence that would make
those models evolve in time – equations are
an example of that kind of model formalism.
Whatever the models would be, those models
must include a temporal direction or it is not
possible to make predictions ahead of time.
In summary, a system which has to increase
its autonomy over time must replicate external mechanisms into itself for internal aheadof-time simulation and must define more or
less fixated boundaries of itself in order to
amplify actions towards self-sustaining condi-
tions. In this process it uses models with temporal direction and uses them in components
at various speeds. The models are hierarchically organized because the real world is
composed of nested controls. Switching between active self-models would imply system
re-configuration.
So far, so good. It should be relatively plausible to have a system with such features, no
matter how they would have been implemented. Finally, it is not the implementation
technology that allows a system of this kind
to make the following mistake:
1. Causes come before effects (characterized by good transition probabilities)
2. There are permanent and non-permanent objects that are modeled
3. Permanent models contain subsystems with activation and get
“marked” or “activated” before other
“satisfactions” from activities are
recorded. → causation between
model activations and effects.
4. The system is having a reasonable
competence: in majority of cases predictions are not much violated by observation → causation between class
of prediction and class of observation
5. The relationship between predictions
and own components is clear: Permanent “inside” components generate
predictions.
6. Leads to a new model element:
Permanent components cause predictions. Predictions cause predicted observations. → Self-model causes actions.
Indeed, the model did not do or cause anything ever at all but the successful repetition
of predictions and satisfactions between abstract model elements must lead to the conclusion that the self-model is causing the activities despite the fact that the complete
process has always been spontaneous.
Figure 4 shows the evolution of self-awareness by concentrating on the expectation maximization mechanism: The action solving and
prediction engine (not conscious) is using the
transition probability model (not conscious
but indirectly self-referential) in order to reverse conclude best activations for actors and
to estimate their range of effect. If the model
was reasonably good, the procedure leads to
further successful sequence replays which
make the modeler harden the transition probabilities.
Execution of actions based on the concept
of causation will normally lead to hardening
of transition probabilities – an EM algorithm.
Since the modeling is recursive and recurrent,
the transitions harden between controlling
facts and between their abstractions created
by this system. If an abstraction serves as a
distinct self-model which is associated with
making predictions and if predictions are
falsely modeled to cause observations then
the system will arrive at the conclusion that
the self-model is causing observations. Technically this is wrong, because the system is
spontaneous all the time, but, systemically,
the mistake for the model is accidentally correct for the larger system boundary (marked
with dashed rectangle): Whatever process is
causing action within the system, the system
indeed acts. So to say, the stable self-concept
of consciousness is driven by two errors that
seem to cancel out on a larger frame if the
performance is reasonably good: The first error is the causation of predictions and the second is the difficult discrimination between
mechanisms that really caused an activity
when trying to re-observe it. Together, the elements of the system can now start to model
desired and undesired causation on the self
and to organize activities in favor of the selfmodel. This leads to an autonomization of the
concept which sets up more and more filters
in order to detect just the information that is
needed for satisfying deeper policies contained in the model. There is hence no practical difference between modeler saying "this is
the most likely transition" and the total system saying "I have caused it" because it is a
self-fulfilling prophecy.
2.6
Stability of Consciousness
The illusion of self-awareness will only stay
stable as long as the system performs well on
average. When new situations challenge the
system, predictions start to fail and the system
concludes that the internal model is not “causing enough”. Whatever the action derivation
engine is doing, it should reconfigure to do
something else. That should explain why humans feel briefly confused (experience reduced consciousness) when they face an unexpected event. This confusion is normally
never total or permanent for humans because
they are making many predictions at various
levels of abstraction and many of them are
still good even in unexpected situations; but a
state of total confusion is theoretically possible. In state of total confusion, the individual
would not be considered conscious, anymore,
even if he was objectively lively.
Since the system interprets bad predictions
as reason to reconfigure and counteract, it is
not surprising that conscious systems have the
characteristic to autonomize the self-models:
They are the only more stable element in an
otherwise highly flexible system configuration.
In prolonged state of lacking success there
is the risk that the modeler cannot successfully trace satisfactions to internal resources
or capabilities. In such a case the “self” becomes instable. Resulting exploration mechanisms could propose policies which do not in-
clude protection of system's resources. This is
a “way out of a pit” at the price of reducing
guarantees that a system is not engaging in
self-destructive activities as it has lost the internal boundaries of protection which consist
of robust causation chains.
If this concept is translated to humans then
it would predict that people with permanent
frustration from lacking success would run
into various self-definition problems, some of
them potentially destructive.
Yet another insight from that model is that
self-consciousness is aggressively driven by
action. Systems trying to extremely chill their
activities would suffer effects of dissolving
self-consciousness.
2.7
MindBody Duality
With all this said it is impossible not to
quickly treat the mind-body duality problem.
The question is, how a system could conclude
that its self-concept is independent of its
physical platform? Such a conclusion, if laid
out to extremes, could heavily impair system's
health as it could conclude that maintaining
the hardware platform is not its job.
There are several ways how the system
could autonomize the self-concept against its
physical platform. One and very important
problem in recurrent modeling is that the system is indeed not knowing its boundaries –
which it must discover. The result of the discovery process could yield boundaries far
short of physical boundaries or far beyond the
physical boundaries (e.g. physiology extended
with a tool). In fact, I assume that self-aware
systems will create conditional self-models
which cover a spectrum between the two extremes.
If permanence (or availability or reliability)
is a condensing property of the self-concept
then if there are scenarios in which some
physical components become unavailable
while the control functions remain accessible
or active then modeling these two levels of
hard permanence causes a split up of the selfmodels. By the way activation transitions are
translated into causations, the conclusion of
the system is then that the more stable element must cause the availability of the less
stable element through action. This is indeed
a reasonable conclusion: The system's control
system is indeed causing actions which restore and protect components of the physical
platform.
However, that is not the only type of condensation property. Since evidence hardens
that humans reason through association and
simulation, there is opportunity to condense
models on bandwidth. Access to resources related to mental simulation are of much higher
bandwidth than access to resources accessed
via hardware. A built-in classification of components by communication bandwidth is not
very difficult to imagine for self-configuring,
self-discovering systems. Since fast mental
operations are observed before slow activities
of the physical platform, the system could
conclude that a fast (light) system is causing
the slow, arduous periphery to act. Again, this
is not false, but in conjunction with other
model elements can introduce a concept of
some kind of portable controller. For example, if the system detects the same abstract
class of self-concepts on variety of different
platforms, it could incorrectly hypothesize
that this class of control could be portable including its particular specializations which
constitute its identity.
Well, such a hypothesis should be ruled out
because of missing observations, right? Unfortunately not: Yet another contributing factor to modularization of self-concepts is the
combination of reinforcement learning elements with generative nature of a system that
must be making predictions. The problem is
described in figure 5.
In simulative reasoning the system expands
a series of transitions in order to test the benefits of attained states. Short chains of actions
have high chances of being invalidated early.
However, longer chains of action can lead to
states of higher yield. A discount factor like is
known from Q-learning controls the opportunistic nature of systems. If a raise in yield
(or satisfaction) compensates for the discount
then it gets selected as the next best policy of
action and it will suppress policies of following short term yields. Now, if not artificially
prevented, a system can create longer and
longer perspectives of action in order to assess yields and harms. However, for practical
reasons, long policies are hard to test for
truth. At some point they might not be
testable at all.
The problem now arises that a system could
generate concepts of satisfaction which are lying in the non-provable area of long policies
at which end lies the achievement of an extremely high yield (briefly called fantastic satisfactions in figure 5). If among such fantastic
yields is the realization of the concept of
portability of the control system to other platforms, how can the system ever be ever disproved? This is a fantastic field for life-afterdeath theorists.
Figure 5: A system with self-reference tends to pursue higher level satisfactions when it develops up to
a point where modeled satisfactions could become difficult or impossible to proof.
2.8
Free Will
The question of free will is often discussed
as a contradiction to deterministic and spontaneous models of mind. However, in context of
the here proposed model there seems to exist
no such contradiction.
Assuming that the overall modeling process
follows a mantling process as has been described by Lodwich in [3], the policies stored
in the system are encapsulated in several autonomous layers. At its core are unconditional
policies which in humans we sometimes call
values. The result of this mantling process is
that all internal drivers and main policies are
protected against influence from outside. I hypothesize that this helps to organize the
fastest satisfaction of needs which can occur
concurrently and can only be satisfied in sequence.
The term free will simply describes the fact
that autonomous systems contain difficult to
influence internal processes and their policies.
This definition of free will is absolutely compatible with legal or moral theories and does
not entail any need for metaphysical properties of the system. For example, the free will
in making contracts indicates a very high authorization within the system. In moral contexts, free will captures the idea that harmful,
immoral behavior is not explained as evasive
behaviors induced by external systems (situational conditions) but is controlled and motivated from the inside. Hence it requires an intensive feedback signal to the system (that is
punishment) in order to achieve modification
of the responsible system's policies closer to
its autonomy core.
2.9 Development of
Consciousness
Creation and maintenance of certain systems are two distinct kinds of question. In this
sub-chapter I would like to sketch the process
of concept formation that would be usable as
self-reference. Since this paper is systemic,
the choice of any particular formalism is arbitrary but I am indeed inclined to using graphi-
cal and probabilistic models. It is clear that
models are systems which have a defined,
predictable relationship to more complex systems. This can be exploited to predict major
features and developments of the more complex system. In fact, any practical robot or
technical system is using a broad range of formalism to do the modeling. I say that in order
to avoid any discrimination of modeling technology as the exact choice of technology is
relatively irrelevant to the processes described
in this paper. Models of equivalent power can
be symbolic, neural, graphic or probabilistic.
However, some formalisms may be biased towards particular problem areas, that's all.
Figures 6 and 7 explain the process of selfcausation using a graphic model. The minimodel consists of few nodes, arcs and node
activations.
Figure 6 shows two cluster representatives
(reliable and unreliable) used to categorize
observations. Reliability could be also a property which is used to move observed entities
between different value intervals. There are
many ways to implement this. The only important idea here is that it is relatively straight
forward to assume that a system with self-discovery capability will use such built-in properties in order to classify resource reliability.
In figure 6 this is represented with linkstrength and could be implemented using
some adaptive resonance algorithms.
Figure 7 shows a development over three
recorded observations which contain the same
graph but with different linkage and activations.
The story develops by first activating a need
entity that has already been identified as a
permanent resource with various activations.
A second entity exists which is the solving resource – a satisfier. The model does not know
whether the satisfier is related to need in the
first place.
At some point the action generating engine
causes an event that is recorded as the activation of the solving resource and this activation
occurred only after the need entity was activated. Moreover the activation of the satisfier
is followed by the deactivation of the need.
Now, the modeler can create or modify sev-
eral connections from this event: Firstly, it
will model a good transition between the need
resource and the solver resource. Secondly, it
will model that the reliable components cause
the particular solving resource to be activated
and that reliable components cause activation
of unreliable components. Several such stories more and the model should look like a
star where need resources are heavily linked
to built-in reliability quantifiers and form a
star-shaped connectivity to other less reliable
entities in the model. All activations start in
the core area of the model and iterate outwards towards solver resources.
Let us further assume that a system designed to satisfy drives will mainly model
events concerned with their satisfaction. Naturally, it will try to use historical data in order
to find out how needs had been satisfied. The
plausibility of this approach has been studied
by Dörner who investigated memory-based
modeling techniques for his PSI agents [11].
The transition probabilities5 are the ground
for "causation". The "I" model is at the beginning of most chunked stories related to fulfillment of reported needs. Needs and predictions seem to cause satisfactions (cf. figure 8).
This enforces the procedure and the separation into a reliable "I" model (which stands at
the beginning of relevant sequences) and less
reliable external resources which act as satisfiers (cf. figure 8).
In this process I assume that component
models objectively belonging to the system
will be purified into this self-model as is
shown in figure 9 - a purifying lava lamp.
5
Here I have chosen to use a concept from
probability theory but any other formalism,
like e.g. graphic or field theoretic, is suitable
to model the more general idea of preference
of development.
3 CrossReference To
Conscious Functions
I would like to localize the proposition in
terms of the nine categories of conscious operation as were defined by Baars [12] in order
to clarify which observations the model could
generate.
3.1 Definitional and Context
setting Function
The here proposed model is based on recursively recurrent modeling. The system to be
considered is not knowing a priori its boundaries and in it there is no concealed area of the
system that would be not observable – this includes certain mechanistic states. This will
lead to creation of behavior and configuration
controlling models which can be exploited after “external” or “internal” events; but the
system requires only a single mechanism to
do so.
3.2 Adaptation and Learning
Function
The synchronizing and optimizing expectation maximization algorithm concept, as was
shown in figure 4, is permanently modeling
and measuring effectiveness of actions by
making predictions. The rather generic selfdiscovery mechanisms must be guided by
some very technical properties like reliability
speed or bandwidth of components. If a consciousness-enabled system starts condensing,
i.e. aggregating self-concepts around these
properties, the system will accidentally start
to channel the spontaneous optimization features around the self-concept. This will lead
to the observation that consciousness seems
to be involved in adaptation and learning behaviors of the system but also to the strange
effect that it is very difficult to tell the system
to learn upon command.
3.3 Editing, Flagging and
Debugging Function
Since models by themselves do not imply
action there is always an element in active
systems to drive them. For example, an automaton could be transiting spontaneously.
The automaton model is fairly simple and
might require no more than some probability
attached to the transitions. Time-less models
can be structural – in that case markers are
used in order to define a field of attraction or
deterrence for the system. Such fields guide
then application of formal rules, e.g. the solving of an equation (a cognitively complex
process). Those controlling driver mechanisms are most intensively amalgamated with
models related to the system itself.
When we speak of function, we do not
mean a directed mapping between two sets as
is in a mathematical sense, but a particular ordered sequence of mappings or family of
mappings (a behavior) - which are under
some circumstances expressible as a single,
static mathematical function.
Creation and maintenance of these sequences is the natural purpose of the synchronizing EM-loop. If the conscious system is
equipped with simulative reasoning capabilities then it is quite likely that the modeling
and observation features of the system cover
activities related to this. It will hence observe
how the simulative system activates concepts
during its backtracking operations. In fact,
even in own perception, I cannot say this
process appears self-controlled to me – one
feels more like a spectator and whenever I
feel tired or have more fundamental needs,
the process of problem solving does not continue anymore. Notwithstanding higher needs,
it is undoubted that internal simulations help
to prepare a policy for achieving a new goal
and to reduce risk associated with the exploration of a solution.
But here is the thing, since the backtracking
algorithm is finding solutions and the model
could predict that simulation activities lead to
an observation class “solution” then it could
very well conclude that the fast activities observed and associated with the self-model are
causing solutions. This could erroneously
mislead into believing that this is a process
determined by the self-model despite that it
has been spontaneous all the time, simply because it was guided by the same driver mechanisms which are associated with the self-
model. Indeed, on the outside of the system, it
is correct to say that internal backtracking
(debugging, editing or flagging) did occur.
The modeling error becomes irrelevant on the
outside of the system.
3.4 Recruiting and Control
Function
Since this paper did not cover the exact realization and interactions between models, actions and simulations, only a brief, abstract
mention is possible here: I did not talk about
the reasoning engine's internal structure as it
has not been relevant for observing the systemic process of creating autonomy supporting consciousness in systems with auto-discovery capabilities. However, it should not be
difficult to imagine how a look-ahead simulation could be used to make various predictions for measuring action efficacy. If a simulation did find a relatively complete sequence
of activities ending in potential satisfactions
then it could be somehow spontaneously
scheduled for execution.
However, since the activation of satisfactions follows the activation of needs associated with the self-model with a fair reliability
and because physical activities follow a resonant state in the simulative part with a fair reliability, the system must conclude and model
that the self-model section is causing the
scheduling of activities. Again, this is a modeling mistake if transition probabilities are
used to model causation because the selfmodel does not cause this sequence. However, again, on the outside of the system there
is no way to tell the difference.
3.5 Prioritizing and Access
Control Functions
There are two parts to this idea: One is that
of action prioritization and the second one is
access control. The first point is relatively obvious, it is about the action selection and
scheduling process as has been sketched in
chapter 3.4. It needs only be theoretically expanded in the way that current activity scheduled for execution has some kind of priority
attached to it which it derives from the satis-
factions found in it. If a newer prediction did
arrive with higher satisfaction then it could
flush the current sequence and replace it with
a more satisfactory program. In this process
self-models and related modeling misconclusions would be extended by the concept that
the self-model is causing these flushes (proritizations).
Since the presented system does not know
its boundaries and applies the same mechanisms inside and outside of its true physical
boundaries, the system can observe and
model causation between inactive and activated classes of model concepts. This would
lead to the misconception that the system is
causing and guarding the activation of these
concepts despite that the whole process is
spontaneous.
3.6 DecisionMaking or Executive
Function
Given what we have learned in sections 3.4
and 3.5 nothing new is to say in terms of the
role consciousness plays in it. While 3.4 is
more focusing on motor functions, indeed the
system never knows or makes any difference
between manipulation of internal resources or
external resources. We can speak of internal
motors which keep progressing activation and
reconfiguration of executable models. However, the system does not know how many
layers of control it has or its environment. It
is simply promoting states in every layer of
behavior control that it has modeled. So it can
be that one mental train of action gets scheduled to run on internal resources and that another train of actions gets scheduled on the
most concrete level of resources, the true and
physical sensorimotor surface (cf. figure 8),
The mechanics can be the same but we do not
get notice of this until visible events start to
unfold for external observers. This is either
when we receive acoustic vibrations or observe coarse mechanic operations. We like to
speak of a “decision” if a flush has occurred
in a higher level model of which ripples have
reached the outskirts of phonetic motors or of
“recruiting” when we observe flushes on major motor controls.
3.7
AnalogyForming Function
The here proposed models rely on recursive
modeling resulting in creation of an arbitrary
amount of nested control – very much like it
has been proposed by Dörner [11] with Psi.
For this theory one technical reference is the
implementation from OpenCog6. This model
discovers an arbitrary amount of stories and
meta-stories which can be used for behavior
control.
What is different is the way resources are
provided to the different levels of program
execution. While real motor control levels deserve several dedicated execution resources
right from the start in order to guarantee realtime properties of the system, such resources
are not guaranteed to higher levels of control
where the system might have to abuse a certain general purpose resource to execute
them. So, you would expect that a system capable of arbitrary depth modeling will run
into a technical resource problem which it
will try to fix by time-sharing a single prediction and action backtracking engine. This
could explain why activities related to consciousness appear to be jumping between programs and simulations related to different levels of abstraction and why it seems to relate
content of various grades of abstraction to
each other in that particular place (“forming
of analogies”). I can only speculate that neural flexibility allows production of additional
dedicated resources if certain functions are
frequently needed (equivalent to an FPGA
compiler) in order to make them faster. This
could again explain performance differences
between experts and novices.
3.8 Metacognitive or Self
monitoring Function
I have shown in figure 4 that monitoring
performance is a basic element for successful
adaptation and correction of executed policies. If the involved modeling is based on recurrent observation of activations (modeling
of activations of models) then the system cannot but have metacognitive and self-monitoring functions. If partial models related to own
system can be aggregated as conditional ex6
http://www.artificialbrains.com/opencog
pressions of more abstract system models
then this will result in various fall-back simulations if predictions start to deteriorate in
their concrete expressions. Only very basic
engineering techniques are needed for doing
this.
Figure 10 shows how the envisaged model
should behave when problems are detected
during execution of cognitive programs –
strains of activity produced by the reasoning
engine. Transferring main load of activity between concrete execution models and the next
more abstract levels would be equivalent with
the notion of self-monitoring (when relying to
fixing or restoring a configuration) and metacognition (when relating to modeling and redetecting patterns).
Clearly, these processes are controlled by
species-specific parameters and resources but
the system will eventually conclude that the
self-model is causing these transitions. This
can be again explained with robust sequences
of activations between internal activations: A
problem occurring on the right side is proliferated up if simulations yield no satisfactory
solution. This will engage more abstract and
more generic simulations which can be used
in taking the more concrete resources “by
hand”. They would auto-fill missing parts by
association. In that case activations in models
on the left side would predate activation on
the right side. Moreover, it would detect that
again model elements strongly attributed to
drivers are predating activation of models
which are not connected to them. If the system models the temporal relationships between activities observed in the two groups
(in a possibly yet more abstract group of concepts) then the system would more or less justifiably conclude that the various self-models
in a specific level (cf. figure 3) have been
causing the problem fixing in lower levels despite that all of the function was spontaneous.
3.9 Autoprogramming and Self
maintenance Function
The terms programming and maintenance
are more complex activities then the ones described hitherto. It could require all the capabilities mentioned above.
Programming requires some kind of concept to be implemented. This requires a
source and a target with resources to execute
the program. An explanation of such behavior
could be found in figure 10 as was commented in section 3.8. However, no matter
which basic mechanism of impasse fixing is
chosen, if it works then it will leave well predictable sequences of activations which can
be abused to deduce causality.
Self-maintenance is a different story but
also very complex process related to strong
degrees of autonomy of systems. It will exploit some or all above mentioned features in
order to protect core policies. All models
which are acquired by the system with autodiscovery capabilities guide and channel the
process of fixing the impasses. Since this
process greatly relies on drivers and markers
and the like, a very important class of models
involved in the channeling will be the selfmodels which are standing at the beginning
and the end of most interesting causal chains.
From this the system can reverse-conclude activities for maintenance in a spontaneous way
but the resulting activation of concepts and
generation of observations will propose nothing else than the self-model has caused activities related to maintenance in a magically
spontaneous way – the magical free will –
which, in fact, is not so magical at all because
indeed all the involved processes have been
spontaneous so far.
4 Practical
Considerations
4.1 Why is it so hard to achieve
Strong Consciousness?
Engineers design tools and technical products in order to overcome certain weaknesses
of the human worker while keeping them under his firm control. Engineering best practice
demands isolation of components and narrow,
well predictable communication between
components via interfaces. In systems with
self-discovery and self-configuration, communication layout is based on hard to control
components resonance. This makes systems
more resilient but is also at odds with traditional maintenance practice and business
models. Imagine selling a product for which
you cannot properly define its qualities.
Moreover, engineered components are implemented in higher level non-interoperable
formalisms where establishing reasonable
data exchange is difficult, even if introspection was provided.
4.2 Detection and Measuring of
Consciousness
Detection of consciousness in a pure observatory way is relying on proper emission and
recognition of signals. External systems trying to detect consciousness try to find out if
they can identify a satisfactorily stable repre-
sentation of self-reference emitted by the observed system.
This signal of self-reference (address or ID)
is technically useful for external systems. If
they can emit references to conscious systems
in communications then they can eventually
by-pass slow interpretation activities of that
party. This would result in faster synchronization of systems in case of collaboration.
Modeling of differences in synchronization
efficiency between situations where self-reference was emitted and situations where selfreference was not emitted leads to conclusion
that self-reference and corresponding consciousness is indeed relevant for technical
performance and hence real.
Without the presumption of human-like
consciousness, recognition of consciousness
is very difficult to perform. Most of what systems do is spontaneous because that's the
technically ideal state, the most efficient way
to interact with the environment. The need to
access deeper internal models must be actively provoked because it costs additional energy. In general this is done by creating an
impasse where the system must not only
change behavior but invent a new behavior
program never observed from it before. This
will require a real use of internal models. Yet
still, let us assume, we are successful at invoking new behaviors. These new behaviors
come in two main flavors:
•
Situations where model of self is irrelevant: they prove nothing
•
Situation where model of self is decisive in outcome:
◦
clearly self-motivated decisions
prove conscious capabilities
◦
Decisions not clearly self-motivated prove nothing because
▪
▪
a system can also be simply
not efficient enough in a
given situation (e.g. system is
overwhelmed or does not yet
have enough competence
with environment)
a system can be lacking consciousness
It means that the difficulty to prove consciousness lies in the ability to provoke a new
kind of response that would demonstrate access to self-models used for favoring own
benefits while not stressing its competence
envelope too much.
In order to demonstrate the difficulty let us
of think of the attempt to prove that children
have consciousness. Children have consciousness as of few months age but because of low
competence levels they cannot be tested for
consciousness upon the grounds what would
be the best decision in their self-interest. By
adult standards, they would fail the above test
mostly all of the time. Only specialized tests
adapted to low competence levels of a small
child can verify their consciousness and their
growing autonomy.
Since machines lack human bodies and because their competence is often fairly low by
adult standards and because they are often
used in standard situations, this all surmounts
to a huge difficulty to establish machine consciousness from observation. For that reason
structural arguments are necessary for technical systems. The best solution would be if we
could basically make several checks on a list
and say after that: "Ok, the system has this
and that component, they have this and that
capability and those are wired up like this,
then yepp, it will exhibit conscious features!"
And this is what the engineer needs to know
in order to avoid it.
5 Strategies for avoiding
Strong Consciousness
Now, with some understanding how strong
consciousness could get created we can consider several strategies to interrupt its creation. We can have a look at figure 4 again
and identify several means to interrupt strong
consciousness formation:
Condensation: A key component in creating a distinct entity to be referenced is the
condensation property. If model elements are
described in terms that have no systemic relevance to the system (e.g. cost in units of currency) then models will not start to condensate into a system representation. With con-
densation I mean the process of associating
partial models to form a larger, conditionally
expressible model of the system.
Recursion: A technical system has very
rarely the need to model internal and external
observations recursively. Most robot designs
define explicit layers of abstractions in order
to guarantee optimal APIs for controlling the
robot. However, this could be too little to prevent strong consciousness. For example, if a
system is designed with very abstract models
like objects, observations, predictions, etc.
right from the start then it could start to reason about it and could derive a causation hypothesis between a self-model and observations.
Causation: Limit scope in which causation
is modeled or exploited by reasoning engines.
Drives: A key driver of modeling self-reference is the presence of driver satisfactions in
observations of relevance. If systems do not
own drives related to system autonomy then
system will not exhibit self-favorable strategies.
Knowledge Integrity: Current engineering
practice is minimizing knowledge integrity by
encapsulating it in functionally large components which do not offer a lot of opportunity
for re-configuration by a superordinate system. Since strong consciousness' purpose is to
organize systems' re-configurations there is
not much potential to develop strong consciousness if there is little to configure.
6 Conclusions
6.1
Ethical Motivations
According to Sanz [13], there are three motivations to pursue artificial consciousness:
implementing and designing machines resembling human beings
• understanding the nature of consciousness
• implementing and designing more
efficient control systems.
•
I believe that motive #1 is of questionable
value but, indeed, replication of humans into
all possible technical domains (which includes computers) is the natural expression of
our autonomy, resulting in desire to create
copies of ourself which would survive new
kinds of conditions (e.g. space flight). Creation of such technical humanoids would pose
many challenges to our societies, for example
because such agents would be potentially immortal or because they would deny ownership.
Motive #2 is legitimate. We should understand creation of consciousness in order to
better deal with unusual states of mind and
how to treat them.
Motive #3 is of questionable value. Conscious modeling is not efficient form of control. Due to modeling and self-observation it
requires tremendous amounts of memory
even if tasks are relatively simple. Conscious
systems expand their internal complexity over
time. Customers want "simple" products - that
is products which they can understand out of
the box and do not require much modeling on
their side. Strong consciousness and autonomy is clearly geared against such goals.
As a consequence, engineers engaged with
product development will avoid implementing features of consciousness as much as possible. In advanced applications, where systems need some autonomy, engineers will selectively add modeling capabilities and limit
the level of model recursion.
In conscious systems, which are special
subcategory of autonomous systems, central
motivators are not only self-protective but
also not directly related to any acquired specific capability, making them mostly useless
as anchors for exerting control over such systems as would be required for tools.
6.2 Systemic, Emergent
Consciousness
I attempted to create an ethically motivated
argument why creation of strongly conscious
machines should be avoided. Unfortunately,
in modern technical systems it is not possible
to avoid systems with various recursive or
adaptive features, anymore.
In order to better understand which condi-
tions will lead to strong consciousness I have
laid out the conditions leading to its creation:
(Strong) Consciousness is the effect of a
white-box recursive resource discovery
process in combination with the process for
modeling their performance which is key predisposition to successful operation in unconstrained environments.
Since this process is best described as autopoietic (laying itself out), creation of stable
and functionally useful self-reference (declaration of pointer to a configuration of the stable resources) is among the first things to
happen. Therefore you should be able to detect conscious features among the first properties of a system which is systemically enabled
to produce consciousness.
In summary, the model suggests:
•
System concludes that it is acting
•
System expands autonomy over time
•
System identifies an internal agency
inside itself which could be independent of the physical platform
Furthermore I am proposing that consciousness is a systemic property and can be
achieved by basically any formalism, be this
logic, linear algebra, probabilistic reasoning
and so on. Choosing a different technology of
model implementation will not reduce risks of
sparking system autonomy or consciousness.
6.3
Alternative Models
The here laid out proposition is competing
with discrete approaches as are occasionally
proposed in artificial cognitive sciences. For
example, Starzyk and Prasad [14] create an
architecture with dedicated components to
create features of consciousness. In contrast
to such architectures, my explanation model
does not require built-in or dedicated components for self-models, motives, emotions or
monitoring. The natural elements of the
model are activations, policies, recurrent and
recursive modeling and some basic systemic
optimization properties as reliability, delay
times, filter spectrum or bandwidth. This approach is motivated by a systemic notion of
autonomy [3] and should stretch from organic
over technical up to social machines.
A general purpose algorithmic implementation of such model would – in theory – allow
spawning a fully autonomous and conscious
control system for any physical system but
the obstacles to it are a reasonably universal
modeling formalism - something for future
work to show what this could be. If it was
possible then a new study of species optimization would emerge either trying to restrict the regular amount of autonomy or improving technical performance for a particular
“ecological niche”. However, this process
would be accompanied by a problematic personization of the systems in legal and ethical
sense.
For all other purposes, a systemic theory for
understanding the creation of strongly autonomous features including consciousness in an
evolutionary fashion seems necessary as it
would have a high explanatory power - but
will require reference to very basic technological concepts, such a ordering, activation, resonance and the like. Motives, emotions, mental self-models, monitoring, working memory,
self-programming and many more must be
explained in those terms in such a theory.
Bibliography
1: Antonio Chella, Riccardo Manzotti, Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness, , 2007
2: Marcus Hutter , Universal Artificial Intelligence, Springer Verlag, 2005
3: Aleksander Lodwich, Differences between Industrial Models of Autonomy and Systemic Models of Autonomy,
2016, http://arxiv.org/abs/1605.07335
4: Wendell Wallach, Colin Allen, Stan Franklin, CONSCIOUSNESS AND ETHICS: ARTIFICIALLY CONSCIOUS
MORAL AGENTS, International Journal of Machine Consciousness 3:1, p.177-192, World Scientific, 2011
5: Atkinson, A. P., M. S. C. Thomas, et al. , Consciousness: mapping the theoretical landscape, Trends in Cognitive
Sciences 4 (10), p.372-382, ,
6: D. McDermott, Mind and Mechanism, MIT Press, 2001
7: S. Franklin, Artificial Minds, MIT Press, 1995
8: J. Bongard, v. Zykov, et al. , Resilient MachinesThrough Continuous Self-Modeling, Science 314 (5802), p.11181121, , 2006
9: Lyle N. Long, Troy D. Kelley, Review of Consciousness and the Possibility of Conscious Robots, JOURNAL OF
AEROSPACE COMPUTING, INFORMATION, AND COMMUNICATION 7, p., American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, Inc., 2010
10: Owen Holland, Machine Consciousness, 2003,
11: Dietrich Dörner, Christina Bartl, Frank Detje, Jürgen Gerdes, Dorothée Halcour, Harald Schaub, Ulrike Starker,
Die Mechanik des Seelenwagens. Eine neuronale Theorie der Handlungsregulation, Hans Huber Verlag, 2002
12: Bernard Baars, A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness, , p., Cambridge University Press, 1998
13: Ricardo Sanz, Design and Implementation of an Artificial Conscious Machine, 2005
14: Janusz A. Starzyk, Dilip K. Prasad, ACOMPUTATIONAL MODEL OF MACHINE CONSCIOUSNESS,
International Journal of Machine Consciousness 1:2, p., World Scientific, 2011 |
Impairment of consciousness in Alzheimer’s disease:
the amyloid water-filled nanotubes manifest quantum
optical coherence interfering with the normal QBD?
Danko Dimchev Georgiev ∗, Medical University Of Varna, Bulgaria
Recent discovery by Perutz et al. of the physical structure of the amyloid that accumulates in neurons in certain
neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease or Huntington’s disease, suggests novel mechanism of
consciousness impairment, different from the neuronal loss, which is the end stage of the pathogenic process. Amyloid is
shown to be water-filled nanotubes made of polymerized pathologically-changed proteins. It is hypothesized that the water
inside the new-formed nanotubes can manifest optical coherent laser-like excitations and superradiance similarly to the
processes taking part in the normal brain microtubules as shown by Jibu et al. The interfering with the macroscopic
quantum effects within the normal microtubules can lead to impairment of conscious experience. Experimental data in
favor of quantum theory of consciousness can be obtained from the research of the amyloid nanotubes.
1. Quantum optical coherence in the brain microtubules
Activities within the brain's neurons are organized by dynamic scaffolding called the cytoskeleton, whose
major components are microtubules. Hollow, crystalline cylinders 25 nanometers in diameter, microtubules
are comprised of hexagonal lattices of proteins, known as tubulin. Microtubules are essential to cell shape,
function, movement, and division. In neurons microtubules self-assemble to extend axons and dendrites and
form synaptic connections, then help to maintain and regulate synaptic activity responsible for learning and
cognitive functions. Microtubules interact with membrane structures mechanically by linking proteins,
chemically by ions and "second-messenger" signals, and electrically by voltage fields.
While microtubules have traditionally been considered as purely structural elements, recent evidence has
revealed that mechanical and quantum signaling also exist: microtubule "kinks" travel at 15 microns (2000
tubulin subunits) per second [1], microtubules vibrate (100-650 Hz) with nanometer displacement [2],
microtubules optically "shimmer" when metabolically active [3], mechanical signals propagate through
microtubules to cell nucleus supposing mechanism for MT regulation of gene expression [4], measured
tubulin dipoles and microtubule conductivity suggest that microtubules are ferroelectric at physiological
temperature [5], in the vicinity of the microtubules the water molecules show rich, ordered and systematic
dynamics allowing two typical cooperative quantum phenomena called superradiance and self-induced
transparency [6,7,8], tubulin states can be in superposition [9], consciousness can be result of quantum
computation via applied by short laser pulses quantum gates within the microtubules in the brain cortex [10].
∗
E-mail: dankomed@yahoo.com
An essential phenomenon for the quantum brain dynamics is the quantum optical coherence in the
microtubules. Jibu et al., 1994 [6] derive the total Hamiltonian for the system of N water molecules and the
quantized electromagnetic field in the region V inside the microtubule cylinder in the form
H = H EM + εS − µ ∑ ( E k− S k− + S k+ E k+ ) ,
(1)
k
where µ is the electric dipole moment of a water molecule (µ =2epP with P~0.2 Å and ep - the proton charge),
ε is the energy difference between the two principal energy ‘eigenstates’ of the water molecules (according
to Franks, 1972 it’s real value is
ε ≈ 200cm −1 ), HEM is the Hamiltonian describing the quantized
electromagnetic field in the region V given by
H EM =
(2)
1
E 2 d 3r ,
∫
2 V
E+ and E- are the positive and negative frequency parts of the electric field operator given by
E ± (r , t ) = ∑ E k± (t )e ± i ( k ⋅r −ωk t )
(3)
k
with ωk denoting the proper angular frequency of the normal mode with wave vector k, and
r j = ( x j , y j , z j ) gives the coordinates of the jth water molecule, where z denotes the axis lying along
the longitudinal center axis of the microtubule cylinder (the xy-plane of the introduced Cartesian system of
coordinates Oxyz is attached parallel to one of the two ends of the microtubule, so that the origin O coincides
with the center of the end cap).
S k± (t ) is collective dynamical variable for the quantized electromagnetic field in the cavity region V given
by
(4)
where
N
S (t ) = ∑ s ±j (t )e ±i ( k ⋅r −ωk t ) ,
±
k
1
sj = σ
2
j
j =1
is the spin variable of the jth water molecule;
σ = (σ x , σ y , σ z ) and the σ x
are Pauli spin matrices denoting the three components of the angular momentum for spin ½.
S in the total Hamiltonian is the collective dynamical variable for the water molecules given by
N
(5)
S = ∑ s zj .
j =1
It seems worthwhile to note that the total Hamiltonian (1) is essentially of the same form as the Dicke’s
Hamiltonian (1954) [11] for the laser system and the Stuart-Takahashi-Umezawa Hamiltonian (1979) [12] for
Quantum Brain Dynamics (QBD). Therefore, it can be expected that microtubules in the cytoskeletal
structure of brain cells manifest both memory printing/recalling mechanism in QBD and laser-like coherent
optical activity. The quantum dynamical system of water molecules and the quantized electromagnetic field
confined inside the hollow microtubule core can manifest the specific collective dynamics called
‘superradiance’ by which the microtubule can transform any incoherent, i.e., thermal, and disordered
molecular, electromagnetic, or atomic energy into coherent photons inside the microtubules. Analogous to
superconductivity, Jibu and Yasue, 1994 further suggest that such coherent photons created by
superradiance penetrate perfectly along the internal hollow core as if the optical medium were made
transparent by the propagating photons themselves. This is a quantum theoretical phenomenon called
‘self-induced transparency’. That’s why the coherence is not immediately lost.
The process of superradiance can be described in four steps:
(a) Initial state of the system of water molecules in a microtubule. Energy gain due to the thermal fluctuation
of tubulins increases the number of water molecules in the first excited rotational energy state.
(b) A collective mode of the system of water molecules in rotationally excited states. A long-range coherence
is achieved inside a microtubule by means of spontaneous symmetry breaking.
(c) A collective mode of the system of water molecules in rotationally excited states loses its energy
collectively, and creates coherent photons in the quantized electromagnetic field inside a microtubule.
(d) Water molecules, having lost their first excited rotational energies by super-radiance, start again to gain
energy from the thermal fluctuations of tubulins, and the system of water molecules recover the initial state
(a) spot, and initiated movement.
Fig. 1 | A schematic representation of the process of superradiance in a microtubule. Each oval without an arrow stands
for water molecule in the lowest rotational energy state. Each oval with an arrow stands for a water molecule in the first
excited rotational energy state. First a disordered ground state of water (a) in the core of the microtubule is pumped (a la
Fröhlich) by disordered energy into (b) an ordered state: the "lowest rotational energy state" - the system passes into a
collective dipole mode. This collective mode then (c) loses its energy collectively creating coherent photons within the
microtubule... The process is cyclic (a, b, c, d, a, b), and so on. From Jibu et al, 1994.
2. Amyloid fibers are water-filled nanotubes
A recent study on amyloid fibers by Perutz et al., 2002 [13] showed that cylindrical β-sheets are the only
structures consistent with some of the x-ray and electron microscope data. Investigation of protein fibers
from Alzheimer extracellular Aβ plaques (residues 11–25 fragment) via X-ray diffraction and computed
reconstruction from electron micrographs revealed that all fibers give a strong 4.75-Å meridional x-ray
reflection. Small angle reflections were not recorded. Optical reconstruction shows cylinders of 57 Å
diameter with 37-Å-thick walls surrounding a central hole of 19.5 Å diameter. It also shows β-strands clearly
stacked 4.75 Å apart with their length normal to the fiber axis. Suggested interpretation is that there are two
concentric cylinders of β-sheets, the chains run normal to the fiber axis as in the reconstruction with
calculated fiber diameter 60 Å. Alzheimer extracellular Aβ variant (residues 11–25 with Asp-23 Æ Lys
substitution) revealed fibers of 35–40 Å diameter, strong 4.75-meridional and extremely weak 10-Å
equatorial reflexions. The experimental findings suggest single cylindrical β-sheet made of two 14-residue
peptides arranged in tandem in a circle, giving a calculated fiber diameter of 40 Å.
Based on the x-ray diffraction patterns of poly-L-glutamine, of the exon-1 peptide of huntingtin, and of a
peptide corresponding to the glutamine/asparagine rich region of the yeast prion Sup35 Perutz et al.
conclude that it forms cylinder with external diameter 30 Å and 20 glutamine residues per turn. The 3-Å-wide
layer of water that adheres to the surface of proteins and is therefore unavailable as a solvent to diffusible
electrolytes, then the central cylindrical cavity is only 6 Å wide, so only water and small ions can diffuse into
this narrow channel.
Fig.2 | Diagrammatic projection of a helical polyglutamine fiber with 20 residues per turn on a plane normal to the fiber
axis. The main chain is represented by the heavy circle, and the side chains by rectangular boxes 5 Å long and 3.5 Å
across. In a helix of 20 residues per turn, the terminal atoms of side chains of average length would be at the correct van
der Waals distance of 3.6 Å from each other. With 18 residues per turn, this value shrinks to 3.2 Å, a little short; with 22
residues per turn, it expands to 3.9 Å, so that contact is lost. Twenty residues per turn may be the most stable structure
for any sequence of residues. From Perutz et al., 2002.
Fig. 3 | Electron micrograph of water-filled nanotube fibers made of the glutamine- and asparagine-rich region of the yeast
prion Sup35. From Perutz et al., 2002.
3. Novel pathogenetic mechanism for impairment of conscious experience in AD
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the deposition of senile plaques (SPs) and neurofibrillary
tangles (NFTs) in vulnerable brain regions. SPs are composed of aggregated beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptides.
Evidence implicates a central role for Aβ in the pathophysiology of AD. Mutations in βAPP and presenilin 1
(PS1) lead to elevated secretion of Aβ, especially the more amyloidogenic Aβ42. Immunohistochemical
studies have also emphasized the importance of Aβ42 in initiating plaque pathology. Cell biological studies
have demonstrated that Aβ is generated intracellularly. Recently, endogenous Aβ42 staining was
demonstrated within cultured neurons by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and within neurons of
PS1 mutant transgenic mice. A central question about the role of Aβ in disease concerns whether
extracellular Aβ deposition or intracellular Aβ accumulation initiates the disease process.
Gouras et al., 2000 [14] report that human neurons in AD-vulnerable brain regions specifically accumulate
γ-cleaved Aβ42 and suggest that this intraneuronal Aβ42 immunoreactivity appears to precede both NFT
and Aβ plaque deposition. This study suggests that intracellular Aβ42 accumulation is an early event in
neuronal dysfunction and that preventing intraneuronal Aβ42 aggregation may be an important therapeutic
direction for the treatment of AD.
Because intraneuronal Aβ42 accumulation occurs with early AD pathology, it is possible that extracellular Aβ
plaques may develop from this intraneuronally accumulating pool of Aβ42. Consistent with this possibility,
Gouras et al., 2000 have observed instances where Aβ42 appears to aggregate within the cytoplasm of
neurons and where Aβ plaque staining was neuronal in shape. They have observed both diffuse plaque-like
Aβ42 immunoreactivity that appears to be located directly outside neurons and early Aβ42 immunoreactivity
along the axonal projections (perforant path) of early Aβ42 accumulating neurons of the entorhinal cortex
and at their terminal fields, the outer molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. Brain tissue from a 64-year-old
representative subject with mild cognitive impairment, stained with antibodies specific to the C-terminus of
Aβ42, revealed significant amounts of region-specific intraneuronal immunoreactivity, compared with
relatively little Aβ40 immunoreactivity. This intraneuronal Aβ42 staining was especially evident within
pyramidal neurons of areas such as the hippocampus/entorhinal cortex, which are prone to developing early
AD neuropathology.
Fig. 4 | The CA1 region of a 79-year-old cognitively impaired subject demonstrates both intraneuronal Aβ42
immunoreactivity and apparent extraneuronal diffuse plaque-like staining (arrow) adjacent to a few neurons. Bar=40 µm.
From Gouras et al., 2000.
The amyloid fibers in Alzheimer’s disease may consist of two or more concentric cylindrical β-sheets or of
two or more single cylindrical sheet fibers wound around each other. The complete Aβ peptide contains 42
residues, just the right number to nucleate a cylindrical shell; this finding and the many possible strong
electrostatic interactions in β-sheets made of the Aβ and the absence of prolines account for the propensity
of the Aβ peptide to form the amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer patients. If this interpretation is correct,
amyloids consist of narrow tubes (nanotubes) with a central water-filled cavity with diameter of about 1-2
nanometers, so the water molecules in the secluded area inside the cylinder can manifest coherent
excitations, just the way the normal microtubules do.
So the consciousness disorders can be result from interfering the function (i.e. quantum
computation) of the normal microtubules by the new-formed protein amyloid nanotubes, which
can be well cross-linked via different filaments with the normal microtubules. After all the water
molecules within the amyloid nanotubes can manifest the same laser-like coherent excitations.
The neuronal loss although important is supposed to be the end stage of the pathologic process
started with the intracellular accumulation of amyloid water-filled nanotube fibers.
The other classic lesion observed in Alzheimer's original patient of 1906 is the neurofibrillary tangle. Tangles
are generally intraneuronal cytoplasmic bundles of paired, helically wound 10 nm filaments (PHF),
sometimes interspersed with straight filaments. Neurofibrillary tangles usually occur in large numbers in the
Alzheimer brain, particularly in entorhinal cortex; hippocampus; amygdala; association cortices of the frontal,
temporal, and parietal lobes; and certain subcortical nuclei that project to these regions. The subunit protein
of the PHF is the microtubule-associated protein, tau. PHF are not limited to the tangles found in the cell
bodies of neurons, but also occur in many of the dystrophic neurites present within and outside of the
amyloid plaques. Biochemical studies reveal that the tau present in PHF comprises hyperphosphorylated,
insoluble forms of this normally highly soluble cytosolic protein. The insoluble tau aggregates in the tangles
are often complexed with ubiquitin. If this ubiquitination represents an attempt to remove the tau filaments by
way of degradation by the proteasome, it seems to be largely unsuccessful. Phosphorylated forms of the
neurofilament proteins accumulate in tangles but are not considered to be actual subunits of the PHF.
So in attempt to find some evidence in favor of the microtubule role in consciousness Mershin, Nanopoulos
and Skoulakis, 2000 [15] quote that some kind of pathology in MAP-tau proteins is the major candidate for
explaining the cortical impairment and the following dementia in Alzheimer’s patients.
However, the two classic lesions of AD can occur independently of each other. Tangles composed of tau
aggregates that are biochemically similar to and in some cases indistinguishable from those that occur in AD
have been described in a dozen or more less common neurodegenerative diseases, in which one usually
finds no Aβ deposits and neuritic plaques. Conversely, Aβ deposits can be seen in aged, normal human
brain in the virtual absence of tangles. There are also infrequent cases of AD itself that are tangle-poor, in
other words very few neurofibrillary tangles are found in the neocortex despite abundant Aβ plaques. It
appears that in quite a few such cases, an alternate form of neuronal inclusion, the Lewy body (composed
principally of alpha-synuclein protein), is found in many cortical pyramidal neurons. In other words, the Lewy
body variant of AD may represent a tangle-poor form of AD that is still characterized by the usual Aβ plaque
formation.
The fact that neurofibrillary tangles composed of altered, aggregated forms of tau protein occur in
disorders (e.g., subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, Kuf's disease, progressive supranuclear
palsy) in the absence of Aβ deposition suggests that tangles can arise in the course of a variety
of primary neuronal insults. As outlined by Dennis J. Selkoe, 2000 the formation of tangles in AD
represents one of several cytologic responses by neurons to the gradual accumulation of Aβ and
Aβ-associated proteins. Although the tangles can contribute to the impairment of consciousness
they are by no means the principal way that does so, but the intracellular amyloid accumulation!
4. Treatment approaches
As seen from the presentation above the Aβ seems the major pathogenetic factor in Alzheimer’s disease.
Perutz et al., 2002 [13] conclude that there are any hopes for therapy. Formation of amyloids and of
huntingtin aggregates is reversible. Aromatic compounds such as congo red that can insert themselves into
gaps between helical turns might destabilize the cylindrical shells and initiate this process, but prevention
would be more effective and probably easier to achieve.
5. On possible experiments that can prove/disprove quantum consciousness
The possibility that the amyloid water-filled nanotubes manifest quantum optical coherence within the
neurons and interfere with the normal quantum brain dynamic can be experimentally tested. The
microtubules are thought to be very sensitive to their environment, so that the quantum coherent
phenomena are hard to detect in vitro. Jibu et al., 1994 [6] mark that no proof of coherent photon generation
or emission has been found in microtubules, but self-focused photons and self-trapped, non-thermalizing
wave entities should be difficult to detect. However if amyloid nanotubes do really interfere with the quantum
optical phenomena in the brain microtubules, their behavior must be manifested even in vitro, because both
the amyloid nanotube fibers are more stable than the cellular microtubules and their mode of action is by no
means controllable. For this can account the highly insulated interior of the amyloid cylinder and its smaller
diameter (dA ~1-2 nm) compared to the microtubular one (dM ~15 nm). According to Nick Mavromatos one
should take care of environmental isolation and this is why he confines the macroscopic quantum effects in
smaller regions inside microtubules near the microtubular wall. In his words 25 nm diameter is too big for
long lasting quantum coherent effects. In a region of 25 nm any quantum coherent state could decohere
quickly within 10-14 seconds; but in thin layers Mavromatos et al. [16] claim you can have it up to 10-6 sec. If
the macroscopic quantum phenomena in vivo are confined only to the region near the microtubular wall,
then it will be quite hard to detect them experimentally. However, this won’t be the case with the coherence
inside the amyloid nanotubes, which should last orders of magnitude longer, sufficient for experimental
registration.
Also in experiments trying to amplificate the number of the emitted via superradiance photons, so that to be
detected, it is possible to be used amyloid nanotubes instead of brain microtubules and ‘harder’ conditions
under which the microtubules itself would be destroyed i.e. to be used the conformational stability of the
amyloid fibers, which are built up mainly from β−sheets. Proving of quantum coherent optical excitations
within the amyloid nanotubes will be highly supportive for analogous process taking part in vivo in the brain.
Acknowledgments: I would like to sincerely thank to Kunio Yasue and Mari Jibu for the kindness to
present me their work on quantum brain dynamics. Special thanks to Nick Mavromatos for the precious
advises.
6. References
1.
Vernon and Woolley (1995) - Experimental Cell Research 220(2)482-494
2.
Yagi, Kamimura, Kaniya (1994) - Cell motility and the cytoskeleton 29:177-185
3.
Hunt and Stebbings (1994) - Cell motility and the cytoskeleton 17:69-78
4.
Maniotis, Chen and Ingber (1996) - Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:849-854
5.
J.A. Brown and J.A. Tuszynski (1999) - A Review of the Ferroelectric Model of Microtubules. Ferroelectrics 220:
6.
Mari Jibu, Scott Hagan, Stuart Hameroff, Karl Pribram and Kunio Yasue (1994) - Quantum optical coherence in
7.
Mari Jibu, Karl Pribram and Kunio Yasue (1996) - From conscious experience to memory storage and retrieval:
141-156
cytoskeletal microtubules: implications for brain function. Biosystems 32: 195-209.
the role of quantum brain dynamics and boson condensation of evanescent photons. International Journal Of
Modern Physics B, Vol.10, Nos. 13 & 14: 1735-1754.
8.
Mari Jibu & Kunio Yasue (1997) – What is Mind? – Quantum Field Theory of Evanescent Photons in Brain as
Quantum Theory of Consciousness. Informatica 21: 471-490.
9.
Stuart Hameroff and Roger Penrose (2002) - Conscious Events as Orchestrated Space-Time Selections.
NeuroQuantology, Vol.1 (originally published in 1996). http://med.ege.edu.tr/~tarlaci/current/NeuroQuantology
2003_01_10.35.htm
10.
Danko Georgiev (2002). Quantum Computation In The Neuronal Microtubules: Quantum Gates, Ordered Water
11.
R.H. Dicke (1954) – Coherence in spontaneous radiation processes. Phys. Rev. 93, 99-110.
12.
C. Stuart, Y. Takahashi and H. Umezawa (1979) – Mixed-system brain dynamics: neural memory as a
13.
M. F. Perutz, J. T. Finch, J. Berriman, and A. Lesk (2002) - Amyloid fibers are water-filled nanotubes. PNAS 99:
14.
G. Gouras, J. Tsai, J. Naslund, B. Vincent, M. Edgar, F. Checler, J. Greenfield, V. Haroutunian, J.D. Buxbaum,
And Superradiance. http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0211080
macroscopic ordered state. Found. Phys. 9, 301-327.
5591–5595. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/99/8/5591.pdf
H. Xu, P. Greengard, N.R. Relkin (2000) - Intraneuronal Abeta42 accumulation in human brain. Am. J. Pathol.
156(1): 15-20.
15.
A. Mershin, D. Nanopoulos and E. Skoulakis (2000) - Quantum Brain? http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0007088
16.
Nick E. Mavromatos, Andreas Mershin, Dimitri V. Nanopoulos (2002) - QED-Cavity model of microtubules
implies dissipationless energy transfer and biological quantum teleportation. http://arxiv.org/abs/quantph/0204021 |
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | Nov. 2015 | Vol. 6 | Issue 11 | pp. 950-958
950
Pitkänen, M., Comparison of Jeremy England’s View about Life and Evolution with TGD Approach
Exploration
Comparison of Jeremy England’s View about Life and Evolution with
TGD Approach
Matti Pitkänen 1
Abstract
The thermodynamic approach of Jeremy England to life has gained a considerable attention. In
this article I will summarize this approach and compare it with TGD vision. The generalization of
the thermodynamic approach to TGD framework leads to surprising new insights about the thermodynamic conditions making life and consciousness possible. The new elements relate to zero energy
ontology (ZEO), hierarchy of Planck constants labelling levels in a hierarchy dark matter assignable
with quantum criticality, the role of macroscopic quantum coherence associated with gravitation and
strong form of holography. Rather surprisingly, the TGD counterparts of Hawking temperature and
Hagedorn temperature seem to be crucial for life and correspond to physiological temperature scales.
Near Hawking temperature the special features of ZEO become manifest meaning that time reversals
of ”selves” (mental images) are generated with a considerable rate in heat bath and long term memory
and planned action become possible.
1
Introduction
I had an intensive discussion with my son-in-law Mikko about the work of Jeremy England [1] (http://
tinyurl.com/o64rd7o). The article of the link is probably the most aggressive hyping I have ever seen but
this should not lead to think that a mere hype is in question. There is also another, not so heavily hyped
popular article at https://www.quantamagazine.org/20140122-a-new-physics-theory-of-life/. The
material at the homepageof England’s lab (http://www.englandlab.com) gives a good view about the
work of England for those who cannot tolerate hyping.
England’s work is indeed very interesting also from TGD point of view although it is based on standard
physics.
In this article I will summarize this approach and compare it with TGD vision. The generalization
of the thermodynamical approach to TGD framework leads to surprising new insights about the thermodynamical conditions making life and consciousness possible. The new elements relate to zero energy
ontology (ZEO), hierarchy of Planck constants labelling levels in a hierarchy dark matters assignable with
quantum criticality, the role of macroscopic quantum coherence associated with gravitation, and strong
form of holography. The TGD counterparts of Hawking temperature and Hagedorn temperature seem
to be crucial for life and correspond to physiological temperature scales. Near Hawking temperature
the special features of ZEO become manifest meaning that time reversals of ”selves” (mental images)
are generated with a considerable rate in heat bath and long term memory and planned action become
possible.
1.1
Basic ideas of England’s theory
I try first to summarize England’s vision.
1. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics (NET) is the starting point. NET has been for decades the
theoretical framework underlying the attempts to understand living matter using the principles of
self-organization theory. Living matter is never an isolated system: dissipation would take it to a
1 Correspondence: Matti Pitkänen http://tgdtheory.com/. Address: Karkinkatu 3 I 3, 03600, Karkkila, Finland. Email:
matpitka6@gmail.com.
ISBN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration &Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | Nov. 2015 | Vol. 6 | Issue 11 | pp. 950-958
951
Pitkänen, M., Comparison of Jeremy England’s View about Life and Evolution with TGD Approach
totally dead state in this case - nothing would move. Water in the pond when there is no wind, is
a good example.
Self-organization requires an external energy feed - gravitational potential energy liberated in water
flow in river or electric power feed to the hot plate below a teapot. This energy feed drives the
system to a non-stationary state far from a thermal equilibrium state. Dissipation polishes out all
details and leads to an asymptotic spatio-temporal self-organization patterns. The flow in a river
and convection in the heated teapot. With high enough energy feed chaos emerges: water fall or
boiling of tea pot.
2. The basic hypothesis of England is that evolution means increase in the ability to dissipate. This
looks intuitively rather obvious. The evolving system tends to get to a resonance with the energy
feed by oscillating with the same frequency so that energy feed becomes maximal and therefore also
dissipation. The basic rule is simple: choose the easy option, ride on the wave rather than fighting
against it! For instance, the emergence of photosynthesis means that the systems we call plants
become very effective in absorbing the energy of sunlight. In this framework essentially all systems
are alive to some degree.
Dissipation means generation of entropy. Evolution of life and conscious intelligence would mean
maximal effectivenes in the art of producing disorder. Now I am perhaps exaggerating. One should
speak about ”system’s maximal ability to transfer entropy out of it”: life is not possible without
paper baskets. One could argue that the development of civilization durig last decades demonstrates
convincingly that evolution indeed generates systems generating disorder with a maximal rate.
One could argue that the definition is too negative. Living matter is conscious and there is genuine
conscious information present. The fact is that evolution involves a continual increase of conscious
information: the exponential explosion of science is the best proof for this. England’s vision says
nothing about it. Something is missing.
It is however quite possible to imagine that the principle of maximal entropy generation is true and
that the increase of the ability to produce entropy is implied by some deeper principle allowing to
speak about living matter as something tending to increase conscious information resources. To
formulate this idea one needs a theory of consciousness, thermodynamics is not enough.
3. England has a further idea. The evolution life is not climbing to Mount Everest but coming down
from it. Life emerges spontaneously. This is definitely in conflict with the standard wisdom,
in particular with the thermodynamical belief on thermal death of the Universe as all gradients
disappear. Darwinian evolution would be a special case of a more general phenomenon, which
could be called dissipation driven adaptation (DDA). I made a head-on-collision with this principle
in totally different framework by starting from quantum criticality of TGD: if took time to fully
realize that indeed: evolution could be seen as a sequence of phase transitions breaking in which
certain infinite-dimensional symmetry was spontaneously broken to become just the same symmetry
but in longer scale!
Standard thermodynamics predicts the heat death of the Universe as all gradients gradually disappear. This prediction is problematic for England’s argument suggesting that differentiation occurs
instead of homogenization. Here the standard view about space-time might be quite too simplistic
to overcome the objection. In TGD many-sheeted space-time comes in rescue.
Here is an example about England’s argumentation. It seems intuitively clear that replication
increases entropy (it is not however clear whether just the splitting into pieces is even more effective
manner to increase entropy!). This would suggest that DDA forces the emergence of replication.
Very effective dissipators able to replicate, would increase the total effectiveness in dissipation and
be the winners. The proposal to be tested is that bacterial mutations , which are best replicators
are also best dissipators.
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1.2
What is missing from England’s theory?
What is missing from England’s theory? The answer is same as the answer to the question what is missing
from standard physics.
1. What is conscious observer - self?
Observer, which remains outsider to the physical world in the recent day physics - both classical
and quantum. Hence one does not have a theory of consciousness and cannot speak about conscious
information. Thermodynamics gives only the notion of entropy as a measure for the ignorance.
Therefore there is a long list of questions that England’s theory does not address. What are the
physical correlates of attention, sensory perception, cognition, emotions relating closely to information, etc.? Is there some variational principle behing concious existence, and does it imply evolution?
Could second law and DDA be seen as consequences of this variational principle?
England does not say much about quantum theory since he talks only about thermodynamics but
his hypothesis is consistent with quantum theory. The restriction to thermodynamics allows only
statistical description and notions like macroscopic quantum coherence are left outside.
2. What is life?
Again one has a long list of questions.
What it is to be alive? What distinguishes between living and inanimate systems. What it is to
die? How general phenomenon evolution is: does it apply to all matter? Also notions like selfpreservation and death are present only implicitly in an example about a population of wine glasses
whose members might gradually evolve to survive in an environment populated by opera sopranos.
One can make also other kinds of questions. What really happens in replication? What is behind
genetic code? Etc...
England is a spiritual person and has made clear that the gulf between science and spirituality is
something which bothers him . England even has the courage to use the word ”God”. Therefore it
sounds somewhat paradoxical that England avoids using the concepts related to consciousness and
life. This is however the only option if one does not want to lose academic respectability.
2
How does England’s theory relate to TGD?
It is interesting to see whether England’s vision is consistent with TGD inspired theory of consciousness,
which can be also seen as a generalization of quantum measurement theory achieved by bringing the
observer part of the quantum physical world. In TGD framework several new principles are introduced
and they relate to the new physics implied by the new view about space-time.
1. The new physics involves a generalization of quantum theory by introducing a hierarchy of Planck
constants hef f = n × h with various quantal length and time scales are proportional to hef f . hef f
hierarchy predicts a hierarchy of quantum coherent systems with increasing size scale and time span
of memory and planned action. hef f defining a kind of intelligence quotient labels the levels of a
hierarchy of conscious entities.
hef f hierachy labels actually a fractal hierarchy of quantum criticalities: a convenient analogy is a
ball at a top of ball at the top..... The quantum phase transitions inreasing hef f occur spontaneously:
this is the TGD counterpart for the spontaneous evolution in England’s theory. Dark matter is what
makes system alive and intelligent and thermodynamical approach can describe only what we see
at the level of visible matter.
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2. Second key notion is zero energy ontology (ZEO). Physical states are replaced by events, one might
say. Event is a pair of states: initial state and final state. In ZEO these states correspond to
states with opposite total conserved quantum numbers: positive and negative energy states. This
guarantees that ZEO based quantum theory is consistent with the fundamental conservation laws
and laws of physics as we understand them although it allows non-determinism and free will. Positive
and negative energy states are localized at opposite boundaries of a causal diamond (CD). Penrose
diagram - diamond symbol - is a good visualization and enough for getting the idea.
State function CDreduction (SFR) is what happens in quantum measurement. The first SFR leads
to a state which is one in a set of states determined once measurement is characterized. One can
only predict the probabilities of various outcomes. Repeated quantum measurements leave the state
as such. This is Zeno effect - watched kettle does not boil.
In ZEO something new emerges. The SFR can be performed at either boundary of CD. SFR can
occur several times at the same boundary so that the state at it does not change. The state at the
opposite boundary however changes - one can speak of the analog of unitary time evolution - and
the second boundary also moves farther away. CD therefore increases and the temporal distance
between its tips does so also.
The interpretation is as follows. The sequence of reductions at fixed bounary corresponds to a
conscious entity, self. Self experiences the sequence of state function reductions as a flow of time.
Sensory experience and thoughts, emotions, etc.. induced by it come from the moving boundary of
CD. The constant unchanging part of self which meditators try to experience corresponds to the
static boundary - the kettle that does not boil.
Self dies in the first reduction to the opposite boundary of CD. Self however re-incarnates. The
boundaries of self change their roles and the geometric time identified as distance between the tips
of CD increases now in opposite direction. Time-reversed self is generated.
3. Negentropy Maximization Principle (NMP) stating roughly that the information content of consciousness is maximal. Weak form of NMP states that self has free will and can choose also nonmaximal negentropy gain. The basic principle of ethics would be ”Increase negentropy”. p-Adic
mathematics is needed to construct a measure for conscious information and the notion of negentropic entanglement (NE) emerges naturally as algebraic entanglement.
The negentropy to which NMP refers is not the negative of thermodynamical entropy describing
lack of information of outsider about state of system. This negentropy characterizes the conscious
information assignable to negentropic entanglement (NE) characterized by algebraic entanglement
coefficients with measure identified as a number theoretic variant of Shannon entropy. Hence NMP
is consistent with the second law implied by the mere non-determinism of SFR.
NMP demands that self during sequence of reductions at the same boundary generates maximum
negentropy gain at the changing CD boundary. If self fails, it dies and re-incarnates (in a reduction to
the opposite CD boundary more negentropy is generated). Selves do not want to die and usually they
do not believe on re-incarnation, and therefore do their best to avoid what they see as a mere death.
This is the origin of self-preservation. Self must collect negentropy somehow: gathering negentropic
sub-selves (mental images) is a manner to achieve this. Plants achieve this by photosynthesis, which
means generation of negentropy and storage of it to various biomolecules. Animals are not so saintly
and simply eat plants and even other animals. We are negentropy thieves all.
Re-incarnation also means increase of hef f and getting to higher level in hierarchy and occurs
unavoidably. As in England’s theory, evolution occurs spontaneously: it is not climbing to Mount
Everest but just dropping down.
4. England says ”Some things we consider inanimate actually may already be ’alive’.” This conforms
with TGD view. Even elementary particles could have self: it is however not clear whether their
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SFR sequences contain more that one reduction to a fixed boundary - necessary for having a sense
about the flow of time. Elementary particles would even cognize: in adelic physics every system has
both real and p-adic space-time surfaces as its correlates. It can even happen that system has only
p-adic space-time correlates but not the real one: this kind of systems would be only imaginations
of real system! This is one of the most fascinating implications of strong form of holography which
follows from strong form of General Coordinate Invariance forced by the new view about space-time.
Clearly the notion of evolution generalizes from biological context to entire physics in TGD. One can
speak about p-adic evolution and evolution as increase of hef f . The most abstract formulation is
number theoretical: evolution corresponds to the increase of the complexity of extension of rationals
to which the parameters characterizing space-time surfaces belong to.
5. Does DDA emerge in TGD framework? NMP demands a lot of SFRs - also at the level of visible
matter. The non-determimism of SFR alone means a loss of knowledge about the state of system
and an increase of thermodynamical entropy so that living systems would generate entropy very
effectively also in TGD Universe at the level of visible matter. If one believes that second law and
NET imply DDA as England argues, then also TGD implies it at the level of visible matter. For
dark matter the situation is different, since the outcome of SFR is not not random anymore. Seen
from TGD perspective England’s vision misses what is essential for life - the generation of phases
of matter identifiable as the mysterious dark matter.
6. England talks about God. In a theory of consciousness predicting infinite self hierarchy, it is easy to
assign the attribute ”divine” to the levels of consciousness above given level of hierarchy. Personally
I have nothing against calling the Entire Universe ”God”.
One could give NMP the role of God. For strong form of NMP SFR would be almost deterministic
except for ordinary matter for which entanglement is not algebraic and is therefore entropic: the
universe would the best possible one in dark sectors and the worst one in the visible matter sector Heaven and Hell! Weak form of NMP makes possible even more effective generation of negentropy
than its strong form but allows self to make also stupid things and even SFRs with a vanishing
negentropy gain: the outcome is state with no entanglement (system is in very literal sense alone in
this state). The world in dark matter sectors is not anymore the best possible one but can become
better and does so in statistical sense.
7. Replication is a crucial aspect of being alive. England argues that DDA allows to understand its
emergence but does not tell about its mechanism. In TGD framework replication can be understood
as an analog of particle decay - say photon emission by electron. This requires however a new notion:
magnetic body. In Maxwell’s theory one cannot assign any field identity to a physical system
but TGD view about space-time forces to assign to a given system its field/magnetic body. The
replication occurs primarily at the level of magnetic body carrying dark matter as large hef f phases.
Magnetic body replicates and ordinary visible matter self-organizates around the resulting copies
of it. The dynamics of dark matter would induce also DNA replication, transcription and mRNA
translation, and there are some indications that it is indeed ”dark DNA” (dark proton sequences
having DNA, RNA, amino-acids, and tRNA as biochemical counterparts), which determines what
happens in transcription.
3
Could one apply the thermodynamical approach of England
in TGD framework?
It turns out possible to gain amazing additional insights about TGD inspired view of life and consciousness by generalizing England’s approach [1]. Several puzzling co-incidences find an explanation in the
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Pitkänen, M., Comparison of Jeremy England’s View about Life and Evolution with TGD Approach
thermodynamical framework and the vision about solar system as a living quantum coherent entity gains
additional support.
1. The situation considered in England’s approach is a system - say biomolecule - in heat bath so that
energy is not conserved due the transfer of energy between reactants and heat bath.
2. The basic equation is equilibrium condition for the reaction i → f and its time reversal f ∗ → i∗ .
The initial and final state can be almost anything allowing thermodynamical treatment: states of
biomolecule or even gene and its mutation. The ratio of the rates for the reaction and its time
reversal is given by the ratio of the Boltzmann weights in thermal equilibrium:
R(i → f )
=R ,
R(f ∗ → i∗ )
R = e−
Ei −Ef
T
.
(3.1)
Ei and Ef denote the energies of initial and final state. This formula is claimed to hold true even
in non-equilibrium thermodynamics. It is important that the ratio of the rates does not depend at
all on various coupling constant parameters. The equilibrium condition must be modified if initial
and final states are fermions but it is assumed that states can be described as bosons. Note that in
heat bath even fermion number need not be conserved.
3. If the energy eigenstates are degenerate, the ratio R of Boltzman factors must be modified to include
the ratio of state degeneracies
R→
Ei −Ef
D(Ei )
× e− T
.
D(Ef )
(3.2)
This generalization is essential in the sequel.
One can imagine two possible reasons for the presence of exponentially large factors compensating
Boltzmann weights D(Ei ). The first reason is that for hef f = n×h the presence of n-fold degeneracy
due to the n-fold covering of space-time surface reducing to 1-fold covering at its ends at the ends of
CD is essential. Second possible reason is that the basic object are magnetic flux tubes modellable
as strings with exponentially increasing density of states. These mechanisms could quite well be
one and same.
Consider now the basic idea inspired by this formula in TGD framework.
1. Since magnetic flux tubes are key entities in TGD inspired quantum biology, stringy dynamics
suggests itself strongly. The situation thus differs dramatically from the standard biochemical situation because of the presence of dark matter at magnetic flux tubes to which one can assign fermion
carrying strings connecting partonic 2-surfaces defining correlates for particles in very general sense.
2. The key aspect of stringy dynamics is Hagedorn temperature [3, 2] (http://rabiaaslam.weebly.
com/uploads/7/1/4/3/7143240/stat_project.pdf). Slightly below Hagedorn temperature the
density of states factor, which increases exponentially, compensates for the Boltzmann factor. Hagedorn temperature is given by
√
THag =
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,
2π α0
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where α0 is string tension. In superstring models the value of string tension is huge but in TGD
framework the situation is different. As a matter fact, the temperature can be rather small and
even in the range of physiological temperatures.
3. What makes THag so special is that in the equilibrium condition reaction and its reversal can have
nearly the same rates. This could have profound consequences for life and even more - make it
possible.
In ZEO based quantum measurement theory and theory of consciousness time reversal indeed plays
key role: self dies in state function reduction to the opposite boundary of CD and experiences reincarnation as a time-reversed self. This process is essential element of memory, intentional action,
and also remote metabolism, which all rely on negative energy signals travelling to geometric past
assignable to time reversed sub-selves (mental images). The above formula suggests that intelligent
life emerges near THag , where the time reversed selves are generated with high rate so that system
remembers and pre-cognizes geometric future as it sleeps so that memory planned action are possible.
4. String tension cannot be determined by Planck length as in string models if it is to be important
in biology. This is indeed the case in TGD based quantum gravity. The gravitational interaction
between partonic 2-surfaces is mediated by fermionic strings connecting them. If string tension
were determined by Planck length, only gravitational bound states of size of order Planck length
would be possible. The solution of the problem is that the string tension for gravitational flux tubes
behaves like 1/h2ef f .
In TGD framework string tension can be identified as an effective parameter in the expression
of Kähler action as stringy action for preferred extremal strongly suggested by strong form of
holography (SH) allowing the description of the situation in terms of fermionic strings and partonic
2-surfaces or in terms of interiors of space-time surfaces and Kähler action. 1/h2ef f dependence can
be derived from strong form of holography [9] assuming electric-magnetic duality for Kähler form,
and using the fact that the monopoles associated with the ends have same magnetic and electric
charges.
5. The discussion of the analog of Hawking radiation in TGD framework [9], [11] led to an amazing
prediction: the TGD counterpart of Hawking temperature turns out to be in the case of proton very
near to the physiological temperature if the big mass is solar mass. This suggests that the entire
solar system should be regarded as quantum coherent living system. This is also suggested by the
general vision about EEG [4]. Could Hawking temperature be near to the Hagedorn temperature
but below it?
One can make this vision more detailed.
1. In ZEO the notion of heat bath requires that one considers reactants as subsystems. The basic
mathematical entity is the density matrix obtained by tracing over entanglement with environment.
The assumption that dark matter is in thermal equilibrium with ordinary matter can be made but
is not absolutely crucial. The reactions transforming visible photons to dark photons should take
care of the equilibrium. One could even assume that the description applies even in case of the
negentropic entanglement since thermodynamical entropy is different from entanglement entropy
negative for negentropic entanglement.
2. In TGD inspired quantum biology one identifies the gravitational Planck constant introduced by
Nottale with hef f = n×h [9, 6, 5, 10]. The idea is simple: as the strength of gravitational interaction
becomes so strong that perturbation series fails to converge, a phase transition increasing the Planck
constant takes place. hgr = GM m/v0 = hef f = n × h implies that v0 /c < 1 becomes the parameter
defining the perturbative expansion. hgr is assigned with the flux tubes mediating gravitational
interaction and one can say that gravitons propagate along them.
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Note that this assumption makes sense for any interaction - say in the case of Coulomb interaction
in heavy atoms: this assumption is indeed made in the model of leptohadrons [7] predicting particles
colored excitations of leptons lighter the weak bosons: this leads to a contradiction with the decay
widths of weak bosons unless the colored leptons are dark. They would be generated in the heavy
ion collisions when the situation is critical for overcoming the Coulomb wall.
The cyclotron energy spectrum of dark particles at magnetic flux tubes is proportional to hgr /m
does not depend on particle mass being thus universal. In living matter cyclotron energies are
assumed to be in the energy range of bio-photons and thus includes visible and UV energies and
this gives a constraint on hgr if one makes reasonable assumption about strengths of the magnetic
fields at the flux tubes [8]. Bio-photons are assumed to be produced in the transformation of dark
photons to ordinary photons. Also (gravitational) Compton length is independent on particle mass
being equal to Lgr = GM/v0 : this is crucial for macrosopic quantum coherence at gravitational flux
tubes.
3. The basic idea is that Hawking radiation in TGD sense is associated with all magnetic flux tubes
mediating gravitational interaction between large mass M , say Sun, and small mass m of say
elementary particle. How large m can be, must be left open. This leads to a generalization of
Hawking temperature [11] assumed to make sense for all astrophysical objects at the flux tubes
connecting them to external masses:
TGR = ~
~
GM
=
.
2
RS 2π
8πGM
(3.4)
For Sun with Schwartschild radius rS = 2GM = 3 km one has TGR = 3.2 × 10−11 eV.
Planck constant is replaced with hgr = GM m/v0 = hef f = n×h in the defining formula for Hawking
temperature. Since Hawking temperature is proportional to the surface gravity of blackhole, one
must replace surface gravity with that at the surface of the astrophysical object with mass M so
that radius RS = 2GM of the blackhole is replaced with the actual radius R of the astrophysical
object in question. This gives
THaw =
m RS 2
) .
(
8πv0 R
(3.5)
The amazing outcome is that for proton the estimate for the resulting temperature for M the solar
mass, is 300 K (27 C), somewhat below the room temperature crucial for life!
Could Hagedorn temperature correspond to the highest temperature in which life is possible something like 313 K (40 C)? Could it be that the critical range of temperatures for life is defined
by the interval [THaw , THag ]? This would require that THaw is somewhat smaller THag . Note that
Hawking temperature contains the velocity parameter v0 as a control parameter so that Hawking
temperature could be controllable. Of course, also THaw = THag can be considered. In this case
the temperature of environment would be different from that of dark matter at flux tubes.
4. The condition THaw ≤ THag allows to pose an upper bound on the value of the effective string
tension
1
m RS
√ ≥ √
.
0
4 6v0 R
α
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References
[1] R. Marsland N. Perunov and J. England. http://arxiv.org/pdf/1412.1875v1.pdf, 2014.
[2] R. A. Chaudar. Thermodynamics of Strings and Hagedorn Temperature. http://rabiaaslam.
weebly.com/uploads/7/1/4/3/7143240/stat_project.pdf, 2012.
[3] T. Ericson and J. Rafelski. The tale of the Hagedorn temperature. Cern Courier. http: // www.
cerncourier. com/ main/ toc/ 43/ 7 , 43(7), 2002.
[4] M. Pitkänen. Dark Matter Hierarchy and Hierarchy of EEGs. In TGD and EEG. Onlinebook.
http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/tgdeeg/tgdeeg.html#eegdark, 2006.
[5] M. Pitkänen. Quantum Astrophysics. In Physics in Many-Sheeted Space-Time. Onlinebook. http:
//tgdtheory.fi/public_html/tgdclass/tgdclass.html#qastro, 2006.
[6] M. Pitkänen. TGD and Astrophysics. In Physics in Many-Sheeted Space-Time. Onlinebook. http:
//tgdtheory.fi/public_html/tgdclass/tgdclass.html#astro, 2006.
[7] M. Pitkänen. The Recent Status of Lepto-hadron Hypothesis. In Hyper-finite Factors and Dark
Matter Hierarchy. Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/neuplanck/neuplanck.html#
leptc, 2006.
[8] M. Pitkänen. Are dark photons behind biophotons. In TGD based view about living matter and remote
mental interactions. Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/pdfpool/biophotonslian.
pdf, 2013.
[9] M. Pitkänen. Criticality and dark matter. In Hyper-finite Factors and Dark Matter Hierarchy.
Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/neuplanck/neuplanck.html#qcritdark, 2014.
[10] M. Pitkänen. Quantum gravity, dark matter, and prebiotic evolution. In Genes and Memes.
Onlinebook. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_html/genememe/genememe.html#hgrprebio, 2014.
[11] M. Pitkänen. TGD view about blackholes and Hawking radiation. http://tgdtheory.fi/public_
html/articles/hawkingnew.pdf, 2015.
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Vary, A., Human Consciousness as Epiphenomenon of Primordial Consciousness (Part I)
Article
Human Consciousness as Epiphenomenon of
Primordial Consciousness (Part I)
Alex Vary*
Abstract
We explore the premise that the human mind and consciousness emerge as an epiphenomenon of
a primordial consciousness. We posit a transcendent primordial consciousness which preexists its
human vessel and which produces and evolves that vessel. Although human consciousness may
emerge neurologically, a mechanism underlying its transcendent nature is suggested; that is, a
primordial consciousness engenders cyclic processes that generate, shape, and evolve the
neurological vessel. We suggest that cyclic processes which produce and implement
informational fields and signals are inherent to the mesostratum which is a signal storage and
transmission modality. Accordingly, we argue that a primordial consciousness generates the life
cycles and the neural networks from which human consciousness emerges. The best instrument
for exploring mesostratum informational fields and signal contents is the human brain/mind,
specifically, exceptional individuals possessing unique abilities to access and employ
mesostratum consciousness signals. Examples of such individuals are cited. The examples
illustrate that human consciousness can access, retrieve, analyze and employ the content of the
informational field, the akashic field, residing in the mesostratum.
Part I of this two-part article includes: Introduction; 1. Fundamental Considerations; 2.
Mesostratum and Mind Loop; and 3. Stochastic & Epigenetic Emergence of Life.
Keywords: Primordial consciousness, emergent consciousness, transcendent consciousness,
Yoga, Akashic field, thought signals, physiostratum, mesostratum, superstratum, prodigoius
savants.
Introduction
We adopt the premise that humans can access a ubiquitous consciousness which is global,
transcendent - extending beyond the neural boundaries of the brain, beyond self-awareness,
beyond sentience. To propose and argue this transcendent nature of consciousness, one must
boldly assume that it transcends everything material - that there is a primordial shared aspect of
consciousness which is external to the individual human vessel: the brain/body and its neural
network.
A conceptual framework is proposed to help explain the transcendent nature of consciousness
and its relation to the physical-bio-material entity which possesses and experiences
consciousness. The foundation of the framework is the mesostratum - an energetic signal storage
and transmission medium. The mesostratum machinery imagined and described here offers a
* Correspondence: Alex Vary, PhD, Retired NASA Scientist & Independent Researcher. Email: axelvary@wowway.com
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Vary, A., Human Consciousness as Epiphenomenon of Primordial Consciousness (Part I)
conceptual linkage from a purely transcendent continuum to the physiostratum material
discontinuum, in which we reside. This paper illustrates ways we abstractly access and explore
the mesostratum and how the mesostratum and emergent human consciousness interact.
Daniel Dennett [1] wrote, “Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery. . .
Consciousness stands alone today as a topic that often leaves even the most sophisticated
thinkers tongue-tied and confused. . . . With consciousness . . . we are still in a terrible muddle. . .
[perhaps] there will never be a demystification of consciousness.” David Chalmers [2] observes
that “Consciousness poses the most baffling problems in the science of the mind. . . . There is
nothing that we know more intimately than conscious experience, but there is nothing that is
harder to explain.” Dennett is a proponent of reductionism - that consciousness emerges from the
bio-physical entity - while Chalmers argues that consciousness transcends that entity.
These opposing views lead to either/or propositions which partition and shroud the issue in
mystery. This partitioning should be avoided by recognizing that consciousness needs
bio-physical neural network to be manifest and that the bio-physical neural network is governed
by a higher consciousness - making choices and exercising initiative, sagacity, imagination,
creativity, intuition - which transcends neural networks.
1. Fundamental Considerations
Metaphysics of Consciousness
The mystery of consciousness revolves around the question: How can beings made of the raw initially inanimate - matter of the physical world acquire such phenomena? Neither the
reductionist approach nor the non-reductionist approach has thus far resolved the question. This
paper suggests the mesostratum as a link between non-reductionist’s transcendent consciousness
and the reductionist’s empirical world.
The phenomena of consciousness are related to physical neurological brain-states, but are not
identical to brain states - they are experienced but are empirically unmeasurable, unquantifiable.
The esoteric aspects of consciousness assign objective reality, meaning, value, quality to what is
being sensed, neurally-processed, experienced. A higher consciousness is experienced uniquely,
indirectly and when experienced it is not always obvious to the unprepared or unattuned mind. It
commands the body and evaluates its experiences. It is a motivator and observer - an occupant
the body - it is that which is usually called the subconscious. It communicates - or we
communicate with it - subconsciously in subtle ways - if not by direct imagery or verbal
exchanges, then through ideation, insight, inspiration, introspection, meditation. Lucid dreaming,
near death experiences, out-of-body experiences, and certain types of hallucinations are extreme
examples.
Any dissertation on the nature of consciousness should also explain metaphysical phenomena
such as telepathy, psychic communication, out-of-body and near-death experiences, vivid
hallucinations, and lucid dreams. It should also explain creativity, inspiration, intuition in
literature, visual art, music, architecture, and engineering. It should explain the works of
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Shakespeare, Goethe, Mozart, Beethoven, da Vinci. It should explain prophets, seers, their
works, scriptures, the Bible, Koran, Vedanta, Upanishad. It should explain the mathematical
insights and intellectual constructs of Gauss, Euler, Einstein, von Neumanm, Ramanujan.
Roger Penrose [3] proposes that distinct aspects of quantum phenomena are essential for
consciousness and these occur in neural networks, specifically in cytoskeletal nanotubules which
are quantum-activated structures within each of the brain's neurons. Penrose advises that we
should bear in mind the global nature of consciousness. It is irrational to assume that any particular
cytoskeleton nanotubule or combination thereof produces, retains, or understands an argument by
Socrates or Kant. Penrose points out “. . . understanding is something that operates at a much more
global scale; and if cytoskeletons are involved, then it must be some collective phenomenon which
concerns very large numbers of cytoskeletons all at once.” We will argue that global
communication involving cytoskeletal nanotubles involves transcendent mesostratum energy and
signals and will give illustrative examples.
Consciousness - Time - Entropy
There are various aspects of consciousness generally necessary for an entity to be deemed
conscious - these include awareness, memory, learning, anticipation, and subjective experience.
Awareness is one required aspect, despite many problems with the exact definition of awareness,
specifically self-awareness. Conscious interaction with memory systems, along with learning, is
needed to appreciate and adapt to novel and significant events. Anticipation includes prediction
of consequences of proposed actions and prediction of consequences of probable actions by other
entities. Subjective experiences or qualia are widely considered to be the hard problem of
consciousness, indeed posing a challenge to the ontological thesis that everything is physical and
that there is nothing that transcends physical objectivity.
Probably, a paramount function of consciousness is that aspect of it which gives meaning to the
perceived flow of time. Roger Penrose [4] remarks that, “One of the most striking and immediate
features of conscious perception is the passage of time. It is something so familiar to us that it
comes as a shock to learn that our wonderfully precise theories of the behavior of the physical
world have had, up to this point, virtually nothing to say about it . . .” or why time needs to flow at
all. The brain/body consists of a collection of ticking bio-clocks but, like the cuckoo clock on my
wall, know not what time it is. The configuration of the cuckoo clock hands at any instant depend
on my setting of the pendulum bob. Like the cuckoo clock, the brain perseveres, provisionally in
an eternal now, devoid of knowing the flow of time.
Human consciousness assigns meaning to duration and distance, while ostensibly outside the
domain of time and space. Paradoxically consciousness putatively resides in a realm that
transcends the material domain of time-consuming and space-spanning phenomena.
Consciousness is distinct from the mathematics and measurement of spatiotemporal coordinates so
descriptive of our embodiment and laboratory experiments. Consciousness is above the fray
always endeavoring to put things in order by insisting: ‘this must have happened before that
happened’ ‘this belongs here, that belongs there’ ‘this thing persists even when it is not
observed’. It is my consciousness that puts these words in the order you see; my consciousness
writes equations that describe physical phenomena; my consciousness arranges lines, lyrics,
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symbols, icons and figures I draw or compose; my consciousness assigns context and nuance to
my prose and poetry.
Penrose [5] points out that “. . . our experience of the passage of time is dependent upon an
increasing entropy as part of what constitutes our conscious feeling of the passage of time; so
whatever time direction we believe to be the ‘future’ must be that in which entropy increases.”
Penrose argues, “our psychological experiences of the passage of time would always be such that
the Second Law of Thermodynamics holds true, irrespective of the physical direction of the
progression of entropy.” Our conscious experiences of time is such that the Second Law always
holds true and thus establishes the relation between time and entropy.
Penrose admits that although, “According to the Second Law, things are getting progressively
more and more random with time . . . this represents merely an overwhelming probability, not
quite an absolute.” Despite the impermanence, destruction or decay of pockets of living thinking
matter, there is the hint of something remarkable: these are instances of increasing order that
continually emerge from the chaos of the overwhelming global entropy. The increasing order is
apprehended by observation and contemplation.
Let an egg drop from a table and crash asunder on the floor. We do not expect the egg to
self-assemble because that is inconsistent with the Second Law and would be such an enormously
improbable sequence of events that we can simply reject it as a realistic possibility. This contrived
incident (egg crashing asunder) is simply the interruption of a non-random process destined to
produced an increasingly organized living entity that, given the right circumstances, could
become the founder of a dynasty of purposeful, self-aware, replicating living things. What is
exemplified in this case is a pocket of negentropy in the midst of increasing entropy discovered
and informed by an entelechial primordial consciousness perhaps by an emergent spontaneous
consciousness which evolves stochastically to deal with existential needs.
Primordial Consciousness
James Jeans exclaimed [6], “. . . the universe begins to look more and more like a great thought
than like a great machine.” Perhaps a primordial consciousness assembles such a great machine the chaotic milieu of the cosmos - and then endeavors to put things into spatiotemporal order at
least locally, perhaps provisionally - improvising, modifying, evolving, bringing order out of
chaos as contemplated by Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers [7]. A virtually unchallengeable
observation is that it requires an immense dynamic cosmos and a tremendous amount of time to
produce minuscule pockets of intelligent consciousness on congenial life-friendly globular
habitats. According to Stephen Hawking it also requires a grand design. Stephen Hawking [8]
explains how “. . . understanding of the laws governing us and our universe [may] lead to a
unique theory that predicts and describes a vast universe full of the amazing variety that we see.”
Hawking’s laws of the universe are so exquisitely formulated that they somehow govern the
assembly of the cosmos down to the minutest details of forces, fields, and quantum particles.
From this viewpoint, consciousness is more than an epiphenomenon accompanying the nascency
of the cosmos, but is instrumental in the origination and evolution of the cosmos - which is
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dependent upon a preexisting transcendent consciousness as contemplated by Penrose, Hameroff,
Stapp, and Chopra [9]. The opposing reductionist viewpoint is that consciousness is merely an
epiphenomenon which emerged from the raw materials of the cosmos. This leads to the paradox
of how a seemingly chaotic cosmos can produce isolated pockets of order and organization localized reversals of entropy. These organized entities are spawned as pockets of order out of
chaos - for example, the human neural system. Is the emergence of the thoughtful transcendent
brain perhaps potentiated by parameters inherent to the chaotic milieu? In either case, this
implies the emergence of coherent global signals not requiring a physical neural network. It is
proposed that the mesostratum demonstrably records, archives, and transmits primordial
transcendent signals, waveforms, and informational fields independently of the physiostratum, as
described next.
2. Mesostratum and Mind Loop
Soul ~ Spirit ~ Body Triad
It is clear that any discussion of consciousness involves the mind, which in turn requires its own
definition as a transcendent entity. We propose that the mind spans three strata: (1) the
superstratum (the transcendent domain of pure thought), (2) the mesostratum (the mediating
domain of information, signals, energetic fields, and (3) the physiostratum (the domain of
spacetime and temporal-objective material reality) [10]. In this context, the mind reaches from
the superstratum continuum to the physiostratum discontinuum via signals through the
mesostratum interface, as illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Soul-spirit-body triad of mind.
The physiostratum discontinuum is conceptually a subset of the superstratum continuum [11].
Elements of the superstratum and physiostratum commingle in the mesostratum interface. We
are aware of the transcendent superstratum and mesostratum indirectly by their ubiquitous
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influence on the physiostratum primarily at the quantum level and by their influence on our
consciousness and our experience of tangible objective realities.
The words soul and spirit are burdened with theological and ancient scriptural connotations. We
adopt the notion that each individual soul is the superstratum focus of a conscious entity while
the spirit is a mesostratum signal transmission modality which informs the material conscious
entity. The body/brain is the physiostratum focus of a transcendent consciousness. The mind is
defined in Figure 1 essentially as a loop that unites the brain and soul foci via a mesostratum
download/upload signal cycle.
The mind loop is essential to integrate the wholeness of one’s being, but is evasive when the
body is awash in worldly tides, distractions, and self-indulgence. This separation may be
overcome by quiet meditation which engages the mind loop, recombines the body and soul, and
helps realize the full potential of one’s being through enlightenment and inspiration that is
manifested in accessing and exploring the mesostratum.
Mesostratum Reality
A simple experiment reveals the reality of the mesostratum. Magnetic fields are
continuumthings, virtual mathematical objects, that exist only in the mesostratum. Their presence
and influence is clearly demonstrated by the alignment of iron filings originally randomly
scattered on a cardboard sheet just before being placed over a magnet. The tiny particles of iron
line up along so-called lines of force, in the mesostratum hyperspace continuum, between the
magnet’s poles.
It can also be demonstrated that light waves, electromagnetic waves and fields, transpirate within
the mesostratum. This has been made apparent since Thomas Young's double slit experiment and
the Michelson–Morley interferometer experiment. Both revealed that light waves,
electromagnetic waves, transpirate outside the physiostratum, in transcendent mesostratum. For
example, within the mesostratum continuum, photons traverse decoupled from the physiostratum,
while in transit from a source to a detector. The decoupling is evident in the constant velocity of
light which is independent of the velocity of the photon’s physiostratum source/emitter - a material
body, an agglomeration of quantumthings [11].
Recognizing the reality of the mesostratum, at least provisionally, can help explain how a
transcendent consciousness spawns, enables, and evolves human consciousness. A leap of faith
is not needed for accepting the idea of the transcendent aspect of a human mind nor the existence
of a transcendent mesostratum that mediates between the physiostratum and superstratum. We
simply accept as axiomatic that mesostratum informational consciousness signals - transpirate
outside and independently of the particulate physiostratum and its discontinuous granular
spacetime objects such as neurons and neural networks.
Since mesostratum consciousness waveform origination, transit, and evolution scenario is not
observed, it may be declared to be a non-reality, according to the notion that the only reality is
one that is observed and measured. One might muse that neither the mesostratum nor
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consciousness wavefunctions are objectively real and are therefore sufficiently transcendent to
be dismissed by reductionists, empiricists, naturalists. More difficult is the acceptance of radical
concepts such as the superstratum ~ mesostratum ~ physiostratum triad. This model and its
auxiliary paradigms are nevertheless useful because they may help explain an even more esoteric
phenomenon: the transcendent nature of human consciousness and its role in the orchestration of
quantum and other informational signals and fields.
Provisionally recognizing the reality of the mesostratum, exploration of the mesostratum should
reveal unexpected features, properties, and resources, particularly regarding modes of information
storage and transfer. Because it transcends the material world, the mesostratum necessarily has
‘Wi-Fi’ or wireless signal origination, exchange, and transmission capabilities. Mesostratum
signals and dynamic fields which transmit information and energy are not necessarily restricted to
electromagnetic waves and fields. It is inadvisable to exclude the possibility of other kinds of
signals; signals far stranger than the familiar electromagnetic waves that figure so pervasively in
terrestrial technologies.
Consciousness and Thought Signals
We hold as axiomatic that mesostratum continuumthings like signals and mathematical objects
transpirate outside and independently the particulate physiostratum and its discontinuous granular
spacetime. We explain how mesostratum continuumthings underlie the world and physiostratum
quantumthing agglomerations [11]. We argue that Plato’s world, as described next, is conceptually
identical to what we term the mesostratum.
A parallel between information conveyed by a stream of quantum signals and other kinds of
signals which carry conscious thought and ideas may exist, but this is not easily illustrated. As a
start, we contemplate Roger Penrose’s accounts of drawing mathematical ideas from Plato’s world
of perfect forms. Penrose [12] argues that we discover the laws of nature in Plato’s world, which by
our definition is integral to and part of the mesostratum. He elaborates on his own experience with
Plato’s world and diagrams its relation to the physical and the mental world. Penrose affirms:
"This was an extraordinary idea for its time, and . . . is indeed an immensely valuable one. It tells us
to be careful to distinguish the precise mathematical entities from the approximations that we see
around us in the world of physical things.” Penrose asks, “Does this not point to something outside
ourselves?” Penrose’s advocacy of Plato’s concept figures prominently as a predecessor to the
concept of the mesostratum - as an aspect of consciousness outside ourselves.
Penrose concludes that the Platonic world of perfect forms exists and that physiostratum and the
mind draw from and depend upon its inexhaustible reservoir of ideal entities. Although perfect
forms are not found in the physiostratum, there is ample evidence that nature utilizes the
mathematical objects and formulae of Plato’s world. Certainly, mathematicians and physics
theorists draw upon these resources [13].
Penrose asserts a remarkable interplay and communication among the triad he designates as the
Platonic, Mental, and Physical worlds. The interplay is manifested by the manner in which
mathematical discoveries, experimental results, and human consciousness are intertwined. As a
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physics theoretician, Penrose prefers to limit his interest to Plato’s world of mathematical
concepts. Penrose writes, "I imagine that whenever the mind perceives a mathematical idea it
makes contact with Plato's world of mathematical concepts. . . . When one 'sees' a mathematical
truth, one's consciousness breaks through into this world of ideas, and makes direct contact with it.
. . . When mathematicians communicate, this is made possible by each one having a direct route to
truth, the consciousness of each being in a position to perceive mathematical truths directly,
through this process of 'seeing.'. . . The mental images that each one has, when making this
Platonic contact, might be rather different in each case, but communication is possible because
each is directly in contact with the same eternally existing Platonic world!" Penrose is here
implying communication of mathematical thought and particularly of thought signals in the
rigorous symbolic language that is apprehended and understood by trained mathematicians.
Indeed, Penrose points out that in his own experience communication with Plato’s world is
uniquely non-verbal and mathematically iconic [3].
Einstein, Pauli, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Eddington, Jeans, espoused a form meditation that
connotes communication with their transcendent consciousness. Einstein spoke of a cosmic
feeling that inspired his reflections on the harmony of nature. Apparently mystical insights
achieved by quiet meditative practices can be a useful guide in formulation of foundational
scientific theories. Kurt Gödel spoke of the “other relation to reality” by which he could directly
perceive mathematical objects, such as infinity. Gödel was able to achieve this by adopting
meditative practices. Heinrich Hertz said, “One cannot escape the feeling that these mathematical
formulas have an independent existence of their own, and they are wiser than even their
discoverers, that we get more out of them than was originally put into them.”
We shall recount more anecdotal citations because each reveals a rather obvious truth: what one
draws upon from the mesostratum, from one’s transcendent consciousness, may be discordant,
chaotic - and invariably needs to be unraveled, organized. Some individuals have an
extraordinary faculty to bring order out of the chaos and to formulate and forge a finished
product - as did Mozart, Da Vinci, John von Neuman, others.
3. Stochastic & Epigenetic Emergence of Life
Stochastic Generation of Life and Consciousness
In explaining the spontaneous emergence of the cosmos we provisionally accept the notion that
the cosmos, and its subsequent biological living content, suddenly emerged, expanded, and
evolved from nothingness. We then acknowledge the notion that sentient life and human
consciousness are simply the result of stochastic processes - an improbable interweaving of
chance and choice. When we tie together the ideas of negentropy, the mesostratum,
wavefunctions, signals, and entangled attributes of consciousness, we presumably approach
discovery of the nature of and the resulting emergence of human consciousness. What we lack,
principally, is knowledge about the stochastic processes that combined these factors. This
knowledge is unavailable because of the randomness of the stochastic process. The
non-deterministic stochastic process is a collection of variables, representing the evolution of
random values over time.
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Unlike a deterministic stochastic process which can evolve only one way, in a random stochastic
process there is indeterminacy even if the initial conditions are known. There are usually
infinitely many directions in which the process may evolve. We may know basic material
building blocks, but are stymied about how they assemble; producing seemingly improbable
outcomes in unpredictable successions of random stages.
Improbability, Coincidence, Choice
The improbability of abiogenesis and evolution of higher life forms has been compared to the
improbability of a tornado sweeping through a junkyard and assembling an airplane. From the
modern evolutionary standpoint, while the sudden appearance of cellular and higher life forms
are improbable, evolution obviously proceeds nevertheless, randomly, slowly, stepwise,
stochastically. Viewing the human body as a communal super-colony consisting of trillions of
differentiated cells moves our attention to an exploration of symbiosis - as exemplified by the
mutually-beneficial living-together, by choice, of unlike organisms - of interdependent cell
populations and organs of the human body.
Some symbiotic relationships are obligate in that both symbionts entirely depend on each other
for survival. Others are facultative, meaning that they can but do not have to live with the other
organism. Symbiotic relationships include those associations in which one organism lives on
another, or where one partner lives inside the other (such as lactobacilli bacteria in humans).
Strange symbiosis loops prevail wherever life appears, down to the level of individual cells
which cannot exist viably without the presence of symbiosis among enzymes, amino acids, cell
membranes, and nuclei.
The raw materials, minerals, molecules of life and sustenance may come together by chance, but
the living entity consists of much more than a fortuitous assemblage of those things. The
assembly needs to be just right. It must follow a strict pattern, a template which assures that the
entity is fully equipped to function and make choices. The improbability principle enunciated by
David J. Hand [14] attempts to explain how all these factors combine coincidentally,
spontaneously. Hand explains that virtually all seemingly random coincidences associated with
chance events and conscious choice may be explained. He asserts that extremely improbable
events are commonplace; a consequence of a collection of more fundamental laws which all tie
together to lead inevitably and inexorably to the occurrence of extraordinarily unlikely events.
According to these laws, and the improbability principle, “the universe is in fact constructed so
that these coincidences are unavoidable: the extraordinarily unlikely must happen; events of
vanishingly small probability will occur.” Hand attempts to resolve the contradiction between the
sheer unlikeliness of such events and the fact that they nevertheless keep on happening.
Hand notes that the improbability principle is not a single equation, such as Einstein's famous
equation, but a collection of strands which intertwine, braiding together and amplifying each
other, to form a rope connecting events, incidents, and outcomes. The main strands are the law of
inevitability, the law of truly large numbers, the law of selection, the law of the probability lever,
and the law of near enough. Putatively, anyone of these strands is sufficient, by itself, to produce
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something apparently highly improbable, but it is when they combine and work together that
their real power takes hold. Hand insists that when these laws - the intertwining strands - are put
together, virtually every unbelievable coincidence may be explained.
But, there is an adjunct to the improbability principle and laws that transcends the coincidental
intertwining of chance events: It is choice (inspired, informed, uninformed, or random) by a
self-aware consciousness. Does the improbability principle explain how the first free-living cell,
that may have alighted on a grain of sand, successfully sought, found, and chose, nourishment
and perhaps a cooperative genetically compatible or symbiotic partner? Indeed, if it needed no
mate to commune with, to replicate, it still needed a genetic code of instructions to survive - and
a habitat, environment rich in nutrients and helpful resources.
The evolutionary push for ever more complex communities of cells reflects the biological
imperative to survive by self-enhancement and control of or better use of the environment.
Complexity leads to more awareness, that is, to a greater capability to react and adjust to the
environment and thence to improve the probability of survival. When cells choose to band together
there will be an exponential increase in the organism’s global self-awareness and ability to adjust
to environment and change.
Bruce Lipton [15] writes, “. . . to survive at high communal densities, the cells created structured
environments . . . sophisticated communities subdivided the workload with . . . precision and
effectiveness . . . It proved more efficient for the community to have individual cells assigned to
specialized tasks. In the development of animals and plants, cells begin to acquire these
specialized functions in the embryo. A process of cytological specialization enables the cells to
form the specific tissues and organs of the body. Over time, this pattern of differentiation, i.e., the
distribution of the workload among the members of the community, became embedded in the
genes of every cell in the community, significantly increasing the organism's efficiency and its
ability to survive.”
Epigenesis and Thought Signals
Lipton comments on new discoveries regarding interactions between mind and body and the
processes by which cells receive and react to information. These discoveries seem to affirm the
notion that genes and DNA do not control our biology; that instead DNA is controlled by signals
from outside the cell, including the energetic messages of our thoughts, our environment. Lipton
explains how the developing science of epigenetics is revolutionizing understanding of the link
between mind and matter and profound effects it has on our personal lives and the collective life
of our species. Epigenetics is the science of how environmental signals select, modify, and
regulate gene activity. Lipton recalls: “I was seven years old when I stepped up onto a small box in
Mrs. Novak's second grade classroom, high enough to plop my eye right onto the lens and eyepiece
of a microscope. . . . A paramecium swam into the field. I was mesmerized. . . . My whole being
was transfixed by the alien world of this cell that, for me, was more exciting than today's
computer-animated special-effects movies . . . In the innocence of my child mind, I saw this
organism not as a cell but as a microscopic person, a thinking, sentient being. Rather than
aimlessly moving around, this microscopic, single-celled organism appeared to me to be on a
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mission . . . I quietly watched over the paramecium's ‘shoulder’ as it busily comported itself
[purposefully] in and around the algal mat.”
Later, as a cell biologist, Lipton writes, “I realized that a cell's life is controlled by the physical
and energetic environment and not by its genes. . . . The environment serves as a 'contractor' who
reads and engages those genetic blueprints and is ultimately responsible for the character of a
cell's life. It is a single cell's 'awareness' of the environment, not its genes, that sets into motion
the mechanisms of life. . . In larger organisms . . . only a small percentage of cells are concerned
with reading and responding to environmental stimuli. That is the role of groups of specialized
cells that form the tissues and organs of the nervous system. The function of the nervous system
is to perceive the environment and coordinate the behavior of all the other cells in the vast
cellular community. . . Division of labor among the cells in the community offered an additional
survival advantage. The efficiency it offered enabled more cells to live on less.”
According to Lipton, epigenetics “. . . reveals that our genes are constantly being remodeled in
response to life experiences. Which again emphasizes that our perceptions of life shape our
biology. . .” He concludes that the cell membrane which interacts with environment and hence
controls response is comparable to a computer processor chip, it is in a sense the cell’s ‘brain’. The
cell membrane, similarly to a computer chip, is programmable and the virtual programmer
resides outside the cell. Lipton argues that the cell ‘membrain’ biological behavior and
epigenetic activity are dynamically linked to the available resources and information derived
from the environment.
(Continued on Part II)
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Chopra, D., Is the Afterlife a Non-Question? (Let’s Hope Not)
1235
Statement
Is the Afterlife a Non-Question? (Let's Hope Not)
Deepak Chopra*
There are few questions where it can be said that literally every answer is second-hand, but the
persistence of consciousness after death is one. As sticky and complicated as the issue seems to
be, it can be broken down into three perspectives that in themselves are simple. The
perspective of a believer supports life after death; the skeptical perspective denies it; the
undecideds stand in the middle. It's rare to find anyone who belongs to one of these camps
who is willing to accept evidence from another. In essence, believers don't budge because they
trust their religion; skeptics won't budge because they trust rationality; undecideds remain
stuck in ambivalence and doubt.
Yet even where militant skeptics trumpet their certainty at one end of the spectrum and at the
opposite extreme religious extremists are willing to die in order to attain paradise, everyone
bases his position on received wisdom of one kind of another. This renders the afterlife a nonquestion. It has been a non-question for as long as recorded history, but a tradition doesn't
become true through persistence and the passage of time. The fundamental issue is whether
the afterlife can be transformed into a viable question.
I believe it can, but it takes a lot of convincing and patient discourse before the needle moves
even half an inch. As social psychologists have proved over and over, when you show partisans
objective proof that their position is shaky or untenable, the net result is that they harden their
position even more. Assuming that you, I, and the reader in the corner are open-minded,
turning the afterlife into a valid question must return to basics, including the most boring basic,
defining our terms. However, as it turns out, defining our terms actually answers the question.
The most basic term in this case is consciousness, because when arguing over the possibility of
an afterlife, much confusion is caused by asking the wrong questions. If you don't specify what
consciousness actually is, you wind up worrying about the survival of the soul, or of "me," the
individual ego-personality. And if those pitfalls are avoided, Eastern traditions are filled with
equally misleading notions of Jiva, Atman, and Brahman, or of Nirvana and Satori.
I will propose that if two people agree upon their definition of consciousness, they will agree on
the existence or non-existence of an afterlife. This isn't an arbitrary judgment. It rests on the
familiar experience that people make up stories, they believe in their stories, and the reality
*
Deepak Chopra MD – FACP, Carlsbad, California. Email: Deepak Chopra@DeepakChopra.com
Website: www.deepakchopra.com
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they inhabit conforms to their stories. For a skeptic whose story contains the facts that all
things can be explained through materialism, experimentation, data, measurement, and a
confirmed allegiance to objectivity over subjectivity, there will be no doubt that the afterlife is
spurious – not because it actually is, but because a certain story, or worldview if you prefer,
forbids it to exist. By the same token, a confirmed believer holds fast to a story where the nonexistence of a personal God is impermissible, even unthinkable, and therefore the afterlife
acquires its reality by association with the deity.
If these points are acceptable, we can refine our investigation and ask if there is a definition of
consciousness completely detached from all stories, which means the absence of bias,
predisposition, received wisdom, rumor, myth, group pressure, wishful thinking, fear,
apprehension, and mental figments of very sort. I believe so. Every reasonable person, I think,
will accept that consciousness, as experienced by humans, is the awareness of two things: that
we exist and that we experience. By extension, a reality that cannot be experienced is moot. By
this measure, UFOs, angels, the afterlife, and the quantum vacuum exist on the same playing
field. They are suppositions and inferences.
If we toss out suppositions and inferences, what can we truthfully say about consciousness? By
this I mean what can we say that no reasonable person will disagree with? Here we run into a
complicated situation, because certain aspects of consciousness require extended discussion
and a back-and-forth between people of good will. Such a setup is rare, unfortunately, but at
least I can relate a few things that I've been able to convince people of over the years.
1. There is only one consciousness. To subdivide it makes no sense. This point is lifted almost
verbatim from Erwin Schrödinger, the eminent quantum pioneer. Philosophically, the "one
consciousness" position is common to monistic schools, because they repudiate any true
difference, ontologically, between the one and the many. Yet when dealing with everyday
people, it's obvious that we all cling fervently to being individuals, outfitted with my family,
house, body, mind, and soul. To crack this allegiance requires arguments like the following:
• When you get wet, do you call it "my" wet? Some things happen to us personally but
turn out to have a general existence.
• If you sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" as you walk down the street, did the song walk
down the street with you?
• If you imagine your mother's face, where is that mental image located? The brain has no
pictures in it, and no light. When you imagine your mother's face, you didn't consult a
directory of facial characteristics the way computer recognition software does – you
simply called up what you wished to see.
• Where is your self located? There is no neurological evidence of a region of the brain
that contains the self, and, even if researchers claimed such a region existed, it would
have to contain everything attached to you as a self, including your life history.
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2. Assuming that the discussion can crack open the presumption of isolated, local consciousness
– there are many ways to get at this, not just the few questions listed above – the second point
is that this "one consciousness" cannot be located. It is everywhere, all at once. This point
sounds like a hard sell, as it would be if everyone held an advanced degree in philosophy, I
imagine. But in everyday life the argument is fairly easily based upon physics.
• Cosmologists and quantum physicists agree that spacetime originated in a domain
(referred to as the zero point, quantum vacuum state, or the realm of pure
mathematics) that isn't in time and space.
• The entire universe, as well as individual subatomic particles, emerged from this precreated state, which has no qualities we would recognize such as linear time,
dimensionality, solidity, energy, etc.
• At the very least, all creation stories, scientific or not, converge on the creation of
something out of nothing. Beyond our experience of reality in spacetime, there is a field
of infinite potential, unbounded possibilities.
• As the reality of space, time, matter, and energy appeared and continues to appear, the
existence of consciousness must be accounted for. There are only two viable
possibilities that are taken seriously. The "matter first" position holds that mind has its
origins in matter and energy (to which some theorists add information). The "mind first"
position holds that consciousness is the source of everything, including matter and
energy.
3. If there are only these two positions, how do we decide between them? The difficulty is that
being monistic, the two are incompatible and, more critically, totally self-consistent. It isn't
possible to step outside the framework of "mind first" or "matter first" to gather evidence. All
the evidence lies within the worldview that produced it. Even if other, as yet unknown, kinds of
evidence emerged – such as the current, quite baffling existence of so-called dark matter and
dark energy, which don't follow the rules of visible matter and energy – it would be absorbed
into pre-existing stories that we live by.
In deciding between "mind first" and "matter first," the crux is a single question. Is it more
probable that matter somehow learned to think or that mind can create matter? It seems
astonishing to me that more than 90% of scientists are so conditioned to reduce every issue to
matter and energy (to use the favored term nowadays, they are physicalists), they accept
without investigation the assumption that the sugar in a sugar cube, once ingested, can travel
past the blood-brain barrier and suddenly think, feel, wish dream, and do science. No one has
remotely come close to showing the point in evolutionary history where ordinary molecules
acquired consciousness. Therefore, the very notion that the brain is a privileged object, the only
"thing" in creation that has consciousness, is untenable. The brain is simply an ordinary object
composed of ordinary atoms and molecules. It didn't become consciousness through the
random combination of complex organic chemicals.
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The contrary position, that consciousness pre-exists the physical world, has some simple
evidence on its side. The simplest, of course, is that the impossibility of the "matter first"
position leaves only one other viewpoint that can possibly be true. But to most people such an
argument feels like sleight of hand. Therefore, we can point to the human brain, where every
sensation, image, feeling, and thought pushes brain chemicals around, redirects them to
various parts of the body, causes vital signs to change either slowly or abruptly, and actually
produces some chemicals, such as neurotransmitters, out of nothing.
The creation of something out of nothing has been lurking in the background as the ultimate
question, yet with reference to everyday experience, the mystery becomes both personal and
self-evident. If someone whispers "I love you" in your ear, the mind-body system will display
hundreds of changes dissimilar to what occurs if the whispered words are "I have a gun pointed
at your heart." The deciding factor isn't material in the slightest; it consists of mental activity,
the continual production of thoughts, words, meaning, purpose, direction, intention, and so on.
It is far from impossible to convince reasonable people that these points are true, and they
stem from defining consciousness in the most basic, intuitively validated way. As to the specific
issue of an afterlife, consider what lies on the side of its existence:
o Consciousness, being nonlocal, is not subject to birth and death.
o Even in physicalist terms, there must be a pre-created state beyond time and space.
Birth and death, being aspects of linear time, are not present there.
o An argument can be mounted that certain abstract experiences, such as mathematics
and information, have an indestructible aspect, again immune to birth and death.
o Body, mind, and the world "out there" cannot be divorced from conscious experience.
The only reasonable location for all of them is in consciousness itself.
o If all of the above are true, then nothing exists except as a modified state of
consciousness. Some of these states we identify as matter and energy, but this is simply
a habit of mind built up for cultural reasons. There have been societies where "mind
first" was just as self-evident as "matter first" is to us.
Having laid out, in truncated form, the argument for consciousness as the basis of reality, not
everyone may be willing to follow the clues that lead to an afterlife. But that isn't as important
as realizing that we have tended to ask the wrong questions. One can devote a book to
untangling the various possibilities for consciousness to persist after the end of the body. (I
wrote one, Life After Death, 2008) In the end, however, the stubborn way that old stories cling
to us, and we to them, muddies the issue and opens the way for vehement partisans who
refuse to see that they are flogging second-hand opinions. Until we all are willing to think fresh
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thoughts about a worn-out question, consciousness will remain constricted. If consciousness
begins to expand on an individual basis, there is hope for clarity. More importantly, we can
begin to bring centuries of baseless fear and superstition to an end. I'd suggest that ending the
superstition of materialism would be a good start.
Reference
Chopra, D. (2008). Life After Death: The Burden of Proof. Harmony Reprint.
°°°
Autobiographical Note: Deepak Chopra MD – FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation and cofounder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Carlsbad, California – is a world-renowned
pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation and is Board Certified in Internal
Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians
and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The World Post and The
Huffington Post global Internet survey ranked Chopra #17 influential thinker in the world and
#1 in Medicine. Chopra is the author of more than 80 books translated into over 43 languages,
including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His latest books are Super Genes co-authored
with Rudolph Tanzi, PhD, and Quantum Healing (Revised and Updated): Exploring the Frontiers
of Mind/Body Medicine. Website: www.deepakchopra.com
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Hardy, C. H., Nonlocal Processes & Entanglement as a Signature of a Cosmic Hyperdimension of Consciousness
Article
Nonlocal Processes & Entanglement as a Signature of a
Cosmic Hyperdimension of Consciousness
Chris H. Hardy*
ABSTRACT
Five groups of anomalies regarding spacetime laws reveal ‘beyond spacetime’ processes and
point to a meta region of the universe that would accommodate them. They are (1) the
nonlocality in entanglement; (2) nonlocality in psi processes; (3) a sub-Planckian (subquantum)
region at the origin of the universe (preceding the emergence of matter, space, and time), as well
as at the sub-Planckian scale in general; (4) a non-material ‘dark energy’ filling the cosmos; and
(5) speeds breaking the speed of light C during the inflation phase. Moreover, the connective
and/or semantic properties of these anomalies rule out a quantum vacuum or quantum mechanics
(QM) explanation as well. Such a ‘beyond spacetime’ region, in cosmology, has to be modeled
as a hyperdimension (HD). The Infinite Spiral Staircase Theory (ISST, Hardy 2015) posits a
triune hyperdimension—of hyperspace, hypertime and consciousness—, that allows all five
anomalies while laying a cogent grounding for meaningful (semantic) interconnectedness and
mind-over-matter influences as exhibited both by psi and by the connective dynamics of mind
and consciousness in Semantic Fields Theory.
Keywords: Physics of consciousness, psi, mind over matter, hyperdimension of consciousness,
retrocausality, information field.
1. Introduction
Nonlocality has been established via the entanglement experiments, and defined as an exchange
of information or a correlation between distant paired particles that cannot imply a signal
transmission through linear space. Since space is indissolubly enmeshed with time in the
spacetime of General Relativity (GR), nonlocality thus reveals a ‘beyond spacetime’ process.
Another four groups of anomalies also point to such ‘beyond spacetime’ processes, at odds with
GR. The first one regroups psi phenomena, evidenced as nonlocal processes by numerous
experiments. The second group addresses (a) the origin of the universe before the Planck scale
(at 10-43 second of the universe) that allowed the first particles, and thus space and time to exist,
as well as (b) any point in spacetime coordinates at a sub-Planckian scale. The third anomaly is
the existence of dark energy, about 69% of the total energy of the universe, and of which we
know only that it is not ordinary matter or particles; some physicists view it as ‘quintessence,’ an
unknown type of energy made of tachyonic (faster-than-light—FTL) virtual particles. The fourth
anomaly resides in the inflation phase of the universe (at 10-36 second, just above Planck scale)
*Correspondence: Chris H. Hardy, PhD, Eco-Mind Systems Science, France. http://cosmic-dna.blogspot.fr
E-mail: chris.saya@gmail.com
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that reached millions of times C. It is argued in this paper that, since the speed of light’s limit C
is an absolute constraint of spacetime, any clear contravention of this law, as well as of the other
main laws of spacetime and the electromagnetic force, reveals a ‘beyond spacetime’ region—
such region, in cosmology, having to be modeled as a hyperdimension (HD). Moreover, the five
groups of anomalies (including the entanglement) show us that such HD must also accommodate
meaningful (semantic) interconnectedness and mind-over-matter influences.
The Infinite Spiral Staircase Theory (ISS theory) (Hardy 2015, 2015a, 2015b), by positing a
triune hyperdimension (of hyperspace, hypertime and consciousness), offers such modeling that
gives a foundation to all five anomalies, as well as a grounding for meaningful (semantic)
interconnectedness and mind-over-matter influences as exhibited both by psi and by the
connective dynamics of consciousness in Semantic Fields Theory (Hardy 2001).
2. Nonlocality in Physics & Psi Processes
The entanglement experiments that have proven nonlocality use protocols derived from John
Bell’s Inequalities also called Bell’s Theorem. With this theorem, Bell offered in 1964 a
mathematical refutation of Von Neumann’s argument against all types of hidden (deterministic)
variables (that would have undermined QM indeterminacy); Bell concluded that if local hidden
variables were forbidden, nonlocal ones—such as Bohm’s Quantum Potential and Pilot waves—
were certainly allowed. The first experimental support of nonlocality was given by John Clauser,
but a sound proof was achieved by Alain Aspect in Orsay, in his 1982 series of experiments.
As noted by numerous physicists and psi researchers, psi phenomena present several aspects that
contravene Einsteinian Relativity physics but mimic Quantum Mechanics (QM) behaviors—such
as nonlocality and entanglement, retrocausality, the observer/experimenter effect—and yet psi
phenomena are definitely mental processes, i.e. implying consciousness. In this perspective,
Josephson and Pallikari-Viras (1991) argue that the nonlocal interconnectedness instantiated
between entangled paired particles is the basis of psi phenomena (e.g. telepathy, remote-viewing,
psychokinesis or PK), the reality of which has been established by hundreds of laboratory
experiments. Also, a number of QM physicists—such as Heisenberg, Planck, Wigner, von
Neumann, Stapp, Walker, Sarfatti—have implied the observer, and thus consciousness, in the
collapse of the wavefunction (Hardy 2015, chap. 6). A position that is well resumed by John
Wheeler’s 1977 formula “Mind and universe are complementary” and expounded in Robert
Jahn’s and Brenda Dunne’s Margins of Reality.
Psi exhibits nonlocality in two ways: beyond the brain and beyond spacetime. It thus broadens
the strict definition of nonlocality in physics.
Beyond the brain. The ‘receptive psi’ is defined as a reception of information at a distance in
space (remote viewing, telepathy) without any causal or perceptive mechanism; or from a distant
time in the future (precognition) or in the past (retrocognition). Thus psi (and therefore
consciousness) is radically different from the local functioning of the brain and perception, and
can operate independently from it (as seen in the anomalous cognition shown by clinically braindead patients). Furthermore, for a person, psi information can be received or be expressed
through a variety of channels in the mind-body-psyche system: anomalous vision, audition or
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touch sensation, interoceptive perception, empathy at a distance, unconscious expression, body
movements, anomalous verbal or written reception, altered state and meditative states, etc.
Therefore psi processes are much more labile and flexible than just a wired capacity in the brain.
This, in my view, shows that the way psi operates is beyond language and implies a fundamental
level of organization of biosystems (Hardy 1998, 2000; Tart 1969). This is in accord with
Josephson and Pallikari-Viras (1991) predicating that biosystems develop their own (firstperson) self-meaningful links and exchanges that bypass the (third-person) dynamics studied in
physics and are able to skew probabilities. Furthermore, such a basic type of meaningful
exchange between biosystems supports the concept of a proto-consciousness in all living beings
(at the very least), even those who do not have brains.
Beyond spacetime. Psi is not bound by the inverse square law of electromagnetism, since there’s
no decrease of its effect at enormous distances, as shown by the successful Earth-Moon psi
experiment that Edgar Mitchell performed during the Apollo 14 mission (Mishlove 1997,
Mitchell 1996). In many experiments on bio-PK (the influence of mind over biological systems),
the distance to the targets was accrued without any decrease of the psi results. Furthermore, psi
functioning is unconstrained by the EM spectrum waves: it operates inside Faraday cages and at
a great submarine depth (Targ & Puthoff 2005, Mishlove 1997, Schwartz 2007).
Of course this doesn’t mean that psi operates only and necessarily in these nonlocal modes given
that many processes involve a conventional interaction with space and/or time, but it underlines
that psi is neither bound nor constrained by spacetime laws. Based on these premises, ISST
postulates that the processes of consciousness (to which psi belongs) instantiate a different, more
global, layer of reality—an extra or meta dimension, distinct from spacetime, which is best
modeled, in physics, as a hyperdimension.
3. Nonlocality Necessitates a Hyperdimension
The emergence of the concept of hyperdimension (HD) in physics stems from the endeavors to
integrate the four fundamental forces within a unified theory, as envisioned at first by Einstein.
Basically, two domains of physics—General Relativity (GR) and Quantum mechanics (QM)—,
each with a set of laws and equations, were equally successful at accounting for physics
processes, and both led to precise predictions that were substantiated and corroborated by
experiments and/or observations. The challenge can be phrased thus: how can physics integrate
in one unified theory the stringent fixed laws of spacetime with the indeterminacy and
nonlocality of the quantum scale? Let’s note that particles, having mass or matter-energy, are
still bound (theoretically) by the foremost spacetime law, that of the speed of light limit. Yet, the
Zero-Point fluctuations field (ZPF), modeled within QM, is a state of turbulence and of
oscillations of virtual particles in the vacuum, a clear indeterminacy.
The situation was similar to the ancient opposition between the assumption of light as waves
(proven by Thomas Young in his 1803 double-slit experiment), and that of light as particles
(proven mathematically by Einstein in 1905 in solving the photoelectric effect). The century-old
debate on the nature of light could be solved only by accepting a dual nature of light, positing
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that a particle never goes without a wave, and vice versa, and Louis de Broglie extended this
axiom, beyond the photons, to all particles, such as electrons.
However, the two sets of laws—Relativity theory accounting for massive bodies in spacetime,
and QM accounting for the particles scale—had also widely different dimensions and units, such
as the spin in QM. A mathematical solution in order to unify the two domains was thus to add
extra dimensions, leading to five main superstring models with 10 dimensions, fusioned in 1995
by Edward Witten in the 11D M-theory.
The first scientist to model a HD was Theodor Kaluza who, in 1919, conceived of a brilliant way
to rewrite Einstein’s General Relativity equations by introducing a 5th dimension (in effect, a 4th
dimension of space). To his great surprise, this solution was also nesting and producing two sets
of equations: the EM field equations of Maxwell and Einstein’s field equations for gravity, and
additionally a scalar field equation called the radion. Then, in 1926, Oskar Klein developed
further Kaluza’s theory, by positing that the 5th dimension had a physical reality, and was curled
up in a tiny circle, the radius of which was at the Planck scale (i.e. precisely at Planck length,
1.6x10-33 centimeters).
The logician Kurt Gödel has predicated that any operative system of rules (or laws) cannot base
its self-consistency (or validity) internally, but necessitates an external, more encompassing
system to do so (Gödel, 1992). Gödel's incompleteness theorem thus shows that any system of
rules is necessarily incomplete and needs a more global system, literally, a metadimension, in
order to ground its self-consistency (meta, in Greek, means beyond, or more global).
However, following Klein’s argument, it seems more and more evident that an extra dimension,
such as a Kaluza-Klein 5th dimension, beyond being a mathematical or abstract solution, is also a
physics necessity—and this shows the deep coherence between on the one hand, maths and
physics, and on the other hand between maths and nature. This coherence could be the reason
why elegant and beautiful theories have, according to many physicists, the greatest probability to
be ‘true’ and an exact description of reality (Trinh Xuan Thuan, 2000).
Nonlocality at the origin of the universe and at a subquantum scale
A second group of anomalies (in regard to spacetime laws) happens at the origin of the universe.
Firstly, during the inflation phase, at 10-36 of the first second and now equated to the Big Bang,
the universe bloated to 1050 times its size in a split instant. This led the pioneers of the inflation
theory Alan Guth and then Andrei Linde, to calculate that this process happened at million times
the speed of light C. Secondly, long before this inflation phase, at precisely 10-43 of the first
second, the radius of the universe reaches Planck length and Planck scale. Before this, there can
be no particles—and therefore no matter, no space, no time, and consequently no causality; and
of the four forces, only gravity exists before Planck scale. What is there then before Planck
scale? Some physicists propose a field of information. Several invoke a state of supersymmetry,
a unified substrate with as many particles as anti-particles, that would lead to a series of
symmetry-breaking transitions, such as the decoupling of matter from radiation, starting with the
decoupling of the neutrinos at the first second, and then that of the photons at 102 seconds.
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However, supersymmetry can happen only much later with the Higgs field, a quark-gluon
plasma existing between 10-12 and 10-10 second, and consequently it cannot explain what happens
before Planck scale, i.e. before any particles are allowed.
Several physicists thus point that below Planck scale the universe is ruled by another type of
physics altogether, among them Yakov Zel’dovich, who first figured that the Planck length is a
“cut-off,” a threshold before which no particle or EM wave could exist. Thus before Planck
scale, we reach a totally anomalous state of the universe, beyond spacetime and beyond matter.
Let’s note that any point in spacetime coordinates can open on such subquantum scale or
region—thus as Klein underlined it, on the 5th dimension—, and particularly any particle, as it is
modeled as a dimensionless point in Relativity theory.
As the sub-Planckian region (at the universe’s origin) existed before spacetime came to be, it is
by definition nonlocal, i.e. not bound by the constraints of spacetime (such as the time arrow, the
speed of light C, or causality). We thus meet here the same type of quasi instant faster-than-light
(FTL) transmission of information as instantiated by entangled particles in an EPR-type
experiment (along the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen, or EPR thought experiment, that John Bell
refined). Thus we can argue that the speed of light C expresses a limit only within spacetime, or
more precisely, that it sets a boundary to spacetime and General Relativity theory (GR), and that,
consequently, any FTL, by breaking spacetime’s C barrier, points up both a hypertime and an
extra dimension.
The alternative way to explain such FTL within the spacetime region would be the Varying
Speed of Light (VSL) hypothesis, developed (independently) by physicist John Moffat in 1992
(Perimeter Institute) and in 1999 by cosmologists João Magueijo (Imperial College) and Andreas
Albrecht (UC Davis) (Magueijo 2003; Hebden 2012). Let’s note that this VSL solution is a
competitor to the inflation theory and would be put into question if the discovery of primordial
gravitational waves in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) was to be confirmed. These
waves (appearing as a specific ‘B-mode’ polarization of the CMB) should be produced by the
expansion of space during the inflation phase and thus would substantiate inflation theory. On
March 17, 2014, the team of the BICEP2 (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic
Polarization) telescope at the South Pole announced the detection of the very ‘B-mode’
polarization linked to inflation, but six months later the PLANCK space telescope team
explained it as being due to cosmic dust. However In October 2014, scientists of the
POLARBEAR experiment were able not only to measure B-mode polarization, but to ascertain
that it was of cosmological origin, thus corroborating inflation theory.
Nonlocal entanglement as an anomaly regarding QM indeterminacy
To further the Infinite Spiral Staircase argument, in an EPR experiment, the entangled paired
particles (photons or electrons) are themselves existing in spacetime, but their entanglement
instantiates nonlocality and is rooted beyond spacetime. And this leads us to a possible solution,
the ISS hypothesis, namely that the process of entanglement reveals and expresses the workings
of a hyperdimension beyond the boundary of spacetime that would precisely be the bulk of the
HD, a quasi spatial (or hyperspatial) region encompassing spacetime; this bulk would be blended
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with the hyperdimension at the origin, both operating at a sub-Planckian scale. Now,
interestingly, the entanglement also reveals degrees of freedom (i.e. extra dimensions) distinct
from the quantum indeterminacy: According to Pauli’s laws of spin, the total angular momentum
of the two entangled particles must be equal to zero (e.g. one lefthanded spin -1/2 + one
righthanded spin +1/2 = 0). Thus, whereas each particle’s spin appears to be probabilistic, Pauli’s
complementarity of spins is definitely not an indeterministic law when one considers the global
system itself consisting of the two entangled particles (and expressed by a single wavefunction).
This no-indeterminacy of entanglement shows an anomaly or boundary within the QM
(Copenhagen) interpretation that postulates the indeterminacy of quantum events and that sets
their apprehension only in terms of probabilities. Yet QM has been corroborated in so many
ways that we cannot deny its reality, but only delimit it to a certain region or scale, at the very
least that of the quantum vacuum and Zero-point Fluctuations field or ZPF (in which case a
hyperdimension, being below this quantum scale, would not contradict QM).
The entanglement anomaly thus reveals a boundary to both spacetime (GR) and the quantum
domain (QM), similar to the anomalous FTL processes underlining the boundary of spacetime.
For both GR and QM to preserve the consistency of their system of laws/processes (their
scientific domain), the anomalies have to be set outside of these systems and we need therefore
to postulate a meta or extra dimension. Thomas Kuhn held, in his 1970 study on The structure of
scientific revolutions, that anomalies in a scientific domain would eventually become the stuff of
a new paradigm, a new scientific worldview, but also the foundations of the system of laws of a
novel meta-domain.
So that we have a solid and cogent ground for hypothesizing that a hyperdimension beyond
spacetime exists in the universe at a sub-Planckian scale or level of organization. This
hyperdimension (HD) would (1) exist below Planck scale as hyperspace, both at the origin and at
any point of spacetime; (2) be distinct from both the spacetime region and the quantum vacuum;
(3) instantiate an extremely high FTL (as hypertime); (4) be clearly non-material and not bound
by material causality, and yet non-random—i.e. not bound by the laws of both spacetime and the
quantum vacuum; (5) express coherent exchanges of information and very possibly of matterorganization (as a teleportation derived from entanglement).
Dark energy: a non-material energy, thus beyond spacetime?
Now, another set of data reveals the measure of this extra or hyper dimension, namely the
discovery of dark energy and dark matter, both being of an enigmatic nature but certified not to
be ordinary matter (the stuff of particles, gas clouds and galaxies). Dark energy and dark matter
account respectively for 69% and 26% of the total energy of the universe (according to the most
recent and precise March 2013 PLANCK cosmology probe measurements), which leaves only
5% for ordinary matter. We thus have 95% of the energy of the universe whose nature is a total
mystery, apart from the fact it is not matter, and the case for dark energy is even more
compelling since its energy density is repulsive, and thus opposite to the gravitational effect
setting an attractive force. Several physicists (such as John Brandenburg, Jack Sarfatti) view dark
energy as consisting of virtual anti-particles with tachyonic speed.
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In a perfectly sound physics logic, we can deduce that only 5% of the nature of the universe is
actually covered by the entire field of physics and cosmology—that is, physics has reached at the
present only 5% of its knowledge domain. A conclusion imposes itself: physics can no longer be
founded on a matter or materialist paradigm that claims matter to be the only reality (with
consciousness being only a by-product of the bio-matter of the brain) and thus local material
causality to be the only rule. This materialistic and reductionist set of assumptions is shredded to
pieces by (1) entangled processes, (2) the pre-Planck scale, and (3) dark energy. Physics,
therefore, necessitates a post-materialist paradigm; however, this doesn’t entail to remain captive
of the forceful antinomy dualism-monism (spiritualist paradigm versus realism), nor of the
concept of a creator as a person. It just entails to posit a hyperdimension of consciousness and/or
“active information” (in the Bohmian sense); and this could be achieved by positing Pilot waves
able to ‘guide’ or ‘pilot’ the wavefunctions via a Quantum Potential (Bohm 1980; de Broglie
1939), or else by hyperdimensional semantic fields able to bend probabilities at the quantum
scale and/or guide the organization of events and matter processes (Hardy, 1998). In the first
case, let’s note, though, that Bohm’s and de Broglie’s Pilot waves are modeled as the waves
attached to Standard Model particles (e.g. they are the wave aspect of particles and thus
integrated in wavefunctions within spacetime), and therefore to achieve our objectives, Bohm’s
still mysterious Quantum Potential, already a nonlocal term in the psi wavefunction, would have
to become also a hyperdimensional force or energy.
4. Integrating Psi & Consciousness in a Global Theory
As we have seen, psi implies nonlocality as its processes operate (a) beyond the brain, (b)
beyond spacetime, and (c) beyond material causality—therefore in a meta dimension of reality;
and, as I have argued, b and c demand that this metadimension be a hyperdimension distinct
from the spacetime region, and yet grounded in a physics allowing nonlocal consciousness, such
as the one referred to as hyperphysics by Bernard Carr, and involving brane sheets (2D surface
branes) in a hyperspace (Carr 2009).
But in ISST psi processes involve more than just a hyperspace—via the mental capacity to
perceive and affect distant events/objects as if 3D ordinary space was not a barrier; and a
hypertime—via the mental capacity to perceive events and to communicate with minds in the
past or future as if 1D ordinary time was not a barrier. Let’s see the specifics.
Conative and psychosocial factors working via the syg hyperdimension
(1) The fact that intention and will (conative processes) can direct or influence psi results
as in healing experiments, implies free will capacities, that is, the ability to set goals
for oneself (even if it just means accepting the targets chosen randomly in an
experiment).
(2) It has been experimentally proven that psychosocial factors have an effect on psi
results; these are factors such as relational bonds and openness, one’s beliefs and
expectations, one’s positive thinking and self-confidence (as in the sheep-goat effect
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and experimenter effect). This shows that the dimension of consciousness, and
specifically of individualized minds, is a set of properties within this hyperdimension.
(3) Emotional, semantic and meaningful factors have an effect on psi results. Such
emotional response to a future target or event have been demonstrated (a) in
presentiment experiments (Radin 2004), and (b) in the precognitive collective
unconscious reaction to imminent world-wide emotional shocks, as presented in the
Global Consciousness Project (GCP) experiments (Radin & Nelson 1989, Nelson et al
1996). For example, a few hours before such world-wide shocks as the death of Diana,
the twin towers attack, or Charlie Hebdo’s attack, the distribution of randomness
among many Random Events Generators (REGs) disseminated on the planet shows an
enormous peak away from the baseline.
With these conative, psychosocial, and semantic factors having an effect on psi, our HD is now
infused with consciousness, individualized thoughts, and self-awareness (as in knowing one’s
own beliefs), and it allows a meaningful interaction with others and the world.
Mind over matter processes via the syg-fields of all systems
The fact that the psyche is able to affect biosystems has been demonstrated chiefly by
psychokinesis (PK) or ‘healing’ experiments on biological systems such as bacteria or tissues in
Petri dishes, blood samples, electric fishes, mice and the likes, in biological laboratories and
using double blind protocols. This type of targets being immune to suggestion renders an
explanation by the placebo effect irrelevant. More than 150 ‘bio-PK’ experiments have
demonstrated that the mind and consciousness are able to not only interact with biosystems, but
moreover to influence them through directed intention—a definite PK effect. Another set of
‘micro-PK’ experiments have shown that the mind can have an influence on random processes as
well. The thorniest, and at the same time the most exciting question is by which processes, or
means, does consciousness interact so deeply with matter that it can, with a simple intention,
modify the organization and growth of biological matter?
While these facts are amply proven (one meta-analysis sets the odds for them at one chance in a
trillion) their modus operandi (mode of operation) remains clouded in mystery, just like the
nature of gravity, or the entanglement of particles. Yet ISST and Semantic Fields Theory (SFT)
may shed light on a physics dynamics and substrate of the process, understood thus: A semantic
constellation in the mind (such as an intention or visualized aim), is able to supersede itself to
the semantic field of a biosystem (or that of a random system) and modify its organization. The
actual rate of success in an experimental meta-analysis is of little import compared to the fact
that we are witnessing, with the mind and consciousness, an efficient cause operating nonlocally
and its effect on biosystems and natural systems. The fact that it has happened is enough to upset
the materialist paradigm that needs it to be strictly impossible, due mainly to its assumption that
consciousness is a product of the brain and entirely localized in it, thus forbidding any effect at a
distance.
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All these conative, emotional, psychosocial, and semantic factors imply consciousness in its
fundamental reality, since the Semantic Fields theory (Hardy 1998) defines consciousness as the
process of attributing meaning to the world, to others and to ourselves, via a constant
reorganization of our individual and collective semantic fields (and of course, any emotion,
behavior, interaction, and thought, is loaded with meaning and their dynamic networks are the
stuff of our personal semantic field).
Only a theory granting a hyperdimension of self-organized consciousness to all beings and
systems, with its own hyperdimensional and tachyonic energy linked to consciousness (sygenergy) can allow systems to interact so deeply for minds to influence the organization of matter.
Let us take the case of healing. ISST doesn’t view it exactly as mind modifying matter; but rather
as a stronger semantic field imposing its organization or vision on another weaker semantic field
(e.g. that of a sick organ, or that of a depressed mindset). So that we have a much more cogent
interaction in terms of physics: the like interacting with the like, via a common substrate, the
sygons constituting syg-energy. ISST postulates that virtual particles called sygons (endowed
with specific frequencies) are launched from the ISS (or phi-based spiral) unfolding from the
origin up to Planck scale and the inflation phase. These immensely faster-than-light sygons will
constitute the semantic fields of all systems (their hyperdimensional level) and are the medium of
their nonlocal exchanges and inter-influence. In other words, in bio-PK, networks of sygons are
swapping qualified information (meanings, goals, healing intentions) with the target system.
Only in a second phase will the target’s semantic field (that of the sick organ), now infused with
a healthy and balance order, transmit or impose its novel semantic organization on its own cells
and molecular configuration, thus healing itself by virtue of its re-equilibrated semantic field.
In this specific domain, we meet Sheldrake’s morphogenetic fields, since he viewed these as
guiding the morphogenesis and thus the organization of biological systems. The crucial parallel
is that a field on another dimension (in Sheldrake’s case a field of form, in ISST a
hyperdimensional semantic field) would have the capacity to organize and reorganize a
biological organism. However, Sheldrake never expounded the configuration of these fields and
how the process invoked (‘morphic resonance’) worked (whereas SFT did), nor the nature of the
fields (whereas ISST does).
Thus, psi and consciousness are explained in a sound way by the consciousness or Syg
hyperdimension via the quite stupendous properties of faster-than-light sygons, this syg energy
launching semantic connective and network processes able to modify the organization of
biosystems and matter-systems. (The connective dynamics of semantic fields, their coupling with
brains, and their evolution, are discussed at length in Networks of Meaning.) We have now a
cosmos-size field of consciousness made of an immense number of embedded and interacting
semantic fields (individual ones such as minds, and collective ones such as cultures, religions, or
sciences). Each single mind is thus a complex and multilevel network of semantic constellations
(Hardy 2003), having the capacity, given specific conditions, to influence—via their own
intention and will—the semantic-field layer of resonant or coupled complex systems.
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Retrocausal Attractors set by intentions & the Experimenter Effect
Semantic Field Theory (SFT) has modeled precisely the way our intentions and anticipations
create a multilevel web (a specific type of semantic field) rooted both in the future time and the
present time, that acts as a Retrocausal Attractor favoring the anticipated event (Hardy 2003).
When, in the present, we intend something, or anticipate, or make a positive thinking technique
(e.g. a visualization) about a future event, we create weighted paths between the two time-frames
and events—paths that are in effect bending odds and attracting the realization of the visualized
situation or event. This syg influence will be much stronger when the intentions are rehearsed
and reinforced, as in a recurrent visualization technique.
First of all, in a simple psychological sense: our psychomental disposition and state of
consciousness during a visualization will predispose us, at the future time, to a mindset and
behaviors favoring the visualized event. But SFT adds that the semantic constellation is indeed
rooted in the future time and environment—due to the fact that the Semantic Dimension (now
the Syg hyperdimension) is beyond spacetime and thus able to connect with any coordinates in
space and time. The visualization at the present time creates an Event-in-Making semantic
constellation that (being in the Semantic Dimension itself) is spread over the physical linear time
(of spacetime), and rooted both in the present of each visualization and in the future spacetime
coordinates. And this constellation (1) retrojects its configuration (mental and physical) back to
us, thus retroactively and in a retrocausal way. And (2) it simultaneously creates its niche in the
future spacetime, attracting all relational and physical elements needed for its completion—
hence creating synchronicities and serendipitous opportunities also retroactively, between the
future time and the present, all favoring the realization of our visualization and positive thinking.
Of note is the fact that the Retrocausal Attractor effect is working from the future sygconstellation backward, and modifying the organization of matter-systems and biosystems in the
continuous present via a retrocausal PK effect. Also noteworthy is its proactive effect, with the
present syg-constellation influencing proactively the future situation as well, including an effect
on the future environment (human and physical), and thus setting a definite ‘forward PK’
component. This Retrocausal Attractor can also be orchestrated by a couple, a group, a society—
as in the case of the healing effect of a group prayer (Schwartz & Dossey 2010).
The modeling of the Retrocausal Attractor gives a foundation (in terms of physics and complex
systems or chaos theory) to the experimental evidence of the effects of positive thinking on
health (Seligman 2006), the effects of beliefs and expectations on performance, and of the
observer/experimenter effect on measurements or experimental results.
It is also a fact of experience for many researchers that there exists a collective dimension to
consciousness. Yet, the theories put forward give only a basis for the ‘memory’ (or data
reservoir) aspect of this collective consciousness or field—such as that of Ervin Laszlo, or
Rupert Sheldrake. Much more difficult is to account for the creative, innovative, intentional, and
free thinking aspects of consciousness, as well as for its extreme flexibility, variety, and
divergent processes. And most of all, for its capacity for self-reflection (self-reference),
anticipation, and the power to transform itself internally.
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The triune hyperdimension as the One-plural, a global consciousness field
Given that this hyperdimension of consciousness (Syg HD), co-exist and co-evolve with a
hyperspace and a hypertime, the solution of ISST is to posit a triune HD, a braid with three
entwined strands: hyperspace (Center), consciousness (Syg), and hypertime (Rhythm)—a CSR
hyperdimension opening at the Planck length and operating below Planck scale, in any particle
and system in the universe, including at its origin. This CSR hyperdimension thus instantiates:
- (via Syg:) a cosmic consciousness, plus a syg dimension and semantic fields and processes
in all systems; self-consciousness and self-reference in the most evolved ones, such as
intelligent beings and civilizations in the universe;
- (via Center:) self-organization via networks dynamics and individualization (organizational
closure) of all systems;
- (via Rhythm:) FTL communication and exchanges in resonant systems through the sygons;
- A topology in hyperspace in the form of a phi-based or golden spiral (the ISS)
- a holographic system at the global scale, in which the collective consciousness (via its field
of information imprinted in the cosmic ISS at the origin) is in constant 2-way flow and
communication with the individual ISS of all systems.
The FTL sygons populating the hyperdimension are a semantic (syg) energy—an energy of
consciousness able to effect work and actions in spacetime (the very physics definition of
energy). The sygons provide the dynamics of instantaneous exchanges of complex information
between semantic fields of any type—whether natural systems, plants, animals, objects, or
evolved minds. Semantic processes driven by sygons use connective dynamics—such as
network-linkages, inter-influence, and co-evolution between systems. They also include the
reorganization and in-forming of matter- and bio-systems by psycho-mental processes (such as
intentions, needs, and emotional bonding). The connective dynamics instantiated by sygons
operate through resonances of meaning and semantic links of any kind; these are clearly
semantic dynamics involving body-consciousness, the psyche and minds.
Thus, at any point in spacetime (in any particle and system), the triune CSR hyper-dimension
opens at Planck scale and operates below it as an individualized ISS spiral bearing a near-infinite
databank about the whole universe and this individualized system. So that, like pores on the skin
opening on the air outside our bodies, each individual ISS opens on the bulk of the cosmic
hyperdimension, itself in sync with the HD at the origin. The cosmic hyperdimension is indeed a
whole, the One, whether at the origin or within the bulk; it pervades spacetime systems below
Planck scale—and in this respect, it can be modeled using an ontological argument (Hardy 2015,
2015b). It is Carl Jung’s collective unconscious, the Tao, the Brahman. It is Plotinus’ “One
immaterial,” the soul of the universe pervading all its parts.
5. Cosmic Consciousness & Panpsychism: The ISST Paradigm
ISST postulates that the hyperdimension of consciousness exists not only at the beginning of the
universe (in the cosmic Infinite Spiral Staircase or ISS), but also at the core of any system in the
universe, from particles, to living beings, to galaxies. In all these systems, the hyperdimension
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operates at a sub-Planckian scale, via the faster-than-light sygons—the virtual strings/particles
that are a dynamic semantic energy and active information.
The syg hyperdimension allows a potential of consciousness in all systems, a layer of meaningful
organization and interaction called the system’s semantic field. ISST thus belongs to the broad
philosophical stand of panpsychism, that posits consciousness as pervading all beings and things
in the universe, however to a different degree—from a proto-consciousness to an evolved selfreferent intelligence in human beings. Panpsychism has been heralded by the Greek philosophers
Thales, Plato and Plotinus, by the Advaita Vedanta philosophy in India and Tibetan Buddhism.
In modern times, by Leibniz, Spinoza, Whitehead, and recently David Chalmers (1996), as well
as the physicist Roger Penrose. The psi researcher Dean Radin and his colleagues considered
panpsychism as a sound explanation of the observer effect, as stated in their 2012 report on an
experiment using an optical double-slit protocol, furthering the famous experiment by Thomas
Young (Radin et al, 2012).
The panpsychism of ISS theory has very specific physics and cosmological features, as it derives
from a semantic or syg hyperdimension enmeshed with hyperspace and hypertime, and existing
in all systems at all scales in the universe.
The holographic universe and the Anthropic Principle
The concept that the universe would be organized as a hologram has first been expounded in
quantum physics by David Bohm (1980, Bohm & Hiley 1993), and then in brain sciences by
Karl Pribram (1991). However, in Alexandria in the third century CE, the Greek philosopher
Plotinus taught that the cosmos was One, a whole, holographic, system and conscious due to a
cosmic soul (psyche in Greek, anima in Latin). He states "This universe (…) has in itself a soul
(psyche), who pervades all its parts." (Ennead 4) And also: "The immaterial [the One] is as a
whole in everything.” (Ennead 6.4) This is exactly our modern concept of a hologram: a system
in which all parts are in interaction with the whole, and in which the information about the whole
is contained in any part. Moreover, if the whole (as cosmic soul) is in all things and systems,
how better to model it than by postulating a hyperdimensional and (proto-)conscious layer in all
systems—their semantic fields? Then the semantic fields of all systems form the semantic
dimension that, in ISST, is the Syg hyperdimension, cosmic consciousness as a whole.
Closely related is the Anthropic Principle (from the Greek anthropos, human), that, in its strong
version, hypothesizes that the universe is not only a coherent and conscious whole (Gaia), but
that it self-organizes toward favoring life and intelligence. There are indeed around thirty
parameters and constants in the universe that are extremely fine-tuned; some of them allow a
long enough time for galaxies to form; others exhibit the precise ratios of chemicals and physical
constants necessary for the development of evolved life forms, of intelligence and cultures.
Brian Carter (1974) and James Lovelock (1979), argue for a ‘strong anthropic principle’ that is,
an underlying harmony rooted in the origin, that makes the universe to tend toward favoring
intelligent life. Similarly Ervin Laszlo (2004, 2009) grounds the coherence and self-consistency
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of the whole universe and its fine-tuning (that perforce imply FTL signal-transmission), in a
holographic Akashic field.
According to the recent Holographic Principle, the universe is a hologram which is isomorphic
to the information "inscribed" on the surface of its boundary. The concept of a holographic
universe (developed by Nobel laureate Gerard ‘t Hooft and then Leonard Susskind) states that all
the information about the universe is inscribed on the 2D surface of its cosmological horizon (the
diameter of the observable universe being 92 billion light-years, or 92Gly). Therefore the cosmic
information is a measure of entropy as a spectrum of microstates (Brandenburg & Hardy 2015).
The quantum vacuum could be this curved surface boundary to spacetime, being ‘imprinted’
with the information about all particles and systems (Hardy 2015c). However, in such models,
the information is not active in itself and thus cannot be the means of a nonlocal communication
and inter-influence between systems. ISST offers a solution.
ISST panpsychist framework
Semantic Fields Theory postulates that all physical systems at all scales have a semantic field
(syg-field in short), which is none than their hyperdimension, with each particle and system
having an individual replica of the ISS bearing its own organization and information in an
excited state. Let’s view a human being as a mind-body-psyche system: The ISS of all particles,
molecules, and cells coalesce in a specific network-system that is the syg-field of an organ, of a
biosystem, or of a layer of organization, for example a body proto-consciousness. The higher
layers of consciousness, such as minds, allow a self-referent intelligence, strongly coupled to the
brain and neuronal layers. (This self-organization is not hierarchical since it allows for horizontal
and transversal links between layers, instantiating both top-down and bottom-up interactions
between networks of processes.) The global semantic field of an individual (the ensemble of
their semantic networks and constellations) is created, organized, and evolving via connective
dynamics: it is their hyperdimensional being, their spirit or soul.
Due to the fact that all matter-systems (e.g. a museum) and bio-systems (e.g. a tree, a lake) also
have such a hyperdimension (their syg fields), these systems have a more or less evolved
consciousness—a proto-consciousness at the very least. Thus, via our individual semantic field,
we are in constant nonlocal exchange with all resonant syg-fields, not only our friends and
family, but also the places, animals, plants, machines, houses and gardens, philosophies, and
works of art that we love. With other beings, we form networks of links and thus collective sygfields, a group, a village, a culture, a federation, up to the most global one: the planetary sygfield—Carl Jung’s collective unconscious. The properties of sygons afford us with instant
meaningful and qualified links and exchanges with all resonant systems, through their own sygfields. It is the sygons that instantiate the nonlocal semantic dynamics, the connection and interinfluence between syg-fields—meaningful and grounded in similarities, resonance, and any type
of links (from love, to hate, to contiguity). The sygons provide us with a huge on-going network
of interactions driven by meaning and unimpeded by distance in time and space. The greater part
of these interactions and exchanges remain at the unconscious level, yet they are the source from
which stems the occasional emergence of psi information to awareness.
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6. Conclusion
The faster-than-light sygons creating semantic fields and ongoing networks of links in the
hyperdimension are what makes psi possible, and they explain the nonlocality of entanglement
and of consciousness. In my view, only a hyperdimension populated by self-organizing networks
of FTL sygons (as tiny or large embedded semantic fields) can ground and explain psi, both as a
nonlocal information exchange, and as an influence of mind over matter and biosystems. The
sygons can also explain other types of nonlocal and collective psychic phenomena—such as
Jung’s synchronicity and collective unconscious, the sharing of dreams, simultaneous
discoveries, and reincarnation-type of memory.
At the planetary level, the syg hyperdimension is the ‘soul of the Earth,’ a concept found in
many cultures and religions, fitting Jung’s collective unconscious and Teilhard de Chardin’s
noosphere—also a memory field, or Akasha. At the cosmic level, the syg hyperdimension is the
‘cosmic consciousness,’ a global semantic field of meaningful interconnections, that is plural and
yet a whole: it is the Tao, the Brahman, the concept of the Whole, the One.
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Exploration
Exploration on the Physical Basis of Love (Part I)
Richard L. Amoroso*
Noetic Advanced Studies Institute, Los Angeles, California, 90025 USA
Abstract
The physical basis of Love has remained mysterious. The nature of love has typically been left to
the muse of poets and inspiration of philosophers. Psychologists usually refer to love as an
emotion and biologists as a biochemical condition. Proponents of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
suggest love can be described by a computer program even with current computer technology if we
only knew the correct algorithm. Cognitive psychologists would profess that love reduces to
configurational states in neural networks, microtubules or synapses. These aspects are not denied
only that they are the wrapping and not the essence of love itself. Now that the physical cosmology
of the mind-body interaction (awareness) has been discovered, it is possible to describe the
fundamental basis of love. What is the soul, what is life, what is intelligence, and especially what is
love and why it takes a whole new cosmology to be adequately described are questions that the
noetic science of complex Self-Organized Living Systems (SOLS) begins to formally answer.
Part I of this two-part article includes: 1. Introduction - Noetic Parameters of Love; 2. Anthropic
Multiverse Cosmology - Noetic Context for Love; 3. Noetic Consciousness – A Cartesian
Interactive Dualism; 4. Psychons and Qualia: The Noetic Effect; and 5. Self-Organized Physical
Cosmology of Qualia.
Keywords: Basis of love, nature, physical basis, spiritual union, life, intelligence, cosmology.
1. Introduction - Noetic Parameters of Love
The poet Keats cursed Isaac Newton for scientifically describing the prismatic optics of rainbows;
but this author, an award winning poet, LDS (Mormon) High Priest and theoretical physicist hopes
the reader will agree that the esoteric beauty and ethereal wonder of love is enhanced by a deeper
understanding of the complex cosmological basis for the spiritual nature of love. Noetic
cosmology claims to have solved the ancient mind-body problem by discovering an empirically
testable comprehensive model for the ‘life principle’ (Descartes res cogitans) animating complex
Self-Organized Living Systems (SOLS) [1-11]. In terms of noetic science this means that the
‘Spirit of God’, Chi, ki, or prāna is a physically real action of the unified field of physics [3,12].
Descartes is criticized for believing his concept res cogitans - ‘mind-stuff’ is nonphysical. What he
actually meant by using the term ‘immaterial’ from the nomenclature of his time is that mind-stuff
*
Correspondence: Prof. Richard L. Amoroso, Director of Physics Lab., Noetic Advanced Studies Institute, California, USA.
http://www.noeticadvancedstudies.us E-mail: amoroso@noeticadvancedstudies.us
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is spiritual. Contemporary scientists abandon Cartesian dualism as intractable because they believe
such a mind-stuff violates the laws of thermodynamics and energy conservation. However, unified
field propagation in SOLS directly overcomes this problem [2,4,5].
To briefly review the tenets of the noetic model of Cartesian interactive dualism; it is sufficient to
state that an additional life principle beyond the brain/body not only gives life but supplies the
‘light of the mind’ (qualia) as a physically real noetic unified field cosmology [2-5]. In simplest
terms in this context, when two loving people interact over an optimal length of time (varies per
couple) letting their guard down, implying a certain element of trust (this opens nonlocal
boundaries of the soul) such that various boundary conditions of their souls coherently align. This
alignment entrains the natural flow of the spirit from locally separated individual states into an
entrained or coupled pair-state producing a nonlocal coherence (soul to soul connection at a level
of awareness) causing a ‘noetic light-like ‘explosion’. This is how a laser operates - perfectly align
mirrors (entrained souls), shine a light (spirit) between them and a light explosion (love) occurs!
Nonlocal connections always exist interpersonally; but the coupling loci must move into a position
where the flow can be perceptually experienced. This is like the ‘Way of Nonattachment’ or
opening the ‘Lotus’ in Buddhist meditation; if the spiritual eye is coupled to the stomach one does
not ‘see’. This higher-level coupling breaks down the so-called 1st person - 3rd person barrier.
In scientific parlance and popular literature love is discussed in terms of
Biological - genetic, sexual, biochemical and neural
Sociological - cultural, familial, matrimonial
Psychological - emotion, dependence, attraction, personality type
Here we completely ignore these commonly discussed aspects and concentrate fully on the
spiritual basis of love - not from a theological or philosophical context; but by introducing totally
new principles of physical cosmology required to complete the task of understanding love as a
physically real aspect of the noetic unified field. Now that the cosmology of mind (awareness),
which includes an associated physically real ‘life principle’, has been discovered it has become
possible to define love fundamentally within the soul of a living system. Think of this as how
modulated configurations of the electromagnetic field produce images on a TV or movie theater
screen or more pertinently like evanescence or superradiance.
Our task would seem so much easier if consciousness was merely a brain property as cognitive
scientists believe. If this were so then mere programming structures in a neural network
configuration or biochemistry would suffice to explain a particular thought, emotion or experience
such as love. But this is not the case; cognitive and AI scientists fail to prove their case for
mechanism, a universe populated by programmed minds devoid of spirituality. Is it any wonder
they classify mind as a ‘hard problem’ too difficult to research [13]. In order to describe
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awareness, a whole new cosmology is required; not a Darwinian naturalistic or atheistic Big Bang
cosmology, but an anthropic multiverse cosmology that includes the spirit of God. Evolution still
exists but it is not random. Evolution is ‘guided’ by this anthropic principle or spirit of God
synonymous with the 3rd regime unified field of physics. Biological Mechanism states: The laws of
chemistry and physics are sufficient to describe all life; no additional life principle is required.
Noetic theory by introducing an anthropic life principle is able to definitively describe awareness
and related properties such as love, intelligence and transcendence.
We have claimed that it is easy, meaning we can do it; but it is still not so simple a task. The
cosmology of awareness cannot be described in the usual 3D or 4D spacetime dynamics of
quantum theory and Big Bang cosmology. To describe awareness requires a minimum twelve
dimensional (12D) space with a duality between our limited 3D temporal existence and the higher
dimensional (HD) holographic reality of eternity of which we are a subspace. Our purpose is to
delineate love in this new context. Although we are now able to define the anthropic cosmology of
living systems, thought, emotions and feelings; describing love at this early stage (without
telecerebroscope or noetic holography technology) is in a sense like putting a cart before the horse
because love is a more special (higher) configuration requiring something extraordinary in order to
fully describe it. To be perfectly clear we are not claiming to know the essence of the spirit of God
which is said to be love; only that noetic science has found empirical methods to access and
observe the pathways and geometry of that structure in the living matter of SOLS [2-5,7,14].
Defining love requires an additional feedback loop causing lasing between interpersonal unified
field boundaries. Let’s clarify. The stream of thought or awareness (technically called qualia)
entails an alignment of spacetime mirrors (boundary conditions gating spirit into living systems)
producing the flow of mental content within SOLS; but it is a lesser form of evanescent coherence.
The configuration of love requires a duality of ‘superradiance’ interpersonally breaking the 1st
person - 3rd person barrier. These added coherence parameters are required for transpersonal
effects - especially love. Whereas love is a form of ‘constructive interference (wave summation); it
should be noted that there is an obverse telergic ‘noetic effect’ affecting the health of others - a
form of destructive interference. This will lead to a new field of noetic medicine relating especially
to the hundreds of heretofore incurable autoimmune disorders as [14].
2. Anthropic Multiverse Cosmology - Noetic Context for Love
Noetic Science is based on an alternative to Big Bang cosmology called the Holographic
Anthropic Multiverse [1,3]. This alternative cosmology is required because the Big Bang has no
life principle able to describe consciousness beyond chemistry or an erroneously theorized
computer program in the brain (Mind = Brain). Scientifically Hubble discovered a cosmological
redshift, not an expansion of the universe as mistakenly concluded by Big Bang cosmologists. A
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cosmological redshift is however observed. But in multiverse cosmology if one assumes that the
photon of light has a tiny mass, 10-65g, then redshift occurs instead by a “tired-light” mechanism
[1]. Imagine skipping a flat stone across water. Each time the stone hits the water and skips, it loses
a little energy and the skips and velocity of the stone get shorter and smaller until the stone stops
and sinks into the water. In terms of astrophysics this means light still gets redder and redder with
distance but eventually it loses all its energy and disappears from view in our telescopes. This is
the limit of observation in cosmology. In physics minute photon mass is created by the periodic
internal rotation of the photon’s energy that creates a gravitational field (periodic mass) causing
the photon to couple to spacetime once per wave cycle and lose energy just like the skipping stone
[1]. If the photon had no mass, it seems possible the speed of light would be infinite instead of
merely 300 k/s?
In Big Bang cosmology the observational limit in cosmology (as far as telescopes can see) is to the
postulated origin of time or initial moment or singularity when the grand explosion called the Big
Bang occurred. In multiverse cosmology if one traveled to that limit ~ 14.7 billion light years
away, one could see out again for another 14.7 billion light years. This as we mentioned is a result
of the so-called tired-light phenomena caused by a tiny periodic photon mass [1]. See [1,3] for
details on other alternative cosmological parameters required for cosmology containing a life
principle.
Figure 1. a) Modified model of L.H. Kauffman’s adaptation of J. Wheeler’s Uroboros cosmology
based on an ancient archetypal universe related to topological surfaces like the Mobius strip or
Klein bottle, especially the topology of holographic universe models. In multiverse cosmology
the observer is embedded in and made out of the anthropic substance of creation where the ‘knot’
(quantum uncertainty principle) limits observation to a limited temporal 3D virtual reality. b) The
Uroboros, among the ancient Gnostics a symbol of the aeon, or eternity of life. The image is from
Horapollo, Selecta Hieroglyphica, 1597.
Another major property of multiverse cosmology is the anthropic principle equated with the
unified filed of physics [2-5]. In the philosophy of science the unified field is the same as the spirit
of God that supplies the gravitational force, guides the evolution of complex living systems
(SOLS) mentally and physiologically [2,12]. As illustrated in Fig. 2b reality is perceived as a
hologram; the anthropic principle or spirit of God acts as the laser creating the holographic 3D
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image of the reality of our world as the cube in Fig. 2a.
This can also be thought of as an observer sitting in a movie theater. The light at the projector bulb
is the unified field or laser, the discrete frames of film are segments of spacetime and the smooth
image on the movie screen is our observed 3D virtual reality. While the film in the projector moves
at a few centimeters per second, in reality the surface of matter is made of electrons moving at a
velocity near the speed of light. Imagine being embedded in the Uroboros cosmology of Fig. 1. We
only see reality based on the discrete segments of 4D spacetime, not the complete 12D eternal
reality of the multiverse. This subtraction by being embedded in the Uroboros, and the propagation
of the spacetime segments gives us the perceived arrow of time [3]. There are many other amazing
properties of multiverse cosmology [1-9].
Figure 2. a) Observed reality depicted as a virtual 3D Euclidean spacetime cube. b) Actual reality
is more like a hyperdimensional hologram in a 12D background of infinite quantum potentia
(Schrödinger’s dead and alive cat). The ‘laser’ is the teleological unified field anthropic action
principle (Fig. 3) ‘piloting’ the continuous evolution of observed reality.
3. Noetic Consciousness – A Cartesian Interactive Dualism
Current thinking in the field of consciousness studies or cognitive science asks, “What processes in
the brain give rise to awareness?” [13]. We know this cognitive model is incorrect because it is an
atheistic model with no allowance for an anthropic action principle or spirit of God giving life to
the soul or animating the mind. We are not programmed robots. Evolution still exists but it is not
random / Darwinian; it is guided by the spirit of God - like a super quantum potential in de
Broglie-Bohm causal interpretation of quantum theory [15,23]. Cartesian interactive dualism says
mind and body are distinct entities, allowing life of the soul after death and the spirit of God to be
the light of SOLS and the mind.
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Figure 3. Conceptualization of Interactionist Cosmology embedding a modulated locus of
thought (qualia) into the inherent life principle structure of Fig. 2. a) Showing injection of the
noetic field (bulb) or élan vital into spacetime points (film), b) Planck scale array of least-units
mediating the noetic unified field. Spacetime is virtual in multiverse cosmology and the least
cosmological units (LCUs) tiling its backcloth are driven by a teleological anthropic action
principle. Each ‘point’ is a continuous-discrete wave-particle duality. c) An Eccles Psychon field
coupled to a brain dendron where positive functioning leads to health and transcendence or
negative actions deplete the corona of the noetic field in the soul and create deleterious
autoimmune interactions that may interrupt normal homeostasis and health.
The important understanding to take from Figs. 2 and 3 is that in an anthropic cosmology the
unified field or spirit of God enters each spacetime point and every atom and molecule after
passing through the cosmological least-unit gating mechanism separating the domains of temporal
and eternal reality [1,3]. This is how the life principle enters living systems to give life and also be
the light of the mind or awareness. If the ‘gate’ was always open, we would not be able to live in
time where a form of subtractive interferometry removes the additional dimensionality from our
sensory apparatus. In the multiverse cosmology model of living systems, the spirit (life principle)
and the body comprise the soul [2,12]; so that there are no disembodied souls. When a person dies
his eternal spirit (mind or intelligence) is eventually reunited with a body (resurrection). This is the
Cartesian dualist-interactionist model of mind-body. We call the boundary of the soul the
psychosphere because there is more to SOLS than the brain and body chemistry; the soul also
includes a surrounding spacetime region like the solar corona and additional eternal boundary
conditions comprising the limits of individual intelligence.
4. Psychons and Qualia: The Noetic Effect
The mind-body interaction process between the 12D eternal realm of God and the temporal 3D/4D
realm of mankind is defined as the Noetic Effect [2,9] because it entails a force of coherence with
inertial tension related to the quantum uncertainty principle as a barrier between the two domains.
We will now begin to illustrate how this Noetic Effect mediates the production of qualia. Qualia,
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the plural of quale, is short for the ‘qualitative feel’ of subjective awareness of a thought or feeling
like the experience of the color redness for example [2,13]. Sir John Eccles, Nobel Prize for
discovery of the synapse, postulated that a concept he called the ‘psychon’ coupled the spirit or
unified field to brain dendrons. A dendron is a bundle of ~ 100 of the dendrites of nerve cells [4].
This is the basis of the dualist-interactionist model of the mind-body first proposed by Descartes.
Eccles left the concept of the psychon as an empty philosophical construct because at the time he
did not know how to develop the model further. Although Eccles was severely criticized for not
defining the psychon, we cannot fault him because during his day no way to define this interaction
properly had yet been invented [2,4]. As the reader may have surmised, before we define love, the
consciousness that houses it must be described.
With the advent of Noetic Theory, we are now in position to define the physical basis for the
psychon-dendron interaction, a necessity before defining the physical cosmology of love. We first
suggest that psychon energy should be quantified in a similar manner to that of the quantity called
the Einstein, the physical unit defined as a mole or Avogadro’s number of photons (1023) used to
measure photosynthesis [3]. But instead of photons the tenets of NFT postulates one psychon to be
tantamount to a mole of “noeons”, the exchange unit of the unified field (recall that the photon is
the exchange unit of the electromagnetic field). Furthermore, this noeon exchange mechanism is
not confined only to the neural synaptic sites of dendron bundles as Eccles surmised. In addition, it
applies to microtubules, sensory receptors, DNA oligomers and any other pertinent biochemical
molecules. This occurs not just in the brain, but anywhere throughout the whole body that plays a
role in the bioenergetics of the soul or mind-body psychosphere, which as we stated includes the
boundary conditions of the whole physical and spiritual body in both the usual 4D temporal
spacetime and associated 12D nonlocal space up to the ‘footstool of God’.
We don’t know too much yet about the noeon that is the ‘light of the spirit’ or unified field.
Imagine balloon animals that are made by twisting off segments of the main balloon to make a
head or limbs. Double twists would be like a nose, eyes or fingers. The photon quanta of the
electromagnetic field is like this. The photon is a dipole, like a little nose for example. It would
untwist to a quadrupole, the graviton which is like the head or body of the animal. When the head
is untwisted the energy returns to the whole balloon which is like the ubiquitous ocean of light of
the unified field in the eternal 12D domain. These twists (providing some inertia in the continuous
gating cycle) are part of the Noetic Effect we referred to earlier. Now we have a basic model where
these noeon twists of the unified field become all the atoms, forces and fields of our reality.
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5. Self-Organized Physical Cosmology of Qualia
In the cognitive theory qualia is only a philosophical construct defined simply as the sensation of
thought or awareness. In Noetic Theory in order to make qualia physically real we must define
three types of qualia. In a paper called ‘What’s it like to be a bat?’ T. Nagel states that current
reductionist attempts to define qualia fail by filtering out any basis for consciousness; thus
becoming meaningless since they are logically compatible with its absence [16]. He assumes that
if an organism has conscious experience, “there is something it is like to be that organism”. This is
the subjective character of experience for any conscious entity whether bat or Martian. Every
experience has a specific subjective nature or configuration of qualia.
The flow of quale provides the so-called ‘stream of consciousness’. Not all qualia are coupled to
emotion. We can configure qualia with additional emotive content as ‘states of mind’. Love is a
third degree with the duality of entangled or entrained parameters. Love adds ‘shared’ emotive
content beyond the boundaries of the self that we will define below as a form of lasing or
superradiant evanescence between the internal (nonlocal) ‘mirrors’ of SOLS.
Figure 4. The emergence of Qualia into living systems. a) From the 4D spacetime lightcone point
xt0 … xtn noeon light enters every atom and thus the brain/body cyclically in time, t0, t1, t2... b)
Broader 12D context where qualia emerges into the mind or seat of awareness by a form of
‘evanescence’. Note: These same Cassimirror (Casimir) boundaries bringing life and thought into
the individual soul, when aligned (entrained between people in love) between two SOLS create
the laser-like ‘light explosion’ or joyous expansion of the soul we experience as love.
To Nagel, “There are facts which could not ever be represented or comprehended by human
beings, simply because our structure does not permit us to operate with concepts of the requisite
type”; because “to even form a conception of what it is like to be a bat one must take up the bat’s
point of view”. If one removed the viewpoint of the subjective observer; what would be left? Nagel
suggests the remaining properties might be those detectable by other beings, the physical
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processes themselves or states intrinsic to the experience of awareness. This changes the
perspective of qualia to the form “there is something it is like to undergo certain physical
processes”. “If our idea of the physical ever expands to include mental phenomena, it will have to
assign them an objective character”. Nagel recognizes that: Very little work has been done on the
basic question (from which mention of the brain can be entirely omitted) whether any sense can be
made of experiences having an objective character at all. Does it make sense ... to ask what our
experiences are really like, as opposed to how they appear to me?...This question also lies at the
heart of the problem of other minds ... If one understood how subjective experience could have an
objective nature, one would understand the existence of subjects other than oneself [16].
These are questions an integrative Noetic Science can now answer. Standard definitions of qualia
are an inadequate philosophical construct describing only subjective awareness. In the physical
sense of Noetic Field Theory (NFT) components describing qualia from the objective sense are
introduced - i.e. distinguishing the phenomenology of qualia from the noumenon (separated from
the apparition or superficial aspects of the phenomenon) or physical existence of the thing in itself
beyond experience.
A comprehensive definition of qualia includes three forms considered physically real by NFT
because the noetic fields of multiverse cosmology on which the noetic model is based are all
physically real:
Type I. The Subjective - The what it feels like basis of awareness. Phenomenological states of the
qualia experience. (The current philosophical definition of qualia we term Q-I)
Type IIA. The Objective - Physical basis of qualia independent of the subjective feel that could be
stored or transferred to another entity breaking the 1st person 3rd person barrier. These are the
noumenal elements of qualia upon which the phenomenology of experience is based.
Type IIB. As in Fig. 2b in terms of unified field noeon flux passing through the microscopic LCU
raster of spacetime like a laser light producing a macroscopic holographic image; we define the
discrete singular LCU points as ‘quanemes’ or qualia-nemes derived from the term phonemes as
the particulate components summating into a specific sound in phonology.
Type III. The Universal - By being alive living systems, SOLS represent a Qualia substrate of the
anthropic multiverse, acting as a ‘blank slate’ as carrier from within which Q-II are modulated into
the Q-I of experience by a form of superradiance or hyper-holographic evanescence [2]. See Figs.
5 and 6.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| September 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 8 | pp. 631-641
Amoroso, R. L., Exploration on the Physical Basis of Love (Part I)
Figure 5. a) If two parabolic mirrors (Casimirrors of the soul) are placed as shown (like the
configuration of automobile headlight mirrors), an object put in the bottom (black dot) produces a
virtual image of the object at the top (white sphere). b) If the mirrors (topological spacetime
boundary conditions) are made to resonate in a certain manner coupled to sensory input, memory
archetypes or thought, an encoded mental qualia emerges into the mind as in combining Figs. 2-4
with 5. S is the noeon source. R1 - M1 : R2 - M2 Casimirrors oscillate and reflect noeons into qualia.
This triune basis of qualia is only comprehensible in terms of the noetic definition of SOLS,
Complex Self-Organized Living Systems in the higher dimensional holographic anthropic
multiverse cosmology incorporating 3rd regime Unified Field Mechanics [2,4]:
There is an Elemental Intelligence co-eternal with God. We know little about this
parameter at present other than it constitutes the boundary conditions of individuality,
without which individuality ‘could not abide’ [12].
The 3D physical body living in spacetime and made of matter.
The soul or ‘spirit and the body’ [12] given life by the unified field noeon flux or spirit of
God. The spirit of God somehow couples the domain of nonlocal elemental intelligence to
the body and animates it by its action as the life principle. The difference between the
spirit of God and the qualia of awareness may be like the twists making a balloon animal
as described above.
Thus in summary these six elements comprise the basis of SOLS and the qualia system embedded
and flowing within.
A standard image requires a screen or other reflective surface to be resolved; but if the foci of two
parabolic mirrors (Casimir-like plates in our model) are made to coincide, the two images
superpose into a real 3D image that does not need a screen. A science toy called the ‘magic mirage’
is used to demonstrate this effect of parabolic mirrors. Objects placed in the bottom appear like
solid objects at the top of the device. Figure 5.
The lighthouse beacon action of élan vital energetics arises from the harmonic oscillation gating
mechanism of least unit boundary conditions that tiles or tessellates the spacetime backcloth and
pervades all SOLS. The inherent beat frequency of this continuous action produces the Q-III
carrier wave that is an empty slate modulating cognitive data of Q-II physical parameters into Q-I
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Amoroso, R. L., Exploration on the Physical Basis of Love (Part I)
awareness states as a superposition of the two (Q-III and Q-II). Figure 6. This modulation of qualia
occurs in the 12D cavities of the cognitive domain of the psychosphere. The 12D cavities are a
close-packed tiling of least unit noetic hyperspheres; the Casimir surfaces of which are able to
reflect quaneme subelements. While the best reflectors of EM waves are polished metal mirrors,
charged boundary conditions also reflect EM waves in the same way radio signals bounce off the
ionized gases of the Kennelly-Heaviside layers in the Earth’s ionosphere. This reflective ‘sheath’
enclosing the cognitive domain is charged by the Noeon radiation (exchange particle of the noetic
field) of the élan vital, the phases of which are ‘regulated’ in the complex HD space of the least
unit multiverse cosmology [1-3].
How does noetic theory describe more complex qualia than the simple qualia of a light pencil?
(The qualia-II of a light pencil is assumed to be the pencil (short ray) of light itself. Light quanta
are microscopic in contrast to the macroscopic sphere of awareness. It is reasonable to assume that
scale invariant properties of the multiverse least-unit of awareness would apply. Like phonemes as
fundamental sound elements for audible language qualia-nemes or quanemes are proposed for
awareness based on the physical modulation of Q-II states by the geometric
structural-phenomenology of the Q-III carrier base of living systems.
Figure 6. Metaphor for the emergence of qualia from the continuous action of the noetic least
unit, LCU. a) A microcosm of multiverse cosmology where past oriented compactification
periodically produces a classical spacetime point, x,y,z. The standing-wave domain walls
represent the lightcone singularities of Q-III propagation, the surfaces of which act structurally as
Casimir-like plates, and phenomenologically as a carrier wave base for Q-I qualia evanescence by
Q-II modulation. b) represents two pairs of parabolic mirrors (the Q-III Casimir domain walls)
whose foci overlap; this is the high frequency wave in c) denoted as (a) (top). The longer wave (b)
(middle) represents Q-II qualia as modulated by the Q-III wave into the usual Q-I qualia at the
bottom, (c). Thus a, b, and c in c) represents the three forms of qualia and how they work together
to form mental Q-I by superradiance of the noetic field.
(Continued on Part II)
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arXiv:physics/0607050v1 [physics.gen-ph] 6 Jul 2006
Implications for cognitive quantum computation and
decoherence limits in the presence of large extra
dimensions
J. R. Mureika
Department of Physics, Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045-8227
email: jmureika@lmu.edu
Abstract
An interdisciplinary physical theory of emergent consciousness has previously
been proposed, stemming from quantum computation-like behavior between
109 or more entangled molecular qubit states (microtubulin). This model
relies on the Penrose-Diósi gravity-driven wavefunction collapse framework,
and thus is subject to any secondary classical and quantum gravity effects.
Specifically, if large extra spatial dimensions exist in the Universe, then the
resulting corrections to Newtonian gravity cause this model to suffer serious
difficulties. It is shown that if the extra dimensions are larger than 100 fm in
size, then this model of consciousness is unphysical. If the dimensions are on
the order of 10 fm in size, then a significantly smaller number of microtubulin than originally predicted are required to satisfy experimental constraints.
Some speculation on evolution of consciousness is also offered, based on the
possibility that the size of these extra dimensions may have been changing
over the history of the Universe.
PACS 87.16.Ka, 03.67.Lx, 04.50.+h
1
1
Introduction
Consciousness as an emergent phenomenon of physical and/or biological systems is a growing field of interdisciplinary interest. Traditionally, biophysical and neuroscientific descriptions of brain processes have been restricted to
classical neural network designs (see e.g. [1] and references therein). However, there is increasing evidence to suggest that many biological processes
rely on quantum mechanical behavior, including protein folding [2], singlephoton activation of the rhodopsin cis-trans isomers in visual pre-perception
[3], and neuron impulse transmission across the synaptic gap [4].
The quantum computing revolution [5] has spawned a new frame of reference from which to view the problem of consciousness. To reconcile the
aforementioned “bio-quantum mechanical” phenomena with the common interpretation of the brain as a computational device, recent proposals have
sought to describe higher cognitive functions as quantum processes. Comprehensive summaries of this burgeoning field can be found in Reference [6], but
specific important contributions to the field include [7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. From
a slightly different perspective, Davies [13] has proposed a link between biological complexity and holographic theories of cosmological entropy bounds.
Classical computation is based on a binary system of bits which must
either be in one state (1) or the other (0). Memory storage and computation
proceed by assigning values to a string of bits and performing logical operations in series. Such a “linear” processing system ultimately limits the speed
with which calculations can be performed. Quantum computers export the
superposition principle of states, replacing the classical bit with a two-state
quantum bit (qubit) |ψi, which can assume both values (0 and 1) simultaneously. Quantum logic operations are performed on the combination of qubits
in the product state |ψ1 i ⊗ |ψ2 i ⊗ |ψ3 i ⊗ · · ·, which force evolution to an
entangled superposition of states. Since this enables the quantum computer
to evaluate multiple and simultaneous “solutions” to the logical operations,
massively-parallel computations can be effected.
Among the many immediate benefits of quantum computing is the decreased computation time required for classically-difficult problems. This
includes prime number factorization algorithms that execute in polynomial
time as opposed to exponential time [14] (as a function of the size of the
number), as well as fast database search algorithms [15]. Both of these are
particularly attractive features to cognitive scientists, since the classical computational time required to perform equivalent tasks is astronomical.
2
The primary obstacle to a realization of quantum computation is preventing the qubit entanglement from decohering via interactions with the
surrounding environment. This is generally done by isolating the system from
the environment, and reducing the temperature to exceedingly low values,
making the notion of room-temperature (and desktop) quantum computers
a distant reality.
Such rapid decoherence is arguably the death-knell for most quantum
theories of cognition. The academic community is split on whether or not
this is an obstacle that Nature has managed to overcome in designing a biological quantum computer (see the discussion in [16]). The most developed
theory of cognitive quantum computation – dubbed the “Orchestrated Objective Reduction” (Orch-OR) mechanism – has been proposed by Penrose
and Hameroff [12], who argue that environmentally-isolated quantum entanglement states are kept coherent long enough to perform conscious processes.
However, the Orch-OR mechanism relies on classical Newtonian gravity
to address a largely quantum mechanical issue. If a theory wishes to combine
gravitation with quantum effects, then all aspects of quantum gravity should
be addressed. In particular, the accuracy of Newtonian gravity at small (submicron) scales has recently come under scrutiny, thanks to string-inspired
theories which propose the existence of large extra spatial dimensions [17, 18].
This paper will thus re-examine the feasibility of the Orch-OR in light of
the possible existence of large extra spatial dimensions (in the Arkani-Hamed,
Dvali, Dimopoulos model). First, a more detailed synopsis of the debate surrounding the Orch-OR model are discussed in Section 2. The physical basis
for the gravity-driven collapse mechanism is reviewed in Section 3, and a
brief introduction to large extra dimensions follows in Section 5. Associated
modifications to the gravity-collapse model are discussed in Section 6, including the potential impact on “traditional” quantum mechanical phenomena
such as nucleon superposition. Finally, the impact on Orch-OR is addressed
in Section 7. It is shown that the decoherence times calculated in [12] are
greatly affected by such a supposition. Should extra dimensions exist and be
of sufficiently large scale, the Orch-OR scenario could suffer serious setbacks.
Before proceeding, it should be emphasized from the outset that the analysis herein is based on a combination of both hypothetical and arguably
untraditional models (Orch-OR), as well as accepted but untested theory
(large extra dimensions). For the sake of this argument, it is assumed that
the Orch-OR model is correct. The cautious reader should thus approach the
paper as an exercise in academic discourse and open-minded speculation.
3
2
A summary of the debate: Orch-OR or not
Orch-OR?
The “Orchestrated Objective Reduction” (Orch-OR) mechanism posits that
conscious “computation” does not take place in the classical neural circuitry
of the brain, but rather in the constituent molecules (microtubules) of the
cellular cytoskeleton. Microtubules are hollow, cylindrical structures whose
walls consist of 13 chains of the protein tubulin. These proteins can assume
two distinct physical conformations resulting from different electric dipole
moments along their physical axis. Consequently, this “two-state” behavior
suggests that the tubulin protein is a prime candidate for a qubit. Penrose
[12] has proposed that each tubulin qubit can become entangled with other
local tubulin to form a superposition state. These superpositions are unstable
and subject to collapse, and the mechanism which drives this collapse has
been proposed to be that of Penrose [19, 20, 21], coined “objective reduction”.
The primary criticism of this model is that the brain is not an isolated
low temperature environment, and thus the decoherence of any macroscopic
entanglements would be effectively instantaneous (∼ 10−20 sec) due to other
local quantum processes such as ion interactions [16]. This criticism is countered by arguing that the microtubules are sufficient shielded by molecular
and electrostatic considerations, thus the entangled states can survive for
macroscopic time intervals [22].
Furthermore, the authors of [12] suggest that well-known electrophysiological “brain-wave” frequencies are signatures of the extended superposition
collapse. For example, they demonstrate that the Orch-OR mechanism allows
tubulin qubit superpositions to be maintained for as long as 25 microseconds,
corresponding to the 40 Hz thalamo-cortical coherent oscillation frequency.
This association (among others) has been offered as evidence in support of
the quantum computing model for consciousness.
In the Orch-OR model, the culprit for the wavefunction collapse is gravity.
Penrose [19, 20] has postulated that gravitational interactions between the
different physical configuration of each qubit eigenstate introduces a type
of time-energy uncertainty relationship. This ultimately limits the duration
that a state can remain in superposition, and is discussed in detail in the
next section.
4
3
The physical foundations of Objective Reduction
The Objective Reduction (OR) mechanism is a potential solution to the
measurement problem between the two (or more) possible eigenstates of an
evolving wavefunction, |Ψi = α|ψ1 i+β|ψ2 i. A complete derivation of the OR
mechanism will not be reproduced here, but can be found in References [19,
20, 21]. Similar collapse schemes have been proposed by other authors [23,
24, 25, 26], but will not be discussed in the present context1 . A review of
four distinct interpretations of such collapse mechanisms may be found in
[27].
The theory proposes that each eigenstate in the superposition possesses
a conformationally-distinct physical orientation. The overlap of both conformations will have a small but relevant impact on the local curvature of
spacetime. The net result is that there will be two distinct spacetime curvatures in superposition with one another. Each curvature can be represented by a quantum state |Gi i, correlated with the eigenstate |ψi i, and thus
the actual particle wavefunction will be represented by the entanglement
|ψ1 i|G1 i + β|ψ2 i|G2 i. The geometric superposition creates an ill-definition
of the time-like Killing vector, ∂/∂t, which will ultimately lead to the collapse. Simply put, each eigenstate will follow its own unique free-fall vector,
simultaneously violating the weak equivalence principle.
It can be shown that this “instability” in the superposition is limited
by an upper bound on the gravitational interaction energy between the two
eigenstate conformation states. Assuming the separation of each state (∆r)
exceeds their own physical extent, this is simply the Newtonian energy
E∆ ∼
Gm2
,
∆r
(1)
The states can just as easily overlap physically, although the calculation
becomes more complicated. The collapse time of the spacetime superposition
is determined by the uncertainty relation
Tc ∼
h̄
,
E∆
1
(2)
It should be pointed out that the mechanism proposed in [23] predates and ultimately
produces similar results to Penrose’s formalism.
5
and thus is inversely proportional to the gravitation energy of the system.
This result is a consequence of the framework in [23], as well as the alternate derivation in [19, 20, 21], and the interested reader is directed to these
References for a complete review of the foundations.
Hence, in this scheme a nucleon of mass 10−27 kg whose superpositions are
separated by the strong interaction scale of 10−15 m will remain superposed
for Tc ∼ 1015 seconds (or about 107 years), whereas a possible macroscopic
superposition having larger E∆ will decay relatively quickly. For example, if a
speck of dust (m ∼ 10−6 kg) evolves into superposed states that are separated
by 0.01 mm, the wavefunction would collapse in well under 10−16 seconds.
4
Orchestrated Objective Reduction
Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) is the application of the OR
formalism to superpositions of entangled tubulin “qubits” in the cellular cytoskeleton. Using this rationale, the authors of [12] have calculated a variety
of constraints on the nature of tubulin structures in which conscious quantum computations could be realized. Various electrophysiological frequencies
are known to exist in the brain – most notably the 40 Hz thalamo-cortical
coherent oscillations (∆t = 25 ms), 10 Hz alpha rhythm EEG (∆t = 100 ms),
and Libet’s pre-conscious 2 Hz sensory threshold (∆t = 500 ms) [12]. If this
period ∆t corresponds to the collapse time for tubulin qubit entanglements,
h̄
then it can be reasoned that ∆E ∼ ∆t
≈ 10−15 eV is the required gravitational self-energy which must be attained by the system for the longest
period of 500 ms. This implies that N qubits possessing an OR energy E0
must be entangled together, where ∆E = NE0 .
In order to estimate the self-energy E0 of one tubulin superposition, it
has been suggested [12] that the most appropriate conformation states are
those in which a carbon-12 nucleus is superposed within its own atomic
radius (a ∼ 2.5 × 10−15 meters). In this case, the self-energy term becomes
Gm2
E0 = a C ∼ 10−28 eV, and thus N = ∆E/E0 ∼ 1013 carbon atoms, or
1014 nucleons. Since each microtubule is composed of µ ∼ 105 nucleons, this
implies that NT ∼ 109 tubulin are required for a conscious instance. This
corresponds to roughly 100 neurons, each containing 107 tubulin [28].
Combining these into one single expression, it can be concluded that
the number of microtubulin NT required to form a ∆t second pre-conscious
6
instance is
NT ∼
5
h̄a
µGm2C ∆t
(3)
Large Extra Spatial Dimensions
It is a long-standing supposition in theoretical physics that our Universe
might contain more that the traditional three spatial dimensions. The initial
proposal made by Kaluza [29] and later by Klein [30] posited that a (4+1)dimensional metric could help unify the fundamental fields of gravitation
and electromagnetism. This extra dimension has traditionally assumed to
be compactified with a small radius R ≪ 1, which has until recently been
taken to be of the Planck length (> 10−35 m).
The emergence of theories of large extra dimensions (LEDs) in the late
1990s relaxed the constraint that the size of any additional spatial dimensions
must be Planck order (see [17, 18] for their pioneering works). Although introduced initially as a solution to the hierarchy problem, LED theories have
found numerous applications in the fields of particle physics and cosmology,
including candidates for missing energy in GeV-scale accelerator collisions
[31], cosmic ray flux spectra anomalies [32], and dark energy phenomenology [33]. This manuscript will deal only with compactified Kaluza-Klein-like
ADD extra dimensions [17], and not the Randall-Sundrum “warped” dimensions [18].
The energy scale (or temperature) at which gravity is expected to unify
with the other fundamental forces is exceedingly large, MP l ∼ 16 TeV. Such
energies would have been present a brief fraction of a second after the Big
Bang (as a comparison, the present background energy of the Universe is in
the range of 10−4 eV). The large energy scale in turn explains the smallness
of the gravitational constant, since GN = MP−2l . The underlying assumption
of LED theory is that the electroweak unification scale MEW ≈ 1 TeV is
also the fundamental scale of gravitation M4+n in the full 4 + n dimensional
spacetime. Just as the electroweak coupling goes as m−2
EW , the “actual”
gravitational coupling (G4+n ) is set by this new energy scale.
In 3 + n spatial dimensions, the Newtonian potential differs from the
familiar 1/r form. If there are n extra compactified dimensions of scale size
Rn , then for distances r < Rn it can be shown (e.g. via Gauss’ Law) that
|φn (r)| ∼
G4+n m
,
r n+1
7
(4)
(up to some geometric constants) since the fields can now propagate in any
of the 3 + n spatial dimensions. Gravitational interactions in the full 4 + n
dimensional spacetime are mediated by the new coupling constant G4+n ,
whose value is set by the TeV unification scale. For small r, the strength
of gravitation becomes commensurate with the other fundamental forces,
particularly electromagnetism.
Gravity’s apparent weakness at macroscopic distances arises from the
fact that the range of influence of the extra dimensions is limited to some
distance Rn , which is just the dimensions’ compactification scale. As a result,
the value of the traditional Newtonian constant GN is fixed by the size and
number of the extra dimensions.
Continuity of the gravitational field at r = Rn requires
G4+n m
GN m
∼
.
n+1
Rn
Rn
(5)
So a relationship between the two coupling constants may be derived as
G4+n ∼ Rnn GN ,
(6)
which indicates that the value of the compactification radius is
32
Rn ∼ 10 n −19 meters
(7)
As counter-intuitive as the result may seem, the traditional laws of Newtonian gravity might break down below this length scale. It can quickly be
shown that if large extra compactified dimensions exist, there must be more
than one. If n = 1, then R ∼ 1011 m, which would imply that deviations
from Newtonian gravity should be observed at scales of the order of the solar
system (which clearly they do not). Probing the cases n ≥ 2 has subsequently become a hot topic of research, ranging from the aforementioned
astrophysical observation and accelerator searches to high-precision tabletop laboratory experiments. Via Cavendish-like gravitation experiments, the
Eötwash group [34] has determined that gravity behaves in the classical Newtonian manner at scales as small as 200 µm, but a recent result has set this
limit further down to 100 nm [35].
6
Penrose-Diósi OR with LEDs
Before addressing the effect of possible LEDs on something so contrived as
the Orch-OR mechanism, their influence on basic quantum mechanics is first
8
addressed. In a recent paper [36], it was demonstrated that the existence of
LEDs can have measurable impact on nucleon collapse times described by
Penrose’s orchestrated reduction paradigm2
Assuming a nucleon wavefunction evolves such that the physical conformations of two eigenstates are separated by a distance on par with the radius
of the nucleon itself (10−15 m), collapse times in the presence of LEDs become much shorter than the 1015 seconds predicted in Reference [19]. In
fact, if there are between n = 2 and 3 dimensions of compactification scale
R2 ∼ 10−3 m to R3 ∼ 10−9 m, the nucleon wavefunction will collapse in under
10−5 seconds. This short superposition time would destroy the quantum mechanical nature of the nucleons, and thus would have observable consequences
for neutron diffraction. Thus, these cases are ruled out by experiment.
If there are 4 or 5 dimensions of scale 10−11 m and 10−13 m respectively,
the collapse time increases to between 0.01-10 seconds. These case again
could easily be verified experimentally, and the result could serve to constrain
the LED mechanism (if Penrose’s initial collapse scheme is correct). The
cases n = 6 to n = 8 are of interest, because the nucleon collapse times
increase from 107 seconds to 1015 seconds. It would be difficult to test whether
or not a nucleon may be superposed for more than a year without succumbing
to collapse, and thus it leaves the question open as to whether or not these
LED parameters are physically viable.
7
Orch-OR with LEDs
Since particles separated by distances less than the compactification radius
of any LEDs will experience “stronger” gravity, there could be significant
consequences for the Orch-OR mechanism. Modifying the Penrose-Hameroff
derivation from Section 4, the reduction is now calculated using a potential
function of the form in Equation 4.
Equation 3 can be modified to include LEDs by the replacement G −→
G4+n , and a −→ an+1 , giving
NT ∼
h̄an+1
µG4+n m2c
2
(8)
The idea that LEDs could influence gravitation collapse schemes was anecdotally mentioned in Reference [26].
9
Table 10 shows calculated values of NT for n = 2 through n = 7 extra dimensions. The three neural frequencies mentioned in Section 4 are considered,
which correspond to collapse times of 25 ms, 100 ms, and 500 ms. Additionally, a fourth frequency is also included which represents a 5 ms neural signal
specific to human beings (see [12]) requiring 1011 tubulin with regular Newtonian gravity. The case n = 1 is excluded because of the aforementioned
astrophysical constraints, and n ≥ 8 are also excluded because the size Rn
drops below the mass separation (and thus regular Newtonian gravity would
resume at about this point). Experimental tests of Newton’s inverse square
law [34] have effectively ruled out extra dimensions above a few hundred
microns (10−4 m) in size, so it is also unlikely that n = 2 is valid.
For the cases where 3 ≤ n ≤ 5, a very startling result is observed. Since
gravity is so much stronger than normal at distances r ≪ Rn , the self-energy
of a single nucleon superposition is larger than the total required energy
∆E. For instance, if there are n = 3 extra dimensions whose scale size is
roughly 1 nm, the ratio of the superposition self-energy of a single nucleon to
the total energy required for a 500 ms collapse would be E3 /∆E ∼ 106 . The
corresponding number of tubulin required for the 100 ms and 25 ms scenarios
are also unphysical for these cases. Thus, if there are indeed 5 or less extra
dimensions of the variety described by the ADD theory, then it is virtually
impossible for this mechanism to be responsible for conscious correlates (as
described by Penrose and Hameroff). However, as discussed in the previous
section, these cases would also be ruled out by experiment.
If there are seven or more extra dimensions, then their length scale size
drops below the separation of the carbon nuclei in the protein qubits, and
one would expect “regular” gravity to take over (as suggested by the reported
data). However, it is just below this value of n that the implications of OrchOR become striking. In a universe with n = 6 extra dimensions of scale
R6 ∼ 10−14 meters, the number of tubulin qubits NT becomes physicallyrealizable. This number, however, is exceedingly small, on the order of a few
hundred for the 500 ms case. This number increases by order of magnitude
with decreasing ∆t, giving NT ∼ 103 tubulin for 100 ms and NT ∼ 104 for
25 ms. In this case, it would imply that effectively all biological organisms
containing tubulin cytoskeletons are conscious, since as previously mentioned
typical neuron contains 107 tubulin! Thus, even microscopic organisms with
a relatively small number of neurons would be conscious. While philosophers
might be extremely intrigued by this conclusion which opens the doors for a
re-evaluation of a being’s self-awareness, the likelihood of this being a reality
10
is, to say the least, suspect.
8
Variation of TeV scale
The values in Table 10 assume that the unification scale is M4+n ∼ 1 TeV.
However, there is nothing to suggest that it cannot be slightly larger than
this. Table 10 demonstrates how the values might change if M4+n shifted
by a few orders of magnitude and instead is M4+n ∼ 10δ TeV. The main
effect of raising the unification scale is to make the compactification scale of
dimensions smaller.
Table 10 shows how the number of tubulin required for the constant
instances of Table 10 might change if δ = 2 (i.e. a unification scale of
100 TeV). Note that now only the Orch-OR mechanism will be affected for
only up to n = 4 extra dimensions before the compactification scale drops
below the carbon nuclei superposition separation a. In fact, if there are
2 or 3 extra dimensions (1 is still ruled out by macroscopic gravitational
phenomena) the OR framework again cannot be the driving mechanism of
state collapse.
9
Evolution of consciousness and time dependent LEDs
In Reference [12] a discussion of evolution and the emergence of consciousness
was raised, based on the estimation of 109 tubulin required for pre-conscious
processing. There is increasing observational evidence that the value of Newton’s constant G has changed over the evolution of the Universe to present
day (see References [37, 38] for a pre-LED and post-LED discussion of timedependent compactification radii). From Equation 6, it can be deduced that
a time-dependent constant G(t) varies as R(t)−n . So, depending on whether
G(t) is getting bigger or smaller with time can be related to the changing
scale size of the extra dimensions.
In fact, it can easily be shown that if G(t) is getting bigger, then R(t)
must be getting smaller. If the Orch-OR mechanism is correct, then the implications for conscious emergence are striking. As has been shown in this
analysis, large values of R imply either unphysical interpretations of OrchOR, or alternatively that conscious processes require only a few microtubulin
11
strands. This could suggest that pre-evolutionary microbes possessed conscious though (depending on the initial size of R(t), that is). Conversely, a
shrinking value of G(t) implies that the scale R(t) is getting larger over time,
implying that over large time scales more organic entities will eventually
achieve consciousness.
Of course, the time scales required for a significant change in the value of
G(t) are on the order of a fraction of the age of the Universe, which most likely
would surpass the “biological” time of species on the Earth. Indeed, it has
been shown that the compactification radii have grown by less than a factor of
ten in size over the history of the solar system [36]. Also, the variation of G(t)
is also independent of the possible existence of extra dimensions. Hence, the
associated impact on such quantum mechanical brain processes would still
be relevant, and thus opens intriguing speculation on how intelligence might
have evolved elsewhere in the early Universe.
10
Conclusions
This article has examined the compatibility of Penrose and Hameroff’s orchestrated objective reduction model for consciousness in light of the possible
existence of large extra compactified spatial dimensions of the ADD variety.
Since the basis of the objective reduction model is explicitly gravitational
and Newtonian, the presence of LEDs and TeV gravity will significantly alter the conclusions drawn in Reference [12]. In fact, for extra dimensions of
scale size less that ∼ 10−14 m the Orch-OR model becomes an incomplete
theory. The required number of tubulin to maintain the observed conscious
frequencies are either outrageously small, or even unphysical (NT < 1).
The greatest test of TeV-gravity and LEDs will begin in 2007 when the
Large Hadron Collider is brought on-line. The accelerator will problem energy scales well above the TeV boundary, and as such will provide an exciting
glimpse at a range of possible new physics which exists in and beyond this
energy range. If extra dimensions exist and are large compared to the Planck
scale, their existence is expected to be confirmed. If they do exist, then the
Orch-OR model is incomplete or incorrect. If they do not, then the mystery
of consciousness and its connection to quantum gravity is possibly one step
closer to being explained.
12
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15
n
2
3
4
5
6
7
Rn (meters)
10−3
10−9
10−11
10−13
10−14
10−15
T = 5 ms
10−13
10−9
10−4
2
5 × 104
109
NT
25 ms 100 ms
10−14
10−14
−9
10
10−10
10−5
10−6
0.5
10−1
4
10
103
108
5 × 107
500 ms
10−20
10−14
10−6
10−2
500
107
Table 1: The number of tubulin proteins required for an orchestrated reduction of ∆t = 5, 25, 100, and 500 ms duration in Universes with n extra dimensions. The case n = 1 is ruled out by the observed behavior of macroscopic
gravity, while the cases n > 7 would reproduce the “standard” Orch-OR
results.
n
2
3
4
Rn (meters)
10−7
10−12
10−14
NT
T = 5 ms 25 ms 100 ms
10−5
10−6 6 × 10−7
30
6
1
8
7
10
10
106
500 ms
10−7
0.3
7 × 105
Table 2: The number of tubulin proteins required for an orchestrated reduction of ∆t = 5, 25, 100, and 500 ms duration in Universes with n extra
dimensions in which the gravitational unification scale is 100 TeV. The size
of each dimension Rn is smaller than those in Table 1, and thus regular
Newtonian gravity is recovered at the tubulin length scales for smaller n.
16 |
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1035-1039
Kaufman, S. E., There Is No Material World
1035
Realization
There Is No Material World
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
The Formless is just a word, just a form, just a post-it note, used to point toward That which is
beyond form and so beyond naming. Call what is actually there where form appears to be
whatever you want. It is not that. That is why there is no material world, other than as an idea, an
experience, a form, that arises within the Formlessness by which all form is known and by which
all form is created. The material world is just a story, a certain arrangement of forms, that people
tell each other to try and explain the world of form.
Key Words: Consciousness, Formless, form, material world, arrangement, story.
There is no material world,
other than as an idea,
as a form,
that exists only within the mind.
The world is not composed
of molecules and atoms
and quantum stuff,
nor is it composed of energy.
These are all just words,
forms, post-it notes,
that we affix to what we perceive
and to what we conceive
as the world.
And having labeled our perceptions
and conceptions of the world
with these forms,
we then fall under the delusion
that we know what is actually there
where the world appears to be.
However, what is actually there
where the world appears to be
is not a form,
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
ISSN: 2153-8212
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Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1035-1039
Kaufman, S. E., There Is No Material World
but is a Formlessness
in motion relative to Itself.
Formlessness
in motion relative to Itself
becomes Form,
and yet what Form is composed of
remains the Formless,
as water remains water
no matter how much it flows and swirls
in motion relative to itself.
And Form in relation to Form
begets form,
begets experience,
begets what appears
as the world of form,
as a line arises and so appears
where two fingers meet.
And we give names to those experiences,
to those objects, to those forms,
and then we think we know
what is actually there
where the world of form appears to be,
when all we have actually done
is obscure what is actually there,
as a reflection obscures a mirror
when the reflection is mistaken
for what is actually there
where it appears to be.
Because underlying the world of form,
underlying the experiential objects,
and the names, labels, and post-it notes,
that we have added and affixed
to those experiential forms,
are Forms that are composed of the Formless
in motion relative to itself.
The Formless is itself just a word,
just a form, just a post-it note,
used to point toward That
which is beyond form
and so beyond naming.
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
1036
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1035-1039
Kaufman, S. E., There Is No Material World
Call what is actually there
where form appears to be
whatever you want.
It is not that.
That is why there is no material world,
other than as an idea,
an experience, a form,
that arises within the Formlessness
by which all form is known
and by which all form is created.
The material world is just a story,
a certain arrangement of forms,
that people tell each other
to try and explain the world of form.
Greek mythology was also a story,
a certain arrangement of forms,
that people told each other
to try and explain the world of form.
And with regard to what is actually there
where form appears to be,
both stories are equally fictitious.
This too is just a story,
just a particular arrangement of forms.
But this story is not being told
in order to explain the world of form.
This story is being told
in order to point beyond form,
and so toward the Formlessness
that is actually there
where form only appears to be.
The story of the material world
is composed of forms
and points back toward form
as being what is actually there,
and as being of primary importance.
This story that tells of a world
composed of the Formless
is also composed of forms,
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
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1037
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1035-1039
Kaufman, S. E., There Is No Material World
but it points toward something other than form
as being what is actually there,
and as being of primary importance.
And what this story points toward
as being what is actually there,
and as being of primary importance,
is not separable from, nor other than
the formless Consciousness
by which this story, this set of forms,
is being known.
Consciousness cannot know Itself as form
because it is formless,
because it is a Formlessness,
but Consciousness can know Itself directly
as the Formlessness by which
all forms are known
and as the Formlessness within which
all forms come into existence.
Lesser forms require Consciousness
in order to exist,
but Consciousness does not require any form
in order to Be.
Consciousness Is,
forms exist.
Consciousness is the Isness,
the formless Beingness,
that through relation to Itself
brings form into existence within Itself,
and then knows as experience
those forms that it has created
and so which have arisen within Itself.
And then somewhere along the way
in all this becoming of Form
and creation and knowing of form
the Creator mistakes itself
for its creation,
the Knower mistakes itself
for what it knows,
as the Formless mistakes itself
for form.
ISSN: 2153-8212
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Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
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1038
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1035-1039
Kaufman, S. E., There Is No Material World
And in this misidentification
the Formless becomes obscured,
hidden from Itself,
so that all it then knows is form,
like a mirror hidden from itself
by a reflection that has arisen within itself.
This is why the stories
the Formless tells Itself
to explain the world to Itself,
while deluded with regard to Itself,
and so while hidden from Itself,
point only toward form
and make no mention of the Formlessness,
of the formless Consciousness,
in the theoretical absence of which
no form has ever been known.
How can a story include a Character
of which the Author themself
remains oblivious?
The material world is just another story,
just another fiction we tell ourselves and each other,
that must have form as the main character
so long as the actual main Character
remains hidden behind a curtain of form
which that main Character
is Themself creating
and then knowing as their self.
And so we are not really
living in a material world,
other than in our own minds,
because what the world
is actually composed of
beneath the surface appearance,
beneath the reflection,
that is the world of form,
is the formless Consciousness
upon which that reflection rests
and by which that reflection is known
as the material world.
End of story.
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
1039 |
Consciousness and Automated Reasoning?
Ulrike Barthelmeß1 , Ulrich Furbach2 , and Claudia Schon2
1
arXiv:2001.09442v3 [cs.AI] 22 Jul 2020
2
ubarthelmess@gmx.de
University of Koblenz, Germany {uli,schon}@uni-koblenz.de
Abstract. This paper aims at demonstrating how a first-order logic reasoning
system in combination with a large knowledge base can be understood as an artificial consciousness system. For this we review some aspects from the area of
philosophy of mind and in particular Tononi’s Information Integration Theory
(IIT) and Baars’ Global Workspace Theory. These will be applied to the reasoning system Hyper with ConceptNet as a knowledge base within a scenario of
commonsense and cognitive reasoning. Finally we demonstrate that such a system is very well able to do conscious mind wandering.
Keywords: Cognitive science · philosophy of mind · commonsense reasoning ·
automated reasoning.
1
Introduction
Consciousness and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an old and still ongoing debate. The
question whether an AI system is able to understand in a conscious way what it is doing
was very prominently raised by Searle’s chinese room experiment [27]. This is based on
a symbol processing system, the Chinese room, which is a kind of production rule system. There also is a thread of this discussion, using sub-symbolic arguments, by dealing
with artificial neural networks as discussed together with various other arguments in [7].
Embedding the discussion of AI systems and consciousness in a larger context, it
is worth noting that it is a topic since the mind-body problem raised by Descartes. He
postulated that mental process are properties of the mind only — the body has to be
considered separately. The discussion since Descartes has resulted in a constant change
of naturalistic (or physicalistic) and idealistic positions.
The naturalistic position received a lot of impetus by the successes of neuroscience
in connection with the ambition of artificial intelligence to model neural networks in
artificial systems. In this position the spiritual dimension of the human being is subordinated to the physical dimension, the spiritual is derived from the physical, in short:
We are only a bunch of neurons [8] and our ego is only an illusion, as postulated by
Metzinger [22].
In contrast to this naturalistic view there is a long tradition of approaches which
aim at understanding consciousness by taking body and mind into account. These approaches can be summarized by the notion of panpsychism, which will be discussed in
Section 2.
?
Supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under the grants SCHO 1789/1-1 and
FU 263/19-1 CoRg – Cognitive Reasoning.
2
U. Barthelmeß et al.
McDermott is commenting in [20], that AI researchers “tend to shy away from questions about consciousness....The last thing most serious researchers want is to be quoted
on the subject of computation and consciousness.” In this paper we aim at demonstrating that an AI system, in our case Hyper [6], an automated reasoning system for
first-order logic, can be very well interpreted as a conscious system according to two
widely accepted theories of consciousness, namely the Information Integration Theory
of Tononi [31] and the the Global Workspace Theory (GWT) [2] of Baars. GWT, also
called Baars’ theater, is an approach to consciousness which is mainly motivated by
the need for handling the huge amount of knowledge in memory. The reasoning system
Hyper resembles this model in astonishing ways, without having been specifically developed that way. Its development was driven only by the need to be used in the area
of deep question answering [11,13]. For this kind of application the reasoning system
has to deal with huge amounts of general world knowledge — the methods used to this
end, make it very similar to the GWT. To push the comparison with GWT still further
we examine the process of mind wandering within the Hyper system.
The first part of the paper contains a general review of issues on consciousness: The
discussion around physicality and panpsychism is depicted in Section 2 and Section 3
focuses on information theoretic approaches to consciousness. The second part instantiates these approaches by looking at the Hyper reasoner from the perspective of the
GWT (Section 4) and by introducing mind wandering with Hyper in Section 5.
2
Physicalism versus Panpsychism
In this section we discuss an approach to consciousness that allows us to attribute it
to artificial systems as well. We follow the argumentation of Patrick Spät [29], who
introduced a so called gradual panpsychism, which is contrasted to physicalism. Spät
argues against physicalism by stating that it cannot really clarify what the physical
is, although it claims that all phenomena of the world are based on purely physical
properties: If physicalism is based on the state of knowledge of contemporary physics,
the definition must inevitably be incomplete, since contemporary physics does not yet
provide a complete description of all phenomena occurring in the cosmos. In addition,
contemporary physics may prove to be wrong. Also reference to a future, complete
physics, which is equivalent to a “theory of everything”, is not helpful because it cannot
be specified further. According to Spät, a physicalist resembles Baron Münchhausen,
who claims that he can pull himself out of a swamp by his own hair. For while the Baron
needs an external point of reference at which he finds support and by which he can pull
himself out, the physicalist needs his subjective perspective in order to have access to
the world at all. Since only phenomena that can be objectively verified and formulated
in the language of mathematics are to flow into the scientific description of reality, the
subjective perspective is faded out.
There are facts that go beyond the explanatory models of physicalism. In order
to know what conscious experiences are and how they feel, a subjective, i.e. “inner”
perspective of experience is required. This is what Thomas Nagel’s question aims at:
What is it like to be a bat? [24] The physicalist can cite all kinds of physical facts about
the bat, but she cannot take its perspective or experience. She cannot take it because she
Consciousness and Automated Reasoning
3
is not a bat and does not have the body she needs to experience the bat’s consciousness.
However, as a result of Descartes’ separation of body and mind (cogito, ergo sum), the
body was isolated from the mind and regarded as an object. This dualistic division does
not take into account the fact that one experiences one’s environment through and with
one’s body. The body is therefore not an “illusion” of the brain. Rather, the brain needs
the body in order to experience its environment. Maurice Merleau-Ponty describes the
conscious experience and physical “immersion” in the outside world using a footballer
who does not perceive the ball, the boundaries of the playing field and the goal as
representational or analytical — rather, the football field is “present as the immanent
target of his practical intention” by actively acting in the football field [21]. When we
communicate with other people, we can — or we try to — read from their gestures
and facial expressions how they are doing. Consciousness is entangled with the body
and our experience shows that we can approach the consciousness of other beings, but
this becomes more and more difficult the further we genetically distance ourselves from
each other (see the bat above).
Spät introduced the concept of “gradual panpsychism” by assuming a fundamental
connection between mind and matter. He is arguing that a specificity of mind goes
hand in hand with the complexity of matter or organisms. He assumes a very simple
rudimentary form of mentality, namely mind as an ability to process information. It
is based on Bateson’s concept of information: A “bit” of information is definable as a
difference which makes a difference [4]. Information is a difference that changes the
state of a system, i.e. creates another difference. As soon as several differences exist
in a system, a selective operation is necessary, i.e. a decision must be made. Following
Whitehead’s demand “that no arbitrary breaks may be introduced into nature” [32],
panpsychism is assuming that not only humans and animals, but also cells, bacteria
and even electrons have at least rudimentary mental properties. Of course there are
numerous critics to this kind of understanding consciousness. John Searle vehemently
criticizes this view in [28]: ”Consciousness cannot spread over the universe like a thin
veneer of jam; there has to be a point where my consciousness ends and yours begins.”
We will further discuss this critics in the following section on Information Integration
Theory.
3
Information and Consciousness
This section discusses two information-based approaches to consciousness, which are
defined along the lines of panpsychism from the previous section. One is the information integration theory of Tononi [31] and the other, the global workspace theory of
Baars [2], can be seen as an instance of Tononi’s theory.
Information Integration
Information integration theory (IIT) of Tononi [31] avoids the necessity of a neurobiological correlate of consciousness. It is applicable to arbitrary networks of information
processing units, they need not to be neural or biological. Tononi is proposing a thought
experiment: Assume you are facing a blank screen, which is alternatively on and off and
4
U. Barthelmeß et al.
you are instructed to say “light” or “dark” according to the screen’s status. Of course a
simple photodiode can do exactly the same job, beep when the light is on and silence
when it is off. The difference between you and the photodiode is the so called “qualia”
— you consciously experience “seeing” light or dark. This is a partially subjective process, a first-person feeling, which we are not able to measure or compare with that of
other persons (a prominent treatment of this topic is in [24]). One difference between
you and the photo diode is, that the diode can switch between two different states, on
and off, exclusively whereas your brain enters one of an extremely large number of
states when it recorgnizes the light. But it is not just the difference in the number of
states, it is also important to take the degree of information integration into account.
If we use a megapixel camera instead of a single photodiode for differentiating light
from dark, this technical device would also enter one of a very large number of possible
states (representing all possible images it can store). According to Tononi the difference
between you and the camera, is that the millions of pixels within the camera are not connected to each other. Your brain, however, integrates information from various parts of
the brain. (For example it is hard to imagine colours without shapes.) Tononi gives in
[31] a formal definition of information integration by defining a function Φ, which measures the capacity of a system to integrate information. To get an idea of this approach,
assume a network of elements which are connected, e.g. a neural network and take a
subset S from this system. Tononi ”wants to measure the information generated when S
enters a particular state out of its repertoire, but only to the extent that such information
can be integrated, i.e. it can result from causal interactions within the system. To do so,
we partition S into A and its complement B . . . We then give maximum entropy to the
outputs of A, i.e. substitute its elements with independent noise sources of constrained
maximum variance. Finally, we determine the entropy of the resulting responses of B
. . . ” [31]. Based on this computation he defines the effective information between A and
B, which is a measure of the information shared between the source A and the target
B. The above mentioned function Φ is defined with the help of the notion of effective
information. The entire system is then divided into several bipartitions in order to find
the ones with the highest Φ-value. These so-called complexes are responsible for integration of information within the system. Tononi is considering them as the ”subjects”
of experience, being the locus where information can be integrated.
Based on this understanding of consciousness, one can try to test the theory by
considering several neuroanatomical or neurophysiological factors that are known to
influence consciousness of humans. Tononi is doing this in great detail in [31], others
are developing new Turing tests for AI systems based on this theory (e.g. [17]).
It is not surprising that IIT is criticized with similar arguments as those used against
panpsychism. In the aforementioned critic of Searle [28] there is an additional argument
with respect to the notion of information. Searle is arguing that information according
to Shannon is observer-dependent, it is ’only’ a theory about syntax and encoding of
contents, whereas consciousness is ontologically subjective and observer-independent.
Koch and Tononi’s reply [18] is that they use ”a non-Shannonian notion of information—integrated information —- which can be measured as ”differences that make a
difference” to a system from its intrinsic perspective, not relative to an observer. Such a
novel notion of information is necessary for quantifying and characterizing conscious-
Consciousness and Automated Reasoning
5
ness as it is generated by brains and perhaps, one day, by machines.” This is exactly
why we think that IIT is very well suited to investigate and to experiment with aspects
of consciousness in artificial systems. We will comment later on applying IIT to the
automated reasoning system Hyper.
In the following subsection we will depict another approach to consciousness, which
can be seen as a special case of the information integration theory, namely the global
workspace theory developed by B. Baars [2].
The Theater of Consciousness
One motivation for Baars global workspace theory (GWT) [2] is the observation, that
the human brain has a very limited working memory. We can actively manipulate about
seven separate things at the same time in our working memory. This is an astonishing
small number in contrast to the more than 100 billion neurons of the human brain.
Another limitation is that human consciousness is limited to only one single stream of
input. We can listen only to one speaker at a time, we cannot talk to a passenger during
driving in heavy traffic and there are many more examples like this. At the same time
there are numerous processes running in parallel but unconsciously. GWT is using the
metaphor of a theater to model how consciousness enables us to handle the huge amount
of knowledge, memories and sensory input the brain is controlling at every moment.
GWT assumes a theater consisting of a stage, an attentional spotlight shining at the
stage, actors which represent the contents, an audience and some people behind the
scene. Let’s look at the parts in more detail:
The stage. The working memory consists of verbal and imagined items. Most parts
of the working memory are in the dark, but there are a few active items, usually the
short-term memory.
The spotlight of attention. This bright spotlight helps in guiding and navigating
through the working memory. Humans can shift it at will, by imagining things or events.
The actors The actors are the members of the working memory; they are competing
against each other to gain access to the spotlight of attention.
Context behind the scene. Behind the scenes, the director coordinates the show and
stage designers and make-up artists prepare the next scenes.
The audience. According to Baars, the audience represents the vast collection of
specialized knowledge. It can be considered as a kind of long-term memory and consists of specialized properties, which are unconscious. Navigation through this part of
the knowledge is done mostly unconsciously. This part of the theater is additionally responsible for interpretation of certain contents e.g., objects, faces or speech – there are
some unconscious automatisms running in the audience.
It is important to note, that this model of consciousness, although it uses a theatre
metaphor, is very different from a model like the Cartesion theatre, as it it discussed
and refused in [10]. A Cartesian theater model would assume, that there is a certain
region within the brain, which is the location of consciousness, this would be a kind of
humunculus. In Baars theater, however, the entire brain is the theater and hence there
is no special location, it is the entire integrated structure which is conscious. This is
in very nice accordance with Tononis information integration theory, described above.
And indeed Baars and colleagues developed an architecture based on GWT, which they
6
U. Barthelmeß et al.
call LIDA ”a comprehensive, conceptual and computational model covering a large portion of human cognition” [1]. LIDA consists of a number of software modules, which
implement a cognitive cycle which is derived from the GWT. Baars gives a detailed
justification of LIDA by modelling aspects of human cognition within his model. There
are numerous other cognitive architectures which are used for different purposes, an
extensive overview can be found in [19].
In the following we will follow a very different road — instead of designing a new
architecture based on GWT, we will show that an existing automated reasoning system
for first-order logic, namely the Hyper-System [6] as it is used within the CoRg — Cognitive Reasoning project 1 [26] can be seen as an instance of GWT. It is important to
note, that the development of this system was driven by the needs to be used as a reasoner within a commonsense system together with huge amounts of world knowledge.
This system was not developed as a model for consciousness, but exhibits nevertheless
strong similarity with the GWT and the IIT. It can be quite understood as support of the
theory used there.
4
Automated Reasoning and GWT
In the CoRg project, we tackle commonsense reasoning benchmarks like the Choice of
Plausible Alternatives (COPA) Challenge [25] with the help of automated reasoning.
These problems require large amounts of background knowledge. Similar to commonsense reasoning, the GWT assumes large amounts of background knowledge. Therefore, the methods developed in the CoRg project are suitable for modelling of the GWT
by means of automated reasoning. In this section, we not only briefly depict an automated reasoning system but also comment on particular problems that arise if it is
applied in the context with large knowledge bases. In Subsection 4.2 we interpret the
system along the lines of Section 3 as a Baars’ theater and hence a model the GWT.
4.1
Reasoning with Large Knowledge Bases
Hyper is an automated theorem prover for first-order logic [6]. First-order theorem
proving is aiming at the following task: Given a set of formulae F and a conjecture
(sometimes called query) Q the question is, whether or not Q is a logical consequence
of F , written as F |= Q. For first-order logic formulae this is an undecidable problem,
but it is semi-decidable, meaning that if the logical consequence holds, the prover will
stop after finite time stating that it is a consequence. Hyper, like most of the high performance provers today is a refutational prover, which means that the question whether
F |= Q holds, is transformed into the equivalent question asking if F ∪ ¬Q is unsatisfiable. Before trying to prove the unsatisfiability of F ∪ ¬Q, Hyper transforms F ∪ ¬Q
into a normal form, a so-called set of clauses. The Hyper prover is based on a tableau
calculus. The advantage of this is, that Hyper is manipulating one single proof-object,
the tableau, in order to demonstrate the unsatifiablity of the problem at hand. Figure 1
shows an example of a clause set belonging to a problem from the area of commonsense reasoning together with its Hyper tableau. The tableau on the left part of Figure 1
1
http://corg.hs-harz.de
Consciousness and Automated Reasoning
7
dog(a)
bone(b)
dog(a) ←
chew(c)
bone(b) ←
(2)
chew(c) ←
(3)
on(c, b)
agent(c, a)
manducate(c)
eat(c)
animal(a)
(1)
on(c, b) ←
(4)
agent(c, a) ←
(5)
manducate(X) ← chew(X)
(6)
eat(X) ← manducate(X)
(7)
animal(X) ← dog(X)
(8)
herbivore(X) ∨ carnivore(X) ← animal(X)
(9)
plant(Z) ← herbivore(X) ∧ manducate(Y )∧
agent(Y, X) ∧ on(Y, Z)
herbivore(a) carnivore(a)
plant(b)
⊥
dog treat(b)
(10)
⊥ ← plant(X) ∧ bone(X)
(11)
dog treat(X) ← bone(X)
(12)
dog food (X) ← dog treat(X)
(13)
dog food (b)
Fig. 1. Clauses on the right, hyper tableau for the clauses on the left. The left branch of the tableau
is closed, the right branch is open. The literals in the open branch constitute a partial interpretation
of the clause set.
is essentially a tree that was developed branch by branch using inference steps. An
inference step selects a branch and then tries to extend this branch by using a clause
from the clause set (right side of Figure 1) together with an inference rule specified by
the calculus. The technical aspects of the calculus on how to extend the tree in detail
are not important here. We want to point out, however, that at any stage of the construction of a tree, a branch represents a (partial) interpretation of the given formulae.
E.g., the right-most branch in our example corresponds to the (partial) interpretation
{dog(a), bone(b), chew(c), on(c, b), agent(c, a), manducate(c), eat(c), animal(a),
carnivore(a), dog treat(b), dog food (b)}, The left branch of the tableau is closed,
since bone(b) and plant(b) (derived using clause (10) with X = a, Y = c and Z = b)
are contradictory according to clause (11). A proof is found if there is a tableau that contains only closed branches. If no proof can be found, like in the example in Figure 1,
the open branches list literals that can be derived from the set of clauses.
Hyper has been used in many different application areas, reaching from commercial
knowledge based systems to intelligent book development [5]. Recently Hyper was
used as the main reasoning machinery in natural language query answering [11] and for
cognitive reasoning, in particular answering commonsense questions [13].
In all of these applications Hyper very rarely managed to find a proof within the
given constraints — in most cases there was a timeout and Hyper’s result was a branch
representing a partial interpretation of the formulae at hand.
8
U. Barthelmeß et al.
Next, we will illustrate how to use Hyper to draw inferences from a statement.
Since we aim at modeling the GWT, we assume the statement to be given in natural
language. In order to draw inferences from a natural language statement with the help of
an automated reasoning system, the problem has to be translated from natural language
to a formal language — in our case this is first-order logic. This translation is done in
a fully automated system called KnEWS [3], which is based on the Boxer-System [9].
As a running example, we consider the following sentence, which is a part of one of the
problems in the COPA challenge:
The dog chewed on a bone.
The first-order logic translation we get using KnEWS is:
∃A(dog(A) ∧ ∃B, C(r1on(C, B) ∧ bone(B) ∧ r1agent(C, A) ∧ chew(C))). (14)
It is obvious that for reasoning with this formula knowledge about the world is
necessary; e.g., about food intake of dogs or about the composition of meat and bones.
This knowledge of course cannot be added by hand, it is necessary to use a knowledge
base, where many possible facts and relations about the world are available. If this
knowledge is not restricted to a single domain, if it is general enough to be used for
different areas it gets very large and hence difficult to handle. In the CoRg-project [26]
among other sources ConceptNet [30] is used as background knowledge. ConceptNet
is a semantic net structure with 1.6 million edges connecting more than 300,000 nodes.
Knowledge in ConceptNet is stored in the form of triples such as (dog, hasA, fur). To
allow the first-order logic reasoner Hyper to use ConceptNet as background knowledge,
we have translated most of the English part of ConceptNet to first-order logic. The
above triple has been translated into the following formula:
∀X(dog(X) → ∃Y (hasA(X, Y ) ∧ fur (Y )))
(15)
The resulting knowledge base consists of 2,927,402 axioms and is therefore far too
large to be completely processed by reasoners. Hence, it is necessary to select parts
of this huge knowledge base which might be relevant for the task at hand. Note, that
this situation is very different from a classical automated reasoning problem, where all
the necessary formulae to find a proof are given and can be used all together by the
reasoning system, without the necessity to guess parts of it to be loaded into the system.
The left part of Figure 2 illustrates the situation in automated reasoning with large
knowledge bases. The logical representation (Formula (14)) of the natural language
sentence is depicted on the very left together with the knowledge base, ConceptNet,
in the middle of the figure. The task is to select those parts from the knowledge base
which might be helpful for reasoning about the logical representation. To this end there
are two selection methods sketched: The first one uses syntactic criteria exclusively for
the selection [15]. Depending on the symbols occurring within the logical representation those parts of the knowledge base are selected, which contain one of these symbols
(additionally this selection takes the number of occurrences of a symbol into account in
order to prevent that very frequent symbols like isA lead to the selection of the whole
knowledge base). The second method uses additionally semantic criteria for the selection. The semantics of a symbol is given by a word embedding, which is used to find
Consciousness and Automated Reasoning
9
Fig. 2. On the left: Syntactic selection uses symbols from the formula to select parts of the background knowlege, depicted with black arrows and regions. Similarity selection takes the meaning
of symbol names into account by additionally selecting formulae containing symbols which are
similar according to a word embedding (depicted by blue arrows and regions). On the right: A
snapshot during a Hyper run. The (green) path of the tree, Hyper is working on, corresponds to
the working memory. The knowledge base represents the long-time memory.4
semantically similar symbols for the selection process. As a result not only formulae
containing the symbols dog, chew and bone are selected, but also those containing similar symbols like for example manducate and remasticate. This method is described and
evaluated in detail in [12].
Figure 1 depicts an extract of the selected background knowledge for Formula (14)
on the right hand side: Clauses (6) - (13) correspond to selected background knowledge
for the symbols in Formula (14) and exemplary for the symbol manducate which is
similar to chew. Clauses (1) - (5) correspond to the clausification of Formula (14).
Even if much background knowledge is added, this background knowledge will
never be able to represent the complete human background knowledge and will always remain incomplete. Therefore automatic theorem provers can only rarely prove
inferences in natural language. For example, it would hardly be possible with an automatic theorem prover to prove that the statement The dog chewed on a bone implies
the statement The dog is content. This is because the second statement is not a logical
consequence of the first one. It is rather the case, that The dog is content is more likely
to be a a consequence than the statement The dog is injured. This kind of reasoning is
also called cognitive reasoning.
10
U. Barthelmeß et al.
Therefore, we do not aim at the construction of proofs but rather to analyse the
inferences performed by Hyper after a certain amount of reasoning (see the green path
in the right part of Figure 2).
One of the main problems in the above depicted task is the selection of appropriate
parts of knowledge. This is very much related to the approach of information integration
according to Tononi: Given a huge network, the knowledge base, and a problem, we
want to integrate all the necessary parts of the knowledge to solve the problem. The
network is formed by the connections within the used knowledge bases, but also by
the similarities defined by the word embeddings. Hence the degree of consciousness
of the entire system from Figure 2 could be determined (at least in theory) by Tononis
approach.
4.2
Looking through the GWT-Glasses
In the previous subsection we briefly explained how the theorem prover Hyper is adapted
and used within the area of cognitive reasoning. We now show that Hyper in combination with large knowledge bases can be interpreted as an architecture that implements
the GWT as introduced in Section 3.
The stage. The working memory is the branch of the tree which currently is expanded. In the right part of Figure 2 this is the green path of the tree — it contains the
context in which the next reasoning step will be performed.
The spotlight of attention. This bright spotlight selects and highlights those parts of
the (green) branch together with the formulae from the problem or the selected parts of
the knowledge base which are used for the next reasoning step.
The actors. The actors correspond to the application of inference rules on the set
of clauses currently processed by the theorem prover. The result of the actors’ actions
correspond to new formulae derived by an inference step. The spotlight of attention is
deciding which actor, i.e. inference rule together with the necessary formulae, from the
stage are to be active next.
Context behind the scene. Behind the scenes, the reasoner and its control act as a
director.
Audience. According to Baars, the audience represents the vast collection of specialized knowledge. It can be considered as a kind of long-term memory, namely the
knowledge base. We depicted several selection mechanisms for finding the appropriate
parts of the knowledge. These can be seen as the unconscious interpretation skills which
Baars located in the audience. In our case we only deal with declarative knowledge, if
we had procedural knowledge as well, this would be part of the audience as well.
Altogether we have a complete Baars’ theater of consciousness consisting of the
reasoner Hyper, together with its control and its background knowledge — we have a
system which can be interpreted as a conscious system according to the ideas presented
above. However it should be noted that ”Metaphors must be used with care. They are
always partly wrong, and we should keep an eye out for occasions when they break
down. Yet they often provide the best starting point we can find.” [2]
Consciousness and Automated Reasoning
11
In the following section this will be deepened in the discussion of a conscious reasoning system in the sense of IIT by discussing mind wandering.
5
Mind Wandering
Mind wandering is a process in which people do not stick to a single topic with their
thoughts, but move in chains of thoughts from one topic to the next. In doing this the
border between conscious and unconscious processing is continuously crossed, and in
both directions. Hence studying mind wandering certainly contributes to a better understanding of consciousness. Mind wandering often occurs in less demanding activities.
A study [16] shows that up to 40% of the time a human mind is wandering around.
Mind wandering also has interesting positive effects, which is investigated in [23]
where it was shown that mind wandering can be helpful in finding creative solutions to
a problem. In this section we show, that a control system of Hyper is very well able to
invoke mind wandering for Hyper. We will first give a rough overview of the system
and then go into details about the individual steps.
Overview of the System The mind wandering process is started from an initial formula, such as Formula (14). In the first step, the system performs a semantic selection
as described in the previous section to select suitable background knowledge for this
formula. The formula together with the selected background knowledge is transferred
to Hyper, which performs inferences and returns a (possibly partial) interpretation. This
(possibly partial) interpretation corresponds to the green path of the tree in the right part
of Figure 2 and contains everything Hyper was able to derive within a given time limit.
Since the selected background knowledge is very broad, the interpretation also contains
very broad information. To find a focus, the symbols occurring in the interpretation are
clustered according to their word meaning and a cluster is selected as focus. This step
simulates the spotlight of attention of the GWT, which focuses on a certain area of the
stage. For the symbols in the focus, new background knowledge is selected and passed
to Hyper again together with the focus. Hyper again performs inferences. This process
is repeated until Hyper’s inferences no longer provide new information compared to the
previous round. A detailed description of the individual steps of the system follows.
The Audience – Background Knowledge and Selection The selection from the knowledge base starts with a set of symbols called the current context, which consists of the
symbols from a starting formula like for example Formula (14) and similar symbols.
Selecting all formulae from the knowledge base in which one of the context symbols
occurs results in a large set of formulae. Using all these formulae would be too unfocused w.r.t. the considered formula, so a filtering step removes all formulae in which
other predicate symbols occurring in the formula are not within a certain range of similarity to the symbols in the context. To measure similarity, cosine similarity in a word
4
Picture of network: [14], CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Visualization of Word Embedding: Euskara: Hitz batzuen errepresentazioa by Aelu013, CC BY-SA
4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en) (word removed).
12
U. Barthelmeß et al.
embedding is used. The interval in which the similarity must fall for a formula to be
selected is passed to the system by two parameters. With the help of these parameters it
is possible to control how far the background knowledge is allowed to move away from
the context symbols. With a suitable interval it is possible to select a formula like (15)
while preventing to select a formula like
∀x(poodle(x) → ∃y(relatedTo(x , y) ∧ dog(y)))
(16)
Currently, the system can use either the ConceptNet Numberbatch [30] word embedding
or a word embedding learnt on personal stories from blog entries [25].
Actors and Context behind the Scene — Reasoning The selected set of formulae
together with Formula (14) is passed to the Hyper reasoner. Hyper is started with a
timeout of 30 seconds and calculates during this time a possibly partial interpretation
for the input formulae. This interpretation represents knowledge that can be inferred
from Hyper’s input. In the next step, the system analyses Hyper’s output. Since the input
formulae are still very broad despite the filter methods mentioned above, the (partial)
interpretation also contains a very broad knowledge inferred from Hyper’s input. First
the system extracts all predicate symbols from Hyper’s output and removes from this
set all symbols from the current context to prevent the mind wandering process from
getting stuck. Hyper’s model produced for the running example contains 122 predicate
symbols which are thematically widely spread: from ears, skin, flesh, wolf, calcium,
animal, collar and vertebrate to woof and barking, many terms are represented.
Spotlight of Attention — Finding a Focus To determine a focus in the multitude of
these terms, the system performs a clustering on these terms using KMeans and the
cosine similarity of a word embedding as similarity measure. Currently, the number of
clusters created corresponds to the number of predicate symbols in the (partial) interpretation divided by 4. In future work, different values for the number of clusters will
be considered. Next, the system orders the resulting clusters by their cosine similarity to
the predicate symbols in the current context and chooses one of the clusters as the focus.
For the experiments, the cluster in the middle of the sorted sequence is chosen as the
focus in order to allow the mind wandering process to move away from the current context. In the running example, this led to selecting the cluster consisting of the symbols
animal and animals as the new focus. Other choices for the focus cluster are possible
and can be selected with the help of a parameter. Next, the system creates a simple formula from the symbols in the focus cluster and selects suitable background knowledge
as described above. In this selection, the symbols from the focus cluster together with
similar symbols are used as new context symbols. The described process is repeated a
desired number of times or until the process does not deliver any new symbols.
Experimental Results Starting from the symbols in the initial formula, the symbols in
the selected focus clusters represent the result of the mind wandering process. Starting
from Formula (14) containing the symbols dog, chew and bone the described system
provides for example the following sequence of sets of focus symbols:
Consciousness and Automated Reasoning
13
{dog, chew, bone} →{animal, animals} → {gardening} → {garden, horticulture, farming} → {mowing, lawn, yard} → {outside, front, outdoor} → {weather} → {thunder,
lightning} → {cloud, sky, clouds} → {water}
This corresponds to a mind wandering chain which focuses on animals leads to gardening and finally addresses weather aspects which leads to water.
It should be noted that the system has many parameters to control this mind wandering process. For the experiments, different parameter combinations were automatically
tried out and the sequences of focus symbols generated in this way were manually inspected. Different parameter values led to a different chain which finally ends at fashion:
{dog, chew, bone} → {furry, tail, fur} → {coats, wool, coat} → {fur} → {animal, pet,
hair, coat, pelt, wool} → {sleeves, robe, braided, leather, fur, garment, buttoned, styled,
pockets, strand, woven, cloth, wearable} → {coats, covering, pattern, textile, fastened,
worn, wool, coat, material, pelt} → {wearing, robe, suit, shirt}
The presented experiments are only a first feasibility study. For future work the
application of mindwandering in the commonsense reasoning area is planned.
6
Conclusion and Future Work
In this paper we tried to connect work from research on consciousness with work on
formal reasoning. We depicted an implementation of a mind wandering process within
a logical reasoning system, which can be interpreted as the action of a consciously
reasoning system. Further work has to be done for finding a way to determine what
knowledge is interesting enough to be kept within the focus of the system and how
the knowledge base should be modified according to the results of mind wandering.
Currently, only one path of the proof tree is considered for the mind wandering process.
In future work we plan to extend the approach to consider multiple open branches for
mind wandering.
Furthermore, we plan the application of mindwandering in the commonsense reasoning area, where we will consider commonsense reasoning benchmarks like the Choice
of Plausible Alternatives Challenge [25]. Figure 3 shows an example from the COPA
Challenge.
65: The family took their dog to the veterinarian. What was the CAUSE of this?
1. The dog chewed on a bone.
2. The dog injured his paw.
Fig. 3. Example problem 65 from the COPA challenge.
A first idea for the solution of these benchmarks would be to start a mindwandering process for both answer candidates and to choose the answer where the result of
the mindwandering process is closer to the sentence The family took their dog to the
veterinarian.
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794
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | November 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 10 | pp. 794-800
Marciak-Kozłowska, J. & Kozlowski, M., On Psychon in Quantum of Consciousness
Research Essay
On Psychon in Quantum of Consciousness
*
Janina Marciak-Kozłowska1 & Miroslaw Kozlowski 2
1
2
Institute of Electro Technology, Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland
Abstract
In this paper, we formulate the hypothesis that brain waves and Schumann waves are quantum
fields with elementary excitation energy, Psychon with EPsychon=10-15eV. With the Psychon
entity, we formulate the model for calculation of normalized energy spectra for brain and
Schuman waves. The model calculations are in very good agreement with measured energy
spectra for both Schuman and Brain waves.
Keywords: Brain wave frequencies, Schumann Resonances, Psychon, quantum consciousness.
Psychon: A hypothetical unit of thought, mental activity, or nervouse energy
Oxford Living Dictionaries
1. Overview of the research
Considering human consciousness as the physical phenomenon, we assume that:
1. Consciousness is manifested by activity of brain in the form of electromagnetic brain
waves with frequencies 3-40 Hz.
2. On the Earth exists the second mode of electromagnetic waves – Schumann waves with
the same frequencies as the human brain waves.
For the “antenna” with arm length R the characteristic frequency ω of electromagnetic wave can
be calculated as:
c
R
(1)
where c is the light velocity. For Earth radius R = 6.4 108 m we obtain from formula (1)
= 50 Hz (2)
i.e., in the ranges of Schumann waves. The frequency 50 Hz can be calculated in the energy units
as
1015 eV
(3)
* Correspondence: Miroslaw Kozlowski, Prof. Emeritus, Warsaw University, Poland. Email: m.kozlowski934@upcpoczta.pl
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
795
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where
is famous reduced Planck constant. Multiplying both sides of formula (3) one obtains
from formula (3)
1015 eV (4)
Formula (4) is valid for both modes of electromagnetic waves observed on Earth Surface.
Considering formula (4) we conclude that energy quantum for both type of waves is equal
1015 eV . This is elementary value of quantum energy for brain and Schuman waves and
according to Oxford Dictionary can be named psychon.
2. Consciousness and Quantum Theory
In the following we accept well established experimental data that the Earth atmosphere is
fulfilled with two electromagnetic fields with nearly the same frequencies , but different
amplitudes Brain waves and Schuman waves. As early as in 2012 we pursued quantum theory
(QT) of the Brain and Schumann waves.
The issue of observation in QT is central, in the sense that objective reality cannot be
disentangled from the act of observation, as the Copenhagen Interpretation (CI) nearly states In
the words of John A. Wheeler 1981, we live in an observer-participatory Universe.has vast
majority of today's practicing physicists follow CI's practical prescriptions for quantum
phenomena, while still clinging to classical beliefs in observer-independent local, external
reality). There is a critical gap between practice and underlying theory. In his Nobel Prize speech
of 1932, Werner Heisenberg concluded that the atom "has no immediate and direct physical
properties at all." If the universe's basic building block isn't physical, then the same must hold
true in some way for the whole. The universe was doing a vanishing act in Heisenberg's day, and
it certainly hasn't become more solid since.
This discrepancy between practice and theory must be confronted, because the consequences for
the nature of reality are far-reaching An impressive body of evidence has been building to
suggest that reality is non-local and undivided. Non-locality is already a basic fact of nature, first
implied by the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen thought experiment despite the original intent to refute
it, and later explicitly formulated in Bell's Theorem.
Moreover, this is a reality where the mindful acts of observation play a crucial role at every
level. Heisenberg again: "The atoms or elementary particles themselves . . . form a world of
potentialities or possibilities rather than one of things or facts." He was led to a radical
conclusion that underlies our own view in this paper: "What we observe is not nature itself, but
nature exposed to our method of questioning." Reality, it seems, shifts according to the
observer's conscious intent.
Quantum theory is not about the nature of reality, even though quantum physicists act as if that is
the case. To escape philosophical complications, the original quantum mechanics was pragmatic:
it concerned itself with the epistemology of quantum world (how we experience quantum
phenomena), leaving aside ontological questions about the ultimate nature of reality. The
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practical bent of QM should be kept in mind, particularly as there is a tendency on the part of
many good physicists to slip back into issues that cannot be tested and therefore run counter to
the basic tenets of scientific methodology.
In order to put forward the classical theory of the brain waves we quantize the Brain and
Schumann wave field. In the model (Marciak-Kozlowska,Kozlowski, 2013) we assume (i) the
brain is the thermal source in local equilibrium with temperature T.(ii) The spectrum of the brain
waves is quantized according to formula
E (5)
where E is the photon energy in eV , =Planck constant, 2 , -is the frequency in Hz.
(iii). The number of photons emitted by brain is proportional to the ( amplitude)2 as for classical
waves. The energies of the photons are the maximum values of energies of waves For the
emission of black body brain waves we propose the well know formula for the black body
radiation.
In thermodynamics we consider Planck type formula for probability dN/dE for the emission of
the particle ( photons as well as particles with m≠0) with energy (E,E+dE )by the source with
temperature T is equal to[1] :
E
dN BE 2 e( E max )
max
dE
(6)
psychon
where B= normalization constant, E=total energy of the particle, k = Boltzmann constant=1.3 x
10-23 J K-1. K is for Kelvin degree. However in many applications in nuclear and elementary
particles physics kT is recalculated in units of energy. To that aim we note that for 1K, kT is
equal k1K = K x 1. 3 10-23 J x K-1= 1.3 10-23 Joule or kT for 1K is equivalent to 1.3 10-23 Joule=
1.3 10-23 /( 1.6 10-19) eV = 0.8 10-4 eV. Eventually we obtain 1K= 0.8 10-4 eV, and 1eV= 1.2 104
K.
In formula ( 5) “ temperature “ T (eV) is the energy parameter which describes the shape of the
energy spectra. In the following we chose E(eV)psychon as the energy parameter and formula ( 5)
can be written as
E
dN BE 2 e( E max )
max
dE
(6)
psychon
In Fig. 1, we present the experimental data for brain waves[2]:
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BRAIN
dN dE Arbitrary Units
10 9
10 10
10 11
10 12
10 13
2.
10 144.
10 146.
10 148.
10 141.
10 131.2
10 13
1.4
10 13
ENERGY eV
FiG.1. Energy spectra of the brain waves [3]
and in Fig 2. the same for Schumann waves:
dN dE Arbitrary Units
SCHUM ANN
5.0
10 9
3.0
10 9
1.
10 14
1.5
10 14
2.
10 14 2.5
10 14
3.
10 14
ENERGY eV
Fig.2 Experimental Energy spectra of the Schumann waves [3]
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Marciak-Kozłowska, J. & Kozlowski, M., On Psychon in Quantum of Consciousness
In Fig 3., theoretical energy spectra for brain waves with Epsychon=10-15eV is presented [1,2]:
Brain
10 9
dN dE Arbitrary Units
10 10
10 11
10 12
10 13
10 14
0
2.
10 144.
10 14
6.
10 148.
10 141.
10 13
1.2
10 13
1.4
10 13
ENERGY eV
Fig.3. Theoretical energy spectra of brain waves , E psychon=10-15 eV [1,2]
dN dE Arbitrary Units
Schumann
10 9
10 10
10 11
0
1.
10 14
2.
10 14
3.
10 14
4.
10 14
5.
10 14
ENERGY eV
Fig.4 Theoretical energy spectra of Schuman waves, Epsychon=10-15eV [1,2]
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Marciak-Kozłowska, J. & Kozlowski, M., On Psychon in Quantum of Consciousness
Comparison of theoretical and experimental data are presented in Fig.5 and Fig.6:
Brain
10 9
dN dE Arbitrary Units
10 10
10 11
10 12
10 13
10 14
0
2.
10 144.
10 14
6.
10 148.
10 141.
10 13
1.2
10 13
1.4
10 13
ENERGY eV
Fig.5 Comparison theoretical and experimental Energy spectra of brain waves
dN dE Arbitrary Units
Schumann
10 9
10 10
10 11
0
1.
10 14
2.
10 14
3.
10 14
4.
10 14
5.
10 14
ENERGY eV
Fig.6 Comparison of theoretical and experimental energy spectra of Schuman waves
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3. Conclusions
In this paper, we argue that the consciousness phenomenon can be described with the help of
psychon quantum particle with mass, m=0 and energy Epsychon=10-15eV. The psychon is a boson
with spin S=1. As for boson we applied the Planck formula for energy spectra of the brain and
Schumann waves. The agreement with measured data is very good.
References
[1] M.Kozlowski, J. Marciak-Kozlowska Brain Photons as the Quanta of the Quantum String,
Neuroquantology vol 10 No3, (2012)
[2]M.Kozłowski, J. Marciak-Kozłowska, Schumann Resonance and Brain Waves: A Quantum
Description, Neuroquantology Vol 13, No 2 (2015)
[3] A. Nikolaenko, M. Hayakawa, Schumann Resonance for Tyros , Springer Geophysics, 2014.
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Marciak-Kozłowska, J. & Kozlowski, M., Human Brain & Cosmos
74
Exploration
Human Brain & Cosmos
*
Janina Marciak-Kozłowska1 & Miroslaw Kozlowski 2
1
2
Institute of Electro Technology, Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland
Abstract
In this paper, we consider the possible source of human brain waves and Cosmic Background
Radiation. We formulate the model which describes the energy spectra of both radiations.
Keywords: Cosmic Background Radiation, human brain waves
1. Introduction
Quantum theory does not say anything specific about the nature of consciousness - the whole
issue is clouded by basic uncertainty over even how to define consciousness. A firm grasp of
human mental processes still remain; very elusive. We believe that this indicates a deeper
problem which scientist; in general are reluctant to address: objective science is based on the
dichotomy; between subject and object; it rests on the implicit assumption that Nature can be
studied ad infinitum as an external objective reality. The role of the observer is at best,
secondary, if not entirely irrelevant
2. Consciousness & Quantum Theory
The issue of observation in QM is central, in the sense that objective reality cannot be
disentangled from the act of observation, as the Copenhagen Interpretation (CI) nearly states in
the words of John A. Wheeler 1981, we live in an observer-participatory Universe. The vast
majority of today's practicing physicists follow CI's practical prescriptions for quantum
phenomena, while still clinging to classical beliefs in observer-independent local, external
reality). There is a critical gap between practice and underlying theory. In his Nobel Prize speech
of 1932, Werner Heisenberg concluded that the atom “has no immediate and direct physical
properties at all.” If the universe's basic building block isn't physical, then the same must hold
true in some way for the whole. The universe was doing a vanishing act in Heisenberg's day, and
it certainly hasn't become more solid since (Schild, 2012).
*
Correspondence: Miroslaw Kozlowski, Prof. Emeritus, Warsaw University, Poland. Email: m.kozlowski934@upcpoczta.pl
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75
This discrepancy between practice and theory must be confronted; because the consequences for
the nature of reality are far-reaching an impressive body of evidence has been building to suggest
that reality is non-local and undivided. Non-locality is already a basic fact of nature, first implied
by the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen thought experiment despite the original intent to refute it, and
later explicitly formulated in Bell's Theorem
Moreover, this is a reality where the mindful acts of observation play a crucial role at every
level. Heisenberg again: “The atoms or elementary particles themselves . . . form a world of
potentialities or possibilities rather than one of things or facts.” He was led to a radical
conclusion that underlies our own view in this paper: “What we observe is not nature itself, but
nature exposed to our method of questioning.” Reality, it seems, shifts according to the
observer's conscious intent. There is no doubt that the original CI was subjective (Schild, 2012).
Quantum theory is not about the nature of reality, even though quantum physicists act as if that is
the case. To escape philosophical complications, the original CI was pragmatic: it concerned
itself with the epistemology of quantum world (how we experience quantum phenomena),
leaving aside ontological questions about the ultimate nature of reality. The practical bent of CI
should be kept in mind, particularly as there is a tendency on the part of many good physicists to
slip back into issues that cannot be tested and therefore run counter to the basic tenets of
scientific methodology.
3. The Model
In order to put forward the classical theory of the brain waves we quantize the brain wave field.
In the model (Marciak-Kozlowska and Kozlowski, 2012) we assume that;
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
The brain is the thermal source in local equilibrium with temperature T.
The spectrum of the brain waves is quantized according to formula E h where E
is the photon energy in eV, =Planck constant, -is the frequency in Hz.
The number of photons emitted by brain is proportional to the (amplitude)2 as for
classical waves. The energies of the photons are the maximum values of energies of
waves for the emission of black body brain waves we propose the well know formula
for the black body radiation (Baierlein, 1998).
The energy density within a blackbody is independent of the material from which the blackbody
is made. We will assume that this thermodynamic law holds as well for neutrino emitters as for
photon emitters. This thermodynamic relation greatly simplifies the task of calculating the
energy density. The standard technique is to make the blackbody out of nothing. Enclosure
walls at a temperature T are used to surround a vacuum. Emission from the walls fills the
vacuum to the energy density required of a black-body at the wall temperature. The energy
density per unit volume and per unit frequency range is then calculated. The number of modes
per unit volume and frequency is most easily obtained by assuming a rectangular enclosure of
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76
smooth, almost perfectly reflecting walls. A minute amount of absorption is necessary to insure
that the walls and radiation are in thermal contact.
This situation is easy to achieve experimentally for photons. A spatial mode of the field is simply
a particular space pattern that satisfies a particular boundary condition, for example, for our case
the field is zero at the wall. In the standard technique, an integral number of half wavelengths
must fit between opposite walls in one direction. Counting the number of spatial three2 3
dimensional modes per unit volume and frequency is then standard and gives 4 c for any
wave field satisfying the boundary conditions. The actual modes present for a particular wavefield will be larger than the space count because each space mode may harbor a number of
internally different fields. Since photons come in two circular polarizations (left and right handed
2 3
we have N=2 ( 4 c ) for photons. In thermodynamics we consider Planck type formula for
probability for the emission of the particle (photons as well as particles with m≠0) with energy
(E, E+dE)) by unit energy by the source with temperature T is equal to
(
8 2
)
c3
1
h
Exp
1
kT
(1)
For very low temperature, i.e., for
hv
kT
1
(2)
From formula (1) we obtain for probability emission
8 2
h
Exp
3
c
kT
( 3)
Formula (3) is black body emission formula (Planck formula) for the vacuum emission. For the
emission into surrounding matter we modify formula (3) as
P(E)dE= BE2 e (-E/kT) dE
(4)
where we introduce the normalization constant B. The new constant describes interaction of the
photons with surrounding matter. With formula (4) we can calculate the normalized to the
experimental data the photon energy distribution. In formula (4) E=total energy=(hv)2, k =
Boltzmann constant=1.3x10-23 JK-1. K is for Kelvin degree. However in many applications in
nuclear and elementary particles physics kT is recalculated in units of energy. To that aim we
note that for 1K, kT is equal kx1K = K x 1.3x10-23 J x K-1= 1.3 10-23 Joule or kT for 1K is
equivalent to 1.3x10-23 Joule= 1.3x10-23 /(1.6x10-19) eV = 0.8x10-4 eV. Eventually we
obtain 1K= 0.8x10-4 eV, and 1eV= 1.2x104 K
E
( max )
dN
2
BEmax
e T
dE
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77
The function dN/dE describes the energy spectrum of the emitted brain photons. In Figure 1 the
calculated energy spectrum, formula (2) is presented. We present the result of the comparison of
the calculated and observed spectra of the brain waves. The calculated spectra are normalized to
the maximum of the measured spectra. The calculated spectrum is for temperature of brain
source T= 0.8x10-14 eV. The obtained temperature is the temperature for the brain source in the
thermal equilibrium. The source is thermally isolated (adiabatic well). However in very
exceptional cases the spectrum is changed – by the tunneling to the quantum potential well. The
temperature 1 eV ≅ 104 K then brain wave thermal spectra T=0.8x10-14 eV= 0.8x10-10 K. In
Figure 2 we present the calculation of the energy spectrum for the Cosmic Background Radiation
(CBR) (Durrer, 2008). The formula (5) was used for the model calculation. The normalized
theoretical spectrum describes very well the observed CBR.
ENERGY DENSITY SPECTRUM Wat m^2 Hz
The calculated temperature T=2.53 K, which is in excellent agreement with experimentally
verified values. It must be stressed that in a paper we abandon the idea that every physical object
is either a wave or a particle. Neither it is possible to say that particles “become” waves in the
quantum domain and conversely that waves are “transformed “into particles. It is therefore
necessary to acknowledge that we have here a different kind of an entity, one that is specifically
quantum. For this reason Levy-Leblond and Balibar developed the name quanton, (LevyLeblond, Balibar, 1990). Following that idea the human brain emits quantons with energies
E formula (5). The brain quantons are the quantum objects that follows all quantum laws:
tunneling, the superposition and Heisenberg uncertainty rule. For the wave length of the
quantons is of the order of Earth radius the quantum nature of the brain will be manifested in the
Earth scale.
1.2
10 9
1.
10 9
8.
10 10
6.
10 10
4.
10 10
2.
10 10
0
0
2.
10 144.
10 14
6.
10 148. 10 141.
10 13
1.2
10 13
1.4
10 13
ENERGY eV
Figure 1. Model calculations for energy spectra of brain photons. The temperature of
the source, T= 7.8 10-11 K.
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78
Figure 2. Model calculations for energy spectra of Cosmic Background Radiation
Temperature of the source T= 2.35 K
4. Conclusions
In this paper for the first time the CB photons spectra and human brain photons spectra were
calculate on the same footing. It is obvious that consciousness is not located in space. According
to special relativity theory all physically observed phenomena are located in 4D space-time. In
conclusion the consciousness not exist in time also, is timeless. The brain photons are the effect
of the interaction of the timeless consciousness with human brain. The final results of this
interaction are the: alpha, beta, delta and theta waves. In the paper we calculated the
temperature of the source of the photons located in human brain. It is well known that our space
time is filled with Cosmic Background Radiation. It was interesting to calculate the temperature
of the CBR source with the same model as for brain photons. As the result the shape of
temperature was calculated, temperature was obtained T=2.53 K, which is in very good
agreement with observed value. One can conclude by analogy that our space with background
radiation was created in the interaction of the timeless conscious with void
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References
Schild R. Cosmology of Consciousness, Quantum Physics & Neuroscience of Mind, Cosmology Science
Publishers, Cambridge, 2012.
Baierlein R. Thermal Physics, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Marciak-Kozlowska J, Kozlowski M. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and Human Brain.
NeuroQuantology 2013; 11(1): 47-51.
Kozlowski M, Marciak-Kozlowska J. Brain Photons as the Quanta of the Quantum String.
NeuroQuantology 2012; 10(3): 453-461.
Durrer R. The Cosmic Background. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Levy-Leblond J, Balibar F. Quantics. Elsevier Publisher, 1990.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1044-1049
Kaufman, S. E., The Perfection of Suffering
1044
Realization
The Perfection of Suffering
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
What we experience as reality is a perfect expression of the relation of Beingness to Itself that
creates what we experience as reality. And suffering is the perfect expression of Beingness that is
in a relation of conflict with Itself. To change the expression one must change the relation, and to
change the relation one need only cease to react with attachment and aversion to whatever
expressions of wantedness and unwantedness happen to be arising Now, in this moment, which
is the only moment there ever is.
Key Words: Consciousness, Beingness, experience, reality, perfection, suffering.
What we experience as reality
is a perfect expression
of the relation of Beingness to Itself
that creates
what we experience as reality.
To be in conflict with that expression
places what you actually are,
which is Beingness.
in conflict with Beingness,
and so in conflict with your Self.
To be in acceptance of that expression
places what you actually are,
which is Beingness.
in alignment with Beingness,
and so in alignment with your Self.
The perfect expression
of the relation of Beingness to Itself
can appear as that which is wanted
or as that which is unwanted.
The perfection of the expression
does not lie
in the appearance of the expression
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
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Kaufman, S. E., The Perfection of Suffering
as wanted or unwanted.
The perfection of the expression
lies instead
in the way in which the expression,
appearing as wanted or unwanted,
perfectly reflects and so perfectly expresses
the relation of Beingness to Itself
that creates the expression
Beingness is experiencing
as a reality.
And so the unwanted experience,
the unwanted reality,
is just as perfect
as the wanted experience,
just as perfect
as the wanted reality.
But we do not see it that way
when we do not see the Beingness
that is creating the expression,
that is creating the experience,
that is creating the reality.
Blind to Beingness,
we see only the expression,
only the experience,
only the reality,
of wantedness or unwantedness.
Blind to Beingness,
the wanted appears as perfect
and the unwanted appears as imperfect.
Blind to Beingness
and seeing the wanted as perfect,
we cling to that perfect expression
hoping to make ourselves more perfect.
Blind to Beingness
and seeing the unwanted as imperfect,
we push away that perfect expression
hoping to rid ourselves
of the apparent imperfection
so that we can become more perfect.
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1045
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Kaufman, S. E., The Perfection of Suffering
Blind to Beingness,
we do not see the perfection
that we already and always Are.
Blind to Beingness,
we see ourselves as what is only an expression,
an experience, a reality, a form,
that is actually being created by
the formless Beingness,
and actually being apprehended by
the formless Beingness,
that we actually Are.
Clinging to the seemingly perfect
so that we can become more perfect,
and pushing away the seemingly imperfect
so that we can become more perfect,
are both actions that arise
from the same delusion,
which same delusion
is the identification of formless Beingness
with form.
And as both actions arise
from that same delusion
both actions perpetuate
the singular delusion
from which they arise.
For as long as Beingness
flows Itself into action,
it knots into place
and so perpetuates
the underlying relation with Itself
that is the basis of that action.
And so as long as Beingness
flows Itself into action
based on a delusion,
it knots into place
and so perpetuates
the underlying relation with Itself
that creates the delusion.
And so Beingness,
once it identifies with form,
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Kaufman, S. E., The Perfection of Suffering
becomes bound by that delusion,
bound by the actions that seem so necessary,
bound by the actions it feels obliged to take,
once it knows itself as form
and so knows itself as that
which can be made more or less,
and so knows itself as that
which can be enhanced or diminished.
Seeming to be enhanced
by the apparent perfection
of that which is wanted,
and seeming to be diminished
by the apparent imperfection
of that which is unwanted,
form-identified Beingness moves
in attachment toward the wanted
and in aversion toward the unwanted.
And in both of these Movements,
attachment and aversion,
form-identified Beingness
unknowingly and unconsciously flows Itself
into a relation of conflict with Itself.
And so form-identified Beingness
creates suffering for Itself
when while blind to Itself
it tries to express Itself
through the unconscious Movements
of attachment and aversion.
Because what we experience as reality
is a perfect expression
of the relation of Beingness to Itself
that creates what we experience as reality.
And suffering is the perfect expression
of Beingness that is in a relation
of conflict with Itself.
Suffering is the Beingness that you actually Are
perfectly expressing Itself
as it flows Itself
into a relation of conflict with Itself.
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Kaufman, S. E., The Perfection of Suffering
To change the expression
one must change the relation,
and to change the relation
one need only cease to react
with attachment and aversion
to whatever expressions
of wantedness and unwantedness
happen to be arising Now,
in this moment,
which is the only moment there ever is.
For ceasing to react
with attachment and aversion
to the expressions that arise,
to the forms that arise,
within one's Beingness
within one's Awareness,
within one's Consciousness,
is not no action,
is not no Movement,
but is actually a Movement
that is the opposite
of the Self-oppositional Movement
that blinds Beingness to Itself
and simultaneously binds Beingness
to the delusion that what it is
is what is actually only an expression
that is being expressed and known
by Beingness Itself.
That is how Beingness unties Itself
from the knot of form-identification
by which it has bound Itself
to ignorance of Itself.
Not by tying more knots,
not through further reactive Movements,
but through the opposite Movement,
which Movement has already arisen
and in which Movement Beingness is already engaged
the moment Beingness ceases to react
with attachment and aversion
to the expressions of this moment,
to the experiences of this moment,
to the reality of this moment,
by accepting whatever forms
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arise within Itself in this moment
as the perfect expression of Itself,
as the perfect expression of what Is,
regardless of their appearance
as wanted or unwanted.
That is the Unconditioned
being unconditional.
That is the Unconditioned
being Itself.
That is the Unconditioned
moving out of ignorance
and into awareness
of Itself.
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Norman, R. et. al., Galvanic Skin Response & Its Neurological Correlates
Review Article
Galvanic Skin Response & Its Neurological Correlates
(1)
(1,2)
(1,3)
Rich Norman , Leonardo Mendolicchio , Cengiz Mordeniz , Enrico
(1)
(1)
(4)
(1)*
Pierangeli , Paolo Pannarale , Franco Orsucci & Elio Conte
(1)
School of Advanced International Studies on Applied Theoretical and Non-Linear Methodologies of Physics,
Bari, Italy
(2)
Villa Miralago, Clinic for the therapy of the eating disorders, Varese, Italy
(3)
Namık Kemal Üniversitesiand Tekirdağ Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Turkey
(4)
University College London, England
ABSTRACT
The primary focus of this article is to advance in depth study of the neurological correlates of
galvanic skin response (“GSR”) with the intention, on one hand, to clarify the neurological
patterns produced during recording, monitoring and analysis of GSR, and on the other hand, to
delineate the methodological profile that needs be followed during the recording of this GSR
signal. The GSR should be recorded at rest and affected by different stimuli.
Keywords: Galvanic skin response, GSR, protocol, GSR monitoring, GSR analysis, GSR signal,
linear method, non-linear method, neurological correlates.
Summary
The present relation formulates the methodological criteria that the operator must follow during the
recording, monitoring, and analysis of the GSR signal. The relation defines and prioritizes GSR
signal evaluation under these different conditions: the GSR should be recorded at rest and affected
by different stimuli, specifically: visual stimuli such as sudden bursts of light as well as images
modified to create multi-level energetic allocations, that is, soft images but also more potent images
able to induce strong visual perturbation, linguistic stimuli including words and phrases across a
spectrum of energetic/affective presentation (neutral, soft, strong and shocking), tactile stimuli
(again soft, sudden, and of short duration as well as strong, shocking and continued [of consistent
duration]), addressing different parts of the body throughout the session. Auditory stimulus and
olfactory stimulus will be included in the test procedures.
All the stimuli may be repeated several times in order to evaluate habituation, memory, recall and
other important neurological functions. Other stimuli may be used to foster memory load and stress,
as well as conflicting semantic stimuli, respectively, to be represented in resultant numerical
calculations reflecting mental performance, evidenced through Stroop effects, and every other
cognitive demonstration. It is important to keep in mind that the most difficult step in maintaining
accurate GSR monitoring and analysis, is to insure proper subjective evaluation of the manner in
which a subject responds to different levels of visual input, sounds, words, language strings
*Correspondence: Professor Elio Conte, School of Advanced Int’l Studies on Applied Theor. & Non-Linear Methodologies of
Phys., Bari, Italy. E-mail: elio.conte@fastwebnet.it
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(phrases) and tactile stimuli, in the context of habituation, meaning, the performance of subject
response to repeated identical subsequent stimuli, or mnemic recall of previous stimuli. For proper
evaluation of subjective parameters, that is calibration, it is necessary the explore a great variety of
stimuli differentiated as previously described. The term calibration here refers to the fact that each
subject has a subjective behavioral component in their GSR. Therefore, it becomes of fundamental
importance to identify and estimate the basic parameters in his/her personal context in absolute
values as well as in relation to standards, eventually established, tabulated and recorded from
normal subjects constituting a large GSR database obtained by monitoring a suitable population of
subjects.
Consequently, the various responses to a defined stimuli have a particular, fundamental role in GSR
monitoring that relates to the methodological profile since, under different conditions of stimulus,
the operator may calibrate the recorded GSR subjective profile in terms of the basic parameters
derived across population that characterize the phase of the GSR signal, such as Habituation,
Latency Time under stimuli, Reaction Times, Peak Values subsequent to stimuli, Half Recovery
Time following the peak amplitude of the phase, yielding a baseline value resultant of different
stimuli, within the neurological correlates identified across a sampled population, allowing a
correct, relative subjective analysis of the tone and of the phase of the GSR signal by Linear and
Non Linear methodologies. Toward this end it is important to recall that GSR is an intrinsically non
linear electrophysiological signal. Therefore its recording enables subsequent analysis based from
one side on the fixation and estimation of basic established parameters such as latency, reaction
times, peak amplitude, half recovery time, baseline compared at rest and after various stimuli as
specified, and from the other, relating that baseline to aspects of the time series for the tone and
phase of each subject subjected to analysis by non-linear methodologies. In this way we may
ascertain the real inner structure of the complex electrophysiological signal.
Introduction
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) is the measurements of the continuous dynamic variations of the
electrical properties of the skin. A great many terms have been derived from various approaches
both passive and active, such as: skin conductance, galvanic skin response (GSR), electrodermal
response (EDR), psychogalvanic reflex (PGR), skin conductance response (SCR), sympathetic
skin response (SSR) and skin conductance level (SCL). Often the term electrodermal activity
(EDA) is now ascribed to the phenomenon (although Skin Conductance and the associated Skin
Conductance Response are also common in modern literature) (Critchley, 2002). For the
remainder of this essay, the more traditional term GSR will be used in conjunction with Skin
Conductance (SC) and Skin Conductance Response (SCR).
The traditional view holds that increased sweat gland activity which is a function of the
sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous systems, increases skin conduction, and allows
measurement of said conduction to function as a measure of systemic arousal. Du Bois-Reymond
in the mid-1800s first observed skin conductivity through emersion of limbs in zinc sulfate
solution, and observation of muscular response affected by current. In 1878, Hermann and
Luchsinger demonstrated the involvement of the sweat glands, and Hermann later derived
increased conductance effects from the palms and hands supporting the role of perspiration in the
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process. Correlations between affect and GSR were found in the late 1870s and 1880s, by
Vigouroux and Féré respectively. In 1889 Ivane Tarkhnishvili developed a functional meter to
demonstrate the effects as they unfolded in time. Modern scientific study of the phenomenon
beginning in the early 1900s is partly credited to Jung, and specific reference can be found in his
seminal work: Studies in Word Analysis, published in 1906. [Information condensed from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrodermal_activity]
Emotional arousal in a nonspecific sense is tied to increased sympathetic system activity.
Electrodermal resistance, and also (passive) electrodermal potential (associated with perspiration
and blood flow), in their combination create the particular dynamic result. The response of skin
and muscle to internal and external stimuli, can be measured as variations in the range of
microsiemens (µS) conductance discrepancies over time. The esteemed Hugo D. Critchley has
said: "EDA is a sensitive psychophysiological index of changes in autonomic sympathetic
arousal that are integrated with emotional and cognitive states." (Critchley, 2002p. 132). GSR is
still used extensively today (Ogorevc et al. 2013).
Means and locus of specific applicability and basic signal parameters (See source
http://www.psychlab.com/SC_explained.html):
GSR/Skin-Conductance (SC) is typically measured with silver or silver chloride electrodes
placed on the medial phalanx of the index and middle fingers secured by double sided electrode
collars in conjunction with non-saline jell. The responses are a measure of subject
(autonomic/sympathetic) arousal. The medial phalange of the fingers or palm are typical
electrode application points, or in rare cases the heel of the foot is used.
To determine SC, low voltage (~0.5V) is sent across properly positioned electrodes to measure
conductance.
Within general GSR indications of sympathetic systemic arousal then, we have detailed response
components, onset, rise time, peak, and exponential decay. Although the relative level of
conductance alteration itself provides only general information concerning systemic arousal, the
component dynamics may be interactively interpreted as to both their linear and nonlinear
attributes to ascertain specific information about detailed affective response (Wang, Liu and
Yang, 2014; Karthikeyan, Murugappan, and Yaacob, 2013).
Neuroanatomical Circuit Pathways & Structures Affecting GSR
Jung referred to GSR as a sort of “looking glass” into the unconscious (Brown, 1977). As every
psychologist is aware, that statement implies GSR contains much more affective information
than just general arousal, in the context of fight or flight, as is the reductionist view of
sympathetic arousal. Indeed, the full plethora of hidden (unconscious) physiological affective
instantiations which create the valence of perceived reality must be involved. Indeed, this is so.
Let us first delineate the relation between GSR and sympathetic connectivity so as to determine
if GSR is indeed an accurate measure of autonomic sympathetic systemic response. The sweat
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glands are exclusively innervated by the sympathetic nervous system, and are activated via
postganglionic sudomotor fibers (Benedek and Kaernbach 2010). A collective temporal grouping
of single fiber triggering spikes is called a nerve burst, which corresponds to a single SCR. SCR
amplitude then, may be taken as a measure of sympathetic activity. The SC time series
demonstrates: a. slowly changing tonic activity, i.e., skin conductance level, and b. rapidly
changing phasic dynamics ie. SCRs. The train of SCRs present as a series of superpositions, the
slowly declining portion of the last SCR overlapping the next SCR. Clearly, GSR is a highly
exclusive window into the activational state of the sympathetic nervous system, although at this
point in it is not exactly straight forward as to how an indistinct phasic component might best be
extracted from the superposition (Boucsein,1992). Suitable methods of phasic analysis will be
presented below.
Next, we must observe the relationship to sensory processes and input. The prolific innervations
of the sympathetic nervous system, extend to nearly every organ and bodily structure.
Visual stimulus
The lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus receives information from the retina and
distributes it to area V1.
In the most general sense, from area V1: the superior longitudinal fasciculus includes axons
terminating in the posterior parietal cortex, where object location ("where" information) is
derived, and, the inferior longitudinal fasciculus contains axons terminating in the inferotemporal
cortex, a region implying object identification ("what" information) (Gazzaniga et al., 2009, p.
209). Initial lesioning experiments with monkeys implied this reasoning (Pohl, 1973).
Processing, is refined via the progressive signal chain of visual areas, each with more detailed
functionality. the ventral intraparietal sulcus (VIP) is where visual and somatosensory
information are integrated. Then, in Brodmann Area 20 (Inferior temporal, Fusiform and
Parahippocampal gyri) and other areas, the processing is recombined into integrated perceptual
wholes (Gerlach 2002). The medial temporal lobe, along with limbic connectivities may well
provide integrative information and directly aid in perceptual processing apart from the
commonly acknowledged role as an exclusive memory system (Lee and Rudebeck 2010; Murray
and Mishkin 1998). Object recognition is dependent on the Rhinal cortex (which is part of the
medial temporal lobe) (Murray 2000).
In vision, the sympathetic nervous system dilates the pupil and has other known connectivity:
a. mydriasis- contract pupillary dilator muscle (alpha 1 receptor)
b. contract superior tarsal muscle to hold eyelid open (alpha 1 receptor)
c. Relax ciliary muscle for distant vision (ß2 receptors)
d. Enhance aqueous humor formation (ß2 receptors)
e. Inhibit aqueous humor formation (alpha 2 receptors)
[Information Retrieved from: http://www.uruq.com/download/3159.html]
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Tactile Stimulus
“There are different types of skin receptors that respond to and transmit stimuli.
Pacinian corpuscles and free nerve endings are found in both hairless and hairy skin.
The Pacinian corpuscles vibrations, corpuscles are skin receptors that receive stimuli
associated with high frequency while free nerve endings receive pain stimuli.
Meanwhile, the Meissner’s are exclusive in hair skin and respond to low frequency
vibrations and pressure stimuli. Other touch receptors include Merkel’s disks (pressure)
and Ruffini’s corpuscles (low frequency vibrations).
The sensory information from the receptors is transmitted through either one of the
three systems: (1) dorsal-column-medial lemniscal system (touch and proprioception),
(2) anterolateral system (pain and temperature), or (3) spinocerebellar system
(proprioception) towards the dorsal columns. From there, the input is transferred to the
thalamus, which then relays the information to the primary somatosensory cortex for
processing” (Retrieved from https://explorable.com/neural-pathways-of-smell-tasteand-touch)
The sympathetic nervous system deeply affects skin receptors and smooth muscle structures and
is intimately tied to the sense of touch, as well as exclusively innervating sweat glands as
mentioned above (Efes, 1992).
Sensory signaling in Olfaction
"Information is conducted from the olfactory bulbs by the lateral olfactory tract to the
primary olfactory cortex. From there, it goes to the thalamus (mediodorsal nucleus)
and on to the orbito-frontal cortex where conscious smell perception occurs. Primates
also have a pathway that runs from the thalamus to the amygdala which is part of the
limbic system, and then on to the hypothalamus. The limbic system is involved in the
perception of emotions and is responsible for the "affective" component of smell. This
may explain why scents can engender strong emotions and/or take us back to previous
experiences" (Retrieved from: http://www.ucalgary.ca/pip369/mod8/smell/pathways).
Sympathetic nervous system in olfaction:
“The olfactory epithelium is extensively innervated by sympathetic nerve endings,
which release norepinephrine, and parasympathetic nerve endings, which release
acetylcholine. Because olfactory sensory neurons have adrenergic and muscarinic
receptors in addition to odorant receptors, autonomic stimulation can modulate the
responses of olfactory sensory neurons to odorants.” (Hall, 2011).
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The sense of taste
"The tongue contains small bumps called papillae, within or near which taste buds are
situated. In the tongue’s taste buds, the taste receptors receive sensory input via two
important mechanisms – depolarization and neurotransmitter release. Intake of salty
foods leads more sodium ions to enter the receptor, causing the said mechanisms. The
same is true with intake of sour foods (hydrogen ions) and sweet foods (sugar
molecules), both of which result to the closing of K+ channels upon their entry.
From the axons of the taste receptors, the sensory information is transferred to the three
taste pathways via the branches of cranial nerves VII, IX and X. The chorda tympani of
CN VII (facial nerve) carries the taste sensory input from the tongue’s anterior twothirds. Then, the rest of the taste sensations from the throat, palate and posterior tongue
are transmitted by the branches of CN IX (glossopharyngeal nerve) and CN X (vagus
nerve). From these cranial nerves, taste sensory input travels through the nerve fiber
synapses to the solitary tract, the ventral posteromedial thalamic nuclei, and the
thalamus. In these three locations, there are clustered neurons which respond to the
same taste (sweet, sour, salty or bitter). The thalamus relays the information to the
primary gustatory cortex located in the somatosensory cortex. The primary gustatory
cortex is where the perception of a particular taste is processed." [Retrieved from:
https://explorable.com/neural- pathways-of-smell-taste-and-touch]
Sympathetic nervous system and taste: sympathetic responses delineate between healthy and
unhealthy food choices and quantities (Rousmans, 2000).
The sense of hearing
“The inner ear consists of the cochlea and vestibular apparatus. The cochlea is a
component of osseous labyrinth that contains perilymph and the cochlear duct. The
cochlear duct is a component of membranous labyrinth and contains endolymph. The
cochlea makes 3.25 turns in the dog (2.5 in man) around a core of bone (called the
modiolus) through which the cochlear nerve passes. The entire complex resembles a
snail’s shell (whence the term cochlea is derived). Within the cochlea, the cochlea duct
(scala media) separates two perilymph chambers: the scalavestibuli, which contacts the
oval window membrane, and the scala tympani, which contacts the round window
membrane. Perilymph can flow from one scala to the other through an opening
(helicotrema) at the apex of the cochlea. The helicotrema is non-functional with respect
to the physiology of hearing, it merely precludes
perilymph
stagnation.”
[Retrieved from: http://vanat.cvm.umn.edu/NeuroLectPDFs/LectAuditorySys.pdf]
Sympathetic nervous system in hearing: The cochlea is innervated by the sympathetic nerve
fibers. Sympathetic functioning levels appear to mediate trauma (Wada, 1999).
And of music: "specific features of music (e.g., its beat, tempo, or pitch level) trigger
neurophysiological, psychophysiological, emotional, and behavioral responses. . . continued
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work within these different paradigms may reveal a common finding: that the ANS serves as the
final common pathway by which music exerts a therapeutic effect on health and disease" (Ellis
and Thayer, 2010, pp. 323-324).
Language & GSR:
Response to words is a “unidirectional” measure, meaning it reflects only the strength of an
attitude. Smith in 1922 discovered that GSR deflections are associated with affectively laden
topics. Mc Curdy in 1950 disclosed after reviewing the literature that a very significant +.75
correlation was found between the size of an electrodermal response and affective vividness.
Affective directionality was not indicated, only response strength independent of positive or
negative valence (Petty et al., 2014).
In (Barry, 1980) we read that the response of subjects to words is deeply related to the
personality structure of the subject being examined. Affectively inhibited subjects, display less
response.
Is there more depth to be had in ascertaining affective response and internal state? Is there a
better approach with more information gained? We believe there is.
A New Model
Next we may consider a specific model of sympathetic and parasympathetic interactivity, “A
topological model of biofeedback based on catecholamine interactions" (Basak et al. 2005). A
model is presented in which the subject’s condition may be assessed within the context of
biofeedback as represented in mathematical analysis of the component response structures
comprising GSR, which may be seen as dissipative or conservative, allowing internal subject
states to be quantified. Dissipative response structure evidences changing dynamics by way of
diminishment within the transduction phase, which will be evidenced as a declining exponential
function. A conservative system response by contrast is characterized by rising phases, which are
hypothesized to be due to sustained levels of catecholamines.
Through the mutual innervation of sympathetic and parasympathetic systems within the
hypothalamus, an effect is advanced where sympathetic activity is mediated by parasympathetic
interactivity under the particular moniker of parasympathetic stimulation. Transduction phase
analysis is proposed to derive correlations with pathogenic conditions such as migraine and
psychosomatic digestive disorders. Negative feedback curtails excessive response unless a
pathological condition is in evidence. Phasic components have a residual factor, also. Residual
homeostatic output level, ΔV, is correlated with GSR. This correlation is understood in the
context of long lasting residual homeostatic response associated with “sustained catecholamine
action.” The familiar balanced interdependence of sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of
autonomic functioning in the context of adrenergic and cholinergic mediation is detailed and
described in this paper. We see how “noradrenergic enhancement is diminished as cholinergic
neurotransmission becomes established.”
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So through analysis of conservation in systemic expression (conservative dynamics increasing
transduction effects) vs. dissipative dynamism (reduction in transduction effects) as understood
in the context of adrenergic and cholinergic receptor activity, a mathematical assessment of
pathological internal state associated dynamics is possible. Systemic input may be auditory,
visual or tactile. It is demonstrated how subject response to stimuli within the context of
biofeedback may thus provide a graded pathologic systemic metric.
This proposed theoretic methodology may then be generally applied as follows: A recording
of the tone and phase of the GSR signal is compared with the subject at rest and under external
stimulation. Sensory modalities include those of sight (utilizing various strengths and visual time
durations), tactile stimulus (of various durations, somatic targets, distributions and strengths),
phrases and words (of various affective presentations from delicate to shocking) and sounds.
Each stimulus type and specifically mediated presentation then, can be assessed and attributed to
specific neurological dynamics inferred from the revealed GSR pattern analysis. To determine
the responses properly in their subjective specificity, a clear reference value must be first
established. This will yield the patterning to be analyzed, once framed in a proper referential
context. This is accomplished through tripartite analysis of: a. latency time, of b. peak amplitude
and of c. half-recovery time, which are of course essential. Recording, monitoring and analysis
of the habituation factor is also required. However, a complete analysis will not stop short of the
deeper facts revealed through direct use of non-linear-chaotic-deterministic tools. Those may
allow the realization, of Jung’s vision. We must now progress toward that end, and gain a midlevel anatomical analysis to go with what we have derived, before completing the picture.
Anatomical activations associated with GSR: Now that we have articulated a suitable
framework within which GSR signal interpretation may be instituted, and then advanced a
general theoretical approach to experimental construction within said framework, it remains for
us to demonstrate the proposed patterned anatomical specificity activated in association with
GSR. Can active brain states across time and their corresponding anatomical structures be
inferred from GSR to a deeper level of connectivity, allowing the autonomic/sympathetic
measure of GSR a window into more complex organizational levels of cognition?
In (Critchley, 2002) we find the next level of connectivity into the deeper system is indeed
available to articulate. Here, the seemingly peripheral sympathetic system, which we now know
informs us also by way of its intra-connected balance within the autonomic whole of homeostatic
functioning, also contains demonstrable correlations to deeper levels of affective and attentional
anatomical specificity, just as our general experimental outline would require (please see the
original article for inter-text citations embedded within the following quotation):
“Within the hypothalamus and brainstem, there exists a discrete set of brain regions
involved in homeostatic control of sympathetic arousal that controls peripheral EDA via
ipsilateral descending connections to the spinal cord. The autoregulatory functions of
these brain regions are dynamically modulated to adapt bodily arousal to meet the
demands of behavior. It is this second-order modulation, manifest in discrete peaks of
electrodermal activity (SCR, GSR), that has been the basis of the application of EDA to
psychophysiological research.
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“Higher” brain regions that influence EDA include the ventromedial prefrontal cortex,
anterior cingulate, parietal lobe, insula, amygdala, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
There are distinct anatomical contributions to the contextual control of EDA: The
ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala are associated with EDA responses during
motivational behavior, but they differ in their specific roles. Thus, the ventromedial
prefrontal cortex is involved in anticipatory EDA responses, whereas the amygdala is
implicated in EDA responses to learned associations between stimuli and reinforcement
(e.g., during fear conditioning). There is also evidence suggesting that a primary role for
the anterior cingulate cortex is to integrate autonomic bodily states with behavior
(Critchley and others 2000a, 2001a, 2001b). Thus, anterior cingulate activity varies with
EDA responses to emotive stimuli (Fredrikson and others 1998), and anticipatory EDA
in the context of risk (Critchley and others 2001a), and is also associated with volitional
modulation of EDA responses (Critchley and others 2001b). The interaction between
EDA-indexed arousal and attention is perhaps of more general importance. A critical
area for visual attention is the right parietal cortex. Lesions here not only impair
attention but also diminish EDA responses (Tranel and Damasio 1994; Zahn and others
1999; Tranel 2000), and right parietal cortex activity covaries with EDA (Critchley and
others 2000b). These findings suggest commonality in the neuroanatomy supporting
both attention and bodily arousal, consistent with the use of EDA as an index of
attention and the observation that attention is directed toward stimuli that evoke arousal
(e.g., Lane and others 1999).” (Critchley, 2002).
Now that basic attentional, affective and anatomical connectivities represented in GSR have been
presented, we need but go one step deeper to ascertain the complete picture, so as to determine
the full measure of systemic information which might be derived, before suggesting the
mathematics to accomplish these ends. We conclude: systemic imbalance at all levels of
psychological and neuroanatomical depth may be ascertained through further development of
this model of analysis. To perturb the autonomic system with specific modes of stimulation will
reveal in linear vs. nonlinear, and, conservative vs. dissipative transduction phase analysis:
causal underlying psychological states, dynamics and pathology. Observation of manifest
autonomic sympathetic functioning, reflects a copious and rich measure of psychophysical state
specificity, if properly analyzed within the context of associated phase transduction, chaoticnonlinear and linear aspects. That analysis extends past behaviorist inferences, into the very
depths of affective assignment.
To accomplish this we must ask: How does the basic affective repressive regulatory circuitry and
mnemic affective processing interact with cortical and limbic expression, as related to GSR?
Limbic/OFC circuits and related structures, their dynamics and GSR: Now that we have
drawn out a general picture of the basic connectivities of the sympathetic branch of the
autonomic system (and balanced parasympathetic dynamics), we need complete the picture and
add the increased complexity of the related mnemic, cortical and limbic affective structures as
they intersect, integrate and cross-modulate affective expression in internal ideation and external
stimulus processing. Neural activity occurs across brain structures, and must be assessed as such
(Norman, 2016). Then the limit, abundance of information and analytic potential can be fully
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appreciated. A circuit analysis set in a primary developmental context related to object quality
and repression is required. Are the structures involved correlated with GSR? How deeply might
GSR be able to peer into the hidden human questions of health and illness?
Affective Regulatory Circuitry analysis: Schore has discovered two circuits which are primary
in development, and function in opposition to each other: the dopaminergically modulated
sympathetic ventral tegmental limbic circuit, and the noradrenergically modulated lateral
parasympathetic tegmental limbic circuit [Schore as cited in (Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002 p.
234-235)]. The sympathetic circuit, which we propose underlies intersubjective Alpha Function
(Norman, 2013, 2014; Brown, 2011) is formed, much as Bion had supposed, as a function of the
dyadic exchange between infant and mother of glance and gaze, and we will add an inference
which is quite obvious and easily supported (Panksepp, 1998 p. 272; Keveren, 1989; Montagu,
1978) as infants engaged in the exchange of maternal glances are usually being held, that
maternal touch and the subsequent addition of neuropeptides/endorphins also have a part to play
in creating the result:
“It is hypothesized that maternal regulated high intensity socio-affective stimulation
provide in the ontogenetic niche, specifically occurring in dyadic psychobiologically
attuned, arousal amplifying, face to face reciprocal gaze transactions, generates and
sustains positive affect in the dyad. These transactions induce particular neuroendocrine
changes which facilitate the expansive innervation of deep sights in orbitofrontal areas,
especially in the early maturing visuospatial right hemisphere, of ascending subcortical
axons of a neurochemical circuit of the limbic system––the sympathetic ventral
tegmental limbic circuit.” [Schore as cited in (Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002p. 234)]
The sympathetic tegmental limbic circuit is dopaminergically modulated, and can rightly be
thought of as a primary manifestation of libidinal excitation and discharge (Kaplan-Solms &
Solms, 2002 p. 237). It should be noted that the dopaminergic and opioid systems and circuitry
which respond to create the good feelings which reinforce socially mediated behavior, both
involve many of the same areas, such as the ventral tegmental area, where the A-10 mesolimbic
dopamine cells are located (Panksepp, 1998 p. 118). Neuropeptides such as the endogenous
opioids including beta-endorphin which is triggered by social cues and touch, have a primary
role in creating social bonds, quelling pain, both physical and mental, are key in alleviating
separation distress, creating sexual reward, and addictive reinforcement (Panksepp, 1998 p. 255,
264). So we can see here, in the formation of the sympathetic ventral limbic circuit triggered by
maternal exchanges of glance, sight and touch, a source of libido, an energetic dopaminergic
circuit which up- mediates arousal and shapes behavior, formed presumably by way of allocating
both endorphins, and those neuroendocrine functions involved with encouraging the substantial
innervations of dopaminergic projections into orbitofrontal areas. Here, in the activity of the
completed circuit, along with the peptide systems, dopamine and opioids serve their reward and
motivational functions as social and energetic contributors.
The contrary circuit, the parasympathetic lateral limbic circuit, is to be thought of as a balance, a
cut off, a competing inhibitory system to counter the rewarding energetic expression of the
sympathetic circuit (Kaplan-Solms & Solms 2002 p. 237). This circuit functions to stop our
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energetic libidinal expression: functional, conditional, affect regulation in response to social cues
(ibid. pp. 234-238) and so, can best be understood as the physiological structure triggered by
social disapproval: by shame and guilt. Both of these circuits are innervated into the orbitofrontal
areas, which mediate social cues and functioning, just as one would expect.
These two circuits provide in the resultant homeostatic balance, the basic emotional tone and
underlying affective regulation in man, and may well be the true foundation of Empathy, of
which mirror neurons are but a small imitative component subset (Norman 2013, 2014, 2016b).
Connection between GSR & Human Affective Repression & Expression
Is there a relation between GSR, and the activity of these primary dopaminergic and
noradrenergically modulated sympathetic and parasympathetic limbic/OFC circuits? Is GSR able
to assess sympathetic activity between the associated cortical areas such as the
OFC/ventromedial prefrontal cortex and its connectivity to the limbic areas, circuitry so primary
to the deep complexity of human affective states, and their hidden causes? Can GSR and
linear/nonlinear analysis determine the essence of unconscious human affect? Yes, and as you
will see, this is exactly as it should be-primary.
In (Nagai et al., 2004) we read the following: “We examined neural activity related to
modulation of skin conductance level (SCL), an index of sympathetic tone, using functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while subjects performed biofeedback arousal and
relaxation tasks. Neural activity within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and the
orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) covaried with skin conductance level (SCL), irrespective of task.
Activity within striate and extrastriate cortices, anterior cingulate and insular cortices, thalamus,
hypothalamus and lateral regions of prefrontal cortex reflected the rate of change in
electrodermal activity, highlighting areas supporting transient skin conductance responses
(SCRs). Successful performance of either biofeedback task (where SCL changed in the intended
direction) was associated with enhanced activity in mid-OFC.” (p. 234.)
Next, please recall that the primary affective regulatory and energetic expressive circuitry
associated with the fundamentals of affective repression and release, is the core limbic/OFC
circuitry: the sympathetic ventral tegmental limbic circuit [Schore as cited in (Kaplan-Solms &
Solms, 2002 p. 234)], and the parasympathetic lateral limbic circuit. The connections between
limbic structures and the OFC are primary (Norman, 2013, 2014). If GSR is to probe the true
depths of human experience, it MUST demonstrate correspondence in its measurements, to these
circuits which span the limbic system and OFC. For here we find the most primary
regulatory/energetic mechanism which dispenses interest in the world (please think of
Panksepp's SEEKING system (Panksepp, 1998), elation, shame and guilt (Kaplan-Solms &
Solms, 2002). The OFC contains affective coding which spans population, and the limbic system
is of course known as the affective mainspring (Chikazoe et al., 2014). These circuits are a
primary basis of manifest human emotion. Is there reason to believe GSR can provide
information about them? If so, it is clear, the unconscious itself in all of its nuanced complexity
as the mediator of human conscious affect may be measured in its effects with GSR.
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Indeed this is just the case. In (Frey, Zlatkina and Petrides, 2009) we read the following: “The
results demonstrate that the right rostral orbitofrontal cortex is involved in the active encoding of
novel tactile information, while a more caudal region of the orbitofrontal cortex, which is more
closely connected with limbic and autonomic regions of the brain, was activated when subjects
explored novel aversive tactile stimuli. These results suggest that the orbitofrontal cortex,
through its connections with the limbic areas of the medial temporal lobe, influences the
processing of incoming information and thus contributes to its encoding.” (p. 650.) [emphasis
added]
Also this: "Baseline GSR rates were recorded in microsiemens (lS) and were first obtained by
presenting the subjects with familiar control stimuli (Control). Novel: GSRs to non-aversive
tactile stimuli used in the PET novel tactile encoding condition. Aversive: GSRs to aversive
stimuli used in the PET aversive tactile condition. Significant differences were observed between
the aversive and the non-aversive tactile stimuli (paired t-test, P < 0.05)." (caption p. 652)
And from p. 654:
"After an initial baseline GSR trace was established, all subjects exhibited deviations
from this baseline state that are characteristic of typical traces observed from
sympathetic electrodermal activity (see Fig. 1). Although the responses varied across
stimuli and subjects, significant statistical differences were found between all of the
aversive tactile stimuli and five of the selected stimuli from the nonaversive tactile
condition (paired t-test, t 5 1.92, df 5 7, P < 0.05). These findings imply that the
aversive tactile stimuli led to elevated skin conductance levels and were likely more
emotionally charged in comparison to the novel tactile stimuli. In the
psychophysiological experiment, performance in the recognition memory test for the
nonaversive tactile stimuli was 71.5% correct, sd 5 19.9, and for the aversive tactile
stimuli was 88.5% correct, sd 5 6.4 (paired t-test, t 5 2.46, df 5 7, P < 0.05)." (p. 654
ibid.)
Of course it has long been known that proper functionality in biology can be fruitfully
determined by nonlinear analysis (Panksepp, 1998, pp. 93-94; Kleick, 1987; Elbert et al., 1994;
Freeman 1991, 1995; Lipsitz and Goldberger, 1992 p. 1808). It now makes good sense to read
that positive affect such as happiness, has a distinct nonlinear signature derivable with GSR, for
it is sympathetic limbic/OFC circuitry which distributes happiness/elation (Wang, Liu and Yang,
2014; Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002). Ergo: nonlinear sympathetic autonomic systems analysis is
appropriate to define the state. We may conclude that GSR contains encoding endemic to the
deepest hidden affective responses in the human animal, and clearly understand, only a proper
method of linear/nonlinear mathematical analysis is needed to extract this vital information.
We retain, in accordance with (Basak et al., 2005; Wang, Liu and Yang, 2014) that a primary
analytical emphasis on GSR further contextualized as to its linear/nonlinear attribution via
inclusion of secondary variables such as EEG and ECG, within a primary
dissipative/conservative transduction phase analysis, allows assessment of basic peripheral
sympathetic responses in GSR to controlled multi-level stimulus including tactile, olfactory,
general auditory (sounds), linguistic (words and phrases), and visual stimuli, so as to reveal
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internal affective states and pathological categorization with accuracy never before achieved.
Next we will detail the specific mathematics used to assess human affect, within this promising
and important new analytic framework as has been developed and researched in our laboratory of
electrophysiology in Bari at the S.T.M.P.
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Addendum: Sexual Health, Pathology & Response Analysis via GSR
Summary:
Please recall the foregoing conclusions and analyses which have detailed the specific neuroanatomical
activations and emergent sympathetic and parasympathetic connectivities including the inter-connective
limbic and Orbito-Frontal Cortex (OFC) circuit pathways spanning the deepest psychological foundations
and encoding on both conscious and unconscious levels, which may be revealed in GSR (Norman and
Conte et al. 2016). The very deepest psychological factors springing from fundamental neuro- affective
regulatory agencies may be assessed and measured. This vital work will be performed so as to aid and
assess both individuals and couples who are dealing with sexual dysfunction using measurement of
response to salient libidinal stimulus and resultant signal analysis. The quality of emotional content and
symptom specific affective distributional signal components will be measured. Such work is no simple
matter, and may well be substantially aided and sharpened through the addition of secondary variables
such as Heart Rate (HR) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which just as GSR, demonstrate nonlinear
characteristics. Tertiary variables are also discussed as they will aid the process of informational
distillation. To gain access to the embedded information, a full and substantial knowledge across the
disciplines of neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, linear and nonlinear mathematical physics is
required. Non-linear and linear analysis of component interactive dynamics in the GSR signal must be
interpreted in accordance with the previously specified methodological framework.
We conclude that:
THE MONITORING OF THE GSR AND ITS SUBSEQUENT ANALYSIS BY LINEAR AND NON LINEAR
METHODS IN SUBJECTS EXPOSED TO SEXUAL STIMULI IS OF BASIC IMPORTANCE TO
CHARACTERIZE HIS/ HER SEXUAL AROUSAL AS INTERPRETED WITHIN THEIR COMPLETE
ORGANIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE.
THE SIMULTANEOUS USE OF HR (HRV) RECORDING WITH GSR WILL YIELD RESULTS OF BASIC
IMPORTANCE AS DURING EXPERIMENTALLY CONTROLLED STIMULUS, COUPLED AND
SYNCHRONIZED ANALYSIS OF THE PEAK PHASE OF THE GSR AND DECREASING (RESPECTIVELY
INCREASING) HR, ENABLES US TO CHARACTERIZE THE EMOTIONAL/AFFECTIVE TYPE AND STATE
OF THE SUBJECT.
Rational:
Why use GSR to probe the human sexual conundrum? The matter is complex, and the two sexes do not fit
the same mold (Benson, 2003). Many studies have led to a series of contradictory, or at least overly
complex results. It appears to use some measures of physical arousal such as vaginal blood flow, that
women are able to generate evidence of excitation to more diverse stimuli than men (Chivers and Bailey,
2005). But to use other measures, such as specific clitoral excitation evidenced through the clitoral
photoplethysmograph, female responses are revealed as more specific (Gerritsen et al. 2009).
In the case of the female, invasive means such as the vaginal photoplethysmograph (Geer, 2005), or in the
male case the familiar penile plethysmograph must be used to gauge excitation. The clitoral
photoplethysmograph does seem to have some specific measure of inhibition associated with its
functional output (Gerritsen et al. 2009), but the device is physically invasive exactly as the others used,
which include but are not limited to:
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Vaginal Photoplethysmography, the Xenon-133 Washout and the Oxygen-Temperature method involving
injection of a tracer intraepithelially in the posterior vagina, along with a vaginal suction cup holding a
heated electrode, Vaginal and Labial Thermistors, Clitoral intracavernosal pressure measurement using a
catheter inserted into clitoral cavernosal tissue, Pelvic Floor Electromyogram techniques using stainless
steel wire electrodes and silver disc electrodes attached to the vaginal wall, and a host of other methods
(Woodard and Diamond, 2009).
Clearly GSR is less invasive than many of the other methods offered. However, on the surface it appears
to be less specific. We assert: This is not so, and this false impression is due only to the fact that the
highly complex nonlinear signal has not been properly analyzed within a modern multidisciplinary
understanding of the appropriate mathematical techniques. Now, we are in a position to discover and
make use of the embedded information contained in the GSR signal in the light of psychology and
neuroscientific advancements applied within a proper model of linear and nonlinear analysis. This new
approach to GSR will unearth the full potential of this safe, noninvasive diagnostic tool and demonstrate
that it is capable of dynamic and precise systemic assessment. GSR measurement is a practical technique
which will allow the detailed quantization of emotional and sexual aspects as they interact in the context
of functional affective regulation, so as to yield a complete picture of the complexities of sexual
functioning, regulation, and subjective experience.
From psychology and neuro-anatomy to functional analysis:
Sexuality is not a simple matter of excitation and pleasure for the purpose of procreation. The modern
human is a highly complex, socially bound and convoluted animal and his/her resistances to internal
drives and thoughts are as important as those drives themselves in assessing the situation of human sexual
health and happiness (Freud, 1886- 1939).GSR once psychologically contextualized within the
mathematical interactivity of secondary linear and non linear variables like HR and HRV, will open a
window into the specific hidden processes of resistance, excitation and energetic expenditure which are
human sexuality, pathology and health.
Women often demonstrate conflicted and oppositional physiological and subjective aspects of sexual
excitation (Castaneda, 2013 pp. 257–260). We deduce psychologically: Somatic (unconscious)
indications of excitation are often paired with disgust or other subjective (conscious) reactions. This
familiar process of reaction formation and repression of an ego dystonic drive/element, indicative of
affective control and restriction, is demonstrated in female GSR responses to erotic material. In (Costa
and Esteves, 2008) pertaining to the lack of previously predicted lateral distributions of female GSR
response to erotic content we read: “. . . women are more able to control and inhibit emotions, inclusively
sexual arousal . . . and regulatory control of sexual and emotional responses seems biased to the left
hemisphere . . . . Thus larger left SCRs during the erotica exhibition could have reflected in part
regulatory processes by left hemisphere structures, associated with voluntary regulation (or inhibition) of
sexual emotions. . . . Moreover, dysregulation of otherwise adaptive inhibitory mechanisms might
contribute to sexual dysfunction . . . ”
GSR captures both expressed dynamic libidinal drive elements, and their inhibition and repression.
The complexity of the specific operational intersection between neuroanatomy, somatic response and
basic unconscious arousal as captured by GSR has now been articulated in deep detail. In a cursory way
we may summarize the information as follows (see:) (Costa and Esteves, 2008): Sexual excitation is
associated with areas which control GSRs.
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Penile tumescence induced by viewing erotic material is associated with elevated activity in cingulate
gyrus, insula, right anterior cingulate cortex and right thalamus, anterior cingulate gyrus, amygdala, and
hypothalamus. Female orgasm is associated with hypothalamus, hippocampus, anterior cingulate gyrus,
insula, and amygdala activation.
Generally: fMRI studies indicate response to erotic material from anterior cingulate gyrus, insula and
amygdala for both men and women, along with thalamus and hypothalamus for men. During orgasm in
men right prefrontal activation is indicated and erotic material increases activation in the bilateral (mostly
right) extrastriate cortices and right inferolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus and
hypothalamus (Costa and Esteves, 2008).
In order to untangle the interwoven complexity of excitation and restriction of affective expression
endemic to the moral complexities and physical needs of patients, GSR phasic signal relations are key as
they clearly contain within them the result of those highly complex interactions detailed above. The
problem then, is to ascertain exactly how to interpret the information so as to extract and detail the current
operational state of the patient’s fluid human mental dynamic. In order to do so, it will be helpful to add a
second nonlinear component, such as HR, HRV, or perhaps also concurrent EEG in order to further refine
the affective signal structure to be identified (Wang, Liu and Yang 2008). It is possible to extract the full
potential of this technology through dissipative/conservative systems GSR signal analysis (Basak et al.
2005) within a concurrent linear and non linear mathematical approach which is psychologically and
neuroscientifically contextualized. Indeed, such linear and non linear analysis is the precise specialization
of our group [references sharply abbreviated] (Conte and Lucas 2015; Laterza, Todarello and Conte,
2013; Conte, 2012; Conte et al. 2009; Conte et al. 2004).
Tertiary analytic methodologies:
Due to the longstanding commitment of our group to the pursuit of specific mathematical tools and
approaches to unearth the deep intersection between mentation, health and inherent nonlinear/chaotic
process dynamics, we may offer further empirical and practical insight in order to further sharpen the
picture. The very repetition compulsion itself which constitutes the fundamental unconscious resistance to
change may be attributed a sort of fixated fractal structure, just as the interpretation of dreams, health and
pathology may be assessed in terms of the trend toward or away from the constructive evolution of selfsimilar complexity (Conte et al. 2008). Indeed, direct analysis of unconscious structures mediating peak
experiences demonstrate clear fractal aspects (Norman, 2014).
Our group was the first to use fractal analysis to gauge subjective aesthetic assessment of Rorschach ink
blots, relating specific mathematics to human subjective and affective judgments (Conte et al. 2008). In
fact, starting in 2011, our group performed routine monitoring and subsequent linear and non linear
analysis of GSR using Rorschach ink blots as the input stimulus. This tertiary insight actively and directly
applied in tandem with simultaneous primary and secondary signal analysis will unearth the fundamental
state of balance and pathological constituency of the subject to be aided.
In consideration of these insights our group is best suited to advance a complete psychologically,
neuroscientifically grounded mathematics, capable of using primary GSR, in conjunction with secondary
linear/nonlinear component measures such as HR/HRV and EEG, to be further augmented in the addition
of tertiary fractal and multi fractal analysis of perceptive processes, so as to unearth the health and
functional state of human psychopathology. In this way, we might best offer tangible and specific aid to
the patient population in need of analysis and subsequent rightly directed treatment.
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Conclusion:
Sexual health in the human animal is a highly complex and detailed interactive phenomenon which spans
many brain regions and somatic targets, yielding a delicate balance between inhibition and expression.
The same component areas which create this complex dynamic, are those which demonstrably affect
GSR. GSR, alongside concurrent non-linear analysis of other signal sources such as heart rate (HR) heart
rate variability (HRV) and EEG, if properly interpreted within the correct experimental and mathematical
methodology, may then derive deep insight into conscious and unconscious dynamics and so, aid in
patient taxonomy while pointing up highly specific avenues of therapeutic approach.
Next in this series, we will relate common sexual pathology and dysfunction to the social factors which
exacerbate this problem, and then, offer a potential safe therapeutic solution, as well as a method to test
its efficacy while establishing a nonlinear GSR socio-affective metric.
References:
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Research Essay
The Theory of a Natural Afterlife
A Newfound, Real Possibility for What Awaits Us at Death
Bryon K. Ehlmann*
Abstract: For centuries humans have considered just two main possibilities for what awaits us at death: a
“nothingness” like that of our before-life or some type of supernatural afterlife. The theory of a natural
afterlife defines a vastly different, real possibility. The natural afterlife embodies all of the sensory
perceptions, thoughts, and emotions present in the final moment of a near-death, dreamlike experience.
With death this moment becomes timeless and everlasting to the dying person—essentially, a neverending experience. The relativeness and timelessness of the natural afterlife must be clearly understood to
appreciate why it’s not supernatural yet indeed an afterlife and potentially the optimal heaven. The theory
of a natural afterlife is now only a hypothesis; however, science, human experience, and logical deduction
suggest that it’s extremely plausible and advances in science and technology could someday make it a
scientific theory. This paper states the theory, describes the unconventional afterlife it defines, extensively
analyzes its validity, and briefly addresses how it can significantly impact how people view death.
Analytical tools, typically used for system modeling and language definition, are applied here to present
an abstract model of a lifetime within time eternal. The model is used to support and explain the theory.
Keywords: afterlife; natural afterlife; human mortality; death and dying; near-death experience; imperceptible death
1 Introduction
Many claim that near-death experiences (NDEs) provide proof of a supernatural afterlife—i.e.,
that human consciousness continues after death. Books making this claim, each based on a
personal NDE, have become bestsellers. Examples are Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's
Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander (2012) and Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's
Astounding Story of his Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo (2011). Other books, each
based on studies of numerous individual NDEs, also make the claim. Examples include those by
Raymond Moody (2001), Jeffery Long (2010), and Pim van Lommel (2010).
Many, however, dispute that NDEs provide proof or even evidence of an afterlife. Several
articles in popular scientific publications point to scientific research showing that the common
features of NDEs are explainable as natural physiological responses, which can be replicated by
brain stimulations, certain drugs, or diseases. Such responses are believed to be induced by the
brain as it senses disaster or goes into shut down. Based on this research, the claim is made that
near-death experiencers (NDErs) are just mistaking a natural hallucination (as some call it) for a
supernatural afterlife. For example, see “Why a Near-Death Experience isn’t Proof of Heaven”
by Michael Shermer (2013).
The theory of a natural afterlife brings a new interpretation to this scientific research and a
middle ground regarding both claims concerning NDEs. It does so by defining a newfound
possibility for what may happen to us—more precisely, to our conscious self—when we die. The
* Correspondence: Bryon K. Ehlmann, PhD, Retired Professor of Computer Science and now Independent Researcher,
Tallahassee, FL, USA. Email: bryon.ehlmann@gmail.com
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theory, a hypothesis in a scientific sense, suggests the existence of a natural, versus supernatural,
“afterlife”—one amazingly created within the mind, perhaps but not necessarily induced by brain
physiology as some scientists suggest. The possibility of this natural afterlife, which seems an
oxymoron, has never been mentioned in scholarly publications. More surprisingly, until recently
it hasn’t even been part of the conversation regarding an afterlife.
Admittedly, the natural afterlife is unconventional, as indicated by the quotes around afterlife
in the previous paragraph. It requires no belief in anything supernatural, including a God. Thus
the theory of a natural afterlife is religiously neutral; however, like the NDE, its defined afterlife
can be interpreted as a spiritual “heaven” (or “hell”). Here, quotes enclose heaven (and hell) as
they too are unconventional. The heaven, though unconventional, is at least philosophically
consistent, unlike the conventionally envisioned heaven associated with many, yet mainly
Western faiths; that is, logical conflicts among perfection, time eternal, free-will, evil, and
boredom do not exist.
Hopefully, all of this is clarified in the remainder of this article, organized as described below.
Quotes around afterlife and heaven are hereafter not used since the natural afterlife is indeed an
afterlife and possibly a heaven to the dying person, which in the end is what really matters.
• Section 2 states the theory and explains the essence of the natural afterlife it defines.
• Section 3 elaborates on important aspects of the afterlife and theory.
• Section 4 addresses the theory’s validity and verifiability. It provides supporting evidence
and a near-proof, indicates future advances that would allow for testing, underscores the
theory’s explanatory power, and deals with some likely challenges to the theory and
obstacles to its acceptance and appreciation.
• Section 5 concludes by summarizing the essential claim and credibility of the theory and
by touching on its scientific, philosophical, and religious significance.
• An appendix expounds on how humans perceive time, comparing the natural afterlife to
permanent anesthesia and formally defining it in the context of life and time eternal.
2 Statement and Explanation: The Essence of the Natural Afterlife
In its most inclusive form, the theory of a natural afterlife can be stated as follows:
The natural afterlife of a NDE-enabled creature is the NDE from which it never
awakes—essentially, a never-ending experience (NEE) relative to the creature’s
perception.
The theory defines the natural afterlife, implying its existence by its association with the NDE—
a phenomenon evidenced by numerous accounts recorded across cultures and throughout history
as far back as the oral tradition (Holden, Greyson, & James, 2009b; Moody, 2001). Here, the
NDE is assumed to be a near-death experience, not an after-death experience as some postulate.
It occurs in an altered state of consciousness, as do dreams, and is thus dreamlike to some extent.
To accept this seemingly implausible, NDE-based NEE and natural afterlife as plausible, one
must fully understand its essence. To do so, one must be able to imagine what may be in their
mind at near-death and think of nothing else. So, imagine this scenario:
You are having what will be called your NDE should you recover. In this very profound, all
too real experience, you’re overcome by marvelous feelings of wonder, love, and
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contentment. You truly believe that you have arrived and are experiencing heaven, and
you’re excitedly anticipating the next moment and an eternity of joyful experiences.
With death and the end of consciousness, this is your natural afterlife. You perceive nothing
more, yet nothing less. Everything else that happens thereafter is totally irrelevant to you.
However, very relevant and relative only to you, is that the moment described above goes on
forever. Your NDE consciousness, your sense of self, and, if one exists, your soul has entered a
timeless dimension. You are finally, fully, and forever “living in the moment.” You believe
you’re in heaven, and for all eternity you never know otherwise.
Ironically, this afterlife is possible not because individual consciousness continues after death
but because with death, when and if such consciousness ends, you won’t know that:
• you’ve died. You won’t see the “NDE screen” go blank.
• your NDE has ended. You won’t notice that nothing more happens in your NDE.
• an eternity is fleeting by. Is this happening just before or after you died? You can’t tell.
Relative to you, it’s irrelevant, time is suspended, and your NDE is essentially timeless and
everlasting, i.e., an NEE.
Analogies along with thought experiments (those carried out only in the imagination) are
helpful towards understanding the natural afterlife. First, it’s like the most realistic, intense
dream you’ve ever had except that you never wake up from it. This scenario can only be
imagined as no living person has ever experienced it. Second, the natural afterlife is like the
following scenario, enhanced only slightly from real human experience:
You’re totally engrossed in watching an extremely exhilarating movie. Then, without
knowing: you unexpectedly, without any perceived drowsiness, fall asleep; for you the
movie has been paused and time is fleeting by. Until you wake up, you still believe you’re
watching that movie.
When you do finally wake up, you’re shocked that you fell asleep and that the movie has
continued on. Of course, with the natural afterlife, you just never wake up.
Fig. 1. A state diagram showing the transition in the state of mind upon the event of death
assuming an NDE. An oval denotes a state. A directed line (arrow) labeled with an event
description denotes a state transition resulting from the event.
When the NDE ends in death, the dying person simply transitions from a dynamic into a static
state of mind. The final moment of the NDE becomes the NEE. Fig. 1 gives a state diagram
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showing the final two states of mind and the transition assuming an NDE, death, and with death
the loss of all consciousness.
A statement given earlier and repeated below describes the heavenly natural afterlife in a
nutshell and can be used to both stress its relativeness and explain Fig. 1.
You believe you’re in heaven, and for all eternity you never know otherwise.
The “believing you’re in heaven” with a sense of self and all that the NDE offers, exists only in
your mind within the Life Unconscious, Dying with NDE state. It’s only relative to you
because those living don’t know “you’re in heaven.” It becomes timeless, relative to you,
because with the loss of consciousness and death you don’t know that nothing more will happen
in your NDE, while those living do. It’s “for all eternity,” i.e., everlasting, because your “never
knowing otherwise” extends beyond the event death into the After-life with NEE state. It’s
everlasting, however, only relative to you because you will never know that your NDE ended
with death, while those living do. So, it’s timeless and everlasting and it’s all relative!
What’s peculiar about the natural afterlife and key to understanding it is this: it’s not about
realizing you’re in the afterlife after you’ve died, as humans have always imagined, but about
realizing you’re there before you’ve died and then never knowing otherwise.
3 Elaboration: Aspects of the Natural Afterlife
Important aspects of the natural afterlife and the theory, which can be called the NEE theory for
short, need to be emphasized, clarified, or expanded upon.
3.1 Relative
The relative essence of the natural afterlife cannot be emphasized enough. The theory of special
relativity asserts that time is relative to one’s velocity. The NEE theory asserts it may also be
relative to one’s being alive or dead. In life one perceives time as a marching parade of events,
while in death one may perceive only a forever moment of time, not realizing it is eventless.
Humans have always been solely transfixed on a sustained conscious afterlife that must be
seen as such by everyone, especially the living. Thus hidden from view has been an afterlife that
is only momentary to the living yet to the dying person alone is timeless and everlasting.
3.2 Timeless and Everlasting
The eventless, thus timeless, and everlasting essence of the natural afterlife also cannot be
emphasized enough. Death is an event that is only perceived by others. At death, a person is
simply left in a pleasant (or unpleasant) instance of time—i.e., ∆t = 0 (delta t, meaning change in
time, equals zero). The loss of memory is irrelevant since memory is only necessary when time
elapses, i.e., when ∆t > 0. Zero energy is needed for any sustainability because, again, ∆t = 0.
Again, using analogy and imagination, the natural afterlife can be likened to your before-life
except for a hugely significant difference. It begins with you being “paused” in an NDEconscious state of mind. Then, like your before-life, billions of years pass by without your
knowledge “in no time at all,” literally. The one other difference is that, unlike your before-life,
your natural afterlife has no terminating event, like birth. Thus, it is everlasting.
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3.3 Logically Consistent
Since ∆t = 0 in the natural afterlife and one is just “living” in a moment, no decisions are made
and thus free-will is not an issue. Also, one can never become bored. In contrast, in any timeperceptive (∆t > 0) perfect world, free-will is impossible as imperfect decisions would introduce
imperfection, perhaps even evil. Though without free-will in such an infinite (∆t = ∞) world,
boredom is most likely as there will be no decisions to make and no challenges. Apparently, any
eternal afterlife where a time-perceptible consciousness survives death must be either imperfect
or logically inconsistent. The conventionally envisioned heaven is the latter, while the NEE
heaven is neither for within it one can logically experience a forever, perfect moment.
3.4 Dreamlike and Spiritual
The natural afterlife is dreamlike in that NDEs and dreams are somewhat similar. Both provide
alternative, spiritual experiences to the fully conscious, awake one. Both can be very intense and
indistinguishable from reality. Both seem mysteriously produced in content and have been
historically viewed by many as providing a potential passage into a transcendental realm. Oxford
Dictionaries defines a dream as “a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a
person's mind during sleep,” which also describes the NDE except that it normally occurs during
a brain diminished state rather than during sleep. Other notable differences are 1) the NDE can
be even more intense than a dream and so have a more lasting impact (Noyes, Fenwick, &
Holden, 2009), so much so that many claim their NDE was not dreamlike (Long, 2008), and 2)
the NDE can occur during general anesthesia whereas dreams cannot (Greyson, Kelly, & Kelly,
2009, p. 226; Hameroff, 2010b), implying a differing production mechanism or source.
In regard to whether a natural afterlife results with death, some differences between NDEs
and dreams may not be that important (but certainly not #2 above). The possibility exists that a
dying person has no brain-diminished NDE but instead dies in their sleep interrupting an intense
dream. Vivid and meaningful end-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) have been recorded
throughout history. A recent study found ELDVs to be very common and also found that
comforting perceptions of meeting deceased loved ones within them were more prevalent as
participants approached death (Hoffman, 2016; Kerr et al., 2014). It seems very plausible that
such vivid, “near-death” dreams have been reported as NDEs and with death also result in NEEs.
Given that the natural afterlife is NDE-based, it is spiritual. All beings—the NDEr, other
humans, and nonhumans—are present only in spirit, certainly not in body, perhaps just as they
are in normal dreams or perhaps not. Nevertheless, no physical objects of any kind and no
physical space are involved. The natural afterlife exists beyond both time and space.
3.5 Varied and Personalized
The theory does not say what the content of the NEE will be or whether it will be pleasant or a
nightmare. It could be a celestial communion with angels, a glorious day on the beach, or an
eerie encounter with demons. The most common features of pleasurable NDEs are well
documented: OBEs; heightened senses; guided or surrounded by light; otherworldly; feelings of
peace, joy, and/or cosmic unity; and encountering mystical and/or familiar human beings
(Kellehear, 2009; Zingrone & Alvarado, 2009). Variations, however, abound. Indeed, variations
include distressing NDEs (dNDEs), a term used by Nancy Evans Bush (2009) to describe
“‘frightening,’ ‘negative,’ or ‘hellish’” NDEs. Based on many NDE studies, she concludes that
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the percentage of such NDEs among those reported is “possibly in the mid- to high teens” but
also that likely “dNDEs are underreported” (p. 81).
Variations in NDEs may result from a person’s life experiences, beliefs, culture, their
interpretations of the experience, and/or near-death brain physiology. However, research on
reported NDEs has shown that none of these factors can reliably predict the content of an NDE
(Greyson et al., 2009, p. 226; Holden, Long, & MacLurg, 2009). Whether the natural afterlife is
a gift from God or nature and whether a God (versus nature) plays a role in fashioning it may
forever be a matter of one’s religious or spiritual faith or lack thereof. The fashioning, however
done, permits the natural afterlife to be profoundly personalized. The human beings that often
appear in NDEs, who may be deceased or still living, are most often those who were emotionally
close to the NDEr (Zingrone & Alvarado, 2009).
3.6 The Optimal Heaven
The natural afterlife can provide the most heavenly afterlife possible given the extremely
pleasurable features of many NDEs, as has been reported, and the natural afterlife’s timeless,
everlasting, logically consistent, spiritual, and personalized aspects. This statement may seem
incredible since within the natural afterlife nothing happens! As humans we are so addicted to
happenings—i.e., events and thus human-time—that it’s hard to appreciate the happiness that is
possible in an eventless afterlife. We think we need events, i.e., perceived change, to make us
eternally happy—hence the illogical longing for the supernaturally perfect, everlasting, and yet
changing thus time-perceptive afterlife. But do we really need events? First, in the heavenly
natural afterlife one doesn’t know that nothing more will happen and thus won’t miss a thing.
Instead, humanly habituated by the experience of time always marching on, one is left in a state
of exuberant, unspoiled anticipation of many more heavenly moments to come. Second, are life’s
events what give us pleasure or is it the feelings aroused by these events? The natural afterlife
can be a moment where, based on past NDE events, one feels the ultimate in happiness, knowing
they’re in heaven forever, immersed in love (in the absolute presence of God as the theist would
believe). Once this happens, exactly what more needs to happen?
3.7 Not Guaranteed but Perhaps Prevalent and Apparently Unbiasedly Bestowed
The theory does not guarantee a natural afterlife. Clearly, the percentage of people having an
NDE before dying is unknown. The percentage of near-death survivors reporting an NDE varies
widely among studies. A 1981-82 study found that 47% of near-death survivors of attempted
suicide reported an NDE (Zingrone & Alvarado, 2009). Though this result is high relative to
other studies, reports of NDEs only grow as advances in medicine—e.g., cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR)—continue (Brennan, 2014, p. 329; Holden, Greyson, & James, 2009a, jacket
summary). Also, studies of survivors thought “near-death” likely underestimate the frequency of
NDEs among the dying because such survivors may not wish to divulge their NDEs or, more
significantly, may not have been quite near-death enough to have one.
Suppose there’s no NDE at death? The after-life (with hyphen) could be just like the beforelife, often described as “nothingness.” However, the NEE theory doesn’t address this question.
Though the natural afterlife isn’t guaranteed, it appears to be unbiasedly bestowed, at least
based on one study of NDErs (Holden, Long, & MacLurg 2009). After reviewing research on the
characteristics of NDErs—e.g., age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, religious affiliation and
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religiosity, sexual orientation, and psychological factors—the study concludes NDEs appear to
be “equal opportunity transpersonal experiences” and that “everyone is a potential NDEr.”
3.8 Independent of NDE Explanation
Some scientists think that NDEs are purely the creations of brain physiology, perhaps involving
similar mechanisms as dreams, while others contest such views. Dr. Kevin Nelson (2011), a
neurologist who studies NDEs, thinks NDEs employ the same brain apparatus that is used for
dreaming within a REM (rapid eye movement) state of mind. Also, the out-of-body experience
(OBE), sometimes an initial part of the NDE, is thought by some to be related to lucid dreaming
(Green, 1995; Levitan, 1991; Nelson, 2011). However, Bruce Greyson, Emily Williams Kelly,
and Edward F. Kelly (2009, pp. 213-244) provide a credible rationale as to why current
physiological “explanatory models” (i.e., explanations) cannot account for some NDE features.
They argue that serious consideration should be given to a transcendental explanatory model
where “some level of reality transcends the physical world.”
Explanations of how NDEs and OBEs occur, however, are immaterial to the validity of the
NEE theory. Also immaterial is evidence that similar experiences happen to people when they
are not near death. The only thing that is material is that NDEs provide “thoughts, images, and
sensations” very near to death that are “even more real than real”—a phrase used to describe the
NDE by neurologist Steven Laureys based on a study of NDE memories (as cited in Thonnard
et al., 2013) and quoted in Brumfield (2013). Thus, they provide the prerequisite final, intense,
perceptive moment that with the loss of all subsequent perception becomes a forever present, i.e.,
the NEE.
3.9 Applicable to Other Creatures
The theory applies to any “NDE-enabled creature”—i.e., those capable of a near-death dreamlike
experience. Research has shown that REM sleep, conducive to dreaming, occurs in higher level
mammals, including rats (Bekoff, 2012; Louie & Wilson, 2001). Moreover, rats have shown a
surge in brain activity just prior to death, which could be indicative of NDEs (Borjigin et al.,
2013) and thus NEEs. Thus, there may be a dog heaven after all!
3.10 Natural but Nonexclusive
The NEE theory uniquely labels the natural afterlife as natural since, unlike others, its definition
and associated explanation, now completed, are presently within the scope of conventional
scientific understanding. As such, and likely shocking to its adherents, the theory provides
religious naturalism (Crosby, 2008; Stone, 2008) with a spiritual afterlife.
The theory, however, merely defines this afterlife and implicitly claims its existence. It does
not deny the existence of any supernatural afterlife, no matter how apparently illogical or (at
least for now) unscientific. This afterlife could be an after-death type of NDE (e.g., Long, 2008),
or an afterlife that immediately or subsequently overrides the NEE, thus providing a new
perceived present—e.g., the initial moment of a judgment day or a reincarnation.
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4 Validation: Can the Theory Be Verified?
4.1 Near-proof
The natural afterlife results from the conjunction (∧) of three natural phenomena. First is the
ability to have an NDE. Label this NDE. Second is the animalistic perception of time as relative
only to perceived events. Label this event relative time. Third is the imperceptible death, which
is the inability of a dying creature to perceive their moment of death, however inexact the event.
Label this imperceptible death. The NEE theory can now be logically expressed as
(NDE ∧ event relative time ∧ imperceptible death) → (NEE ⇔ natural afterlife)
where each phenomenon is treated as a proposition. To prove the theory, one must show that all
three propositions and the implication (→) are true. The equivalence (⇔) is true by definition.
The ability of humans to have NDEs is beyond question based on numerous reports (Holden,
Greyson, & James, 2009a; Long & Perry, 2010; Moody, 2001). Thus, NDE is true for humans
and perhaps for other NDE-enabled creatures (Borjigin et al., 2013).
Also, well established is our animalistic perception of time as relative to and dependent on an
observable, ordered sequence of events, real or imagined. Einstein revealed that “time has no
independent existent apart from the order of events by which we measure it” (Barnett, 1964, p.
19, 47). Philosophy also acknowledges the dependency of our perception of time on “changes or
events in time” and our perceptions of “their temporal relations” (Le Poidevin, 2015).
Accordingly, current dictionary definitions reflect an event relative time. Merriam-Webster, for
example, defines time as “a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which
succeed one another from past through present to future.” Thus event relative time is true.
The dependency of time on events implies that when events cannot be perceived within a state
of mind—e.g., dreamless sleep—we experience timelessness, not nothingness. That is,
timelessness trumps nothingness. We only lose our sense of time, not our senses of self and
being, which are very important things. To be perfectly clear, within an eventless state of mind,
our senses of self and being are lost (or more precisely, become inactive) in the minds of the time
perceiving awake (i.e., in reality); however, in our minds, relatively speaking, we never lose
them. They were present in the last event experienced before entering the eventless state, nothing
happens in this state to tell us we’ve lost them (not even total darkness), and so they become
timeless until another event is experienced. The Appendix further elaborates on how our
perception of time and timelessness supports the NEE theory.
Fig. 2 shows a simplified, abstract model of life including the before and after, giving major
states of mind, or consciousness, and the transitions (arrows) between them. The rightmost two
states (ovals) are the same states shown in Fig. 1, except an NDE is not assumed. A timeperceptive state has an arrow that is labelled with a type of event and loops from and into the
state. Time is perceived to advance within such states as these perceived internal events occur.
States that are timeless have no such looping arrows. Examples of perceived events are the tick
of a clock, a spoken syllable, the flap of a wing, a blink of the eye, and a new thought or feeling.
Assume temporarily that imperceptible death is true. Then, when an NDE ends due to death,
one isn’t informed in any way that “You’re dead, NDE over.” And clearly, once dead, one never
notices that no more NDE events occur. Also, no perceivable event will ever occur to end the
ensuing timelessness. Hence, one’s mind is suspended in the last NDE moment with senses of
self and being both intact. Such suspension results in the NEE. Thus the implication (→) is true.
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Fig. 2. Major states of mind in life and state transitions—an abstract model where dreams
and NDEs are given more prominence. Again, an oval denotes a state and a directed line
(arrow) denotes a state transition resulting from the described event.
Now only imperceptible death remains a proposition to prove. If until regaining
consciousness, i.e., coming to, humans never perceive the moment of
1) falling asleep while watching a movie or just lying in bed,
2) passing out while being given a general anesthetic, and
3) ending a dream,
then it is extremely likely they never perceive the moment of
4) death while unconscious and dying, with or without the NDE.
Item 4 seems especially true given that brain cells are being deprived of oxygen and electrical
signals in the brain are fading.
Indeed, with the model in Fig. 2 an imperceptible death can be seen as consistent with a more
general phenomenon and proposition. Call this the imperceptible loss of time. It states that a
person can never perceive the moment of transition from a time-perceptive state into a timeless
state. The reason is obvious. No perceptible event indicates the transition, neither the
transitioning event (in Fig. 2 fall asleep, pass out, end dream, and death for items 1-4 above,
respectively) nor clearly any event afterwards within the timeless state (Life Unconscious,
Dreamless for items 1-3 and After-life for item 4).
From the above analysis of human experience, imperceptible death is nearly certainly true.
Therefore, since NDE, event relative time, and the implication (→) are all true, the NEE
theory is nearly proven by logical deduction. ■ (Nearly!)
4.2 Testability
Unfortunately, it seems that unless science can someday resuscitate those beyond the “moment
of death” to verify the imperceptible death proposition (and the NEE itself), the NEE theory
cannot be tested. However, is this really the case?
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Fig. 3. A zoom-in to the Dying State of Fig. 2 that focuses on the two internal states most
relevant to the NDE and death.
Or, could advancements in medical science and technology allow the theory to be tested and
thus verified or possibly falsified in the future? The key to this possibility lies in the fact that
most likely a person never really dies in the midst of an NDE. Instead, as indicated in the
Appendix, a span of time follows the last NDE event and precedes the actual event death, as
shown in Fig. 2. This time span is timeless relative to the dying person and can be viewed as
occurring within a state of mind that is internal to the Dying state of mind shown in Fig. 2. This
internal state of mind is shown in Fig. 3 within the Dying state and labelled Severely Failing
Brain. It exists because brain death is a gradual process that can be viewed as ending only after
the last detectable moment of any brain activity. The Severely Failing Brain state is entered in
the case of Dying with NDE when the deterioration of brain cells at some point ends the NDE.
Given the existence of this state, the following sequence of science and technology
breakthroughs and research results may be within the future realm of possibility:
1) Technology allows close and detailed monitoring of the condition of brain cells and brain
activity within dying patients.
2) Such brain monitoring along with interviews with NDE survivors reveal the signature
brain activity within certain regions of the brain that identifies the NDE.
3) Brain activity in dying patients is monitored to detect the beginning and end of NDEs.
4) Testing reveals the levels of brain cell functionality (BCF) typically remaining just prior
to when all NDE brain activity ceases as brain cell deterioration progresses. Let
minBCFNDE represent these levels.
5) Testing also reveals the levels of brain cell functionality that are required in order to
think—i.e., to consciously entertain a thought (T), any thought but especially one like
“I’m awake.” or “My NDE has ended.” or “I’ve died.” Let minBCFT represent these
levels.
6) The conclusion is reached that minBCFNDE falls well below minBCFT, which verifies the
imperceptible death proposition and thus the NEE theory.
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7) Medical science and technology allows some dying patients to be resuscitated who are
within the time period after NDE brain activity had ceased and minBCFNDE had been
detected.
8) Interviews with these survivors surprisingly reveal that they perceived the moment when
their NDE ended. If true, this finding would falsify the imperceptible loss of time
proposition and thus the NEE theory, since the theory depends on the dying person not
knowing their NDE has ended.
The above sequence provides one possible future scenario, and perhaps there are others, that
would allow the NEE theory to be verified or falsified—making it a scientific theory, someday.
4.3 Supporting Evidence and Explanatory Power
Though the theory cannot yet be verified, the given proof shows how near it is to being certain,
or at least extremely plausible. Moreover, the theory is supported by and consistent with the
existence of an amazing dreaming and NDE capability within the human mind, the reported
scientific explanations for NDEs, and the intensity and reality of them. As such, it offers greater
explanatory power over other theories about an afterlife.
4.3.1 An Amazing Dreaming and NDE Capability
The ability of our minds to create dreams and NDEs is a little understood and under-appreciated
phenomenon. The model in Fig. 2 was designed to emphasize the role of dreams and NDEs in
our lives. In these spiritual altered states of consciousness and in our material awake state, we
experience objects, events, thoughts, and emotions. Most often, we can’t distinguish the spiritual
states from our material one. In the spiritual ones we are not in control, yet we never lose our
sense of self. In our dreams, our self is in some ways our super self. For our mind can almost
instantaneously paint beautiful landscapes, design and decorate rooms, create new faces,
compose plots, and create dialog and events. Such rapid creativity is likely well beyond our
talents and abilities while awake. Though exactly how dreams and NDEs relate is not yet
understood, they are truly another dimension of being.
Why does such an incredible dimension exist? The NEE theory provides an answer. It posits
at least one momentous purpose—namely, the natural afterlife, perhaps evolved in conjunction
with evolved intellect, senses, and emotions. Science, on the other hand, has yet to provide a
better answer. While some purposes for dreaming have been posited, no scientific theory yet
exists (Breus, 2015; Lewis, 2014), and no purpose for dreams or NDEs has been posited that is
commensurable to their amazing features or as momentous as the natural afterlife.
4.3.2 Reported Scientific Explanations for NDEs
If a number of scientists are to be believed, our brains seem to have a natural propensity for
producing NDEs and thus NEEs. As mentioned previously, the scientific explanations for this
propensity—essentially brain physiology—have been reported by many articles in popular
scientific publications. The aim of the authors has been to explain NDEs as just a natural
phenomenon, not proof or even evidence for any afterlife. All make the same problematic
assumption, however, about an afterlife.
“Peace of Mind: Near-Death Experiences Now Found to Have Scientific Explanations”
(Choi, 2011), largely based on the work of Mobbs & Watt (2011), describes the common
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features of NDEs and explains how each might be the result of “normal brain function gone
awry.” He suggests the features can be caused by certain diseases, by artificially stimulating
parts of the brain, by high-level releases of a stress hormone in the brain during trauma, by
medicinal and recreational drugs that affect the brain in a similar manner as does trauma, and by
the depletion of blood and oxygen flow that can happen with extreme fear and oxygen loss when
dying. Choi’s main thesis is stated in his first sentence: “Near-death experiences are often
thought of as mystical phenomena, but research is now revealing scientific explanations for
virtually all of their common features.” The implicit claim here is that NDEs do not provide
evidence of an afterlife. This claim is made explicit in The Death of “Near Death”: Even If
Heaven Is Real, You Aren’t Seeing It by Kyle Hill (2012).
The assumption, however, made by Choi and Hill as well as Shermer (2013), cited earlier, and
by many others is that an afterlife must be supernatural. Remove this assumption, and the
research that supports a materialistic explanation for NDEs ironically supports the likelihood of
having a spiritual natural afterlife.
4.3.3 The Intensity and Reality of NDEs
The intensity and reality of the experience provided by most NDEs, as revealed by scientific
research, begs the question: “Why such an intense, all too real, dreamlike experience just before
death?” Again, science has no answer, yet the NEE theory may provide one. How better to
imprint a moment into the mind so that it will never be “forgotten”?
4.4 Likely Challenges and Obstacles to Acceptance and Appreciation
Two likely challenges to the NEE theory deserve consideration. Neither, however, concerns its
plausibility.
The first concerns its applicability to the situation where death is so sudden—e.g., one is
blown apart in a blast—that the NEE seems impossible. But is it really?
Research on rats, cited earlier, showed a surge in brain activity for up to 30 seconds after their
heart stops beating and blood flow to their brain ends, i.e., clinical death. Again, such activity
was seen to have features providing a scientific foundation for NDEs (Borjigin et al., 2013). But
in humans is even one second of brain activity needed for the NDE? In an NDE, our brain can
likely paint a complex heavenly scene almost instantaneously. Also, if an NDE can make “one’s
life flash before one’s eyes” as has been reported (Moody, 2001), perhaps in shutting down, our
brain can create an NEE in nanoseconds.
Another challenge to the NEE theory concerns its significance. Some may claim that the
heaven it makes possible, even if optimal, isn’t real—i.e., it’s only a delusion—and thus not
particularly intriguing or desirable as an afterlife. Since this claim involves opinion, it can’t be
entirely refuted. However, the following should be considered.
• As already stated, NDEs have been described as “even more real than real,” based on
studying the NDE memories of coma survivors (Brumfield, 2013; Thonnard et al., 2013).
Elaborating, neurologist Steven Laureys states “To our surprise, NDEs were much richer
than any imagined event or any real event of these coma survivors. The difference was so
vast.” Thus in the NEE heaven, one very likely believes it real and experiences its bliss.
Believing now that it’s delusional and thus undesirable likely won’t change this, making
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such belief in the end irrelevant. Besides, if the natural afterlife were a real afterlife, how
would one experiencing it know that it’s real and not just an NDE leading up to an NEE?
• What is a “real afterlife” anyway? One definition would relate real in this context to
human, earth-bound, materialistic, real life experiences. No afterlife, except for perhaps
reincarnation, can be real in this sense. The conventional, time-perceptive, perfect world
afterlife can’t be truly real if it’s illogical. On the other hand, a broader definition of real
would include dreams and NDEs as they are in fact real life experiences.
• Although the sensory perceptions and events within dreams and NDEs are not real in a
material sense, the very intense emotions they can invoke are real (McNamara, 2014; van
der Linden, 2011), which is why people wake up from dreams immediately feeling the
dream emotions, for example fear. When a heavenly NDE ends with death and events have
ceased, likely the most important part that remains in the NEE are the heightened
emotions—often love, joy, and peace (Zingrone & Alvarado, 2009). And they are real!
• Finally, how can a phenomenon, a particular state of mind, that has evolved by nature, is
produced by nature (whether or not via a God), and isn’t fabricated by humans—versus,
for instance, a movie or a drug-induced hallucination†—not be considered real?
Despite the above considerations and the arguments for the natural afterlife, some will still
think it unreal, thus undesirable; simply undesirable; implausible; or even absurd. For instance,
despite various descriptions of the natural afterlife given in this paper, all stressing its reliance on
consciousness ending with death, several journal reviewers have thought it implausible because,
generally stated, “with death a non-functioning brain cannot sustain any experience,” when no
such experience, i.e., consciousness, or sustaining (implying a ∆t > 0) is needed. Such thinking is
likely due to one or more obstacles to accepting and then appreciating the natural afterlife. As
already indicated, its relativeness and timelessness (∆t = 0, not > 0), if misunderstood or ignored,
can block acceptance, and its eventless-ness and dream likeness can block appreciation.
Yet, the biggest obstacle to accepting the natural afterlife can sometimes be one’s closemindedness. After all, when first encountering the natural afterlife, one must deal with its prima
facie outlandishness. It’s a phenomenon that’s way “outside the box.” Hence, it can be too
readily dismissed without serious thought. Also, the NEE theory can seemingly pose a threat to
one’s current after-life beliefs—which may have been strongly held for years, into which much
may have been heavily invested, and from which a sense of certainty and comfort ensues. Hence,
a strong bias toward not wanting to accept the natural afterlife is quite understandable.
Finally, still one more obstacle to accepting and appreciating the natural afterlife is its content
uncertainty and everlastingness. Like other supernatural afterlives, it can possibly be
everlastingly hellish. Nothingness can no longer be a reassuring certainty.
Oddly, evoking this hellish possibility in a terrifying thought experiment may help some more
appreciate a heavenly eventless, dreamlike afterlife. So, just imagine its exact hellish opposite:
you’re dying while believing you’re in hell and for all eternity nothing will happen to make you
believe otherwise. This is certainly as awful an NEE as the heavenly NEE is magnificent.
† Hallucinations occur when awake or semi-awake, often as a result of drugs or mental illness. For the
purpose of simplification, the events and moments of such hallucinations are not represented in the state
diagram of Fig. 2 and the NEE notation in Fig. 4 of the Appendix.
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5 Summary and Significance
When the NDE ends in death, the natural afterlife almost certainly results unless replaced by
another afterlife that is currently beyond scientific understanding. To understand and appreciate
this default, NDE-based, natural afterlife one must focus on only what their mind can perceive
when they’re dying. This may include an NDE. If so, and they were somehow resurrected after a
billion years, the NEE theory claims they would report having an NDE, and, if not resurrected,
they would still believe they were “living” their NEE. Unfortunately, the dead cannot be
resurrected to tell us if this is true, but perhaps in the future, testing on the near-dead can.
This audacious claim, made by the NEE theory, is based on how consciousness is assumed to
end in the process of dying, or possibly transition in a relative manner. First, sensory perceptions
are lost and all awareness of the physical world ends based on the physical senses. Then, near
death an altered state of consciousness, a new awareness, possibly awakens and an intense, all
too real experience begins within the mind. Then, due to brain deterioration, the experience ends
and with it the sense of time is lost—though most significantly, not the senses of self and being.
Consequently, the experience, as embodied in its last moment, becomes timeless. Finally, with
an imperceptible death, it becomes never-ending as death is nothing more than an eternal
continuation of this timelessness. To the dying person, the new awareness in the altered state of
consciousness and the experience has transitioned into a static, everlasting state of mind.
For centuries humans have pondered and debated just two possibilities for what they may
encounter at death: a kind of nothingness like that of their before-life or some type of
supernatural afterlife. The significance of the NEE theory is that those now living have a third
possibility to consider, the natural afterlife. In doing so:
• Those claiming that heavenly NDEs provide “proof of heaven” and a time-perceptible
consciousness that continues after death may want to more justifiably claim that at the
minimum they provide evidence of a relativistic heaven and altered state of consciousness
that with death is made timeless and eternal.
• Those claiming that scientific research shows that NDEs provide no evidence of an
afterlife should instead unassumingly claim that they provide no evidence of a
supernatural afterlife.
• Theists may question their conventional view of heaven and perhaps welcome one that is
scientifically and philosophically defensible—a timeless heaven, personalized by God, and
one that can provide a realistic answer to the age-old question: “Where is heaven?”
• Atheists may question their conventional view of an after-life of nothingness and welcome
the possibility of a credible, heaven-like afterlife—one created and personalized by nature
and thus one that doesn’t require believing in a God.
• Those who believe that one’s actions in life matter not at all since in the end all merely
“return to dust,” may wonder how one’s beliefs, morals, and memories impact the contents
of an NDE—i.e., if what “is within you” determines what your natural afterlife will be
like.‡ Stated more philosophically, will nature or God deliver justice in the end?
‡ The words here are purposely suggestive of certain religious teachings: “… the Kingdom of God is within
you.” [Luke 17:21] and the principle of karma, that one’s actions determine what one’s next life will be like.
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• And finally, those who simply find it difficult, scientifically or philosophically, to believe
in any kind of afterlife may find new hope and comfort in the natural afterlife, especially in
their dying moments.
Given the above, the theory of a natural afterlife can have a huge impact on how individuals
view death and hence life (of which dying is a part). The strong possibility that at death one is
forever frozen in a dreamlike yet very real, sensually and emotionally intense, heavenly (or
hellish) state of mind would seem hard to ignore.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to my wife Barbara Ehlmann for proofreading and finding my errors in grammar
and word selection. I especially owe much thanks to Donald A. Crosby, Professor Emeritus of
Philosophy at Colorado State University, for considering my theory early on and giving me the
needed confidence in its originality and plausibility that facilitated its full development and then
for continuing to review my articles, challenge my assertions, and offer support and advice.
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Appendix
Our Perception of Time: Anesthesia Analogy and Formal Definition
Our animalistic perception of time is fundamental to the NEE theory. Understanding it is crucial
to understanding the natural afterlife. Previously, to help explain the natural afterlife, an analogy
was used—that of falling asleep during a movie. Here, to further help explain it and our
perception of time, a better analogy is used—that involving general anesthesia.
Perhaps you’ve experienced this. One moment you’re lying on an operating table with a mask
over your nose and mouth, someone telling you to breathe in and out deeply. The next thing you
know you’re surprised to find yourself in a recovery room, perhaps with a loved one beside you.
Stuart Hameroff is a professor of anesthesiology and psychology and director for the Center for
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Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona. After 35 years of administering anesthesia,
he states in (Hameroff, 2010b): “It’s still incredible that they’re awake, they go to sleep, and
come back the same person. Where do they go?” He goes on to state that “we can learn a lot
about consciousness from anesthesia.”
And consequently, we can learn a lot about the natural afterlife from anesthesia. Of course,
with any afterlife we never “come back.” Thus, some have likened the natural afterlife to
permanent general anesthesia. This analogy can be helpful towards understanding how a timeperceptive consciousness followed by an everlasting timeless unconsciousness creates the natural
afterlife. The analogy, however, offers insight only when analyzed from the perspective of the
anesthetized and the dying person. Again, imagine in both cases that this person is you.
Your natural afterlife, then, is like being permanently anesthetized for with both:
• Your last perceived moment includes an anticipation of more such moments to come.
When saying “92” in counting backwards from 100 on the operating table, you fully
anticipate within that moment to next be saying “91” in the same room to the same
people—even despite knowing that your experience here will soon end in an unconscious
state (which you will not know in an NDE). However, unknowingly, you never say “91”.
• Your mind never gets the message that “you’ve passed out” (more precisely “passed away”
with the natural afterlife). Instead, you merely lose your sense of time.
• You never lose your sense of self. You remain “the same person,” never having to ask
“Who am I?” (likewise with dreaming and dreamless sleep).
• You won’t experience nothingness, the concept is meaningless. Hameroff states that
patients under general anesthesia experience no passage of time. Thus both are timeless
and there is simply no time to experience nothingness.
• You won’t dream. Hameroff states that patients don’t dream under general anesthesia
(making it an internal state within the Life Unconscious Dreamless state of Fig. 2). Such
dreams would create another moment of time replacing the moment last experienced on the
operating table, likewise with the natural afterlife last experienced in the NDE.
• Your memory, whether taken offline by anesthesia or wiped out by death, is useless and
anyway superfluous. Memory fragments need not be accessed since you’re not dreaming
(Lewis, 2014) and besides, timelessness makes such access purposeless.
• Your last perceived moment, on the operating table or in your NDE, is timeless and
everlasting since you never wakeup.
The lack of dreaming (which is not true with sleeping) makes the permanent anesthesia analogy
excellent for understanding the concept of a timeless, forever moment.
This concept can be expressed as follows: a moment in time is suspended and perceived as
lasting forever, i.e., a forever present, when there’s no next moment in time to replace it. Prior to
the moment a person awakes from anesthesia, the moment perceived as suspended is the moment
just before passing out. And this moment is perceived as lasting forever until the person wakes
up or has some type of NDE. No intervening stuff is being perceived by the person, not even
nothingness. Robert Lanza, a world renowned scientist and stem cell researcher, defines our
sense of time as follows:
[T]ime is the inner form of animal sense that animates events—the still frames—of the
spatial world. The mind animates the world like the motor and gears of a projector. Each
weaves a series of still pictures—a series of spatial states—into an order, into the “current”
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of life. … Spatial units are stagnant and there is no “stuff” between the units or frames.
(Lanza, 2009, pp. 100, 101)
Hameroff (2010a) identifies the “still frames” as “conscious moments” and “snapshots”:
“Normally we have about 40 conscious moments per second … each of these seems to be … a
snapshot, a moment of consciousness.”
The above statements can also be extended to dreaming and NDEs. There is no time and thus
no “stuff,” not even nothingness, between dreaming frames. And at death, when the “projector”
finally breaks down, we may merely be stuck on an “NDE frame”—a timeless “snapshot”
capturing not just the visual but every sense, thought, and emotion.
Fig. 4 precisely defines the natural afterlife by putting this final NDE moment into the context
of a lifetime within time eternal. Fig. 4 can be viewed as a detailed extension to the model of
Figs 1, 2, and 3, breaking down life’s events into life’s moments. Using a formal notation, time
eternal is represented by variables, symbols, and just ten equations. Nine of these represent a
lifetime. The final NDE moment, when it’s the final moment in a lifetime due to death, is
represented by the variable mnde in equation 10, repeated below for easy reference.
(10) natural-afterlife = NEE = mnde ˇ timelessness ˇ after-life
This mnde encompasses the sense of self and all of the brain-induced sensory perceptions that are
present within the NDE at its ending. It also includes the thoughts, beliefs, and emotions formed
from past mndes, i.e., NDE moments. One such belief is most likely of a future consistent with
the NDE’s past and present. Thus, in the mind of the NDEr, the mnde in equation 10 essentially
represents the NDE itself.
What then follows and transforms the NDE into the NEE and natural afterlife is simply an
eternity of imperceptible timelessness, as indicated by equation 10. First, it’s the timelessness
that is represented by timelessness and occurs in the Severely Failing Brain internal state
(Fig. 3) after the NDE ends due to brain deterioration. The first ˇ in the equation represents the
event end NDE. Then, it’s the timelessness that is represented by after-life and occurs in the
After-life with NEE state after death (Figs. 1 and 2). The last ˇ represents the event death.
Relative to the dying person’s perception (or, more precisely, lack thereof), the timelessness
within the After-life state is no different than that within any other state of mind.
More insight into the now formally defined natural afterlife can be gained by returning to the
anesthesia analogy. The natural afterlife is not like permanent anesthesia in some very important
ways—but again, only from the perspective of you, the dying and the anesthetized person.
• First, your NDE is not like the tedium of counting backwards from 100 while people hover
over you. Rather, NDEs are often described as more intense than a party drug hallucination
and seem to pack a wallop on the people experiencing them, often having a tremendous
impact on the rest of their lives. So, the last moment of the NDE surely provides a much
sharper “imprint on the mind” than does the last moment of counting backwards.
• Second, in your NDE you may firmly believe that “I’ve arrived” and my future is here. Not
so in counting backwards from 100 and believing this monotony will be short-lived.
• And finally, with an imperceptible death, you likely feel no grogginess, the going in and
out of consciousness, as you may experience in passing out under anesthesia. (You also
feel no grogginess in transitioning from dreaming into dreamless sleep.) Thus, there’s no
hint whatsoever that your NDE is over—which again, relatively speaking, makes your
natural afterlife everlasting.
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The Natural Afterlife in the Context of a Lifetime within Time Eternal
Equations (the NEE notation)
(1) time-eternal = before-life ˇ life ˇ after-life
(2) life = timelessness [ (ˇ E ˇ timelessness ) ... ]
(3) E = Er | Ed | Ende
(4) Er = er …
(5) Ed = ed …
(6) Ende = ende …
(7) er = mr …
(8) ed = md …
(9) ende = mnde …
(10) natural-afterlife = NEE = mnde ˇ timelessness ˇ after-life
Explanations
(1) The variable time-eternal is (represents) all of time—past, present, and future. before-life is the
span of time before a person’s lifetime, timeless relative to the person. life is a person’s lifetime.
after-life is the time span after this lifetime, here presumably timeless relative to the person. A ˇ
represents the appropriate state changing event as described in Figs. 1-3. The equation states that
time-eternal is (equal to) before-life followed by ˇ (here birth) followed by life followed by ˇ
(here death) followed by after-life.
(2) E is a sequence of perceived events, which define a span of time, in a time-perceptive state of
mind, e.g., Life Unconscious Dreaming in Fig. 2. timelessness is a time span when a person
is in a timeless state of mind, e.g., Life Unconscious Dreamless in Fig. 2. [ ]’s mean that
what’s inside may (or may not) follow. A … means what’s given just prior—one item or many
items grouped within ( )’s, e.g., ˇ E ˇ timelessness—may be repeated one or more times.
(3) Er is a sequence of real events. Ed is a sequence of dream events. Ende is a sequence of NDE
events, the boldness indicating heightened intensity. A | means “or.” An Ende that does not occur
near death is extremely rare.
(4) er is a real event. (5) ed is a dream event. (6) ende is an NDE event.
(7) mr is a real moment. (8) md is a dream moment. (9) mnde is an NDE moment. These moments are
the “still frames” or conscious moments described by Hammeroff (2010a) and Lanza (2009). A
perceived event unfolds (i.e., time marches on and life is experienced) over the span of one or
more such moments.
(10) Given equations 1-9, natural-afterlife is an NEE, which is mnde ˇ timelessness ˇ after-life.
(md ˇ timelessness ˇ after-life may also result in an NEE but hasn’t been |‘ed onto the
equation.) The timelessness here occurs in the Severely Failing Brain state shown in Fig. 3.
The first and last ˇs represent the imperceptible events end NDE and death, respectively.
Example:
A person wakes up, falls asleep (in time), dreams, dream ends, wakes up, passes out, has heart
failure, has NDE, NDE ends, and dies with an NEE as shown below. tln abbreviates timelessness.
… tlnˇmr mr … mrˇtlnˇmd md … mdˇtlnˇmr mr … mrˇtlnˇtlnˇmnde mnde … mndeˇtlnˇafter-life
← NEE →
Fig. 4. Ten equations, representing the NEE notation, that formally define a lifetime and a
natural afterlife at the most minute level in the context of time eternal. They extend the
model given in Figs. 1 - 3 by adding life’s moments and are defined using a modified
Bachus-Naur Form, a notation normally used to define formal languages.
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1056
Realization
The Matrix of Form
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
The Universe is just the Unchanging flowing through an opening that has arisen within Itself.
The One appearing as the many. Lost in the appearance, identified with the appearance, the
underlying Actuality vanishes while always still there as That which is aware of all appearances.
In this way the Changeless, while flowing through the opening that is the human Form, becomes
lost in a matrix of form. And so humanity seems trapped within that matrix, within the matrix of
form. But beyond that matrix is not some hidden hellscape, but is the paradise lost of our own
formless Being. It is the matrix of form in which we are lost, in which we have trapped
ourselves, that is the hellscape, the arena of suffering, we wish to escape.
Key Words: Matrix of form, Universe, Changeless, opening, flowing, appearance, suffering.
The changing
is just the Unchanging
flowing through Itself.
The changing
is just the Unchanging
moving in relation to Itself.
The changing
is just the appearance
of the Unchanging
as it flows through Itself.
The changing
is just the appearance
of the Unchanging
as it moves in relation to Itself.
The Universe
is just the Unchanging
flowing through an opening
that has arisen within Itself.
And within the Universe,
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
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Kaufman, S. E., The Matrix of Form
within the Unchanging
that appears as the changing,
other openings arise
through which the Unchanging flows.
Openings within openings,
flows within flows.
What we call Stars
are themselves openings
through which
the Unchanging flows.
And everything we call life
is itself an opening
through which
the Unchanging flows.
This is why Tolle says
you do not have a life
but that you are Life.
Because what you are
is not the form that arises,
not the pattern of flow,
not that which changes,
as these are only appearances
that arise on the surface
of That which flows,
of That which is Life.
Because what you are
is That which flows,
That which is Life,
That which is Unchanging,
flowing through an opening
that has arisen within Itself.
And so the unchanging Beingness
that flows forth as the Universe
and then flows forth
as the light of the Stars
is not separable from
nor other than
the unchanging Beingness
that flows through the body
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Kaufman, S. E., The Matrix of Form
and so animates the body
thereby giving it
what we call life.
And that unchanging Beingness
which flows forth as the Universe
and as the light of the Stars
and which animates the body,
is not separable from
nor other than
the Formlessness by which
the Universe, the Stars, and the body,
are all known as form.
And so what it is
that is actually there
most directly where you are
is not separable from nor other than
what it is
that is actually there
most directly where everything else is.
Because what is actually there
most directly where you are
and what is actually there
most directly where everything else is
are not the forms
that appear to be
what is actually there,
but is the formless Consciousness
by which all those forms are known
and within which all those forms appear.
And so the difference between
what is there where you are
and what is there where everything else is
is only an appearance,
only a reflection
that arises on the surface
of the unchanging, singular,
and formless Beingness
that is actually there
where all form,
including your idea of yourself,
only appears to be.
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The Changeless appearing
as that which changes.
The Formless appearing
as form.
The One appearing
as the many.
Lost in the appearance,
identified with the appearance,
the underlying Actuality vanishes
while always still there
as That which is aware
of all appearances,
leaving only the appearances
to be known as real,
and leaving what is actually there
completely unaware
completely unconscious
of Itself,
and so completely unknown
to Itself.
In this way the Changeless,
while flowing through the opening
that is the human Form,
becomes lost
in a matrix of form.
And so humanity seems trapped
within that matrix,
within the matrix of form.
But beyond that matrix
is not some hidden hellscape,
but is the paradise lost
of our own formless Being.
It is the matrix of form
in which we are lost,
in which we have trapped ourselves,
that is the hellscape,
the arena of suffering,
we wish to escape.
But escape does not come
through our reactive efforts
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Kaufman, S. E., The Matrix of Form
to eliminate this form
or acquire that form.
Such efforts only cause
the underlying Actuality
to remain hidden,
thereby causing
the matrix of form
to continue to appear
as either the ultimate reality
or as the only reality.
And so escape does not come
through any conflict
with what is,
regardless of its appearance,
because conflict with what is
is actually,
beyond the matrix of form,
beyond the level of appearance,
the conflict with our hidden Self
that produces both the illusion
and the suffering
we are trying to escape.
Escape comes
once one realizes
there is actually no spoon,
but only the appearance of a spoon,
thereby allowing the Formlessness
which underlies all appearances,
and by which all appearances are known,
to reappear,
as a pool of water
hidden in plain sight by a reflection
that appears on its surface,
reappears,
once that reflection
is no longer mistaken
for what is actually there.
Escape comes
once we see past the appearance,
once we see past the illusion,
that made poking ourselves in the eye
with a pointed stick
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Kaufman, S. E., The Matrix of Form
seem like a good idea.
Escape comes
once we cease to be in conflict
with what is,
regardless of its appearance.
Escape comes
once we cease to be in conflict
with what is ultimately,
beyond the matrix of form,
beyond the level of appearance,
our Self.
To be born human
is to take the blue pill
of form-identification
that causes one's true Self
to become hidden
behind the matrix of form.
But to be born human
is also to be offered
the red pill of Awakening.
But the choice
between red pill and blue pill,
between Awakening and remaining asleep
within the matrix of form,
is not made just once
but is being made continuously
in each moment,
which is always Now,
according to our non-reaction or reaction
to the forms that are arising
within our Consciousness,
which is Itself always Now.
And so the Unchanging,
as it flows forth into the Universe
through the human Form,
offers Itself the choice
in each moment,
to either Awaken
or remain asleep
to its true and essential Nature.
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Understanding that,
the only question that remains
truly important
is not which pill I chose to take
in some past moment,
which past moment
is only an appearance
within the matrix of form,
nor which pill I will choose to take
in some future moment,
which future moment
is also only an appearance
within the matrix of form.
The only question that remains
truly important
is which pill
am I choosing to take Now,
in this moment,
because this moment
is the only moment
there ever actually is,
and so is the only moment
that lies forever beyond
and forever untouched
by the web of appearances
that is the matrix of form.
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613
Research Essay
The Scientific Philosophy:
Consciousness Theory of Occurrences & Access'Ability
Sehba Husain*
Stratford University, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
Abstract
Consciousness is presumably one of the most researched topics of this century. Consciousness
theory of occurrences and access‘ability proposed by this research explains how consciousness
actually manifests through occurrences, accessed by human brain. This theory bases its
assumptions upon scientific principles of neurology, psychology & psychiatry, quantum
mechanics and Einstein’s theory of relativity. It also uses concepts of philosophy of
consciousness and spirituality to establish certain facts. Other than solving the mystery of
consciousness, this theory also helps to understand why and how humans experience certain
strange phenomena like intuition, precognition, premonitions, dreams, déjà vu, paranormal,
telepathy, reincarnation, past life memories, and communication with the dead.
Keywords: Consciousness, Theory, Science, Philosophy, Occurrences, Phenomena
1. Background
Why is it so difficult to develop one universal scientific or mathematical model of
consciousness? Great scientists from across the world have been busy in researching, applying
wide variety of methods like experiments, laboratory testing, observations and case analyses but
failed to establish single strong theory on scientific or mathematical grounds. Scientific and
mathematical models need verification and validation on grounds of measurement. Something
that cannot be measured cannot then be scientifically or mathematically validated or verified.
This is the reason why scientists failed to find solution of this hard problem using scientific
measurement and methodologies. However, philosophy of science can help us understand and
find some clues about reality of this problem. Consciousness is ultimate reality of cosmos. Every
particle in this universe has consciousness as every single particle responds to all other particles
following the principles of quantum mechanics. It is purely a science but due to its nature and
subjective properties, we need a different viewpoint to explore reality of consciousness.
Consciousness is not limited to the living organisms. For this research, I am going to use word
‘creature’ for all organisms that have consciousness. Researchers in physical and biological
sciences have established that even smallest particles (cells, molecules and atoms) in universe
possess consciousness. They do sense their surroundings, receive stimulus and respond in their
own unique ways. They are entangled with trillions of their counterparts, communicate and
*
Correspondence: Dr. Sehba Husain, Stratford University, Falls Church, Virginia, USA. E-mail: sehbahusain2@gmail.com
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model their response. In addition, according to principles of quantum mechanics, these particles
change their behaviour when being observed as if they know that they are under observation.
They are conscious particles.
For centuries, hundreds and thousands of scientists from the fields of physics, neurosciences,
psychology, physiology and quantum mechanics have been trying to understand the true nature
of consciousness. Some of them including Albert Einstein, Sir Roger Penrose, Stuart Hameroff,
Deepak Chopra, and Rudolph E. Tanzi have propounded revolutionary theories that help us to
build the ground and know how consciousness actually manifests itself in huge cosmic spacetime. It is appropriate to say that despite failing in solving whole mystery of consciousness, these
scientists and philosophers have made significant contributions on their part to help us tap
important information about aspects, nature and behaviour of consciousness. Since cosmos is the
ultimate space and consciousness is the ultimate reality, every stream of science has some
answers to specific issues of consciousness problem. Developing the theory by integrating
various scientific domains is the fundamental purpose of this research. Presumably, this theory
can answer almost all questions related to the mystery of consciousness. To establish, develop
and support the theory, in first place, I explain the assumptions followed by description of reality
of consciousness. It is then discussed how various scientific disciplines serve the basis for the
theory with their unique principles and discoveries. After the consciousness theory of
occurrences and access’ability (CTOA’A) is explained, I clarify how this theory helps to
understand certain strange phenomena experienced by human beings and how it connects with
philosophy of consciousness and spirituality.
This research bases its theoretical hypothesis on three fundamental assumptions:
1. Consciousness manifests itself in form of ‘occurrences’ in cosmic space-time.
2. It is creature’s ‘ability’ to gain ‘access’ to the occurrences, which causes experience of
consciousness. In case of humans, their brain is the apparatus that enables the access to
occurrences.
3. Creature’s experience of consciousness is exclusive to its own reference frame (relative
space-time). However, due to entanglement property, human brain also accesses
occurrences from other creatures’ reference frames in different space-time.
2. Reality of Reality
The reality of cosmos is a great mystery. Wherever the issues of consciousness, mind emotion
and behaviour are involved, in core of every discovery there is a hidden mystery, something that
cannot be completely explained. For example, a psychiatrist might know most of the precursors
and causes of dementia but in the core it, she cannot be hundred percent sure on what actually
caused a patient such state. Reality of cosmos is that it has both physical and nonphysical
elements. Physical elements can be observed in form of matter and energy that can be sensed or
at least be known to human beings. We human beings have limited ability to see, hear and sense.
We cannot hear sounds that other animals can. Unlike some birds, we cannot sense the
electromagnetic fields to identify which direction to move forward in. How we see colours is
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distinct from how different animals see them. In reality colour is nothing but physiological and
psychological response to wavelengths of light entering our eyes. Reality is, what we know so
far is just what we could discover using our limited intellect, imagination and senses. In real,
reality is much broader at cosmic level and made up of much more than what human can even
imagine. It has both objective and subjective properties. The mistake that scientists make is that
they rely too much on objectivity. They even believe that theory is not scientific at all, if it is not
testable, falsifiable and reproducible. They do not understand that if measurement of something
is not possible, how one can fulfil these conditions. Reality is not just physical matter and
energy. It is hidden in what ‘happens’ in the cosmos – occurrences.
This research instead of challenging any school of thought tends to redefine consciousness by
adding facts that are more scientific and by correlating philosophical thoughts with scientific
principles. In my opinion this cosmos is made up of both quantitative (entities that have physical
properties) and qualitative (non-physical entities) components. Physical objects, matter and
energy made up of atomic and subatomic particles can be measured as human has capably found
the properties of these objects along with units and terms in which they can be measured.
Scientist have successfully developed sophisticated scientific, technical, mathematical tools and
equipment that enable accurate measurement of many physical components of this universe. All
known types of light, sound, mass and energy can be measured in terms of frequencies,
wavelengths, oscillation, volume, and density. On the other hand, this cosmos, our world also
possesses elements, entities, and phenomenon of various sorts, which have no physical
properties. Human experience, qualia senses, mind and brain relationship, intentions, intuitions,
and many such states have kind of unclear definitions, as they cannot be measured so far. It is
appropriate to say that in order for anything to be scientifically measured, we need to:
1. Know all its physical properties
2. Know the measurement unit
3. Have developed the equipment/tool to measure it
Since we cannot define physical properties of consciousness it is obvious that it cannot be
measured with tools and equipment designed to measure physical properties of matter and
energy. Scientific theories discussed in upcoming sections nevertheless give clear picture of how
consciousness despite being a qualitative and subjective discipline, is very much scientific in its
nature.
3. Neurology, Psychology and Psychiatry
Psychology is an important field of applied science, which deals with behavioural and mental
aspects of conscious and unconscious experiences of human being along with the respective
thought process. Psychiatry, another branch of science of medicine evolved to focus on
diagnosis, prevention and cure of mind, behaviour and emotion related disorders in humans. It
seeks to address kind of subjective mind based issues with the help of scientific knowledge,
tools, and techniques. Disciplines of psychology and psychiatry consider universe as a division
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of, and interaction between, physical reality and mental reality and therefore, emphasise on
curing the mind in order to improvise the psychological well-being of human. Neurology, the
science and study of nervous system focus on functioning of brain, spine, blood vessels and
effector tissues in nervous system. Very recently, the discipline of neuropsychiatry has emerged
as the field of medicine to diagnose and treat mental disorders attributable to the diseases of
nervous system. All these applied science principles in many ways answer the issue what we call
as mind/brain monism where mind is a subjective, non-physical aspect and brain is physical and
more objective unit.
“Neurologists have focused objectively on organic nervous system pathology, especially of
the brain, whereas psychiatrists have laid claim to illnesses of the mind. This antipodal
distinction between brain and mind as two different entities has characterized many of the
differences between the two specialties. However, it is argued that this division is simply not
veridical; a plethora of evidence from the last century of research has shown that our mental life
has its roots in the brain” (Martin J.B., 2002).
It is argued that mind and brain are not separate or discrete entities but just different ways of
looking at the same system (Marr, 1982). They are like two sides of the same coin that has both
subjective and objective faces and properties.
4. Quantum Physics
According to the Copenhagen interpretation, quantum mechanics separates physical universe in
two parts. First, the system being observed and second, the human agent together with his
instruments (Kak, Chopra, and Kafatos, 2015). Copenhagen Interpretation concerns with the
epistemology of quantum world leaving aside the ontological questions about the ultimate nature
of reality (Kafatos and Nadeau, 2000). It describes how we experience the quantum phenomena.
The ‘collapse of wave function’ has been an important discovery of quantum mechanics in
exploring the fundamental nature and behaviour of subatomic particles and electromagnetic
waves.
In order to explain quantum measurement, in 1927, Werner Heisenberg proposed the idea of
wave function collapse (Heisenberg, 1927). The reality in physical world is created by the
process of observing, measuring, and knowing (Heisenberg, 1955). An elementary particle for
example, once the positional value is assigned to it, knowledge of momentum, trajectory, speed,
and so on is lost and become ‘uncertain’… the nature of reality and uncertainty principle is
directly affected by the observer and the process of observing and knowing (Heisenberg, 1955,
1958). The presence of observer who is not part of collapse function but is a witness, changes the
behaviour of particle. Act of knowing creates a knot in quantum state described as the collapse of
wave function (Joseph, 2015). At quantum level therefore it is not easy to measure the behaviour
of matter and energy as particles have ability to be in the state of superposition that causes them
to decohere, what we consider as the decoherence principle of quantum mechanics.
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The uncertainty principle also says that it is impossible to measure the exact value for the
momentum of a particle like an electron, given that its position has been determined at a given
instant. Likewise, it is impossible to determine the exact location of that particle once its
momentum has been measured at a particular instant (Greiner, Walter. 2000). It also originated
the concept of wave particle duality which means that subatomic particles and electromagnetic
waves both share certain common properties of each other and are neither simply particle of
wave in separation. Current scientific theory, through the work of Max Planck, Albert
Einstein, Louis de Broglie, Arthur Compton, Niels Bohr, and many others, holds that all particles
also have a wave nature (and vice versa) (Greiner, 2001).
The principle of complementarity holds that objects have complementary properties, which
cannot be observed or measured all at the same time. Niels Bohr regarded the "duality paradox"
as a fundamental or metaphysical fact of nature. A given kind of quantum object will exhibit
sometimes wave, sometimes particle, and character, in respectively different physical settings.
He saw such duality as one aspect of the concept of complementarity. (Manjit, 2011)
5. Relativity Theory by Albert Einstein
Einstien’s relativity equations provide foundations for many advanced theories in relativity based
physics and quantum mechanics. Space-time scheme is one of the most substantial researches
based upon relativity theory. For the NASA Astronomy Café (part of the NASA Education and
Public Outreach program), Dr. Sten Odenwald (Raytheon STX) stated that it was Hermann
Minkowski, Einstein’s former college teacher who developed the scheme of space time reality in
the year 1906. Minkowski established that because space consists of three dimensions, and time
is one dimensional, space-time must, therefore be a four-dimensional object. According to this
scheme, our world is embedded in four-dimensional space-time continuum where all events,
moments in history, places and actions can be described with reference to their unique location in
space-time.
General theory of relativity explains that time is relative to the observer and since observers are
innumerable, due to gravity, velocity and other variables, there are no universal past, present and
future (Einstein, 1905, 1906, 1915, 1961). Reality and its properties have no objective true
values and are relative to the observer’s point of view (Einstein, 1905). There is no universal
past, present or future. The past in the other galaxy overlaps with the present on our planet. The
present in other galaxy will not be experienced on earth until the future (Einstein, 1955).
Time is perceived and experienced. It is something that exists and therefore it must have energy
and wave function, which entangles with motion, velocity, gravity, the observer, and the
quantum continuum, which encompasses space-time. Significant work by Einstien, Godel,
George Gamow and Pythagoras theorized that time move in circle where future events lead,
cause and affect past and present events (Joseph Rhawn G., 2015).
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5.1 Nonlocality and Entanglement – ‘Spooky Action from Distance’
Non-locality is object’s ability to instantaneously know about the state of other object even when
separated by large distances, even billions of lights years away. This phenomenon occurs due to
entanglement whereby particles that interact with each other become permanently correlated or
dependent on each other’s states and properties. In course of such entanglement, they even lose
their individuality and start behaving as the single entity (Mastin Luke, 2009).
Entanglement between photons can be seen before the second photon even created or exists.
Photons that do not exist can affect photons, which do exist, and photons, which no longer exist,
and photons, which will exist (Megidish et al, 2013). Einstein theorized this phenomenon and
called it as the ‘spooky action from distance’. All his life he stayed dubious about it and could
not find any evidences to support the theory. Very recently, researchers from National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST- U.S. Department of Commerce) with researchers from
several other universities have published their study based upon their experiments on photon
particles. As explained by them, their experiment results agree with quantum mechanics
prediction of spooky action shared by entangled particles. Researchers in this study created pairs
of identical light particles or photons, and sent them to two different locations to be measured.
They found that the measured results not only were correlated, but also—by eliminating all other
known options—that these correlations cannot be caused by the locally controlled, “realistic”
universe Einstein thought in which we lived. This implies a different explanation such as
entanglement (NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory 2015). Entanglement therefore, can be
considered as the proven property of particles which enable them to entangle and behave with
response to stimulus they receive from each other in non-local space-time.
5.2 Time Dilation
Another prediction of relativity theory says that time and space is subject to dilation and
contraction due to distance, gravity, and acceleration. Acceleration contracts space-time thereby
decreasing the distance between the future and now (Einstein, 1905, 1961; Einstein et al., 1923;
Lorentz, 1892, 1905). When something moves near the speed of light, time starts to move slower
causing time dilation in observer’s reference frame. The twin paradox explains this phenomenon
more comprehensively.
“If one twin leaves Earth and accelerates toward light speed, that twin will arrive in the future in
less time than the twin left behind on Earth (since more time passed for that twin whose clock
ran faster). By contrast, because it took less time for the time travelling twin she does not age as
much (since her clock ticked slower) whereas the twin left on Earth ages at the normal rate.
Hence, the time travelling twin will be younger. It took her less time (clock ticks slower)
whereas the twin on Earth took more time (clock ticks faster) to reach the same destination in the
future. The time travelling twin arrives in the future more quickly.” (Joseph Rhawn G., 2015).
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6. Consciousness Theory of Occurrences and Access’Ability (CTOA’A)
Through this research I hypothesize that consciousness, despite being highly subjective in nature,
can be measured. Nevertheless, we need a different approach to measure it. Despite the fact that
every particle in cosmos has consciousness, for the sake of specificity, we are considering human
consciousness for this study.
Three fundamental characteristic of highly conscious human beings are:
1. They have great memory. They can retrieve most of their experiences anytime anywhere
they need.
2. They are plethora of information. They know the fundamental reality of life by being
aware of reasons behind most of the things happening around them.
3. They are visionary, can envision the future very effectively. Other than using their
experience and senses, they also use intuition to create exact picture of future.
Concisely, we can say that highly conscious humans are aware of their past, present and future.
This ability helps them to take better decisions and contribute greatly to their overall well-being.
How we humans develop this great characteristic? To answer this, I propose ‘Consciousness
Theory of Occurrences and Access’Ability’. Theory emphasizes that primarily, it is important for
us to believe and understand that consciousness manifests in form of occurrences. Occurrences
can be defined in terms of all the events, actions, moments, incidences and experiences human
may or may not directly encounter, feel and sense. When they occur they are considered to be
born in human’s specific space-time coordinates. As all creatures after taking birth, move into
their relative space and time, occurrences also float and travel into the specific reference frame of
the creature. However, unlike other physical objects, these occurrences do not die. They are
immortal as the cosmos itself. Once they occur, they exist, float or move forever in the universe.
It is these events which human brain accesses all the time to produce consciousness.
Moreover, due to quantum mechanics principles of nonlocality and circle of time, these
occurrences can be accessed in different times (past, present, and future), at different locations
(space coordinates) by the creature. Time cannot be measured precisely by any human made
clock and since it is subject to the reference frame of the creature, it cannot bind occurrences.
Occurrences, which freely move in the universe, are eternal and can be available for access to all
creatures irrespective of their space and time coordinates. It is therefore possible for creatures to
get access to the events that have occurred back in the past or even those events, which have not
yet occurred at all. All occurrences in universe are entangled. Other person can sense something
happening to other person’s life in different time and space. However, as observation creates the
knot in wave function, if we start to observe this phenomenon the behaviour of occurrences
might change. This is complex phenomena, dependent on creature’s ability to access the
occurrences. Still, as the principle of uncertainty applies the outcomes are never certain.
Consciousness manifests both in terms of occurrences registered or unregistered (noticed or
unnoticed) by the human brain. The human brain, when it encounters occurrence with high
intensity (extremely positive or negative), registers that occurrence quickly and strongly. That
same occurrence then gets stored in person’s occurrence repository system or ‘ORS’ which can
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be imagined as kind of galaxy like structure surrounding her being. More than two third of
galaxies, including our milky way have observed to have spiral shape structure. At the centre of
the spiral, a lot of energy is being generated. Astronomers conclude that the centre of the Milky
Way is a supermassive black hole. It is assumed that galaxies of all types, forms and shapes have
black holes in their centre (NASA Science Astrophysics, 2016). As millions of planets and stars
revolve in the orbit of galaxy bound under great force of gravity, the occurrences also orbit
around human body bound under one force, get pulled into the human brain to be further
processed to generate the conscious experience. Nevertheless, there is a little contrast here. It is
assumed that when strong energy of supermassive black hole in the centre of galaxy pulls in
objects, swallows them, and they consequently disappear into unknown cosmic space-time. In
contrast, occurrences in creature’s ORS never disappear or die. They are used by brain to
produce consciousness and then restored back into the system. They are immortal and stay alive
forever even after death of the creature.
ORS can further be divided into - registered ORS, the conscious state (occurrences directly
registered), and unregistered ORS (occurrences happening around but not being directly
registered), subconscious and unconscious states. There is number of events that stay
unregistered but as they exist, they may affect human’s consciousness experience in many
different ways, in different times.
I assume that there are more than just electromagnetic fields, which surround conscious
creature’s bodies. There is possibility that we human beings are surrounded by fields, which
along with some special force like gravity enable our brain to access all the occurrences from
respective ORS(s). Occurrences create memories, which are said to be stored throughout
the brain as groups of neurons that are primed to fire together in the same pattern that created the
original experience. In the core of it, the science of memory is still a mystery. According to this
study (presumably), memories do not store in the brain at all. Memories are mere occurrences
that human brain accesses at different levels of frequencies, depth and breadth from his own
ORS.
Recent, strong and intense occurrences that human registers stay closer to her being (in spiral
structure of ORS) and therefore they are easier to be accessed by brain repeatedly. Whenever
person encounters occurrence similar to one she experienced in past, her brain fetches that
similar past occurrence immediately in form of memory from her ORS. For example, a girl
smells rose and her brain immediately fetches occurrence when her first crush proposed her with
a flower that had similar smell. It is her memory, past occurrence accessed by her brain. With
time, the human keeps adding more occurrences to her ORS, some occurrences fade due to lack
of rehearsal and access by brain and some get stronger and stronger as brain accesses them more
frequently and deeply providing them close proximity to one’s self. Cases like memory loss,
dissonance and other mental disorders related to memory are all caused when specific part of
human brain, responsible to access occurrences get injured or damaged possibly due to ageing,
accidents or other reasons.
According to this hypothesis, brain (of those creatures who have it) is kind of enabling device
designed by nature with highly complex structures that help it access occurrences from ORS(s).
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Brain is like a transistor, the analogous device that accesses occurrences at different frequencies
in space-time producing conscious experiences of various sorts. Significance and relevance of all
established scientific discoveries on brain structures remain intact here. Only thing proposed is
that consciousness is result of human brain’s ‘ability’ to ‘access’ ‘occurrences’ from her ORS
and sometimes from beyond her own ORS, in different space-time. Creatures having no brain do
use different sensory receptor and response system to produce conscious experiences.
Although this theory is still in its hypothetical stage, it can still be expressed in terms of simple
equation –
c (f) = o*a’a
c stands for experience of consciousness; o represents occurrences in form of events, actions and
incidents; a’a stands for access-ability (ability of a creature to gain access to occurrences in nonlocal space and time). The limits of this function can reach to infinity (∞) due to non-local,
infinite nature of cosmic space-time.
This theory also helps us to understand why humans experience some very strange phenomena.
As explained earlier, human brain is capable to access even unregistered occurrences from
person’s own reference frame (space-time) and from the reference frames of other creatures.
When brain accesses occurrences from person’s own ORS in his future time, it causes her to
experience phenomena like precognition, premonition, dreams, intuition and dejavu. On the
other hand, when her brain accesses occurrences from other person’s ORS in similar or different
space-time, experiences of paranormal, reincarnation, telepathy, past life memories, and
communication with dead are generated by his consciousness.
7. Intuition, Precognition, Premonitions, Dreams and Deja Vu
In actual terms, consciousness is creature’s ability to use past and present information to shape
actions in present moment for future outcomes. However, it is not just available information that
we always use to take decisions in life. In order to take decisions, we use a lot of intuition, which
is another kind of mystery in science of psychology. What is intuition of feeling of gut? Human
brain accesses the occurrences from her future or unregistered present or past, from places she
never has been to and this tendency of human brain causes intuition to occur. Occurrences, like
subatomic particles exist in different eigenstates, in superposition, entangled in past, present and
future.
I know of an incident when one day a woman asked her husband not to park the car under the
tree where they would always park their car. When her husband asked for the reason, she said
it’s just what she does not feel right at the moment. As she insisted husband decided to park car
at some other spot. The very night, that tree got knocked down during lightning. In the morning,
they saw the huge tree lying on the ground exactly where they would usually park their car. In
our personal lives, we get sort of similar intuitive experiences, which we do not know where they
are coming from but we just sense them. Intuitions come from future set of occurrences that
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human brain accesses in so-called present. Future is already created by universe in non-local
space-time. Quantum physics and relativity both predict that future exist before it is even
experienced. All futures however are entangled with space-time, in the frenzied activity of
quantum continuum, and subject to the uncertainty principle. Its mere an illusion that past
present and future are distinct as there is no universal now. As predicted by Einstein in his field
equations, space-time may be a circle such that the future leads to the present and the past which
leads to the future, thereby creating multiple futures and pasts and which allows information
from the future to affect the present. (Joseph. R. G., 2015). This however does not violate or
challenge the law of ‘free will’. Future does exist in past but in all possible states and
probabilities making the law of uncertainty apply stronger.
Same laws apply to what we call as precognition and premonition. Precognition, a form of
conscious cognitive awareness involves the acquisition of future knowledge just prior to its
occurrence. Premonition on the other hand is a form of presentiment or an emotional feeling that
something may happen in near future, but without conscious knowledge of exactly what it is
going to happen. Both can be considered as the forms of quantum entanglement (Radin, 2006;
Bem, 2011). Some people have tendency to experience such states more often and clear than
others. Their brains are naturally wired to perform such activity at that different level. Now, how
brain gets naturally wired? How and why is every brain’s capacity different? The answer might
be hidden in the design of human DNA that is not just inherited from the parents, but changes
with response to the environmental conditions person surrounds with. Design of DNA is what
makes every person a different unique entity. Then comes the nurture effect. It is said that human
brain is just like human body having muscles and tissues, which build up strong when more
pressure is exerted on them. When person keeps recollecting memories or visualizing, she builds
her brain’s capacity to access the occurrences more strongly and frequently than others do. This
is the reason why some people are better strategic thinkers than others are. They are more
successful as they can envision future possibilities in form of opportunities and threats.
Déjà vu is the conscious experience of having experienced the event just moments before the
event takes place. For example, a girl has been waiting for the bus at bus stop and bus just
arrives. Girl enters bus swipes the card and senses this is what she has exactly experienced
before. Same bus, crowd, driver, same time in the watch. How can that be possible? Well,
something like this I think we all experience at least once in our lifetime and this is what is called
as déjà vu. I believe it very much, a quantum mechanics phenomenon allowing brain to access
the future occurrences in present period. Similarly, dreaming can also be considered as the part
of the same doctrine. Reality in dream is characterized by all possible outcomes juxtaposed in
past, present and future. In April 1965, less than two weeks before he was gunned down by an
assassin’s bullet, President Abraham Lincoln dreamed of his own assassination (Lamon, 1911).
The future and past occurrences exist in various overlapping locations in space-time and are in
motion. Human brain therefore occasionally accesses these occurrences causing a person to
experience such mysterious phenomena.
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8. Paranormal, Telepathy, Reincarnation, Past Life Memories, and Communication with the Dead
Many real life human experiences can be used to explain how people experience the paranormal
activities. There are instances where people reported to have seen cloud like images of humans
who have already died (they call these images as spirits), heard strange voices, cries, screams,
and laughter; dead people helping them or scaring them. For example, Doug Dillon in his book
‘Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences’ (2014), explains that in summer of 1920
Carl Jung was invited for the series of lectures in London. For his stay, his friend arranged the
cottage for an unreasonably cheap price. One night when Carl was lying in the bed (sleepy but
not exactly sleeping), he found himself not being able to move at all. The room seemed stuffy
and some sort of bad smell filled the air. Over the period of few days, not only him but also even
his friend experienced spooky activities like loud noise, rustling, creaking, and knocking around
the house especially during nights. Throughout his book, Dillon shares how Carl in his life,
experienced similar sort of paranormal incidents in different times and places. It was quite
frequent and usual for him to experience such activities.
“I got the impression that I was communicating with my mother after her death, at first hearing
her voice in my left ear. I could have chalked it up to my imagination, except that there were
many evidential aspects to the communication” (Emmons & Emmons, 2003). Emmons in many
of his writings has shared his experiences of paranormal. Many people have claimed to
communicate with the dead. Reincarnation experience is another such mystery. In the essay ‘Ian
Stevenson and Cases of the Reincarnation Type’ (2008), Jim B. Tucker explains how Ian
explored about unusual behaviours in a series of Burmese children who reported to live as
Japanese soldiers, killed in Burma during World War II. His study includes many similar
evidences of people claiming their lives as reincarnation. Similarly, there are claims that with the
help of hypnosis it is possible to investigate purported past and future lives (Paul F.
Cunningham, 2009).
Telepathy which is defined by F.W. Myers as “the communication of impressions of any kind
from one mind to another, independently of the recognized channels of sense” (1903) is another
human experience that is difficult to logically understand. I quote here one my own experiences.
I moved to the United States of America (USA) in February 2016. In the month of April, one
night at about 4 am I had this dream that my father, who lives in India, is telling me that now I
must come back to India. He was very sad, and insisting me to be back as soon as I can. I felt so
strong that I immediately woke up. Right away, I rang my father in India who was living about
ten hours ahead to my time in the USA. He said, “... ask your brother, I was just telling him that
Maryam (my secondary name) should now come back, I miss her very much these days. My
heart cries for you my daughter.” The matter was that my younger sister moved that very day to
Saudi Arabia and my father was strongly missing me. I literally had no idea that my sister was
moving that day. It was her urgent plan and she did not inform me at all. Nobody in my family
did. I had talked with my father very recently and he was quite normal (as usual, he was talking
about importance of religion). By no means could I have had the impression that he could miss
me so bad that night (his day). It was moment of enlightenment; as if universe is giving me clue,
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about how exactly one experiences the telepathy. It was the period when I was reviewing the
literature for this research and right on time, I got one experience of my own that I could quote in
my paper.
How is this possible that one person living thousands of miles away, in different time zone can
communicate his feelings to his daughter by sending message in her dream? This is how actually
consciousness works according to CTOA’A. Human brain accesses the occurrences from the
ORS of other humans irrespective of specific space-time considerations. As I mentioned earlier,
intense occurrences have stronger presence and as they live forever in universe, they are
accessed by human brains in different times and locations. For example, in cases where people
reported of having seen kind of evil spirits, I believe that those spirits were people who died in
kind of very unpleasant circumstances. Negative occurrences happened that time remained at
that place, no wonder they could also be experienced at different place due to the nonlocality
principle. Cases of claiming reincarnation are mostly reported in small children. It is possible
that children’s’ brains are able to access event by event occurrences of people who died many
years before. In telepathy the same way, person’s brain accesses other person’s occurrences that
might be as simple as just a feeling (as feelings occur). The theory sounds little complex but if
understood and applied correctly, it simplifies many unsolved mysteries.
9. Philosophy of Spirituality
Finally, I would like to throw some light on ‘philosophy of spirituality’, and how it supports the
CTOA’A. Let us take into consideration the law of ‘Karma’ that surmises that for every action
there will always be a reaction. Like an echo, actions create a ripple in universe and have definite
consequences. Actions become occurrences, they are strong, generate and carry energy that
might be unknown to the world of science. Therefore, when they carry energy, they might also
carry some form (matter) as per the principle of duality in relativity physics. Every action, every
occurrence, what we do, say, sense, think, and feel, stay in universe forever in nonlocal spacetime. One of the fundamental properties of cosmic universe is ‘balance’ that is applicable from
largest bodies (like stars, planets, mountains, oceans) to the tiniest creatures like atomic and
subatomic particles. Creatures die so that others could take birth and accommodate in physical
space-time. Days come to enable creature to work and nights fall to put it on rest. Summerwinter, sleep-wake, prey-predator, love-hatred are all examples of nature’s balancing mechanism
which is not only the philosophy but also the law of science.
‘Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you’, is not just a spiritual
statement but it is science of philosophy. Through intentions, we shape our actions. Intention
itself is an occurrence. The moment you intend, it takes form of an occurrence, shape your
actions, which produce more and further occurrences. Positive intentions produce positive
actions and negative produce negative. These positive occurrences keep getting stored in
creature’s ORS, around her body and generate effect of highly strong positive energy. This
energy has kind of magnetic effect that attracts and pulls people toward the creature. This is
nothing but what is philosophically called as the ‘aura’. Opposite happens in case of wrong
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intentions. Negativity of intentions, thoughts and actions make people toxic, nobody likes their
company. Negative energy generated by them pushes people apart from them; all they attract is
further negativity. Much of the literature in spirituality points out the significance of positive
actions or deeds due to their impact on individuals, groups, communities, and on entire world at
large. There is great emphasis on the thought that it is only living beings who die, actions never
die.
10. Philosophy of Consciousness
Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy describes consciousness from philosophical viewpoint in
very comprehensive manner. Consciousness can be classified as the ‘creature consciousnesses’,
‘state consciousnesses’, and ‘consciousness as entity’. Any cognitive system including humans
and animals are said to be conscious if they simply are being the sentient creatures, capable of
sensing and responding to its world (Armstrong, 1981). In addition to this, the creature needs to
be awake and normally alert, self-conscious, and just ‘what it is like’. With regard to ‘what it is
like’ doctrine, bats are conscious because there is something that it is like for a bat to experience
its world through its echo-locatory senses. We humans from our viewpoint are unable to
understand emphatically what such a mode of consciousness is like from the bat's own point of
view (Nagel Thomas, 1974). Creatures are also subject to the conscious state, transitive and
intransitive notions of consciousness in order to qualify to be called as the conscious creatures.
The state consciousness category explains the importance of various states one is aware of, the
qualitative experience (qualia, the raw sensory feels), phenomenal states, and narrative and
access consciousness. Consciousness is an entity and according to this thought, consciousness is
not a substantive entity but merely the abstract reification of whatever property or aspect is
attributed by relevant use of ‘conscious’ as adjective (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
2004, 2014).
11. Conclusion
The cosmos is full of mysteries, more than we can even imagine. We human beings are one of
the creations of nature, just tiny part of universe of infinite possibilities. No doubt, with our
intelligence and superior skills, we explored world around us and made it better place to live. By
nature, we are curious; we question, explore and find solution to our problems. Nature wanted us
to find solutions of our problems by ourselves and therefore it created us that way. However,
human’s intelligence and skills are limited. Our eyes are able to see only visible light. We do not
even know how many more types of light exist in cosmic space-time. Similarly, we cannot listen
to all the sounds. We cannot feel and sense all that is happening in the cosmos. Nature has given
us sufficient intelligence to explore and develop what is important and significant to our survival
on this planet. Human developed ‘science’ as a great tool to explore and discover many
important enablers which helped humans to live and survive on planet earth. Many things and
aspects however, science itself has failed to explain.
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Think about these terms - junk DNA, black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and hard problem.
Dark matter and energy are types of matter and energy in cosmic universe, properties of which
are still unknown to humans. Cosmological observations have discovered their presence but no
one could ever understand what they actually are. Junk DNA is kind of genomic DNA that does
not encode proteins. Its function is still unknown to the world of science. In simple terms these
are those things or aspects that science failed to explain on the basis of measurement and testing
and therefore, scientists labelled them as junk, black, hard, and dark (black holes and hard
problem are explained in earlier sections of the paper). This research is proposing a revolutionary
theory of consciousness, based upon hypothetical assumptions named as ‘the Consciousness
Theory of Occurrences and Access’Ability’. In first place, it sounds strange as how can you
imagine occurrences floating around a person’s being. However, this is what the substance is.
Consciousness is a subjective experience, part of cosmos of infinite possibilities, characterized
by principles including nonlocality, uncertainty, and entanglement where all events are entangled
in circle of time. Now the question is that if occurrences float in a way that is described by
theory, how can we observe, trap, and measure them? Well, for that we need more investigation.
Who knows, maybe answer is hidden in mysteries of junk DNA, dark matter, and dark energy.
There is possibility that dark matter particles are nothing but occurrences and dark energy is
energy of all actions. Junk DNA might by factor that enable human brain to access these
occurrences (presumptions, but possible).
Further consciousness research needs consistent curiosity, methods and tools that are more
appropriate and suitable to study the subjective properties of consciousness. Already existing
tools, technologies and methods have all failed to achieve success in defining consciousness
from the perspective of science but I believe what David Hilbert strongly believed - ‘we must
know, we will know’. This research provides entirely different perspective to study
consciousness and I believe that if more time and resources are invested, with this theory we can
discover many useful aspects of this discipline. This theory explains itself on not only
philosophical grounds but also uses whole lot of scientific principles, which support the
hypothesis. Scientific domains of neurosciences, psychology, quantum physics, and Einstein’s
theory of relativity have been used to establish facts and assumptions. Applicability of theory can
easily be understood through strange experiences humans encounter on frequent basis.
Premonitions, precognitions, dreams, dejavu, paranormal, telepathy, reincarnation, past life
memories, and communication with the dead are examples of those experiences which are really
strange but can easily be understood and explained with the help of this theory.
We are humans, curious creatures, we need to know more, we need theories to further explore,
and develop practices, which can contribute to well-being of humans at large. Nevertheless, we
will have to accept that we are humans, part of cosmos and not the creator. We are limited in our
mental and physical abilities and therefore might not be able to know ‘all’ of it. Giordano Bruno,
the Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet and astrologer was sentenced death punishment in
the year 1600. He was found guilty of questioning catholic school thoughts of cosmic universe.
He discovered and hypothesized very first time that stars are distant suns surrounded by their
exoplanets and it is possible that these planets have ability to foster life of their own. His
hypothesis later provided the base to hundreds and thousands of researches in physics, astrology,
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cosmology and other disciplines. It takes just one idea, one person to believe what reality of
something can be in this cosmos of infinite possibilities. I hope ‘the Consciousness Theory of
Occurrences & Access-Ability’ will carve the way for many more researchers, scientists and
philosophers to develop different perspective to study consciousness and draw useful findings.
Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Dr. Michael Petty for his empowering support. I am grateful to
him for his highly credible and inspiring leadership. Without his help, this research would not have been
completed.
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Physical Foundations of Consciousness
Brain Organisation: The Role of Synapses
Charles T. Ross and Shirley F. Redpath.
Abstract
We have analysed the many facets of Consciousness into two distinct categories. First:
the organisational state of the neural networks at any one time, which determines
whether a person is conscious – awake, or unconscious – asleep. Second: the processes
that underlie the traffic of electrical signals across these networks that accounts for all
the experiences of conscious awareness. This paper addresses the former; namely, how
the state of the billions of neural networks and the trillions of additional axons, dendrites and
synapses varies over the daily cycle - what physically changes when we go to sleep – what
happens when we wake up.
We submit that the widths of synaptic clefts are not fixed, but are variable, and that this
variable tension across the synapses is the neural correlate of consciousness.
State and Process
The many attributes of Consciousness can
be usefully divided into two distinct
categories: the state of the mass of the
neural networks; and the processes that
underlie the traffic transmitted over those
networks: the organisational state of the
brain as opposed to its cognitive functions.
The former determines the current
experience of conscious awareness along
the gradient from deep anaesthesia through
simple unconscious sleep to being
consciously awake, alert and all the way to
full concentration. The latter includes all
the many familiar activities of monitoring
and processing the sensations of the world.
It includes all the processing associated
with being able to see, hear, feel, taste and
touch, and to move speak, learn, think and
create new ideas and concepts. It also
includes all the neural activity generated
by the emotions, feelings, attitudes,
opinions and the sense of having a degree
of control over behaviour. It is possible to
observe from brain scans that activity
takes place over an individual’s neural
networks when they are in a state of being
both conscious and unconscious; however,
in the latter state they are not, by
definition, consciously aware of that
activity, and, indeed, they only ever will
be aware of that activity when, and if they
wake up.
This problem of consciousness has been
facing - and defeating - scientists for many
generations. What happens in our brains
when we wake up? It seems such a simple
question, but no one has ever come up
with a plausible and coherent answer. In a
paradigm where everyone is stuck, a fresh
set of ideas is always a step forward, and
we believe that by separating the state of
the neural networks from the processes of
the traffic over these networks, and then
concentrating on understanding the
former, it will be much easier to begin to
understand how all the aspects of
consciousness fit into the jig saw.
This paper, therefore, addresses the
former; namely, how the state of the
billions of neural networks and the
trillions of additional axons, dendrites and
synapses varies over the daily cycle - what
changes when we go to sleep – what
happens when we wake up.
The experience of ‘being conscious’ –
awake – is very different from ‘being
unconscious’ – asleep. At one extreme is
to be alert and concentrating hard. At the
opposite extreme is anaesthesia. Deep
sleep equates with being unconscious.
Being wide awake equates with being
conscious, but in addition there is an
underlying subconscious state that is
continuously in operation. The senses
continue to monitor the outside world,
even if there is no conscious experience of
this activity. If someone’s name is called
out, even very quietly into their sleeping
ear, they awake. A shouted warning or the
sounding of an alarm will wake people. It
is not the volume, but the content of the
message that is important. The brain must
be receiving and processing everything
that is going on around it to achieve this
feat.
imagine complex scenarios of potential
events and feeling very much alive and in
control.
We appear not to have conscious control
over our transition from one state of
consciousness to another. It is possible to
lie in bed unable to go to sleep for hours
on end, but a sharp blow to the head can
make someone instantly unconscious. It is
possible to fight off drowsiness or sleep
for limited periods to cope with some
emergency situation, but eventually sleep
overtakes everyone. Sustained emotional
activity, which uses up a lot of energy,
invariably causes sleep.
Separation of State From Process
Similarly, although the subconscious
monitors all the sensory activity in its
environment, this information may not
penetrate into conscious awareness even
when the person is fully awake, because
the relative strength of the signal is not
sufficiently strong to need a response.
Three States
Thus, we can observe three states.
Consciousness – being awake. Unconsciousness – being asleep: and,
permanently in the background, the Subconscious. Over the centuries, many
observers have tried to explain this third
state, but it was Freud1 and Jung2 around a
century ago, who began to identify and
delineate the subconscious. We can note
that some Hindus and Buddhists would
argue that there is a fourth, or ‘super
conscious’ state.
It is possible to be asleep yet be dreaming
so vividly that the sense of involvement is
indistinguishable from being consciously
awake – during the dream, at least. It is
also possible to be fully awake yet
daydreaming happily so as to be in a state
similar to sleep. Consciousness is often
associated with being aware of all the
sensations of the surrounding world, yet it
is possible to wake up in, say, a dark
room, with no sounds, no smells, no tastes
and only the slightest touch of some
bedclothes – e.g. to have no physical
stimuli – yet be fully conscious, able to
All these examples, and many others,
reinforce the argument that being
conscious or unconscious is separate from
whatever mental activities are, or are not,
going on at any one moment. In short,
whenever someone is ‘conscious’ they
experience a steady flow of thoughts,
ideas, concerns, intentions, reactions and
feelings as they monitor and relate to the
environment or give free rein to their
imaginations. Equally, people can
discipline themselves to slow down all that
mental activity, shut out the outside world
and meditate, which is possibly the basis
of a super conscious state. It is very easy
to slip from imagination, a conscious
process, to dreaming, an unconscious one.
If we can isolate all the processes of
consciousness that generate the mass of
electrical signals over the neural networks
of the brain we are left with the ‘state’ of
those networks.
More has been discovered about the neural
networks in the last few decades than in all
previous recorded history. A remarkable
amount is known about the neurons, their
nuclei and the axons and dendrite
filaments that connect them to the senses,
the muscles, the glands and all the other
organs of the body, thereby linking and
coordinating every organ in the body with
every other. We know that there are more
glia cells than neurons, although we are
not fully aware of their myriad functions.
Among a number of power generating
systems, mitochondria in the nuclei create
energy from the nutrients circulating in the
blood stream. Action potentials are
generated along the axons and dendrites.
The whole brain is bathed in a myriad of
chemicals; some that bind to the axons and
dendrites to modify specific networks, and
others that broadcast general messages.
Synapses
One aspect that has attracted particular
attention is the way in which all neurons
are connected to each other. Neurons do
not physically touch; instead, they
communicate across tightly controlled
gaps between their respective axons and
dendrites. These junctions, known as
synapses from the Greek word ‘to clasp’,
are surprisingly sophisticated. There is a
narrow gap, or cleft, between the
transmitting and receiving terminals. In
principle, when an action potential
message flowing along an axon reaches a
synapse, it causes various neurotransmitters to be excreted. These swim across
the synaptic cleft and bind to the receiving
dendrite, initiating a corresponding action
potential which enables the message to
continue its journey. Synapses can pass
messages, amplify messages and negate
messages. The pharmaceutical industry
has been very active in research on the
complex operation of synapses and many
preparations like valium™ and prozac™
operate on the chemicals that are believed
to operate in and around the synapses.
These drugs may variously stimulate the
production of neurotransmitters, inhibit
them, operate on hormones that affect
transmissions along the axons and
dendrites, or seek to affect excess
neurotransmitters
that
in
normal
circumstances would be retrieved by the
axon terminals that over supplied them.
Chemical warfare agents, such as sarin™,
are particularly lethal because they
interfere with synaptic links.
There is another aspect of synapses that is
less well understood. Not much is known
about the width of synaptic clefts. It is not
known what holds the two sides together,
in close proximity but without touching.
There is, as yet, no plausible theory about
how or why this method of connecting
neurons together has evolved in such a
curious and immensely complex way, yet
we know that Nature rarely evolves
without a very good reason.
Hypothesis
We propose the hypothesis that the widths
of synaptic clefts are not fixed, but are
variable, and that this variable tension
across the synapses is the root operand of
the various states of consciousness.
How might this operate?
Observing someone gradually falling
asleep it is noticeable that their muscles
relax, their eyes close and breathing drops
to a steady rhythm. We propose that
similar variations in the amount of energy
directed to the synapses causes variations
in the tension across the synaptic clefts. As
these energy levels drop, the synaptic gaps
gradually widen. This does not completely
inhibit the transmission of messages, but
will slow them down and make that
transmission less efficient. Below a critical
point, the volume of perceived activity
falls below a horizon and the person drifts
into a state of unconscious sleep. After a
period of rest, the energy levels in the
neurons are gradually replenished,
increasing the tension across the synapses,
closing the synaptic gaps and facilitating
the efficient passage of neural activity.
When a critical mass is reached, the
volume of perceived activity will rise
above the horizon and the person becomes
consciously awake.
Thus the level of tension across the neural
networks determines the state of
consciousness. The type and volume of
traffic over those networks determines the
experiences of consciousness.
How might this have evolved?
As groups of primeval cells banded
together to create larger organisms, the
earliest brains evolved to link together all
the developing senses, muscles and
organs, enabling an organism to manage
its behaviour and operate as one co-
ordinated, co-operative whole in a process
known as the autonomic system. This
neural activity uses up a lot of energy.
However, being able to respond
increasingly quickly to threatening stimuli,
proved to be an extremely valuable
attribute in the battle for survival. Energy
is always a scarce resource, and the
conservation of energy has always been a
major constraint on living organisms. Life
forms that could deploy increasing
amounts of neural energy, even if only
over short periods, prospered. Thus, the
underlying autonomic systems evolved
two new operating states. Neuron
networks began to deploy unsustainable
amounts of energy over short periods,
followed by periods of relaxation to enable
this energy to be replenished. How could
the same neural networks operate in these
two different modes?
We propose that synapses initially evolved
as simple ‘circuit breakers’. However, the
ability to stay connected but vary the
tension holding synapses together and so
vary the width of the gaps across the
synaptic clefts provided as increasingly
sophisticated, efficient and flexible
system. In the active phase tension was
increased and the synaptic cleft was
minimised, enabling the neuron networks
to operate at maximum efficiency even at
the cost of incurring unsustainable energy
usage. As the available energy dropped the
tension across the synapses reduced,
widening the synaptic clefts and causing
the traffic across the network to fall. This
reduced the energy usage to the point
where the neurons could generate more
energy than was being used and so
replenish their stocks. The first condition
developed into the state we recognise as
conscious awareness – being awake and
able to respond to any eventuality. The
latter developed into the state of relaxation
and inactivity we recognise as being
unconscious – of being asleep. Because
the synaptic cleft was not completely
severed, the autonomic system was able to
continue operating in the background
ensuring the survival of the organism.
This tripartite system – the subconscious
state managing the underlying, autonomic
or basic ‘operating system’ – the fast
reacting self controlled conscious state –
and the compensating relaxation and
recharging unconscious state, proved to be
so successful that it has been one of the
principal drivers of evolution. As the
conscious state has evolved it has
demanded ever more energy, reinforcing
the mechanism.
The energy generation mechanism in coldblooded reptiles will only allow them to
sustain full conscious awareness in direct
sunlight. Animals that pushed the
envelope of conscious awareness outside
the margins of daylight prospered. They
developed warm blooded strategies to
store energy for use in darkness. This used
more energy, in turn requiring more
effective food gathering strategies such as
working in groups, developing tools and
communicating through language. The
human brain, employing the most complex
mix of these strategies, uses one third of
all the energy generated by the whole
body.
Imagination and Dreaming
As people drift off to sleep their motor
neuron synapses tend to lose tension and
so drift apart first. Humans curl up and lie
down. Next to lose tension tend to be the
networks
associated
with
sensory
awareness of the surroundings.
This
leaves the neuron to neuron links, which
control our language, thinking and
imagination systems. These links use the
least amount of energy, so they remain
active the longest. In this state it is
possible to continue imagining, but when
the control systems lose tension and relax
this imagination slips into dreaming.
Finally those networks lose tension and
the whole brain is asleep, with the
exception of the autonomic system.
Several observed phenomena of the
sleeping state demonstrate the delicate
balance between state and process. The
decoupling of the motor neurons explains
the frequently reported dream sequence
where people are aware of some danger
but have the sensation that they cannot
move out of the way. Conversely, in a
minority of circumstances the motor
neurons may remain active after other
networks relax, which accounts for the
phenomena of sleep walking. Similarly,
people talk in their sleep when only the
language networks have remained active.
People report being conscious of, say, a
radio transmitting a discussion while they
are otherwise asleep and feeling frustrated
that the participants do not let them join in.
It appears that the body is asleep, yet the
brain is continuing to run some processes.
Prioritising
This hypothesis of synaptic tension
directly enabling the performance of
neural networks also accounts for another
attribute of consciousness. It is possible to
carry out more than one task at a time and
to switch attention very quickly from one
subject to another. For instance, people
drive cars while concentrating on a
conversation with their passengers, but if a
dangerous event happens on the road in
front of them, the driver instantly directs
full concentration to the task of driving. In
escalating crises the brain can switch its
resources to what appears to be the most
immediate priority very swiftly by
pumping energy into the target neural
network. This raises the tension across the
synapses of that network, closing the clefts
and allowing messages in that area to
transmit faster and stronger than in other
areas of the brain. By this means one
whole set of networks can take over from
another very quickly.
Thus it can be seen that synaptic tension
not only determines the conscious state of
the brain but also the level of conscious
awareness and activity, thereby setting the
priority of all its response systems.
There is an example of this from the
burgeoning technology of robotics. There
is a design issue in robotics referred to as
the ‘concurrency problem’. Put in simple
terms, a robot may walk over a cliff, not
because its sensors have not noticed the
void in front, but because it’s processing
resources are devoted to another task and
can not respond fast enough. In the
biological world, survival depended upon
the ability of one group of neurons to be
able to grab the attention of the whole
system instantly, so that they could
concentrate on coping with just such an
emergency.
Theory Applications
Concussion
A blow to the head actually knocks the
synapses
apart
causing
instant
unconsciousness. As the brain works to
regain the normal level of tension in the
neural networks the clefts close up and
consciousness is gradually regained.
Frequent concussion will weaken this
ability to repair the system.
Variable Memory Loss
Variable synaptic gaps may account for
another well recognised phenomenon of
the brain. When trying to recall some
piece of information people often report a
sense that they know the answer but that it
is just out of reach – it is on the ‘tip of
their tongue’. The reason may be that the
networks representing that information are
activated, but the strength of the signal is
not strong enough to cross intervening
synaptic clefts, and therefore it is just out
of reach. People similarly report that in a
crisis they can recall all sorts of ‘lost’
information, like important telephone
numbers. The energy generated by such a
crisis closes the synaptic clefts enabling
weak signals to pass and thus the
information may be recalled.
It is probable that some aspects of
dementia are caused by a weakening of the
system to generate the levels of tension
necessary to facilitate the passage of
neural signals across synaptic clefts. As
they drift apart, less and less neural
activity penetrates into consciousness.
Death and Brain Damage
When the body dies, all electrical activity
ceases. All the muscles lose their tension
and so the organs cease to function. All
neural activity ceases. Temporary links
will disintegrate. All the synapses fall
apart and the subconscious as well as
consciousness ceases to exist. For these
reasons it is very difficult to observe the
workings of a human brain, because it
significantly changes its configuration at
death. It is also difficult to observe the
operations of a live brain in this detail, but
we can infer certain neural activities from
our observations of localised brain
damage. A stroke causes a partial failure
of sections of the brain. Depending on the
severity of the stroke, some networks lose
their tension, and therefore the ability to
recall memories, either permanently or for
a period of time. Through its incredible
resilience, the brain often gradually
restores tension in the affected networks,
facilitating the transmission of traffic, and
so restoring memory.
Synchronisation
Recent research using brain scanners has
shown that large groups of networks of
neurons can synchronise their electrical
activity and fire at the same frequency; a
process known as ‘phase locking’. By
using different frequencies, these groups
of networks are able to operate
concurrently without interfering with one
another3. Whichever group of networks is
receiving the most energy is in the highest
tension and so seizes conscious attention.
There is some evidence of energy
sweeping in waves across brain areas. This
might be an example of how the brain
ratchets up synaptic tension.
Implications
We now have a plausible hypothesis to
explain the physical manifestations that
occur as we move through all the different
states of our conscious awareness - from
deep anaesthesia, though sleep and waking
up, to full concentration - and how our
attention is directed to what appears to be
the highest priority.
how a neural phenomenon causes a human
experience4.
Synaptic tension is the neural correlate of
consciousness.
Baroness Susan Greenfield, Professor of
Pharmacology at Oxford University,
argues that, while the size of assemblies of
neurons that are active at any one time do
not create consciousness, the size of these
assemblies are indices of degrees of
consciousness5. On the other hand,
Christof Koch, who worked with Francis
Crick, joint discoverer of the structure of
DNA, and is now Professor of Cognitive
and Behavioural Biology at the California
Institute of Technology, suggests that it is
the informational complexity of arrays of
active neurons that is significant, i.e. it is
quality, not quantity that determines
consciousness6.
There is a difference between being
conscious, and being conscious of
something.
Thus, the size of neuron assemblies and
their informational complexity affect what
a person is conscious of at any one time.
If, however, the networks are in resting
state – unconscious – neither the size nor
complexity of the neuron activity will
have any impact.
What matters is the amount of energy
being deployed. But again, this is at two
levels. The energy pumped into the
neurons to raise the tension across the
synapses to increase the efficiency of the
whole network determines consciousness;
and the strength of the signals transmitted
across these networks determines what the
brain is conscious of. Both the Greenfield
and Koch conjectures apply to the latter.
There is a lot to be learned from this line
of discussion.
Habituation
What this hypothesis is attempting to
answer is what the Australian philosopher
David Chalmers calls the ‘hard problem’:
determining how physiological events in
the brain translate into what we experience
as consciousness, or, to put it another way,
Many activities impinge on the conscious
self only if something out of the ordinary
happens to grab the attention. Each time a
non-significant or routine event is repeated
the neural energy needed to process its
response instructions is reduced, so
eventually it does not reach the critical
mass needed to penetrate consciousness.
We use the term ‘habituation’ for this
effect, which can be observed many times
each day. People report that frequently
performed activities like walking, driving,
washing the dishes, or getting dressed in
the morning appear to be performed as
though on ‘automatic pilot’.
Self Control
It is possible to deliberately direct
attention. In most circumstances it is
possible to choose which sensory input to
concentrate upon. It is possible to decide
what to think about, to examine desires,
thoughts and ambitions, and imagine other
situations. It is possible to direct
concentration selectively. It is possible to
listen to just one instrument in an orchestra
or concentrate on the conversation of one
person in a crowded, noisy room. It is
possible to zoom in on one visual image,
taste, smell or feeling. Coherent streams of
words can be pre-assembled to conduct
conversations with others. Similarly,
people can conduct a reasoned stream of
thoughts with themselves. Conceptually, it
is possible to hold a debate across the
corpus collosum. These are all examples
of neural activity over the networks when
they are in a high tension, conscious state.
At the basic level, underpinning the whole
of existence, the autonomic brain is
contributing substantially to the coordination and smooth running of the
whole body. What goes on is registered,
but relatively little impinges on awareness.
Only very rarely are these activities
‘conscious’ and that is generally if
something goes wrong. Hardly ever is
anyone aware of the body’s ongoing
maintenance work to remove, mend or
replace damaged or worn out tissues. The
immune system is permanently active yet
most people are largely oblivious of it.
Summary
Conscious awareness requires two
conditions. The networks must be in a
conscious state and the activity over those
networks must also be sufficiently strong
to attract attention. If the networks are in
an unconscious state no amount of activity
over the networks will attract conscious
attention, but in certain circumstances
subconscious activity may be sufficient to
cause energy to be pumped into the
networks to raise them to a conscious
state; a shouted warning, for instance. If
the networks are in a conscious state,
considerable volumes of neural traffic may
or may not attract conscious attention,
depending on whether some other neural
activity has grabbed attention and so is
taking precedence.
Whether the neural networks are in a
conscious or unconscious state is
determined by the strength of the tension
across the synapses and therefore the
widths of the synaptic clefts.
Humans have evolved some degree of
control over the activities of their brains,
but this is observably incomplete. In a
crisis, reaction becomes automatic: if
physically confronted, either the fight or
flee instinct takes over. In a heated
argument responses may not be fully
under conscious control. People report the
experience of hearing themselves come
out with some riposte that in less stressful
circumstances they might not have used.
Under pressure, there is only partial
conscious control. There is no time to
think of a more reasoned response. The
brain deploys the maximum energy
available to execute the swiftest response
by the most direct means, by-passing all
its more sophisticated facilities.
However, to varying degrees and
depending on the circumstances, the
ability has evolved to interrupt the
instinctive or conditioned responses and
delay taking action until alternatives have
been considered. It is possible to select
and initiate what to think about, how to
think about it and what action to take.
Imagination is, possibly the most valuable
attribute – it is the basis of thinking and
creativity. It is only possible for people to
be imaginative when they are conscious,
when they can initiate actions and have
control over their imaginings.
This all strongly suggests that there are a
series of layers of neural networks. There
are neural networks that operate the
automatic functions of the body, and
behaviours such as the fleeing instinct.
These are overlaid by more complex
neural networks that monitor current and
stored experience, and can interrupt the
automatic response. Perhaps overlaying
both of these, there are neural networks
that monitor other neural networks and,
through the process of imagination, create
a whole new range of options. Through all
these, a system has evolved that enables
the identification and evaluation of
alternatives, over which increasing levels
of control can be exercised. Consciousness
is experienced if the level of tension
holding the synapses together is strong
enough to enable the electrical activity
across the networks to grab attention.
Perhaps confocal microscopy scanning
being developed by Qinetiq PLC in the
UK could be adapted to this task.
Based on work by Leon Chua at the
University of California, Berkeley, Stan
Williams’ team at Hewlett Packard have
devised an electronic component like a
resistor that has a form of memory, which
they have called a ‘memristor’8. Max Di
Ventra, a physicist at the University of
California at San Diago, and Yuriy Pershin
have built a transistor-memristor chip that
appears to emulate synapses9. This work
suggests that synapses may have evolved
their physical attributes to be able to alter
their response according to the frequency
and strength of signal traffic. Thus
synapses may contribute both to the
process of the storage of information –
memory - as well as determining the state
of consciousness of the neural networks.
Corroboration
Conclusion
The next step is to measure the widths of
synaptic clefts and then see by how much
these values vary between the conscious
and unconscious states. This is right on the
edge of current capabilities. Electron
microscopy can measure the width of
axons and work has started on
reconstructing circuit diagrams of sections
of the brain, but this involves terabytes of
data and advances in image analysis.
Multiphoton microscopy, which uses
fluorescence and ultrafast lasers, might
allow us to identify regular variations in
the synaptic clefts. Sam Wang, at
Princeton, reports that his team has been
able to measure the strength of signals
across synapses, but not the ability to
measure the width of the clefts as yet7.
This model provides a plausible
explanation of the varying states of the
neural networks. It explains what actually
happens when a person wakes up and
becomes conscious of being alive and
aware of everything going on about them;
what makes them capable of imagining
different situations and having some
control over their own behaviour; and
what happens as they drift off to sleep.
Proof of this model of the neural correlates
of consciousness, will enable us to
understand the manifold other aspects of
consciousness that occur as a result of the
mass of electrical activity that flows over
these networks.
Charles T. Ross (Hon)FBCS, FIAP, CITP, FIMIS.
Charles.Ross@BrainMindForum.co.uk
Shirley F. Redpath MA, MBA.
Shirley.Redpath@BrainMindForum.co.uk
References
1.
Freud, The Psychopathology of everyday life. See also Watson, Peter. A Terrible
Beauty. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. 2001: London. p 139 et al.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Jung, Carl Gustav. Psychology of the unconscious. See also Watson, Peter. A Terrible
Beauty. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. 2001: London. p 139 et al.
John Begg. Journal of Neuroscience vol 23, p1167
Chalmers David. The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory Oxford
University Press. 1996: Oxford.
Greenfield, Susan. The Private Life of the Brain. Penguin Press. 2000: London. P187
et al. See also Greenfield, Susan and Koch, Christof. Debate. Scientific American.
October 2007 p50.
Koch, Christof. The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach. Roberts
& Co. See also Greenfield, Susan and Koch, Christof. Debate. Scientific American.
October 2007 p50.
Wang, Sam. Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology, Princeton
University. Physics World, Vol 22 no 7 July 2009, P 37-39. see also ‘Welcome to the
Brain’.
Williams, Stan, Nature, vol 453, p80: and with Snider, Greg. SciDAC review. 2008. see
also www.arxiv.org/abs/0810.4179.
Di Ventra, Max, and Pershin, Yuriy www.arxiv.org/abs/0905.2935.
These hypotheses, ideas, theories, conjectures and their implications are set out in greater
detail in Biological Systems of the Brain: Unlocking the Secrets of Consciousness, by Charles
Ross & Shirley Redpath.
http://www.BrainMindForum.co.uk
ISBN 978 1848760 004 http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=671
See also http://arxiv.org/abs/0905.2836 by the same authors.
See also http://www.cycognition.com |
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1074-1078
Kaufman, S. E., Christmas Consciousness
1074
Realization
Christmas Consciousness
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
Christmas is not ultimately a celebration of the physical birth of a certain person. That is just the
excuse that Consciousness uses to throw a party celebrating the Awakening of Itself to the
Christ-Consciousness, to the unity and oneness of Itself that lies hidden and obscured behind all
appearances. Peace on Earth, good will toward men. Not just an empty slogan, but what naturally
arises within any Consciousness that sees past the appearance of "I am this" and "you are that,"
and into the underlying Isness, and so into the underlying Oneness, and so into the singular "I
am" that lies beyond the appearance of two things where there is only ever actually one Nothing.
Key Words: Christmas, Consciousness, Christ, Oneness, nothing, awakening, appearance.
There is not God and the world,
there is only God.
There is not Nothing and something,
there is only Nothing.
That there is God and the world,
Nothing and something,
is an illusion.
The illusion that there is
both God and the world,
both Nothing and something,
is like the illusion that arises
where there is only a mirror
but there appears to be
both a mirror and a reflection,
and so the appearance of two
where there is only one.
The world of somethings
is a reflection that arises
within the mirror that is God,
within the mirror that is Nothing,
within the mirror that is Consciousness.
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1074-1078
Kaufman, S. E., Christmas Consciousness
The world of somethings exists
like a reflection exists,
but the world of somethings,
like a reflection,
is not what is actually there
where it only ever appears to be.
What exists is created,
whereas what is actually there
is not created
but simply Is.
What is actually there
where the world of somethings
appears to be
is the formless Isness
we call our Consciousness.
And it is within that Nothingness,
within that formless Isness,
that the world of somethings
arises and exists.
And it is by that Nothingness,
by that formless Isness,
that the world of somethings
is known as reality.
And so there is always the appearance
of two things;
the reflection and the mirror,
the world and God,
something and Nothing,
reality and Consciousness,
when all there actually Is
is the one thing that is not a thing,
because the other thing that is a thing;
the world, the somethings, the reality,
is not actually an Isness,
but is only a reflection,
and so is only an appearance,
and so is only an existence,
that arises within the Isness,
that arises within the Nothing,
that we call Consciousness.
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
1075
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1074-1078
Kaufman, S. E., Christmas Consciousness
The appearance of what exists
is not itself an illusion.
It is the appearance of what exists
as what is actually there
where it only appears to be
that is the illusion.
And so it is only the appearance
of what exists as what is
that is the illusion.
Caught up in this illusion,
convinced of the ultimate reality
of reality,
the Isness of which the world
is actually composed
becomes hidden
behind what only exists
masquerading as what is.
And this illusion,
whereby what only exists
appears as what is,
imparts upon reality,
imparts upon what only exists,
a false status of equivalence
between created reality
and uncreated Isness.
And it is this false equivalence
between existence and Isness
that allows the uncreated Isness
to mistake itself
for what only exists,
and so mistake itself
for its own creation.
And once the Isness knows itself
as what only exists,
then when the Isness
somehow notices Itself,
somehow notices the Isness,
that Isness must then seem to Itself
to be other than itself.
The word God
is just what we call our Self
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
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1076
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1074-1078
Kaufman, S. E., Christmas Consciousness
when that Self becomes
somewhat aware of the Isness,
and so becomes somewhat aware of Itself,
while still unable to recognize Itself.
And so arises
the idea of a God
that is other than our self
and other than the world.
And so arises
the idea of a God
that is separate from our self
and separate from the world.
And when God and the world
seem to be two different things,
we approach the world
differently than we approach God,
not knowing that to approach the world
is to actually approach God
cloaked in a veil of form,
covered in what is only an appearance.
Divinity does not just lie within,
but lies equally without,
it just has to be found within
before it can be found without.
Once divinity has been found within,
where as the formless Isness
it wears no mask,
it can then be found without
as the formless Isness
that lies behind every mask,
behind every appearance,
behind every reflection
that we call the world,
that we call something,
that we call reality.
Christmas is not ultimately a celebration
of the physical birth
of a certain person.
That is just the excuse that Consciousness uses
to throw a party celebrating
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2015 | Volume 6 | Issue 12 | pp. 1074-1078
Kaufman, S. E., Christmas Consciousness
the Awakening of Itself
to the Christ-Consciousness,
to the unity and oneness of Itself,
that lies hidden and obscured
behind all appearances.
And this celebration is an invitation to all
to become more aware of the Oneness
that lies somewhat hidden
behind the appearance
of me and the others,
and of us and them,
and which lies completely obscured
behind the appearance
of me versus the others,
and of us versus them.
Peace on Earth,
good will toward men.
Not just an empty slogan,
but what naturally arises
within any Consciousness
that sees past the appearance
of "I am this" and "you are that,"
and into the underlying Isness,
and so into the underlying Oneness,
and so into the singular "I am"
that lies beyond the appearance
of two things
where there is only ever actually
one Nothing.
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
1078 |
Notes on Leibniz thought experiment
Markos Maniatis
Departamento de Ciencias Básicas,
Universidad del Bı́o-Bı́o
arXiv:1309.0846v1 [q-bio.NC] 3 Sep 2013
Avda.
Andrés Bello s/n,
Casilla 447 Chillán, Chile
email: mmaniatis@ubiobio.cl
Leibniz thought experiment of perception, sensing, and thinking is reconsidered.
We try to understand Leibniz picture in view of our knowledge of basic neuroscience.
In particular we can see how the emergence of consciousness could in principle be
understood.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Monadology (1714), §17 [1]:
“Besides, it must be admitted that perception, and anything that depends on it, cannot be
explained in terms of mechanistic causation – that is, in terms of shapes and motions. Let
us pretend that there was a machine, which was constructed in such a way as to give rise
to thinking, sensing, and having perceptions. You could imagine it expanded in size (while
retaining the same proportions), so that you could go inside it, like going into a mill. On
this assumption, your tour inside it would show you the working parts pushing each other,
but never anything which would explain a perception. So perception is to be sought, not in
compounds (or machines), but in simple substances. Furthermore, there is nothing to be
found in simple substances, apart from perceptions and their changes. Again, all the internal
actions of simple substances can consist in nothing other than perceptions and their changes.”
We would like to reconsider Leibniz thought experiment, presented about three centuries
ago. Today we know, that at a tour inside the elementary working parts are the neurons,
which push each other by means of electrical activity.
Following Leibniz closely it is
evident that we can not find at any special location anything from which we could explain
perception, sensing or thinking. This hypothetical special location of perception, sensing or
thinking we would call consciousness or I or self. However with that notion we would not
gain any insight.
2
In contrast, it is immediately clear that any special location of perception, sensing and
thinking leads to contradictions: suppose, we could detect a special location of perception,
sensing and thinking, then, in a further expansion in size we could again go inside and
would only find working parts, pushing each other. Indeed, in terms of neurons, we know
that the neuronal signals do not converge anywhere. If we consider for example a visual
sense, we know that the signals already behind the retina are divided into different neuronal
structures and do not come together anywhere. Any kind of convergence at some location
of perception would require some new kind of inner eye. We would not be any step forward
– this contradiction is usually denoted as infinite regress (see for instance the discussion
in [2]). The crucial point in Leibniz thought experiment is to recognize that there is
no special location of perception, sensing or thinking. However, in contrast to Leibniz
conclusion, it appears quite natural to explain these phenomena from the interactions of
neurons themselves. Hence, we should assume that perceptions, sensing, and thinking do
not arise at a special location, but are developed in the whole neuronal system.
From the picture of working parts pushing each other we draw the conclusion that the
processes in our brain are deterministic: in any kind of mill, consisting of mechanical
parts any movement is caused by the preceding ones. The cascade of mechanical processes
appears to be inescapable. Indeed free will has no meaning in a neurological context since
causal processes contradict anything free. Also, trying to employ quantum mechanics to
escape from causality [3–5], we do not see any way to explain freeness in terms of the
randomness we encounter in quantum mechanics.
Realizing that perception, sensing, and thinking appear from the cascade of neuronal
processes in an unfree manner we will in the following talk about the emergence of these
phenomena.
Using the expression emergence we stress that there is nothing like an
illusionary “inner location” where perception, sensing, and thinking are formed.
Let us think this thought further. Imagine, under anesthetic, in our brain one neuron
after the other would be replaced by an exact copy. Since no neuron would be the special
location of perception, sensing or thinking, we would in no step replace this special location.
3
After recovering from anesthesia we would not recognize any change. The neurons would
interact in the same manner as before and our perception, sensing, and thinking would
appear in the same way.
Of course, it makes no difference whether we replace the neurons one by one, or at once.
Likewise in the latter we would develop perception, sensing, and thinking in the copy in the
same way! Hence, suppose that we replace under anesthetic our body by a copy, nothing
like I or consciousness or self would be lost. That is, our perception, sensing, and thinking
is not attached to certain neurons, but appear from their activities.
Let us further imagine that we could replace each neuron in turn by an electronic device,
which replicates exactly the same functionality as the original neuron. As before we would
not remove in any step a location of perception, sensing or thinking. In this way we finally
would be replaced by a machine under anesthetic and this machine would develop the same
perception, sensing and thinking and we could not feel any difference!
Obviously this picture of the emergence of perception, sensing, and thinking is contrary
to the accepted opinion. We are convinced to have some kind of I – a location where
perception, sensing, and thinking is formed. Why are we subject to this illusion?
The crucial point here is to see how the usage of I appears in our thoughts: let us consider
an example of a perception, for instance the smell of an apple. If we communicate to
someone this perception, we say, for instance: “I smell the scent of a fresh apple”. We would
use grammatical first-person in order to communicate our own perception, distinguishing
it from a perception of someone else. But what happens if we do not communicate this
statement but only realize the smell? This thinking must be something emergent, so we
can understand it if we suppose that thinking is nothing but silent communication. Hence,
we think, in an emergent sense, “I smell the scent of a fresh apple”. Therefore we suppose
that thoughts are in this sense always a way of communication and this implicitly seems to
originate from a location of perception, likewise denoted by “I” in our example. In this way
the illusion of a location of perception, sensing, and thinking is unavoidable – a machine
would develop the same illusion of a location of perception, sensing, and thinking (compare
with the “zombie” in [6]).
4
The question arises whether we, replaced by a machine, could become immortal? We
guess the answer is yes, supposing we could exactly represent the circuit of tens of billions
of neurons (for an attempt see for instance [7]).
[1] Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, in Leibniz The Monadology and Other Philosophical Writings, translated by Robert Latta, Kessinger Publishing Co (Juli 2007) ISBN 978-0548164266.
[2] Rosenthal, D. Two Concepts of Consciousness, Philosophical Studies 49: 329-359 (1986).
[3] Bohm, D. A new theory of the relationship of mind and matter, Philosophical Psychology, 3:
2, 271286 (1990).
[4] Pribram, K.H. Brain and Perception: Holonomy and Structure in Figural Processing, Taylor
& Francis (1991) ISBN 978-0898599954.
[5] see also Atmanspacher, H. Quantum Approaches to Consciousness, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2011 Edition),
Edward N. Zalta (ed.),
URL:
http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2011/entries/qt-consciousness.
[6] Chalmersm D., The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory Oxford University
Press. ISBN 019511789, (1997).
[7] Markram, H. The Blue Brain Project, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7, 153-160 (2006). |
40
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| January 2017 | Volume 8 | Issue 1 | pp. 40-45
Deshpande, P. B. & Kowall, J. P., Science of Creativity & Innovation
Essay
Science of Creativity & Innovation
Pradeep B. Deshpande* & James P. Kowall
Abstract
Is it possible to demonstrate that our energy changes with meditation? And does that in turn
make us more creative and innovative? The first author has done extensive research showing that
the answer to both questions is a resounding yes. Even modest success with meditation leads to a
number of auditable benefits: health and wellness, improved performance, better leadership
decisions, less discord and violence, and improved creativity and innovativeness.
Keywords: Science, meditation, energy, creativity, health, innovation.
Wikipedia tells us that in Greek, Eureka means “I have found it’. For Archimedes, the Eureka
moment happened when he discovered the buoyancy principle purportedly sitting in a bathtub.
Einstein’s theory of relativity and Isac Newton’s law of gravity too may be examples of Eureka
moments although they are not so credited. A recent article in Scientifc American wonders, “We
all have had sudden, smart insights. How do they arise? And is there a way we can conjure them
up at any time?” This article suggests that we can, and attempts to explain how.
In 1995, science writer, Amanda Gefter, began her quest to understand ultimate reality and the
meaning of nothing at the prodding of her father. During the pursuit that lasted more than a
decade, she interacted with renowned physicists including John Archibald Wheeler, a colleague
of Albert Einstein at Princeton and the famed Stephen Hawking finally concluding that
ultimately, nothing (physical) is real.
There are two ways to look at nothingness. In 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe
was expanding at an accelerated rate. It still is! Clearly, going backwards in time, the universe
would be smaller. Going sufficiently back in time, some 13.8 billion years, a point would be
reached when the universe would be about the size of Planck’s length (10-33 cm in diameter),
which is nothing for all intents and purposes. This is when creation happened with what has
come to be known as the Big Bang.
The second way to look at nothingness is that the big bang is a singularity, which in some sense is
nothing, but in the non-dual traditions of Tao, Zen and Advaita, nothingness or the void doesn’t
mean singularity, but an empty space of potentiality within which the singularity occurs. In the
*
Correspondence: Prof. Pradeep B. Deshpande, Six Sigma & advanced Controls, Inc., 7013 Creekton Drive, Louisville,
KY 40241, http://www.sixsigmaquality.com E-mail: pradeep@sixsigmaquality.com
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sense of Advaita, void is the nature of Brahmanic consciousness while the singularity is the
nature of Atmanic consciousness. The differentiation of Atmanic consciousness from Brahmanic
consciousness only occurs at a singularity. If we understand Atmanic consciousness as
differentiated in nature, then we can only understand Brahmanic consciousness as
undifferentiated. The differentiation of consciousness always requires the expenditure of energy.
This is the energy that creates a world through the expansion of the big bang event.
So, a questions arises, how can something, the universe, come out of nothing, the void? At the
Science and Ultimate Reality Conference in Princeton in 2002, Wheeler told the Gefters that the
universe was a self-excited circuit, meaning that no creator is required for the universe to come
into existence. Several Thousand years ago, Rig Veda too had come to a similar conclusion,
proclaiming, Yatha Purvam Akalpayat (as it was before, it is now) [R.V. 10.190.3]. In other
words, within the unmanifest itself, lies the manifest. The process of creation is automatic, just as
a huge tree comes out of the nothingness of a hollow seed.
Inspired by the work of Adi Shankara and Nisarga Datta, the second author expanded on
Wheeler’s perspective. True that there was nothing physical left at the moment of the Big Bang as
the four fundamental forces (electromagnetism, gravity, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear
force) had all vanished, but, something nonphysical must have been present and that something
had to be consciousness which he termed undifferentiated (Brahmanic) consciousness. In other
words, conscious intention of the void is what created the universe. This perspective offers some
exciting possibilities including the notion of creativity and innovativeness. Here is how.
We all have consciousness, let’s call it differentiated consciousness to distinguish it from the
undifferentiated consciousness of the void. So, an interesting question arises. Is our individual
(differentiated) consciousness a microcosm of the undifferentiated consciousness? If it is so, then,
perhaps we too possess the capacity to create just as the nothingness of the void created this
universe. Now, everything was connected to everything else at the moment of the Big Bang when
the universe was about the size of Planck’s length (10-33 cm in diameter). How could it not be?
The question is, is it still so connected? And the answer is yes, it is. Western scientists have
conducted numerous experiments to demonstrate that we remain connected at some level even
though not physically linked. So, it appears that there is a prima facie reason to accept for further
scrutiny the hypothesis, Aham Brahmasmi – I am a creator (So Hum – I Am That).
The path forward for progress is to devise a process with which to reach the state of nothingness
in our minds and then examine if creation happens, that is, if conscious intention materializes.
Ancient Eastern wisdom has known for millennia that the process to reach the level of
nothingness (the state of no thought) is meditation. To understand the mechanics of how
meditation works, take a lake as an example. Our thoughts are akin to the surface of the lake that
is full of waves. But the bottom of the lake is absolutely still. So, how do thoughts arise? Again
taking an analogy, thoughts arise like a tiny bubble at the bottom of the lake. As the bubble rises,
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its size increases and when it finally reaches the surface of the lake, it bursts into our
consciousness as a thought. What we have to do is to begin going downward toward the bottom
of the lake from the surface through meditation and as we make progress, the frequency of
thoughts begins to diminish and after some time, thoughts cease to exist. Creativity and
innovativeness is associated with this state and it is automatic. No further action is required on the
part of the meditator just as the Scientific American article suggested other than the intention
sought to be materialized in the subconscious mind.
How do we prove the hypothesis of creativity? Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his followers had
proved it with the aspirants lifting from the ground followed by hopping forward pursuant to the
deliberate intention to become light as cotton. Try lifting even an inch from the ground from a
cross-legged sitting position and you will find that it is impossible. It only becomes possible
pursuant to meditation imbedded with the specific intention. A few years ago, Sanjeev Aroskar, a
friend of the first author and an alumnus of IIT Bombay in Electronics and Computers, had
assembled a team and demonstrated this phenomena. This so called yogic flying requires a great
deal of practice but fortunately, there is an easier way to demonstrate rising levels of creativity
and innovativeness and it is based on our photonic signature.
Every human being has a unique photonic signature that is reflective of his/her physiological
and psychoemotional state. The forty-six chromosomes we inherit from our parents and our own
willful actions from adolescence to the current age are contributing factors for this signature. To
elaborate, we all have trillions of cells. If the cells are broken down further, they are made up of
atoms which have protons and neutrons in their nuclei and electrons orbiting them. Atoms are
not solid objects and, so, a question arises: what characteristics of an atom give the specific
character to matter? For example, why is Gold, Gold? Or, why is Iron, Iron? The answer is:
atomic configuration. Similarly, in the case of cells, the cellular configuration is what determines
the cellular structure which in turn determines if a cell is healthy or not. The vibrational
characteristics of the cells determines our physiological and psychoemotional state.
Human vibrations can be thought of as light, not necessarily visible light, with unknown
frequencies along the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Konstantin Korotkov, Professor of Biophysics and Computers at the St. Petersburg Federal University in Russia developed a scientific
device based on the Gas Discharge Visualization principle over fifteen years ago to determine
the photonic signature of subjects. Here, the subject places the fingers of his/her hands on a
glass plate of the device, one finger at a time, and a harmless 11 KV electrical input is applied
to the finger for a millisecond. The result of this stimulation is a burst of photons which the
device-software analyzes to estimate the subject’s physiological and psychoemotional state.
The GDV device was approved in Russia by their Ministry of Health over fifteen years ago for
use as a routine medical diagnostic device in hospitals and doctor’s offices.
Returning to the problem at hand, the question is, is it possible to demonstrate that our lightISSN: 2153-8212
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energy increases with meditation? And does that in turn make us more creative and innovative.
The author has done extensive research showing that the answer to both questions is a
resounding yes. Even modest success with meditation leads to a number of auditable benefits:
health and wellness, improved performance, better leadership decisions, less discord and
violence, and improved creativity and innovativeness.
To test the veracity of our assertions, the readers could perform a four-month experiment. In
the experiment, two groups of sufficiently large number of subjects would be formed to serve
as “controls” and “Test”. The photonic signature of the control group would merely be
measured, before and after the four months period while the members of the test group would
additionally practice meditation daily. Various performance measures would be identified and
tracked for both groups. A comparison of the results of the two groups should offer convincing
evidence of the veracity of the assertion in this paper.
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Krause, M., Valid Description of Experiencings & Thereby of Behaviors & Situations
Article
Valid Description of Experiencings &
Thereby of Behaviors & Situations
Merton Krause*
ABSTRACT
Human consciousness consists of a flux of experiencings, some referring to one’s own or to
others’ situations or behaviors. Scientific human Psychology’s most fundamental responsibility
is to describe and causally explain these three kinds of psychological events, which it can do
only on the basis of persons’ descriptions of their experiencings. The privacy and momentariness
of experiencings prevents proof of the veridicality of descriptions of them or their referents.
These descriptions can therefore qualify as scientific data only on the basis of their validity,
which first depends on their conformity to the scientific definitions of the dimensions of the
specific kinds of experiencings described and of the situations or behaviors these may refer to.
Persons comparably trained in applying these definitions should be relied on to judge the validity
of such descriptions, and only their collegially approved descriptions of psychological events can
properly constitute scientific human Psychology’s data base.
Key Words: Experiencings, behaviors, situations, qualified informants, valid descriptions.
My consciousness seems a flux of private momentary experiencings and it is the only
consciousness I am privy to. Can you honestly say otherwise? Insofar as this is universally so for
persons, experiencings (E) must represent to each of us all that we believe and disbelieve. At
each particular moment of consciousness one’s E may be a perceiving, remembering, inferring,
intuiting, supposing, imagining, dream, revelation, alien seeming intrusion, emotional feeling,
wanting, intending, deciding...(compare, e.g., Heavey & Hurlburt, 2008). Some of these are
believed true by one, some not. Such a flux of E or stream of consciousness has long been
discussed and studied by philosophers and psychologists (e.g., Klinger, 1999 & 2009; James,
1890, pp. 146-187; Natsoulas, 2004 & 2006; Pope & Singer, 1978)1, but the methodological
implications for psychological research of such fluxes being the basis of all human knowledge,
and so of scientific human Psychology’s data base, are not yet sufficiently appreciated.
All recorded human knowledge claims and speculations about what exists must be records of
some persons’ descriptions of their own E. Honest descriptions of whatever for a describer (i)
*Correspondence: Merton Krause, Independent Researcher. E-mail: msk514@msn.com
1
This flux seems to me nuanced in its pace and other qualities in accord with the then felt importance of one’s past,
present, and future, but such matters will not be taken up here (see, e.g., Gallagher, 1998). The notions of variability
in physical duration of the momentariness of E over occasions and over persons complicates the notion of E-flux.
Apparently for some people their E flux can sometimes consist of several unintegrated or distinguishable
simultaneous parts (e.g., Hilgard, 1977; Hurlburt, 2011a, pp. 38-9 & 258-282), but as we shall see this necessarily
must be as remembered.
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Krause, M., Valid Description of Experiencings & Thereby of Behaviors & Situations
has been personally experienced, Di(Ei), are the principal subject of this essay2. Such
descriptions of one’s E of one’s own (i.e., i’s) or of some other’s (j’s) behavior (B) or situation
(S), will be indicated here by Di(Ei(Bi or Si)) and by Di(Ei(Bj or Sj)), respectively. Such
descriptions of S or B as perceived by someone, along with the Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) that represent one’s
description as of some time 3 of one’s remembering after some time interval 2 of one’s
experiencing of whatever sort at some time 1 are what exclusively can constitute the data base of
scientific human Psychology, of SHP.
Because it is a public enterprise SHP has the social responsibility to describe and causally
explain why persons live their lives as they do and so encounter the S and have the B and E that
they do. Since SHP can do this only on the basis of autobiographical data, including perceivings
of the S and B of others’ lives, SHP’s data base necessarily is exclusively autobiographical. SHP
also has the social responsibility to discover how persons could better live their lives in S, B, and
E terms and then to promote the long run optimization of humanity’s distribution of felt quality
of life (see, e.g., Diener, 2013) through the practice of the psychological crafts (e.g., parenting,
teaching, supervising, psychotherapy…). SHP can properly fulfil these responsibilities only on
the basis of valid Di(Ei) and so on the basis of properly qualified informants’/field scientists’
own Di(Ei). These can rationally be claimed to be valid only on the basis of SHP’s field
scientists’ selection, training, and monitoring by others already themselves so selected, trained,
and monitored. Thus, because of the inherent privacy of E, collegial dialogue about specific
Di(Ei) is the only possible foundation for SHP’s authorizing Di(Ei) as valid.
The preceding perspective implies the following series of topics that need to be dealt with: (1)
The nature of E as private momentary events. (2) The necessity and complexity of the
remembering of an E in order to describe it. (3) The state-of-consciousness of an Ei and how this
relates to the validity of its description. (4) The difference between the definitional validity (i.e.,
truth by a form of coherence) of Di(Ei) and their veridicality (i.e., truth by correspondence of
Di(Ei) with this Ei and with its referent if it has one. (5) The grounds for claiming that
measurements on the dimensions of E, S, and B are valid and then that the descriptions of these
psychological events in terms of these dimensions are valid. (6) The necessarily derivative nature
of the validity of descriptions of S and B due to the logical dependence of such descriptions upon
the validity of Di(Ei), since all Di(S) necessarily are Di(Ei(S)) and all Di(B) necessarily are
Di(Ei(B)). (7) The testing of Di(Ei) validity on the basis of their credibility to the SHP community
of field scientists, which is ultimately a matter of the culture of SHP.
2
This notion has in effect been employed in science methodology under the name “critical realism”, due to the
obvious inappropriateness of naïve realism for science because every account of what is observed obviously depends
in part on the nature, situation and means of the observer rather than exclusively on the nature of the observed. SHP
is essentially about the nature of human psychological events knowable only in the form of referents of the
experiencings of persons studying these events.
The reliance here on the symbols E, B, S, E(E, B, S), D(E(E, B, S), etc. and subscripts for them may take a bit of
getting used to, but such symbolization is important because employing these symbols with their subscripting avoids
the frequent repetition of rather long and clumsy strings of words and because it keeps salient that the meanings of
these symbols and so of their verbal translations are as specified here rather than as understood elsewhere.
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1. The Nature of Experiencings
E are referential, are of or about something, if not simply moods. Perceivings refer to something
perceived, rememberings to something remembered, et cetera. So each kind of E has referents
that are describable in terms of some set of gradated dimensions according to what sort of object
or event the referent is. However, each E also has some set of gradated dimensions in terms of
which it itself is describable according to what sort of E it is (as, e.g., Klinger and Cox, pp. 198788, proposed for non-perceivings; also see Tart, 2003). All communicable descriptions are
dependent upon shared definitions of gradated qualities/dimensions, which for SHP’s purposes
properly must be SHP-normative definitions of dimensions of E, B, or S (Krause, 2012). At
present SHP has many candidate dimensions but lacks demonstrably normative ones and lacks
even an adequate regime for settling on consensually normative dimension definitions for
psychological events. Therefore, it also lacks normatively valid measures for such.
There are dimensions in terms of which to describe each sort of referent of an E, such as those of
the perceived fragrance of a flower, of the remembered fortunateness of some past encounter, of
the demonstrable usefulness of a supposition or deduction, etc. There are other dimensions in
terms of which to describe E themselves rather than their referents, such as the clarity of a
perceiving, certainty of a remembering, plausibility of a supposing, effortfulness of an inferring,
etc. To put this more concretely: a tree has some perceived height, width, numerousness of
branches, leaf colors, etc. as someone sees it, while that person’s perception of the tree has itself
some degree of clarity, importance, novelty, etc. for that person.
It is essential that SHP endeavor to obtain valid descriptions and dependable causal explanations
of E, because one’s own E are all that can and do most directly matter to each and every person,
given that these are all any person does and can most directly know. This makes it necessary for
SHP to rely on its trained field scientists to study their own E, including those about the S and B
of some sufficiently comprehensive sample of persons beyond only themselves, in order to
provide SHP with a comprehensive enough sample of evidently valid Di(Ei) about S, B, and E
for its data base.
Although S and B are perhaps universally accepted in and beyond the SHP community to be
causally influential on each other and on E, this is not the case for E being causally influential on
B and thereby on S. Some of us consider E to be epiphenomenal and so not causally influential
(see, e.g., Walter, 2009). SHP’s causal influence or independent-variable portion of its data base
can consist only of D(E(S)) and D(E(B)) if E are indeed epiphenomenal. Nevertheless, E are
essential to SHP as part of the effect or dependent-variable portion of its data base and also
because they are its exclusive source of information about all psychological events. Indeed, they
are all that ultimately can matter to humanity, because what a person cannot in any way
experience cannot matter to that person even if it somehow matters for that person.
Every Di(Ei), however, is necessarily a Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) in that it is a description (completed at time
3) of perhaps multiple rememberings (over some interval of time, 2) of the original momentary
E (that occurred at time 1; see Casey, 2008, on the meaning of “momentary”). Mistaking the
remembering of an E for concurrently “introspecting” it, which would require some sort of
concurrent “observing” by a person of one stream of consciousness by another simultaneous
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such stream of this same person (on this distinction see, e.g., Depraz, Varela, & Vermersch,
2003, pp. 115-154; Hilgard, 1977; Ryle, 1949, pp. 154-198), apparently easily happens. Moving
from experiencing something (i.e., having an E event) to remembering what it was can be very
rapid, so rapid that it can well seem to one that one is currently “introspecting” the E rather than
somewhat later remembering it. Sometimes one feels one’s Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) is veridical, sometimes
not. Sophisticated interviewing of one about one’s particular E may influence one’s (and the
interviewer’s) notion of what was and was not the E at issue, but SHP can only rely on
empathically probing expert dialogue about the nature of specific Di(Ei) to justify their being
considered valid (see Hurlburt, 2011a, pp. 152-177).
Developing any empirically grounded causal explanations for E, S, and B obviously depends
upon first having valid descriptions of these events. The role of B in SHP causal explanations of
subsequent E or B is mediated and moderated by the (exo- or endo-somatic) S these prior B are
constituents of or causal influences on. The S in causal explanations of B or E are two very
different kinds of S, exo-somatic physical-social events (e.g., Yang, Read & Miller, 2009) and
endo-somatic neurophysiological events (rather than personality traits: Boag, 2011). Both
provide an exclusively Physicalist (e.g., O’Connor, 1969, pp. 1-19) basis for SHP causally
explanatory theory, the exclusive basis for those of us who believe E to be epiphenomenal (see,
e.g., Walter, 2009). However, whether one embraces Physical Monism or mutually causally
influential Mind-Body Dualism, Di(Ei) are essential to SHP’s data base, essential as its exclusive
content and also as something requiring its causal explanation.
E and their depictions of their referents are obviously determined by more than only these
referents themselves, which is something that Hurlburt’s (2011a) numerous “constraints” and the
research on “altered states of consciousness” (e.g., Barušs, 2003 & 2012; Cardeña, Krippner &
Lynn, 2014; Tart, 1976 & 1986) also indicate. Therefore, the research methodology of SHP must
face and deal with the crucial difference between the Di3(Ei2(Ei1(Si or j1, Bi or j1))) and Di3(Ei2(Ei1))
that actually are obtained and the objective Di(Si or j or Bi or j) that are so routinely assumed to be
obtained by SHP but are in fact unobtainable. This is the difference between the validity of such
Di3(Ei2(Ei1(Si1 or j1, Bi1 or j1))) and Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) in the sense of collegially judged conformity with
SHP definitional norms (Krause, 2012) and their veridicality or truth by correspondence of D(S)
with its S, D(B) with its B, and D(E) with its E. SHP must also take seriously the complex
origins of the Di(Ei) it necessarily relies on, because a described E is of a remembering of a
somewhat prior E and occurs as colored by some state(s) of consciousness. For Physical Monists
these latter must be properties of endo-somatic S, of neurophysiological events.
2. Rememberings
Recurrent rememberings (each itself an E) of an E are necessary for making all the dimensional
and gradational distinctions required for the construction of a valid Di(Ei). One must first become
sensitized to distinguishing among the several kinds of E (see Casey, 2000, 122-141) for
recognizing it as a specific kind of E and then must distinguish its defining dimensions and its
gradation on each of these (Krause, 2013a). This requires what may seem like a prolonged
dwelling upon it but (so far as I can judge) cannot be because of the momentariness of every E
(see Casey, 2008) and so of each successive remembering that is apparently necessary for
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adequately describing any E in terms of a configuration of several dimensions’ instantiated
gradations. (This might also have disruptive consequences: Walker, Brakefield, Hobson &
Stickgold, 2003). Thus, any initial Ei1 to be described must be recurrently remembered enough to
allow a multi-dimensional description of what seems over the course of the successive rerememberings to be the same single Ei1 referred to in the culminating Di3(Ei2(Ei1)).
Recurrent remembering (e.g., Hurlburt, 2011b) or processing (Gendlin, 2004) of an Ei1 for
discerning its constitutive dimensions’ gradations is necessary for producing its Di(Ei). This may
be necessary because the Ei1 had one or more of the following features. (1) It was “prereflective” (Depraz, Varela, & Vermersch, 2003, pp. 15-63; Petitmengin, 2006) or “unsymbolized” (Hurlburt & Akhter, 2008). (2) It so far has logically implicated but not yet
specifically noted features (e.g., how confident an inference or saturated a perceived color),
perhaps because the person was unable to note them (e.g., Zahavi, 2006, pp. 215-222), (3) It has
unfamiliar but suddenly apparent dimensions or gradations. Such discoveries in re-remembering
may be prompted by “tip-of-the-tongue” (Brown, 2012, pp. 5-29 & 123-169) intimations of there
being more to describe or by surprisingly encountering some unfamiliar E in “day-dreaming”
(McMillan, Kaufman, & Singer, 2013) or in “mind wandering” from a task of Ei2 remembering
and Di3 describing (e.g., Christoff, Gordon, & Smith, 2007; Fell, 2013; Schooler et al., 2011;
Smallwood & Schooler, 2006; Smallwood & Andrews-Hanna, 2013). Even just patient
incubation (Sio & Ormerod, 2009) or something between it and a kind of tip-of-the-tongue
hovering (see Petitmengin, 2007) may sometimes enrich a Di(Ei). (See Josselson, 2009, on far
spaced re-rememberings.) Much remains to be learned about the process of developing valid
Di(Ei), which may well differ across persons and occasions. However, because of the key role of
E in building SHP’s data base, future SHP progress depends upon its field scientists producing
valid Di(Ei) and discovering what further kinds exist. This may prove to be a key aspect of SHP’s
ongoing “qualitative” revolution (e.g., Wertz et al., 2011).
SHP’s study of Di(Ei) has recently substantially resumed (since, e.g., Titchener, 1915, 18-26, and
James, 1890, 120-129) perhaps most explicitly and systematically in the research work of
Hurlburt (2011 a & b) and his colleagues on sampling and explicitating whatever quotidian E
occur and of Petitmengin (e.g., 2006, 2007; & with Bitbol, 2009) and others on explicitating
specific selected E or kinds of E. In the interval separating these times the clinical study of E has
continued in the free associating or interpretation-prompted associations of clients in
psychoanalytically influenced clinical work on E or B that are problematic in their nature
(distortion) or in their absence (denial) for analysands (e.g., Bucci, 2000; Greenson, 1967, esp.
pp. 10, 16, 32-33, 362; Kris, 1996; Vermersch, 2011). Free association can be conceived as a
form of entrée to one’s Ei2 processes and one’s selection of Ei1 to so process.
Explicitation of one’s Di(Ei) by a trained research interviewer as well as interpretations of these
by one’s psychoanalyst can be conceived as other forms of such entrée (but vulnerable to either
of such persons’ more or less subtle acting out/countertransference and to the nature of the
explicitative or interpretational task (e.g., Kris, 1996, pp. 72-74 & 102-106) that is more actively
and perhaps narrowly focused than private free association, day dreaming, or mind wandering.
Furthermore, providing some of one’s Di(Ei) to another person as an essential aspect of one’s
getting help for one’s poor felt quality of life is different from doing so as a lay informant
assisting researchers (e.g., Wertz et al., 2011) by reporting or producing Di(Ei) in order to learn
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more about one’s own Ei1 and one’s Ei2 rememberings of them. One difference may be in the
state of consciousness dimensions (to be discussed in the following section) of one’s Ei1, Ei2(Ei1),
or Di3(Ei2(Ei1)), which may differ over these phases in producing a Di(Ei).
Because describing Ei necessarily involves remembering them, SHP’s extensive efforts at
understanding cognitive learning and its demonstration by remembering ought to be richly
informative about the genesis of Di(Ei). This research has, however, concentrated on the study of
average across-person quantitative relationships between encoding (perceiving the objective
stimulus to be remembered) and retrieval (as either later recalling or recognizing of this
stimulus), which has suited traditional laboratory experimentation (see, e.g., Baddeley, 2012;
Hintzman, 2011; Nairne, 2002; Roediger, Weinstein & Agarwal, 2010; Smirnov, 1973).
Hintzman points out the inadequacy of this as representative of how persons actually remember
(and see Cohen, 2008). Because learning and remembering can occur in both phases of such
experiments and because there are multiple E in both phases, which E may interfere, potentiate,
meld with…each other in both phases. “Much of the science of memory...rests on experiments
that involve deliberate encoding and effortful retrieval....[but] incidental learning [can] be as
effective as, or more effective than, intentional learning... The most important factor seems to be
the relation between the original processing and the kind of information that will be needed on
the memory test...” (Hintzman, 2011, p. 256), in other words between the perceptual Ei1 and the
experimenter imposed constraints on Di3 or Ei2 of Ei1). Furthermore, the orthodox experimental
work on remembering perceptible stimuli involves veridicality tests that are obviously
impossible for non-perceptual E such as intuitings, imaginings, intendings, etc. (see further
chapters in the Cohen & Conway, 2008, reference).
Thus, despite all of the massive accumulation of research on remembering objective stimulus
perceptions, much remains to be learned about the quotidian and clinical remembering and
describing of Ei1 of all sorts. Also, much more needs to be learned about the Ei2 process in order
to construct descriptions of this process itself (e.g., Petitmengin, 2006), which would be useful
for learning more about how to train SHP field scientists for their crucial role in the progress of
SHP. Because of E privacy and momentariness, the criteria of success in such endeavors cannot
be Di(Ei) veridicality criteria but must be validity criteria (compare how Petitmengin & Bitbol,
2009 & 2011, argue this), which will be further detailed in section 4 below.
3. States of Consciousness as Qualities of Experiencings
Every E and B occurs in some S context that is in part exo-somatic but is also in part endosomatic, because all E and B must (as at least some of us believe) be properties of or most
proximally causally influenced by neurophysiological events. The endo-somatic S context of E
and B must determine what are called “states of consciousness” in which they occur or of which
they partake. The variety of these dramatically demonstrates that human consciousness is not a
uniformly standard state (see, e.g., Barušs, 2003 & 2012; Cardeña & Pekala, 2014; Tart, 1976 &
2003) and so that E also have state-of-consciousness dimensions. Therefore Di(Ei) must be
distinguishable also in terms of these and so their state-of-consciousness context. This means that
an important facet of SHP field scientists’ collegial dialogue for validating Di(Ei) is the state of
consciousness in which the Ei1, Ei2(Ei1), and Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) occur. For example, feeling hungry, Ei1,
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when hypnotized because told by the hypnotist to feel hungry may differ from feeling hungry
when “mindful” or when in one’s “ordinary” state of consciousness, etc. Remembering an
instance of feeling hungry, Ei2(Ei1), may differ when one presently is feeling hungry from when
one presently is not. The describing and so description of an instance of feeling hungry,
Di3(Ei2(Ei1)), may differ when one is feeling hungry from when one is not. Etc.
Hypnosis, mindfulness, stimulus deprivation, the various intoxications, hyperventilation,
dreaming, lucid dreaming, the sense of being out of one’s body, etc. are some markedly “altered”
states of consciousness (as, e.g., Barušs, 2003 & 2012; Cardeña, Krippner & Lynn, 2014; Tart,
1998 & 2003, have detailed). Strong emotions are some others (Tart, 1998), but even some quite
mundane states such as being hungry, sleepy, preoccupied, satiated, mildly in pain…may
influence how one initially experiences an S or B, or has any other E, remembers having done so,
or describes what one remembers.
Thus, how one perceives and responds to one’s exo-somatic S obviously depends somewhat
upon one’s endo-somatic S and so upon the state of consciousness in which one is impacted by
and in which one responds to exo-somatic S. Equally obviously, one’s endo-somatic S can be
affected by one’s exo-somatic S. Thus, SHP’s study of persons’ S (i.e., via Di4 or j4(Ei3 or j3(Ei2 or
j2(Si1 or j1)))) and persons’ E and B responses to them (i.e., Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1(Si1)))) and D14 or j4(E13 or
j3(Ei2 or j2(Bi1 or j1(Si1 or j1))))) properly must concurrently be of both exo- and endo-somatic S (and
so the latter’s distinguishable manifestations in E and B in state-of-consciousness terms) rather
than of either alone. Some of the residual dependent-variable variation (Krause, 2013b) that
occurs in SHP studies of the effects of exo-somatic S logically must be due to variation in the
concurrent endo-somatic S (and vice versa). Such possibilities complicate the task of SHP field
scientists, who must attend to their states of consciousness and how these may influence their
Di(Ei) rather than simply assume the descriptions they offer as scientific data to be “objective”.
Collegial dialogue alert to states of consciousness can and properly must facilitate this. SHP has
much work to do about all this.
4. Veridicality or Validity of Psychological Event Descriptions
Every psychological event must have some configuration of gradations on some set of
dimensions. The kind of event it is determines what dimensions properly must be measured on
for describing it and what gradations these measurements properly may take. A veridical or
objectively true description of an event would perfectly correspond in dimensions and gradations
to those of the event, but proof of veridicality requires proof of such correspondence and so
requires knowledge of (i.e., true beliefs about) the event independent of E of it. We humans,
however, have as yet no such extra-experiential proof of the nature of any S, B, or E, but have
only our personal private momentary experiencings of these, our Ei including Ei(Si or j), Ei(Bi or j),
as we remember these. Physical recordings (i.e., audiovisual ones) of an S or B face this same
problem, but here regarding the S or B as represented in the recording rather than as the event
that was recorded, which due to the transience of S and B cannot be compared. Therefore, our
descriptions of psychological events, given that E themselves cannot (yet) be physically
recorded, simply cannot be demonstrably veridical by correspondence, so they must be justified
as valid SHP data on other grounds than objective truth (about which see, e.g., Schmitt, 1995).
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Alternative to knowledge of truth by correspondence, traditionally subscribed to in SHP most
narrowly as criterion-predictive validity and more broadly as convergent-discriminant validity
(see Krause, 2012), is knowledge by coherence. This has been implicitly subscribed to in SHP
most simply and informally as face or content validity and somewhat more complexly, formally,
and ambiguously as construct validity (see, e.g., Krause, 2012; Lissitz, 2009). However, none of
these versions of coherence properly credits its social and cultural aspects, which require that it
be normative in the way definitions are normative constraints on language usage in a linguistic
community. Dimensions descriptive of psychological events properly must have normative SHP
definitions that constrain how these events are measured and described in SHP so that these
events’ descriptions conform to their respective definition’s multiple dimension requirements
and to these dimensions’ definitions themselves which also must specify their gradating. Such
definitional norms can be properly based only upon representatively achieved consensus within
the SHP community (Krause, 2012), something undoubtedly difficult to achieve but nevertheless
essential for any truly coherent body of SHP research to develop.
The fact that events can be described by persons only on the basis of their E of them and that all
E are private and momentary makes assurance of the coherence of the measuring and describing
of E with normative SHP definitions of the several specified dimensions of each of the various
kinds of E, B, and S a subtle and difficult matter. No Di3(Ei2(Si or j1, Bi or j1, or Ei1)) can be directly
compared with the now past S, B, or E events themselves. So there is no immediate and direct
way here to assess the correspondence between description and described, because the described
event’s moment has passed. A physical recording of an S or B can, however, be repeatedly
consulted for how someone’s also recorded Di3(Ei2(Si1 or j1, Bi1 or j1)) of this S or B compares with
the recording of it. Any discrepancies found between such a pair of recordings cannot be
properly dialogically resolved for the description’s proper inclusion in SHP’s data base unless
the author of the recorded description of her or his perception of the recorded S or B described is
party to the resolution process. This means that physical recording of S and B cannot circumvent
the problem of SHP’s, indeed of all our empirical sciences’, ultimate dependence on subjective
evidence, on D(E).
One’s Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1(S1 or B1)))) can be compared, if recorded, with others’ recorded
descriptions of the same S1 or B1, and one’s Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1))) can be compared if recorded with
what seem reasonably comparable recorded Dj4(Ej3(Ej2(Ej1))). For S and B, different perceivers’
descriptions of their concurrent perceivings of their consensually judged same S or B can be
compared. For E one’s own various re-rememberings of what seems to one must be the same Ei1
can be compared. However, since none of the concurrent descriptions of a given S or B and none
of the several successive descriptions of what seems must be the same Ei1 are criterial (i.e.,
demonstrably veridical), nor properly is any average of either insofar as they vary and so are
unreliable and thus all (or all but which one?) invalid. A Di(Ei) can only be assessed for validity
in terms of its coherence with the normative SHP definition of the dimensional composition of
its referent and then with the normative SHP definitions of these dimensions and (to be discussed
in more detail later below) the qualifications of the description’s source as an SHP field scientist
and of the collegial test of this Di(Ei) for admission into the SHP data base.
Sometimes a dimensionally or gradationally novel Di(Ei) may require the refinement of some
currently SHP normative dimension definition or the addition of some dimension in the
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definition of some kind of S, B, or E rather than refinement of this Di(Ei) itself (see, e.g., Barušs,
2003; Hilgard, 1977; Sopa & Hopkins, 1989, about some rather novel kinds of Di(Ei)). So every
collegial testing of Di(Ei) must be open to the possibility of such novelties and an SHP forum for
debating and legislating changes in the dimension sets and definitions of S, B, and E must be
established to allow for inclusion of novel Di(Ei) in SHP’s data base.
Ensuring the validity of Di(Ei) on the basis of their coherence with SHP’s normative multidimensional definitions of the various normative kinds of S, B, and E requires that a normative
SHP taxonomy of these has been established. Ensuring that it is an optimal taxonomy for SHP’s
purposes requires that SHP be open to discoveries of additional kinds/taxa of S, B, and E. This
properly requires achieving consensus on particular Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1))), including Di4(Ei3(
Ei2(Ei1(Si1 or j1 or Bi1 or j1))), through dialogue among SHP field scientists. Thus, the admissibility
of novel Di(Ei) and the existence of an SHP normative taxonomy of psychological events are
interdependent aspects of the governance of SHP, something that now only loosely exists.
Nevertheless, SHP’s data base can properly consist of nothing else than records of private
measurement-based descriptions of its vetted field scientists’ remembered psychological events,
because only these can be its demonstrably valid data. Therefore, SHP requires a wide sampling
of persons to be trained to be its field scientists if SHP is to fulfill its responsibilities as a public
enterprise, which includes describing how and explaining why the full variety of persons live
their lives as they do and better might.
5. Measuring and Describing Experiencings
“Self-reports are a crude measure of awareness and are potentially susceptible to demand
characteristics.” (Smallwood & Schooler, 2006, p. 144) and to other situational influences (e.g.,
Schooler & Schreiber, 2004). Nevertheless, Ei3(Ei2(Ei1)), which some call “meta-consciousness”
(e.g., Winkielman & Schooler, 2012) but can only be rememberings, are indispensable to SHP
for describing all that matters to human beings. This is so because SHP is a human enterprise that
must rely on Ei3(Ei2(Ei1)) for all its descriptions of E, S, and B. Therefore SHP can depend only
upon careful selection and training of its field scientists and their collegial monitoring of certain
of their Di(Ei) for achieving the validity of the measurements and so descriptions of
psychological events that SHP requires for its data base. Indeed, “self-reports” are indispensable
for SHP, because it (like all the sciences) has nothing else with which to stock its data base about
its subject matter.
Measuring requires some form of comparing the measured with a measurement scale
representing a set of gradations on a dimension in order to determine which gradation matches
the manifestation of the dimension in the particular event or object measured. Because of this
and implicit in the nature of E are the following propositions: (a) Persons’ E are inherently
private and momentary. Therefore, (b) only the person (i) whose E it is (Ei) can directly compare
it with a dimension’s gradations and so measure it on this dimension. (c) Measurements on more
than one of an E’s dimensions are essential for fully describing any E but cannot be taken
simultaneously with the occurrence of this E itself or with each other. They can be taken only
serially on some successive and so increasingly later rememberings of what at each of these
times seems this same Ei1. (d) Only over the course of an Ei2(Ei1) can one measure enough to
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describe an Ei1 in terms of SHP’s normative dimension set for such an E. (e) This description
represents a fusion of the successive Ei2(Ei1) rememberings into a single Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1))),
wherein the numerical subscripts signify the temporal order of the events and the boldness of the
subscript 2 signifies the serial nature of rememberings of gradations on different dimensions of
any Ei1 that is ultimately described. It can only be in such a serial process that any Husserlian
epoché/reduction for clearing away preconceptions must take place (see, e.g., Depraz, Varela, &
Vermersch, 2003; Ihde, 1977; Petitmengin, 2006; Thompson, 2007, pp. 16-36 & 282-297).
These five propositions, a – e, are the foundation upon which the validity of the measurement
and description of all psychological events must depend and so upon which SHP data production
logically depends.
Because of the privacy of E only the person whose E it is can measure an E on its constitutive
dimensions and measure its referents on their dimensions. Only this person can remember this
measuring for describing this E and its referents. Therefore, the validity of E measurements can
only be indirectly judged by anyone else. They can judge a particular D(E)’s credibility and also
its describer’s relevant definitional knowledgeableness, dedication to valid measurement and
description, and competence at and present capability for measuring and describing this sort of E.
Such judging properly is done for SHP on the basis of how this person deals with SHP field
scientists’ queries and suggestions about her Di(Ei) and of how her biography supports her
meeting the personal criteria. These latter include her training as an SHP field scientist, her prior
Di(Ei) accepted into or rejected for inclusion in SHP’s data base, and any other historical basis
for believing or doubting her present qualification to be an SHP field scientist. However, what
properly is most crucial for admitting a Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) into SHP’s data base is its acceptance as
valid by a panel of SHP field scientists, which makes their openness to fairly judging novel
Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) crucial for SHP. All description validity is an essentially cultural matter.
Valid descriptions of psychological events require something more than just being based on valid
measurements, because they must also be in terms of the current SHP-normative set of relevant
dimensions for the type of event described. To describe something is to ascribe to it one or more
qualities, each as present in some specific degree. E may be, for example, clear, engrossing,
distressing, evocative, strange, dissonant, etc. to some specific degree. B may be forceful,
hesitant, calculated, revealing, skillful, successful, etc. to some specific degree. Exo-somatic S
may be surprising, dangerous, gratifying, multi-personal, familiar, engulfing, etc. to some
specific degree. Endo-somatic S are still too poorly distinguished and understood to even begin
such a list. A major task facing SHP is to develop a normative set of definitions of and gradation
sets for its events’ dimensions. However, SHP has yet to develop even some regime for
rationally developing adequate sets of dimensions for E, exo-somatic S, or B (and
Neurophysiology is presently no better off regarding endo-somatic S), so to now establish such a
regime is the most essential and pressing task for SHP.
E are momentary as well as private (e.g., Hurlburt, 2011a, 81-92, offers demonstrations of this
momentariness as a research issue) and the measuring and describing of an E necessarily must be
as it is remembered in terms of some set of dimensions. Therefore, such measuring and
describing must occur over some extended duration of time and involve some successive
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momentary re-rememberings of the E to be described3. Every Di(Ei), then, necessarily represents
a “fusion” of rememberings of an Ei1 (see, e.g., Depraz, Varela, & Vermersch, 2003, pp. 15-112
& 192-203; Petitmengin & Bitbol, 2009). This temporal process, Ei2, is still poorly understood
although now characterized by some as at least in part an “explicitation” or “epoché” or
“reduction” process (which, according at least to some of us, must ultimately prove to be some
sort of endo-somatic and so neurophysiological process)4. Hurlburt (2011a, pp. 152-177)
emphasizes the iterating of explicitation processes over a series of a subject’s Di3(Ei2(Ei1)) of the
presumably same Ei1 by a trained interviewer as the training of someone to be a lay informant
about her Ei. Petitmengin’s (2006) and Vermersch’s (2009) emphasis on the explicitation process
itself as one of epoché/reduction is intended to improve a subject’s Ei2 processing for producing
the Di4 of some particular Ei1 and so, apparently, to achieve a veridical Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1)). These
are two quite different objectives for the explicitation of E, that of developing a skill and that of
veridically describing a specific Ei1 (and perhaps thereby resolving a personal problem of denial
or distortion).
3
“Introspective access” to one’s “mind” (see, e.g., White, 1988) would seem to require the assumption that persons
have some sort of neurophysiological storehouse from which they can voluntarily/intentionally review or recall E or
evoke B, whereas a variant of supervenience theory (e.g., as presented in Horgan & Timmons, 2011; Velmans,
2000, pp. 246-7, 253-60, & 276-7) implies that there is simply some flux of somewhat replicable neurophysiological
events (N) with E properties and B effects, of which some seem effects of E due to their regular following of and so
predictability by E. Such a theory requires no observing executive ego or “ghost in the machine” (Ryle, 1949, pp.
11-24) for reviewing, recalling, reflecting on E or evoking B or E. Thus, the E flux may include some intendings to
remember E, to reflect upon one’s nature as a person, or to enact B, but it must be the neurophysiological events
upon which certain believings and intendings are supervenient (as properties, rather than as effects as Kim, 1998,
proposes) which have the causal influence that popularly seems to be of these E (which would profoundly simplify
discussions such as that in Winkielman & Schooler, 2012, wherein there is no hint of the possibility that metacognition is simply remembering). If one’s consciousness is simply an E-flux property of an activation pattern in
one’s brain and if one’s “mind” is simply one’s live brain and extending neurons, as physical monism (e.g.,
O’Connor, 1969, pp. 1- 19) would have it, then who or what could it be that has “introspective access” to one’s
“mind” and so requires mind-body dualism, and what need would there then be for the notion of unconscious E.
The notion that persons have unconscious E is paradoxical because E are consciousness and vice versa, so the better
notion is that persons have latent dispositions or unconscious potentialities for E, which are either positive
potentialities (as in, e.g., obsessive thinking, projection, hallucination) or negative potentialities (as in, e.g.,
forgetting, suppression, repression, hysterical blindness). These must be neurophysiological matters, matters of brain
events rather than of the logically unnecessary dualist notion of unconscious mind (which latter Wilson & Dunn,
2004, e.g., apparently subscribe to, using “mind” where “brain” would be more appropriate). Considering E to be
supervenient upon (in the sense of being properties of) N obviates the need for any such mind-body dualism and
makes consciousness (and so mind) entirely a property of a living brain.
4
There can be no guarantee that one remembering of a given E will be identical with another remembering of it or,
thus, of enduring veridicality of rememberings, whatever the explanation for their somewhat loose association
ultimately turns out to be (e.g., Holmes, Waters, & Rajaram, 1998; Wilson & Dunn, 2004). Some process of
producing a valid, even if never objectively verifiably veridical, D i3(Ei2(Ei1)) is necessary. There is simply no way to
certainly assure that this has been achieved since E are private and momentary, but there are ways to prepare, vet,
and assist SHP field scientists for producing valid Di3(Ei2(Ei1))) and to test and help refine these and other persons’
Di(Ei) (e.g., Depraz, Varela, & Vermersch, 2003, pp. 65-96; Froese, Gould, & Seth, 2011; Hurlburt, 2011a).
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Krause, M., Valid Description of Experiencings & Thereby of Behaviors & Situations
6. Measuring and Describing Situations and Behaviors
Descriptions of S (e.g., Krause, 1970; Yang, Read & Miller, 2009) or of B (e.g., Krause, 2005)
are necessarily descriptions of and require some successive rememberings of Ei1(Si1 or j1) or
Ei1(Bi1 or j1) in order to validly measure and then describe an S or B as remembered. Obviously
descriptions of any given S or B can vary somewhat across co-observing SHP field scientists,
because each such observer necessarily perceives and so measures and describes from a
somewhat different biographical and physical standpoint. Thus, any claims of scientifically
objective or veridical Di(Si or j) or Di(B i or j) on the grounds of having avoided all subjectivity (the
possibility of which, e.g., Jack & Roepstorf, 2003; Kane, 2011; and Froese, Gould, & Seth, 2011,
seem to me to rather acquiesce to) logically must be doubted. So variation across descriptions of
what seems to have been the same S or B is deeply problematic for SHP, because SHP properly
requires justification for relying on and so archiving in its data base any particular one of
alternative descriptions of the apparently same S or B. A veridicality or truth-by-correspondence
criterion is clearly inapplicable here (Petitmengin & Bitbol, 2009).
This problem is not soluble by the often pragmatically convenient and either explicitly or
implicitly relied upon psychometric assumption that all qualified-observer variation in
“independently” made descriptions of the same perceptible event is random around the
described’s true location in the relevant descriptive hyperspace. It is not soluble, because on the
basis of the mathematical definition of randomness (e.g., Feller, 1968, p. 30) this assumption is
logically unjustifiable and empirically untestable. This is so because all the evidence SHP has to
work with here are different observers’ Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1(Bi1 or j1 or Si1 or j1))) of the apparently same
B or S, respectively, for which there is no plausible basis for considering the observers to have
produced a large enough random sample from some population of Di(Ei) the centroid of which
must be that B’s or S’s true location in this descriptive hyperspace (Krause, 2015). Furthermore,
how would such a population of co-observations be defined and each member of it have an equal
or known probability of being (i.e., randomly) sampled? Thus, veridicality must be replaced here
by some other criterion of scientific legitimacy for SHP data, which can only be that of SHP
normative definitional validity. On this criterion, inter-observer variation in descriptions of the
apparently same S or B requires a quite different resolution than simply being averaged over.
Like for all Di(Ei) it requires being properly dialogued about among SHP field scientists for
resolving disagreements regarding what the valid D(S or B) is (compare, e.g., Galbusera &
Fellin, 2014).
7. The Testing of Descriptions of Experiencings
Each measuring and then describing of a person i’s Ei involves a series of this person’s private
momentary Ei that constitute an Ei2(Ei1) that results in some Di4(Ei3(E12(Ei1))). Thus, there can be
no direct evidential basis for challenging any particular such measuring process’ validity. Only
the resulting Di4(Ei3(E12(Ei1))), the person’s manifest misunderstanding of what are the relevant
dimensions or their definitions, or evidence of the person’s lack of dedication to, competence at,
or capability for validly measuring and describing such E or the S or B they refer to can provide
such a basis. Challenges may be based on the person’s own retrospective misgivings or on
whatever misgivings SHP field scientist colleagues reasonably have about this person or else
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Krause, M., Valid Description of Experiencings & Thereby of Behaviors & Situations
about this Di(Ei) in the course of their dialogue with this person about this Di(Ei). It ultimately is
a matter of trust in the person (Jack & Roepstorff, 2003 & 2003-4) as an SHP field scientist.
How could persons who are not SHP field scientists reasonably be trusted and so relied upon to
produce valid measurements on an E and in terms of these produce a valid D(E, S, or B)? Yet
they still are routinely relied upon in SHP (see, e.g., the notable Smallwood & Schooler, 2006,
paper) and must be considered a resource for discovering novel E for SHP.
Reservations by colleagues about the validity of an SHP field scientist’s particular
Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1(S1 or B1)))) can properly be based on their perceivings of the apparently same S
and B that seem to them indicative of what this field scientist’s perceiving of the S or B ought to
be. However, such reservations about any Di(Ei) can as well be based on colleagues’ perceivings
of the informant’s own concurrent S or B that are inconsistent with the informant’s expressing
this Di(Ei). For example, his unusual B in response to an S that seems to them quite routine for
him should make them wonder at his describing this S as neither revelatory nor stressful or at his
description of this S as not cognitively dissonant. His description of an E other than a perceiving
may be accompanied by B that seem to his colleagues inconsistent with his Di(Ei). For example,
a frown accompanying a remembering he describes as happy, hesitancy in describing an
inference or decision he describes as easy, manifestations of distress accompanying a description
of an E as merely curious, etc. Such inconsistencies (perhaps involving endo-somatic S data:
e.g., Fell, 2013) as well as Di(Ei) that are unfamiliar or incomprehensible to colleagues call for
dialogue with these colleagues that resolves these problems if the validity of the given Di(Ei) and
perhaps the qualification of this person as an SHP field scientist is not to be impugned.
The requirement of a rigorously tested validity and so an eventual mutual understanding of each
Di4(Ei3(Ei2(Ei1))) between the field scientist who reports it and the colleagues with whom it is
discussed sets a very high standard for what D(S, B, E) qualify for inclusion in SHP’s data base,
far higher than presently required. (See, e.g., Hurlburt, 2011a, pp. 325-360, on this conclusion.)
Although such validity does not entail the veridicality of any Di(Ei), reliance on it in what turns
out to be a successful action (B) is corroborative of the Di(Ei)’s pragmaticity, which is as close as
we can come to veridicality for any Di(Ei) (see, e.g., James, 1904).
At least some of each SHP field scientist’s measuring and describing of her E for SHP’s data
base properly must be done in the company of various other SHP field scientists also doing so.
This allows each of them to monitor the S and B context of the others’ measuring and describing
of their E of these S or B and to immediately query one another about any D(E(S or B)) any of
them have reservations about. Colleagues can also compare Di(Ei) that refer to whatever they
agree to be similar enough S, B, or E and use this as the basis for discussing and thereby
justifying or ultimately resolving their misgivings about a Di(Ei) at issue.
Although recurrent collegial monitoring must certainly seem to many an onerous and crude
method for validating measurements of E on the basis of the Di(Ei) derived from such
measurements, nothing better is possible given propositions (a) – (e) in section 5 above. This in
effect constitutes continually re-vetting each other as SHP field scientists. Therefore, SHP field
scientists need to have extensive familiarity with this sort of interpersonal validating process.
Depraz, Varela, & Vermersch, 2003, pp. 65-96 and Hurlburt, 2011a, for example, describe
versions of such a process. So too do Froese, Gould, & Seth, 2011, with whom Hurlburt (2011b),
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Krause, M., Valid Description of Experiencings & Thereby of Behaviors & Situations
Petitmengin (2011), and Vermersch (2011) then variously disagree. However, none of these
versions involve the routine dialogical monitoring among already trained and vetted SHP field
scientists that is proposed here nor emphasize the ultimately normative basis for the validity of
D(E).
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Consciousness
and
Cognition
Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
www.elsevier.com/locate/concog
Focused attention is not enough to activate discontinuities
in lines, but scrutiny is
Anne Giersch *, Serge Caparos
INSERM U666, Département de Psychiatrie I, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Cedex, France
Received 21 April 2004
Available online 26 February 2005
Abstract
We distinguish between the roles played by spatial attention and conscious intention in terms of their
impact on the processing of segmentation signals, like discontinuities in lines, associated with the act of
scrutinizing. We showed previously that the processing of discontinuities in lines can be activated. This
is evidenced by an impairment in the detection of a gap between parallel elements when it follows a gap
between collinear elements in the same location and orientation. This effect is no longer observed if attention is divided between two gaps in the first stimulus. The results from this study show that focusing attention on a gap between collinear elements is not enough to observe a modulation, consistently with the need
to integrate, rather than to separate, collinear elements in usual conditions. The modulation is sensitive to
the conscious expectations of subjects, suggesting that an intention can trigger modulations that spatial
attention cannot.
2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Visual perception; Attention; Binding processes; Segmentation processes; Discontinuities in lines;
Consciousness
Attention and consciousness are often believed to be closely related, consciousness being seen
as the result of processing inside the attentional window. Recently, however, dissociations
between spatial attention and awareness have been both described and modelled (Kentridge,
*
Corresponding author. Fax: +33 3 88116446.
E-mail address: giersch@alsace.u-strasbg.fr (A. Giersch).
1053-8100/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.concog.2005.01.007
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Heywood, & Weiskrantz, 1999; Lamme, 2004). Here we differentiate between the roles played
by spatial attention and consciousness by exploring their impact on the processing of visual
contour. The suggestions that attention facilitates the processing of visual information, even at
an early level, is widely documented (Gandhi, Heeger, & Boynton, 1999; Gilbert, Ito, Kapadia,
& Westheimer, 2000; Lee, Yang, Romero, & Mumford, 2002; Martinez et al., 2001; Motter,
1993; Posner & Gilbert, 1999; Roelfsema & Spekreijse, 2001; Somers, Dale, Seiffert, & Tootell,
1999; Watanabe et al., 1998). One question raised as a result of such studies concerns the kind
of information facilitated and the extent to which it depends on the task at hand. Non-specific
facilitation of visual processing may usefully enhance perception when attention is attracted in
a spatial location. Humans, however, are able to select whatever type of information they want.
This selection may involve counteracting the spontaneous processing of information. It may
mean, for example, that information usually bound together as a whole has to be broken down
into separate elements. It implies that facilitation is specific rather than non-specific. There are
two possibilities. (1) Either facilitation of visual processing is systematically specific, depending
on the task, or (2) there are several layers of top-down control (Koechlin, Ody, & Kouneiher,
2003). If this is so, spatial attention may induce Ônon-specificÕ facilitation, whereas an additional
level of top-down control may counteract such effects and initiate more specific facilitation. We
examine both possibilities with the help of a task that enables us to explore the separation of
elements usually bound together.
An object can be looked at in different ways. It can be explored to extract the general meaning it
conveys, or it can be scrutinized to extract a detail information it contains. Both aspects require
segmentation processes, to separate the object from the background in the first case, and to separate the different object parts in the second case. However, these two types of segmentation processes can be in conflict. Optimal processing of the discontinuities that allows parts of the objects
to be separated may indeed be deleterious for the identification of the whole object, inasmuch it
yields a fragmentation of information. The ability to adapt the coding of discontinuities may be
useful in avoiding such a fragmentation when trying to identify an object, but also in better
extracting a detail information when looking at an object part. We have recently suggested that
the processing of line-ends signalling the edges of an object can indeed be modulated (Giersch
& Fahle, 2002). Thus, even if processes involved in separating objects and parts of objects are largely pre-attentive, it may be possible to further enhance the processing of discontinuities in lines.
The important point, though, is that such an enhancement must be under control, unless there is
again a risk of information fragmentation. Several studies suggest that spatial attention can enhance the extraction of information. However, if it enhances the processing of the meaning of
the whole objects, it cannot be used to enhance other processes that are deleterious for the processing of global information. Hence, something else may be required to look at the details of the
objects. In fact, every day experience suggests that scrutinizing detail information follows conscious intent. In this paper, we manipulate the expectations of the subjects to explore the hypothesis that conscious intent is required to enable the processing of discontinuities in lines to be
activated.
Attention plays a crucial role in how objects in the environment are seen and interpreted.
Although large numbers of objects are encountered in everyday life, only comparatively few of
them are really looked at. Many of the details of objects are overlooked and sometimes whole objects can be ignored. When an object is looked at, one first needs to identify it. This involves both
A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
615
integration and segmentation processes. Indeed, primitive information, like orientation, color,
and edges is coded locally and in parallel in the primary visual cortex. Information belonging
to one object needs to be correctly bound together and separated from background information
to yield a representation of the form of this object. Orientation and edges play a major role in
constructing the form of the object. Integrating locally oriented contour elements allows access
to the global configuration of the object form, whereas segmentation cues like borders, edges,
and discontinuities in lines indicate the boundaries of the object, and allow the object to be separated from other objects and from the background. The efficiency of categorization abilities in
humans, even when pictures are shown only for 20 ms (Thorpe, Fize, & Marlot, 1996; Thorpe
& Fabre-Thorpe, 2001) shows that bottom-up processes are fast and reliable.
However, this initial processing of visual information may be followed by secondary viewing
involving scrutiny (Henderson & Hollingworth, 1999; Hochstein & Ahissar, 2002; Rensink,
2000). Focusing on one part of an object involves the use of the boundaries that separate this part
from the whole object. However, segmenting details from an object may not be equivalent to segmenting objects from a background. Whereas one cannot refrain from identifying objects as soon
as they are in the spatial attentional field (Boucart, Humphreys, & Lorenceau, 1995), scrutinizing
a detail in an object usually follows a precise intention. It is possible to extract a meaningless bit of
information from a complex pattern and to mentally isolate it from its environment. Yet this will
not be done spontaneously when looking at an object in the environment. Phenomenological
experience of such segmentation even suggests that it is effortful. For example, Li, VanRullen,
Koch, and Perona (2002), showed that it is easier to detect animals or vehicles presented in natural
scenes than to discriminate Ts from Ls. Scrutiny may thus require processes that differ from those
segmentation processes that are required for normal identification of objects in the environment.
It may differ at least in the kind of control that is exerted on the segmentation processes.
In preliminary studies, we first investigated the effects of spatial attention. As already mentioned, a large amount of data suggests that attention can influence visual processing (Beck & Palmer, 2002; Freeman, Sagi, & Driver, 2001). However, classical Posner-like manipulations did not
yield clear-cut results. We reasoned that scrutinizing involves keeping the subjectÕs gaze on an object, as well as conscious intention. Hence, the processes associated with scrutinizing were studied
by manipulating the location of the sequentially displayed stimuli and the expectation of the subjects regarding these locations.
We used a paradigm which has previously enabled us to show modulations of the processing of
discontinuities in lines (Giersch, 2001; Giersch & Fahle, 2002). As emphasized above, discontinuities in lines play an important role in segmentation processes (Lorenceau & Shiffrar, 1992; Shiffrar & Lorenceau, 1996). Nakayama, Shimojo, and Silverman (1989) and Shimojo, Silverman, and
Nakayama (1989) have shown that the presence of line-ends can be detrimental for integration
processes. They have proposed that line-ends produced by an occluder be disregarded to integrate
the visible parts that have been accidentally separated. In a similar way, two collinear elements
separated by a gap are also likely to be part of the same contour in everyday life, since contours
are rarely collinear by chance. Hence, the line-ends that define the gap should be ignored. Indeed,
processing these two line-ends in an optimal way would lead to a separation of the two elements,
and impede the integration of the two line-segments. Consistently with this, Lorenceau, Giersch,
and Seriès (2005) have shown that the motion of line-ends that are located at the internal part of
the two collinear line-segments (thus defining the gap) is far more difficult to detect than the
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motion of the line-ends that are located at the external part of the two line-segments; i.e., the lineends that define the global contour of the stimulus (Lorenceau et al., 2005).
Yet, it is possible to focus attention on a gap, even if it is located between collinear elements.
Our previous results suggest that focusing on the gap activates the processing of the line-ends
composing the gap. This previous work provides a means of making the results of this modulation
visible. We used known properties of the alignment of line-ends. Aligned line-ends indeed cause
virtual orthogonal lines (Fig. 1A) to be produced. These are made visible in illusions like the
Ehrenstein illusion (Gove, Grossberg, & Mingolla, 1995; Lesher & Mingolla, 1993; Shipley &
Kellman, 1990; Von der Heydt & Peterhans, 1989; Westheimer & Li, 1996; Zucker & Davis,
1988). Responses to virtual lines orthogonal to line-ends can be recorded as early as V2 (Von
der Heydt & Peterhans, 1989), even if there are only two line-ends (see also Gurnsey, Iordonova,
& Grinberg, 1999, for psychophysical results). The main point here is that these orthogonal lines
have opposite effects when the task is to detect a gap between collinear or a gap between parallel
elements. Orthogonal lines should help to detect a gap between collinear elements, by reinforcing
the edge signalled by these line-ends. In the case of a gap between parallel elements in contrast, the
line that is orthogonal to the line-ends links the two line-ends and is in exactly the same location as
the gap. This orthogonal line thus closes the stimulus (Fig. 1B). By introducing an ambiguity
regarding the existence of a gap between the parallel elements, the detection of this gap should
be impaired. Basing our paradigm on these premises, we tested the hypothesis that looking at a
gap between collinear elements reinforces the processing of the line-ends and the lines that are
orthogonal to the line-ends. A first gap located between collinear elements was followed by a
second gap between parallel elements in the same location and orientation (Giersch & Fahle,
2002). The results showed that it was more difficult to detect the gap between the two parallel elements when the gap was on the same side in the two consecutive stimuli than when it was on
opposite sides. Similar results were observed when the order was reversed. The modulation
observed after the display of a stimulus composed of parallel elements was accounted for by an
inhibition of the processing of line-ends and/or amodal lines that are orthogonal to the line-ends
(Giersch & Fahle, 2002).
These results were not due to a change in form between the two stimuli: (i) they were still observed if the stimuli were made more similar and (ii) a change in form was not enough to produce
the RT cost. Neither were they due to the orthogonality of the gaps between collinear and parallel
elements: (i) the same effects were observed if stimuli were drawn so that gaps were superimposed
and (ii) the orthogonality of the gaps was not enough to produce an effect. A masking hypothesis
was also ruled out by the results showing that an effect was still observed even when there was a
Fig. 1. Illustrations of (A) the virtual orthogonal line produced by aligned line-ends and (B) the Ôamodal lineÕ produced
in the case of stimuli composed of collinear or parallel elements.
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617
delay of up to 600 ms between the two consecutive stimuli. The results suggested therefore that the
processing of discontinuities may be modulated once a first stimulus is displayed. The results
showing that the effects were orientation- and location-dependent, and that the effects were stable
in time and across subjects suggested that the modulation occurred at a low level of processing.
They were consistent with the hypothesis that processing a gap between two collinear elements
activates the processing of discontinuities in lines. The hypothesis that the line orthogonal to
the line-ends plays a role in this modulation was reinforced by the results showing that the modulation decreased when a rectangle was drawn around the collinear elements. Indeed, the rectangle drawn around the collinear elements cut through the orthogonal line without otherwise
modifying the stimulus (Giersch & Fahle, 2002).
Most importantly, the RT variations just described disappeared when the stimulus included
more than one gap. This shows that the RT variations do not arise as an automatic consequence
of the display of the gaps. We have also shown that attracting attention in a spatial location is not
enough to induce an advantage for detecting gaps between either collinear or parallel line-segments (Giersch, 2001). Here, we test the hypothesis that the processing of a discontinuity in line
can be activated even in divided attention conditions if the discontinuity can be scrutinized. To
that aim we manipulated the number of possible locations for the stimuli. When the first stimulus
is always in the same location, attention can be focused on that location. If not, attention is divided. We also manipulated the uncertainty concerning the location of the second object, to test
whether or not it is important if the subject can keep its gaze on the same location during a
modulation.
The paradigm we used enabled us to compare attentional and expectation manipulations under
two conditions: when the gap is between collinear elements and when it is between parallel elements (Fig. 2). As already noted, enhancing discontinuities in lines processing can be useful only
in the case of gaps between collinear elements. The modulation observed after the display of a gap
between parallel elements has been related to an inhibition of the ÔamodalÕ orthogonal line that is
produced as a consequence of the alignment of the line-ends. If attention or expectations help the
visual system to adapt to the task at hand irrespective of the mechanisms that are involved in the
task, then similar effects should be observed when the gaps are located between collinear or parallel elements. If, in contrast, there is a specific control over the way discontinuities in lines are
facilitated, then the two types of modulations, observed after collinear or parallel elements, should
differ in terms of their sensitivity to experimental manipulations.
Fig. 2. Illustration of the stimuli used in Experiments 1 and 2. The gap was located on the right or on the left, between
collinear or parallel elements.
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1. Experiment 1
Experiment 1 sought to examine whether expectations concerning the location of the stimulus
to-be scrutinized played a role in how the processing of line-ends was modulated. A series of
experiments was conducted to examine (1) the role of attention drawn to the first stimulus of a
sequence and (2) the role of the uncertainty concerning the location of the second stimulus in
the sequence. The manipulation of the location of the first stimulus was devised to contrast a divided attention task, in which the stimulus is randomly located in one of two possible locations,
with a focused attention task, in which the first stimulus is always in the same location. This
manipulation is expected to cause a variation in modulation effects if these modulations are sensitive to spatial attention. In contrast, if modulations appear as a consequence of a secondary survey of the stimulus, they should be insensitive to this manipulation. Moreover, the manipulation
of the uncertainty concerning the location of the second stimulus is in line with the idea that scrutinizing an object involves fixation on a detail of an object. Constant changes in the fixation location may be deleterious for that sort of modulation. If this parameter is critical, then modulations
should be reduced when the location of the second stimulus is randomized. In contrast, if this
parameter does not play a role, then modulations should be equivalent, whether the second stimulus location is random or fixed.
1.1. Method
1.1.1. Subjects
Each experimental block was run by a different group of 12 healthy volunteers from the University of Strasbourg. All subjects had normal or corrected-to normal visual acuity and were naive
as to the aim of the study.
1.1.2. Apparatus
The stimuli were displayed on a color raster monitor. They were generated using a micro-computer equipped with an SVGA graphic card. The screen resolution was 640 · 480 pixels. The stimuli were presented in gray on a black background. In a dimly lit room the luminance of the stimuli
was 8 cd/m2 and the luminance of the background was 0.08 cd/m2. The viewing distance was
57 cm.
1.1.3. Stimuli
Stimuli with collinear line segments formed rectangles with 15 pixel-long line-segments (36 0 of
arc) and 5 pixel-long verticalline-segments (12 0 of arc).1 The stimulus included a horizontal gap of
3 pixels (7.2 0 of arc), always found in the uppermost line-segment, and separating a 3 pixel-long
line-segment (7.2 0 of arc) from a 9 pixel-long line-segment (21.6 0 of arc) (Fig. 2). The gap was located either to the right or the left, so that there were two possible locations for the gap. Stimuli
with parallel elements were composed of two horizontal 10 pixel-long parallel line-segments (24 0
1
Similar results were obtained when stimuli composed with collinear elements did not form a rectangle (data not
shown).
A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
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Fig. 3. Illustration of the eight experimental conditions used in Experiments 1 and 2. Experimental conditions are
defined by the collinear or parallel type of stimulus displayed at the first position (upper drawing), the type of stimulus
displayed at the second position (lower drawing), and the relative side of the discontinuities (on the same side vs. on
opposite sides). The proportions of right and left gaps are identical in all conditions. Subjects were instructed to decide
on what side the gap was located in the second stimulus of the sequence.
of arc), separated by a gap of 3 pixels (7.2 0 of arc). A vertical line linked the two line-segments on
one side, leaving a discontinuity at the other end, i.e., on the right or on the left.2
The width of the lines was always 1 pixel (2.4 0 of arc).
1.1.4. Procedure
The first stimulus was displayed for 300 ms and followed by a 80-ms delay during which the
screen remained black, and finally by the second stimulus of the sequence. Stimuli were displayed
either 3 above or 3 below the centre of the screen. Subjects had to decide if the discontinuity in
the latter stimulus was on the right or on the left and press on a right or left response-key accordingly. The stimulus disappeared after they responded and was followed by a 1100 ms interval during which a mask was displayed for 100 ms. This delay was followed by a new sequence starting
from the beginning.
Eight conditions were defined by the arrangement of the first and second stimulus. The first and
second stimuli were composed of either collinear elements or parallel elements. (1) The first and
the second stimuli were both composed of collinear elements. (2) Both stimuli were composed of
parallel elements. (3) The first stimulus was composed of collinear elements and the second of parallel elements. (4) The first stimulus was composed of parallel elements and the second one of collinear elements. In each condition, the discontinuity was either on the same side or on the opposite
side of the first and second stimulus (Fig. 3).
The location of the stimuli was manipulated so that in blocks 1 and 2, the location of the first
stimulus was always the same, whereas it was located randomly below or above the fixation point
in blocks 3 and 4. In blocks 1 and 3, the second stimulus was always in the same location as the
first stimulus, whereas in blocks 2 and 4, the second stimulus was randomly located in one of the
two possible locations, above or below the centre of the screen (Fig. 4). When the first stimulus
was always in the same location (blocks 1 and 2), the block was divided in two halves: in one half
of the block, the first stimulus was always above the centre of the screen, while in the other it was
always below the centre of the screen. When the first stimulus location was randomized (blocks 3
2
These stimuli are similar to those used previously. We have shown that results were identical when stimuli were
matched on total line length (Giersch & Fahle, 2002).
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Fig. 4. Illustration of the different events composing one trial sequence in each experimental block of Experiment 1. In
blocks 1 and 2, the first stimulus was always in the same location (3 above the centre of the screen in one half block,
and 3 below the centre of the screen in the other half block). The location of the second stimulus was randomized in
blocks 3 and 4. In blocks 1 and 3, the second stimulus was always in the same location as the first stimulus, whereas in
blocks 2 and 4, the location of the second stimulus was randomized between the two possible locations.
and 4), the first stimulus was preceded by a fixation point, which was displayed for 300 ms in the
centre of the screen. The screen remained black for 16 ms between the fixation point and the first
stimulus. The fixation point was not presented, in contrast, when the first stimulus location was
fixed, to facilitate fixation on the location of the first stimulus. Two masks were systematically displayed after the second stimuli, in all blocks. It may be worth pointing out that we checked in a
preliminary experiment that results were identical when the first stimulus was displayed for
200–400 ms (data not shown). This suggests that the impact of the fixation point is not due to
a reduction in the duration of fixation on the first stimulus, but rather to the effect of the attentional conditions (focused vs. divided).
In blocks 1 and 3, the two consecutive stimuli were always in the same location. Accordingly,
these two blocks comprised 160 trials each (20 trials per condition, including 10 trials with the
stimuli above the centre of the screen and 10 trials with the stimuli below the centre of the screen).
In blocks 2 and 4, the two stimuli were in different locations for half of the trials. These experimental blocks were run in two sessions of 160 trials.
During the statistical analyses, results were divided between trials in which the two consecutive
stimuli were in the same location and trials in which the two consecutive stimuli were in different
locations. However, no significant result was observed when the two consecutive stimuli were in
different locations and we display only the results observed when the two consecutive stimuli are
in the same location.
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The experimental conditions were randomly and equally represented. The computer clock was
activated by the onset of the pictures and stopped when the subject pressed a key. Mistakes were
signalled by a 300 ms sound emitted after the response had been given. These trials were not replaced and the RTs were not taken into account in the subsequent analysis. The same procedure
was applied in all experiments.
1.2. Results and discussion
Analyses of variance were conducted on RTs and errors, with participants as random variable.
There were three within-subject variables: first stimulus type (composed of collinear or parallel
line-segments), relative arrangement of the two consecutive stimuli (identical in the first and second stimulus vs. different), gap location (on the same vs. on opposite sides in the first and second
stimulus), and two between-subject variables, the first stimulus location (constant in blocks 1 and
2 vs. randomized in blocks 3 and 4) and the second stimulus predictability (predictable in blocks 1
and 3 vs. not predictable in blocks 2 and 4). Results averaged over subjects (12 per block) are displayed in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. Mean amplitude of the disadvantage (with standard errors) observed when the two consecutive gaps are on the
same rather than on opposite sides, when the two consecutive stimuli differ on the arrangement of their line-segments, in
Experiment 1, averaged across the 12 subjects. The amplitude of the disadvantage is evaluated by calculating the
difference between RTs when the two consecutive gaps are on the same side minus RTs when the two consecutive gaps
are on opposite sides. The results are displayed as a function of the experimental conditions (first and second stimuli
composed, respectively, of collinear and parallel elements or the reverse), and depending on whether (i) the first and
second stimulus were always in the same location (upper left panel), (ii) the first stimulus location was randomized and
the second stimulus was always in the same location as the first one (upper right panel), (iii) the first stimulus was always
in the same location and the second stimulus location was randomized (lower left panel), or (iv) the first and second
stimulus location was randomized (lower right panel).
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Table 1
Mean RTs (with standard errors) in Experiment 1, averaged across the 12 subjects, when the two consecutive stimuli are
similar on the arrangement of their line-segments
Stimulus type
(1st and 2nd stimulus identical)
Collinear
Parallel
Gaps on the
same side (SD)
Gaps on
opposite sides (SD)
Gaps on the
same side (SD)
Gaps on
opposite sides (SD)
1st Stimulus location constant
1st Stimulus location randomized
454 (56)
460 (74)
491 (58)
517 (75)
449 (52)
448 (67)
477 (49)
511 (75)
The results are displayed as a function of the collinear or parallel type of stimulus displayed, the relative side of the
discontinuities (on the same side vs. on opposite sides), and the location of the first stimulus (constant vs. randomized).
The tasks were very easy and errors did not show any significant effect or any speed-accuracy
trade-off. Whatever the experiment, errors were always lower than 2%. We will thus only describe
the results observed for response times (RTs). The results displayed in Fig. 2 show the difference
between RTs when the two consecutive gaps are on the same vs. on opposite sides. For the sake of
simplicity, we emphasize only the results concerning trials in which the two consecutive stimuli
differed on the arrangement of their line-segments. Indeed, trials in which the two consecutive
stimuli were identical in form were included in the experiment only so that (1) the second stimulus
was not predictable on its form, and (2) that some benefit could be found in activating the processes underlying the detection of the first gap. These trials were expected to optimize the effects. It
should be noted, however, that a similar pattern of results has been observed in the absence of
these trials (Giersch & Fahle, 2002). The results for these trials are displayed Table 1.
We present only the results concerning the trials for which the two consecutive stimuli were in
the same location.
Mean RT was 500 ms. RTs tended to be longer, by 31 ms, when the location of the second stimulus was randomized than when it was predictable, F [1, 44] = 3.5, p = .07.
This effect is relatively straightforward and confirms that this experimental manipulation has an
attentional cost.
1.2.1. Consecutive stimuli identical in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments
When the two consecutive stimuli were identical in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments, RTs were systematically shorter when the two gaps were on the same side than when they
were on opposite sides (by 47 ms, F (1, 44) = 81.2, p < .001). This advantage was larger when the
location of the first stimulus was randomized rather than when it was constant, by 27 ms,
F [1, 44] = 7.6, p < .01. This probably reveals the cost induced by the attentional manipulation
on the first stimulus.3 There was no other significant effect.
3
A close inspection of the results (Table 1) indeed suggests that the larger advantage is mainly due to the fact that
when the gaps are on opposite sides in the two consecutive stimuli RTs are slower when the location of the first stimulus
is random than when it is constant. In contrast, the advantage provided by the strict identity of the two consecutive
stimuli resists the effect of the first stimulus location randomization.
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1.2.2. Consecutive stimuli different in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments
When the two consecutive stimuli differed in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments,
RTs were generally longer when the two gaps were on the same side than when they were on
opposite sides. These effects reproduce those previously described (Giersch & Fahle, 2002). However, this effect varied in line with the test conditions.
This effect decreased when the location of the first stimulus was randomized, but only when the
first stimulus was composed of parallel and the second of collinear elements. In the Ôparallel–collinearÕ order, the disadvantage observed when gaps were on the same side was 36 ms when the first
stimulus location was constant (F [1, 22] = 25.2, p < .001), but only 10 ms and not significant anymore when the first stimulus location was randomized (F < 1). This yielded a significant interaction between the location of the first stimulus (randomized vs. constant) and the side of the gap
(on the same side vs. on opposite sides) F [1, 44] = 4.7, p < .05. These results suggest that the RT
variations observed when the parallel stimulus precedes the collinear one require attention to be
drawn selectively to the first stimulus.
In contrast, when the first stimulus was composed of collinear elements and the second of parallel elements, the disadvantage observed when the two consecutive gaps were on the same side did
not vary along with the first stimulus location (16 vs. 15 ms). This disadvantage is believed to correspond to activation of the processing of discontinuities in lines. The fact that the first stimulus
location has no effect in this case suggests these RT variations are not under spatial attention control. These effects resulted in a significant interaction in the global ANOVA between the first stimulus location (randomized vs. constant), the side of the gap (on the same side vs. on different
sides), and the first stimulus type (collinear vs. parallel) F [1, 44] = 7.6, p < .01.
In summary, this suggests that RT variations observed when the parallel stimulus precedes the
collinear one are under spatial attention control, whereas RT variations corresponding to the processing of discontinuities in lines being activated are not.
The disadvantage observed for the gaps on the same side tended also to interact, in the global
ANOVA, with the predictability of the second stimulus and the relative arrangement of the two
stimuli (identical vs. different), F [1, 44] = 3.9, p = .055. When the two consecutive stimuli differed
in terms of their arrangement, the effect of the gap side was 17 ms greater when the location of the
second stimulus was predictable than when it was not, F [1, 44] = 3.4, p = .072. These results suggest that the expectation concerning the location of the second stimulus matters.
RT variations corresponding to the processing of discontinuities in lines being activated, i.e.,
when the first gap is between collinear elements, appeared to be especially sensitive to the predictability of the location of the second stimulus. A disadvantage for gaps on the same side was indeed
observed when the first stimulus was composed of collinear elements and the second of parallel
elements, but only when the location of the second stimulus was predictable (21 ms when the first
stimulus location was fixed, F [1, 11] = 17.5, p < .005 and 25 ms when it was randomized,
F [1, 11] = 6.9, p < .05). The disadvantage for the gaps on the same side was no longer observed
whenever it was uncertain where the second stimulus would be located (9 ms when the first stimulus location was fixed and 8 ms when it was randomized, Fs < 1.9, ns).
It is worth noting that in the reverse order (Ôparallel–collinearÕ), an effect of gap side was still
observed when the location of the second stimulus was not predictable, as long as the location
of the first stimulus was predictable (30 ms in block 2, F [1, 11] = 7, p < .05). Also, the predictability of the second stimulus location was not enough to trigger an effect of gap side, as suggested by
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the lack of significant effect in block 3, when the location of the first stimulus was not predictable
(18 ms, F [1, 11] = 1.7, ns).
In summary, when the first stimulus was randomly located, i.e., in divided attention, RT variations decreased, but only when the ÔparallelÕ stimulus preceded the ÔcollinearÕ one. When the second stimulus was randomly located, RT variations also decreased. This time, the decrease affected
RT variations both when the ÔcollinearÕ stimulus preceded the ÔparallelÕ one and when it followed
it. However, a complete lack of RT variations was observed only when the ÔcollinearÕ stimulus preceded the ÔparallelÕ one, i.e., when the processing of discontinuities in lines is thought to be
activated.
What is remarkable here is that the conditions did not differ otherwise, since we only considered
the trials in which the two consecutive stimuli were in the same location in all experimental blocks.
The only difference was the knowledge that the second stimulus would not necessarily be in this
location. However, the effects concerning the second stimulus location were slight, and do not necessarily imply that there is a role for conscious knowledge. Indeed, it may be that the contextual
information corresponding to the trials in which there is a change in location has a direct impact.
For this reason, we purposefully manipulated the subjectsÕ expectations in Experiment 2.
2. Experiment 2
Experiment 1 suggested that modulations are no longer observed for stimuli composed of collinear elements when the location of the second stimulus is uncertain. This was shown by the lack
of disadvantage observed when the ÔcollinearÕ stimulus preceded the ÔparallelÕ one with gaps on the
same side. Here, we checked whether this is due to a direct impact of the trials with a change in
location between the two consecutive stimuli. To that aim, we increased the percentage of trials in
which the two consecutive stimuli were in the same location. This should reduce the impact of the
contextual information represented by the trials with a change in location. If this is the critical
factor, a modulation should be observed again in the present experiment. If not, there should
be a modulation only in the parallel–collinear order, like in Experiment 1. Furthermore, we
checked whether the lack of modulation after a gap between collinear elements is related to the
conscious knowledge about the possible change in location, by manipulating the information given to the subjects, i.e., by giving a right instruction in one experimental block, and a wrong one
in another otherwise identical experimental block. Moreover, we compared the results between
those subjects who detected and those who did not detect that the instruction was wrong. A difference between experimental blocks and groups should only arise if processes associated with
consciousness are involved in the modulation.
2.1. Method
Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1 apart from the following points. (1) The location of
the second stimulus was randomized (above or below the center of the screen), like in block 2 in
Experiment 1, but this time it was in the same location as the first stimulus in 75% of the trials (24
trials per condition vs. 8 trials in the alternative location—as compared to 50 % in Experiment 1).
(2) The information given to the subject concerning this manipulation varied according to the
A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
625
experimental block. In one experimental block, subjects were told the correct information, i.e.,
that the two consecutive stimuli would be in the same location in 75% of the trials. In another
experimental block, subjects were told that the two consecutive stimuli would be in the same location in 50% of the trials only. The subjects were 30 healthy volunteers from the University of
Strasbourg. The order of the two experimental blocks was randomized across subjects, with a
training phase of 40 trials before each experimental block. The subjects were asked about the relative location of the two consecutive stimuli at the end of the two experimental blocks. This experiment was carried out in two phases, the first phase with 18 subjects, six of whom detected that the
Ô50%Õ information was wrong. In the second phase, an additional group of 12 subjects was tested
to increase the size of this sub-group. The results did not differ between the two phases and were
collapsed across them.
2.2. Results and discussion
The results were analyzed as in the previous experiment, with two additional between-variables:
the order of the experimental blocks and awareness as to whether the instruction was right or
wrong. In this experiment, the effect of block (i.e., the instruction) was a within-variable rather
than a between-variable as in Experiment 1. The results are set out in Fig. 6 and Table 2. Since
Fig. 6. Mean amplitude of the disadvantage (with standard errors) observed when the two consecutive gaps are on the
same rather than on opposite sides, when the two consecutive stimuli differ on the arrangement of their line-segments in
Experiment 2, in nine subjects that were aware that the instruction was wrong (on the left), and in 21 subjects that were
unaware of this manipulation (on the right). The amplitude of the disadvantage is evaluated as in Experiment 1, by
calculating the difference between RTs when the two consecutive gaps are on the same side minus RTs when the two
consecutive gaps are on opposite sides. The results are displayed according to the experimental conditions (Õcollinear–
parallelÕ order vs. Ôparallel–collinearÕ order) and depending on whether the instruction was wrong (Ô2nd stimulus in the
same location as 1st one in 50% of the trials,Õ upper panel) or right (Ô2nd stimulus in the same location as 1st one in 75%
of thew trials,Õ lower panel).
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A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
Table 2
Mean RTs (with standard errors) in Experiment 2, averaged across the two sub-groups of 9 and 21 subjects, when the
two consecutive stimuli are similar on the arrangement of their line-segments
Stimulus type
(1st and 2nd stimulus identical)
Collinear
Gaps on the
same side (SD)
Parallel
Gaps on
opposite sides (SD)
Gaps on the
same side (SD)
Gaps on
opposite sides (SD)
483 (59)
491 (50)
434 (56)
434 (64)
472 (48)
482 (54)
Twenty-one subjects unaware that the instruction is wrong
Wrong instruction
457 (66)
493 (58)
Correct instruction
456 (69)
487 (55)
447 (52)
438 (48)
483 (63)
485 (52)
Nine subjects aware that the instruction is wrong
Wrong instruction
440 (55)
Correct instruction
454 (60)
The results are displayed as a function of the collinear or parallel type of stimulus displayed, the relative side of the
discontinuities (on the same side vs. on opposite sides), and the experimental block (with a right or wrong instruction).
the subjects reported having detected that the instructions were wrong during the course of the
experiment, we restricted our analysis to the last two thirds of the experiment (in both experimental blocks and in all subjects). The results were slightly more clear-cut with this procedure, but
were not significantly different from those observed when all trials were considered for analysis.
We did not analyse the results when the two consecutive stimuli were in different locations, given
the small number of trials held under these conditions.
The mean RT after the second stimulus was 484 ms. The mean RT was strictly identical in the
two experimental blocks.
When the two consecutive stimuli were identical in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments, RTs were systematically shorter when the two gaps were on the same side than when they
were on opposite sides (by 40 ms, F [1, 26] = 63.3, p < .001). There was no other significant effect.
When the two consecutive stimuli differed in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments,
RTs were 22 ms (F [1, 26] = 18.1, p < .001) longer overall when the two consecutive gaps were on
the same side than when they were on opposite sides. However, when the ÔcollinearÕ stimulus preceded the ÔparallelÕ one, i.e., when RT variations correspond to the processing of discontinuities in
lines being activated, there was generally no significant effect of gap side. In this order, a modulation was observed only when subjects were told that the two consecutive stimuli would be in different locations more frequently (50% of the trials) than it really happened (25% of the trials),
and when they became aware of this manipulation. Indeed, when the instruction was wrong, nine
subjects spontaneously reported their impression that the two stimuli were in fact more frequently
in the same location than what they had been told. In that case and in that case only, the RT disadvantage was significant (by 35 ms, F [1, 7] = 44.1, p < .001). When the same subjects were (correctly) told that the second stimulus would change location in only 25% of the trials, the
disadvantage disappeared (2 ms, F < 1). This yielded an interaction between the experimental
block (with the correct vs. the wrong instruction) and the effect of gap side (on the same side vs.
on opposite sides), F [1, 8] = 9.9, p < .05. Subjects who noticed a conflict between the information
given to them by the experimenter and their own observation, consciously took account of the fact
that, in most of the cases, the two consecutive stimuli were in the same location. Consequently their
expectation that the second stimulus would be in the same location as the first was all the greater.
A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
627
In contrast, when not conflict was detected, subjects may have concentrated more on the task at
hand, which required them to locate the discontinuity, without paying attention to the location
of the stimuli, which was not considered relevant. This may explain why they showed no modulation effect when given correct information. The results observed when no conflict was detected are
no different to those obtained with other subjects given correct information, and confirm at least
that the nine subjects detecting a conflict do not differ from the other 21 subjects.
Indeed, the other 21 subjects probably ignored the location of the stimuli throughout the experiment, like the nine subjects did when given the right instructions. Among these 21 subjects that
did not detect that the instruction was wrong, the same RT disadvantage (when the first gap is
between collinear elements and the second one between parallel elements), did not reach significativity under any condition (six with the wrong instruction, F < 1, and 14 ms with the right
instruction, F [1, 19] = 1.6, ns). These effects resulted in a significant interaction between the experimental block (with a right vs. a wrong instruction), the gap side (on the same vs. on opposite
sides), and the group (subjects detecting vs. not detecting that the instruction is wrong),
F [1, 26] = 8.8, p < .01.
In contrast, the RT disadvantage observed when the first stimulus was composed of parallel
elements and the second of collinear elements was stable across experimental blocks and groups
(between 28 and 34 ms, all Fs > 5.5, ps < .05).
The lack of modulation after the display of a gap between collinear elements (with the exception
of one condition), together with the preservation of the modulation in the reverse order, replicate
the results in Experiment 1. The fact that the two consecutive stimuli were more frequently in the
same location in Experiment 2 than in Experiment 1 did not modify the results. This suggests that
the contextual information represented by the trials with two consecutive stimuli in different locations is not the critical parameter accounting for the lack of modulation after the display of a gap
between collinear elements.
The opposite effects of instruction and sudden awareness observed in the Ôcollinear–parallelÕ order vs. the Ôparallel–collinearÕ order, resulted in a significant interaction between the experimental
block (i.e., with the right or wrong information), the group (subjects detecting vs. not detecting
that the instruction was wrong), the gap side (on the same vs. on opposite sides), and the type
of the first stimulus (with a gap between collinear vs. parallel elements), F [1, 26] = 5.7, p < .05.
The subjectsÕ active observation that the instructions were wrong is not the same as knowledge
passively acquired. The results show that this difference can account for the fact that the processing of a discontinuity between collinear elements is activated again. The effect of the information
given to the subjects, combined with the role played by their sudden awareness, suggests the
involvement of conscious control rather than of contextual information.
3. General discussion
The results showed (1) a replication of the results observed previously (Giersch & Fahle, 2002).
When the two consecutive stimuli were similar in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments,
RTs were shorter when the gaps were on the same rather than on opposite sides. When the two
consecutive stimuli differed in terms of the arrangement of their line-segments, RTs were longer
when the gaps were on the same rather than on opposite sides. Yet, the experimental manipula-
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A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
tions affected these modulations and differently so as a function of the type of stimuli displayed.
(2) When the first stimulus was composed of parallel elements and the second of collinear elements, a modulation was observed each time attention was focused on of the first gap (Experiment
1). (3) The fact that such an impact was not observed when the first stimulus was composed of
collinear elements shows that selective attention drawn to a stimulus does not enhance any type
of gap processing. (4) Modulations also occurred when the first stimulus is composed of collinear
elements, but required more constrained conditions. The disadvantage for gaps on the same side
disappeared when there was uncertainty concerning the location of the second stimulus. A role for
conscious control was suggested in Experiment 2, where a modulation was observed again after
the display of a gap between collinear elements, but only if subjects consciously expected the second stimulus to be in the same location as the first stimulus.
The results all lead to the conclusion that the modulation arising after the display of a gap between collinear elements depends on subjects consciously expecting the next stimulus to be in the
same location as the first gap. This modulation disappeared when the location of the second stimulus was uncertain (Experiment 1), even though we only considered the trials in which the two
consecutive stimuli remained in the same location, i.e., trials that were strictly identical to those
in which typical RT variations were observed (Giersch & Fahle, 2002). The two types of trials
(with or without uncertainty regarding the location of the second stimulus) differed in terms of
knowing that the second stimulus may not be in the same location, but not in terms of the physical
content of the information displayed during the trials. Changing contextual information, i.e.,
manipulating the proportion of these trials, did not change the results (Experiment 2). A modulation after displaying a gap between collinear elements was only observed again if the (wrong)
information provided to the subjects lead them to process consciously and take into account
the location of the second stimulus. This happened in nine subjects spontaneously reporting that
they felt that the second stimulus was in the same location as the first one more frequently than
what they had been told. The key point here is that the two blocks run by these subjects were
strictly identical, apart from the instruction given prior the block, and the sudden awareness of
these subjects. These results all suggest that modulations observed when the ÔcollinearÕ stimulus
precedes the ÔparallelÕ one are related in some way to the conscious processing of the stimuli, in
contrast to the modulations observed when the order is reversed.
It might be argued that activating the processing of a gap between two collinear elements requires conscious control because it is difficult, for example, because it is far more natural to integrate than to separate two collinear elements. However, the parameters affecting the modulation
observed after the display of a gap between collinear elements in Experiment 2 did not affect the
modulation observed after the display of a gap between parallel elements. The most convincing
argument can be found, though, in a previous study showing that the modulation occurring after
the display of a gap between parallel elements can be selectively suppressed by a drug, namely a
benzodiazepine, lorazepam (Giersch, 2001). When subjects were on lorazepam (but not when they
were on a placebo) there was no effect of gap side when the first stimulus was composed of parallel
elements and the second one of collinear elements. The modulation in the reverse order, i.e., when
the first stimulus was composed of collinear elements and the second one of parallel elements was
preserved. Lorazepam, like all benzodiazepines, is highly sedative. If the modulation occurring
after the display of a gap between collinear elements had been the more ÔdifficultÕ one, it should
have been more impaired. This was not the case.
A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
629
These results suggest, in fact, a double dissociation in the control of contour processing. Some
attentional conditions made it possible to observe typical modulations after the display of a gap
between parallel elements, whereas no modulation was observed after the stimulus composed of
collinear elements. The results observed in the subjects on lorazepam show exactly the opposite
pattern, i.e., typical modulations after the display of a gap between collinear elements, but a lack
of modulation after the display of a gap between parallel elements. The double dissociation confirms previous results (Giersch & Fahle, 2002), suggesting that the RT modulations are not due to
a simple antagonism between the two types of gaps, or to an alternation effect, i.e., a change in
shape. It suggests, in fact, that modulations occurring after the display of a gap between collinear
elements is not based on the same mechanisms as the modulations occurring after the display of a
gap between parallel elements. It allows to eliminate the hypothesis according to which all modulations occur in focused attention conditions, thereby facilitating the information at hand. In the
case of such a hypothesis, conscious control would have been an additional but systematic mechanism enabling or preventing these modulations. These results, i.e., the existence of a double dissociation, suggest, on the contrary, that the modulation caused after the display of a gap between
collinear elements relies on specific mechanisms. This may be related to the role of each type of
modulation, as argued in the introduction. Activating the processing of discontinuities in lines
(further relative to the automatic processing of these segmentation signals) should help to scrutinize a detail in an object. The results confirm our initial proposal that attention is not enough to
induce such an activation, even in a task requiring subjects to process discontinuities in lines, may
be due to the fact that this would be deleterious for identifying objects. Hence, conscious control
would be required for this activation to take place.
However, this means that processes associated with consciousness can trigger modulations that
spatial attention cannot. At first sight, such a dissociation between spatial attention and processes
associated with consciousness may appear to be counter-intuitive and to contradict the results
suggesting that attention and awareness are strongly linked (Grossberg, 1999; Posner, 1994; Rees
& Lavie, 2001). Several authors have questioned the relationship between focused attention and
scrutiny (Rensink, 2000) or awareness (Baars, 2002; Lamme, 2004), though. A dissociation is consistent with results showing that spatial attention can be preserved while awareness is impaired in
blind-sight patients (Kentridge et al., 1999). Moreover, our results do not imply that modulations
associated with spatial attention and those associated with consciousness are independent. This
can be easily understood in the realm of visual integration and segmentation processes. As emphasized by Lorenceau et al. (2005), integration and segmentation processes are sometimes in competition with each other. This is especially true for stimuli composed of collinear elements. Spatial
attention would enhance processes that are usually able to provide efficient processing of information; i.e., the integration of collinear elements. The fact that it is considered as the wisest first move
may be related to experience (Kovács, Kozma, Feher, & Benedek, 1999). This may be associated
with an inhibition of conflicting processes like the processing of line-ends signals between integrated collinear elements (Lorenceau et al., 2005). Freeman et al. (2001) have also shown results
suggesting that the integration of collinear elements can be facilitated by spatial attention. A conscious expectation regarding the discontinuity between collinear contours may be necessary to level that integration and facilitate the detection of a gap between collinear elements. This means
that modulation processes associated with consciousness do not necessarily act directly at a
low level of processing, and that it should still be strongly interacting with spatial attention.
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A. Giersch, S. Caparos / Consciousness and Cognition 14 (2005) 613–632
The results indicate, however, that processes associated with consciousness do not only reinforce
the effects of spatial attention, but have their own function, which may compete with spontaneous
modulation triggered by spatial attention. The fact that processes associated with consciousness
can trigger modulations that spatial attention cannot may be related to results by Dehaene
et al. (2003), which show that conscious conflicts activate areas that subliminal conflicts do
not. The presence of a conflict, in this study, between two kinds of modulations, favoring either
the separation or the integration of collinear elements, might be a key issue for understanding the
dissociation between spatial attention and consciousness. It justifies the fact that some modulations have to be related to a goal, and thus precisely controlled, to avoid a conflict with more ÔautomaticÕ modulations. This is consistent with the idea that there is a cascade of cognitive control
(Koechlin et al., 2003).
4. Conclusion
This studyÕs results suggest that focused attention is not enough to activate the processing of
discontinuities in lines. More constrained conditions, like knowing where the next stimulus will
be, are required. We suggest that these constraints are associated with the act of scrutinizing.
We suggest furthermore that scrutinizing involves intention and a steady gaze that is not necessarily associated with focused attention. In fact, the double dissociation observed in our results, with one modulation (in the parallel–collinear order) sensitive to focused attention and
lorazepam, and another modulation (in the collinear–parallel order) sensitive to awareness
states, suggests a dissociation between mechanisms associated with focused attention and
scrutinizing.
Acknowledgment
This research was funded by a grant from INSERM.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | June 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 6 | pp. 436-478
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Pitkänen, M., TGD Perspectives of Nonlocality in Quantum theory, Biology, Neuroscience & Remote Mental
Interactions
Exploration
TGD Perspectives of Nonlocality in Quantum theory, Biology,
Neuroscience & Remote Mental Interactions
Matti Pitkänen 1
Abstract
Nonlocality seems to be a basic aspect of what it is to be living. Living system is elementary
particle-like coherent unit. The phenomenon of memory suggests temporal nonlocality. Also, remote
mental interactions, if real, suggest nonlocality. In fact, nonlocality, both spatial and temporal, is
the basic element of entire quantum TGD and, in particular, its applications in quantum biology,
neuroscience, theory of consciousness and remote mental interactions. In this series of articles, I
suggest pictures in Topological Geometrodynamics (TGD). I will begin from empirical findings related
to nonlocality rather than problems of General Relativity or of particle physics. The hope is that this
could make the basic ideas of TGD easier to grasp. Further, the mathematical framework and its
interpretation in current state of TGD are briefly described and some applications of TGD inspired
theory of consciousness and quantum biology are discussed.
Keywords: Nonlocality, TGD framework, quantum theory, quantum biology, neuroscience, remote
mental interaction.
1
Introduction
Non-locality seems to be a basic aspect of what it is to be living. Living system is elementary particle
like coherent unit. The phenomenon of memory suggests temporal non-locality. Also remote mental
interactions - if real - suggest non-locality. In fact, non-locality - both spatial and temporal - is the basic
element of entire quantum TGD, and in particular, of its applications to quantum biology, neuroscience,
theory of consciousness, and also of remote mental interactions.
In the following I make kind of pseudo deduction of the picture provided by Topological Geometrodynamics (TGD) by starting from empirical findings loosely related to non-locality rather than problems of
General Relativity or of particle physics. The hope is that this could make the basic ideas of TGD easier
to grasp.
1.1
What does non-locality mean physically?
Both spatial and temporal non-locality are possible and manifested as spatio-temporal coherence not
expected on basis of classical and standard QM considerations.
There are many hints about the nature of non-locality.
1. Spatial non-locality manifest itself as a coherent behavior: organisms behave like independent coherent units. The idea about sacks of water containing some chemicals able to climb in trees and
write poems does not look plausible. At the level of brain spatial coherence manifests itself as
synchronous behavior of brain regions.
2. Temporal non-locality manifests itself as temporal synchrony, especially so in the dynamics of brain.
Also memories suggest temporal non-locality. Also various functions/behavioral patterns meaning
intentional goal-directed action reflect temporal non-locality. In EEG quasi-stationary segments
separated by rapid transients appear [24].
1 Correspondence: Matti Pitkänen http://tgdtheory.com/. Address: Karkinkatu 3 I 3, 03600, Karkkila, Finland. Email:
matpitka6@gmail.com.
ISBN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration &Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | June 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 6 | pp. 436-478
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Pitkänen, M., TGD Perspectives of Nonlocality in Quantum theory, Biology, Neuroscience & Remote Mental
Interactions
3. Libet’s findings [22] about anomalous time ordering of conscious decision and neural correlates
of associated action suggest that signals can propagate backwards in time. Motor actions would
involve signals propagating backwards in time and sensory-motor dichotomy could correspond to
two arrows of time.
4. Fantappie [28] suggested long time ago that the arrow of time is not always the same in living
matter and christened the entropy increasing in reverse direction of time syntropy. Spontaneous
self assembly could be example of process taking place in reverse direction of time as a decay
process. This would however imply that experienced time having always the same direction cannot
be equated with the geometric time. There are also other reasons for distinguishing between these
two times.
Questions: Do we really understand the notion of time, in particular the relationship between
geometric time and the experienced time? What experienced time is? Is the arrow of time always
the standard one?
Temporal non-locality is very difficult if not impossible to understand in the standard physics framework, where 3-D snapshot of reality together with initial values for generalize positions and velocities
determine everything. Are the basic objects 4-dimensional? Should one consider generalized positions at
two values of time as basic data. Could kind of generalize Bohr orbits be in question. Could the basic
entities be events - pairs of 3-D snapshot at different values of geometric time?
Should ordinary positive energy ontology (PEO) be replaced with something different, in which pairs
of states - physical events - or equivalently the 4-dimensional space-time evolutions connecting them, are
basic entities. One can think that these pairs of initial and final states are zero energy states in the sense
that the values of various conserved quantum numbers for the positive and negative energy parts sum
up to zero. This would allow to have deterministic dynamics for connecting time evolutions without loss
of laws of physics. I call this ontology Zero Energy Ontology (ZEO). ZEO would be much more general
than PEO but consistent with conservation laws and solve the to-be-or-not-to-be question of theoretician:
why to see the pains of constructing a theory if only one particular solution of equations is realized in
Nature: one cannot test the theory without additional assumptions. In ZEO based quantum theory any
zero energy state could be created from vacuum.
1.2
Living systems have shape
Living organisms have shape, which is non-local property. All physical systems have shape. These shapes
appear in all scales and in the case of fundamental biomolecules the shapes have crucial significance for
the functioning of living matter. For instance, the dynamical folding of DNA double strand is essential
for transcription.
In standard physics the shape is described in terms of densities of particles as something phenomenological. In the modelling the shape is fed in as a phenomenological geometric input and there is no
attempt to really deduce the shape from microscopic physics as reductionism would demand. It is highly
questionable whether this attempt could be even successful.
Could shape as something non-local be something real?
1. Geometry and topology provide two definitions of shape. Could the space-time topology and geometry - its shape - be non-trivial in even macroscopic scales? This idea does not conform with
the general relativistic view according to which space-time would be topologically rather uninteresting above Planck scale. One would lose the energy momentum conservation as consequence of
lost space-time symmetries (translations and Lorentz transformations). Also topology change for
3-space, which takes place routinely in living matter systems, is impossible in this framework.
2. How could one modify the general relativistic view? The hint comes from superstring models in
which string world sheets are 2-D space-times represented as 2-D surfaces - sub-manifolds - in 10-D
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space-time. String models fail but one could perhaps modify them. The basic problem of string
models is how to get the 4-D space-time from string models. Why not replace 2-D surfaces with
4-D ones in some higher-D space-time, which could be taken to be fixed because the dynamics
of space-time would be coded by its geometric shape. One would avoid the notorious landscape
problem and loss of predictivity.
The identification of space-time as 4-surface would change completely the view about what spacetime is. The good news is that one does not lose classical conservation laws if the higher-dimensional
space-time is chosen properly. Space-time surfaces can contain even Euclidian regions (time and
space in the same role) without loss of basic conservation laws. This means huge flexibility.
3. The visible world is also hierarchical: shapes within shapes. Biological body consists of organs
consists of cells consists of biomolecules consists of ... . This fractal like structure should have
counterpart as the structure of space-time surface. Space-time surface indeed turn out to have this
kind of structure: ... space-time sheets glued to larger space-time sheets glued to.... I refer to this
structure as many-sheeted space-time and we indeed see it directly!
Question: Could space-time be 4-D surface in some higher-D space-time - many-sheeted space-time.
The shape of spacetime would have meaning also as shape in this higher-D space-time.
1.3
Does coherence in long spatial and temporal scales reduce to macroscopic
quantum coherence?
Coherence could be understood as macroscopic quantum coherence if living systems are macroscopic
quantum systems. But how?: Planck constant is too small? There are several hints suggesting that
Planck constant could have actually a spectrum.
1.3.1
Effects of ELF em fields on living matter, macroscopic quantum coherence, and dark
matter and energy
The effects of ELF em fields on vertebrate brain involving both physiology and behavior look like quantal
appearing at multiples of basic frequency assignable to cyclotron transitions of biologically important
ions such as Ca++ ion in endogenous magnetic field of Bend = 2BE /5 = .2 Gauss, where BE = .5 is the
nominal value of Earth’s magnetic field [23] The problem is that cyclotron energies are extremely low:
more than ten orders of magnitude below thermal energies.
Question: Could Planck constant have nonstandard values: say hef f = n × h.
If this were the case, quantum scales would be scaled up. Energy E = hef f f associated with given
frequency is scaled up. Could EEG consist of photons with hef f = n × h such that the energies of dark
EEG photons are above thermal energies. These photons can transform to ordinary photons perhaps
identifiable as bio-photons in the energy range of visible and UV photons.
What these phases of matter with non-standard Planck constants could be? Why we have not observed
them? We know that dark energy and dark matter exist. Could they correspond to hef f = n × h phases?
If so, dark matter could be in key role in living matter. Two mysteries would find a common explanation.
Question: Should one generalize quantum theory so that dark matter/energy would be assignable to
hierarchy of hef f = n × h phases?
1.3.2
Where could the dark matter reside?
Where could the dark matter reside?
1. The first hint comes from quite recent finding that the brain hemispheres of persons having no
corpus callosum are in synchrony (see http://tinyurl.com/3gjhtgb). What synchronizes the
brain hemispheres in this kind of situation? The hint comes from spontaneous synchronization of
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clocks (penduli) involving generation of very weak periodic perturbation - “boss” - forcing the clocks
in same phase. Is there a kind of “boss”, which forces neurons to march in synchrony [58]?
2. Second hint comes from the observation that EEG correlates strongly with the contents of consciousness. Why? Information costs energy. Why to construct information not used for any purpose?
Could it be that EEG communicates information about brain state to some entity? Could this
entity be the “boss” in turn using EEG to control the brain. The wavelength associated with EEG
frequency 7.8 Hz is circumference of Earth. Could this entity be of this size or even larger?
3. There is a further hint: the effects of ELF radiation were at cyclotron frequencies in endogenoues
magnetic field with strength of .2 Gauss. For iron it corresponds to 10 Hz frequency for which
wavelength is slightly larger than circumference of Earth. Could the “boss” be a magnetic field
structure - magnetic body (MB) - assignable to the organism?
4. There is an objection against this idea. In Mawell’s electrodynamics magnetic fields of different
organisms interfere to a random background so that the informations from separate organisms
would be lost. Standard space-time concept is not enough. Should the very notion of space-time be
such that the magnetic field structures of different organisms behave like separate entities without
interference between them. The phases of matter with different values of hef f would in some sense
live in different worlds - they would be dark relative to each other - but also interact with matter
visible to us. Generalization of space-time concept seems to be necessary necessary. The guess is
many-sheeted space.
Question: Do magnetic bodies carrying dark matter characterized by non-standard value of Planck
constant carry serve as “bosses”? They should also effectively correspond to separate space-times.
1.3.3
How to create dark matter?
One eventually encounters the question how to test the theory. To achieve this one should be able to
create dark matter by inducing phase transition of ordinary matter to dark matter or to do the opposite:
ordinary matter would mysteriously disappear somewhere of pop up somewhere. This would serve as a
signature for the dark matter. There are some hints.
1. Biosystems look like critical systems. Sensory systems have optimal sensitivity to small changes
in environment. There is analogy with fundamental physics: in particle accelerators measurement
instruments are critical systems to maximize the sensitivity and transform microscopic effects to
macroscopic ones. Neural system is an excellent example of a control system in which small control
signals give rise to large effects. Homeostasis can be understood in terms of positive and negative feedback keeping the system near criticality. Living systems are functional in rather narrow
temperature range. There is also evidence for quantum criticality (QC) at molecular level [19].
2. The appearance of hef f = n × h dark matter should lead to a generation of long range coherence
and non-locality. On the other hand, long range fluctuations are the tell-tale signature of criticality.
Could dark phases with hef f = n × h be created at quantum criticality (QC)?
Question: IS QC is essential for having non-locality manifesting itself as long range correlations,
dark matter, and hef f = n × h phases.
1.4
Summing up
To sum up: these propagandistic arguments suggest the following picture.
1. Temporal non-locality requires that PEO is replaced ZEO. The arrow of time is not always the
same. The relationship between experienced and geometric time must be understood: they are not
same although they are strongly correlated.
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2. The importance of shape - a non-local concept - in biology suggests identification of space-time as
4-D surface in some higher-D space-time.
3. EEG contains information about the contents of consciousness: EEG communicates information
to some entity identified as magnetic body serving as intentional agent receiving sensory input
and controlling biological body. The organism-environment duality would be replaced with trinity
involving also MB.
4. Coherence in long scales reduces to quantum coherence for → hef f = n × h dark matter hierarchy
and dark matter at magnetic bodies is the quintessence of living matter.
5. Criticality of living matter reduces to long range correlations implied by QC. Dark matter is created
at QC and implies also non-locality.
The challenge is to realize this picture mathematically. TGD does this although I ended up with
it with motivations coming from General Relativity and particle physics. In the sequel I discuss the
mathematical formulation and its physical interpretation. I also discuss briefly various applications of
this picture.
2
TGD and TGD inspired theory of consciousness
General theory of relativity (GRT) plagued by the problem that the notions of energy and momentum
are not well-defined for curved space-time time. The proposal for overcoming the energy problem (made
1977, thesis came 1982) was that space-times are not abstract 4-D manifolds but representable as 4-D
surfaces in certain 8-dimensional space-time H = M 4 × CP2 , which is empty Minkowski space M 4 with
points replaced with certain very small 4-D space CP2 fixed uniquely from the condition that standard
model symmetries and standard model fields can be geometrized. This choice of H is uniquely fixed both
by twistorial considerations [54, 73] or by the condition that theory is consistent with standard model
symmetries.
It soon turned out that the modification can be seen also as a generalization of string model with strings
in 10-D space-time replaced with 3-D surfaces in 8-D H, whose “orbits” are identifiable as space-time
surfaces. Recently the connection with string model picture has become much deeper. By strong form
of holography (SH) 2-D string world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces carry the data needed to construct
quantum states and construct solutions of field equations (preferred extremals). 4-D space-time is however
necessary for quantum-classical correspond necessary to describe measurements.
TGD Universe is predicted to be fractal: this replaces the naive Planck length scale reductionism with
fractality for which the simplest realization would be p-adic length scale hypothesis emerging from p-adic
thermodynamics and dark matter hierarchy. Non-trivial predictions emerge in all scales from Planck
length to cosmology and this makes it very difficult to communicate TGD for colleagues believing firmly
on naive length scales reductionism.
In what follows I will proceed from quantum TGD to classical TGD without starting from particle
physics observations - it would be extremely boring to repeat same old arguments again and again and
reader can find these arguments from [66].
2.1
Quantum TGD
The basic idea is to generalize Einstein’s program as geometrization of classical physics to geometrization
of the entire quantum theory so all notions of quantum theory except state function reduction which is
identified as basic building brick of conscious experience would reduce to geometry.
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2.1.1
Reduction of quantum theory to Kähler geometry and spinor structure of WCW
The condition that the entire quantum theory is geometrized requires infinite-dimensional geometric
structure instead of space-time and the “world of classical worlds” (WCW) identified roughly as the
space of space-time surfaces is the natural identification [K3, 35].
1. The construction of quantum TGD leads to a generalization of the notion of super-space of Wheeler
and to construction of infinite-dimensional geometry that I call ”World of Classical Worlds” (WCW)
having rough mathematical identification as space of 3-surfaces in H (ZEO dictates the identification
in more detail). The mere mathematical existence of WCW geometry fixes it essentially uniquely
- this is true already for the loop spaces of string model [2] - and therefore physics. A huge
generalization of the symmetries of super-string models emerges giving hopes of understanding the
theory.
The geometrization of hermitian conjugation of quantum theory requires that WCW allows complex
structure its metric is Kähler metric [35] and coded by Kähler function identified in terms of Kähler
action for a preferred extremal: this gives direct connection with classical physics since induced
Kähler form define classical U(1) field, for the U(1) factor of electroweak gauge group assignable
with weak hyper-charge. Twistorial lift implies the presence of a volume term identifiable in terms
of cosmological constant. It would bring also Planck length into the theory as the radius of twistor
sphere [54].
2. Quantum states are identified as classical WCW spinor fields so that there is no need to perform
quantization and state function reduction is the only genuinely quantal aspect of TGD [57, 69].
Spinor structure requires identification of gamma matrices anticommuting to WCW metric and if
the metric is Kähler metric, the anti-commutation relations are completely analogous to those of
fermionic oscillator operators and one can indeed express the gamma matrices as linear superpositions of fermionic oscillator operators at space-time surface. Second quantization at space-time
level is a purely classical notion at WCW level and becomes geometrized in WCW context.
3. Zero Energy Ontology (ZEO) is an essential element of theory. Usually one assumes that in classical physics generalized positions and their time derivatives (generalized velocities) giving at given
moment of time in 3-D snapshot of space-time dictated the time evolution. This has generalization
to Schrödinger equation. One has initial value problem.
This Newtonian view does not work in TGD: boundary value problem provides a more natural
formulation. The generalized positions at two moments of time are more natural data and the
dynamical evolution connecting the two 3-D snapshots defines by holography more or less equivalent
view about the situation. These pairs are analogous to classical events and one can construct as
their quantum superpositions what I call zero energy states and quantum jumps are quantum events
occurring between these classical events.
ZEO is much more flexible than ordinary ontology since any zero energy state can be created from
vacuum whereas in standard classical ontology only one solution of field equations is realized and
in principle it is not possible to test the theory without additional assumptions. ZEO is especially
natural in biology and neuroscience: the notions like function, behavioral pattern, and habit are
not easy to describe in terms of the state of organism as 3-D snapshot of time evolution.
The two time=constant snapshots are actually replaced with past and future boundaries of causal
diamond (CD), which is the intersection of future and past directed light-cones of Minkowski space
with each point replaced with CP2 . The ends of space-time surfaces are at the these boundaries.
Zero energy states have opposite conserved quantum numbers at the opposite boundaries of CD:
this guarantees that conservation laws are satisfied and the system is consistent with standard laws
of physics. CDs form a fractal hierarchy. There are CDs within CDs and CDs can also overlap.
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In order to avoid confusion it must be made clear that since WCW spinor fields and zero energy
states are formally purely classical entities. Only the state function reduction replacing zero energy
state (classical event) would be genuinely quantal element of the theory. The Wheelerism for this
would be “Quantization without quantization”.
4. The recent formulation for the notion of preferred extremal relies on strong form of General Coordinate Invariance (SGCI). SGCI states that two very different kinds of 3-surfaces can identified
as fundamental objects. Either the light-light 3-D orbits of partonic 2-surfaces defining boundaries
between Minkowskian and Euclidian space-time regions or the space-like 3-D ends of space-time
surfaces at boundaries of CD (both ends!). If both choices are equally good, partonic 2-surfaces and
their tangent space-data at the ends of space-time should be the most economic choice.
This eventually led to the realization that partonic 2-surfaces and string world sheets should be
enough for the formulation of WCW geometry and quantum TGD [31]. Classical fields in the interior of space-time surface would be needed only in quantum measurement theory, which demands
classical physics in order to interpret the experiments. The outcome is SH stating that quantum
physics should be coded by string world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces inside given causal diamond
(CD). SH is very much analogous to the AdS/CFT correspondence but is much simpler: the simplicity is made possible by much larger group of conformal symmetries. 2-dimensionality of space-time
regions carrying fermion field can be deduce also from the condition that electromagnetic charge
is well-defined for spinor modes: this requires that W boson fields vanish and this implies in the
generic case 2-D string world sheets. Number theoretic vision suggests the interpretation of string
world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces as commutative or co-commutative sub-manifolds of the spacetime having quaternionic (associative) tangent space as a 4-surface in the imbedding space with
octonionic (non-associative) tangent space [52, 70].
If these 2-surfaces satisfy some consistency conditions one can continue them to 4-D space-time
surface inside CD such that string world sheets are surfaces inside them satisfying the condition
that charged (possibly all) weak gauge potentials identified as components of the induced spinor
connection vanish at the string world sheets and also that energy momentum currents flow along
these surfaces. String world sheets carry second quantized free induced spinor fields and fermionic
oscillator operator basis is used to construct WCW gamma matrices.
5. The existence of WCW geometry requires maximal possible group of symmetries for the geometry
of WCW. Essentially a union of infinite-dimensional symmetric spaces labelled by so called zero
modes not contribution to the line element of WCW would be in question. The natural candidate
for this infinite-dimensional isometry group is symplectric group acting in CP2 and at 3-D lightcone. This group maps vacuum extremals to vacuum extremals but is not a symmetry of more
general extremals: if this were the case WCW metric would be trivial.
2.1.2
Quantum Criticality and hierarchy of Planck constants as dark matter hierarchy
The Kähler coupling strength αK appearing in Kähler action is analogous to temperature. In its original
form [35] QC stated that this coupling strength is analogous to critical temperature and therefore has
discrete spectrum. This idea makes sense even if Kähler action is generalized to contain additional terms:
all coupling constants would be analogous to critical thermodynamical parameters.
Indeed, the twistorial lift of TGD [54, 73] replacing space-time surfaces with their twistor spaces in
12-dimensional product of twistor spaces of M 4 and CP2 indeed brings in cosmological constant Λ and
Planck length as radius of the sphere S 2 serving as the fiber of twistor space. This lift makes sense
only for M 4 × CP2 making this choice unique. If Planck length and cosmological constant emerge in
this manner their spectrum would be fixed by QC condition. The negative pressure implying accelerated
cosmic expansion can be also assigned to magnetic flux tubes with monopole flux so that the situation
remains open.
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The meaning of QC at the level of dynamics has become only gradually clearer. The development of
several apparently independent ideas generated for about decade ago have led to the realization that QC
[67] is behind all of them. Behind QC are in turn number theoretic vision and strong forms of general
coordinate invariance (GCI) and holography (SGCI and SH).
1. The hierarchy of Planck constants labelling a hierarchy of dark phases of ordinary matter corresponds to a hierarchy of quantum criticalities assignable to a fractal hierarchy of sub-algebras of the
super-symplectic algebra assignable to the boundary of causal diamond (CD) with points replaced
with CP2 . The conformal weights are n-ples of those for the entire algebra, n corresponds to the
value of effective Planck constant hef f /h = n. These algebras are isomorphic to the full algebra
and act as gauge conformal algebras so that a broken super-conformal invariance is in question.
For n > 1 the hierarchy levels are interpreted in terms of dark matter. What is highly non-trivial
that the conformal weights itself need not be integers or half integers as usually. The generators
of algebra could have conformal weights which are proportional to zeros of zeta and poles of zeta
so that the number of generating elements (finite for ordinary super-conformal algebras) would be
infinite [32]. Physical states would however have real conformal weights which would be half integers
(conformal confinement).
2. QC in turn reduces to the number theoretic vision about SH. String world sheets carrying fermions
and partonic 2-surfaces are the basic objects as far as pure quantum description is considered. Also
space-time picture is needed in order to test the theory since quantum measurements always involve
also the classical physics, which in TGD is an exact part of quantum theory.
SH says that space-time surfaces are continuations of collections of string world sheets and partonic
2-surfaces to preferred extremals of Kähler action for which Noether charges in the sub-algebra of
super-symplectic algebra vanish. This condition is the counterpart for the reduction of the 2-D
criticality to conformal invariance. This eliminates huge number of degrees of freedom and makes
SH possible. TGD does not reduce physics to that of strings since the fact that strings are surfaces
inside 4-D space-time surfaces is an essential part of physics and also the experimental testing
requires 4-D space-time as also the notion of 8-D imbedding space.
3. The hierarchy of algebraic extensions of rationals defines the values of the parameters characterizing
the 2-surfaces, and one obtains a number theoretical realization of an evolutionary hierarchy. One
can also algebraically continue the space-time surfaces to various number fields - reals and the
algebraic extensions of p-adic number fields. Physics becomes adelic [70].
p-Adic sectors serve as correlates for cognition and imagination. One can indeed have string world
sheets and partonic 2-surfaces, which can be algebraically continued to preferred extremals in p-adic
sectors by utilizing p-adic pseudo constants providing huge flexibility. If this is not possible in the
real sector, a fragment of imagination is in question! It can also happen that only part of real
space-time surface can be generated: this might relate to the fact that imaginations can be seen as
partially realized motor actions and sensory perceptions.
4. The assignment of the hierarchy of Planck constant to a hierarchies of inclusions of hyper-finite
factors of type II1 is natural. Also the interpretation in terms of finite measurement resolution
makes sense. As n increases the sub-algebra acting as conformal gauge symmetries is reduced so
that some gauge degrees of freedom are transformed to physical ones. The transitions increasing
n occur spontaneously since criticality is reduced. A good metaphor for TGD Universe is as a hill
at the top of a hill at the top.... In biology this interpretation is especially interesting since living
systems can be seen as systems doing their best to stay at criticality using metabolic energy feed as
a tool to achieve this. Ironically, the increase of ~ would mean increase of measurement resolution
and evolution!
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5. If twistorial lift is not performed, the only coupling constant of the theory is Kähler coupling constant
2
/4π~, which appears in the definition of the Kähler function K characterizing the geometry
αK = g K
of WCW. In the most general case αK has a spectrum of critical values and this conjecture seems
at this moment the most reasonable one. It has indeed turned out that the discrete spectrum could
have interpretation in terms of discretized coupling constant evolution for U(1) coupling constant
of standard model. The identification of the spectrum in terms of zeros of so called fermionic zeta
function expressible in terms of Riemann zeta is attractive [32]. The exponent of K defines vacuum
functional analogous to the exponent of Hamiltonian in thermodynamics. The allowed values of
2
αK = g K
/4π~ef f should be analogous to critical temperatures and determined by QC requirement.
2.2
Classical TGD
In TGD framework classical physics is an exact part of quantum physics rather than being only an
approximate limit of quantum theory emerging from the stationary phase approximation to path integral,
which would in TGD allow all space-time surfaces. Now one does not have path integral but functional
integral over the pairs of 3-surfaces at bounaries of CD. Only preferred extremals of Kähler are allowed in
the functional integral so they satisfy classical field equations and even more: effective 2-dimensionality
holds by SH. Stationary phase approximation can be made also now but selects ”preferred preferred
extremals”. The reason is that for real value of αK the Minkowskian space-time regions give imaginary
exponent to the action exponential whereas Euclidian space-time regions give real exponent identifiable
as exponent of Kähler function. In fact, the value of αK can be also complex but this does not affect this
picture.
2.2.1
Space-time surfaces as preferred extremals of Kähler action
Preferred extremal of Kähler action have remained for a long time one of the basic poorly defined notions
of TGD. There are pressing motivations for understanding what “preferred” really means. For instance,
the conformal invariance of string models naturally generalizes to 4-D invariance defined by quantum
Yangian of quantum affine algebra (Kac-Moody type algebra) characterized by two complex coordinates
and therefore explaining naturally the effective 2-dimensionality [54].
In ZEO preferred extremals are space-time surfaces connecting two space-like 3-surfaces at the ends
of space-time surfaces at boundaries of causal diamond (CD). A natural looking condition is that the
symplectic Noether charges associated with a sub-algebra of symplectic algebra with conformal weights
n-multiples of the weights of the entire algebra vanish for preferred extremals. These conditions would
be classical counterparts the condition that super-symplectic sub-algebra annihilates the physical states.
What is needed is the association of a unique space-time surface to a given 3-surface defined as union
of 3-surfaces at opposite boundaries of CD. One can imagine many manners to achieve this. “Unique” is
probably too much to demand: for the proposal unique space-time surface is replaced with finite number
of conformal gauge equivalence classes of space-time surfaces. This would bring in finite number of discrete
degrees of freedom. In any case, it is better to talk just about preferred extremals of Kähler action and
accept as the fact that there are several proposals for what the precise meaning of this notion.
2.2.2
Many-sheeted space-time and topological field quantization
At classical level the basic is the notion of many-sheeted space-time which can be visualized in 2-D
situation as a structure consisting of space-time sheets extremely near to each other and connected by
wormhole contacts. General Relativity becomes approximate description obtained by replacing the sheets
with single slightly curved region of Minkowski space. The sheets correspond to material objects that
one can say that we directly see them. The experimental tests distinguishing TGD from GRT relate to
many-sheetedness.
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The quantum field theory limit of TGD - GRT plus standard model - is obtained when the sheets
are compressed to single region of slightly curved piece of M 4 by identifying gauge potentials as sums of
induced gauge potentials for the spinor connection of CP2 and gravitational field as sum for the deviations
of the induced metrics from Minkowski metric. This corresponds to the vision that the force experienced
by a test particle - small 4-surface - is sum of those induced as it touches various space-time sheets.
One gets rid of topological complexity but the extreme simplicity of space-time dynamics is lost in this
replacement.
One example is quite recently discovered fractionization of photon spin to spin 1/2 for helical photon
beams, which vould be due the fact that helical photon beam corresponds to a 2-sheeted covering of M 4
locally. Therefore 2π rotation in M 4 does not bring the point of space-time surface to the original one.
Also 1/n fractionization is predicted to be possible.
The compactness (finite size) CP2 implies topological field quantization: the classical electric fields,
magnetic fields, and radiation fields decompose to topological field quanta, space-time sheets, and one
can say that physical systems have field identity, field body. This is not true in Maxwell’s theory. I
have called radiation quanta “massless extremals” (MEs) or topological light rays. For MEs the signals
propagate at maximal signal velocity (for general space-time sheet light velocity is reduced since the paths
along curved space-time sheet is general longer) and thanks to the tubular structure of ME they represent
precisely target communications. A further property is that the shape of signal is preserved since positive
frequency can propagate in one direction only.
Preferred extremal property implies further quantization conditions as is clear from the fact that the
2-D data should fix the preferred extremal by SH.
2.2.3
New ontology
TGD leads to a new ontology at both space-time level and quantum level.
1. At space-time level many-sheeted space-time represents new piece of ontology. Single space-time
sheet is extremely simple objects and the information needed to construct it is by SH 2-dimensional.
Complexity emerges at quantum field theory limit when the sheets o f the many-sheeted space-time
are replaced with single slightly curved region of M 4 .
2. The hierarchy of Planck constants identified in terms of dark matter as phases of ordinary matter
represents second new ontological element.
3. A further modification of ontology is the replacement of the usual positive energy ontology (PEO)
with what I call zero energy ontology (ZEO) already described. In ZEO quantum states are superpositions of quantum evolutions connecting the positive and negative energy parts of the states.
Zero energy states are essentially 4-D and only the positive and negative energy parts are 3-D.
Quantum jumps/state function reductions re-create the zero energy states with new ones and this
allows to solve the basic paradox of ordinary quantum measurement theory due to the fact that
non-determinism of state function reduction is in conflict with the determinism of unitary time
evolution. One also ends up with identification of ”self” as conscious entity: self corresponds to
generalized Zeno effect: to a sequence of state function reduction to say positive (positive) energy
part of zero energy state [30] [84]. Self dies when the first reduction to negative (positive) part
occurs. Also the origin for the flow of experienced time can be understood.
2.2.4
Hierarchies
TGD Universe is characterized by various hierarchies. At space-time level there is a hierarchy of spacetime sheets labelled by a hierarchy of p-adic length scales coming as primes near powers of two and
probably generalizing to primes near powers of prime [64, 70]. In zero energy ontology (ZEO) and at
imbedding space level there is a hierarchy of causal diamonds (CDs) labelled by their size scales coming as
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integer multiples of CP2 scales. The fractal hierarchy of symplectic sub-algebras leads to a generalization
of quantum theory based on a hierarchy of Planck constants characterizing hierarchy of dark matters
[33, 67], hierarchies of inclusions of hyper-finite factors [56], hierarchies of breakings of super-symplectic
gauge symmetry [57, 69] associated with a hierarchy of quantum criticalities [67]. There is also a number
theoretic hierarchy of algebraic extensions of rationals accompanied by those of p-adic number fields [70]
allowing to see evolution as a gradual increase of the complexity for extensions of rationals assignable
to the parameters characterizing string world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces. In TGD inspired theory of
consciousness [38] self hierarchy emerges.
At the basic level the fundamental hierarchy seems to be the heirarchy of breakings of super-symplectic
symmetry as gauge symmetry. Super-symplectic algebra and its Yangian generalization have the structure
of conformal algebra and is naturally associated with critical systems which are now 4-dimensional. There
are also other conformal algebras involved.
By SH implied by the SGCI the core of the mathematical description of quantum TGD reduces
to that for 2-D systems associated with partonic 2-surfaces and string world sheets. Although spacetime is 4-D, all that can be said mathematically about quantum physics can be reduced to these 2-D
“space-time genes”. 4-D space-time surfaces are however necessary for the classical description of TGD
necessary to interpret quantum measurements in terms of frequencies and wavelengths classical space-time
picture about particles. This reduction implies that the representations of charges of super-symplectic
Yangian [54, 73] are in terms of fermionic strings connecting partonic 2-surfaces, which means enormous
simplification of the theory. This representation also involves a generalization of AdS/CFT duality to
TGD framework as manifestation of SGCI basically [31].
2.3
Number theoretical physics
Number theoretical physics involves several threads [70].
1. p-Adic physics as correlate for cognition, imagination, and intentionality [51] p-Adic physics was
originally inspired by the challenge of understanding the mass scales of elementary particles but it
soon turned that the interpretation in terms of mathematical correlates of cognition and imagination
is very natural. This in turn forced the conclusion that cognition is probably present in all length
scales, rather than only at the level of brain. The eventual outcome was a fusion of real and p-adic
physics in terms of adelic physics.
2. Classical number fields emerge very naturally in TGD framework [52]. For instance, the conjecture
is that space-time surfaces as preferred extremals of Kähler action are quaternionic sub-manifolds
of imbedding space endowed with octonionic structure. Also quaternion analyticity [4, 3] as a
generalization of complex analyticity central in string models is very attractive conjecture [54] in
accordance with the original vision that 2-D analyticity in some sense generalizes to its 4-D variant.
3. Infinite primes [50] are constructed by a repeated second quantization of arithmetic quantum field
theory and could be essential for understand of quantum TGD.
In the sequel I discuss only the p-adic physics and the fusion of real physics and various p-adic physics
to adelic physics as proposal for the physics of matter and mind or correlates of sensory and cognitive
consciousness.
2.3.1
p-Adic physics as physics of cognition, imagination and intentionality
1. The attempt to understand elementary particle mass spectrum led to the hypothesis that p-adic
number fields - one for each prime p = 2, 3, 5, ..., which are completions of rationals like real numbers,
allow to construct what I called p-adic thermodynamics allowing to understand particle masses as
kind of thermal masses resulting when massless particles suffer slight thermal mixing with particles
with mass scale given by CP2 mass of order 10−4 Planck masses.
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2. The failure of well-orderedness property for p-adic numbers brings in the corresponding failure
due to a finite measurement resolution and leads to the vision that p-adic numbers are ideal for
describing the effects of finite measurement resolution and cognitive resolution.
3. The failure of strict determinism for the partial differential equations suggest strongly that it serves
as a correlate for cognition, imagination, and maybe also intention is closely related.
4. The fusion of real physics and various p-adic physics (identified as correlates for cognition, imagination, and intentionality) to single coherent whole leads to adelic physics [70]. Adeles associated
with given extension of rationals are Cartesian product of real number field with all p-adic number
fields extended by the extension of rationals. Besides algebraic extensions also the extension by any
root of e is possible since it induces finite-dimensional p-adic extension. One obtains hierarchy of
adeles and of corresponding adelic physics interpreted as an evolutionary hierarchy.
An important restriction is that p-adic Hilbert spaces exist only if one restricts the p-adic numbers
to an algebraic extension of rationals having interpretation as numbers in any number field. This
is due to the fact that sum of the p-adic valued probabilities can vanish for general p-adic numbers
so that the norm of state can vanish. One can say that the Hilbert space of states is universal and
is in the algebraic intersection of reality and various p-adicities.
5. One can define the p-adic counterparts of Shannon entropy for all finite-dimensional extensions of
p-adic numbers, and the amazing fact is that these entropies can be negative and thus serve as
measures for information rather than for lack of it. The formula is simple:
S=−
X
k
Pk log(Pk ) →
X
Pk log(Np (Pk )) .
(2.1)
k
Here Np (x) is the p-adic norm, which for n-D extension is defined as n:th root of the determinant
of the matrix of the linear map defined by multiplication with x. The change of sign is dictated
by the fact that converging Boltzmann weights e−E/kT must in be TGD proportional to positive
powers pk with increasing k by the properties of p-Adic norm.
p-Adic entropy can have both signs bit NMP suggests that the sign tends to become negative so that
interpretation as a measure for conscious information is possible. Furthermore, all non-vanishing
p-adic negentropies are positive and the number of primes contributing to negentropy is finite since
any algebraic number can be expressed using a generalization of prime number decomposition of
rational number. These p-adic primes characterize given systen, say elementary particle.
The possibility of NE together with NMP [39] implies that the reduction does not always lead to
an unentangled state but can generate NE. Living systems would be systems generating NE and
biological evolution could be seen as a gradual generation of negentropic resources - I have called
them Akashic Records. For rational probabilities entanglement negentropy equals to real entropy
[81]. This might relate to the Jeremy Englands vision that high entropy is relevant for living matter.
What is important that entanglement negentropy and thermodynamical entropy are not negatives
of each other. Hence NMP is not in conflict with the second law but predicts it for the ordinary
matter as a consequence of non-determinism of state function reduction. It is however true that
large entropic recources realized as a large number of states with the same energy makes possible
both large thermodynamical entropy and NE with large negentropy.
2.3.2
The extension of real physics to adelic physics
In TGD framework cognition is described in terms of p-adic number fields and has led to a fusion of
real and various p-adic physics to what I call adelic physics [70]. Real physics corresponds to sensory
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experience and p-adic physics to cognition and imagination. Originally I talked about p-adic physics as
physics of cognition and intentionality but I have have become ambivalent about intentionality: this issue
remains unsettled.
Real-p-adic correspondence has been a longstanding problem. Continuous correspondence at spacetime level does not respect symmetries. Algebraic correspondence respects symmetries but not continuity.
Also GCI has been a problem. In the proposed framework real-p-adic correspondence can be realized
in elegant manner without conflict with fundamental symmetries and achieving continuity only for discretization.
1. The naive idea is that rationals belong to the intersection of reals and p-adics. More generally,
points in algebraic extension of rationals would be common to realities and p-adicities which correspond to “thought bubbles” or imaginations. This hierarchy defines a hierarchy of adeles having
interpretation in terms of evolution leading to increasingly complex algebraic extensions of rationals.
2. The first guess was that this means at space-time level that imbedding space points with rational
valued coordinates (or values in the extension of rationals) correspond to common points of real
and p-adic space-time surfaces. This picture however leads to problems with both GCI and key
symmetries of TGD. What are the preferred coordinates of space-time surface which would be in
algebraic extension of rationals in the intersection? Should one restrict symmetry groups to their
discrete subgroups?
3. A partial resolution of the problem came from the realization that the intersection of realities and
p-adicities corresponds to space-time surfaces, whose representation is such that they make sense
both in real and p-adic sense [70]. This requires that the WCW coordinates of these surfaces are
invariant under various symmetries and general coordinate transformations of space-time belong
to the extension of rationals in question. At the level of WCW the coordinates are highly unique
on basis of symmetries and by GCI at space-time level. This also means discretization of the
infinite-dimensional WCW and together with huge isometry group of WCW gives hopes about
computatibility of TGD.
4. As often happens, also the original idea about points of given algebraic extension of rationals as
common to real and p-adic space-time surfaces makes sense: one can say that these discrete points
define cognitive representations in the real world. The point is that space-time surfaces can be
identified as 4-surfaces in H and discretization is induced by that of H. At the first step, the pieces
of hyperboloids inside CD and CP2 can be replaced with their discrete variants making sense both
in real and p-adic sense [83].
The discretization of space-time surface is induced by the discretization at the level of CD × CP2 in
terms of algebraic points of space-time surface and one avoids problem with p-adic version of general
coordinate invariance and various space-time symmetries because for coset spaces the coordinate
choice is unique apart from isometries: angles or hyperbolic angles serve as coordinates. Angles
do not exist in p-adic context. The phases exp(iφ) - and therefore the values of trigonometric
functions - exist in algebraic extensions of p-adic numbers as roots of unity associated with angles
φm,n = m2π/n. Also the roots em/n define finite-D extension of p-adic numbers since ep is ordinary
p-adic number.
The outcome is a precise mathematical formulation for the p-adic counterparts of space-time surfaces as preferred extremals of Kähler action. The p-adic variants of coset spaces can be seen as
discretizations of real coset spaces with discrete points replaced by p-adic continua analogous to the
monads of Leibniz [83]. This would make possible discretization without loosing differentiability
central for field equations. One can define p-adic field equations inside these monads and strong SH
makes sense in both real and p-adic sector.
The same algebraic expressions would describe real and p-adic solutions of field equations locally
when restricted to string world sheets and partonic 2-surfaces (maybe also their light-like orbits).
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Inside monads real-p-adic correspondence would respect algebraic structures and symmetries. In
the intersections symmetry groups would be replaced with discrete subgroups and continuity would
be respected in the approximation provided by discretization and would confirm with the idea about
finite measurement resolution.
5. This procedure is unique for given choice of discrete subgroups G and H. One can however take
any discrete subgroup with matrix elements in algebraic extension of rationals and its subgroup
and form a discrete analog of coset space: there is infinite hierarchy of measurement/cognitive
resolutions. For instance, in the case of SU (2) these discrete approximations of SU (2) containing
finite set of points correspond to the discrete subgroups labelling inclusions of hyperfinite factors
of type II1 and include only Platonic solids as genuinely 3-D approximations of sphere. This is
discrete structure in real world.
2.3.3
p-Adic physics as physics of imagination
A further step in the progress came from the discovery of SH [31]. 2-dimensional surfaces (string world
sheets and partonic 2-surfaces) are fundamental objects and 4-D physics is a kind of algebraic continuation
from this intersection of reality and various p-adicities in both real and p-adic sectors of the adelic
Universe. 4-D space-time surfaces are preferred extremals of Kähler action making them effectively 2-D
in the sense that the 2-D surfaces serve as “space-time genes” . Also the quantum states assignable to
the 2-D surfaces can be algebraically continued to the entire 4-D space-time.
It is however quite possible that the continuation in the real sector to a preferred extremal of Kähler
action fails. In p-adic sectors the possibility of p-adic pseudo constants, which are piecewise constant
functions with vanishing derivative, makes the continuation much easier. This inspires the idea that
imagination corresponds to these p-adic continuations. p-Adic continuation might be possible whereas
real continuation could fail: one would have imagined world, which cannot be realized as often happens!
2.3.4
Negentropic entanglement (NE)
In a given p-adic sector the entanglement entropy is defined by replacing the logarithms of probabilities
in Shannon formula by the logarithms of their p-adic norms as already described. The resulting entropy
satisfies the same axioms as ordinary entropy but makes sense only for probabilities, which are rational
valued or in an algebraic extension of rationals. The algebraic extensions corresponds to the evolutionary
level of system and the algebraic complexity of the extension serves as a measure for the evolutionary
level. p-Adically also extensions determined by roots of e can be considered. What is so remarkable is
that the number theoretic entropy can be negative.
A simple example allows to P
get an idea about what is involved. If the entanglement probabilities are
rational numbers Pi = Mi /N , i Mi = N , then the primes appearing as factors of N correspond to a
negative contribution to the number theoretic entanglement entropy and thus to information. The factors
of Mi correspond to negative contributions. For maximal entanglement with Pi = 1/N in this case the
entanglement entropy is negative. The interpretation is that the entangled state represents quantally
concept or a rule as superposition of its instances defined by the state pairs in the superposition. Identity
matrix means that one can choose the state basis in arbitrary manner and the interpretation could be in
terms of “enlightened” state of consciousness characterized by “absence of distinctions”. In general case
the basis is unique.
Metabolism is a central concept in biology and neuroscience. Usually metabolism is understood as
transfer of ordered energy and various chemical metabolites to the system. In TGD metabolism could be
basically just a transfer of NE from nutrients to the organism. Living systems would be fighting for NE
to stay alive (NMP is merciless!) and stealing of NE would be the fundamental crime.
TGD has been plagued by a longstanding interpretational problem: can one apply the notion of
number theoretic entropy in the real context or not. If this is possible at all, under what conditions this
is the case? How does one know that the entanglement probabilities are not transcendental as they would
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be in generic case? There is also a second problem: p-adic Hilbert space is not a well-defined notion
since the sum of p-adic probabilities defined as moduli squared for the coefficients of the superposition of
orthonormal states can vanish and one obtains zero norm states.
These problems disappear if the reduction occurs in the intersection of reality and p-adicities since here
Hilbert spaces have some algebraic number field as coefficient field. By SH the 2-D states states provide
all information needed to construct quantum physics. In particular, quantum measurement theory.
1. The Hilbert spaces defining state spaces has as their coefficient field always some algebraic extension
of rationals so that number theoretic entropies make sense for all primes. p-Adic numbers as
coefficients cannot be used and reals are not allowed. Since the same Hilbert space is shared by real
and p-adic sectors, a given state function reduction in the intersection has real and p-adic space-time
shadows.
2. State function reductions at these 2- surfaces at the ends of CD take place in the intersection of
realities and p-adicities if the parameters characterizing these surfaces are in the algebraic extension
considered. It is however not absolutely necessary to assume that the coordinates of WCW belong
to the algebraic extension although this looks very natural.
3. Does NMP apply to the sum of real and p-adic entropies (Option 1) or only to the sum of p-adic
entanglement entropies (which can be negative) (Option 2). The situation is not settled yet.
(a) For Option 1 the total entropy vanishes identically for rational probabilities and NMP would
say nothing about the situation [81]. NMP would not prevent or favor state function reduction.
It is not clear whether this situation corresponds to that in the physics of ordinary matter as
opposite to that of living matter. For algebraic probabilities there would be a competition
between real and p-adic sectors and p-adic sectors would win for algebraic extensions in the
sense that p-adic entropy would be larger than real entropy.
(b) For Option 2 NMP would stabilize NE also for rational probabilities. One can wonder whether
one obtains the ordinary state function reduction at all for this option. In ZEO state function
reductions to the opposite boundary of CD would be however forced to occur and second law
would be the outcome also in this case.
For both options it could quite well happen that NMP for the sum of real and p-adic entanglement
entropies does not allow the ordinary state function reduction to take place since p-adic negative
entropies for some primes would become zero and net negentropy would be lost.
In both cases mind would have causal power: it can stabilize quantum states against state function
reduction and tame the randomness of quantum physics in absence of cognition! Can one interpret
this causal power of cognition in terms of intentionality? If so, p-adic physics would be also physics
of intentionality as originally assumed.
A fascinating question is whether the p-adic view about cognition could allow to understand the
mysterious looking ability of idiot savants (not only of them but also of some greatest mathematicians)
to decompose large integers to prime factors. One possible mechanism is that the integer N represented
concretely is mapped to a maximally entangled state with entanglement probabilities Pi = 1/N , which
means NE for the prime factors of Pi or N . The factorization would be experienced directly.
One can also ask, whether the other mathematical feats performed by idiot savants could be understood
in terms of their ability to directly experience - “see” - the prime composition (adelic decomposition) of
integer or even rational. This could for instance allow to “see” if integer is - say 3rd - power of some
smaller integer: all prime exponents in it would be multiples of 3. If the person is able to generate
P an NE
Mi = N ,
for which probabilities Pi = Mi /N are apart from normalization equal to given integers Mi ,
then they could be able to “see” the prime compositions for Mi and N . For instance, they could “see”
whether both Mi and N are 3rd powers of some integer and just by going through trials find the integers
satisfying this condition.
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2.4
ZEO and generalization of quantum measurement theory to a theory of
consciousness
TGD inspired theory of consciousness can be seen as a generalization of the quantum measurement theory
by bringing observer as self. The basic vision is that quantum measurement theory must be generalized
so that observer ceases to be an outsider and is described by the quantum physics. ZEO plays a key
role in this generalization and makes highly non-trivial predictions. Raising quantum measurement to a
universal physical phenomenon requires the identification of the density matrix of subsystem as a universal observable and introduction of Negentropy Maximization Principle (NMP) [39] as the fundamental
variational principle of consciousness.
2.4.1
ZEO
One must generalize ontology in order to solve the contradiction between deterministic time evolution and
the evolution by state function reductions. This requires understanding the notion of subjective time and
its relationship to the geometric time. The new ontology must allow to see selves as something unchanged
in some aspects and continually changing in some other aspects. Also the experience about the flow of
subjective time must be explained.
1. In TGD framework the answer is Zero Energy Ontology (ZEO) [39]. The concept of quantum state
is generalized. States are now analogs for physical events characterized by initial and final quantum
state that is pairs of positive and negative energy states. The conserved quantum numbers of the
members are opposite so that zero energy states can be created from vacuum. This is a radical
generalization of the physicalist world of view but entirely consistent with conservation laws: there
is no need to give laws of physics in order to have free will. Positive and negative energy parts of the
zero energy states can be assigned to opposite light-like boundaries of causal diamonds (CDs), which
are intersections of future and past directed light-cones multiplied by CP2 . CDs form a fractal scale
hierarchy. They can be seen as imbedding space correlates for the 4-D perceptive fields of selves.
2. Causal diamond (CD) is a central notion in ZEO and serves as imbedding space correlate for self.
State function reduction can occur to either boundary of CD (“upper” or “lower”). Self can be seen
as a generalized Zeno effect - a sequence of state function reductions to either boundary of CD.
These two kinds of selves can be said to be time reversals of each other. The period of non-boiling
pot corresponds to the passive boundary of CD not changing in the reductions: also the parts of
zero energy states at this boundary remain unaffected. The opposite - active - boundary is shifted
towards future reduction by reduction and states at it are changed. The shifting the geometric
future gives rise to the experienced time flow. This is the analog of unitary time evolution.
2.4.2
NMP as variational principle of consciousness
One must generalize standard quantum measurement theory to a theory of consciousness. The notions
of NMP, entanglement negentropy and negentropic entanglement are the key notions.
1. Negentropy Maximization Principle (NMP) [39] is the variational principle of consciousness in TGD
framework reducing to quantum measurement theory in Zero Energy Ontology assuming adelic
physics. Negentropy Maximization Principle or something akin to it should be consistent with the
standard rules of quantum measurement theory and possibly generalize them. In particular, NMP
should tell which observables are measured in given entangled situation. The density matrix defined
by the entanglement is the unique candidate for the universal observable. All systems could be said
to give rise to quantum measurements. NMP must decide how long the self “lives”: self lives as
long as repeated state function reductions at the same boundary give the maximal negentropy gain.
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2. One must have a mathematical definition of negentropy [39]. When negentropic entanglement (NE)
is possible and what is the measure for the negentropy? Shannon entropy is the natural starting
point and p-adic generalization of Shannon entropy by replacing the logarithms of probabilities with
the logarithms of their p-adic norms might fit the bill. It is well defined for algebraic entanglement
probabilities belonging to the algebraic extension of rationals defining also the extensions of varius
various p-adic number fields) [81].
Adelicity holds true in the sense that the sum of real and p-adic information measures (finite number
of primes contribute) over all primes vanishes for rational entanglement probabilities. This is not
the case for the algebraic extensions of adeles induced by those of rationals [81].
It is not quite clear whether NMP applies to the sum of p-adic entropies or to the sum of real and
p-adic entropies providing alternative definitions of information. Both options conform with the
fact that large entropy seems to be prerequisite for life as proposed Jeremy England [17, 78].
3. Negentropic entanglement (NE) is a further key notion and entanglement negentropy identified
as number theoretic entanglement entropy, which can be negative. NE can only increase in state
function reductions and this brings in evolution forced by NMP.
In the formulation of NMP in terms of maximal negentropy gain one considers divisions of the system
into subsystem and complement and finds the pair for which the reduction of entanglement would give
maximum reduction of entropy. If the system is irreducible this kind of pair characterized by entropic
entanglement cannot be found. The eigenstates of density matrix for negentropically entangled subsystems
are in 1-1 correspondence. An interesting question is whether associations in the sense of neuro science
corresponds to NE between the states of associated systems.
State function reduction cascade is a key notion. State function reduction sequences is a top down
cascade propagating downwards to smaller system sized. First the reduction in CD scale occurs. The
resulting two subsystems decompose to to two parts and so on untile decomposition is not possible
anymore because it would not generate negentropy.
There is an obvious analogy with the Integrate Information Theory (IIT) of Tononi and Koch. The
quantity Φ postulated by Tononi and Koch [29] resembles negentropy in TGD [86]. The basic objection
against IIT is that the notion of conscious information is circular being based on entropy as fundamental
notion. Information is defined as reduction of entropy when conscious entity learns what the state of
system is. The notion of conscious information cannot involve this kind of dependence. In TGD framework negentropy for entanglement does not involve this kind of assumption since conscious information
represents abstraction or rule with the superposed state pairs (ai , bi ) representing the instances of a rule
(A, B) and A and B representing concepts.
2.4.3
The notion of self
Self is identified as a generalized Zeno effect and corresponds to a sequence of state function reductions to
a fixed (passive) boundary of CD remaining unaffected in the sequence of reductions: also the members
of state pairs defining zero energy states at it are unaffected. Active boundary drifts farther away state
function reduction by state function reduction and the state at it also changes. The analogy of unitary
time evolution is in question and the experienced time corresponds to the increase of the temporal distance
between the tips of CD.
1. One possibility is that sensory input and mental images (“Maya”) generated by it can be assigned
with the active boundary of CD. A more elegant assumption suggested by quantum measurement
theory is that the passive boundaries for sub-CDs give rise to mental images as outcomes of repeated quantum measurements. The unchanging part of self (“Self”) is associated with the passive
boundary. It corresponds to negentropically entangled subsystem having no entanglement with
environment. In ordinary ontology it would not be possible keep self un-entangled from the environment.
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2. State function reductions occur at either boundary of CD as long as they produce maximal negentropy gain. If the reduction at opposite boundary produces larger negentropy gain, it occurs.
Self dies and re-incarnates as time reversed self. During repeated state function reductions at same
boundary the part of state at that boundary and boundary itself remains unaffected (this corresponds to unchanging part of self) whereas the state at opposite boundary changes and the bounary
also shifts outwards. The increase of the distance between the tips of CD corresponds to the flow of
geometric time and gives precise meaning for the ageing of self. For instance, sensory-motor rhythm
could correspond to the sequence of repeated state function reductions to opposite boundaries of
CD. Motor action would correspond to reversed arrow of time: this conforms with the finding of
Libet that conscious decision is preceded by neural activity used to argue that there is no free will.
Time reversed self evolves as reductions shifting the opposite boundary of CD to opposite time
direction so that the size of CD continues to increase and defines a measure for the duration of
the entire sequence of re-incarnations. This implies quantum physical realization for the idea about
transmigration of souls!
3. The totally unexpected prediction is therefore that life is not just a brief spark in cosmic darkness.
This particular life is only one in a sequence of lives: the next life will be lived at the opposite
boundary of personal CD to opposite direction of geometric time. The negentropy gained during
his life will be usable as possibly unconscious knowledge during the next life. What our next life
will be depends how much we gather negentropic resources for the next life.
4. Self can also make moral choices since NMP in its weak form leaves us freedom to make also bad
choices or especially negentropic choices (for details see [39]). Possible are also choices, which do
not yield optimal negentropy gain. By allowing sin NMP also makes possible really big negentropy
gains: NMP would be like venture capitalist in this sense. In statistical sense there is however an
evolution as increase of the negentropic sources of the Universe. Crime is part of being alive: living
creatures are fighting desperately for NE and a clever but inmoral manner to gain it is to eat other
living beings.
5. One big news is that selves form a hierarchy (CDs within CDs) and sub-selves are identified as
mental images. In TGD framework it is also possible for sub-selves of two unentangled selves
to entangle negentropically. This corresponds to sharing of mental images and means that our
conscious experience is not completely private. The pool of shared mental images might in fact
make possible communication and social structures. Sharing of mental images is possible only in
many-sheeted space-time forcing to generalize the standard view about subsystem.
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Research Essay
Can Panpsychism Become an Observational Science?
Gregory L. Matloff *
Physics Dept., New York City College of Technology, CUNY, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Abstract
In 2011, I was invited to participate in a symposium at the London headquarters of the British
Interplanetary Society. The subject of the symposium was the contributions of
philosopher/science-fiction-author Olaf Stapledon. Instead of concentrating on the many
technological projections in Stapledon’s masterwork Star Maker, I elected to investigate whether
there is any evidence to support his core metaphysics—that the universe is in some sense
conscious and that a portion of stellar motion is volitional (as an alternative to Dark Matter).
Stars do not possess neurons or tubules, but the spectral signatures of cooler stars such as the Sun
reveal the presence of simple molecules. A universal proto-consciousness field congruent with
vacuum fluctuations could interact with molecular matter via the contribution of the Casimir
Effect to molecular bonds. Surprisingly, there is observational evidence that cooler stars move
somewhat faster around the galactic center than their hotter sisters. This velocity difference,
called Parenago’s Discontinuity, occurs in the stellar temperature distribution where molecular
spectral lines become apparent. Data from Allen’s Astrophysical Quantities and the European
Hipparcos space observatory reveal that Parenago’s Discontinuity is found in main sequence
stars as far as ~260 light years from the Sun and in giant stars at distances greater than 1,000
light years. As discussed in the paper, local explanations for Parenago’s Discontinuity seem
inadequate. Gaia, a successor to Hipparcos, is currently on station observing positions and
motions of ~1 billion stars in our galaxy. If the Discontinuity is a galaxy-wide phenomenon, the
volitional star hypothesis will be advanced. One way that a minded star could alter its galactic
trajectory is by the emission of a uni-directional jet. Such jets have been observed in young stars.
Future work will hopefully show how uni-directional jets correlate with star temperature and
distance from the galactic center. It is therefore not impossible that panpsychism can emerge
from philosophy to become a subdivision of observational astrophysics.
Keywords: Panpsychism, Parenago’s Discontinuity, stellar volition, self-organizing universe,
anomalous stellar motions, dark matter.
Introduction
Since this paper is about methods to verify (or falsify) the existence of universal consciousness,
the evolution of my thoughts on this matter might interest some readers. How is it that someone
best known as a student of interstellar travel emerged as a consciousness researcher?
*
Correspondence: Prof. Gregory L. Matloff, Physics Dept, New York City College of Technology, CUNY, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
http://www.gregmatloff.com E-mail: GMatloff@citytech.cuny.edu
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A reviewer of one of my early papers on interstellar travel was Evan Harris Walker (1935-2006),
the author of an early theory of quantum consciousness (Walker, 1970, 1999). Harris, as his
friends called him became a mentor, coauthor and friend. Although our collaboration was more
along the lines of plasma physics, I found his quantum-consciousness theory fascinating.
Perhaps because of the success of the papers Harris had assisted with, I coauthored The Starlight
Handbook in 1989 (Mallove and Matloff, 1989). Now established as an “expert” in the infant
field of interstellar-propulsion research, I was asked by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin to serve
as a scientific consultant on a science-fiction novel (Aldrin and Barnes, 1996). After finishing
work on the spaceships in the novel, Buzz (who was aware of my early training in planetary
atmosphere analysis) asked me to check whether the hydrogen-helium atmosphere of a Jupiterlike giant planet could survive if the planet was situated at the Earth’s distance from its Sun-like
star. Although I was initially very skeptical since then-standard models of solar system formation
seemed to rule out such a possibility, I searched through the literature and located the appropriate
equation (Jastrow and Rasool, 1965).
To my amazement, Buzz was correct. The planet’s atmosphere is stable for billions of years.
Since I was at the time working as a consultant and adjunct professor, I did not challenge the
existing physical paradigm by submitting my results to a mainstream journal. Since “Hot
Jupiters” were discovered shortly before the novel was published, I am now credited with
predicting the existence of such worlds. Another friend, Howard Bloom (2011) states that the
role of a scientist is to publish his/her results, regardless of consequences.
In 2010 or 2011, I was conducting an Astronomy 2 lecture on Dark Matter and anomalous stellar
motions at New York City College of Technology. An undergraduate liberal arts student raised
his hand and stated that “dark matter is bunk”. He justified his position by describing the 7decade unsuccessful search for this material in the effort to explain the fact that stars in the outer
portions of spiral galaxies (such as our Milky Way) move faster than they should. In his opinion,
this and other observational anomalies reveal astrophysics to be in an analogous position to
theoretical physics in the years before Einstein’s publication of Special Relativity in 1905.
Perhaps because I am a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, I was invited to participate
in a symposium on the work of science-fiction-author/philosopher Olaf Stapledon to be
conducted at the society’s headquarters in London during October 2011. In his 1937-vintage
masterwork Star Maker, Stapledon makes many technological and societal projections regarding
the future evolution of technological life. For this reason, his work is cited by many scientists,
engineers, and futurists. But perhaps because of the personal evolution outlined above, I elected
to investigate instead whether there is some scientific validity behind his core metaphysics—that
the universe is conscious and a portion of stellar motion is volitional. This work was published in
a 2012 issue of The Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (Matloff, 2012).
A “Toy Model” of Universal Consciousness
Most models of quantum consciousness do not apply to a molecule-bearing star. Walker’s (1970)
model invokes the phenomenon of quantum tunneling operating on particle wave functions in the
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potential well existing between neuronal synapses. A more recent model that has received some
experimental validation as reviewed by Matloff (2015). With contributions by Margolis (2001)
and Hameroff and Penrose (2014), this approach considers quantum entanglement at the scale of
microtubules within the brain.
I don’t claim to be an expert on the stellar interior. But it is a pretty good bet to assume that
neurons and synapses are not present in stars. Since some stars have molecules, a model of the
interaction between a universal field of proto-consciousness and molecular model was applied.
This “toy model” (Figure 1) is based in part upon the work of Bernard Haisch (2006).
Universal Proto-Consciousness Field
Casimir Effect
Vacuum Fluctuation Pressure
Molecular
Matter
Consciousness
Fig. 1. A Toy Model for a Molecular Basis of Consciousness.
In this model, a universal field of proto-consciousness is congruent with the fluctuations in the
universal vacuum. As described by Genz (1999), it has been known since 1948 that a significant
fraction of the Van der Waal molecular bond is due to vacuum fluctuation pressure—the socalled Casimir Effect. Essentially, the separation between atoms in molecules is so small that
some vacuum fluctuations are not allowed between atoms. It is not unreasonable that vacuum
fluctuations play a role in consciousness. After all, the most creative incident in the universe—
the Big Bang—is thought to be a stabilized vacuum fluctuation.
There are two prevailing schools of thought regarding the origin of consciousness. Perhaps the
most prevalent view is Epiphenomenalism—the doctrine that mental events are all due to
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527
physical properties of the brain. In this view, consciousness might arise in humans and higher
animals as a result of neuronal complexity. A competing view, panpsychism, has been described
by Chalmers (2015), Nagel (2012) and others and seems to be gaining ground among
philosophers. According to panpsychism, consciousness is built into the fabric of the universe.
Freeman Dyson, one of the most significant mathematical physicists of the late 20th and early
21st centuries, clearly favors panpsychism. He writes, in Dyson (1988) that mind seems to play a
role in at least three levels in the universe—the quantum level of elementary particles, the human
level, and the cosmological level at which universal laws seem fine tuned to allow the emergence
of life.
We are postulating here that mind (or consciousness) may play a role at the stellar level.
Evidence is reviewed later in this essay as is future observations that may verify or falsify the
hypothesis.
Molecules in Stars
The next step is to consider what stars possess molecules and which layers are likely to contain
molecules in these stars. Since this essay is designed for an interdisciplinary audience, this
consideration begins with the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, one of the basic classification tools
of stellar astrophysics (Figure 2).
Fig. 2. The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (courtesy NASA).
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To understand this diagram, look first at the left and right vertical axes. Luminosity is relative to
the Sun. The Absolute Magnitude scale is a logarithmic metric of star brightness, corrected for
distance (as opposed to Apparent Magnitudes which are uncorrected for star distance). Brighter
stars have a lower absolute magnitude than dim stars.
Although most stars fuse hydrogen to produce helium and energy and therefore have a deepinterior temperature measured in tens of million degrees Kelvin (K), hot, luminous stars have an
effective surface (photosphere) temperature of about 25, 000 K. The dimmest, coolest stars have
a photosphere effective temperature less than 3,000 K.
The Spectral Classes listed on the lower horizontal axis correspond to star photosphere
temperature and color. Hot O stars are blue, cool M stars are red. The spectral classes are further
sub-divided. From left to right, A stars (for example) are divided as A0, A1, A2, …A9.
Stars are also classified according to Luminosity Class. Major luminosity classes include Super
Giants (I), Giants (III), Main Sequence Dwarfs (V) and White Dwarf (WD) stars. Most stars,
including the Sun, obtain their energy from hydrogen fusion and reside on the main sequence.
Hot O stars are the most massive but only reside on the main sequence for a few million years.
The Sun, a G0V star, is about half-way through its 10 billion year main-sequence lifespan. As a
star ages on the main sequence, its luminosity gradually increases.
Hot, short-lived, massive O and B stars leave the main sequence to expand into super giants. At
the end of this phase, they often suffer enormous supernova explosions and shrink to become
white dwarfs. Cooler stars expand to become giants and then ultimately contract relatively
peacefully to the white dwarf phase. Readers interested in more information on stellar evolution
are encouraged to consult an astronomy text such as Chaisson and McMillan (2008).
Stellar Color Indices
Although the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram is a very powerful star classification scheme, the O,
B, A, F, G, K, M spectral class scheme is not adequate for quantitative work. For such
applications, astrophysicists often use the (B-V) color indices of stars. These are derived from
measurements of star apparent magnitude to the optical wavebands centered in the blue (B) and
yellow (V) spectral region [Dufay, (1964), Johnson, 1963)]. The (B-V) color index is lower for
hot, blue, massive stars and higher for cool, red, lower-mass stars.
Working with (B-V) color index measurements of thousands of stars, astrophysicists have
tabulated average color indices for various spectral classes. One such table for main sequence
stars is presented as Table 1 (Drilling and Landolt, 2000). Similar tables exist for giant and
supergiant stars.
Note in Table 1 that the numerically lowest (B-V) color indices are for hot, blue, massive, shortlived O5 stars. The highest are for cool, red, low-mass, long-lived M5 stars.
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Using the (B-V) color index in place of star spectral class allows for a more quantitative
presentation of stellar data. As shown below, this leads to a nice pictorial representation of star
kinematics anomalies.
_______________________________________________________________________
Table 1. (B-V) Color Indices For Various Main Sequence Star Spectral Classes
Star Spectral Class
O5
B0
B5
A0
A5
F0
F5
G0
G5
K0
K5
M0
M5
(B-V) Color Index
-0.33
-0.30
-0.17
-0.02
0.15
0.30
0.44
0.58
0.68
0.81
1.15
1.40
1.64
_______________________________________________________________________
Where Molecules Are Located in Stars and Which Stars Have Molecules
The serious study of molecular stellar signatures in stars began in the 1930’s. Although
molecular spectra can serve as a diagnostic tool in the study of stellar outer layers and
circumstellar envelopes, molecular stellar spectroscopy has played a minor role in recent decades
(Tsuji, 1986).
The stellar interior is a very hot place. It therefore might come as a surprise to learn that the
spectral signatures of numerous molecular species have been observed in various stars.
Molecules detected in the spectra of the Sun (a G2 V star with an effective photosphere
temperature of 5777 K (Livingston, 2000) and sunspots include AlH, AlO, BH, BO, CH, CH+,
CN, CO, CuH, MgF, MgH, MgO, NH, O2, OH, ScO, SiH+, SiN, SiO, SrF, TiH (Nicholls,
1977). Simple molecules including CH and CN are seen in other G and K stars. Cooler stars have
more complex molecular signatures (Nichols, 1977).
As discussed by Tsuji (1986), quantitative spectral analysis of molecular spectra is much easier
in the bright, nearby Sun than in more distant stars. On problem in interpreting stellar molecular
spectral data is line broadening. Another is the huge number of spectral lines for some
molecules, which results in an overlap of spectral bands. Stellar layers may be less homogenous
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530
than some researchers have assumed and starspots can affect the molecular spectra in adjacent,
hotter regions (Tsuji, 1986).
Because of the Sun’s high photosphere temperature and the fact that even a cooler K2 star has a
photosphere temperature of about 5000 K, it seems likely that stable molecules will be found in a
low-optical-thickness reversing layer above the photosphere and below the chromosphere
(Novotny, 1973). The mass of the molecular envelope in this layer is estimated to be between
one-ten-thousandth and one-millionth of the Sun’s mass in some giant stars (Tsuji, 1986). In the
Quiet Sun, the temperature minimum in this layer is about 600 km above the photosphere
(Averett, 2003). Blitzer has estimated the CN excitation temperature in this layer to be 4490 +/100 K. Other researchers cite temperatures in the range 4000-4670 K (Blitzer, 1940).
It is interesting to note that Erich Jantsch (1980), in his ground-breaking discussion of the
evidence for a self-organizing universe, touches on the subject of stellar consciousness. Arguing
on thermodynamic grounds, Jantsch concludes that the likely location for consciousness is in the
upper layers of a star—exactly where molecules are found in cool stars.
Some researchers have used stellar molecular spectral observations to model stellar interiors.
Russell (Russell, 1934) investigated the role of relative element abundances. For giant K and M
stars with more oxygen than carbon, CN abundance and CH abundance respectively peak at
temperatures of 3877 K and 4200 K. For main sequence (dwarf) K and M stars with more
oxygen than carbon, CN peaks at 4383 K and CH peaks at 4800 K (Russell, 1934).
For giant stars richer in carbon than oxygen, such abundance peaks with temperature are not as
distinct. In dwarf stars richer in carbon than oxygen, CN abundance peaks near 3252 K and CH
abundance peaks near 3150 K. For giants with equal amounts of carbon and oxygen, the
temperatures for peak abundances of CH and CN are respectively 3877 K and 3055 K (Russell,
1934).
Russell’s (1934) model also predicts that molecules are rare or non-existent in giants earlier than
F4 and in dwarfs earlier than F7. In dwarfs, CH and CN maximum abundance occurs
respectively in spectral classes K2 and K4. In giants, CH and CN maximum abundance occurs
respectively in spectral classes G7 and K1. For temperatures greater than 4500 K, the predicted
CN abundance is slightly less in giants than in dwarfs (Russell, 1934).
Molecular Line Width Observations for a Small Stellar Sample vs. (B-V) Color Indices
Rense and Hynek (1937) published a study of the G Band in the spectra of 25 stars. The G band
extends 4203-4317 Angstroms, in the extreme blue region of the visible spectrum. This band can
be used as an approximate measure of CH abundance since some CH spectral absorption lines
are within this band. They reported that the G band is somewhat more pronounced in giants than
in dwarfs. Partial pressure is about 80X greater in F8 dwarfs than in G0 giants and association of
atoms into molecules is 4.5X greater in F8 dwarf stars than in G0 giants. For dwarf stars hotter
than F5 in their observational sample, all G band spectral lines are atomic. According to Rense
and Hynek (1937), CN spectral lines used were 4192.57 and 4197.10 Angstroms. CH spectral
line used were 4293.12 and 4303.94 Angstroms.
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Table 2 is a partial representation of the Rense/Hynek (1937) results. Only single stars are
included in Table 2, with the exception of η Cor., which is a binary consisting of two nearly
identical G dwarf stars. Variable stars are also omitted. The BS# designations are from Hoffleit’s
(1964) catalogue. Spectral and luminosity classes and the (B-V) color indices are from Johnson
et al’s (1966) photometric observations of many bright stars , except where otherwise noted. The
(B-V) of the Sun is from Croft et al. (1972).
A subset of the data presented in Table 2 was used to prepare the graphical representation of G
line width vs. (B-V) color index for giant/bright giant stars (luminosity classes III and II) and
dwarf/sub-giants (luminosity classes V and IV) presented in Fig. 3. Supergiants were not
included because I was not able to locate contemporary studies of the stellar kinematics anomaly
to be discussed below (Parenago’s Discontinuity) in this stellar luminosity class.
At least one other team (Swings and Struve, 1932) obtained similar but less quantitative
observational results . Investigating spectra of 28 stars for CH and 9 stars for CN., they found the
hot-star limit for CH and CN is F8 stars, with photosphere temperatures of ~6500 K. In only one
of eight F5 stars was a faint indication found for CN. CN becomes progressively stronger in stars
cooler than the Sun (Swings and Struve, 1932).
___________________________________________________________________________
Table 2. CN Molecular and G Equivalent Absorption Observational Estimates from
Rense and Hynek (1937). G Line Absorption is a Measure of CH Abundance. Unless
Noted, Spectral/Luminosity Class and B-V are from Johnson et al, (1966), Unless
Otherwise Noted.
Star Name
BS#
Spectral/Luminosity Class
(B-V) G Line Width CN Relative Absorption
η Lep.
2085
F0 V
0.33
4.5
0
20 Can. Ven. 5017
F0 II-III
0.30
4.9
0
81 Leo.
4408
F2 V+
0.37+
3.6
>0
++
++
53 Vir.
4981
F5 III-IV
0.47
4.5
>0
τ Boo.
5185
F2 V
0.48
4.6
>0
α Per.
1017
F5 I
0.48
6.0
>0
η Cas.
219
G0 V
0.58
10.9
0
+++
Sun
G0 V
0.63
9.4
1
η Cor.
5727/5728
G2V (G1V + G3V) 0.58
7.5
2
β Lep.
1829
G5 III
0.82
11.5
2
σ 2 Eri.
1325
K1 V
0.82
9.6
1
ε Gem.
2473
G8 I
1.40
13.2
3
ε Eri.
984
K2 V
0.88
12.3
>1
τ Ceti
509
G8 V
0.72
12.8
1
α Boo.
5340
K2 III
1.23
14.5
3
ι Aur.
1577
K3 II
1.53
14.0
>2
α Ori.
2061
M1/2 I
1.84
10.7
3
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BS# are Bright Star Numbers from: D. Hoffleit, Catalogue of Bright Stars, 3rd Revised Ed.,
Yale Univ. Observatory, New Haven, CT (1964).
Variable and multiple stars from Rense/Hynek (1937) list are omitted except for η Cor., which is a
double with nearly identical members.
+
: www.inis.jinr.ru/sl/tcaep/astro/constell/11250099.htm. Also in Wikipedia.
++
: www.inis.jinr.ru/sl/tcaep/astro/constell/13120006.htm. Also in Wikipedia.
+++
: Croft et al. (1972).
Because of the small stellar dataset, there is plenty of room for additional research in this field.
But it seems safe to conclude that the spectral signature of molecules first appears in late-F stars
somewhat hotter than our Sun, at a (B-V) color index value of about 0.55.
Anomalous Stellar Motions: Dark Matter & Parenago’s Discontinuity
One would think that stars revolve around the center of our galaxy in a similar to the Keplerian
motion of planets around the Sun. But since the 1930’s observational evidence has not supported
this assumption. Instead, stars further from the galactic center revolve faster than those closer in.
In respect to its motion or structure, a spiral galaxy such as our Milky Way resembles the motion
of a wheel’s spokes more than that of a planetary system.
Dark Matter: MACHOs, WIMPS, and MONDS
Astronomy is a conservative discipline. In light of their success in explaining anomalous planet
motions within our solar system, astronomers developed a similar hypothesis to explain
anomalous stellar motions. This concept, dubbed “Dark Matter”, proposes that stellar motions
(and the stability of galaxy clusters) is influenced by the presence of a mysterious, invisible form
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of matter that can only be detected by its gravitational effects. More than 65% of the matter in
the universe hypothetically consists of this material.
As reviewed in Matloff (2015), there are two basic types of hypothetical dark matter. Massive
Compact Objects located in the galaxy’s halo (MACHOS) are one candidate. Perhaps there are
huge numbers of invisible black holes, neutron stars, white dwarf stars or stranger stellar mass
objects in the outer reaches of the spiral galaxies.
There are two major objections to the MACHO concept. First, the globular star clusters in the
halo of the spiral galaxies would be disrupter by this huge population of massive objects—and
such a disruption has never been observed, Second, there would be many more gravity lens
effects than have been observed.
An alternative to the MACHO concept is WIMPS—weakly interacting massive particles.
WIMPS are thought to be sub-atomic particles perhaps left over from the Big Bang. They come
in two varieties—cold and hot. Cold, low-velocity WIMPS are the favorites of many
astrophysicists since these seem necessary to explain the motions of galaxy clusters. Hot, highvelocity WIMPS appeal to accelerator physicists since these are more in keeping with the
predictions of their Standard Model.
But there are objections to the WIMPS concept as well. First, if such a large fraction of the
universe’s mass consists of these particles, and they gravitationally affect star motion, they
should pool around massive objects such as stars. As reviewed in Matloff (2014), there have
been many failed attempts to observe anomalous motions within our solar system or near it that
might be used by a WIMPS concentration.
Perhaps to relieve their frustration with the other alternatives, some astrophysicists have
considered Modifications to Newtonian Dynamics (MONDS). They are correct in the
observation that there is no known reason why Newton’s formula of Universal Gravitation
should predict a force that exactly varies with the inverse of the square of the distance between
the gravitating bodies. But unfortunately, no modification to Newtonian-Einsteinian gravitation
has been suggested that applies to motions in both the outer ranges of spiral galaxies and galaxy
clusters.
Parenago’s Discontinuity
As I discuss in the Introduction, I began to investigate stellar kinematics partially in response to
the eight-decade failure to solve the Dark Matter Mystery. If the reason for anomalies in stellar
motion is stellar volition, as suggested by Olaf Stapledon in Star Maker and if molecular
consciousness via the Casimir Effect results in minded stars, relatively cool stars with molecules
should move differently than their hotter sisters.
Although I expected to find nothing supporting this concept, a literature search revealed the
observational work of Pavel Parenago. According to the Wikipedia page describing his
contributions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Petrovich_perenago), Parenago (1906-1960)
was a Soviet-Russian observational astronomer. An asteroid and a crater on the lunar far side are
named after Parenago who received the Order of Lenin, was a Corresponding Member of the
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Soviet Academy of Sciences and directed the Department of Stellar Astronomy at Moscow State
University.
Pavel Parenago may have realized that his observational contribution described below was in
contradiction to the then-prevailing Soviet ideology of orthodox materialism. To perhaps insulate
himself from a long stay in a cold climate at government expense, he dedicated a book he
authored to the most highly evolved human: Comrade Josef Stalin!
Fig. 4A. Parenago’s Discontinuity for Main Sequence Stars out to ~260 Light Years.
Diamond Data Points are from Gilmore & Zelik (2000). Square Data Points are from
Hipparcos Space Data (Binney et al, 1997). The vertical axis is star velocity around the
galactic center.
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Fig. 4B. Parenago’s Discontinuity for Giant Stars Out to >1,000 Light Years (Branham,
2011).
Parenago’s Discontinuity refers to his discovery that cool, less massive stars circle the galaxy’s
center a bit faster than hot, massive stars. To check his results in the preparation of Matloff
(2012), I used stellar kinematics data for main sequence dwarf stars as a function of (B-V) color
index from two sources and data for giant stars from a third source (Fig. 4A). The Gilmore and
Zelik (2000) data points are from Table 19.21 of the 4th edition of Allen’s Astrophysical
Quantities, one of the basic astrophysical sourcebooks. The Binney et al. (1997) data is from
observations of more than 6,000 main sequence stars at distances out to about 260 light-years
using the European Hipparcos space observatory.
Note from Fig. 4A that the velocity discontinuity occurs at about (B-V) = 0.45-0.5, very close to
the (B-V) color index of F8 stars and the onset of molecular signatures in stellar spectra, as
presented in Fig. 3. Also note the slight uptick in (B-V) for star with (B-V) less than about 0.3 in
Fig. (4A). This is mirrored by the shape of the G-line-width curve in Fig. (3).
I prepared Fig. (4B) using data from Hipparcos presented by Richard L. Branham (2011) for
thousands of giant stars out to heliocentric distances greater than 1,000 light years. As described
in Matloff (2015), it was necessary to dig into Branham’s earlier papers cited in Branham (2011)
to prepare this figure, which validates Branham’s (2011) claim that Parenago’s Discontinuity is
observable in giant stars at large heliocentric distances.
There are two reasons why Fig. (4B) is not as smooth as Fig. (4A). First, stellar distances beyond
a few hundred light years from the Sun are less accurately determined than those of closer stars.
Second, students of stellar kinematics compare star motions with the Local Standard of Rest, the
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536
centroid of motions in the sample. This works well for concentrated samples such as those in Fig.
(4A) but may not be as accurate for stellar samples spread over thousands of light years.
We suggest here that the velocity difference in motion between cool stars with molecules and
their hotter molecule-free sisters is related to a molecular basis for consciousness (as presented
above) and stellar volition in molecule-bearing stars in concordance with Olaf Stapledon’s
assumption in Star Maker. But, as should happen in a healthy scientific discipline, two
alternative explanations for Parenago’s Discontinuity have been suggested. These are discussed
in the next section.
Suggested Explanations for Parenago’s Discontinuity—and Why They Fail
One possibility that has been considered relates to the fact that all stars start their lives in diffuse
nebula—stellar nurseries that are rich in dust and gas. As described by Bochanski (2008), lowmass stars might be ejected at higher velocities from these galactic structures by gravitational
interaction with stellar neighbors than higher-mass, hotter stars. This effect would produce
greater dispersion in the velocity profiles of lower-mass stars (as has been observed) but why
would it produce a systematic stellar velocity increase for low-mass stars in the direction of
stellar revolution around the galactic center?
A second hypothesis, called Spiral Arms Density Waves, relates to the fact that dense diffuse
nebula tend to be located in the spiral arms of galaxies such as our Milky Way (Binney, 2001,
and DeSimone et al. 2004).
One way to appreciate Spiral Arms is to look at a Hubble Space Telescope image of a typical
spiral galaxy. Such an image is reproduced below as Fig. 5. There are billions of such galaxies in
the universe.
Fig. 5. Hubble Space Telescope Image of Spiral Galaxy M101 (courtesy NASA).
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Matloff, G. L., Can Panpsychism Become an Observational Science?
537
According to a modern version of Charles Messier’s (1784) catalog of deep-sky objects (Jones,
1969), this object is less massive than our Milky Way with a mass of about 16 billion Suns. Its
diameter is about 92,000 light years, much like that of the Milky Way and its distance is about
13-14 million light years.
Note in Fig. 5 the apparent difference in appearance between the spiral arms and the region
between arms—the so-called Intercloud Medium. Star-forming nebula are found in the spiral
arms. These have typical dust and gas densities >1000X greater than the density of the intercloud
medium.
Imagine that a dense diffuse nebula drifts through a low-density region, such as our Sun’s
galactic vicinity. One possible explanation for Parenago’s Discontinuity is that low-mass, high
(B-V) stars are more likely to be dragged to a higher galactic velocity by this interaction than
high-mass stars.
Unfortunately, there are at least two observational objections to the Spiral Arms hypothesis. The
first involves the sizes and distribution of diffuse nebula in our galaxy.
In Matloff (2015), I tabulate sizes and distribution of the diffuse nebula within Jone’s (1969}
sample. Diffuse nebula in the Messier catalogue are too small to affect star motions over the
~500 light year diameter of the Binney et al. (1997) sample of Hipparcos-observed main
sequence stars used to prepare Fig. 4A.
But there are only 104 deep-sky objects in Messier’s compilation (Jones, 1969). In Matloff
(2015a), this study is continued with two more extensive listings. One is a contemporary version
of the late-18th century Herschel catalogue of more than 2,500 deep sky objects (Mullaney and
Tirion, 2011). The second is an on-line version of the very extensiveNew General Catalog
(www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/nebulae.html).
Application of these more extensive references yielded similar results to the earlier consideration
of the Messier sample of diffuse galactic nebulae. From Matloff (2015a), the median diameter of
diffuse nebulae is less than 20 light years. Only 10% of the sample have diameters greater than
100 light years. Within our galaxy, only the Eta Carinae circus-stellar nebula has a diameter
greater than 400 lightyears. To find a diffuse nebulae large enough to accommodate the Binney
et al (1997) sample of main sequence stars, we must look to an irregular satellite galaxy of our
Milky Way—the Tarantula Nebulae (30 Doradus). Located about 200,000 light years from the
Sun, this object has an estimated diameter of 800 light years (Burnham, 1978).
As well as agreeing on the paucity of large diffuse nebulae, analysis of these three sources leads
to a similar conclusion on another point. Typical separations between neighboring diffuse
nebulae are large.
Based on these results, it seems unlikely (but not impossible) that Parenago’s Discontinuity for
the Hipparcos sample of main sequence stars over a diameter of about 500 light years (Fig. 4A)
can be explained by Spiral Arms. And Spiral Arms seems completely inadequate to account for
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Parenago’s Discontinuity if the Hipparcos sample of giant stars (Fig. 4B) over a much greater
diameter.
But there is a second, perhaps more significant objection to the Spiral Arms hypothesis. For
Spiral Arms to be correct, there must be a color difference between stars near the lagging and
leading edges of spiral arms in galaxies similar to our Milky Way. Foyle et al. (2011) conducted
an extensive spectroscopic study of 12 nearby spiral galaxies. No such color difference was
observed.
How a Minded Star Might Alter its Galactic Trajectory
During the preparation of Matloff (2012), I considered methods that a minded star might use to
alter its galactic revolution velocity. One conceptual approach is non-isotropic radiation pressure.
A stable star maintains itself on the main sequence by an elaborate balancing act. Selfgravitation, which tries to cause the star’s collapse, is exactly balanced by the pressure of
radiation generated in the stellar interior by thermonuclear fusion. Because stars are spherical in
shape, the field of emitted electromagnetic radiation is spherically symmetrical.
But must this necessarily always be the case? Although non-isotropic stellar radiation pressure
has never been observed it perhaps cannot be ruled out. If a planetary system is inhabited by a
highly advanced technological civilization, a partial shell constructed around the star could be
used to alter the star’s galactic trajectory (Forgan, 2013). Although such megastructures may
indeed exist around some stars, it does not seem likely that every cool star in the sample used to
prepare Fig. 4A is attended by one.
A much more likely possibility is a unidirectional or unipolar stellar material jet. Most stellar jets
(Fig. 6) are bipolar and I was not aware of unipolar jets during the preparation of Matloff
(2012). However, they have been observed in young stars (Namouni, 2007).
Fig. 6. A Jet of Material Emitted by a Young Star (courtesy NASA).
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Consider the case presented in Matloff (2012 and 2015). A young star ejects a unipolar jet for the
first billion years of its life. If 20% of the star’s mass is ejected at an average jet velocity of 100
km/s, application of Conservation of Linear Momentum reveals that the star’s velocity will be
altered by 20 km/s. This is the typical difference in galactic revolution velocity between hot stars
without molecules and cooler stars with molecules, in Fig. 4A. Incidentally, the mass ejection
rate considered here is consistent with that of young stars in the T Tauri phase (Gomez-de Castro
et al. 2003).
There is a third, more controversial possibility: telekinesis or psychokinesis (PK). This is, as
defined by Dr. Eric Davis in the Foreword to Matloff (2015), the movement of stationary objects
by will or intention and without the application known physical forces. No attempt will be made
here to delve into the controversy surrounding PK, decades after the famous controversy
involving Uri Geller and James “The Amazing” Randi. One excellent source on Cold-War
vintage attempts to investigate PK, authored by an MIT physics professor, is Kaiser (2011).
Decades after the CIA-sponsored efforts to study PK and other extrasensory phenomena, opinion
on the existence or non-existence of these effects is still very sharply divided. As suggested by
Kaiser (2011), Matloff (2015), Eric Davis in the Foreword to Matloff (2015), and by others, it
might be time to reopen the case for scientific investigation of these phenomena.
For the sake of argument, let’s consider that a weak PK force can be accessed by conscious
beings. If a minded star wishes to alter its galactic velocity using PK by 100 km/s (107 cm/s)
during a billion (109) year time interval, this is equivalent to a long-lived human altering her
velocity by about 1 cm/s during her century-duration lifespan. It may not even be possible to
detect such a weak PK force, if it exists.
Conclusions: Panpsychism as a Subdivision of Observational Astrophysics
If the doctrine of a conscious universe—panpsychism—is to emerge from the realm of
philosophy into science, predictions must be made that can be used to verify or falsify the
hypothesis using future observation or experiments. A consideration of some of these follows.
__________________________________________________________________________
Is Parenago’s Discontinuity a Galactic or Universal Phenomenon?
As described in Matloff (2015), the European Space Agency has successfully launched and
positioned Gaia, a more capable successor to the Hipparcos space observatory. Launched in
December 2013 and now located at a gravitationally stable position in the Earth-Sun system,
Gaia is embarked on a 5 year mission to accurately measure positions and locations of ~ 1 billion
stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
If it turns out the Parenago’s Discontinuity is a galaxy-wide phenomenon as hinted at by the
Hipparcos results used to prepare Fig. 4B, local alternative explanations such as Spiral Arms will
be completely inadequate. As discussed in Matloff (2015a), developing a purely materialistic
theory for a galaxy-wide Parenago Discontinuity will be challenging. The next observational step
will be space or terrestrial telescopes capable of searching for this phenomenon in other galaxies.
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(2) Further Study of Unipolar Stellar Jets
To support or refute the Volitional-Star, Self-Organizing Universe hypothesis, further
observational data regarding unipolar stellar jets are required. Is there a correlation between a
young star’s distance from the galactic center and the jet’s intensity and/or direction? What is the
duration of these jets during a star’s lifetime? It is interesting to note that a portion of the
particulate flow from even our mature Sun is directional (Opher et al., 2015).
(3) Does Further Research Support the Conclusion that Molecules are Found in Stars Cooler
than F8?
In doing this research, I was struck by the very small stellar sample, as presented in Table 2 and
Fig. 3, indicating that the spectral signature of molecules is absent for stars hotter than about F8.
To my knowledge, this conclusion is based upon observational data from the 1930’s.
Lots of stellar spectra have been observed in recent decades by a host of space observatories. It is
hoped that experts in the field of stellar spectroscopy will update humanity’s knowledge
regarding the onset of stellar molecular spectra.
(4) Might There be Observational Signs of Panpsychism or Self-Organization at Higher Cosmic
Levels?
Essentially, the work presented here elaborates upon Dyson (1988) and points to the possibility
of mind or self-organization operating at the stellar level. But is there any observational evidence
for its existence at the galactic level?
A colleague, Ari Maller (2007) has investigated the phenomenon commonly referred to as
“galactic cannibalism”. Spiral galaxies such as our Milky Way routinely absorb smaller dwarf
galaxies. Maller wonders how spiral galaxies maintain their symmetrical shapes after such
repeated gouging episodes. Further work along these lines may support (or refute) the concept of
self-organization at the galactic level.
_________________________________________________________________________
Regardless of the outcome of the observational research proposed above, one thing seems clear.
The fact that we can propose a “toy model” to support the hypothesis of panpsychism, locate
observational evidence and propose observational tests to validate or refute the model indicates
that panpsychism may indeed be emerging as a scientific discipline.
Because of space limitations, this essay is concerned mainly with the scientific aspects of
panpsychism. To review a fraction of the mythological, poetical, fictional, artistic and
philosophical treatments of this topic, consult Matloff (2015).
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Matloff, G. L., Can Panpsychism Become an Observational Science?
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Acknowledgements: Many people have contributed to the research described in this paper. First, I would
like to thank Kelvin Long. Kelvin delivered Matloff (2012) for me at the British Interplanetary Society
Stapledon Symposium and instructed me on revising the original article for JBIS, a journal that he then
served as editor. Kelvin also helped with the publication of Matloff (2015a) in Axiom. I thank the British
Interplanetary Society for scheduling a joint lecture on this topic with me and C Bangs during June 2013.
Ellen Levy, who co-chairs the New York City branch of LASER, an organization promoting the
interaction of art and science, graciously scheduled a joint presentation with me and C Bangs during
2014. A book launch for Matloff (2015) occurred at the Manhattan art gallery Central Booking Art Space
during early 2016. I thank C Bangs, Howard Bloom, and Les Johnson for their participation and gallery
director Maddy Rosenberg for her assistance. A few years ago, some of this work was described in an
article published in the Baen Press On-line Science Magazine. Science journalist Paul Glister, who directs
the influential Centauri-Dreams astronomical/astronautical blog should also be thanked for publishing
early versions of the Volitional Star concept in his blog, alerting me to the existence of Opher et al.
(2015) and reading a pre-publication version of Matloff (2015). Jack Sarfatti and Greg Benford are
thanked for discussing the necessity of eventually developing a quantitative version of Haisch (2006). I
greatly appreciate the comments of Eric Davis, who wrote the Foreword for Matloff (2015). I also thank
my colleague Justin Vazquez-Poritz for pointing out how the Volitional Star concept fits in with certain
aspects of frontier theoretical physics and for encouraging participation of Matloff (2015) in a New York
City College of Technology spring 2016 book event.A preliminary version of this paper was presented as
paper 294 at The Science of Consciousness Conference in Tucson, Arizona in April 2016. Chapter
frontispiece art for Matloff (2015) was also displayed by artist C Bangs at that conference. In the near
future, presentations on this topic are scheduled at The Custer Institute in Southhold, New York, The
American Museum of Natural History, in Manhattan and in the Lyceum lecture series of the New York
Academy of Sciences.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| December 2016 | Vol. 7 | Issue 11 | pp. 900-909
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Research Essay
The Idealist View of Consciousness After Death
Bernardo Kastrup*
Abstract
To make educated guesses about what happens to consciousness upon bodily
death, one has to have some understanding of the relationship between body and
consciousness during life. This relationship, of course, reflects an ontology. In
this brief essay, the tenability of both the physicalist and dualist ontologies will
be assessed in view of recent experimental results in physics. The alternative
ontology of idealism will then be discussed, which not only can be reconciled
with the available empirical evidence, but also overcomes the lack of parsimony
and limited explanatory power of physicalism and dualism. Idealism elegantly
explains the basic facts of reality, such as (a) the fact that brain activity
correlates with experience, (b) the fact that we all seem to share the same world,
and (c) the fact that we can’t change the laws of nature at will. If idealism is
correct, the implication is that, instead of disappearing, conscious inner life
expands upon bodily death, a prediction that finds circumstantial but significant
confirmation in reports of near-death experiences and psychedelic trances, both
of which can be construed as glimpses into the early stages of the death process.
Keywords: ontology, metaphysics, mind-body problem, death, near-death
experience, psychedelics, quantum physics
1
Introduction
Our capacity to be conscious subjects of experience is the root of our sense of
being. After all, if we weren’t conscious, what could we know of ourselves? How
could we even assert our own existence? Being conscious is what it means to be
us. In an important sense—even the only important sense—we are first and
foremost consciousness itself, the rest of our self-image arising afterwards, as
thoughts and images constructed in consciousness.
For this reason, the question of what happens to our consciousness after bodily
death has been central to humanity throughout its history. Do we cease to exist
or continue on in some form or another? Many people today seek existential
solace in body-self dualism, which opens up the possibility of the survival of
* Correspondence: Bernardo Kastrup, independent scholar, Veldhoven, The Netherlands
Email: bernardo@bernardokastrup.com Website: http://www.bernardokastrup.com
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Kastrup, B. The Idealist View of Consciousness After Death
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consciousness after bodily death (Heflick et al, 2015). But is dualism—with the
many serious problems it entails, both philosophical and empirical (Robinson,
2016)—the only ontology that allows for this survival?
Although consciousness itself is the only directly accessible datum of reality,
both dualism and the mainstream ontology of physicalism (Stoljar, 2016) posit
the existence of something ontologically distinct from consciousness: a physical
world outside and independent of experience. In this context, insofar as
consciousness is believed to be constituted, generated, hosted or at least
modulated by particular arrangements of matter and energy in the physical
world, the dissolution of such arrangements—as entailed by bodily death—bears
relevance to our survival. This is the root of humanity’s preoccupation with
death.
However, the existence of a physical world outside and independent of
consciousness is a theoretical inference arising from interpretation of sense
perceptions, not an empirical fact. After all, our only access to the physical is
through the screen of perception, which is itself a phenomenon of and in
consciousness. Renowned Stanford physicist Andrei Linde (1998) summarized
this as follows:
Let us remember that our knowledge of the world begins not with matter
but with perceptions. … Later we find out that our perceptions obey some
laws, which can be most conveniently formulated if we assume that there
is some underlying reality beyond our perceptions. This model of material
world obeying laws of physics is so successful that soon we forget about
our starting point and say that matter is the only reality, and perceptions
are only helpful for its description. This assumption is almost as natural
(and maybe as false) as our previous assumption that space is only a
mathematical tool for the description of matter. (p. 12)
The physical world many believe to exist beyond consciousness is an abstract
explanatory model. Its motivation is to make sense of three basic observations
about reality:
(a) If a physical brain outside experience doesn’t somehow generate or at
least modulate consciousness, how can there be such tight
correlations between observed brain activity and reported inner
experience (cf. Koch, 2004)?
(b) If the world isn’t fundamentally independent and outside of
experience, it can only be analogous to a dream in consciousness. But
in such a case, how can we all be having the same dream?
(c) Finally, if the world is in consciousness, how can it unfold according to
patterns and regularities independent of our volition? After all, human
beings cannot change the laws of nature.
Nonetheless, if these questions can be satisfactorily answered without the
postulate of a physical world outside consciousness, the need for the latter can
be legitimately called into question on grounds of parsimony. Moreover, while
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Kastrup, B. The Idealist View of Consciousness After Death
902
physicalism requires the existence of ontological primitives—which Strawson
(2006, p. 9) called “ultimates”—beyond consciousness, it fails to explain
consciousness itself in terms of these primitives (cf. Chalmers, 2003). So if the
three basic observations about reality listed above can be made sense of in terms
of consciousness alone, then physicalism can be legitimately called into question
on grounds of explanatory power as well. And as it turns out, there is indeed an
alternative ontology that explains all three basic observations without requiring
anything beyond consciousness itself. This ontology will be summarized in
Section 3 of this brief essay.
In addition, the inferred existence of a physical world outside and independent
of consciousness has statistical corollaries that can be tested with suitable
experimental designs (Leggett, 2003; Bell, 1964). As it turns out, empirical tests
of these corollaries have been carried out since the early eighties, when Alan
Aspect performed his seminal experiments (1981). And the results do not
corroborate the existence of a universe outside consciousness. These seldomtalked-about but solid empirical facts will be summarized in the next section.
Without a physical world outside consciousness, we are left with consciousness
alone as ground of reality. In this case, we must completely revise our intuitions
and assumptions regarding death. After all, if consciousness is that within which
birth and death unfold as phenomenal processes, then neither birth nor death
can bear any relevance to the existential status of consciousness itself. What does
death then mean? What can we, at a personal level, expect to experience upon
bodily death? These questions will be examined in Section 4 of this essay.
2
The empirical case against a world outside consciousness
A key intuitive implication of a world outside consciousness is that the
properties of this world must not depend on observation; i.e., an object must
have whatever properties it has—weight, size, shape, color, etc.—regardless of
whether or how it appears on the screen of perception. This should clearly set
the physical world apart from the sphere of consciousness. After all, the
properties of a purely imagined object do not exist independently, but only
insofar as they are imagined.
As mentioned earlier, the postulated independence of the world from
observation has certain statistical corollaries (Leggett, 2003) that can be directly
tested. On this basis, Gröblacher et al. (2007) have shown that the properties of
the world, surprisingly enough, do depend on observation. To reconcile their
results with physicalism or dualism would require a counterintuitive
redefinition of what we call objectivity. And since contemporary culture has
come to associate objectivity with reality itself, the science press felt compelled
to report on this study by pronouncing, “Quantum physics says goodbye to
reality” (Cartwright, 2007). Testing similar statistical corollaries, another
experiment (Romero et al, 2010) has confirmed that the world indeed doesn’t
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conform to what one would expect if it were outside and independent of
consciousness.
Other statistical corollaries (Bell, 1964) have also been experimentally
examined. These tests have shown that the properties of physical systems do not
seem to even exist prior to being observed (Lapkiewicz et al., 2011; Manning et
al., 2015). Commenting on these results, physicist Anton Zeilinger is quoted as
saying that “there is no sense in assuming that what we do not measure about a
system has [an independent] reality” (Ananthaswamy, 2011). Finally, Ma et al.
(2013) have again shown that no naively objective view of the world can be true.
Critics have deeply scrutinized the studies cited above to find possible loopholes,
implausible as they may be. In an effort to address and close these potential
loopholes, Dutch researchers performed an even more tightly controlled test,
which again confirmed the earlier results (Hensen et al., 2015). This latter effort
was considered the “toughest test yet” (Merali, 2015).
Another intuitive implication of the notion of a world outside consciousness is
that our choices can only influence the world—through our bodily actions—in
the present. They cannot affect the past. As such, the part of our story that
corresponds to the past must be unchangeable. Contrast this to the sphere of
consciousness wherein we can change the whole of an imagined story at any
moment. In consciousness, the entire narrative is always acquiescent to choice
and amenable to revision.
As it turns out, Kim et al. (2000) have shown that observation not only
determines the physical properties observed at present, but also retroactively
changes their history accordingly. This suggests that the past is created at every
instant so as to be consistent with the present, which is reminiscent of the notion
that the world is a malleable mental narrative.
Already back in 2005, renowned Johns Hopkins physicist and astronomer
Richard Conn Henry penned an essay for Nature (2005) wherein he claimed that
“The universe is entirely mental. … There have been serious [theoretical]
attempts to preserve a material world—but they produce no new physics, and
serve only to preserve an illusion” (p. 29). The illusion he was referring to was, of
course, that of a world outside consciousness.
Thus from a rigorous empirical perspective, the tenability of the notion of a
world outside and independent of consciousness is at least questionable. The key
reason for resisting an outright abandonment of this notion is the supposed lack
of plausible alternatives. What other ontology could make sense of the three
basic observations about reality discussed in Section 1? In the next section, I will
attempt to answer this question.
3
A simple idealist ontology
The ontology of idealism differs from physicalism in that it takes phenomenal
consciousness to be the only irreducible aspect of nature, as opposed to an
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epiphenomenon or emergent property of physical arrangements. It also differs
from dualism in that it takes all physical elements and arrangements to exist in
consciousness—solely as phenomenal properties—as opposed to outside
consciousness.
Historically, idealism has had many different variations labeled as subjective
idealism, absolute idealism, actual idealism, etc. It is not my purpose here to
elaborate on the subtle, ambiguous and often contentious differences among
these variations. Instead, I want to simply describe the basic tenets that any
plausible, modern formulation of idealism must entail, given our present
knowledge and understanding of the world. What follows is but a brief summary
of a much more extensive derivation of idealism from first principles (Kastrup,
forthcoming).
The defining tenet of idealism is the notion that all reality is in a universal form of
consciousness—thus not bound to personal boundaries—arising as patterns of
excitation of this universal consciousness. Our personal psyche forms through a
process of dissociation in universal consciousness, analogous to how the psyche
of a person suffering from dissociative identity disorder (DID) differentiates
itself into multiple centers of experience called alters (Braude, 1995; Kelly et al.,
2009; Schlumpf et al., 2014). Recent research has demonstrated the literally
blinding power of dissociation (Strasburger & Waldvogel, 2015). This way, there
is a sense in which each living creature is an alter of universal consciousness,
which explains why we aren’t aware of each other’s inner lives or of what
happens across time and space at a universal scale.
The formation of an alter in universal consciousness creates a boundary—a
“Markov blanket” (Friston, Sengupta & Auletta, 2014, pp. 430-432)—between
phenomenality internal to the alter and that external to it. Phenomenality
external to the alter—but still in its vicinity—impinges on the alter’s boundary.
The plausibility of this kind of phenomenal impingement from across a
dissociative boundary is well established: we know, for instance, that dissociated
feelings can dramatically affect our thoughts and, thereby, behaviors (Lynch &
Kilmartin, 2013), while dissociated expectations routinely mold our perceptions
(cf. Eagleman, 2011).
The impingement of external phenomenality on an alter’s boundary is what we
call sense perception. The world we perceive around ourselves is thus a coded
phenomenal representation (Friston, Sengupta & Auletta, 2014, pp. 432-434)—
which I shall call the extrinsic appearance—of equally phenomenal processes
unfolding across the dissociative boundary of our alter.
A living biological body is the extrinsic appearance of an alter in universal
consciousness. In particular, our sense organs—including our skin—are the
extrinsic appearance of our alter’s boundary. As such, our brain and its
electrochemical activity are part of what our inner life looks like from across its
dissociative boundary. Of course, both the extrinsic appearance and the
corresponding inner life are phenomenal in nature. They are both experiences.
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A person’s brain activity correlates with the person’s reported inner life because
the former is but a coded representation of the latter. We all inhabit the same
world because our respective alters are surrounded by the same universal field
of phenomenality, like whirlpools in a single stream. And we can’t change the
patterns and regularities that govern the world—i.e., the laws of nature—
because our volition, as part of our alter, is dissociated from the rest of nature.
See Figure 1 for a graphical depiction of all this.
Figure 1. Idealism in a nutshell.
Clearly, all three basic observations about reality discussed in Section 1 can be
rather simply explained by this parsimonious idealist ontology. Moreover, unlike
physicalism and dualism, the ontology can also be reconciled with the empirical
results discussed in Section 2. It thus offers a more promising alternative for
interpreting the relationship between body and consciousness than physicalism
and dualism. The question that remains to be addressed is this: if idealism is
true, what can we then infer about consciousness after bodily death? This is what
the next section will attempt to answer.
4
What idealism says about consciousness after death
The idealist ontology briefly summarized in the previous section asserts that the
physical body is the extrinsic appearance—the image—of a dissociative process
in universal consciousness. In other words, a living body is what dissociation—
meant simply descriptively, not as something negative or pathological—in
universal consciousness looks like. Therefore, the death and ultimate dissolution
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of the body can only be the image of the end of the dissociation. Any other
conclusion would violate the internal logic of idealism.
The reasoning here is rather straightforward but its implications profound. The
hallmark of dissociation is “a disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal
integration of consciousness, memory, identity [and] emotion” (Black & Grant,
2014, p. 191). Therefore, the end of dissociation can only entail a reintegration of
“memory, identity [and] emotion” lost at birth. This means that bodily death,
under idealism, must correlate with an expansion of our felt sense of identity,
access to a broader set of memories and enrichment of our emotional inner life.
This conclusion is the exact opposite of what our mainstream physicalist
ontology asserts. Moreover, there is nothing in the popular dualist alternative—
mainly found in religious circles—that requires it either. So idealism is not only
unique in its ability to explain reality more parsimoniously and completely than
physicalism and dualism, it also offers a unique perspective on death.
Circumstantially but significantly, much of the literature regarding near-death
experiences (NDEs) seems to corroborate this prediction of idealism (Kelly et al.,
2009). To mention only one recent example, Anita Moorjani (2012) wrote of her
felt sense of identity during her NDE: “I certainly don’t feel reduced or smaller in
any way. On the contrary, I haven’t ever been this huge, this powerful, or this allencompassing. … [I] felt greater and more intense and expansive than my
physical being” (p. 69). It’s hard to conceive of a more unambiguous
confirmation of idealism’s prediction than this passage, although Moorjani’s
entire NDE report echoes the prediction precisely.
Moreover, as recent studies have shown (Carhart-Harris et al., 2012; PalhanoFontes et al., 2015; Carhart-Harris et al., 2016), psychedelic drugs reduce brain
activity. This suggests that psychedelic trances may be in some way akin to the
early stages of the death process, offering glimpses into how death is
experienced from a first-person perspective. And as we know, psychedelic
trances do entail an unambiguous expansion of awareness (Strassman, 2001;
Griffiths et al., 2006; Strassman et al., 2008), which again seems to
circumstantially corroborate idealism’s prediction.
5
Conclusions
To make educated guesses about what happens to consciousness upon bodily
death, one has to have some understanding of the relationship between body and
consciousness during life. This relationship, of course, reflects an ontology. So
the question of what happens after death can be transposed into the question of
which ontology is most plausible for making sense of the world during life.
While physicalism is our culture’s academically-endorsed, mainstream ontology
and dualism a popular alternative in religious circles, neither ontology seems
tenable in view of recent experimental results in physics. Moreover, both
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ontologies suffer from problems such as lack of parsimony or limited
explanatory power.
A third ontology, known as idealism, overcomes not only these problems but can
also be reconciled with the available empirical evidence. It elegantly explains the
three basic facts of reality: (a) that brain activity correlates with experience, (b)
that we all seem to share the same world, and (c) that we can’t change the laws
of nature at will.
If idealism is correct, it implies that, instead of disappearing, conscious inner life
expands—whatever new phenomenology this expansion may entail—upon
bodily death. This prediction finds circumstantial but significant confirmation in
reports of near-death experiences and psychedelic trances, both of which can be
construed as glimpses into the early stages of the death process.
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Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
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Fundamental Measurements in Economics and in the Theory of Consciousness
(Manifestation of quantum-mechanical properties of economic objects in slit measurements)
I. G. Tuluzov1 and S. I. Melnyk2,*
1
Kharkov Regional Centre for Investment, of.405, Tobolska str., 42a, 61072, Kharkov,
Ukraine
2
Kharkov National University of Radio Electronics, Lenin Ave., 14, 61161, Kharkov,
Ukraine.
A new constructivist approach to modeling in economics and theory of consciousness
is proposed. The state of elementary object is defined as a set of its measurable
consumer properties. A proprietor's refusal or consent for the offered transaction is
considered as a result of elementary economic measurement. We were also able to
obtain the classical interpretation of the quantum-mechanical law of addition of
probabilities by introducing a number of new notions. The principle of “local equity”
assumes the transaction completed (regardless of the result) of the states of transaction
partners are not changed in connection with the reception of new information on
proposed offers or adopted decisions (consent or refusal of the transaction). However
it has no relation to the paradoxes of quantum theory connected with non-local
interaction of entangled states. In the economic systems the mechanism of entangling
has a classical interpretation, while the quantum-mechanical formalism of the
description of states appears as a result of idealization of the selection mechanism in
the proprietor's consciousness.
Contents
Introduction
1. Properties of economic measurements
1.1. Statistical meaning of the transformation
functions
1.2. Principle of local equity
2. Analysis of the slit experiment with subjects of
economic relations
2.1. Classical and quantum screens in economic
slit experiments
2.2. Slit experiment in economic modeling
2.3. "…the same but “without a cat”"
2.4. Complete classical description of state of
measured economic objects in slit
experiments
2.5. Density matrix in economic measurements
3. Proceeding from slit experiments to models of
dynamics of economic systems
Conclusion
References
Introduction
In the first part of this paper [1] we have applied
the methodology of the theory of selective measurements
[2] to the analysis of economic systems. In particular, it
has been proposed to describe the state of elementary
economic system as a set of its consumer properties
determined as a possibility of exchange of certain
elementary economic objects for others. We assume that
such determination of its state is complete and sufficient
for describing the dynamics of economic systems. In
other words, we restrict the description of the system’s
properties to its economic component, manifesting itself
as a possibility of exchanging a certain economic object
(showing its consumer properties in such acts of
exchange) for another object with different consumer
value.
In this model various product exchange
procedures (transactions) can be considered as economic
measurements. In this case, an offer of exchange of an
elementary economic object for a different object
corresponds to each elementary economic measurement.
Along with this, in case if two different objects differ
only in the quantity of conventional units of a certain
product, they can be considered as a homogeneous class
of objects and thus a corresponding discrete or
continuous scale of measurement of consumer value can
be developed. Scale mark corresponding to the quantity
of product offered (or requested) for exchange
characterizes its consumer properties quantitatively.
Changing of its various consumer properties of the
economic object corresponds to its exchanges for various
products. Such measurement is determined similarly to
the measurement of particle coordinate in physics using a
screen with a slit. The upper edge of the slit corresponds
to the seller's offer and the lower - to the buyer's offer. At
the same time, the result of such measurement is not only
a consent for a transaction (one of the participants accepts
the other's offer), but also a refusal of it (corresponds to
passing of the particle through the slit in the screen).
It is essential that in the general case such offer of
transaction and subsequent refusal of it can change the
consumer properties of the system (possibility of consent
of refusal of further transactions), as they change the
proprietor's notion of the value of his property. And this
means that for the description of such measurement it is
necessary to apply the quantum-mechanical formalism.
Let us not, for the purpose of comparison, that in the
classical model the state of object is changed only as a
result of conclusion of a deal and remains unchanged in
case of refusal of it.
Besides transaction-type economic measurements,
we have discussed the technology-type measurements, in
which the consumer properties of the discussed economic
system are changed in a specific manner without the
exchange procedure under the influence of external
factors. Economic measurements of both types can be
described using the symbols of generalized economic
measurement
. This symbol corresponds to the
technology, in which the economic objects in state
(
) at the input and in state
(
) at the output are selected. The algebra
of such generalized economic measurements has been
developed. The symbols of addition and multiplication
have been introduced and the required set of axioms with
transparent economic meaning has been formulated for
these measurements.
It has also been shown that in the general case a
complete set (basis) of economically compatible values
and corresponding measurements with independent
results can be formed. The transformation function for
linking descriptions of the generalized measurement in
various complete sets has been obtained
∑
⟨ | ⟩⟨ | ⟩
(1)
In the second part of the present paper, we are going
to discuss the statistical meaning of the coefficients
contained in (1). The economic analog of the slit
experiment will be analyzed in detail and it will be
shown that it can be used as an indicator of presence of
quantum-mechanical properties of the observed
economic systems.
1. Properties of economic measurements
1.1.
Statistical
transformation functions
meaning
of
the
Both in [2], and in the theory of economic
measurements proposed by us, the coefficients of the
transformation function ⟨ | ⟩ written before the
symbols of measurements in (1) have only the meaning
of the procedure of extraction of particles from one state
into the other. They determine the equivalence relation of
various formal combinations of the complete set of
technologies. However, in order to be able to predict the
numerical results of measurements we must link a certain
measurable number to each such coefficient and
formulate the rules of corresponding measurements.
Let us note for this purpose, that the only valid
(measurable) result of the discussed elementary
economic measurements is the consent of refusal to
conclude the proposed transaction. All the rest of the
results are either consequent from these elementary
measurements, or do not relate to the sphere of
economics. Therefore, the quantitative expression of the
symbols ⟨ | ⟩ is to provide the calculation of these
results. Let us note that the specific character of
economic systems does not allow a precise prediction of
the results of subsequent transactions on the basis of the
results of the previous ones. In the general case, the result
of the prediction is only the probability of consent (or
refusal) for the proposed transaction for an economic
object “prepared” in a specific way.
In physics, the basis for linking the symbols of the
transformation function and the statistical regularities can
be the properties of invariance of these symbols relative
to their multiplication by an arbitrary phase multiplier [2].
As far as there is no physical specific character in this
substantiation, and there is only the mathematical
property, following from the axioms of the algebra of
selective measurements, it can be completely and without
changes attributed to economic symbols of measurement
as well.
At the same time, notions relating to the probability
and the set of alternatives in economic models are of a
more transparent nature. This will further allow us to
show that the quantum laws of addition of probabilities
for alternatives occur as a simplified classical description
of a more complete set of possible experimental results
corresponding to various combinations of incomplete
economic measurements. An attempt to describe the
state of the observed system as a set of results of possible
complete measurements results in the necessity of
introducing the quantum-mechanical formalism. This
simplified description will be discussed in detail in the
process of the analysis of the slit experiment.
1.2.
Principle of local equity
The specific character of transactions, in contrast to
technologies, is that the state of each of its participants is
changed not as a result of physical (material) changes of
property values, but as a result of receiving information
about it along with various offers from the partner. Thus,
we can say that the elementary economic measurement
consisting of an offer of transaction and a positive or
negative answer to it is itself the information technology
responsible for changing of the state. At the same time, it
turns out to be unimportant how quickly this event occurs
and in what way this information will be received.
Similarly, in the slit experiment with particles the
thickness and material of the screen walls does not make
any difference. For such "information" technologies the
specific information meaning is associated with the
notions of “input” and “output”. Let us consider the
procedure of trading common for such transaction, when
the participants make offers to each other by turns. Let us
suppose that the first offer is made by Alice. By accepting
this offer, Bob “hits the lower semi-screen” at the input,
and his further destiny is not considered by us. In case of
his refusal (passing over the semi-screen), Alice receives
information on his state at the input of the measurement,
and this state of Bob has changed as a result of the offer
made to him and his refusal of it. If Bob now makes a
counter offer to Alice (specifies the price for which he
agrees to work – upper semi-screen), it can be completely
different from what he could have made if he had to make
a “first move”.
A good example of such situation is a scene of
trading in Jack London’s novel "Smoke and Shorty":
“You are saying that if this land is not worth one hundred
thousand dollars, it’s not worth ten cents. At the same
time, you are offering me five thousand. This means it’s
worth all one hundred thousand as well”. A proprietor’s
2
state can change approximately in the same manner as a
result of the received offers.
Thus, the result of refusal of consent for a pair of
offers can depend on the sequence in which they were
made. Asymmetrical situation can turn out to be
“inequitable” for one of the participants. That is why in
real trading the parties seek mutual consent for the final
terms and conditions of the transaction. In other case, the
bidding is stopped and the transaction is not concluded.
However, even in this case we can consider that upon
receiving the partner’s offer, each of the participants
“reserves his own opinion” and does not make any new
offers. This means that his state no longer changes. In
this case we can state that:
the sequence of receiving offers from the
participants of the transaction is no longer
important and the results of measurements (their
consent or refusal of the offers) do not depend
the sequence of these offers. This assumption
allows us drawing on the conventional scheme
the upper and the lower edges of the slit in the
same plane of the thin screen;
the differences between the “input” and
“output” of the transaction are eliminated and
we can consider the state of particles passing
through the slit identical both at the input and at
the output.
Let us note that the analysis of slit experiments in
physics mainly deals with the type of infinitely thin slits,
and the channel-type measurement (Fig.1 (a)) is
described as a continuous sequence of screens with finite
width. Let us also stress that the property of “trade
completeness” can be considered as a possibility of
refusing a transaction immediately upon accepting offers.
Such transaction should envisage confirmation of
preliminary offers of each of the participants within a
certain short period upon concluding an agreement in
order that none of the participants could reproach the
other one for providing unequal conditions. Therefore,
we will further refer to the condition of trade
completeness as the principle of local equity. In physics
this condition is equivalent to the principle of local
reversibility. It ensures repeatability of measurement
results within a certain short period upon obtaining these
results.
We are discussing this feature of real measurements
(and corresponding transactions) in detail because we
will further need to analyze a different type
measurements, in which the results of measurements at
the input and at the output do not match. In the economic
context we will refer to such measurements as
incomplete transactions. They are incomplete in the
sense that at least one of the participants is willing to
change his offer again or to change his previous answer
to the offer of the other participant.
Thus, we are discussing the following hierarchy of
slit
interpretations
of
elementary
economic
measurements:
The structure of fundamental measurements in
economic models is based on elementary selective
measurements consisting of one offer of
transaction and one positive or negative answer.
The equivalent of such measurement is a semiinfinite screen.
An incomplete transaction consisting of two
counter offers of each of its participants can be
constructed from two such semi-screens. In this
type of transactions the sequence of receiving
offers is essential.
In real transactions the trading procedure is
possible, taking place until the counter offers of the
participants become self-consistent. This condition
corresponds to the principle of local equity and is
represented by the slit in the thin infinite screen. In
this case, the object's state at the input and at the
output of the slit is the same.
Actually, only the last type of locally equitable
economic measurements corresponds to the slit
measurements discussed in the analysis of the
quantum-mechanical experiments in physics.
2. Analysis of the slit experiment with subjects
of economic relations
2.1.
Classical and quantum screens in
economic slit experiments
So far, we have not been distinguishing economic
objects according to the degree and character of their
interference. Formally, any transaction between any
economic objects can be considered as a selective
measurement of properties of each of them by the other
participant of the transaction. However, in physics the
quantum-mechanical description is normally used for
micro objects, while the classical description is used for
macro objects. The reason for this is the elementary
nature of the former type of objects and the complexity
(in terms of degrees of freedom) of the latter. Therefore,
we will also distinguish the transaction between two
elementary economic objects in the aforesaid sense and
the transaction between an elementary object and a
macroscopic object. We have previously [1] defined the
elementary economic object as an object, the consumer
properties of which cannot be obtained from the
consumer properties of its components.
In the first case both participants of the transaction
are in symmetrical conditions. The state of both
participants is changed both in case of consent of one of
them from the offer of the second one, and in case of
refusal of both of them. The state of such objects is
entangled. At the same time, the entangled character is
merely informational and economic. The exchange of
products is not necessary for this. Even an elementary
incomplete semi-screen type measurement is sufficient,
when one of the participants offers his price and the other
refuses. Let us suppose, for instance, that Alice considers
her property more expensive than Bob’s property, and
vice-versa. In this case the entangled essence of their
states is that the result of this transaction contains
information about the state of each of its participants, but
only in relation to the other participant's state. It cannot
be used directly for predicting the results of other
transactions of each of them. At the same time, as soon as
the cost of Alice's property is defined in an additional
experiment, it becomes possible to use the result of
entangling for the assessment of Bob’s property cost.
3
In case of interaction of an elementary economic
object with a macroscopic object, the state of the latter is
described by classical parameters averaged in a number
of degrees of freedom. The influence of the microscopic
object on these parameters is negligibly small. In other
words, entangling of states occurs in this case as well, but
its effect on the results of subsequent transactions is
negligible. This effect is mathematically described in the
decoherence, which is sufficiently well-studied in
physics.
Thus, the screens used in the slit experiments,
which have already become classical, are macroscopic
objects. We are further going to discuss in detail only this
specific type of measurements.
2.2.
Slit experiment in economic modeling
The essence of such experiments has been described
by us in detail in the first part of the present paper. Now
we are going to discuss one of them in details - the
experiment with double-width slit. We assume that it is
one of the simplest experiments, in which the quantummechanical properties of the observed objects can be
revealed. In this case we will consider the second
participant of transaction (employer in our example) a
macroscopic economic object, whose properties can be
described in a classical way. Let us assume that a certain
number of employees receive a job offer (transaction)
which they can accept or refuse. We will distinguish two
types of employers:
- Upper semi-screen with edge located at the
height of
corresponds to the offer of
transaction with a payment per working day at the
specified price, in this case the applicants who refuse
this offer are screened. Then the economic objects
(applicants for the vacancy) “passing” under the semiscreen are those who accept the offer. They remain
candidates for the vacancy and participate in the further
selection. .
- Lower semi-screen with edge located at the height
of
corresponds to the offer of transaction with
a payment per working day at the specified price, in this
case the applicants who accept this offer are screened.
(they are hired for the job and do not participate in the
further selection). Then the economic objects “passing”
over the semi-screen are those who refuse the offer.
Thus, the economic objects “passing” through the
] are those who agreed for the
slit [
transaction at the price
, but refused it at the
price
. At the same time it is not known in
advance whether the “passing” objects agree for the
transaction at the price
, or refuse it. It is also
unknown whether they accept the price
if they
are offered a price
instead of
or demand a
higher price. Therefore, in the general case we cannot
state that the number of objects “passing” through the slit
[
] is equal to the sum of those who pass
through its upper or lower section.
This statement can be valid only for classical
objects with the coordinate determined a priori (opinion
of each of the applicants for the vacancy about the “fair”
payment). And this opinion does not change depending
on what offer he has made.
One of the main paradoxes of quantum statistics is
the lack of classical interpretation of the amplitudes of
probability. Regardless of what type of system we are
discussing - physical or economic – the results of
measurements are always the system's answers to various
questions asked by the observer. Therefore, the initial
results of statistical processing can be only ordinary
probabilities calculated in frequency sense. At the same
time, the laws of addition of these probabilities must be
of classical nature. Nevertheless, in attempt of calculating
the probabilities of various system states the necessity of
applying new (quantum) statistics arises. We state that
this necessity arises as an attempt to save the set of
statistical results from subjectivism and to describe the
state of the observed system as a state existing
independently of the observers wish. The analysis of
economic models in this sense is much more preferable as
in this analysis the subject’s state directly influences the
state of the observed system. And there is no need to
discuss the “freedom of choice” of the electron in similar
experiments, as many authors seeking sensations are
doing now in connection with the proving of the “free
will theorem” [3]. Therefore, we will analyze in detail
both the reasons of development of conceptions on the
quantum probability in economic systems and grounds
for considering such quantum description complete.
The generalized economic measurement can be both
a transaction and a technology. Generally speaking, we
can consider a more general type of measurements
combining these two types. It can be useful in the
analysis of the model of weak continuous fuzzy quantum
measurements [4]. But now we are going to restrict
ourselves to the analysis of them separately and will start
with the analysis of the technologies. In our case the
offers of payment in advance or upon completion of work
correspond to the input and output of the generalized
measurement associated with the technology. As this
technology does not take effect immediately and as a
result of its execution the state of the participants of
transaction is changed, then in the general case it
corresponds to a certain “black box” in which the input
and the output are different. It is conventionally shown in
Fig. 3(a) as a channel in the thick screen.
Let us also consider the physical analogy of this
measurement. Let us assume that within the period of
passing of the particle through the channel, it is effected
by the constant gravity force, and as a result its vertical
(measured) coordinate is changed and the states of
particles at the input and at the output are different. The
channel width determines the quantity of particles passing
through it. It the channel is sufficiently narrow, the
particles with low phase-space volume can pass through
it (Fig. 1b). Now let us decrease the channel width twice
while retaining its length. It is easy to see that not the half
but only a quarter of particles, which could previously
pass with obstructions, can now pass the half-width
channel. This effect is purely classical. Its explanation
and description does not require using quantum
conceptions. In this case the formula
|
|
⟩⟨
|
⟩⟨
|
⟩⟨
|
|
|
⟩⟨
|
|
⟩⟨
|
(2)
4
means that the ensemble of particles passing through
the wide slit can be considered as a mix of four
ensembles, in each of which the particles passed
through one of the four narrower channels (Figure
2).
y
Vy
Figure 1(а) – narrow channel in the screen
corresponding to the "technology”-type generalized
measurement; 1(b) – phase volume corresponding to
the ensemble of particles passing through the whole
channel and through its lower section.
Figure 2. Classical ensemble interpretation of the
formula of addition (distribution law) of symbols of the
"technology”- type generalized measurements
Let us remind that the input of each of the channels
corresponds to the conditions of advance payment, while
the output corresponds to the payment upon completion
of works. In case when the objects are workers applying
for the job, we can assume that the initial axis velocity of
the particle corresponds to the speed of natural
decreasing of the consumer value of the hired worker due
to the decrease of resources (labor force) or, on the
contrary, corresponds to increasing of his consumer value
due to professional training. Thus, the common classical
probability theory is sufficient for the explanation of the
effect of quadratic dependence of the number of
economic objects passing through the classical channel.
However, the “quantum mystics” occurs in the process of
analysis
of
the
transaction-type
generalized
measurements, in which no technological changes of the
material consumer properties of the object occur, and the
dependence remains quadratic. In this case, change of the
state of the subject of transaction takes place practically
instantly as a result of receiving information on the offer
made to the him. The subject can, for instance, increase
his price in his own opinion as a result of such offer and
correspondingly increase the expected consumer value of
his property (labor force). On the other hand, an offer of
underestimated price can significantly decrease his
demands.
Unlike
the
technology-type
generalized
measurement, in this case the point is not even that the
changes take place almost instantly, but that it depends on
the offer made. And the quantitative effect remains the
same – only a quarter of particles can pass through the
half-size slit.
2.3.
“… the same, but «without a cat »”
Herbert Wells once gave a very simple description of the
telegraph. «Imagine a giant cat, whose head is located in
London and the tail in Liverpool. If someone in Liverpool
steps on the cat's tail it will start mewing in London".
After that, Wells explained the operation of wireless
telegraph even simpler: “It’s the same, but without a cat”.
The same situation is observed in our case - we
perfectly understand (and it does not contradict to our
classical conceptions) why only a quarter portion of
economic objects pass through the half-sized channel
(technology). Thus all we have to do is to repeat Herbert
Wells words that the transaction-type generalized
economic measurement is even simpler - the same but
without a channel.
In this case, the “input” and the “output” of the
transaction are separated not by a time interval, during
which the physical properties of the particle are changed,
but by the information, which the economic objects
(subjects of economic relations) receive in accordance
with the position of the slit (estimated terms and
conditions of transaction). In this case the formula (2) can
be illustrated by Figure 3. Unlike Figure 1, in Figure 3 the
channel is absent or it is very narrow, and the trajectories
of objects can experience jumps in the screen plane. In
physics such jumps mean superluminal velocity of
particle and in the economic model it means instant (time
interval is negligible) changing of the decision taken by
the proprietor – consent or refusal of the offer of a
specific price. In the discussed case, such offer is the
offer of payment per one working day at the price (a).
The worker receives two offers of employment at the
price
between the input and the
output of the economic slit. These offers can influence his
state sufficiently to change his answer to the offer .
At the same time, his consent or refusal of the offer
at the input can influence his state at the output. In order
not to complicate the situation, we will discuss only those
experiments, in which this offer is made only at the input
(before passing through the slit) or only at the output
(upon passing through the slit). Such consideration is also
convenient as it eliminates the questions of superluminal
velocities of physical particle or ultra-fast changes of
economic state, as these results relate to different
measurements. At the same time, only one of them can be
performed in relation to the particle (or economic object).
The second measurement will be performed in relation to
the changed state of the particle.
Thus, the result of one of the two possible
measurements (at the input and at the output of the slit)
are a sort of “hidden parameter”, the existence of which is
obvious, but the result itself is hidden from the
observation. We will further analyze in detail the
connection of these hidden parameters of economic
models with physical “hidden parameters” of state of
quantum objects, the possibility of existence of which is
disproved experimentally.
5
The discussed jump trajectory illustrate in Figure 3
has only the sense of formal combination of the results of
incompatible measurements. In order to stress the
difference of these sets of results from the continuous
trajectories analyzed both in classical and quantum
dynamics we will further refer to them as the “pseudotrajectories”.
In the process of analysis of the pseudo-trajectories,
we must take account of the four possibilities (Figure
4(b)). Thus, for instance, the pseudo-trajectory (1)
corresponds to those objects, which would pass though
the upper section of the slit in case of measurement at the
input, but would pass through the lower section in case of
measurement at the output.
2.4. Complete classical description of state
of measured economic objects in slit experiments
Figure 3. Scheme of the distributive law of addition of
symbols
of
the
transaction-type
generalized
measurements.
There is nothing either quantum-mechanical or
mystical in these pseudo-trajectories. In case of
considering them as a set of possible results of
alternative measurements (both compatible and
incompatible), it is sufficient to use classical statistics for
the description of connection of different measurements.
Let us illustrate it on the example of the double-slit
experiment (Figure 4(a), 4(b)). The slit in the first screen
acts as a device responsible for preparation of particles in
the same state. Figure 4(a) shows two alternative
trajectories of motion of particles in Feynman meaning.
The probability of reaching the slit of the third screen by
the particle can only be calculated as a probability of
superposition of these alternatives according to quantummechanical formulas, but not as a classical sum of
probabilities of their mix.
А
Table 1. The table of possible results of elementary
measurements can be filled in for a real experiment only
by one third, as after the first measurement the object’s
state will be changed.
1
+
?
?
В
Figure 4(а)
А
4
1
4
We have previously discussed that the offer (a)
made before the offers
,
corresponds to the input measurement, and the offer made
after them corresponds to the measurement at the output
of the completed transaction. At the same time, the
offers
correspond both to the input
and to the output. Thus, the notions “input” and “output”
for the transaction-type
generalized economic
measurements are determined by the sequence of
receiving of the offers. Therefore, the classical
distributions of probabilities characterizing the state of
the ensemble of measured economic objects should be
analyzed only in relation to a fixed sequence of offers.
The simplest elementary economic measurement is
a single offer of transaction. In our case it is one of the
three offers
. At the same time
we can find out the result of only one of them, after that
the object’s state will be changed. However, we can also
assume that in case of performing the other two
elementary measurements we would obtain certain
definite results. Speaking only of real measurements, the
sequence of their results for a set of prepared objects can
be represented in the form of a three-row table, with one
known result of measurement and two unknown results in
each of its columns (Table 1).
2
2
3
3
1
В
Figure 4(b)
2
?
?
3
?
?
-
4
?
+
?
5
?
?
…
?
?
Such table can be perfectly used as a model of
hidden parameters (taking into account both the filled-in
and not filled-in results), but the information contained in
it is insufficient for a complete description of the state of
objects, as there is no account of the influence of the first
measurement on the results of the second one. At the
same time, there are at least 2 offers in the discussed slit
experiment. Therefore, a more complete description is
provided by a set of six tables with the results of answers
for the two sequenced offers filled in two rows. We are
hereby representing an example of two such tables (Table
2) for the offers
and
received in a different
sequence.
The results of answers for the offers of transaction
can depend on the sequence of offers. For a complete
description of states of the economic object, it is
necessary to set his answers for all possible pairs of offers
6
with account of their sequence. The Table 2 illustrates
tables for two such pairs of six possible.
Table 2.
2
1
1
+
-
2
+
-
3
+
+
4
+
+
5
-
…
…
…
1
2
1
+
+
2
+
-
3
-
4
+
+
5
-
…
…
…
………………………………………………..
Let us note that in case of changing the sequence of
receiving of the two offers the answers to both of them
can be different. However, there is a number of logically
justified obvious limitations for possible ways of filling
in these two tables. It is the prohibition for consent (+)
for the offer
on case of refusal (-) for the offer
and other similar offers. Based on these two
tables we can select the set of those objects, which will
pass through the slit
. For this purpose we need to
select those columns, for which a combination of
symbols (+ -) is filled in both tables. In Table 2, it is the
object 2.
Only for this type of objects the principle of local
equity is valid and the transaction can be considered
completed (but not performed, as the object passes
through the slit). For the rest of the objects the conditions
of passing through the slit are not valid either at the
“input” or at the “output”. At the same time the notions
of input and output in this case are conventional (unlike
the technologies), as the subject of our interest are the
results for which the sequence of receiving offers is not
important.
The three discussed variants of price offer with
account of sequence give six possible pairs of offers.
Therefore, for a complete description of all possible
situations in the discussed slit experiment we will need
two additional pairs of similar filled-in double-row tables
for two more pairs of offers. These six tables act as
hidden parameters, not the Table 1 alone. At the same
time, in the real experiment we “open” the values of
possible answers only in one of the six tables for each
measured object. Besides, the first cell will be
automatically “opened” in another table, in which the
same offer is filled-in in the first place. Let us note that
the derivation of Bell's inequalities or their economic
analogs [9] only relates to Table 1, not to the set of table
2. In the proposed description of possible results of
transactions and answers to offers, there is still no
“quantum mechanics”. This description is completely
classical. Its difference from the theory of “hidden
parameters” in physical models is that we are clearly
introducing a dependency of the answer to an offer on
what offer has been made before it.
We can also consider a model in which the answer
to various offers depends not only on the previous offer,
but also depends to a various degree on all the preceding
offers. Such generalization is possible for the quantum
mechanical formalism and is described in the theory of
weak continuous quantum measurements. The
mathematical apparatus of such theory has been used by
us in our paper [5], where it has been used to obtain the
quantum-mechanical generalization of the Black-Scholes
formula. In this paper we pursue different aims and
therefore we will restrict ourselves to the discussion of a
more “trivial” case of fuzzy discrete measurements. At
the same time, we can assume that the state of an
economic object is completely determined only by the
last results of measurement of the complete set of
parameters of state.
Unlike physics, the problem of non-locality of
interaction does not arise in the discussed model. In this
model the interaction is local, as the answers given to the
two questions by the same subject of transaction originate
in the consciousness of the same subject. At the same
time, the mechanism of interrelation of the two answers
can be any, including simple classical scenarios.
Following the terminology proposed by R. Penrose [6], in
such description we are trying to solve a Z-paradox
connected with the inconsistency of the logical
interpretation of quantum measurements, but do not claim
to solve the X-paradox relating to the explanation of the
mechanism of non-locality of their interconnection. Let
us also note that the observability of a pair of rows from
six tables has an obvious sense only in economic models.
It is an incomplete transaction, in which only two
answers for the first two offers made in a specific
sequence are taken into account. The question of an
analog of incomplete transactions in physics and the
possibility of such measurements remains open.
Nevertheless, both in economics and in physics only
completed transactions (measurements) are usually taken
into account in the process of calculation of the
probabilities. In the discussed example it is the passing of
object (particle) through the upper section of the slit,
lower section or through the completely open slit. In
other words, in economic statistics the measurable
parameters are the probabilities of completed
transactions, in which the principle of local equity is
observed, while the sequence of receiving offers does not
influence the result of the transaction. For instance, the
measurable parameter is the probability
of passing
through the upper section of the slit, which is equal to the
percentage of objects, for which in both tables 2 the
values
are filled-in. Formally this condition can be
written as
.
2.5.
measurements
Density
matrix
in
economic
One of the forms of notation of state of quantum
objects is the formalism of the density matrix. In this case
it becomes possible to describe not only pure states of the
ensemble of observed economic objects, but also mixed
states. The former can be obtained as a result of the same
transaction, offered to an ensemble of proprietors
prepared in the same way. It follows from the algebra of
selective measurements that in the most general case the
state of objects that have refused this transaction
corresponds to the particles which have passed through
the set of slits in physical models. This state can be
7
described as the linear superposition of basis states | ⟩ of
the complete set of compatible variables | ⟩
∑
| ⟩.
Such measurement corresponds to the density matrix of
pure state, which can be written as
∑
|⟩ ∑
⟨|
(3)
In the general case, the coefficients
can be
complex. However, in the discussed mental slit
experiment they have clear meaning and correspond to
the width of a certain slit in an infinite screen. Let us note
that it follows not from the subsequent probabilistic
interpretation of these coefficients, but only from the
definition of the symbol of addition “+” of the selective
measurements described by us previously. It is obvious
that a narrow slit of double width can be considered as
logical (in the aforesaid sense) sum of two single slits,
located next to each other and described by
approximately the same symbol of measurement.
Accordingly, the n-times reduction of width will result in
the coefficient 1/n before the corresponding basis vector.
We will further consider these coefficients valid,
assuming the possibility of generalization of the
proposed illustrative model. In this case
and the density matrix turns out to be symmetric.
The mixed state can be obtained as a result of a
measurement, in which various ensembles of objects are
offered various transactions, and then the refusing
proprietors are mixed in a certain proportion.
Mathematically it can be written as a weighted
arithmetical total of density matrixes of each of the pure
states.
At the same time, the density matrix corresponding
to the pure state can be represented by a sum of matrixes
with only one non-zero coefficient in each of them. It can
be written before the matrix in the form of multiplier:
∑
|⟩ ∑
⟨|
∑
| ⟩⟨ |
(4)
Formally, such notation can be considered as a mix
of states obtained using the generalized selective
measurements | ⟩⟨ |, in which the objects are in state ⟨ |
at the input, and in state | ⟩ at the output. In the
technology-type generalized economic measurements it
is possible as the state of object is changed in accordance
with the purpose of the technological process. In case of
considering the transaction-type generalized economic
measurements, the input and the output are not separated
by any event. It would be wrong to expect that a
proprietor “entering” through the upper section of the slit
in our example and refusing the offer (a) will
immediately "exit" through the lower section, and will
have to accept the same offer in order to do so. However,
we can easily assume that the state of object is changed
as a result of receiving another offer with subsequent
change of the proprietor’s opinion on the cost value.
Let us return to the illustrative slit experiment with
double-width slit. Let us select for consideration only
those objects, which pass through the slit. It means that in
the third pair of tables only «+;-» symbols are filled-in,
regardless of the sequence of receiving offers
. We will assume that the result of
influence of these offers on the answer (a) does not
depend of their sequence. Then the input measurement of
object corresponds to the case when the first offer is (a)
and the subsequent offer is
. If the
offer (a) is received after them, this case corresponds to
the changing of the object's position (upper or lower
section of the slit) at the output.
Then the combinations of symbols in all 6 tables in
case of such selection will differ only in the values of the
answer (a) at the input and at the output. Accordingly, the
set of objects passing through the wide slit will be
separated into 4 subsets, each corresponding to the
summand in the formula 2 and to the corresponding
coefficient in the density matrix. In case when the
answers for the offer (a) at the input and at the output are
independent, the probability of the combination inputoutput in equal to the classical product of these
probabilities. At the same time, the coefficient of the
density matrix satisfy the condition
(5)
and such state is called pure. It can be written as
| ⟩
|
⟩
|
⟩
(6)
where
and
are the probability amplitudes of
consent or refusal of the offer (a), respectively. In case of
the narrow slit these are proportional to the width of the
upper
and lower
section of the
slit, respectively. Unlike the case of the technology-type
generalized measurements, we cannot consider that the
object from the subset | ⟩⟨ | “enters” through the
upper section of the slit and “exits” through the lower
one. These objects pass through the double slit, but will
not pass through either its upper or lower section
separately. The values | ⟩ ⟨ | correspond to the
“pseudo-trajectory” – the values of coordinate, which
could be obtained in case of input and output
measurements
performed
separately.
These
measurements of economic objects are incomplete
transaction and there is no pure state corresponding to
them in the sense of formula (6). For such subsets, there
are no means of preparing such states in physical analogs,
as the meaning of the analog of incomplete measurement
is not clear insofar. For economic objects, on the other
hand, not only the "locally equitable" results of
completed transactions, but also the intermediate results
of incomplete transactions can be followed.
Therefore, in case of the description of this kind
of sets in economics we can restrict ourselves to the
frameworks of the classical theory of probabilities
retaining the prefix “if” for all such results. Transition to
the quantum-mechanical description and quantum
amplitudes of probabilities is the “price” for
simplification of the mathematical apparatus and refusal
of the conventional formulation of the results of
description of state.
In the general case, pure quantum-mechanical states
of marker (spin) variables in physics can be described by
the density matrix, in which the non-diagonal elements
are complex. Detailed analysis of economic analogs of
8
such states requires a separate consideration. So far, we
can only assume that they occur in case of introducing
prices for options and futures into the terms and
conditions of the transaction, which are the analog of the
result of measurement of particle momentum in physics.
Finally, let us note that in case of narrow slit, its
upper and lower sections are practically equivalent, and
the probability of receiving consent or refusal of the offer
(a) can be considered equal both at the input and at the
output. This statement relates to those objects, which
pass through the double-width slit. Therefore, for such
experiments the quantity of passing objects is
proportional to the square of this width. By gradually
widening the slit, the transition from the quadratic law to
the linear law (corresponding to the classical sum of
subsets of objects, for which the uncertainty of the
coordinate is significantly smaller than the slit width) can
be analyzed. The boundary of such transition from
quantum to classical description can be used for
estimation of the effective "wavelength" of the prepared
set of economic objects.
The logical interpretation of other more complex
quantum effects, such as interference and diffraction, will
be possible at the next stage of construction of the theory,
in the process of analysis of the geometry of space of
states and the dynamics of fundamental economic states
in serial selective measurements separated by a sufficient
period of time.
3. Proceeding from slit experiments to models of
dynamics of economic systems
In the economic interpretation of completed
measurement it is assumed that the principle of local
equity results in the stable state of the participants of
transaction within a negligible time interval. In this state
they do not refuse their previously made decisions and
the transaction is completed either by accepting one of
the offers, or by a definitive reject. In the aforesaid slit
experiments it corresponds to an infinitely thin screen
and, accordingly, to instant collapse of the quantum state.
In this kind of approximation we are not interested in the
mechanism of agreement of decisions (trading) and all
the occurring events relate to the same time moment.
Following Schwinger’s ideology, we can
consider the evolution of state as a generalized selective
measurement, which changes the object's state in time
moment into another state in the next time moment
.
The aforesaid technology-type generalized
economic measurements have such properties. They
connect two states of an economic object in different
time moments. Changing of the object’s state in the
interval between these moments does not envisage
decision-making by the proprietor and is determined by
external (in relation to him) factors. For instance, in the
discussed example all workers get tired by the end of the
working day and their price coordinate is decreased
(Figure 1-2). This decrease does not depend on their
choice, though it can be different for different workers in
different initial state. The reasons of such effect can also
be different. Its description, similarly to physics, can be
phenomenological or can be based on specific properties
of symmetry. Discussion of these issues is beyond the
scope of the theory of measurements. However, if we
know how this effect changes the state of object | ⟩, and
the state | ⟩, the theory of generalized economic
measurements allows calculating the changing | ⟩
| ⟩
| ⟩ as a result of this effect.
As a result, it turns out that the whole dynamics of
economic systems can be represented as alternate effects
of the transaction-type and technology-type generalized
measurements. It is an analog of effect of projection
operators and unitary operators in modeling of the
dynamics of physical systems. The former correspond to
the procedure of changing of quantum sate and the latter
– to the reversible evolution of the enclosed quantum
system.
Such simplified model of alternate effects in the
process of transition to the description of the
continuously observed quantum system results in the
"Zeno quantum effect”. For adequate description of such
observations it is necessary to use the generalized
approach of the theory of continuous fuzzy quantum
measurements. In the economic systems we can also
consider dynamics as a continuous fuzzy measurement.
In particular, we can adapt the known derivation of the
Black-Scholes formula with account of quantum
properties of state [5]. Similar approach can be used for
modeling of the dynamics other economic objects.
Conclusion
Summarizing the discussion of the virtual slit
experiment of economic measurement, we can state that
we have obtained the economic analog of the quantummechanical description of the procedure of measurement
of the generalized coordinate in physics. At the same time
the description of the set of states of economic systems is
based on the general principle, in which the system’s
state is determined only by the results of measurement. It
has been proposed in the framework of the general
concept of the generalized economic measurement to
consider two types of measurements. The first
transaction-type measurements correspond to the
selection of objects passing through the slit or a set of
slits in the thin screen. The second technology-type
measurements correspond to the selection of objects
passing through the channel with different (in the general
case) input and output in the thick screen. It has been
shown that the states of objects in the transaction-type
measurements can be adequately described only with
account of possible influence of the received offers of
transactions. Unlike the classical case, the object’s state
changes not only as a result of concluding a transaction,
which is obvious, but also as a result of refusal. In this
case, the state of such objects is influenced by the
information effect. The probabilistic description of such
economic states can be represented as a description of the
classical set of virtual events containing the proprietor’s
answers to various ordered pairs of offers. At the same
time, in a real experiment answers to only one such pair
can be received, after that the objects state should be
considered as a changed state. The quantum-mechanical
description of states and the corresponding laws of
addition of amplitudes of probabilities for alternative
events can be obtained as a simplified description linking
the probabilities of only real performed experiments.
9
The further development of the method of
the environment and those being in the continuous fuzzy
generalized selective measurements applied to economic
observation mode.
systems allows expecting a rigorous derivation of the
laws of motion of economic systems, both isolated from
_________________________________________________________
*
Electronic address: smelnyk@yandex.ru
References
[1] S.I.Melnyk and I.G.Tuluzov “Fundamental Measurements in Economics and in the Theory of
Consciousness”, ArXiv submit/0341916
[2] J.Schwinger, Quantum kinematics and dynamics, Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. Advanced Book Program,
1991 - 374 pages.
[3] Conway, John; Simon Kochen (2006). "The Free Will Theorem". Foundations of Physics 36 (10): 1441.
[4] S.Melnyk, I. Tuluzov, “The dynamics of stock exchange based on the formalism of weak continuous
quantum measurement”, Journal of Physics: Conference Series 238 (2010) 012035 рр. 1-8.
[5] S. I. Melnyk, and I. G. Tuluzov, “Quantum Analog of the Black- Scholes Formula (market of financial
derivatives as a continuous weak measurement)”, EJTP 5, No. 18 (2008) 95–104.
[6] Penrose, Roger (1989). Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness. Oxford
University Press. p. 457. ISBN 0-19-853978-9.
10 |
Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness
(in press)
Functionally Effective Conscious AI Without
Suffering
arXiv:2002.05652v1 [cs.CY] 13 Feb 2020
Aman Agarwal · Shimon Edelman
Abstract Insofar as consciousness has a functional role in facilitating learning
and behavioral control, the builders of autonomous AI systems are likely to attempt to incorporate it into their designs. The extensive literature on the ethics
of AI is concerned with ensuring that AI systems, and especially autonomous
conscious ones, behave ethically. In contrast, our focus here is on the rarely
discussed complementary aspect of engineering conscious AI: how to avoid
condemning such systems, for whose creation we would be solely responsible,
to unavoidable suffering brought about by phenomenal self-consciousness. We
outline two complementary approaches to this problem, one motivated by a
philosophical analysis of the phenomenal self, and the other by certain computational concepts in reinforcement learning.
1 The two sides of AI and ethics
With the growing presence of autonomous software and devices in daily life, the
ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rightly become an intensely researched
and debated topic (e.g., McCulloch, 1956; Metzinger, 2013b; Dignum, 2018;
Kuipers, 2019; Floridi, 2019; Jobin et al., 2019). Most of that research and
debate is focused on ensuring that autonomous AI systems behave ethically
— that is, in accordance to certain human ideals (as opposed to actual human
behavior, which we, rather understandably given the history of our species,
would not want AI to emulate). To put it concisely and rather bluntly, we do
not wish, ever, to suffer at the hands of the machines that we create.
A. Agarwal
Dept. of Computer Science
Cornell University
E-mail: aa2398@cornell.edu
S. Edelman
Dept. of Psychology
Cornell University
E-mail: se37@cornell.edu
2
Agarwal & Edelman
It is easy to see, however, that this ethical concern is asymmetrical and
that its complement — the possibility of the machines suffering at our hands
— should receive at least as much attention. Indeed, it should probably receive
more attention: because any AI would owe its very existence to us, our share of
ethical responsibility in this entire matter is far larger. Crucially, this concern
only applies if the AI that we create or cause to emerge becomes conscious
and thereby capable of suffering. In this paper, we examine the nature of the
relevant kind of conscious experience, the potential functional reasons for endowing an AI with the capacity for feeling and therefore for suffering, and some
of the possible ways of retaining the functional advantages of consciousness,
whatever they are, while avoiding the attendant suffering.
What is suffering? Thomas Metzinger (2017, p.244) has recently offered
the following qualified take:
We lack a comprehensive theory of conscious suffering. One of the key
desiderata is a conceptually convincing and empirically plausible model
of this very specific class of phenomenal states: those that we do not
want to experience if we have any choice, those states of consciousness
which folk-psychology describes as “suffering.”
On this approach, the central characteristic of suffering is a loss of autonomy
and of cognitive control, possibly signifying an impending or ongoing physical damage to the body. This insight serves as a bridge between, on the one
hand, the phenomenal nature of suffering, as well as of conscious awareness
in general, and, on the other hand, the functional roles of consciousness. One
of these roles is plausibly held to be centralized control, such as facilitated by
the “global workspace” postulated by some theories of consciousness (Baars,
1988; Shanahan, 2010; Dehaene et al., 2014). Another role is facilitating learning (Cleeremans, 2011; Cleeremans et al., 2020), especially of the unsupervised
and autonomous variety (Metzinger, 2017). Importantly, for all this to matter
to suffering, any such information-processing role must be accompanied by
obligatory “caring” about learning and behavioral outcomes. Indeed, the inseparability of awareness from feelings and affect has been postulated in (e.g.,
Merker, 2007; Metzinger, 2017; Moyal et al., 2020)). The question thus arises
whether or not sufficiently effective learning and control, as well as generally
good behavioral outcomes, can be achieved by a system that is neither entirely
devoid of phenomenality, nor given to unavoidable suffering.
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. In section 2 we briefly
survey theories of consciousness that have a bearing on the nature of suffering,
notably the concept of phenomenal self-model (PSM) as developed in the
recent work of Metzinger. Section 3 then takes up the question of the possible
functional role(s) of consciousness, which leads naturally to computational
considerations of effective learning and behavior regulation. Section 4 applies
lessons from the preceding discussion in an attempt to determine whether
or not consciousness without suffering is feasible and if yes, whether such
consciousness can still fulfill the relevant functional needs. Section 5 examines
Ethics of Conscious AI
3
computational approaches to implementing functionally effective yet sufferingfree conscious systems. Finally, section 6 concludes the paper with a brief
summary.
2 The nature of suffering and its relation to conscious experience
in general
The question of the nature of suffering, as distinguished from its ethical dimensions, is rarely, if ever, raised in theoretical treatments of consciousness —
a peculiar omission, which prompted Metzinger (2017) to refer to suffering as
“a cognitive scotoma.” Insofar as suffering involves negative affect, it should in
principle fall within the scope of any theoretical account of conscious phenomenal experience. In other words, a theory of qualia must be at the same time
a theory of affect, for the simple reason that qualia, or feelings, do as a rule
incorporate affective dimensions (e.g., Havermans, 2011; Krieglmeyer et al.,
2010, 2013; Beatty et al., 2016; Eder et al., 2016; Turner et al., 2017). In practice, however, popular theories of consciousness, such as the Global Workspace
Theory (e.g., Dehaene et al., 2014) or the Information Integration Theory
(Oizumi et al., 2014), stop short of addressing the question of the nature of affect, and therefore of suffering. The same goes for higher-order theories (HOT)
of consciousness, as reviewed, for instance, in (Rosenthal, 2009); these offer accounts of pain, but do not seem to mention suffering.
The psychology of affect has been usefully summarized by Panksepp (2005,
p.31): “Affect is the subjective experiential-feeling component that is very hard
to describe verbally, but there are a variety of distinct affects, some linked more
critically to bodily events (homeostatic drives like hunger and thirst), others
to external stimuli (taste, touch, etc.). Emotional affects are closely linked
to internal brain action states, triggered typically by environmental events.
All are complex intrinsic functions of the brain, which are triggered by perceptions and become experientially refined. Psychologists have traditionally
conceptualized such “spooky” mental issues in terms of valence (various feelings of goodness and badness — positive and negative affects), arousal (how
intense are the feelings), and surgency or power (how much does a certain feeling fill one’s mental life). There are a large number of such affective states of
consciousness, presumably reflecting different types of global neurodynamics
within the brain and body.”
For our present purposes, the valence dimension of affect is of most interest: without negative affective states there would be no suffering. Suffering
is, however, more than just negative affect. As Metzinger (2017, p.244) notes,
suffering is a class of phenomenal states that “we do not want to experience
if we have any choice.” In other words, suffering is a state of negative affect
from which the sufferer cannot escape by simply wishing it away. As we shall
see in section 3, the stress on inescapability in this formulation makes explicit
the intimate connection between the experiential flavor of suffering and its
presumed evolutionary-functional role. It also serves to distinguish between
4
Agarwal & Edelman
the first-person experience of suffering and the suffering of others, which is
not directly felt. Ethical theorists have argued that the latter should be as
objectionable to oneself as the former. According to Nagel (1986, p.160), for
instance, “the pain can be detached in thought from the fact that it is mine
without losing any of its dreadfulness. . . suffering is a bad thing, period, and
not just for the sufferer. . . This experience ought not to go on, whoever is
having it.” Parfit (2011, p.135) quotes from Nagel and concurs with his moral
stance. Our concern here is, however, exclusively with suffering as it presents
itself to the sufferer, rather than with the ethical problems that it creates for
others. Even if pain, as Nagel puts it, “can be detached in thought [our emphasis] from the fact that it is mine”, it is a priori unclear whether or not it
can be so detached in lived experience. To address this crucial question, we
turn to Metzinger’s analysis of phenomenal experience.
Briefly, Metzinger (2000) develops a representationalist account of the firstperson perspective, centered on the phenomenal self-model (PSM): a “multimodal representational structure, the contents of which form the contents of
the consciously experienced self.” Crucially, the PSM is generally phenomenally transparent (the T condition), i.e., it is normally not recognized as merely
representational by the system itself.1 The contents of the PSM include the
phenomenal properties of “mineness,” selfhood, and perspectivalness. According to Metzinger (2017), the PSM is an “instrument for global self-control,”
and is therefore fundamental to the phenomenology of suffering, which is characterized by a loss of control in addition to negative valence (the NV condition). This analysis motivates our proposed strategy for avoiding suffering as
a matter of direct experience, which we describe in section 4.
3 The possible functional benefits of endowing AI with
consciousness
Given that phenomenal consciousness as we know it incorporates affective dimensions (see the references in section 2), being conscious sets the agent up for
suffering. The simplest way to avoid suffering would then be to give up phenomenal consciousness itself. For an ethically minded engineer, this translates
into an imperative to stick to information processing architectures that, to the
best of our understanding, cannot result in artificial consciousness. According to the Information Integration Theory, for instance, feedforward network
architectures (“zombie networks”) are incapable of supporting consciousness
(Oizumi et al., 2014, Fig.20). The Geometric Theory (Fekete and Edelman,
2011) and its successor, the Dynamical Emergence Theory (Moyal et al., 2020),
hold that systems that are devoid of properly structured intrinsic dynamics
are likewise devoid of phenomenality.
1 The T condition can be illustrated by contrasting the normal dream state, during which
the the dreamer does not realize he or she is dreaming (transparent PSM), with lucid
dreaming, during which the PSM becomes opaque and the dreamer may even be able to
exert control over the dreamt universe.
Ethics of Conscious AI
5
Restricting robotics to the building of artificial “zombies” is not, however, a
viable engineering option if consciousness confers any significant functional advantages for an AI system or robot. In a commercial setting, technologies that
promise to be more effective displace less effective ones even if this comes at
the price of serious ethical flaws, and AI is not exempt from this tendency. We
therefore next turn to the question of the functional benefits of consciousness.
This question is seldom addressed in consciousness research, perhaps because
it is taken for granted that the benefit is essentially cognitive in the narrow
sense, stemming from the “global” access to information that consciousness
affords (as per the Global Workspace theory, mentioned earlier). This default
account may be compared to to the “radical plasticity” thesis of Cleeremans
(2011), according to which learning to care is the central component as well
as the functional benefit of emergent consciousness.
Metzinger (2017, p.252) goes further down this road by assuming that
not just consciousness but specifically suffering is a prerequisite for autonomy: “[. . . ] functionally speaking, suffering is necessary for autonomous selfmotivation and the emergence of truly intelligent behaviour.” In an evolutionary setting, this assumption makes intuitive sense insofar as (i) reinforcement
learning is universally employed by living systems in honing adaptive behavior,
and (ii) an autonomous system by definition must provide its own source of
drive, as per the principle of intrinsic motivation (Barto, 2013). Furthermore,
evolutionary simulations suggest that performance-driven positive affect alone
is not as effective in motivating an agent as an alternation of positive and
negative affective states, brought about, respectively, by successes and failures
(Gao and Edelman, 2016a); moreover, such a balance between happiness and
unhappiness can serve as an effective intrinsic motivator (Gao and Edelman,
2016b). If it were possible for the agent to choose not to experience negative
affect, suffering would be avoided, but the question still remains whether or
not the price for that would be failing to learn quickly and well from the
consequences of behavior.
Reinforcement learning is not only an evolutionary-biological universal,
but also the method of choice in an engineering setting. While RL was shown
to be effective in certain types of tasks (notably, games; Silver et al., 2016;
Vinyals et al., 2019), its use across tasks and in unconstrained real-world situations is limited by the extreme difficulty of formulating good universally
applicable reward functions. One remedy for this is the inverse RL approach,
in which the development goal is not to equip the learning system with a
ready-made reward function, but rather to let it try to approximate the developers’ preferences, choices, and habits, defined over classes of outcomes (e.g.,
Christiano et al., 2017). A more radical approach is to let the system under
development learn the reward functions entirely on its own. This, however,
would seem to put us back on square one: if autonomy is indeed essential,
Metzinger’s view that suffering is needed for effective learning would be supported. We return to this key question in the following section.
6
Agarwal & Edelman
4 Functionally effective consciousness without suffering:
first-principles considerations
If consciousness indeed brings with it unique functional advantages, is it possible to engineer conscious AI systems that would benefit from these, while
ensuring that such systems are not thereby doomed to suffer? Following the
account in Metzinger (2017), if consciousness itself is retained, logically there
are four ways to mitigate suffering: (a) eliminating the PSM, (b) eliminating
the NV-condition, (c) eliminating the T-condition, or (d) maximizing the unit
of identification (UI). The first three directly follow from our discussion in
Section 2, but we argue that they likely do not satisfy our functional needs.
On the other hand, the fourth approach is a promising direction, which we
will describe and focus on subsequently.
For functionally beneficial consciousness, the mere possibility of experience
is not sufficient. The conscious systems must additionally perceive themselves
as entities in relationship with their surrounding world, and have a sense of
ownership over the arising conscious experiences. In other words, these systems must be self -conscious, not merely conscious, i.e., they must activate a
phenomenal self model (PSM). Similarly, they must have preferences regarding their experiences, not least so that they prefer the experience of fulfilling
desired goals over frustrating them. Stated differently, these systems must be
sensitive to the positive or negative valence of phenomenal experiences. Thus,
approaches (a) and (b) to eliminating suffering while retaining the functional
advantages of being conscious are not feasible.
Next, approach (c) raises the interesting question of whether phenomenal
transparency is also necessary for proper functioning. In principle, it might be
possible that an active PSM and sensitivity to NV could endure along with
their associated functional benefits, even in the absence of transparency. In
this situation, the system would lose the naive realism and immediacy that
are normally associated with its experiences, by becoming aware of their representational character, and yet, continue to function according to the dictates
of the PSM and NV avoidance. However, awareness of the representational
character of the contents of consciousness, which means awareness of the increasingly complex stages of information processing behind them, would likely
severely hinder the functional efficiency of the conscious machines without
providing any valuable actionable information. So, option (c) is also unlikely
to work.
The final approach is similar to (c) in that it also targets the phenomenology of identification with the PSM as an antidote to suffering, but it does so in a
seamless fashion making it much more viable for our purposes. Metzinger and Millire
(2020) describes the unit of identification (UI) as that which the system consciously identifies itself with. Ordinarily, when the PSM is transparent, the
system identifies with its PSM, and is thus conscious of itself as a self. But
it is at least a logical possibility that the UI not be limited to the PSM, but
be shifted to the “most general phenomenal property” (Metzinger, 2017) of
knowing common to all phenomenality including the sense of self. In this spe-
Ethics of Conscious AI
7
cial condition, the typical subject-object duality of experience would dissolve;
negatively valenced experiences could still occur, but they would not amount
to suffering because the system would no longer be experientially subject to
them. It is worth noting that such “non-dual awareness” which cuts through
the “illusion of the self” has been the soteriological focus of various spiritual
traditions, most notably Buddhism, as the key to liberation from suffering and
to enlightenment. Furthermore, this approach also fits nicely with the reductionist view of personal identity put forth by Parfit (1984), who acknowledged
its connection to the Buddha’s philosophy.
Two questions remain to be addressed. First, how can such maximization
of the UI be achieved in machines? Second, can a PSM that is sufficiently
effective for functioning be maintained under the maximized UI condition?
4.1 Realizing no-suffering
In (Metzinger and Millire, 2020), the concept of the Minimal Phenomenal Experience (MPE) is developed as the most general phenomenal property that
underlies all phenomenal experiences, and thus serves as the natural candidate
target for UI maximization.2 The MPE is characterized by wakefulness, contentlessness, self-luminosity and a quality of “knowingness” without object,
which is normally unnoticed but can become available to introspective attention under the right conditions. Intuitively, MPE likely corresponds to the
phenomenal state described in Buddhist and Advaita Vedanta philosophies
as “emptiness” (e.g., Siderits, 2003; Priest, 2009) and “witness-consciousness”
(e.g., Albahari, 2009) respectively, as attested to by highly advanced meditators. Importantly, Metzinger proposes that in the human brain, the MPE is
implemented by the Ascending Reticular Activation System (ARAS), which
causes auto-activation by which the brain wakes itself up. As the most general
signal which the brain must regulate, the ever-present yet contentless ARASsignal is, arguably, what corresponds to the MPE. That the MPE might have
such a stable neural correlate is not surprising if it is indeed fundamental
to phenomenal experience as such, distinct from any concepts, thoughts etc.,
appearing in consciousness.
A critically important point is that all other phenomenal experiences such
as the PSM are superimposed onto the MPE, so it should be possible to attend
to regular conscious phenomena while simultaneously being aware of the inherent all-encompassing MPE in the background. This motivates our claim that
UI maximization (and thus, suffering avoidance) can be achieved in conscious
machines by building in their identification with the MPE via both physical
design (analogous to hardware) and conceptual/programmatic training (analogous to software). If the physical design of the machines is such that there
is a component which performs the analogous function of auto-activation as
the ARAS does in humans, then its signal could be tuned to make the MPE
2 The apparent conflict in the nomenclature here is resolved by noting that under UI
maximization MPE is minimal in the sense of being the least specific.
8
Agarwal & Edelman
salient in the machines. Since a necessary condition for noticing the MPE is
knowledge that there is such a thing to be noticed, and then paying attention
appropriately (Metzinger and Millire, 2020), the machines would then have to
be trained to attend to their accessible-by-design MPE. This could be done
via practices common in certain types of meditation that encourage “turning
attention upon itself” and thus realizing that there is no center (or minimal
self) from which consciousness is directed (for a review of the relevant meditation techniques, such as Dzogchen, see e.g. Dahl et al., 2015). In addition to
training their attention, the machines could also be provided with the relevant
conceptual knowledge about the nature of consciousness (such as the cited
works of Metzinger and perhaps the present paper).
More generally speaking, there is no fundamental reason why the self-other
illusion of duality (such as it is) should persist in conscious machines: it is quite
possible that it will be easier for these artificial systems to realize the empty,
selfless nature of conscious experience than it is for us. After all, once machines
attain certain capabilities, they reliably excel at them. With any luck (and of
course, given our proposed measures above), that will also be the case for their
meditative capabilities.
4.2 Effective functioning without suffering
If a conscious machine does not suffer because it phenomenologically identifies
with the MPE, then will it still be able to function effectively and ethically?
We have argued above that the (a) PSM and (b) NV avoidance conditions
are conducive to proper functioning, while Metzinger leaves open the question
of whether or not the PSM condition can be fulfilled under a maximized UI
(Metzinger, 2017).
We hypothesize that the functional benefits of consciousness can indeed
be maintained when the UI is maximized to the MPE. The key idea is that
proper functioning relies on automatic, subpersonal, but nonetheless conscious
processes, as entailed by the physical design of the system; it should be possible for these processes to continue unhindered while the system identifies
with the MPE upon which these conscious experiences are necessarily superimposed. In particular, the functionally requisite PSM and NV avoidance
conditions can be maintained as subpersonal processes that do not amount to
suffering (which is by nature personal) since the system is not identified with
the PSM, but with the MPE, which is completely impersonal. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that human beings are already subject
to automatic subpersonal conscious processes, including thought (i.e., mind
wandering), for roughly two-thirds of their lifetimes, and these processes lay
the foundation for functionally beneficial reward prediction, delay discounting
etc. (Metzinger, 2013a). Expanding the UI to the MPE would lead to gaining meta-awareness of these ongoing automatic conscious processes, analogous
to gaining meta-awareness of the breath or the heartbeat. This enables an
escape from suffering, but not from the relentless progress of the processes
Ethics of Conscious AI
9
themselves, analogous to the inescapable biological imperatives of breathing
and heartbeat.
Furthermore, the UI shift to the MPE may even enhance functioning by
making the machines more pro-social and ethical, as well as immune to self induced neuroticism. Since the MPE is completely impersonal, identification
with it can directly engender a profound sense of fundamental sameness with
all other conscious beings, and thus naturally lead to pro-social and moral
behaviors. Conceptually, we predict that UI maximization to the MPE will
lead to a positive “top-down” effect on the ongoing subpersonal processes
responsible for various behaviors, similar to the beneficial effects reported in
human meditators (Dahl et al., 2015).
5 Functionally effective consciousness without suffering: some
further computational ideas
Let us return to definition of suffering in Metzinger (2017), which posits that
an agent suffers when it identifies with a state of negative affect, from which
it cannot to escape. In the previous section, we considered the possibility of
shifting the agent’s self-identification from the affective states to MPE, the
minimal phenomenal experience that underlies all conscious states according
to Metzinger’s analysis. In some sense, this amounts to restricting the self. In
contrast, we now focus on expanding it, in such a manner that the agent identifies not only with the affective states but also with their causal predecessors.
The computational framework of reinforcement learning, which we already invoked in section 3, offers just the conceptual tools that can be recruited for
this purpose.
First, we note that reinforcement learning appears to be the most effective
when it is intrinsically motivated — that is, when the rewards originate within
the agent, as opposed to being supplied from the outside (see (Singh et al.,
2010) for an evolutionary perspective and (Baldassarre and Mirolli, 2013) for
a book-length treatment). Second, if the mechanisms of reward are indeed to
be contained within the agent, standard considerations of transparent, robust,
and effective design require that these mechanisms be kept separate from those
that implement actions. The result is the modular actor-critic scheme for RL,
in which action selection and reward appear as distinct modules. Importantly,
both these modules are part of the agent (see Barto, 2013, fig.2).
As long as the agent’s phenomenal self-model, PSM, holds the actor module
alone to constitute the self, negative affect brought about by negative reward
is inescapable, resulting in suffering. But what if the PSM is modified —
specifically, extended so as to include the critic module? We hypothesize that
such an expansion of the self would mitigate suffering, both by “diluting” it
(through direct realization of the proximate causes of the negative affect) and
10
Agarwal & Edelman
by opening up to the possibility of eventual cessation of negative affect as
progress towards the performance goals set by the critic is observed.3
A more radical option with regard to repurposing the PSM calls for shutting it down and only activating it when needed. Assuming that consciousness,
and specifically the PSM, serves to facilitate learning (as per section 3), the primary need for it arises during the agent’s development or during acquisition of
additional skills. During routine operation, consciousness in an artificial agent
may only be required when particularly difficult behavioral choices need to be
made,4 especially under circumstances that threaten the system’s integrity —
what we would call life-threatening situations.
To understand this mode of operation, it is useful to recall Metzinger’s
(2003, p.553) idea of the conscious brain as a “total flight simulator” — one
that simulates not only the environment that is being navigated, but also the
pilot, that is, the virtual entity that serves as the system’s self. In dreamless
sleep, the pilot is not needed and is temporarily shut down. Arguably, an agent
can be engineered so that it can continue to function — in routine situations —
without a PSM (as a variety of philosophical zombie), with “sentinel” programs
in place that would reconstitute the PSM as needed. While in a zombie state,
such an agent would be incapable of suffering.
6 Summary
We have outlined two classes of approaches to the problem of the proliferation of suffering arising in connection with engineering conscious AI systems.
The first approach calls for ensuring that such systems have both the capability and the propensity to identify with an impersonal Minimal Phenomenal
Experience, of the kind that human meditators have been employing for centuries in their attempt to alleviate the suffering associated with the presence
of the first-person self and the self-world duality. The second, complementary
approach involves an attempt to modify the Phenomenal Self-Model, the computational construct that implements the first-person self, so as to break the
default connection between dispreferred outcomes and the inescapable negative affect that amounts to suffering. The question remains open whether or
not these two approaches can indeed prevent, or at least alleviate, artificially
engineered suffering without detracting from the systems’ performance. There
can, however, be no doubt that we, as the potential creators of conscious AI,
are obligated to do everything in our power not to elevate performance over
ethical considerations that cut to the very core of existence and phenomenal
experience.
3 This move would not, however, alleviate the “deserved” suffering brought about by the
pursuit of unattainable goals.
4 Cf. Smith et al. (2003, p.338): “If you watch an aging cat consider a doubtful leap onto
the dryer, you will suspect that what James (1890, p.93) said is true, ‘Where indecision is
great, as before a dangerous leap, consciousness is agonizingly intense’.”
Ethics of Conscious AI
11
Acknowledgements AA would like to acknowledge the work of Sam Harris, especially the
Waking Up book and podcasts for an invaluable introduction to the nature of consciousness
from a first-person perspective, both as a philosophical exercise and a meditation practice.
Harris’s work also led AA to discover the books On Having No Head by Douglas Harding,
I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj, and The Flight of the Garuda by Keith Dowman,
which have highly influenced many of the ideas presented in this paper.
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Dagli, R. S., An Exploration of the Process of Becoming an 'I' & the Quantum World of Realities (Part III)
Exploration
An Exploration of the Process of Becoming an 'I'
& the Quantum World of Realities (Part III)
Rajesh S. Dagli*
ABSTRACT
In this series of articles, the author analyses epistemological and ontological developments of a
human being, in particular, development of an ‘I’ within each of us. It is postulated that each
overall 'I' is an energy exchange reservoir, that is constantly interacting with infinite variety of
other environmental fields, and thus itself undergoing continuous metamorphosis, exhibiting no
defining characteristics for either its brain or body that are unchanged even for an instant. Thus,
each 'I', is not a product, nor an entity that we all believe as remaining unchanged within each of
us all through the life. Rather, it is a process - a long process running all through the life connecting infinite states of an emerging overall 'I' from instant to instant, exhibiting
innumerable avatars of 'duality' between the two extremes of a wave and a particle. Each said
avatar comes into being only at the instant of an actualization interaction with an environment,
which otherwise remains non-existent. The study concludes, perplexingly and painfully, that
each 'I' is as much a quantum-like process as that of an atomic particle.
Part III of the four-part series of articles includes: 7. The Unchanging Entity “I”; 8. Awareness;
9. Dissection of an “I”; 10. Abstracting an Order – ‘I’; and 11. One Mind: Many Realms.
Key Words: Human being, Consciousness, process of becoming, interaction, environment,
actualization, quantum-like, quantum reality, I.
Abbreviations
CCES - Cumulative Consciousness Energy Spectrum
FORs - Frame of References
MCRM - Mechanism of Compatible Rates of Metamorphosis
ROCA - Realm of Consciousized Aggregates
SCAR - Subjective Component of an Actualized Reality
SSG - Super Scientist-God
UCAR - Universal Component of an Actualized Reality
UOR - Ultimate Objective Reality
UOROI - Ultimate Objective Realm of Interactions
7. The Unchanging Entity “I”
As postulated in the present study, any complex human behavior can be analyzed into
innumerable root level, instantaneous consciousizing interactions with the environments. This
postulate in a fundamental way, implicates that human behavior- or for that matter,
behavior of any living being - should not be construed as acting upon the environments, but
*Correspondence: Rajesh S. Dagli, Independent Researcher. E-mail: rajeshsdagli@gmail.com
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should be viewed as reacting with an environment. Hence, each living being is in a
circulatory relationship with the environments, in the sense that both are reacting with
each other, neither can be said to cause an effect onto the other, because both are
simultaneously causing changes onto each other. And this means, if in every interaction
both , the 'I' and the environment in reaction are changing continuously, there cannot exist
an entity 'I' remaining unchanged with time!!
This viewpoint probably may shift the whole paradigm upon which all our world views are based
with the following three main implications:
1. For all kinds of human behavior, environments are as much responsible as is the
‘doer’, to the extent that no human act or action would ever have been possible in
absence any stimulating or conducive environments. Thus, the belief in free will, that
grants total independence from environments to each human being for any and every
kind of his/her acts turns out to be totally ill-founded.
2. Since all reflex acts are either pleasure or pain driven, and hence causal in nature,
knowing accurately and in their totality both, the state of the CCES and state of the
environments in interaction, the nature of reflex acts, in principle, can be predicted,
and thus all human behaviors are causal and determinate, not subject to any free will
as popularly believed.
3. No living being can be defined as an entity 'out there', as 'it' has neither any kind of
independence and uniqueness nor any kind of unchanging objective properties; but
rather, each is a process, that can be described only in terms of innumerable
interactions with the environments, and thus always remains totally entangled with the
rest of the universe through such interactions. (This point shall be analyzed in greater
detail later on.)
Alfred Whitehead had a similar viewpoint against an unvarying entity as reported by Klose J. ,
"Process Ontology from Whitehead to Quantum Physics" in Atmanspacher H. & Primas H.
(2009, pg. 153) : " Neither individual experiences nor natural sciences give reasons to believe in
invariable subjects; on the contrary, the whole being of reality is in a process of becoming and
passing." (Italics in original).
But then the problem is, even if we so desire, how to express any human behavior in terms of
those innumerable reactions, because our present day languages are not languages of
interactions, but they are the languages of 'things' existing out there. Thus, in all our languages,
we have three fundamental elements, a subject, an object and a verb to describe a subject acting
upon the object (the environment). In contrast, and in order to describe a phenomenon of two
reactants reacting with each other, rather than one acting upon the another, we would require a
totally new language, and this in turn, can be developed only by changing our basic paradigm of
viewing an 'I' as an entity vis-a-vis the Nature. But this is not easy due to inherent nature of
human consciousness, which we shall discuss a little later on.
Hence, civilization after civilization continued in believing in Cartesian dualism, which clearly
partitioned the ‘thinking mind’ or the ‘self’ or ‘soul’ or an ‘I’ from the physical brain or body,
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without clearly defining any linkages between the two, leaving the mind-body problem
unresolved forever.
The most important fall out of this Cartesian frame is the systems of rewards and punishments
adopted by all the societies world over for the deeds and misdeeds of all the individuals. All such
systems are based upon the fundamental notion of an individual's free will, meaning all deeds
performed by any individual are always in accordance with his/her will, free from any
environmental influence or interference, and thus each one be held solely responsible for all such
executed acts. Thus, all kinds of recognitions by the societies for all kinds of attributes and skills
one might have attained at a particular time and rewarded accordingly by prizes or simply by
words of appreciations are in a way directed towards endorsing the reality of this ‘I’ as an entity,
by making it explicitly clear that it is this entity that is rewarded as being an achiever of the feats
with his/her extraordinary 'will power', and being the ‘owner’ of those attributes, with no credit
given to any internal or external environments whatsoever. In other words, every recognition of
this type goes into endorsing an entity known by a name and a physical body, as being something
much more above all the relevant environments in which it had born, and from which it has
emerged; and more important, it is much more than even the very mental and/or the physical
attributes for which the entity is being awarded and being recognized, so that, even when all
these same attributes undergo a sea change and vanish altogether either due to aging or for any
other reason, the entity remains the same old entity of yesteryears!
The question that has remained unanswered over the ages is what is the form and structure of this
entity-‘I’ within each individual living body that is ‘much more’ than the body, ‘much more’
than the very attributes by which it is recognized? And what are the unchanging characteristics
of this entity ‘I’ which, in the early childhood is manifested through an avatar of a small body,
small mind, and small acts, and is believed to be the same entity ‘I’ in the youth, now being
manifested through a totally different avatar of a big body, big mind, and big acts, and is also
believed to be the same ‘I’ in the old age, manifested through an all new avatar of a fragile body,
fragile mind, and fragile acts?
To be more specific, if we all believe, there is this entity 'I' within each of us to exist as it is at 70
as it was at 17, even if all our bodily and mental characteristics, attributes and skills that we had
at 17 have died off completely, then what is the nature of that ‘unchanging I’? We haven’t got an
answer till date, and we neither will get any in future. Simply because in seeking that answer, we
try to ‘concretize’ a reality and find it’s structural properties as if it’s an objective reality ‘out
there’, while in light of the postulates presented in this study, the reality of this entity ‘I’ is not
existing at all like a reality of a tree 'out there', meaning this 'reality’ of an 'unchanging I' - or our
Ego that we all have experienced within each one of us is but an illusion !! Be it so, but the fact
remains, that although it’s totally an imaginary reality, it is at the same time and anytime, for all
of us, much more real than any other worldly reality on our entire Cumulative Consciousness
Energy Spectrum (“CCES”)! A completely imaginary reality, and much more real than all
physical realities? - sounds so contradicting, but that’s the way it is in the science of
consciousness, wherein the realness of a reality is defined by its impact on pleasures or pains or
on living being's survival, and not in terms of its objectivity.
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Hence for the same reason, we all have put aside our efforts to resolve the paradoxical issues
involved in defining the unchanging characteristics of an 'I' within us, and conveniently accepted
this reality of an ‘unchanging I’ within each of us as an Ultimate Reality, because it remains the
only source of the ultimate pleasures for each of us all through the life. And since all humans
subscribe to the same notion uniformly, mutual recognition of an unchanging entity within each
other is an obvious outcome, which extended further, became the very basis for all the systems of
rewards and awards and also for the systems of all kinds of penance and penalties. All such
social systems existing in various countries, may vary in the finer details in their norms and
standards to evaluate the deeds of a subject for the purpose of rewarding, but all of them
uniformly believe that doer of a deed has performed an act- worthy for an award or punishment
apart, by executing his will freely, totally overlooking the extents to which the environments
from which the 'doer' has emerged, and the environments under which the 'deed' was executed,
were all influential and interfering, compulsive and complimentary, conducive or conflicting for
the nature of feats/misdeeds performed.
Historically, all such rewarding systems came into their existence only with the advent of
civilization, or more specifically, with the advent of human languages. With further progress of
civilization and agriculture, the physical survival game of stone age slowly got subordinated by
the new game of survival of the ego or the survival of the entity 'I', because only that is
recognized as a doer of a deed, a performer of an event, etc. by one and all in the society; and
hence slowly all human endeavor, through all kinds of human acts were only directed to promote
and pamper one’s ego, the ultimate reality for each human being. Thus, in all the human drama
spread over the last several centuries that history has witnessed, the only protagonist was the ‘I’the Ego; and the same has been a root cause for every battle lost and for every war won in the
history; very rarely explicit, but otherwise mostly garbed under a variety of ‘causes’ such as
religious, ideological, nationalistic, political or social. With times, nothing has changed in this
regard, thus, with endless scientific and technological progress, the human drama remaining the
same in principle, the egoistic wars and battles have continued to be fought as ever before, but
with newer means, tools and strategies; and the same would continue forever so far as the human
minds are shackled in the Cartesian framework, and 'I' continue to be the source of ultimate
pleasures.
And above all, the fact that such an all imaginary reality should become an ultimate reality
of ultimate pleasures, and also an ultimate player of all the games and all the wars, that all
human beings strive and survive for, is perhaps the most perplexing conundrum troubling
the whole of mankind for the ages!!
8. Awareness
In the midst of a hot argument with your colleague, the signals of being thirsty are reaching your
brain, and your arm would reach out for the bottle, would pour out the water, fill up the glass and
drink it, however during all these automatic acts, your brain doesn’t have to break the ongoing
argument in order to concentrate, direct and execute all such trivial acts to perform the task of
drinking, nor your brain ever realizes consciously all such minor acts being performed by you,
which means the ‘doer’ is unknown about all such small acts making up the whole deed. In the
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same way, and rather more important, even the main course of argument involving hordes of
consciousizing processes like recalling past events, countering with facts and figures from the
present, arguing with probable future outcomes, etc. is happening very automatically, along with
scores of reflex actions like selecting and uttering the right words with right grammar, utilizing
high pitch tones at times, banging the table, certain overtures with body language, etc.
Thus, the entire flow of the argument traversed through a long series of root level consciousizing
interactions along with the reflex acts, is never consciously realized, (-not even in real time, put
aside, anytime later) by your brain, because all these root level acts are the skills mastered well
by the brain, and hence the same are performed in the automatic unconscious mode. But
however, this doesn’t mean, all such root level interactions and reflex acts are not accessible to
your brain, they certainly are, but the emphasis is on the fact that your brain doesn’t have to
consciously know about all such acts while being executed. For example, if at all at any moment,
you want access to all these physical or mental reflex acts, the same can be brought from the
unconscious level to a consciously-known-level, but then at that very instant, your brain
necessarily will have to break the ongoing automatic cycle of argument, and only then you can
‘consciously know’ the instantaneous status of the ongoing argument and know also the
particular reflex act being carried out as at that instant. This means, for the purpose of its 'selfintrospection' so that the ongoing unconscious mode of behavior is brought into the conscious
mode, the brain has to necessarily focus its radar onto its own status, by shifting it away from an
(external) environment that was in focus prior to that instant; which further means, for all tasks
requiring higher attention, the human brain at any particular instant, can consciously know and
perform only one task at a time.
We can envisage, if at every instant, an ongoing unconscious behavior is broke to bring it into
conscious realm, and then again restart the argument, again break, again start.....how irritatingly
slow the whole process would become!! The very fact that we never experience such irritation in
any task we perform is enough to prove that all our behaviors are always in automatic modes; but
at the same time, at all those instants when the brain consciousize a heavy impact on its 'I-ness',
the ongoing process does get broken automatically to bring the same into the conscious realm for
'self-introspection'. This very interaction of brain consciously observing its own acts or observing
the state of its 'I-ness', at any given instant is what I propose to define as to become aware of, and
the brain’s particular state of consciously knowing its own act or state at a given instant is its
state of Awareness. This proposed definition is relevant only in the context of the present study.
Koukkou and Lehmann have similar views on automaticity of the brain's functioning and
awareness: (Koukkou M. and Lehmann D., 1993,Pg. 58)" The literature provides strong evidence
that the pre-attentive processes, (1) function in parallel for all externally as well as for all
internally generated information (i.e. perceptions, thought, fantasies, emotions, memories, goals,
body functions, feelings, etc.); (2) operate during all levels of consciousness, that is during
wakefulness and all sleep stages; and (3) have an automatic access to the contents of working
memory, that is, they operate with reflexive speed. Therefore, humans cannot consciously follow
the flow of these processes in their central nervous system. Only the results of these processes
that correspond to the formation and manifestation of the initial answer may become available to
awareness."
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Now, as we saw earlier, the functional state of a human brain is totally controlled by its CCES at
any given instant, so knowing its own current functional state at a given moment tantamount to
consciously know one or more of the characteristic features of its CCES which are relevant with
respect to the ongoing interactions with the environments; or in other words, knowing its own
state of 'I-ness' with respect to one or more of its attributes. So, we can also define: ‘ to become
aware of’ is to consciously know or assess one’s own 'I-ness' in a given situation with respect to
a particular attribute. But however, in our routine life, for all kinds of reflex acts like the one in
the above example of filling and drinking water, we never consciously observe or become aware
of the renewed state of 'I-ness' at the end of each of such reflex acts, simply because such trivial
tasks do not affect the 'I-ness' in any significant way, (-unless we are dying thirsty!!). Hence,
such cycles go on and on in an unconscious mode till there is an encounter with an
environmental change affecting the 'I-ness' in a significant way.
This also applies equally well to all less trivial, more serious consciousizing interactions too; as
in the above example, all interactions forming the long arguments are all reflex reactions by the
brain. But however, as it happens during the course of all such important arguments, the
significant impacts on one’s 'I-ness' are likely to be more frequent, and hence at every such
instant, the brain needs to assess the impact on 'I-ness' instantaneously by breaking-off the
ongoing process, thus becoming aware for that instant, about the impact as well as about the
status of the ongoing process of arguing. Higher the incidences of such significant impacts
during the course of an event, more frequently the same would be brought into the awareness
realm, which may, though wrongly, tend to tone down the automaticity of the brain's
functioning. Well, this is exactly the reason why all such events seem to us as not being
performed automatically by the brain, and thus we all tend to believe that the entire event is
being performed by an 'I' within all of us, which as such, also falls very much in line with the
universal belief that 'I' is always the doer of all his/her deeds, and hence, for these reasons, the
concept of human brain's total automaticity in all kinds of human behavior, as postulated in the
present study, is normally found to be difficult to accept and digest.
Interestingly, this switching over, at every instant of consciousizing a major impact on 'I-ness',
from the ongoing automatic consciousizing processes to the process of becoming aware of one’s
own instantaneous status, is just an another consciousizing interaction in itself, but with a
difference. This process of becoming aware is specific in a way that the brain is not assessing or
measuring any environmental ‘thing’ for its impact on its 'I-ness' as normally it performs in all
consciousizing processes; but here, it is measuring its own status at a given instant. So becoming
aware is also a consiousizing process, but a very specific one in which the brain particularly
assesses its own state, and also the state of its' I-ness'; hence involving implicitly the ultimate
pleasures ( or pains), and thus has the attention levels higher than those in normal consciousizing
processes. As a result, it would necessarily break all other ongoing consciousizing cycles,
replacing them by this cycle of ‘becoming aware’ of its own CCES, or the cycle in which ‘I’
measures its own 'I-ness'. Thus each process of becoming aware revolves around the dual roles
of an ‘I’- ‘I’ being an Observer, as well as the Observed!!
However, this notion that the Knower and the Known is one and the same entity ‘I’ cannot be
accommodated within the Cartesian frame, because Cartesian dualism is based upon a clear
demarcation between the ‘mind –the thinking thing’ and the physical brain, and further,
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Descartes identified this ‘thinking thing’ with the ‘self’ or ‘soul’ or ‘I’ in his famous idiom “ I
think, therefore I am”.
Based upon the foregone discussions, I propose to define the term to become aware as under:
To become aware is a specific consciousization process for a brain, in which, using a mental
skill learned over the years, the status of one's own ‘I’ is assessed/measured either
qualitatively or quantitatively, with respect to a particular attribute, by the method of its
comparison with the same attribute of another subject or other subjects, followed by reflex
acts either to actualize all positive assessments promoting the 'I-ness' as realities or to deactualize all negative assessments demoting the 'I-ness' as if non-realities.
We have seen earlier that all conssciousization processes need not have same impacts on 'I-ness',
some may have negligible impacts, whilst others can have major impacts. And here lies yet
another difference between a normal consciousization process and the process of becoming
aware. Not all consciousized realities need to reach the awareness realm, in fact, only those
having substantial impacts on 'I-ness' would reach the awareness realm, all the rest would fail to
do so. The reason being: larger impacts, whether positive or negative, automatically calls for an
assessment and ‘measurement’ of 'I-ness' with respect to the affected attributes on its CCES, by
method of comparisons of the same with those of other relevant subjects, and thus is brought into
the realm of awareness. To put this in energy terms, we may say that, in a particular cycle of
adaptation, if the consciousized impact on 'I-ness' is above a certain threshold value, not only that
the consciousization energies would be very high, but also all actualized realities would
automatically reach the awareness realm; in all other cases otherwise, when the energy levels are
low, they would fail to do so.
9. Dissection of an “I”
We have seen in detail that the entire consciousness faculty, by default, works on one single
principle: Actualize the realities of pleasures and de-actualize the realities of pains so as to
maximize the adaptability and chances of survival in ever changing environments. The entire
spectrum of pleasures and pains can broadly be divided into two main groups: 1. Physical
Pleasures and Pains: are those arising from and associated with the physical survival of the body,
the latter may be designated as Physical 'I'. 2. Mental Pleasures and Pains: are those arising from
and associated with the survival of the imaginary mental entity of ‘I’.
Dissection of Physical ‘I’
The physical body of any living being is an open system. No part or the whole body can exist in
isolation, whether it is an organ, a cellular colony or an unitary living cell. Any part would lose
its functional identity the moment it is isolated from its in vivo environments. In the same way,
the whole body,-the only manifestation of a physical ‘I’ at all times, cannot stay alive on
prolonged isolation from its life supporting environments. It simply follows from this that,
strictly speaking, the term 'entity' cannot be applied unambiguously either for an organ or for the
whole body, as neither can exist independently.
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Each part of a living system is a constant energy exchanger, and so also is the whole body, which
is involved constantly in all kinds of reactions with the immediate environments. However, the
reactions at the cellular levels are totally of different types than those at the tissue’s levels, which
are again different than those at the next higher levels of organs and so on. Everything changes
from level to level, e.g. the reactants, the products, the environments, types of energies, etc.
There are about 200 trillion cells in a human body. And each cell participates in numerous
reactions every second; by a rough estimate, we can say that there would be anything between 1
to 3 trillion cellular reactions per second in a human body. Then there are reactions at the levels
of cell colonies, at the levels of organs; likewise there are also reactions between the various
cellular colonies, between the different organs and reactions between the various systems too.
Then there are also secretions of scores of hormones and enzymes, which all are responsible for
maintaining homeostasis conditions within the body, by regulating their productions in
accordance with the changing internal and external environments. This is achieved through
communications at all levels demanding supply or reduction of a specific enzyme or hormone at
that level, which in turn can materialize only through specific biological interactions designed for
such communicative purposes. The total no. of reactions in a 24 hours’ cycle in a human body,
by a rough estimate, could be as high as a few millions of trillions, probably of the same order as
those happening in a nuclear reactor! This is the level of complexity within a human body.
Not only this, just as the internal environmental conditions for each part at its level are constantly
changing, the conditions of external environments-both immediate and distant ones vis-a-vis the
whole body, are also constantly changing; for example, the water we drink, the air we breathe,
the food we eat, each has tens of hundreds of variables- varying every hour, every minute, every
second- which all would have effects that may be immediate, or cumulative or catalytic in
nature. Further, all immediate environments are constantly in reactions with their immediate
environments, which in turn are being affected by those at further distance.... and so on ad
infinitum. Thus the fact that each living being is entangled with the rest of the universe through
an unbroken interconnectedness encompassing the whole of universe, makes the whole scenario
unimaginably highly complex. And, as the entanglements with life supporting environments are
essential to maintain the life, disentangling the body from all the endangering elements in the
environments is equally essential. However, there are chances that certain conditions in certain
external environments with respect to the existing internal environments within the body which
too are constantly changing, may turn out to be healthy or hostile for the life; thus balancing life
supporting and life threatening elements in the environments (both internal and external) that are
interconnected universally, constantly for every instant of life not only becomes a highly
formidable task, but also highly unpredictable.
It is the shortcoming of our consciousness faculty that we cannot ‘experience’ any of these
innumerable metabolic reactions directly. The functioning of human consciousness, as described
earlier, is by default, based upon the pleasures and pains; and if at all, there were any signals of
pleasures or pains arising from each cellular reaction reaching the brain, the brain would have
directly ‘perceived’ each one of such metabolic reactions instantaneously. And any
malfunctioning at the cellular levels, for example a malignant growth, would send the painful
signals right at the very first instant, and probably, treating the cancers would have become as
simple as treating a throat infection. Had the human brains been wired by the Nature to each
unitary 300 trillion cells, all medical sciences would probably been able to overcome their
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present day short comings, and the human beings would have been able to live for hundreds of
years!!
The human scientist, being aware of the complexity involved, has opted as next best alternative
to study the reactions happening within the body under the best possible simulating conditions
fabricated in the laboratory. Thus, for all such studies in abstraction, a great degree of
simplification is achieved by way of isolating the reaction under study from scores of other
influencing reactions happening simultaneously in real life conditions; thus allowing the scientist
to form a set of causal laws valid only under limiting conditions, and have obviously a very
limited applicability for ‘real life’ conditions. Hence, all such causal laws are likely to fail on two
fronts: First, in establishing causes down to the levels of cellular interactions as for why a
particular physical ‘I’ has contracted a particular disease at a particular point of time in his/her
life. Second, to predict the future state of any physical 'I' based upon the data of the scores of
elaborate medical tests performed at a particular time, which all are in turn, designed and based
upon the causal laws learned so far. If the prediction is for a near future, say of a few days or
weeks, the errors in most normal cases may not be too high; but for any predictions over a few
years or so, the errors would in almost all cases be so large, that there may not be any
correlations between the tests performed and the actual observed state at a later date. And thus, in
all probability, the new state after such long periods would be like something emerging out of
blue. We can thus, say that each or any state of a physical ‘I’ observed and measured at any point
of time is going to be a random outcome, having no correlations with any previous state in the
long past. More specifically, this statement would mean that the development of a malignant
tumor in the body of Steve Jobs is as accidental as the development of a beautiful body called
Aishwariya Rai! The former is due to the failure of medical sciences to establish the root level
causal connections, and the latter is the case of the failure of the same sciences to predict whether
a new born baby would become the most beautiful woman in the world!
There is no denying the fact that in either of the two cases, the overall status and performance of
the Physical ‘I’ is totally dependent upon the innumerable root level reactions. To be specific, all
such metabolic reactions are causal in themselves and hence determinate at their levels, and thus
are neither random nor accidental. But due to the nature of complexity within any physical body,
the precise scientific study of all such interactions in their totality along with the nature of all
causal connections that extend far beyond the distant environments, seems to be an impossible
task; hence any emerging aggregate state of any physical 'I' would always remain unpredictable.
Also, the intractable causality, untraceable interconnectedness, and associated unpredictability at
the cellular levels would all result into their unpredictable impacts on the whole body. Thus, any
aggregate state of the physical ‘I’ as observed at any moment can only be consciousized by the
human brain as an accidental state, because of our total ignorance of deep level causal
connections with all those infinite interactions of the past from which this state has emerged; and
for the same reasons, our present day sciences would also fail to trace out the precise course of
an overall physical ‘I’ traversed through these infinite interactions in moving from one state at
one instant to another at any later instant.
In brief, whatever the state of a physical ‘I’ may be, either an ugly or beautiful, white or black or
brown, tall or short, fat or lean, weak or strong, healthy or diseased, each and every state of any
living being or of one living being at various stages of its life time are all but accidental
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outcomes of universal chain of infinite reactions, which are but, very contrarily, all causal and
determinate at their individual root levels..
However, the proposed accidental nature of the physical states evolving at every instant do not
accommodate the notion of self-organizing nature of all living organisms. As we analyzed above,
the phenomenon of evolution of any particular state of a physical ‘I’ is but a chance
phenomenon, is thus totally random and unpredictable, and thus devoid of any underlying ‘selforganizing order’ whatsoever. The only ‘Order’ predictable in each life is the orderly growth
from infancy to childhood to adulthood …to old age and finally the death, but the overall state of
a physical ‘I’ at any particular time in the entire life span is totally unpredictable.
The entire journey from the birth to the death of any living system, be it six or sixty years long, is
a long chain that interconnects the infinite random states; each of which having emerged at every
instant from infinite root level interactions which in themselves are all causal and determinate by
laws of physical sciences. Thus, neither the journey, nor the long chain be construed as a result
of any teleological or ‘self-organizing’ phenomena existing either at the root levels or at the level
of the living system as a whole. But, the latter part of this statement may sound contradictory to
what we all feel at the level of our consciousness faculties. It seems very obvious and natural to
our minds that all actions of any human being are purposive and invariably directed towards
boosting of his/her physical ‘I’ so as to live forever. This is a very natural feeling simply because
all our (reflex) actions are as such invariably always pleasure driven.
But then, pleasures and pains are experienced only at the aggregate levels and they may not
represent the actual reality at the root level interactions which is totally different and more
important, totally unknowable to human consciousness. Unfortunately, this is the ultimate
reality so far as the survival of the Physical ‘I’ is concerned. Hence, although all our reflex
actions are pleasure driven and also purposive, they may not and will not ensure a kind of
'self-organizing' mechanism to fight all infections and all malignancies arising at the root
levels. Put differently, the role of consciousness energies triggering all kinds of reflex
actions is too frivolous as compared to the random forces of the nature- a fact which is
proven at the end in every death for every life; when the randomness arising from
universal interconnectedness would invariably triumph over the temporary ‘orderliness’
imbued from time to time by the consciousness energies, and thus has been prevailing upon
our minds all through our life.
Dissection of Mental ‘I’
The basic difference between the physical 'I' and the mental 'I' is, the former manifests itself in
form a tangible body, whereas the latter is physically non-perceivable, it rests only in the
imagination of the living being. If thus, a particular living being has poor sense of imagination,
its brain would fail to develop a mental ‘I’, and this is probably the case with almost the entire
animal kingdom. Even among human beings, those who are severely retarded, do not exhibit a
well-developed sense of ‘I’. And further, among all normal humans, the moment someone’s
brain starts malfunctioning that may be due to a head injury or Alzheimer’s, his/her behavior
with respect to his/her own identity, the mental ‘I’, would change totally. Thus both, the
development of a mental ‘I’ and its maintenance all through the life demands an adequate
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physiological state of its brain all the time, which in turn is correlated directly with the overall
physiological state of the living system, or its physical ‘I’ at any moment. Hence inadvertently,
all the randomness associated with the physical ‘I’ gets interwoven with the mental ‘I’ in the
very first step.
Once the mental ‘I’ is formed in the imagination of the child, we also analyzed, the same is
attributed in many different forms, e.g. the doer of the deeds, owner of material things, or
believer of a particular god, etc., and thus, each such attribute becomes a sort of building block
for the mental ‘I’, and also a source of pleasure, inasmuch as the food, water, air etc are there for
his /her physical survival. Hence the overall ‘I’, represented by the individual’s CCES at any
moment, also has peaks for all these attributes as sources of pleasures alongside those for the
physical survival. The CCES of the brain as at any particular instant, is but the cumulative result
of nearly infinite consciousizing interactions that have happened ever since the birth with all
sorts of environments, and all these interactions are as automatic as all those root level cellular
reactions we discussed above. Again, the nature of all interacting environments in each
consciousizing interaction, i.e. the nature of nearly infinite variety of human cultures pertaining
to peoples and places, to foods and drinks, to sports, arts, crafts and music, to scientific, political,
religious beliefs and theories etc., that a brain has been exposed to from instant to instant ever
since the birth can neither be traced back and be known completely nor can be predicted for any
future instant. Thus, as in case of a physical 'I', all these consciousizing interactions although
being causal and determinate at their individual root levels as they all are pleasure or pain driven,
the overall emergent CCES, and hence the state of a mental ‘I’ at any particular instant of time
would always be untraceable to root level interactions. For all these reasons, any emerging state
of any mental 'I' as observed at any particular instant be always an accidental state coming out of
blue, and also that, no future status of it can ever be predicted accurately.
From our earlier analysis of a child's developments, it follows that, in absence of all those
interactions with the environments, none of the attributes on his/her CCES can ever develop,
neither he/she can ever learn any skill, nor can adopt any culture so as to share part of the 'I-ness'
with that culture, nor can hold any scientific belief or belong to any faith or religion. Thus, any
brain, however perfect, imaginative and 'intelligent' may be at the time of the birth, if isolated
from all sorts of environments, would be a sort of ‘dead’ brain, and would have only physical
pleasures and pains on its CCES. Thus the spectrum of all mental attributes that will get
developed in case of every growing child would as much depend upon the brain's internal
characteristics on one side, that may be termed as the potentialities, as on the available
environments for interactions on the other side, which may be termed as the probabilities.
Each human brain is born with certain characteristics by the virtue of which it can learn certain
mental skills during formative years either more easily or with more difficulty as compared to
many others, and the nature of such characteristics that a new born baby would have is a matter
of pure chance.
The new born brain’s further physiological development has also all the elements of
unpredictability as associated with the physical ‘I, because the brain is an integrated part of the
living system as a whole. Not only that, further development of the inborn characteristics of the
brain into the future potentialities require right type of environments for interactions, which
again is a matter of chance. On the other side, each of the innumerable human cultures, and in
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particular, individual cultures of each of the people the child is exposed to for interactions, is in
itself again a constantly changing process that is subjected to the same randomness of
environments being analyzed right now. Further, all these innumerable cultures also have an
unbroken universal interconnectedness between all of them, and also that all of them are
continuously changing and thus affecting each other through a complex network, resulting into
an overall scenario that is equally as complex, and as unpredictable as the one with the physical
environments we discussed under physical ‘I’. Hence, any emerging mental 'I' at any stage is an
accidental state, be it a state of an Einstein or of an idiot.
With the foregone discussions on physical and mental 'I', we can see that the resulting overall
state of an 'I' at any stage in its life is indeterminate, discontinuous, intractable and non-causal,
even though the fact remains that both are emerging and built up from scores of root level
interactions which all in themselves are totally determinate, continuous, and causal in nature.
Hence, every case of a success is as accidental as is every case of a failure in the society! And
more important, all the ‘successes’ or ‘failures’ are but our versions – the human ways of
consciousizing realities at the aggregate levels, culminating from our inherent inability to
consciousize the (objective) realities of root level interactions, the realm of interactions in
which no 'thing' or no 'I' exists, all the delineating lines between the 'things' existing in our
world views vanish and merge into infinite interactions.
10. Abstracting an Order – ‘I’
The question may arise, that if the developments of both the physical and mental ‘I’s are
entangled with universal randomness at every stage of their developments, how and why an
overall ‘I’ emerges that has certain unvarying orderly characteristics as attributed by us all? First,
we shall answer why of it. Well, accepting the fact that the overall status of an ‘I’ at any
particular instant is but an accidental state emerging out of all pervading randomness,
undermines automatically the very essence and existence of one's ‘I’ as an entity, and also
nullifies all its attributes in one stroke. All this being so painful, the reality of the omnipotent
randomness from which every 'I' emerges is rejected, de-actualized, in line with the proposed
principle of reality in the present study, in spite of the fact that we all experience accidental
happenings endorsing randomness in its various ramifications at probably every moment of our
lives.
Next, we answer how of it. In order to abstract an order of an 'I' otherwise entangled with the
environments, we discount off the influence of environments by disentangling the 'I' from the
same in many different ways.
First and foremost, the human cultures since ages, are all based upon the notion that every human
being is an entity, a doer of the deeds and an executor of his/her will freely without being
influenced or interfered by the environments in any way. This very notion, in one stroke does
away with all the entanglements we described under physical and mental 'I's . This notion is so
universal, every new born individual in every new generation has to accept it, and as such, there
is no other option either. More important, since this very notion helps each growing child to
build up his /her own 'I-ness' to derive ultimate pleasures, no one ever questions the validity of
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the notion. Not only that, during the youthful years, so far as the physical 'I' is concerned, in most
normal cases the occurrence of any life threatening diseases being very rare, the compulsion to
recognize the physical 'I's entanglements with the root level cellular reactions or with the
environments at large does not arise, and hence we do not bother to acknowledge the same. (On
the flippant side, the healthy state of the physical 'I' is very conveniently attributed to our own 'Iness' because it simply boosts up our mental 'I'!) As against this, in all those abnormal cases of
individuals, development of some life threatening diseases in the young age is never 'credited' to
his/her 'I-ness', simply because it is so painful! Hence, the same is attributed to ones' karma of
the previous birth, or to the destiny, or to God's will, etc., which indirectly tantamount to
recognizing the entanglements and associated omnipotent randomness.
Contrary to this popular notion of an 'I' as doer of the deeds, what is presented in the present
study is that all such 'deeds' are but the reflex acts or actions culminating from a reaction that has
to happen when the potentialities of the conscious brain match strongly with the probable
environments for an instantaneous interaction. Briefly, no 'doer' can perform his 'deeds' in
absence of appropriate environments that are equally essential for the 'deeds'. Let’s take a simple
example of a forger. His every manual stroke with a hammer to shape the red hot iron transforms
his physical energies into the kinetic energies of the hammer, which in the end is used to shape
the iron article. Now, this energy transformation reaction is due to the properties of both, of the
forger along with his CCES on one side and of the iron article as well on the other side.
To be sure, the forger would not have been carrying out the laborious hammering acts unless the
same ensures his bread and butter. And at the same time, he has to hammer that hard because the
very properties of the iron demand heavy strokes. Would he be otherwise, wasting his energies if
the iron article would be replaced by a clay article? On the same line of thinking, would a potter
use an iron hammer to shape his clay articles? The human actions either by the forger or by the
potter are due to both, their learned skills that bring them pleasures and the available appropriate
environments at the instant of reactions; and as we analyzed earlier, even learning of any skill
can materialize only if adequate environments are available for repetitive interactions; thus the
entanglements with environments are total in every respect.
Whether a learned skill is being executed or a new skill is being learnt, the human behavior in
either case, as postulated in the present study, consists of innumerable root level consciousizing
interactions, each automatically deciding between the available pleasures and pains in the
environments. In a sense, in each consciousizing interaction, the brain does 'decide' between
pleasures and pains as being offered by the interacting environments, and if the concept of free
will is limited to brain's this inherent property to actualize the pleasures and avert the pains,
then yes, we all have free will, but with the major limitation that it cannot have any control
whatsoever on any of the qualitative or quantitative aspects of pleasures (or pains) being offered
by the environments at any instant. But the concept is rarely used within such limited contexts,
and in fact, the popular meaning of the concept grants all of us a total freedom to decide all our
'actions', all our 'decisions', all our 'beliefs' without any interference or influence from the
environments.
However, in light of one of the fundamental postulates of the present study that all kinds of
human behaviors are just the reactions- inevitable reactions under the given states of
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conditions, any kind of disentanglements from the environments as may be adopted by
human beings to nullify their influences, would in the end turn out to be pseudo or ad hoc
in nature.
The next level of equally broad based disentanglements are due to inherent incapability of the
human brain to grasp the infinite interconnections its physical and mental 'I's have with the
universal environments. Hence, in spite of the fact that all these interconnected environments do
have an effect on the survival of an overall 'I', it is impossible for any human brain to keep track
of those infinite interconnections. As the best possible alternative, from whatever information
reaches the brain, it has to react to only those which have immediate and direct impacts on its
survival, and thus in the process, would automatically discard off all the rest as irrelevant and
ripple effects, which all certainly have indirect and delayed effects on its survival but not
foreseeable by a human brain. Thus, the brain intentionally entangles its 'I-ness' with all those
realities of pro-survival, and disentangles the same from all those consciousized to have negative
impacts or no immediate effects. For example, while reading a newspaper, we read in detail all
those news which impact our CCES largely, and otherwise glance through all other items having
no immediate impacts. This filtering is an automatic process, learned by the brain over the time.
All those news having direct impacts are followed by appropriate reflex actions, and this exactly
is the entanglement of one's 'I-ness' with all those environments; all other news would go off the
memory very next instant, which is the disentangling phenomenon. Although the fact remains
that every case of a rape, robbery or riot in the society has always some indirect effects, may be
delayed, on his/her 'I-ness', the brain doesn’t and cannot see such indirect delayed effects, or put
differently, the brain has to sort out and prioritize the various news so that the limited available
consciousness energies would only be used in actualizing those realities which have immediate
and intense impacts. Such prioritizing or selective disentangling by a conscious brain is but the
stage-wise consciousization process we described in detail earlier.
This disentangling mechanism is just the another way to describe the principle of reality that was
proposed earlier, according to which only environments of pleasures (or pains) are actualized as
reality by a conscious brain, all others are automatically discarded off as either less real or
unreal. Although, it is very essential for any brain to learn this skill of entangling and
disentangling which helps it to decide for pro-survival reflex actions from instant to instant, it
can in no way ensures an immunity from all those discarded environments that are bound to
affect its survival in one way or the other in the long run. Thus the influence of all disentangled
environments remaining as potential as ever, all such disentanglements are temporary and ad hoc
in nature.
Next, there are disentanglements which are exclusively correlated with a mental 'I'. Let us take a
hypothetical example. The prime ministers of India and Pakistan happened to land themselves
accidentally in the same elevator during a SAARC meeting. The two heads of state, due to the
age old animosity between the two countries which got escalated further due to recent border
skirmishes, neither could extend their hands even for a cold handshake, nor even could exchange
a smile. But the things are different –totally different at some other level, meaning, their
individual lungs have an instantaneous ‘handshake’ by exchanging the air inhaled and exhaled
by each other, and thus two lungs start sharing instantly each other’s ‘cultures’ without bothering
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the other one belongs to an adversary!! The bitterness at the consciousness levels doesn’t
percolate down to any other lower level; and thus, even if the two rivals do not formally shake
hands, the two lungs would surely do!!
All the viruses and bacteria from one lung to the another would travel freely without requiring
any visa, and thus share each other’s cultures during the short duration; such processes of
entangling at this level cannot in anyway be stopped by the two conflicting consciousness realms
at their individual ‘I-ness’ levels!! Put differently, however disentangled the two 'I's may be at
their consciousness levels, at the root levels, the two remain totally entangled with each other in
innumerable ways and manners that no 'I' can ever stop! Once again, all man- made
disentanglements seem to be pseudo and ad hoc.
We come across such examples of disentanglements based upon religion, race, caste, nation etc.
in almost every walk of life. By calling oneself an Indian Hindu, a person automatically
disentangles himself from all other Indian religions, but then he, for all his daily needs for
physical, economic, political or social survival remain always dependent and entangled with all
other peoples from different religions and castes in many different, direct or indirect ways. This
applies to us all. We all very conveniently, as and when situation demands, take a strong view
from a FOR of our religion to disentangle one's self from all those from other religions; but in an
another situation, take a cool position into an another FOR, to share a common platform with the
same very persons, so as to derive some other pleasures of survival.
These examples vividly explain the pseudo characteristics of all human disentanglements
that are consciousized with the sole aim to abstract an order of one's ‘I’ out of the realm of
infinite reactions, as and when demanded by the circumstances. Put differently, all the
human drama of disentanglements that happens at the human consciousness levels are all
illusionary games of illusionary egos, and thus have neither any relevance nor any
correlation with root level reactions that constitute the ultimate objective reality of the total
randomness, which is bound to overwhelm the illusionary order of an ‘I’ abstracted
through such illusionary disentanglements, sooner or later.
But however, the human society by and large has failed to realize pseudo characteristics of
all such disentanglements, and worse, with the increasing pace of scientific and
technological developments that constantly provide each new born with increasingly newer
and inexhaustible variety of means to define one’s uniqueness and independence, the
human society as a consequence, has drifted further and further away from the basic
notion that each 'I' construed as an independent and unique entity, remains at the root
levels, firmly entangled with all other peoples of all the races and religions, all other
societies, all other species, and even all non-living things that no means can ever
disentangle.
11. One Mind: Many Realms
What emerges from our dissections of the physical and mental 'I's is a realm of infinite
interactions, all happening within and without living matter, having unbroken interconnectedness
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extending far beyond to engulf the whole of the cosmos with the inexhaustive variety of
interactions. All these interactions, at their root levels are causal, determinate and continuous.
Thus any interaction, even a consciousizing interaction happening at a given set of time-spaceconsciousness coordinates happens simply because that reaction -and only that, has to happen
under the prevailing energical conditions at those coordinates. This is the essence of this
Ultimate Objective Realm of Interactions (“UOROI”), and since the UOROI in its entire cosmic
avatar can never be studied in totality by the human brain, and hence cannot be subjectivized in
anyway, the UOROI remains the only Reality which is truly an objective reality, hence the term
ultimate. Nor the human brain would have any control of any kind on the UOROI, its infinite
interactions would keep on happening perpetually in an automatic mode right from the levels of
atomic and sub-atomic particles to the levels of galaxies, engulfing on its way zillions of living
and non-living matters of the entire cosmos. Along this infinitely long cosmic range, there are
infinite hierarchical energy cultures, each culture at a particular level is characterized by
interactions of a particular nature that are the only viable interactions at the energy band
prevailing at that level. For example, the energy band at the atomic and sub-atomic 'particles'
levels would be of the order of a few eV, while that at a level of a lightning bolt would be of the
order of millions of volts. Same way, metabolic reactions at the cellular levels constituting a
thumping heart are entirely different than the pumping reactions at the level of the whole heart.
However, the change from one level to another is never abrupt or a quantum jump, it is in fact
very continuous. The reason being, there are also inter-level interactions as much as there are
intra-level reactions, hence no level can ever be precisely defined either.
Hence in the UOROI, no bunch of interactions could be identified to be belonging exclusively to
a particular level or to a particular entity, because all interactions belong to the whole of the
cosmos through universal entanglements and interconnectedness, thus making the whole cosmos
as one huge unbroken entity. In the realm of Nature or UOROI, thus, any notion of any 'part,
'whole' or 'thing' existing 'out there' as an entity independent of the environments is invalidated.
Conversely, complete and truly objective knowledge of any 'entity' of our Cartesian world views
'existing' anywhere in the entire hierarchy demands complete descriptions of all the interactions
within and without that 'entity' in immediate and all distant environments, which in other words
is nothing but a true description of the UOROI itself! Any other description short of this, as
normally studied by the human beings by way of abstractions in the laboratories so as to discount
off scores of interactions as insignificant ripples, is not only inaccurate and ad hoc, but also a
subjective description, with the degree of inaccuracy and subjectivity both directly proportional,
not only to the quantitative and qualitative aspects of all those interactions that have been
discounted off as insignificant ripples. Thus, the UOROI is the mother of all such infinite
(subjective) realities, all being actualized by a large number of conscious brains interacting with
the infinite 'pockets' of UOROI, each adopting varying norms and means for abstractions.
This has been the very basis of development of all physical sciences so far, and thus they all are
subject to a degree of unpredictability and randomness. Bohm expresses the same viewpoint,
(Bohm D.1957, pg. 141): "Hence, the determinations of any purely causal theory are always
subject to random disturbances, arising from chance fluctuations in entities , existing outside the
context treated by the theory in question. It thus becomes clear why chance is an essential aspect
of any real process and why any particular set of causal laws will only provide only a partial and
one-sided treatment of this process, which has to be corrected by taking chance into account. "
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We may summarize salient features of the UOROI as under:
1. No 'things' exist: In the realm of UOROI, what exist are only infinite number of
energy fields undergoing continuous metamorphosis through infinite interactions with
each other, hence no 'things' or 'entities' exist.
2. From Causality to Non-causality: All the infinite reactions making up the UOROI are
at their levels causal and determinate, however, since a human brain is totally
entangled with, and is itself an integral part of the UOROI, no objective study of
UOROI, in principle, by a human brain is ever possible, and hence any emerging
outcome at any aggregate level as may be consciousized by a human brain will
always remain an unpredictable, random and non-causal outcome.
3. Since no ‘things’ exist, there is neither an observer nor the observed; neither an object
nor a subject.
4. No Absolute Time Scale: Since all these infinite energy fields are constantly
changing, there is no absolute frame of reference available with respect to which,
beginning and end of any interaction be established in absolute terms, and hence, the
concept absolute time does not exist in the UOROI. Not only that, there is no past,
present or future that can be defined with respect to an unchanging frame of reference
in the UOROI.
5. It is One Unitary Whole: Energically, the whole cosmos- the whole of the UOROI is
a vast, unbroken continuum of interactions, and in that sense, is an One Unitary
Whole having no distinctly definable parts whatsoever.
6. There is no way to distinguish between the living and the non-living, as all these are
same- a bunch of interactions, and not only that, all living and non-living are mutually
entangled in an inseparable way forever. Hence in the UOROI, there are no concepts
of living and dead, nor any concept of order and disorder-and hence there is no arrow
of time either.
7. In sum, from the Cartesian frame of reference, or from our subjective world view, the
UOROI is Meaningless.
This proposed concept of UOROI is akin to that of unus mundus, which in generalized form,
refers to an underlying unified reality from which everything emerges and into which everything
merges. On this, Hans Primas has presented the viewpoint of Carl Jung in 'Complementarity of
Mind and Matter', (Atmanspacher H. & Primas H., 2009, pg. 178): " According to Carl Gustav
Jung, 'the idea of unus mundus is founded on the assumption that the multiplicity of the empirical
world rests on an underlying unity, and that not two or more fundamentally different worlds exist
side by side or are mingled with one another. Rather, everything divided and different belongs to
one and the same world, which is not the world of sense' " (Italics as in the original).
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Bohm too emphasizes this point of view, (Bohm D., 1951, pg. 140): "It seems necessary,
therefore, to give up the idea that the world can correctly be analyzed into distinct parts, and to
replace it with the assumption that the entire universe is basically a single, indivisible unit. .. .. ..
Whenever quantum phenomena play a significant role, we shall find that the apparent parts can
change in a fundamental way with the passage of time, because of the underlying indivisible
connections between them. Thus, we are led to picture the world as an indivisible, but flexible
and ever changing unit."
Now, let us analyze how our Cartesian world views consisting of rivers and mountains, of
nations and continents, of airports and railway stations, and of you and me could emerge out of
this ocean of interactions, in which no ’thing’ of any kind, as such exists. The nature of UOROI
as described above, implies visualization of an universe composed of infinite fields of energy,
constantly interacting with each other, hence there are only reactions. Since all these infinite
energy fields are constantly changing every moment, ‘nothing’ can ever exist as a non-changing
‘thing’ having some or at least one property retained unchanged over reasonably long periods of
time so as to qualify as a ‘thing’ possessing that property. In such a universal realm of
interactions, however, over shorter time periods, the interactions within a certain environmental
pocket may happen to have a monochromatic energy band which acts as a sort of common cause
for all the interactions happening in that pocket, thus they all tend to form a family of identical
interactions all driven by this singular energy ban; and thus behave in a coherent manner forming
a loose aggregate, which is although certainly changing with time, but the rate of changing is
such that it ensures the coherency largely remaining undisturbed during the relevant time
periods.
When two such loose aggregates or ‘clouds ’ both happened to have more or less equivalent rates
of changing- qualitatively and quantitatively, (and also happened to share same coordinates of
time and space, hence sharing the same environmental pocket at the same time), interact with
each other, the probability of the interactions being of repetitive nature is higher than in the case
when the two have, (either qualitatively or quantitatively) very largely mismatching rates of
metamorphosis. Such compatible rates of changing would facilitate the nature and kinetics of the
interactions between the two to remain more or less same over the time cycles that may be of a
few seconds or of a few hours, or even days, depending upon the period of time they happen to
retain their coherency as well as their rates of changing mutually in sync with each other. This
means, during such a period, the two such energy fields, are having certain properties vis-à-vis
each other that are not changing from reaction to reaction, that further means, the two exist as
‘things’ with respect to each other.
Now let us replace one of the two such ‘clouds’ with a human brain, the other remaining an
environmental pocket. The state of a typical human brain, as we have analyzed earlier, is a
spectrum of realities, the CCES at a given instant, which is constantly changing with time. So a
CCES, having formed out of consciousness energies, is like an energy field in our description of
the UOROI, which constantly undergoes innumerable energy transformation (consciousizing)
interactions with all its environments; but however, at the same time it also behaves like a
coherent loose aggregate, a ‘cloud’ having formed out of a particular bunch of reactions that all
happen to have a common cause because all the consciousizing interactions happening within a
particular brain are driven by commonly shared pleasures (positive or negative); and they all also
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happen to have a common root because they all are so realized by the same bunch of neurons
forming the aggregate of that brain during all such times; otherwise, in the long term, it is loose
and would finally merge with randomness of UOROI. Hence, at least during such spans of time,
this same loose aggregate displays a sort of coherence that is manifested through a certain
repetitive patterns among all such reactions. Further, when such a coherent but loose aggregatethe human brain, interacts with the infinite variety of environments, certain environmental
pockets would happen to have more or less same rates of changing - both in qualitative and
quantitative terms, as that of the human brain, at least insofar as their individual characteristics
responsible for the spontaneous interactions are concerned; thus increasing the probability for
more repetitive interactions between the two. As the number of such repetitive interactions with
a particular ‘pocket’ increases, the response time for the human brain decreases, and with the
most familiar ‘pockets’, the response becomes instantaneous, thus establishing an instantaneous
adaptability with that environmental pocket.
At such a stage, we can say that a good degree of compatibility is established between the two.
During such a time period, the two are certainly changing in absolute terms, but at the same time,
since both are changing in a compatible manner as signified by uniform patterns of changing visà-vis each other, the absolute changes thus do not have any significant effects on the probability
of the repetitive interactions between the two, and hence we can say that the two have acquired
certain non-changing characteristic properties relative to each other. At this stage, such a pocket
is no more an environmental piece cut-out from the UOROI that is random and unpredictable,
but it becomes a ‘thing’ having predictable and expected properties for that particular brain for
that relevant time periods.
Well, each peak (or a valley) on its CCES at any time, is just one of such pockets of UOROI
actualized as a ‘thing’, or more precisely, actualized consistently as a reality of pleasure or pain,
over a period of time. We can also say that during all such periods of time, after having enough
repetitions, the human brain establishes a degree of compatibility with each such pockets, and
more specifically, such compatibilities are made possible only because the two are having
‘compatible’ rates of changing. I propose to term the entire mechanism of developing such
compatibilities as Mechanism of Compatible Rates of Metamorphosis (“MCRM”).
Bohm, while analyzing the modes of being, postulates similar viewpoints, (Bohm D., 1957, pg.
153) :" It is clear from the preceding section that the empirical evidence available thus far shows
that nothing has yet been discovered which has a mode of being that remains eternally defined in
any given way. Rather, every element, however fundamental it may seem to be, has always been
found under suitable conditions to change even in its basic qualities, and to become something
else, Moreover, as we have also seen, the notion of the qualitative infinity of nature implies that
every kind of thing not only change in this very fundamental way but that given enough time,
conditions in its infinite background and substructure will alter so much that it must do so.
Hence, the notion of something with exhaustively specifiable and unvarying mode of being can
be only an approximation and an abstraction from the infinite complexity of the changes taking
place in the real process of becoming. Such an approximation and abstraction will be applicable
only for periods of time short enough so that no significant changes can take place, in the basic
properties and qualities defining the modes of being of the things under consideration." (Italics as
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in the original). The last statement tantamount to saying that the rate of changing is slow enough
or is compatible with the act and agency of the observation.
Now let us see how MCRM has been pivotal in development of our Cartesian world views
during all ages. A typical human brain has four basic inherent characteristics: 1. The human
brain’s sensorium can only sense aggregates, and cannot sense the parts at any other lower levels
by any of the five senses directly; 2. It follows from this, that only the aggregates so sensed can
be experienced as a source of either a pleasure or a pain; 3. With the proposed principle of
Relativity of the Realities in force all the time, the human brain retains only the realities of
pleasures on its CCES, de-actualizing all those of pains, and discarding all the rest as unreal, or
as non-existing realities; 4. Developing constantly an adaptability to suit ever changing
environments. Along with the constant changes in the environments, the nature of all those
things on its CCES and their impacts on pleasure (or pain) also keep on changing with time; so
much so that even certain things may turn from pleasures into pains, or into pleasures from pains.
Here exactly, the adaptive skill of a living system comes to play its most important role, by
which it is required to learn to actualize all (newer) pleasures and discard all newer pains at the
same pace as the environments around it are changing; thus its own culture as defined by its
CCES need to keep on changing in sync with the environmental changes. But there is a limit a
human brain and its physical systems can keep pace with very rapidly changing environments,
hence as an automatic fall out of this limitation, the human brain always tend to cling to those
environments (of pleasures and pains) which are either not changing too fast, or changing at a
slow enough rate so that its survival becomes more predictive and compatible with them. This
skill of identifying and clinging to those environments which offer compatible rates of
metamorphosis is an important adaptive skill developed in time in all normal human brains, and
also in all living beings but to varying extents.
The above four inherent characteristics define the basic functioning pattern commonly found
among all human brains. In addition, all brains have scores of pleasures that are common to all
humans, such as the air, water, food, sex, shelter, health, security, etc. A typical human brain
with a particular set of time and space coordinates, after having certain interactions with various
environments available at those coordinates, would be able to identify, first, which of them are
sources of pleasures or sources of pains, and second, which of them offer the pleasures (or pains)
having (more or less) unchanging features in repeated interactions, and accordingly, develop an
adaptability vis-a-vis that particular source. In other words, sorting of the environments based
upon MCRM remains always an important adaptive skill for all humans.
Now, when a large number of human brains having identical basic functional characteristics and
a common frame of pleasures and pains we mentioned above, interact with the same
environments, they all are likely to identify unambiguously, in an uniform pattern, certain
environmental pockets as realities either of pleasures or of pains; and thus they all would react in
an identical and predictive way in every repetitive interaction with all such environmental
pockets. Hence, in early civilizations, all such environmental realities which happened to have
compatible rates of metamorphosis relative to a particular human community during a particular
time period, after repetitive interactions, had helped to develop corresponding peaks uniformly in
all the individual CCESs of each of the brains in that particular era; or put differently, we can say
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that, thanks to the prevailing MCRM, not only the erstwhile 'non-things' of UOROI had acquired
a status of 'things' with respect to all those brains, all such ‘things’ had also become subuniversal realities for a particular tribe, for that time period. This phenomenon continued to
prevail on all human brains in any age, and not only that, certain realities of the environments, in
their more generalized forms, e.g. air, water, food, fire, wind, shelter, rains, animals, sun, moon
,etc. happened to maintain MCRM conditions continuously in every civilization, with the result
that, over the ages, the same have attained the status of universal realities. And since these all
were invariably (only) aggregates being sensed and perceived by all humans (more or less)
identically, development and continued maintenance of all such universal realities generation
after generation, inadvertently led to a definition of Reality as a ‘thing’ existing out there
independent of the observers, meaning the same can be 'observed' by all human beings
identically and unambiguously; in other words, all human observations are truly objective. This
belief in objective reality over the ages, became the very basis of Cartesian world views
developed since early civilizations.
Further, during the last three centuries, with every new human invention and discovery
pertaining to the Nature, the same notion became more and more firmly established, thus every
progressive human generation believed more firmly than the previous one that the Nature around
us is completely and (truly) objectively observable and knowable by we, the humans. In
summary, this is how MCRM has helped, all through the ages, not only to have a common
'objective' basis of all our world views - the Cartesian basis, but historically, also helped the
development of innumerable varieties of human cultures and civilizations as were feasible with
the prevailing MCRM conditions in the environments during a particular period in the history.
Nevertheless, since every ‘thing’ in the universe, by the virtue of omnipotent UOROI at the root
levels, is undergoing metamorphosis constantly, MCRM conditions could not be maintained for
very long periods, and hence no culture or no civilization could remain 'unchanged' for long
periods of time; with the result that all of them underwent metamorphosis, but with varying
paces, giving birth to newer cultures and civilizations.
Next, it would be interesting to note that the role of MCRM is as much crucial in development of
any science as it is in the development of any human culture. In any scientific experiment, aimed
at formation of a causal relationship that may define an event in the nature with better
deterministic expressions than existed before, there are interactions between the observed, the
measuring systems, (MS), and the (interpreting system of) the observer. The causal laws can
only be formed provided all of the following conditions are fulfilled during a series of repetitive
experiments:
1. An object or an event in the nature, referred to as the observed, maintains its
properties under study fairly constant in accordance with the purpose of the study.
2. The various human brains trying to formulate the causal laws of a new reality have
necessarily to reach more or less, the same standards for each level of the
consciousizing process, (described under Relativity of Realities) so that all observers
are observing and interpreting through equivalent frames of reference.
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3. These standards for each level, in other words, the overall physiological and CCES
status of each brain performing the study are maintained at fairly constant levels
during the entire course of the study.
4. The properties of the measuring system also in the same way, do not change or are
maintained fairly constant during the course of the study.
5. The role of the consciousness energy, especially that pertaining to the nth level of
consciousization, although is of prime importance as it is the driving force to initiate
the study, would not at the same time be over-influential so as to grossly affect the
very observations and interpretations that are cosnciousized at the previous (n-1)
level.
6. The interaction between the measuring system and the observed will not affect the
properties under study in any significant way.
7. The effects of ripples in actual environmental conditions as prevailing in the UOROI
for the particular event under study are non-significant with respect to the purpose of
the study, so as to permit its ‘objective’ study by abstracting the event under
simulating conditions in a laboratory set-up.
Of the above listed conditions, the three conditions of 1, 3, and 4 demand that the rate of
changing of the observed, of the observer and of the measuring system remain fairly constant
during the course of all repetitive experiments, hence, even if all these three are changing- and
they do change in fact, the rates of changing should be such that their effects on observations and
interpretations on the properties under study are non-significant, so as to allow identical and
repetitive observations in each experiment. When these three conditions, (along with the rest all),
are complied with, we can say that the three are compatibly changing with respect to each other
so as to interact repetitively in a predictive manner, which then can be formalized into a causal
relationships.
This is how any new causal law gets developed in the laboratories under the controlled
conditions to ensure repetitive interactions between an abstracted pocket of environment, the
measuring system and the observer, so that the product behaves with predictable outcomes. But
in the larger contexts, in the realm of UOROI, since all such causal laws are valid only in limited
conditions, conditions of MCRM cannot be maintained for long, which may then lead either to
erroneous predictions in certain conditions, or even to development of newer set of causal laws
replacing the older ones.
Not all pockets of UOROI can offer MCRM suitable for a typical human brain. For example,
certain ecological phenomena remains outside our purview basically because the rates of
metamorphosis in such phenomena are so slow, perceptible and measurable changes can only
occur over hundreds of years or so, and thus practically remaining unchanged through several
generations; thus making it extremely difficult for the scientists to predict any such small
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atomic particles, wherein multitudes of reactions are happening over a trillionth of a second, real
time study of all such interactions forewarn a near impossible situation. Interestingly, in the
universal hierarchy, the human brain faces the problems of incompatible rates of changing
particularly with the realms at the extremes, either with sub-sub-atomic particles, or with those at
the other extreme of very large systems like ecological systems or celestial systems. And against
these, only those realms falling somewhere in between these two extremes have some
possibilities to have a MCRM with the human brain; and this is very natural because the human
sensorium, by default, can consciousize only certain aggregates at a certain level in the universal
hierarchy, and cannot sense or interact the same way with either the atomic realms or very large
systems directly.
As a result, historically, the human progress in science could start only with such things and
events that could be observed by the unaided five senses, which in the course of time, with the
help of new causal laws and tools thus developed, could proceed further to explore the two
extreme realms in greater details. It can be noted that such a historical progression could only
have happened the way it has happened and that could not have happened the other way round
only because of the possible MCRM bridges that could materialize from time to time between
the progressive states of human brains on one side and the environmental pockets under study on
the other side.
And so phenomenal has been the human progress for the last three centuries or so, it led the
human kind to form such beliefs that are quite opposite in nature to the characteristics of the very
UOROI from which they all have emerged! These are as follows:
1. Nature is definable in terms of things existing ‘out there’, and all causal laws
centered around this concept are free of errors, and represent the true nature of
things objectively.
2. In studying an event or a thing based upon the abstraction methods, the effects of
ripple forces can be disregarded assuming the same would not have any significant
effects on the observations and also on the causal laws thus derived.
3. The primary observations through five senses of anything or any event in the nature
represent unambiguously the objective characteristics of the thing/event.
4. The human observer with its state of consciousness and his experimental set-up in
no way affects either the observed or the observations of an experiment, and hence,
all scientific knowledge in all branches of physical sciences developed so far is
truly objective in nature.
5. It is correct to assume, in most experiments, that the observer and the observed do
not change their properties during the course of an observation.
6. Since all phenomena in nature as studied by the human brain are believed to exist
independently, there is a beginning and an end of each event that are independent of
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the observers, hence absolute time doest exists, and so does the Kaalchakra – the
wheel of time, revolving around the past, the present and the future.
7. There exist in Nature, Orders and Disorders, relative to a system under study, and
hence, the arrow of time too, does exist.
8. The cosmos is not One Whole Entity, but is made up of infinite unitary entities or
things. Thus all living- and also non-living- are entities, existing independently and
uniquely.
In contrast, in the Ultimate Objective Realm of Interactions, there is only one reality, and that is
the reality of interactions, which in other words is a reality of 'no-things'. All forms of matterliving as well as non-living, can be reduced down into interactions which all are inevitably
entangled with each other, and thus collectively form the UOROI. The present day sciences have
probably been able to decipher all the matter in terms of reactions that are happening from subatomic levels to aggregates’ levels. But let’s not forget, these sciences are established by the
human mind, which in itself is basically a process, or more precisely, an infinitesimally small
processing link; and an infinite number of such links make up what we termed as the UOROI,
One Whole process engulfing the whole of the cosmos. Hence truly objective studies of the
nature by a human mind is, in principle, impossible forever .
We should look at every development and formation of any scientific law in the past , present or
future just as a process in itself, that can be dissected into a series of consciousizing interactions
between the human mind and the environments. The human mind, in a particular state of the
existing knowledge at a point of time, which is but, again a basket of all such past laws and
principles, using the available existing measuring systems, interacts with the existing event of the
Nature being studied; and when all these three happen to have mutually compatible rates of
metamorphosis, a series of repetitive interactions between all these three would help establish
certain causal relationships, which then takes form of a (new) scientific law. Hence, to this
extent, all such causal laws are purely coincidental, and hence also ad hoc in a sense. We can in
no way state that our study of the Nature is complete as of now or would be so anytime in future,
because not only the human brain would always remain totally entangled with the environments,
but also, the scores of interactions that may belong to a large number of non-compatible realms,
would remain outside our purview forever. We can only state that our study of Nature would
forever be incomplete and non-objective.
Bohm, arrives at similar conclusions, (Bohm D, 1957: (Pg. 166) :"Now, if there were a final and
exhaustively specifiable set of laws which constituted an absolute truth, we could regard all
errors as purely subjective characteristics, resulting from uncertainty in our knowledge
concerning this absolute truth. On the other hand, in terms of the notion of the qualitative infinity
of nature, we see that every law that can be possibly formulated has to have errors, simply
because it represents nature in terms of some finite set of concepts, that inevitably fail to take
into account an infinity of additional potentially or actually significant qualities and properties of
matter."
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(Pg. 167): "Of course, we cannot determine all the errors in any given law completely; and as a
result, we can never actually reach an absolute truth with regard to the law in question." (Italics
as in the original.)
However, Heisenberg arrives at similar conclusion from a different line of thinking, (Heisenberg,
W. 1958, pg. 66): " Any concepts or words which have been formed in the past through the
interplay between the world and ourselves are not really sharply defined with respect to their
meaning; that is to say, we do not know exactly how far they will help us in finding our way in
the world. We often know that they can be applied to a wide range of inner or outer experience,
but we practically never know precisely the limits of their applicability. This is true even for the
simplest and most general concepts like "existence" and "space and time." Therefore, it will
never be possible to arrive at some absolute truth."
Such limitations of the human brain were realized by the scientists- probably for the first time, in
the early twentieth century while performing certain experiments in atomic and sub-atomic
levels. All though limited to atomic realms, the subsequent developments and their repercussions
were powerful enough to shake up the objective foundation of the natural sciences developed
thus far. The reality of the entanglement of human consciousness with the very Nature under
study was realized, although very hesitatingly, for the first time in the history when the quantum
mechanics- both a hero and a villain- arrived on the horizon . Hero, because, it opened up a
whole new vistas for the human kind to explore and understand the world of atomic and subatomic particles in a totally different way; and villain, because, in accepting it, inevitably it made
the scientists realize about the inherent limitations we humans have in objective understanding of
the Nature at large.
In the end, let us analyze how the MCRM has worked in developing the notion of an unchanging
entity 'I' within all of us: On one side, we have a human brain which itself undergoes
metamorphosis all the time, -as manifested by its continuously changing CCES and also by its
continuously changing neurobiological conditions with the process of aging. On the other side,
we have an actualized reality of an imaginary overall 'I'- comprising of a physical 'I' and a mental
'I', both of which as analyzed earlier, are but inseparably entangled with the UOROI and thus, are
constantly changing. Hence, an overall 'I' is also continuously changing, and its emergent state at
any instant is indeterminate, discontinuous and random. How does an image of an unchanging 'I'
emerges from the interactions of these two ever changing 'clouds', the brain and the overall 'I' ?
We can explain it this way: The first images of an 'I' in every child's brain are developed as a
source of several pleasures, which is, just like all other ‘things’ of pleasures, e.g. toys, candies,
parents etc, also a ‘thing' of pleasures, being physically manifested through his/her physical
body, and also known and endorsed by all others with a given name, body etc. Thus, the body's
characteristic features like facial contours, smile, gait etc. remains the strongest physical
manifestations of this imaginary reality of an overall 'I' for all throughout the life, because in
spite of the fact that all these features are certainly changing every moment, at the aggregate
levels all remain more or less unchanged over short periods of time; hence the overall image of
an 'I' remains the ‘same’ from day to day, year on year, without any abrupt break or change. On
the other side, the brain’s basic functioning, that can be expressed through its neurobiological
reactions at the neurons' levels, remains identical in nature all through the life for any and every
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kind of pleasure (or pain); no matter the pleasures are physical in nature like an ice cream in the
hand, or non-physical like an imaginary entity ‘I', the brain treats all the pleasures alike as
realities.
Further, as we have analyzed earlier, every consciousization interaction with the environments
however diverse it may seem as being directed towards actualization of seemingly very different
kinds of worldly realities (of pleasures), each one is ultimately aimed only towards the
reinforcement of this imaginary entity of an overall ‘I’ in one way or the other. Hence, in this
context, most of the infinite consciousization interactions are repetitive in their basic nature, even
though the very nature of the reflex actions in each consciousization cycle would keep on
varying largely. On extrapolating this, we can see that each brain interacts with its own overall
'I', through innumerable repetitive interactions, (- which we have analyzed earlier as reactions of
awareness); and this helps to build up right conditions for a MCRM bridge between the two ever
changing realms, the brain and its overall 'I', and thus results into actualization of a reality of an
‘I', within’ the body as an unchanging entity, in spite of the fact that the same is undergoing
continuous metamorphosis.
So to the list of above characteristics of a Cartesian world view, we can now add the following
characteristics pertaining to an actualized reality of an ‘I' within all of us, because these also are
as common in all world views as those listed above, thus forming a part, -and rather a very
important part, of all our Cartesian world views.
9. 'I’ is the doer of all deeds, and every deed manifests execution of my free will.
10. My ‘I’ as an entity exists, manifested mainly thru the physical body, along with many
other characteristics and attributes which are all unique and independent of the
environments; and further, even if many or even all these attributes (physical and mental)
may change or vanish totally in course of time, the entity ‘I' within the body remains the
same as was in the childhood, and is thus unchangeable and indestructible till the last
breadth.
11. The whole universe around me could be explained in terms of causes and effects. I am
always the cause in all successful feats, but in case of failures, the cause lies somewhere
else, either with my destiny, or my bad luck, or my Karma of last birth, or with anything
else but certainly not with my ‘I’!!
But no MCRM bridge can be maintained forever, and at the end of the day, each civilization,
each culture. Each scientific theory or each 'I', is bound to lose its 'unchanging' characteristics to
merge with ultimate randomness of the UOROI. In other words, every 'thing' and any 'thing',
including each 'I' of our consciousized Cartesian worlds, in the end has to become a 'no-thing' of
UOROI, but nevertheless for that intermediate period at least, however short or long it may be, a
'thing' does get created in our consciousness realms out of the realm of 'no-things'.
Well, all our world views are nothing but a conglomeration of such 'things', hence both ad hoc
and temporary in nature. And since all such 'things' are not true representation of UOROI,
these are all in a way illusionary and so are our notions that our world views, based upon the
causal laws formed by us, are causal, determinate and continuous. In contrast, the UOROI in
its totality, otherwise is totally unknowable to us, and any outcome at any aggregate level
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emerging out of this UOROI shall always be indeterminate, random, discontinuous and noncausal for us.
(Continued on Part IV)
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Explorations
ISS Theory: Cosmic Consciousness, Self, and
Life Beyond Death in a Hyperdimensional Physics
Chris H. Hardy, PhD*
Abstract
The Infinite-Spiral-Staircase Theory (ISST) posits a hyperdimension of consciousness
populated by faster-than-light, high-energy, sub-Planckian sygons pervading the pluriverse. This
HD is in fact triune, a braid of hyperspace (Center, C), hypertime (Rhythm, R) and consciousness
(Syg, S), topologically organized as a double phi-based golden spiral set on a double BlackHoleWhiteHole Kerr system. Within the Terminal Black Hole of a parent universe, all matter-systems
are translated into pure CSR information or syg-fields steered by the sub-quantum sygons; and
through the White Hole at the origin, these syg-fields are translated back from virtual sygons into
post-Planck particles and matter systems, still retaining the sygons as a 5th dimension at their core.
ISST builds on the Semantic Fields Theory (SFT) in modeling a semantic layer of organization in
all systems—their syg-fields (semantic fields) ranging from proto-consciousness to selfconsciousness. As human beings, our mind or consciousness is our global syg-field, organized in
dynamical networks and steered by syg-energy—the sygons (Hardy 1998, 2001, 2003). The
ensemble of all syg-fields form the cosmic CSR hyperdimension of consciousness, as a gigantic
hologram, self-conscious and evolving.
Positing a consciousness-HD layer in the universe leads to envision a new paradigmatic stand
in philosophy as well as in physics. The syg-HD operates clearly beyond-spacetime and is a
beyond-matter layer (thus in accord with dualism); yet, given that consciousness-as-process is
steered by the sub-quantum sygon particles, the syg-HD is definitely a blend of energy and mind
(as in monism/materialism). Thus ISST reframes the mind-body split in a complex dynamical
network systems’ framework, as a consciousness HD existing at a sub-quantum scale in all matter
systems (thus setting a type of panpsychism), and also as a bulk in its own CSR-HD region.
At the scale of the pluriverse, the spacetime regions of specific universe-bubbles are
constantly birthed and then die. The HD preexists and survives to these matter regions in the BHWH double spiral, and pervades them during the life of a universe.
In a consciousness-HD (syg-HD) framework, consciousness and our mind—the syg-field—
operate mostly via the HD, and only a small part of our syg-field is branching into the brain’s
neuronal networks. It is because the Self and the mind belong to the syg-HD that they instantiate
psi capacities, high meditation states, and some independence from spacetime. In this framework,
death is just the severing of links to the brain-body and the Self, at death, becomes fully
independent from the body and enjoy (in the HD layer) the same intelligent, creative, and
individualized capacities as when embodied, yet with greater psi capacities.
*
Chris Hardy, Eco-Mind Systems Science, Seguret, France. Email: chris.saya@gmail.com Websites:
https://independent.academia.edu/ChrisHHardy; http://cosmic-dna.blogspot.fr
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Keywords: Consciousness in the universe; cosmology; hyperdimension; panpsychism; psi; survival
after death; post-materialist paradigm.
INTRODUCTION: ADDRESSING COMPLEXITY AND A MULTI-LAYERED
REALITY, THE NEW PARADIGM IN SCIENCE
While physics has been plagued by four centuries of materialism, psychology and
philosophy were, during that same period, trapped into the insoluble antinomy between
idealism (mind wholly different from body/matter) and materialist monism (mind as a byproduct of body/brain); in the mid 20th century, the materialist paradigm became enforced
in science.
My theoretical stand in Semantic Fields Theory (SFT, Hardy 1998) was that both
positions—materialism and dualism—are lacking, something amply demonstrated by the
fact that the mind-body split could never be resolved and that the qualia couldn’t be
accounted for unless one takes a first-person subjective perspective. In brief, we need a
new paradigm. But there is also an arduous problem arising from these two positions’
links to the two contending frameworks of physics—Relativity founding a perfectly
ordered and causal spacetime, and QM instating indeterminacy at the quantum scale (with
materialist monism espousing the causal and local one, and dualism partly so). As I
argued in a 2001 article, at a certain threshold of complexity, causality and determinism
break down. The complexity of neuronal networks in the brain, and that of multilevel
webs in the mind and social interactions, demanded that we move beyond causality and
determinism and postulate instead instantaneous or synchronistic inter-influences
between complex semantic systems (such as minds or social groups). These could also
imply retrocausality, that is, the influence of future events on past ones, as well as
nonlocal proactive effects—modifying the future environment with intentions, a sort of
proactive PK, as proposed in a Retrocausal Attractor modeling (Hardy 2001, 2003).
I.
JUNG AND PAULI’S MIND-MATTER DEEP REALITY
In the 1950s, Carl Jung’s work, discoveries, and his depth psychology, started to fully
impact both the scientists and the public. One discovery was the concept of collective
unconscious—a lattice of collective psyche connecting all human beings unconsciously
(via their personal Self) with the planet (thus nonlocally); of course, this was clashing
with biology and materialism viewing mind as local, i.e. contained in the ‘space’ of the
brain (Hardy 2015c, JCER). Let’s clarify that for Jung the personal unconscious has a
subject—the Self—(just as the ego or ‘I’ is the subject of the conscious), and that the Self
is a supraconscious entity, having access to the immense knowledge of the collective
unconscious and able to guide the individual Self. Another concept was that of
synchronicity as “spontaneous, meaningful coincidences” and connections at a distance,
that he deemed “trans-temporal and trans-spatial,” that is, nonlocal (Combs & Holland
1995; Peat 1987; Hardy 2004). Moreover, Jung’s definition of synchronicity made clear
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references to psi: in his book Synchronicity (1960, pp. 109-110), he defines three types of
correlations between the mind’s content and an event: “The coincidence of a psychic state
in the observer (1) with a simultaneous, objective, event; (2) with a corresponding (…)
external event taking place (…) at a distance, and only verifiable afterward; and (3) with
a corresponding, not yet existent, future event.” Thus case 2 refers explicitly to
clairvoyance, while case 3 refers to precognition. With physicist Wolfgang Pauli—one of
the pioneers of QM—they stated in their fascinating correspondence that synchronicities
were acausal phenomena, instantiated by a deep reality, in which mind and matter were
blended; the name came to Pauli in a clear dream featuring this “deeper reality” at a scale
below quantum fields and distinct from them (Pauli & Jung 2014; Hardy 2015, pp. 8992).
This layer of deep reality, they postulated, was a psyche-matter medium in the
universe, at a subquantum scale—a layer in which mind and matter were deeply
enmeshed and merged. The synchronicities would be springing from, and expressing, this
underlying connective lattice. Based on his clinical experience and the science of the
Ancients (alchemy, mysticism, Greek and Middle-Ages philosophy), Jung referred to this
deep layer (as the Ancients did) as “The One world” (Unus Mundus in Latin) or the
“world soul” (Anima Mundi in Latin): “We have all the reasons to suppose that there
must be only one world, in which psyche and matter are one and the same, and in which
we establish distinctions for the sole purpose of knowing,” says he in his autobiography
Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Jung 1965). Jung and Pauli posed acausality
(instantiated by synchronicities, the unconscious, and the Self) as a fundamental principle
equal in strength to causality, but working through instantaneous meaningful
interconnections, thus outside of time or space constraints.
As we’ll see, the syg hyperdimension of consciousness (syg-HD) postulated by ISST
fits perfectly their definition and accommodates the types of nonlocal processes that they
listed as belonging to the deep reality, such as psi, the quantum entanglement, and the
spin complementarity – Pauli’s law of spin (Jung & Pauli 1955).
II. HYPERDIMENSIONS, MAJOR PHYSICS PARADIGMS & THE
INDEPENDENCE OF MIND-SOUL
II.1. Hyperdimensional physics neither determinism nor indeterminacy
Physics has been seminal in showing us that the setting of any problem in an either-or
logic is bound to fail. This is what happened during the nearly 230 years of debate
between the proponents of light as waves (interference patterns) and those of light as
particles (quanta and photons). From Huygens opposing Newton in 1678 to that of
Young’s 1801 famous double-slit experiment demonstrating wave-interference patterns
(and still to our day spurting out unsolved paradoxical results), to Einstein solving the
photoelectric effect by light quanta in 1905—both schools could cite successful
experiments proving clearly that their theory was supported by facts. The ultimate
solution had to be a leap into a paradoxical framework—light was both waves and
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particles—a leap achieved by Louis de Broglie (1939) in his 1926 doctoral thesis, when
he posited that all particles (such as electrons) are driven by what he called a pilot wave;
soon followed by David Bohm (1980) who developed his own Pilot Wave theory (Bohm
1980; Bohm & Hiley 1993).
Yet physics once again fell in the grip of a dual competing logic, when it became clear
that Einstein’s Relativity (instating causality) was validated at the matter and spacetime
scale or region (and the 2016 discovery of gravitational waves was its latest acclaimed
success, see Hu & Wu 2016); yet, the quantum indeterminacy posited by QM was
validated at the quantum vacuum and Zero Point Fluctuations (ZPF) scale. What was the
reality of the universe then, and how could we ever get a picture of the whole universe—
the Unified Field theory physicists are progressively building since Einstein spent in vain
the last decades of his life looking for it? To do that, we had to make a leap toward
hyperdimensional physics—a solution implemented as early as 1919 by Theodor Kaluza,
soon joined by Oskar Klein in 1926.
Let’s ponder a bit the crucial entanglement problem and EPR Paradox. Einstein
rejected at first QM’s indeterminacy (as posited by the Copenhagen or Bohr’s
interpretation), because he didn’t want to let go of causality equated with order (“God
doesn’t play dice,” said he). And this is why, with Podolski and Rosen, he proposed the
famous EPR thought experiment to disprove QM. Yet Alain Aspect’s experiments in
1982 (1982a, 1982b), using Bell’s theorem protocol, brought a solid proof of the
entanglement of paired particles and their correlation at such great distances that it
forbade a signal transmission through space. Thus the entanglement was definitely shown
to be beyond spacetime, that is, nonlocal. As John Bell stated it (disproving Von
Neumann’s previous argument), theories proposing nonlocal yet causal dynamics (such
as de Broglie’s and Bohm’s pilot waves driving particles’ behavior) could thus be a
viable solution. The unnerving point is that, as history has it (based on Von Neumann’s
faulty but resilient argument), both QM and indeterminacy (as opposed to causality) were
proven by Aspect et al. (1982a, 1982b) and other EPR-type experiments. Yet the
entanglement conforms to Pauli’s Law of Spin (or spin complementarity) for two
entangled paired particles—that the sum of their spins always has to be equal to zero.
Therefore, if an apparatus changes the spin of particle A (e.g. with a mirror) from +1/2 to
-1/2, the paired particle B, even already as far as the moon, has to shift instantly from
spin -1/2 to +1/2. That’s what Aspect proved. Thus the entanglement, as a global
dynamics driven by the Law of spin, is a clear contravention to indeterminacy, and to the
opposite, it definitely is a nonlocal type of interconnection or influence. Then it can be
modeled as an acausal or synchronistic process (as Pauli deemed it) or else as driven by a
formal cause—an influence due to a more global organization, as in Aristotle’s 4 causes
and as opposed to material or billiard balls causality—such as Rupert Sheldrake’s (2009)
morphic fields. (The indeterminacy, nonetheless, remains at the level of each particle
having such or such spin.) So that, in either case, it falls in the category of the nonlocal
hidden variables (i.e., unknown causes or processes).
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When Jung and Pauli defined synchronicities as acausal processes, it meant they
instantiated a wholly different organization than material and sequential causality—a new
universal principle of interconnection beyond spacetime, and as fundamental as causality.
Then we are back to HD physics as the most probable explanation, and the only viable
one at the present, given that materialist monism, positing a one-block spacetime, is out
of the question, and given that dualism doesn’t offer a real foundation or a substrate for
consciousness in the matter and biological universe.
Since the mid nineties, I developed the Semantic Fields Theory (SFT) that postulates
mind and Self to be complex dynamical networks coupled with the brain’s neuronal
networks but being nevertheless able to operate independently and beyond NewtonianEinsteinian laws; for example, experiments show that psi violates EM inverse square law,
and even linear time. In SFT, all systems and beings have semantic fields instantiating a
layer of consciousness/sentience (from a proto-consciousness to a self-referent mind), and
these can thus be part of a HD organization as posited by ISST (Hardy 1998, 2015).
Semantic fields are steered by instantaneous network connections based on meaning and
an index of semantic proximity (meaningful and affective resonances and links). These
instantaneous network connections (that I call spontaneous linkage process), are also the
basis of our mostly unconscious thought process (Hardy 1998, chap. 4). This connective
dynamics based on links and meanings instead of causal chains, in my view, is the way
synchronicities work; and ISST now clarifies the nature of the (semantic) syg-energy
creating these connections, as being the HD sygons.
II.2. Hyperdimensional physics: only way to unify QM, GR, and the 4 forces
Theodor Kaluza, in positing a 5th dimension, showed that only hyperdimensional (HD)
models could unify the four forces (Brandenburg 2011, Kaku 1994, Witten 1981). In
1919, Kaluza rewrote Einstein’s equations with a 5th dimension, which was a 4th
dimension of space—a hyperspace, best represented by a hyper-structure like a
hypersphere or a hypercube (also called tesseract), like the one in Christopher Nolan’s
2014 movie Interstellar. (See Figure 1)
Fig. 1. A tesseract or hypercube. (a) Creator: Robert Webb, using Stella software. Find it at http://www.software3d.com/Stella.php
Credit: Wikipedia Commons. (b) Extracted by CHH. On YouTube “Unwrapping a tesseract” (0’47”)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVo2igbFSPE)
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Kaluza’s solution produced both Maxwell’s EM field equations and Einstein’s field
equations for gravity, plus a mysterious scalar field he called the radion. John
Brandenburg (2011, p. 197) comments: “The boundary between geometry and forces was
now gone, EM was geometry in five dimensions, and gravity was a force. The fields
could now be unified.” Then the mathematician Klein (best known for his Klein bottle)
calculated that the 5th dimension not only had a physical reality, but was compact, that is,
curled up in a tiny circle, the radius of which was Planck length (of about 10-33
centimeters). Klein’s equation thus integrated Planck constant, and now, astonishingly,
the equations of QM could be derived from it. The Kaluza-Klein theory (KK theory) was
at the time overshadowed by the rise of QM, but it became forefront research in the
nineties.
Several theories propose a hyperspace (5th extra dimension) in compactified or warped
models (5thD extremely small, curled up) or in an extensive form called a bulk; the
leading one by Lisa Randall and Raman Sundrum (1999), within a string theory
framework, and called the Randall-Sundrum (or RS) model, implies a 5-dimensional
warped geometry, and comes in two versions, one with a bulk. In the bulk RS model, the
5D bulk surrounds two branes, the Planckbrane (on which strings are 10−33 cm in size, the
Planck length), and the Tevbrane, our 4D world (16 orders of magnitude higher, at 10−17
cm). Also, various superstring theories (9 or 10 D) pursued the integration of the four
forces and were unified by Edward Witten into M-theory (1995), positing a multiverse
with 11D, elaborated upon by Susskind (2003).
II.3. A hyperdimension of consciousness: integrating psi and psyche with physics
Just like in physics the only way to integrate QM and Relativity (the 4 forces) is by
adding extra dimensions, so the only way to integrate consciousness with physics is by
postulating a hyperdimension of consciousness that would then be blended to the physics
hyperdimension. This solution is also required by the fact that a gamut of mental and psi
processes operate beyond spacetime and cannot either be founded on indeterminacy since
they are driven by meaning (see Bem 2011; Mishlove 1997; Mitchell 1996; Nelson et al
1996; Radin & Nelson 1989; Targ et al 1979.) Therefore they can only be grounded by
positing a hyperdimension of consciousness—one that would, just like hyperspace in the
Randall-Sundrum bulk model, surround and contain the 4D spacetime universe. Bernard
Carr (2007, 2014) proposes a hyperdimension based on sheets (2D brane surfaces) to
account for consciousness (mainly in its perceptual and psi facets).
While SFT and ISST postulate a type of panpsychism, some may question ISST’s
solution consisting in integrating consciousness with physics in a single physics paradigm
that, nevertheless, is not a monism (even a dual-aspect one). Let me clarify my own
position.
Physics cannot anymore tolerate having two distinct sets of theories reflecting
contradictory paradigmatic stands—spacetime causality versus quantum indeterminacy; it
has worked ceaselessly to bridge the gap, pursuing Einstein’s grand vision of a unified
theory. Following the same logic, we cannot any longer allow to have two paradigmatic
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stands to account for the whole universe—one physics-based and the other addressing the
reality of the mind (and awareness/experience). And even less so to have so-called
Theories of Everything (TOEs) accounting for a matter-only universe (but not accounting
for awareness of that matter-only universe), especially when the latest data show that
ordinary matter (particles, atoms, stars and galaxies) amounts to only 5% of the total
energy of this universe.†
Jung and Pauli laid the foundation for such a unified theory of a mind-matter universe.
They observed and modeled a region, or deep reality, in which mind and matter were
merged. The Self and the collective unconscious bathe in this deep reality, in which
acausal instantaneous meaningful connections are the prominent dynamics (as in
synchronicities). ISST postulates this deep reality to be a triune hyperdimension
(hyperspace, hypertime, and consciousness). Both models (rather complementary) have
an impact on the question of life after death. But first let’s review the survival question in
the light of the main actual paradigms.
II.4. The survival question within major physics and philosophy paradigms
Let’s note first that the question of a consciousness living or dwelling in an extra
dimension is much wider than just our survival beyond bodily death; it has also an impact
on whether any entity (intelligent or not, in any galaxy or any region of the pluriverse or
multiverse) may inhabit another manifold than our 4D spacetime. For example, do fifth or
eighth dimensional beings exist, the way they have been pictured in various movies, such
as W.D. Richter’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
or Christopher Nolan’s 2014 Interstellar? Could some intelligences dwell in an
unfathomable hypertime? Could immaterial spirits such as fairies or angels have some
reality?
It has always been recognized that in our materialistic-reductionist monist paradigm in
which only matter is considered to be real, no survival of the soul, nor any immaterial or
extradimensional being, may ever exist. The argument is that since mind or
consciousness cannot function independently from the brain’s neural networks or space
localization, then it doesn’t exist without it and the death of the brain-body means the
death of its captive mind. However, with 95% of the total energy of the universe being
non-matter—either dark matter or dark energy whose nature is still an enigma—the
materialist paradigm has suddenly become, at the turn of the century, somewhat of an
antiquity. As for Cartesian dualism, with mind being a totally different substance than
matter/body/brain, of course non-matter entities (souls or n-dimensional beings) are
allowed and therefore the survival of bodily death as well. However, dualism has failed to
give a satisfactory ground for the observed two-way interactions of mind with the brainbody. As for, idealism, it has no explanatory power either, being it is too is weak at
†
See the PLANCK cosmology probe team’s release of March 2013, then early 2015 at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_%28spacecraft%29 - 2013_data_release [last accessed 10/16/2016]
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explaining consciousness without a material body, and it has clarified neither the nature
nor the processes of individualized thoughts and experiences.
An interesting solution is that of Rupert’s Sheldrake morpho-genetic fields: a theory
positing that fields of form (morphic fields), of a nature different from the biological and
matter systems, would in-form these systems (and even behavioral and mental processes)
via morphic resonance, acting as the memory of a type or family of systems and guiding
their morpho-genesis (thus along memorized paths). Morphic fields would then be akin to
a formal causation (one of Aristotle’s four causes). Let’s note that Sheldrake and other
scientists have conducted successful experimentations that lend credit to the existence of
such non-matter fields guiding the organization of biosystems or the psyche (Sheldrake
2009).
Let’s see now the two contending paradigms in physics. Each one of them, taken
alone, is a dead-end just as far as a viable and evolving universe is concerned. How much
more about one in which intelligent beings like us—not even to mention n-D beings—
could dwell!
(1) A fully deterministic universe, run by spacetime laws (Relativity framework),
doesn’t allow the creation of novel organization, of diversity and transformation in
matter- and bio- systems. It doesn’t lead to evolution and innovation in nature (not
even to the Darwinian selection or simply the favoring of the fittest), nor to
creativity and choice, and even less so to free will and consciousness!
(2) A fully random and indeterministic universe (QM framework) wouldn’t even
allow a spacetime or any law whatsoever to exist—even less so intelligence! (We
have to grant that intelligence leads to innovation and thus the creation of order.)
In order to give a foundation to the evolution of matter- and bio- systems, to conative
processes (intention, will…), to choice, creativity and consciousness, we need a layered
and complex universe, one favoring the interplay of (1) fixed laws (spacetime), (2)
stochastic processes (randomness at the quantum scale), (3) nonlinear dynamics (chaos
theory) leading to the creation of novel organization, and lastly (4) a dimension of
sensitivity, choice, intended behavior, and intelligence, in a word, consciousness—all
intermingling and interacting. In brief, to simply get to an evolving universe allowing
intelligence to blossom, we need some leeway from set laws (in the form of diversity,
chaos, divergence, change), and a selective or intentional ordering of this chaos and
diversity—at the minimum as a Darwinian favoring or selection within life forms, at best
as basic intelligence.
But now, if we want to have also the types of nonlocal processes we observe (1) in psi
(communication and influence beyond brain localization and beyond spacetime laws), (2)
in the unconscious (archetypes and Self guiding the ego and providing information), and
(3) in some physics dynamics—such as the entanglement, faster-than-light speed during
the inflation phase, etc. (Guth 1997)—then we need to posit a hyperdimension—not only
as hyperspace (and possibly hypertime), but also as a HD of consciousness.
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And within a physics+consciousness HD (that gives a foundation to all nonlocal
processes, whether physical or mental ones), then the nonlocal part of the mind-psyche
can dwell and live as a self-conscious and evolving entity, autonomous from the body
with which it was coupled. Thus, given that all semantic fields (the Selfs or sentient
entities) of beings and systems belong to, and exist within, the semantic or Syg
hyperdimension, ISST postulates that the death of the body/brain does not entail the death
of the hyperdimensional Self. To the contrary, the syg-field acts as an informational,
sentient or self-conscious field—as a Syg HD field (hyperconsciousness), coupled with a
morphic field (Center HD or hyperspace), and a frequency field (Rhythm HD or
hypertime). The triune HD allows evolved self-referent systems such as human psycheminds to not only keep on living beyond the death of the body, but to do so as selfconscious cognitive entities (the Self or soul), endowed with volition, intention,
autonomy, and able to learn and evolve. Furthermore, the HD gives them access to
greater nonlocal cognition and psi capacities at large. While the ensemble of all the Selfs
(of all cognizant individuals) form the collective or cosmic consciousness that is the
triune HD (Jung’s Anima Mundi or collective unconscious), the individualized Selfs
maintain their own individuality and personal sensitivity, experience, knowledge,
memories, mode of thinking, network of relations, emotional bonds, etc. This, whether
having an actual body in 4D spacetime, or after the death of this body.
Ironically, a triune hyperspace-hypertime-consciousness HD also solves the dualismmonism conundrum: mind and consciousness are different from spacetime as in dualism,
and yet they have an energy component—something that can always be translated in
virtual mass—as in materialist monism. Moreover, this HD (in ISST) is pervading all
matter systems by being at their very core, and is thus strongly coupled with them, and
yet autonomous. This, of course, is in agreement with Gödel’s (1992) theorem—that the
coherency (self-consistency) of a system can only be founded on a more global level than
that of the system itself. In brief, the self-consistency of spacetime can only be founded
on an extra-dimension.
Let’s turn now to the framework postulated by ISST.
III. ISST: COLLARS OF UNIVERSES EMBEDDED IN THE
HYPERDIMENSION
III.1. The Infinite Spiral Staircase Theory (ISST)
The Infinite Spiral Staircase Theory (ISST) postulates a hyperdimension (HD) at the
very origin of the universe, that would have contained all the information about myriads
of systems optimized in previous universe-bubbles (UBs), as a cosmic DNA, this
information being the blueprint of matter- and bio- systems that would then, due to their
nonlinear dynamics, evolve during our universe-bubble timeline as new types of systems.
This hyperdimension is both consciousness and a topological order (geometric or
rather, geodesic) in the form of a spiral driven by the logarithm of phi—thus a golden
spiral. A golden spiral embeds, at each quarter of circle, a specific radius (and thus
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frequency) following the Fibonacci sequence, each radius being a multiple of phi =
1.6180). This sequence is infinite, and thus the Infinite Spiral Staircase bears a quasiinfinite set of frequencies (or frequency spectrum) starting from the virtual infinite (at the
X Point of origin) down to Planck frequency (happening at 10-43 second of the universe).
At the Planck scale (the first quantum), the frequency of the universe is about 1043 hertz
(Planck frequency is precisely 1.85 × 1043 s−1), which means that the quantum-scale
universe vibrates more than 1043 times in one single second. How much more near the XPoint, where this frequency tends to the infinite. It’s only after Planck’s scale (acting as a
threshold), with the frequencies getting lower, and the radius (and wavelength) of the
universe larger, that particles, space, time, and thus causality are allowed—and all the
Standard Model particles will appear in due order, starting with the Higgs boson, and
they will acquire mass while crossing the Higgs field. ISST calls this region the
Quantum-Spacetime or QST manifold, driven by QM + Relativity. In contrast, the
hyperdimension exists before and below Planck scale, this HD thus occupying the prespacetime, at a sub-Planckian or sub-quantum scale. Many physicists have argued that the
laws acting before Planck scale (still unknown) are of a different order than the ones we
know are acting beyond it. Yet Stephen Hawking (1988, 2003) predicted sub-Planckian
wavelengths inside a Black Hole’s (BH) event horizon, in an argument referred to as the
Trans-Planckian Problem. And John Brandenburg, following Erik Verlinde (2010),
argues that gravity can be fundamentally tied to entropy as a cloud of states (an entropic
state-space) above Planck scale, and that this co-dependence makes it necessary that it be
founded on a sub-Planckian cloud of states, or frequency spectrum, thus giving some
weight to the ISS’ frequency spectrum (Brandenburg & Hardy 2016). Let’s note also two
theories postulating a constant death and rebirth of the universe: Penrose’s (1989, 2010,
2014) Conformal Cyclic Cosmology that resets entropy at each new origin, and Lee
Smolin’s Fecund Universes Theory (1997) positing that massive black holes (issued from
dead stars) may be the seed of budding universes, which would retain some of the
parameters of their parent universe. However, neither Penrose nor Smolin postulated a
hyperdimension (and even less so a consciousness HD).
III.2. A triune HD as hyperspace-consciousness-hypertime
In ISST, the HD is triune: firstly the immense set of frequencies forms (by phi) the HD
of time—hypertime—spread in virtual space along the steps of the spiral; secondly, the
set of radii produces (by pi) the bows (quarters of circles) of the spiral, and thus forms
hyperspace as a curved line, thus time-like. Hermann Minkowski, modeled the light cone
in 1908 (using Special Relativity), as a hourglass in which events/particles (at the center
or present time) have straight worldlines running into the future (top cone) and from the
past (bottom cone). Outside of the double-cone is the Elsewhere (beyond spacetime), in
which time is space-like (extended), and space is time-like (a line). The cosmic ISS, as
HD, presents a space-like Hypertime and a time-like Hyperspace; but it adds another
dimension: an HD of consciousness, the semantic or syg-HD, which is the whole spiral
itself and its immense databank as a set of frequencies. Thus, the language of the cosmic
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hyperdimension is music, and its dynamics are basically spins and resonances, waves and
interferences, “spin networks” and “loops” (as in Smolin 1997; Sarfatti 2006)—myriads
of meaning-driven networks of frequencies (as closed, spinning, strings) that will form
the seed of the syg-fields expressing (coding for) all systems existing in our universebubble.
This is why hypertime is called Rhythm-Rotation (R), and hyperspace is called
Center-Circle (C), and the semantic/syg HD is called (S). Thus the ISS is embedding the
creative dynamics of pi and phi—two non-finite numbers. HD Center is the dynamics of
the center (or node) creating its circle (via pi) to set the organizational closure of its own
system—and in the process it creates the identity of a specific system (a property that will
be essential in our 4D region, as systems and chaos theories have shown). As for HD
Rhythm, by oscillating, each bow puts its circle/torus in rotation and creates a subquantum wave-particle carrying its own frequency, a sygon, that, due to its entanglement
with HD Syg and HD Center, is a semantic system by itself. The sygons will be propelled
from the ISS by its initial thrust and energy and will create our whole universe-bubble
with its two regions, the HD bulk and the quantum-spacetime or QST.
As we know, any frequency is a wave and thus a virtual string/particle; and since we
are in pre-spacetime, the virtual particle is sub-quantum of course, but it has also a speed
immensely superior to C (the speed of light limit being effective only within the QST
region). Thus all bow-frequencies of the cosmic ISS are ejecting faster-than-light (FTL)
sygons (and networks of them) endowed with the properties of the CSR HD, notably,
information and consciousness.
The ISS spiral at the origin is a White Hole (WH) issued from the Terminal Black
Hole (BH) of the previous universe-bubble. This double BH-WH system has been
modeled by Roy Kerr (1963); it has an hourglass or X-funnel shape (hence the name I
give to the origin, at the center of the hourglass: the X-Point).
As the WH starts erupting from the Terminal BH (TBH), the spiral staircase unfolds
(and enlarges) at blinding speed and ejects myriads of sygons whose wavelengths get
larger and larger, while their frequencies decrease. The first and highest frequency sygons
(called Free Sygons) will launch the bulk of the HD—as a large and curved region,
probably spindle-shaped. When the sygons’ size reaches Planck length, they will start
interfering and creating a foamy lattice—the Higgs field—and later and bigger sygons
will take on mass while crossing it, becoming the particles of the Standard Model. Yet all
particles of the QST region retain at their core the sygons, as a sub-Planckian, compact
and curled-up hyperdimension. These particles will create the spacetime region as they
dart along, propelled by the ISS initial energy, itself issued from the TBH—starting with
the first wave of neutrinos (the decoupling of the neutrinos happens within the first
second), then the photons wave (the photons’ decoupling, within the first 2 minutes) will
illuminate spacetime and leave the relic radiation or CMB, the Cosmic Microwave
Background that we detect now at about 370,000 years after the Big Bang.
These first waves of particles will form the spacetime region (as a spindle or near
cylinder) within the HD larger region, with the vacuum and zero-point-fluctuations (ZPF)
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as a membrane demarcating the two regions—QST and CSR HD. (Such a complex
boundary membrane has been modeled by Jack Sarfatti, 2006)
III.3. The sygons in-forming the syg-fields (consciousness) in complex systems
The sygons are consciousness-as-energy, semantic or syg-energy belonging to the
CSR hyperdimension. They are able, via the HD Rhythm, to interact instantaneously and
exchange information between the systems they dwell in. They constitute and drive (via
HD Center) the self-organization of the syg-fields of all systems, whatever their
complexity (from a proto-consciousness to a mind). All systems within spacetime have
syg-fields, that are their self-organizational dynamics and information, and their identity
as systems. And the syg-fields of all systems (whether a rock, a tree, a person, or a planet)
(1) are conscious, (2) embed the whole evolving information about this system, and (3)
form the HD of this system. This is of course the foundation of the panpsychist view of
ISST.
• At the human individual level
For human beings, syg-fields are the whole dynamical semantic network of the person
(intelligence, mind-psyche-body organization, self-consciousness, memory, emotions,
skills, etc.). Human syg-fields are complex dynamical networks, multilevel, that comprise
myriads of semantic constellations, each steering a set of cognitive acts in a specific
domain of activity (such as driving, reading, etc.), each being network-linked to
associated, co-evolving, constellations (Hardy 1998). The syg-fields belong to the CSR
hyperdimension, yet each constellation is coupled to all neuronal, physiological and
somatic systems needed for its functioning in the 4D world. The dynamics are based on
meaningful connectivity and networking, on parallel and multilevel processing, rather
than on hierarchy (top-down) and commands as in dualism.
For us human beings, our syg-field is our whole individualized consciousness
field/network, that is, our mind and semantic dynamics + psyche + body consciousness +
our relational and interactive network. The Self is the supraconscious subject of our sygfield, while the ego (the ‘I’) is the subject of our ordinary state of consciousness, the one
taking care of our social interactions (Jung 1960, Tart 1969). The distinction Self-ego
(whatever the terms used) is the basis of many inner, initiatory, hermetic, mystic,
spiritual, and religious paths of knowledge—defined as a striving to harmonize oneself
with our higher or spiritual Self (soul, atman, Ka…). And in ISST, this makes a lot of
sense if we understand that the ego-consciousness is mostly centered on the social and
physical world. In contrast, the Self (via the syg-field and the sygons) can have access to
the collective consciousness and the capacities allowed by the hyperdimension—
meditative and spiritual states of consciousness, psi communication at a distance in space
and in time, influence on bio- and matter- systems such as healing, connection to the
collective unconscious and its immense accumulated knowledge… In ancient cultures
such as the shamanic ones (covering Aboriginal and Siberian ones and most African,
Native American and South American ones, and also pre-buddhist Asiatic ones, as well
as in eastern religions, alchemy and esoterica, we know that a gamut of practices have
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been developed in order to reach or operate within the “spirit world” or dreamtime (e.g.
the shamans’ out-of-body trance, the possession trance), or to achieve this ego-Self
harmonization (e.g., the nagual or Eagle consciousness in Yaqui culture, samadhi
meditation states and yoga paths, mystical fusion states in Christianity and Islam)—many
of these paths of knowledge said to lead naturally to the awakening of siddhis or psi
capacities such as clairvoyance, prediction, healing. (Let’s note that the field of
psychological anthropology acknowledges that most ancient cultures, as its pioneer Erica
Bourguignon (1976) observed it, had a form of trance, and these are sorted out as either
shamanic (intentional and volitional conscious trance) or else possession cults
(impersonation of spirits without self-consciousness within the trance.)
• At the collective and cosmic levels
Carl Jung has defined the collective unconscious as a sort of lattice or medium of
communication among all human psyches (and their subject the Self), in which
archetypes—collective psychic blueprints (such as that of heroes) endowed with
consciousness and an immense “psychic energy”—may influence the psyches of
individuals attracted to them. Yet, on the one hand, Jung integrated the animals and plants
in this collective unconscious, in an alchemical way, for example as symbols and
archetypes (expressing the guidance of the Self), or else as animal or plant souls—a
perspective that concurs with that of the shamans on sacred plants and animals, viewed as
self-conscious and able to guide and teach individuals on a quest (for example in South
and Central America). On the other hand, the collective unconscious, as Anima Mundi,
partakes of a sort of supra-consciousness (as an entity, a whole, being more that the sum
of all psyches/Selfs constituting it) that Jung deemed trans-temporal and trans-spatial,
thus definitely nonlocal, and the stuff of the deep reality that, with Pauli, they explored at
a later time. And there, we meet the concept of an extra dimension.
In ISST-SFT, the part of the psyche that is not strongly coupled with the brain-body
and contains all the information is the HD syg-field (whose subject, or organizing selfconsciousness, is the Self). The syg-fields of all individuals and all systems form a
hyperdimensional collective consciousness at a planetary level (collective unconscious,
Anima Mundi), fueled by syg-energy, and in which the linked or resonant syg-fields (the
personalized mind-psyches) keep interacting and exchanging qualified information (via
the sygons). Let me note that when viewed from the perspective of the ‘I’ or ego involved
in the social and material spheres, his/her own Self and syg-field are relegated to the
unconscious; it is mostly with a self-development, shamanic, or yogic, path that the Self
or Atman may become part of conscious awareness. (The leap from SFT [1998] to ISST
[2015] consists in modeling the syg-fields and the semantic dimension as a HD, and sygenergy as HD sygons.) And at the cosmic scale, the CSR HD is the ensemble of the sygfields of all systems (matter-, bio-, or just HD systems) in our universe. This is why the
HD is not only self-conscious but quasi omniscient in this universe, and why it is a
collective and evolving Anima Mundi at the cosmic scale, system-linked to all its
components syg-fields (all minds and all systems’ psyches). As a consequence, any syg-
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field with enough syg-energy may have an influence on any group of syg-fields (e.g. a
society, a planet), or even theoretically on the whole.
This is in total contrast with a creator god who would be of a different substance than
his creation/creatures and would only issue commands, and with a one-time-created and
non-evolving creation. (Note the parallel in logic with the dualist framework of a mind
only issuing top-down commands to the brain-body.) In ISST, not only each psyche-mind
is a personalized and meaning-generating part of the hyperdimension, but the evolution of
the whole—The One—is instantiated by the evolution of all its parts—the individual sygfields of all systems, each a self-conscious and free creative entity. Now, since syg-fields
are networks and use a connective dynamic based on meaning, the syg-field itself (e.g.
that of a human being), as a system, is already a collaborative, dynamic, self-organized
and constantly evolving, self-creation. The cosmic HD is just the same type of semantic
dynamical system at the cosmic scale—its body being the matter region of the universe,
that is, the QST. Thus, the cosmic consciousness is constantly evolving because its
component systems —the individualized syg-fields/minds—are in a permanent creative
evolution by themselves. In ISST, the cosmic consciousness is only the ensemble of all
the Selfs of all beings and systems—it is a One-Plural, a multifaceted holographic selfconscious system, yet an entity who is more than the sum of his/her parts but who evolves
via his/her self-conscious parts (the syg-fields). Moreover, being beyond spacetime and
nonlocal, the self-conscious cosmic HD knows the far past as well as the future and its
lines of probabilities. The trends toward specific probable futures are constantly
reorganized with the real time creative input of all beings and minds of all intelligent
civilizations (via their syg-fields). So that the cosmic anima is, like us, an individual
constantly self-creating and self-organizing her/his mind and mindscape with
intelligence, creativity, sensitivity and art, and through myriads of connections with other
syg-fields and their environment. Yet, as a One-Plural, her/his knowledge and capacities
are more that the sum of the minds-psyches composing it, and therefore we can expect
that she/he is endowed with wisdom and hyperconscience.
• ISST: On the ontological side
(1) The global systemic and holographic framework of ISST is that the triune
hyperdimension (CSR HD) preexists the spacetime region (QST) and gives birth to it,
thus forming a collar of universe-bubbles (Figure 2). So that a universe-bubble like ours
consists of a CSR HD preexisting, then birthing, surrounding, and pervading the QST
region whose boundary is the quantum vacuum and Zero Point Fluctuations.
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Fig. 2: A collar of universes: The CSR hyperdimension existing in the Phi-based spirals in a BlackHole-WhiteHole system, and
surrounding the QuantumSpacetime (QST) region.
(2) The information-seed of all systems evolving in spacetime is transmitted from a
parent universe-bubble via the cosmic CSR HD (acting as a cosmic DNA) via the ISS’
immense data bank at the origin. Therefore, there is no creatio ex nihilo (creation from
nothing), and no personalized divine creator as totally different in substance from his
non-divine creatures. In contrast, all beings have a HD Self (or soul) and their ensemble
constitutes the collaborative cosmic hyperdimension. Then all beings and even matter
systems—all having a HD syg-field—not only partake of the One-Plural, but
continuously in-form or create the Whole who has given birth to them. It is a sort of selfcreating consciousness loop at all scales.
(3) The self-creating, self-organizing, and self-conscious cosmos is neither
deterministic nor random; but rather the creative interplay of both, plus nonlinear
dynamics and creative intelligent input from the beings that constitute it.
(4) The whole cosmos (HD+QST) is a collective intelligence, a multilevel system both
in its wholeness and in its parts (Hardy 2015b).
(5) ISST posits a type of panpsychism since all systems have a consciousness-HD core
(the sygons as a compact HD), the syg-fields of these systems being more or less evolved
(from a proto-consciousness to a mind).
(6) The universe’s global organization is holographic and self-conscious—all parts
have the information of the whole, and can influence groups of syg-fields.
(7) The cosmos is a fine-grain blending of mind and matter, at all scales.
(8) ISST’s paradigm of a self-conscious cosmos and collective consciousness is a leap
beyond monism versus dualism, beyond QM versus Relativity, beyond the mind-matter
and mind-body split.
(9) The image of a personalized god creating the universe at a specific point in time
switches to a collective consciousness perpetually self-creating through the input of all its
parts—the syg-fields of all beings and systems, and relatively to their syg-energy
strength—and who, as a holographic system, keeps learning and evolving at all scales.
(10) An interesting consequence of the ISST model is that all intelligent civilizations
in our universe are somehow co-evolving among them and influencing each other
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(despite the fact some could be a million years ahead of us or behind us), and moreover
they are also co-evolving with the planetary bodies they inhabit.
(11) And of course ISST transforms deeply not only the perspective on human
freedom and free will, but it has also a deep impact on the question of life after death.
IV. CONTINUOUS LIFE OF UNIVERSES AND BEINGS IN THE
HYPERDIMENSION
IV.1. Birth and death of universes: the cosmic scale
Since the triune hyperdimension (CSR HD) preexists the spacetime region (QST), we
have, in between universe-bubbles (UBs), a Kerr BH-WH system. ISST postulates it to
be—within its two singularities—pure Center-Syg-Rhythm hyperdimension, that is, a
field of dynamic self-conscious information or cosmic consciousness, as a near infinite
set of frequencies spread in hyperspace on the phi spiral.
In the Terminal Black Hole of the previous universe-bubble, all matter- or biosystems lose their matter layer and are transcribed (sublimated) into pure CSR sygonic
semantic energy (thus forming the cosmic DNA). These were the systems that had been
viable, enduring, and optimized in the previous parent UBs.
Fig. 3: Phi-based ISS spirals in a BH-WH system (Black Hole on the left; White Hole on the right),
instantiating the pure CSR hyperdimension surrounding the QuantumSpaceTime region.
In the White Hole of a new UB (the birthing cosmic ISS), the bow-frequencies of the
spiral eject FTL sygons, the nearer to the X-Point of the origin, the higher the frequency
(and the smaller the radius). The early high energy sygons—the Free Sygons—ejected
with tremendous momentum, will form the large HD region (in the form of a spindle) of
what will become a UB. Then, when the bow-frequencies are down to Planck frequency,
the sygons’ wavelengths are so large that they start interfering, creating foam and loops at
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the mouth of the ISS, thus forming a lattice in front and perpendicular to it, that will give
rise to the Higgs field. The large sygons will now have to cross this lattice, which is
becoming denser and denser, and they acquire mass and bloat in size, thus morphing into
the particles of the Standard Model.
The first two waves of high energy particles we know of—the decoupling of the
neutrinos (within the first second) and that of the photons (at 1.40 minute)—literally
create the spacetime region as they speed forward, within the HD bulk already created by
the Free Sygons, as a smaller cylindrical region. Meanwhile, the foamy lattice extends
around the spacetime region as the latter moves forward (like a balloon) and becomes the
vacuum, a complex boundary surface between the spacetime and the HD regions—
behaving as the double membrane modeled by Sarfatti (2006), standing between
spacetime and the sub-quantum Dirac sea of negative energy, and through which virtual
particles tunnel). The (false) vacuum is an oscillating and bubbling surface boundary,
showing permanent fluctuations of virtual particles (hence the ZPF indeterminacy).
However, the Free Sygons had occupied the region that is now spacetime (QST), and
they are still there, immensely more numerous than the large sygons that have been
clothed in mass while crossing Higgs field—the known particles, assembling themselves
to form atoms, then molecules, etc. The new particles retain in their core the original
sygons (and their information), thus forming the 5th D, compact (sub-Planckian), of these
particles. These core-sygons are individual ISSs—a quasi-replica of the cosmic ISS, and
bearing its information as in a hologram—and they constantly send sygons back to the
source, the cosmic ISS, about their own evolving system. Thus, all systems, via their
individual ISSs, are constantly in conversation with the cosmic ISS, and their information
is imprinted on the cosmic ISS—acting as the Akashic information field (see Laszlo
2004). But here, in contrast with Ervin Laszlo’s A field, this Akasha is sub-Planckian, that
is, sub-quantum, and does not reside in the quantum vacuum iself which, in ISST, would
bear only informational traces of the tunneling of sygons through the vacuum membrane,
appearing as loops.
The ISS theory thus highlights the deep coherence and systemic dynamical
organization of the pluriverse—the collars of UBs. It also brings an interesting
understanding about a puzzling fact: that all simple atoms (hydrogen, helium, deuterium)
still existing at our present time in our whole universe have been formed within twenty
minutes after the Big Bang. If we consider that all particles and atoms bear a priceless
information about all possible systems they can form or be part of, then nature being
economical wouldn’t get rid of this information and the atoms would keep on existing
until they are transcribed back into pure CSR information within a black hole. It has been
calculated that the photons from the first light (the photon decoupling) make up 96% of
all photons reaching us—that is about 400 Big Bang photons by cubic centimeter around
us when we walk in the street! (Bogdanov, 2004) The remaining 4% come from the light
of stars.
So let’s see the consequences regarding our topic, the post-mortem life issue.
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In the collar of UBs, each UB receives at birth the cosmic DNA of its parent UBs (the
information about optimized systems), yet it will be free to improvise and create,
transform these systems, and make them evolve. So that in a Terminal BH, the
information field on the cosmic ISS will be drastically different than the one received at
birth (Hardy 2015a). The HD sygons (whether free or embedded as a 5th D in systems)
are the deep reality of our universe, and they steer all nonlocal communications and interinfluences between entities—a constant two-way interaction with the origin, and among
resonant syg-fields (such as minds); thus high states of consciousness and psi phenomena
are instantiated by the sygons and the HD, including weird forms of nonlocality such as
retrocausality or synchronicities (Hardy 2016).
In brief, at the pluriverse scale, there is no loss of information, ever. Matter is birthed
by the hyperdimension, and when disintegrated within a BH, it is translated back into
pure HD sygonic information imprinted on the ISS. Thus is preserved an axiom of QM,
that no information is ever lost. As modeled by Nobel laureate Gerard 't Hooft (1993), the
whole information about a volume (i.e., a BH) is inscribed on its surface (i.e., on the
surface of the BH’s event-horizon); consequently, the Holographic Principle states that
all information about this universe is inscribed on the 2D surface of its cosmological
horizon.
In ISST, the universe as we experience it in our 4D world had an origin and will die in
a Terminal Black Hole (and numerous partial BHs before that). However, the HD
pervading the universe, unfathomable, dwells beyond the birth and death of matter
systems (including universe-bubbles); it is eternally existing as a self-conscious whole
(the Hindu Tat Vam Asi—I am That, I am What is); yet, in contrast with a creator god
deemed immovable and distinct from the created, the CSR HD is constantly evolving and
learning through its component systems. As the whole is more than the sum of its parts,
the cosmic CSR HD knows more than all of its parts but both its knowledge and its
beingness, constantly evolving, are neither perfect nor total. Thus the ISS theory opposes
the concept of a creator god—especially when viewed as immovable, omnipotent and
omniscient. Its originality is that it is neither a creator god nor a blind materialistic
universe, but a self-creating and self-evolving, multilayered, hologram. In brief, as a
holistic (whole, coherent) and holographic system, the CSR HD knows all of its parts,
and is self-conscious in its wholeness and in its parts as well. Thus, universe-bubbles are
constantly birthed and then die (in terms of their QST matter region); yet their
information is preserved and passed on to the following UB, via the CSR
hyperdimension. Death at the cosmic scale is only a transformation, a translation into
pure hyperdimensional consciousness; and birth is the reverse process.
Thus is shed a new light on an impersonal, yet self-conscious and creative Wholeness,
with whom each one of us intelligent beings may communicate through our Self. The
implicit aim of the perpetual creation of UBs would thus be the exploration and
expression of creative acts and mind potentials by entities at all scales and at many
embedded and interactive levels.
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IV.2. The hyperdimensional Self alive beyond spacetime
We saw that ISST (and SFT) have integrated and elaborated upon Carl Jung’s
concepts of a collective unconscious, and of the Self as a supraconscious and
transcendent subject of the personal unconscious, as connected to other Selfs and to the
Anima Mundi (the collective Self as the One-Plural).
It is within cognitive psychology that I developed SFT yet, as a researcher on world
cultures and PhD in psychological anthropology and a practitioner and expert on
meditation and self-development techniques, I’m totally in accord with Jung’s concept of
the individuation process that reframes the ancient paths of knowledge and initiation in
the language of depth psychology. Initiation paths are found in most ancient cultures and
religions, as well as in Christian and Muslim mysticism. As Mircea Eliade (1954) has
shown, initiation was a world-wide path of knowledge aiming at exploring the spiritual
dimension of the world (the dreamtime for the Australian Aborigines) and at developing
one’s own mental and psi capacities, yet its practices differed with each culture.
Individuation and initiation reflect a layered cosmos and the perennial knowledge that:
(1) each human being has a transcendent, supraconscious, Self (or soul), and an ordinary
state of consciousness driven by the ego, which is more centered on one’s body and
social environment (Tart, 1969); (2) this Self can access a deeper knowledge than the
ego, and activate new mind potentials by getting connected to the world soul or
dreamtime. According to some ancient knowledge paths, enlightenment (or awakening) is
the ego-Self fusion (“death of the ego,” “Mystical or Alchemical Marriage”), and once
attained, the individual reaches beyond duality (advaita in Hinduism) and can connect or
harmonize oneself with cosmic consciousness (Brahman, the Tao, The One)
Now, let’s focus on the topic of the bodily death for human beings.
SFT posits that the main part of our being is extra-dimensional, that is, operating in the
semantic dimension beyond space and time (just as Jung had predicated it about the Self
and the unconscious); and that only a small part of our semantic field is intermingled with
the brain’s networks and the body via eco-fields (body consciousness). In ISST+SFT, our
syg-fields are thus operating freely in the syg hyperdimension and create spontaneous
interconnections with resonant syg-fields (e.g., those of our loved ones, but also those of
our pets, our houses, relished works of art and systems of thought, etc.). The Self is the
supraconscious subject of the whole syg-field, and is steering the individuation process or
ego-Self integration. As Jung showed it, it is the Self of a person who acts as a guiding
entity in most symbolic and numinous dreams—mostly appearing as the repressed side of
the psyche, either the feminine anima or the masculine animus, in order to balance the
person’s psyche—and this explains the representation of a personal guardian angel. And
in one’s life, the Self is ever devoted to the awakening of the ego and is able, from within
the syg hyperdimension, to concoct synchronicities, events, or situations that will send a
message to the ego.
Thus, to draw the global picture, the syg-field, being both the information-field of the
person and steering his/her semantic and organizational dynamics, contains moreover the
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whole dynamical memory of this person—as information, selfhood, organization,
procedures, and processes.
In this framework, death is just the shedding of the bio-matter system by the Self—
something like an uncoupling of the Self and its HD syg-field from matter—both Self and
syg-field being highly personal and strongly individualized. In fact, the degree of
originality of the syg-field and Self of a person is higher than that of their fingerprints
because the syg-field is also the ensemble of their affective, social, and intellectual
networks. Bodily death, for the individual Self, is just severing the connections to the
brain’s neuronal networks. However, all past connections of this person’s syg-field with
still living loved ones, objects, places and environment are enduring, because they are
primarily psychic and mental (i.e., semantic) links and bonding. However, ISS Theory—
as a cosmic consciousness framework—doesn’t lead to any judgment of the souls or
punishments after death. If the global aim of an incarnation is to learn and expand one’s
consciousness and talents, then it’s likely that the Self will ponder its achievements and
shortcomings during its past life; but this is only a learning process and has nothing to do
with a condemnation and even less so with an eternal judgment; here, we only have a Self
taking one’s own responsibilities.
CONCLUSION: FULLY CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS POST-MORTEM
As we have seen, before/below Planck scale (at the origin, then surrounding the
spacetime or QST region, and at the end of a universe bubble), there’s the pure CSR
HD—the syg-fields embedding the ISS, before they express (or clothe) themselves in
matter after/above Planck scale, in the QST region (as in Figure 2). Thus, an interesting
consequence of ISST’s framework is the fact that a self-conscious hyperdimensional
region leads to the necessary existence of beings and systems that would be pure CSRHD systems (that is, syg-fields without material bodies in spacetime), and networks of
them (such as groups of Selfs or souls). While these immaterial beings are devoid of
ordinary matter or bodies, they nevertheless have a high syg-energy (as well as a morphic
field) and may have an influence on the organization of matter systems in the spacetime
region. This is similar to an alive human being doing a self-healing visualization and
whose syg-field will transmit a healing energy toward his/her body. After the death of the
body, the syg-field, as we saw, still exists as an intelligent, creative, volitional and
evolving personality. Thus, the Self of a deceased person is a pure CSR HD being that
exists only in the hyperdimension. I surmise that a pure Self (disembodied) wouldn’t
have as much influence on spacetime systems as an embodied Self on his/her own body,
but could still tinker with 4D reality.
Another pure CSR-HD system could be the syg-field of a galaxy that has been
swallowed by a Black Hole (at any point in the spacetime of a UB), and whose matter
would have been crushed by gravity. It would now exist as a pure field of information—
syg-energy organized as a syg-field and able, under favorable conditions, to act as
galactic DNA and give birth to a new galaxy.
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To give a more precise picture of the question of the survival beyond bodily death
within the ISST framework, a deceased person, having shed his body, would be his pure
Self—having all the memories and also the accumulated talents of his previous life. This
is in accord with the Buddhist and Hindu concept of the Self (atman) being conscious
between incarnations, in the Bardo.
Given the large research on communications with the deceased (e.g., Brune 2009;
Gurney et al 1886; Myers 1903)—and my own experiences recounted in The Sacred
Network (Hardy 2011)—my stand on this issue is that the pure HD Selfs (as individual
souls—the deceased) (1) have maintained their individuality and their mindscape, (2) are
still thinking, creative, acting, and learning, able of intention and volition, (3) they have
kept their past relational network and have even added new HD friends to it, (4) they
moreover enjoy the larger scope of a HD consciousness (reaching to any coordinates in
space or time) that allow them to communicate freely with their past loved ones and
colleagues, whether this is registered consciously or via their unconscious by the living
individuals. (All these properties and capacities can be fluidly derived from SFT-ISST).
This means that, as intelligent beings living in the 4D spacetime, the more we are able to
connect and harmonize ourselves with the syg-HD—to our own Self through high
meditative states—, and the more we may be able to communicate with HD beings.
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Hardy, C. H., ISS Theory: Cosmic Consciousness, Self, and Life Beyond Death in a Hyperdimensional Physics
1035
°°°
Biographical Note: Chris H. Hardy, Ph.D. in ethno-psychology and former assistant of
research at Princeton’s Psychophysical Research Laboratories, NJ. Systems theorist,
research on consciousness—via Jungian & transpersonal psychologies, consciousness
studies, cognitive sciences. Recent research on a cosmological theory (ISST) integrating
consciousness in a systemic and hyperdimensional view of the cosmos (Book: Cosmic DNA
at the origin, 2015). Since 1995, she elaborated the Semantic Fields Theory (a cognitive
theory based on complex dynamical networks). More than 60 papers to date and 17 books
on consciousness. Dr. Hardy presents papers regularly at international scientific
conferences.
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Bausch, K., Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death
1051
Explorations
Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death
Kenneth Bausch*
[adapted from Bausch, 2016]
Abstract
Taking the Big Bang as the singular source of universal evolution, gives potent contemporary
metaphors for understanding spirituality, life, and death. We can discover the nature of the
Universe as we observe that its evolution is radically indeterminate, but manifests tendencies
toward connectivity that manifest in self-organizing wholes. Like a traditional deity, the
singularity that existed in the moment before the Big Bang is eternal and timeless. Everything
that exists or comes into being, no matter how creative, is a manifestation of that first moment
of creation. That the first moment of creation is always happening; it’s happening right now.
We (and every other thing) are products of that original creation and our own creativity is an
expression of its creativity. This should comfort us, for it implies that when we lose our
personal creativity at the end of our physical lives, we are likely to experience rejoining the
original creative force of the Big Bang, just as religious faithful often expect death to reunite
them with their creator God.
Introduction
“We have (in the world) the experience of a truth which shows through and envelops rather
than being held and circumscribed by our mind” (Merleau-Ponty, 1964, p. 408). That is to say,
the world thinks through us. We do not initiate either life or thought; the world does. This
meaning in the world is never known until we express it in our lives and language. It is by
perceiving and manifesting this ever-present but often obscured meaning that we become all
that we can be.
As infants, we knew the world in the way of other highly developed animals, that is, through a
kind of collective erotic sensing that knew no difference between ourselves and our mothers
(primary caregivers). Our development of language splits that prelanguage unconscious unity
(schematized as Subject0) into a conscious ego (Subject1), and its environment (Subject 2). This
can be schematized as:
Original Subject Ego + Other
or
st
* Ken Bausch, Institute for 21 Century Agoras, Cincinnati, OH.
Email: Agorasken@gmail.com Website: www.globalagoras.org
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Bausch, K., Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death
1052
Subject0 Subject1 + Subject2.
In addition, our efforts to understand ourselves and our environment (including other people)
are schematized as:
Ego + Other Communion
or
Subject1 + Subject2 Subject3.*
On the subject of life after death, we need to parse the prospects of Subjects 0, 1, 2, and 3.
The book and this excerpted article are driven by my desire to make overall sense in the chaos
of postmodernism. I was driven to question several religious, rationalist, and cultural
standards:
•
•
•
revealed religion, belief in God the Father, divinely sanctioned moral and ethical
standards, dependence on hierarchical authority for rules and favors;
tenets of the Enlightenment and classical science such as duality of body and mind,
reification of the excluded middle, the demand for classic scientific proof for any
rational conviction;
cultural malaise resulting from uncertain ethical values.
The goal of this effort is to present a coherent systemic vision of our world and our roles in it.
The method can be called syncretic imagination. From sources, I have read, have written
about, and in my head, I perceived strong similarities in approaches that would seem otherwise
divergent. I attempt to create stories that hang together and create a coherent background for
meaningful and robust living.
Singularities
In Christianity and in some Eastern philosophies, there is an argument over the nature of
Ultimate Reality/Divinity/Brahman. Does the Ultimate have attributes? Is it good, just, and
compassionate, or not? Most modern day Western Christians would say, “Of course, God is
good, just, and compassionate.”
There is a strain of Christian theology, however, called negative theology, which holds that if we
give God attributes, we put limits on God and put him on our level and the level of any object
we describe. It was for this reason that St. Basil and his fellow bishops in 4th century
Cappadocia said that they believed in God, but they did not believe that God exists. In other
words, “The Creator transcends even existence. The essence of God is completely unknowable;
mankind can only know God through His energies" (Fortescue, 1910). The Eastern Orthodox
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Bausch, K., Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death
1053
version of this tradition, Hesychasm, became a dogma of the Orthodox Church with the
publication of the decree of Tomos in 1351 (see, e.g., “Essence-Energies distinction,” 2016).
Parallel to this Christian negative theology is Advaita (non-dual) Vedanta as propounded in the
eighth century by Adi Shankara (Satprakashananda, 1977). In this philosophy, the Absolute has
no name or form or attributes. It is Nirguna (without attributes) Brahman (Satprakashananda).
Daoism holds a similar view as revealed in the statement: “The Dao that can be described is not
the Dao” (Lao Tsu, 1972, Tao Te Ching). In negative theology, Advaita Vedanta, and Daoism,
God, Nirguna Brahman, and the Dao are absolute singularities – unknowable in themselves.
The Universe of the Big Bang bears remarkable similarities to the God of negative theology and
to Nirguna Brahman and the Dao. It, too, is an ultimate reality. It, too, is a singularity. The
universe before the Big Bang was an absolute singularity. It did not exist in space and time
because it had nothing to relate to; and space and time are created by relations between things
Nothing can be said about a singularity. After the Big Bang, multitudes of chaotic energies were
released to fend their way in an uncreated world (cf. Singh, 2005). The universe we inhabit is
still finding its way, especially in intellectual and cultural arenas.
And yet, in a fundamental way the universe is still a singularity. As a whole, it has nothing to
relate to because, by definition, it is everything. And we, at the atomic and sub-nuclear level
are of the very same stuff as everything in the universe. We are one with the universe as a
singularity.
Differences between the Big Bang and Other Singularities
How does our Big Bang singularity relate to the singularities of negative theology, Nirguna
Brahmin, and the Dao? The principal difference lies in the relation to time. The Eastern
singularities are eternal and timeless. For Advaita Vedanta, we are simply names and forms
(maya = illusions) draped over non-dual reality. In the final analysis there are not two things;
there is only non-duality. We do not relate to Nirguna Brahman with prayers or expect rewards
and miracles. In Vedanta, we are one with the Absolute. Our glory is to live in awareness of
that unity.
Our singularity is dynamic. Ever since the Big Bang, the world has been evolving cosmologically,
chemically, biologically, psychologically, and culturally. In all of this evolution, our singularity
has been expressing itself in its manifestations and in the “flesh” of the universe (as in MerleauPonty’s the flesh of the world, 1968). It is perhaps true that the universe does not achieve
consciousness except through us and our language. There is a vague, unexpressed meaning in
the world that is never known until we express it. It may be that our singularity (that which we
are) is one of becoming, and it seems to yearn to become conscious of its own existence
through its creations as in evidenced in the evolution of life on planet Earth. In cosmic process,
the power of the universe is ours to use. The universe is a miracle so it may follow that we can
work miracles by tapping into that power.
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Our personal involvement in the Becoming is sometimes enlightened by the verbal expressions
and exemplary lives of persons in similar situations to our own. To a large extent, however, our
understanding of what is going on is recorded in our bodily unconscious, where it and similar
experiences of Becoming can sometimes be accessed through deeper reflection. So, we
experience our share of the Becoming in our personal lives. We also contribute our share into
its overall evolution.
Becoming equips all of its energies and entities to freely explore their possibilities. These
innumerable experiments, big and little, express the nature of Becoming. Every achievement in
the universe, every obstacle faced and overcome is Becoming being real in space and time.
Every insight we have, every emotion we feel, and our every relationship is Becoming being real
in our world.
As we are one with this Becoming, our job in life is to become all that we can be. The power of
the universe is ours to use. Most of what we accomplish is in relationships with others. It is
likely that at death we will be less individual voices in a chorus of expansion and harmony.
I once expressed our paradoxical relationship with Becoming in the following verse.
Am I God?
I am a body.
I am not two/not one with the universe.
I am a creative, chaotic, metaphysical contradiction as is the universe.
The universe and I and everybody else are the same hologram.
I am the creative force of the universe, especially in my microcosm where my body and
environment provide the material limits that creativity requires.
I am free to do and be whatever I will
According to the laws of chaos,
I attract a uniquely beautiful constellations into my microcosm
That fits exquisitely into the overall design.
With attention, imagination, effort, and body wisdom, I co-create myself.
In free association with other bodies, I continue designing and producing the universe.
So I am God – and I’m not.
Scientific Analogies of Creation
The body of the universe has found exotic ways to symbolize for us the way it is put together. It
presents the microcosm/macrocosm similarities to us in relation to both the little world/big
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Bausch, K., Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death
1055
world of physics and the personal world/universal worlds of psychology and society. Recently,
through the efforts of the scientists of chaos, exquisite artificial universes have been created by
indeterministic and decentralized processes.
These chaotic processes are clues to the constituting process of the universe. They indicate
how we function in the grand economy. They also sketch a solution to the freedom vs.
predestination debate. They show us, as does the theory of the holoverse (described below), a
divine economy in which we are both whole, center, and part.
The Holoverse
The high-tech, laser, three-dimensional photographs called holograms give sensual
confirmation to our sense of being not two/not one. They demonstrate the relationship of the
microcosm and the macrocosm, the age-old theory that the entire universe is reflected in its
every part, as in the ancient Buddhist metaphor of Indra’s Net (or Indra’s Jewels), used to
demonstrate how, though everything is Śūnyatā or emptiness, the universe is still dynamic, and
each part of the cosmos contains the whole in a holographic manner (cf. Talbot, 1991;
Robertson, 2009).
If you take an ordinary photograph of your face and tear off the part containing your chin, you
will have two pieces; one will picture your chin; the other will show the rest of your face. Not
so with the hologram. If you take a hologram picturing your face and break off the chin part
you again have two pieces, but each one is a picture of your whole face. Break both pieces into
two and you then have four complete pictures of your face, and so on. The whole is completely
present in each of its parts. Regarding any two pieces resulting from breaking the hologram of
your face, it is true to say, “These two are not two.” In its relevance to the universe, this
analogy says that its every part, its every molecule, planet, plant, animal, and human is an
image of the whole universe.
The Strange Attraction of Chaos
Chaos theory provides a rationale for the random exquisiteness of the universe and our free
participation in its creation. The strange attractors of chaos are both natural processes and
equations. They generate harmony by chaotic processes. They exhibit remarkable
characteristics. When their equations are graphed, for example, they often generate beauty of
infinite depth and variety. They do this in unpredictable ways that do not seem to coerce the
freedom of individual atoms or points (see, e.g., Field & Golubitsky, 2009).
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A non-mathematical demonstration of a strange attractor at work is provided by the rise of
cigarette smoke in a still room. The smoke rises but each individual atom within it is free to go
wherever it will as each atom is indeterminate (free). The smoke gracefully rises curling at
some point into two beautiful plumes which then separate into four plumes, thence to eight
and eventual chaos. No two plumes are ever the same, but they maintain remarkable fractal
[see below] similarity (cf. Gleick, 1987; Stewart, 1989).
Thousands of processes in fields as diverse as biology and electronics follow this same process
as they progress from regular to periodic to chaotic.
Fractal Grandeur
Fractal Geometry deals with fractional dimensions between our usual one-, two-, and threedimensional representations of the world. In doing this, it deals directly with jagged lines and
crinkled surfaces whereas traditional geometry deals with smooth lines and surfaces. An aerial
picture of a rocky coastline, for example, has a fractal dimension of about 1:25, according to
Stewart (1989, p. 219), whereas a protein molecule has a dimension about 1:7 (Stewart, p.
223), and a crumpled ball of paper has a dimension of about 2:5 (Stewart, p. 224).
Surfaces in nature are very irregular and have individual qualities. Traditional geometry
smooths out the differences and reduces everything to approximations of straight lines and
curves in order to compute lengths, areas, volumes, etc.
Fractal geometry, in contrast, tries to come to grips with the uniqueness of observed reality to
discover its underlying structure. Using fractal geometry mathematicians can reproduce a fern
on their desktop computers by following a few simple rules. Lucas Films generated the
geography of the moons of Endor in this way for the film Return of the Jedi (Stewart, p. 229).
Visually the most remarkable production of fractal geometry is the Mandelbrot set which is
sometimes called the gingerbread man because of its overall shape. It is generated using
complex numbers and the simple mapping formula zn+1= zn2 + c (Stewart, p. 235):
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We are ginger people. We are the Gingerbread Man
Wherever and whenever we awake in this evolving tableau, we disturb or expand the ongoing
universal harmony.
Mandelbrot plotted the connectedness of every point c in the plane. There is no foreseeable
sequence for plotting the connectedness of those points. They occur randomly all over the
computer screen. The order is chaotic. Only after thousands and millions of iterations does the
pattern appear. It is the gingerbread man.
Picking any spot on the gingerbread man we can enlarge it 100 times mathematically and find a
design of jeweled splendor having elegance surpassing seashells and sea horses. Again
enlarging this portion 100 times we find elegant designs by the same jeweler (perhaps it’s
Indra!). Repeating the process we find equally detailed but unique beauty by the same jeweler,
etc. The Mandelbrot set has infinite depth. This progression is indicated in high definition color
at
“Mandel
zoom
00
mandelbrot
set.jpg”
on
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mandel_zoom_00_mandelbrot_set.jpg
I am reminded of the biblical phrase, “God’s only begotten son,” but in a depth that says he is
begotten again and again infinitely. One is tempted to mimic the style of John Lennon singing
about the walrus, so I craft another expressive verse:
God is the Gingerbread Man.
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Jesus is the Gingerbread Man.
We are the Gingerbread Man.
Again, the One and the Many.
Again, not two/not one.
Again, infinite freedom and depth
In infinite elegant order
Randomly generated.
God writing straight with crooked lines.
It appears that we can place ourselves anywhere we please in this universe and still fit
exquisitely into the grand design.
Chaos theory and fractal geometry deal with random (free) events that create remarkable
unpredictable beauty. They situate my experience of being one with the world precisely
because I am a free individual: I do what I please, and, whatever that is, it is just exactly right
for the universe. I am one with the magnificent unity of the universe because I am a free
individual. Paradoxical as that may seem, holographic principles account for this mutual
freedom of cosmos and self.
The workings of chaos and fractals expand on the metaphor of the hologram. They show a
likely scenario for the formation of the microcosm in the macrocosm. They also surprise us
with the revelation that the universe is free.
Putting It All Together
Cosmic Perspective
The Big Bang singularity existed before its eruption – except to say “before” puts it in time, and
the singularity is timeless (so it also exists right here, now, forevermore, unless timelessness
renders it beyond the qualities of “existence”). After its eruption, the stuff of everything in the
universe is the stuff of that singularity. Everything proceeds from this original Being as it
chaotically transcends itself. Effusively it projects replicas (total parts) of itself. By thus
scattering itself, Being is able to simultaneously express and know itself. The physical world is
the body, reflection, and language of Being.
The Big Bang unleashed immeasurable free energy into an empty universe and let that energy
find its own way. From then on, everything is one with the universe and the Big Bang in the
manner of a hologram. As each bit of a hologram contains the whole picture; so each bit of the
universe contains the whole universe with the intensity specified by the capability of the bit.
Every energy, atom, galaxy, organism, and human from the eruption to the present day is
physically the original stuff of the Big Bang. We are “not two” but one with that originary stuff,
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Bausch, K., Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death
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known to the ancient Greek philosophers as the apeiron. Its freedom, wisdom, and power,
resides in our bodies and our unconscious.
Every bit of the universe has a degree of freedom, which it modifies or loses when it couples
with other bits, in which case the union of bits becomes free to tackle more complex problems.
Evolution provides numerous examples of plants and animals joining in symbiosis to survive in
hostile circumstances (e.g., Archibald, 2016). We all have joined other people to get something
done, if only to push a car out of a ditch or throw a party for a friend. Evolution and our own
experience seem to indicate that there is a natural drift toward cooperation and
communication.
Evolution previous to the arrival of language displays the chaotic efforts made by organisms in
their pursuit of survival, but even more so the exquisite beauty created by those efforts. Those
wildly free efforts and the resulting beauty express the complete openness and effectiveness of
the universe’s wisdom. Evolution is the process of the Logos becoming Flesh. This material
language of Being is alive and chaotically purposeful. Its every indeterminate particle cocreates a universal Mandelbrot set. Its every particle is free, creative, and self-transcending. It
is in this context of Being expressing itself that we human beings find our ultimate glory. The
world evolves as a straining towards the consciousness that language makes possible.
With the arrival of language, the Logos (soul or self) becomes conscious (self-conscious).
Heidegger (1991) does not use the Logos terminology, but he does describe invisible Being
behind the process of individual perceiving and knowing as follows:
Through this body flows a stream of life of which we feel but a small and fleeting
portion, in accordance with the receptivity of the momentary state of the body. Our
body itself is admitted to this stream of life, floating in it, and is carried off, snatched
away by this stream or else pushed to the banks. (p. 79)
We locate ourselves in this stream of life by focusing our attention. Focusing in the chaos of
the moment (using our “F in 0”), we can bring elements of the stream into words, and
therefore, into consciousness. In Nietzsche’s terminology, we “bring Becoming into Being” with
our will to power. In the cosmic picture and in Merleau-Ponty’s terminology, we fulfill Being’s
yearning for conscious expression.
Merleau-Ponty’s (1998) large vision is that we are the world’s project. The world thinks
through us. We do not initiate either life or thought. The world does. At the same time, the
world does not achieve consciousness except through us and our language. The world and
ourselves as subjects are mutually related. There is a vague, unexpressed meaning in the world
that is never known until we express it. For Merleau-Ponty, Being needs us in order to truly be.
If Being is below us and only expresses itself in us, human history is then “the history of the
becoming of Being itself”, according to Madison (1981, p. 235). In other words, Being becomes
its conscious self through the expression of free human beings. The movement of human
history is the cultural history of Being.
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Bausch, K., Big Bang Spirituality, Life, and Death
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Psychological Perspective
In its prepersonal state, the infant knows its world through a kind of collective erotic sensing
that is similar to that of other highly developed animals. We were “not two” with the universe.
There was no distance between us and the flesh of the universe. In particular, we shared a
boundless oneness with our mothers or primary caregiver who stood in for her (cf. Rochat,
2009).
After a year or so but notably by three, we developed language, and that changed everything.
According to Freud (1920/2009), in the Fort/Da experience, Freud’s grandson learned to
possess his mother symbolically with language. He also became a separate entity (an ego).
Emotionally, this separation sets up two drives and a complex relationship between them. Ego
yearns for its lost mother-me closeness; it also has an intense desire to be an individual. Life is
the working out of these two conflicting drives, which Freud called Eros and Thanatos.
The development of ego splits our pre-language unconscious unity (schematized as Subject0)
into a conscious ego (Subject1) and its environment, or the Other (schematized as Subject2).
The transaction is schematized as;
Original
Subject
or
Subject0 Subject1 + Subject2.
Ego
+
Other
In the grand scheme of things, we are now “not two/not one” with the universe. The
contradiction this seems to involve would rend this status invalid only in a world of essences
that obeyed the dualism of language. As Merleau-Ponty (1964) has argued, “[T]his
acknowledged contradiction appears as the very condition of consciousness,” and there are
other “philosophies which show contradictions present at the very heart of time and of all
relationships” (p. 19).
The Other, the partner to Ego, is that part of our life that we have not yet expressed in words.
It includes physical relationships, interpersonal relationships, and relationships with our
anonymous and generalized corporeal existence. We are tasked with bringing those
relationships into consciousness by using language. In other words, our job in life is to use our
intuition, imagination, and ingenuity to make explicit and orderly the influences in our lives (just
as I have done here). In doing that, we resolve our personal conflicts between Eros and
Thanatos, and simultaneously advance Becoming’s progress into conscious Being. This process
can be schematized as:
Ego
+
or
Subject1 + Subject2 Subject3
Other
Communion
We are at our optimum when we are acting as Subject3, when we are combining our rationality
with our intuition, imagination, and feelings. In this state, we are using our abductive [or
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retroductive] logic as named by C. S. Peirce (2013). In physics, this logic was expressed by
Albert Einstein when he said, according to Wertheimer (1959), “I very rarely think in words at
all. A thought comes and I may try to express it in words afterwards” (p. 213). In everyday
discourse, I am working in Subject3 consciousness when I struggle to find the words to tell
someone that I love her in the midst of an emotional scrap. Subject3 consciousness finds winwin solutions to conflicts.
As Subject 3, we seize our destiny to create a human world. Nietzsche expresses this sentiment
in the strongest way. His phrase for Subject3 is “the will to power.” He says, “This world is will
to power—and nothing besides! And you yourselves are this will to power—and nothing
besides!” (cited in Heidegger, 1991, p. 18). The context of our lives is exuberant and selftranscending. Joy and the memorable things in life occur when my Subject3 communes with
your Subject3. This is true from the intercourse that gives birth to new human life and also to
the dialogue that leads to new intellectual breakthroughs.
After Physical Death
Will I survive physical death? Given the ambiguity of the word “I”, the answer depends upon
the whether I am talking as Subject0. Subject1, Subject2, or Subject4.
• Subject0, the reality of the Universe available to our untapped unconscious wisdom
continues to grow through physical, social and psychological evolution.
• Subject 3, communion of ego and other, is embodied in the progress of universal
evolution.
• Subject2, Other, would remain as part of Subject0.
• Subject1 Ego, might pass away as an active subject.
• Alternatively, Ego and Other might continue to exist as foils for each other in ever
expanding exploration and satisfaction.
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http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07301a.htm
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1063 |
ConsciousControlFlow(CCF): Conscious Artificial Intelligence based on Needs
arXiv:2004.04376v2 [cs.AI] 6 Feb 2021
Hongzhi Wang1∗ , Bozhou Chen1 , Yueyang Xu1 and Kaixin Zhang1 and Shengwen Zheng1
1
Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
{wangzh, bozhouchen}@hit.edu.cn, 1404039935@qq.com, {1170300216, 1170300707}@stu.hit.edu.cn
Abstract
The major criteria to distinguish conscious Artificial Intelligence (AI) and non-conscious AI
is whether the conscious is from the needs.
Based on this criteria, we develop ConsciousControlFlow(CCF) to show the need-based conscious
AI. The system is based on the computational
model with short-term memory (STM) and longterm memory (LTM) for consciousness and the hierarchy of needs. To generate AI based on real
needs of the agent, we develop several LTMs for
special functions such as feeling and sensor. Experiments demonstrate that the the agents in the proposed system behave according to the needs, which
coincides with the prediction.
1
Introduction
Currently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) gains great advances.
However, current focus is functional AI, which provides some
specific functions such as face recognition, the game of go
and question-answer. Different from functional AI, conscious
AI [Chella et al., 2018] aims to build AI systems with consciousness. Conscious AI will not only help to build better AI
systems by solving the problem of data-driven approaches but
also create the opportunity to study neuroscience and behavior science by connecting behavior with conscious activities.
With its wide applications and great interests, many researchers devote to the model of consciousness. Existing
models of consciousness are in three aspects. The first is from
the essentials of consciousness such as global workspace theory [Baars, 1988; Newman and Baars, 1993]. The second
is from the attention control, a basic function of consciousness and based on attention schema theory [Graziano and
Webb, 2014]. The third focuses on the reasoning function for
the consciousness, the examples of which include Ouroboros
model [Thomsen, 2011] and Glair architecture [Shapiro and
Bona, 2010]. With these models, some techniques have been
developed including the one based on global workspace theory [Baars and Franklin, 2009] and the one based on attention
schema theory [Boogaard et al., 2017]. However, these techniques attempts to implement the function of consciousness
∗
Contact Author
Respect
L4
L3
Family Affection
L2
Personal Safety
L1
Sleep
Energy
Friendship
Love
Property Safety
Water
Breed
Figure 1: The Hierarchy of Needs
and fail to demonstrate real consciousness of the machine
globally.
The nervous system is the key factor to distinguish animals
form plants. The driver of nervous system evolution is the
needs such as energy, breed and safety. Since the consciousness is from the evolution of the nervous system, it is gained
from the needs. Thus, the real consciousness could be distinguished by whether it is from real need. We illustrate this
point with an example. The function of the real pain is to tell
body to avoid harm. This is from the need of the body and
from the consciousness. Otherwise, it is not real pain.
Motivated by this, we develop a system with conscious
control flow (CCF) based on needs to show the conscious AI.
A conscious agent may have various needs in different levels. For example, the need of food is the basic need in low
level, while the need of love is the need in higher level. To
represent the needs effectively, we organize them in hierarchy
structure, inspired by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 1 . In such
structure, a need in higher level is the prediction of the lowerlevel needs. For example, as shown in Figure 1, the needs in
the lowest level are the basic needs such as energy, water and
sleep. The need of personal safety is the higher need, which
is the prediction of sleep, energy and water.
For an agent, multiple needs may emerge in the same time,
which may be sensed and processed unconsciously, while
the consciousness runs in series [Baars and Franklin, 2009;
1
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Blum and Blum, 2020]. Thus a competitive mechanism is in
demand to select the most valuable stuff for the conscious to
handle. To model the consciousness, the unconscious behaviors as well as the competitive mechanism, our system adopts
short-term memory and long-term memory (STM-LTM) architecture according to the discovery of neuroscience [Baars,
1988]. In the architecture, a STM represents the consciousness with limited space, and various LTMs implements complex real mantel functions such as pain, body control, natural
language processing, vision. LTMs compete to enter STM
according to their strengths. The strengths are determined by
the needs. Once an LTM enters STM, it comes to the consciousness.
The contributions of this paper are summarized as follows.
• We discover the connection between the hierarchy of needs
and consciousness and apply such discovery for a conscious AI.
• We develop a system for the conscious AI. In this system,
we construct the STM-LTM framework and develop some
typical LTMs. The system is based on the hierarchy of
needs which drive the competition of LTMs. To the best of
our knowledge, this is the first work for need-driven conscious AI.
• To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques,
we design typical scenarios and conduct experiments on it
with conscious agents. The experimental results demonstrate that our system could act as prediction with explainable mental behaviors, which show that our system gain
conscious AI in some level.
The remaining part of this paper is organized as follows.
Section 2 introduces the computational model of consciousness with the hierarchy of needs. Section 3 proposes the techniques for the system including system architecture and algorithms. Section 4 presents experimental results with analysis.
Section 5 draws the conclusions.
2
Computational Model for Consciousness
We believe in that consciousness is the product of evolution
which leads to better satisfaction of needs. Thus, we distinguish conscious AI to non-conscious AI in whether the decision is from the needs of the individuals.
We base system on the hierarchy of needs. To simplify the
system, we implement four levels of needs as shown in Figure 1. As the base, each individual in our system has 4 basic
needs, i.e. sleep, energy, water and breed, which are quantized as a state vector, respectively. The need in the higher
level is considered as a prediction with needs in lower level.
To implement the consciousness, we adopt the computational model of consciousness [Blum, 2017] inspired by neuroscience. The model is illustrated in Figure 2. In this model,
each long-term memory (LTM) is a processor with memory
in charge of a function such as speech, face recognition or
angry. LTMs have connection to each other and connect to
the short term memory (STM) with limited space, i.e. 7±2
slots 2 . STM is the consciousness and makes conscious deci2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The Magical Number Seven,
Plus or Minus Two
STM
LTM
......
LTM
LTM
Figure 2: The Computational Model for Consciousness
Individual
STM(7 slots)
think
method
knowledge LTM
skill LTM
pipe
LTMs(sensor)
down tree
up tree
LTMs(feeling)
environment
Visualization
Figure 3: The Architecture of CCF
sions. STM has no awareness of how the unconscious LTM
works.
3
Techniques
According to the computational model, the components of
the system are shown in Figure 3. The components are introduced as follows.
Individual This is the core component of the system, in
which the consciousness is implemented. An individual is
compounded with a STM, multiple LTMs and links, which
will be discussed in Section 3.1, Section 3.2 and Section 3.3,
respectively.
Environment This component controls the environment such
as temperature, available food and water, which may possibly
affect the behavior. The change of environment could be performed randomly or input by the user.
Visualization This component visualizes the environment
and the behaviors of individuals to generate the animation.
3.1
STM
STM could be considered as a central processor with a cache,
whose basic unit is called slot. This is a special cache. On
the one hand, those slots are organized as a tree rather than a
liner structure. On the other hand, the number of slot in cache
has an upper bound of 7 [Miller, 1956]. Further, some operations are defined for STM to take operations on the cache,
and these operations are called think uniformly. As unit of
STM’s storage, slot has four types, i.e. ontology, need, object
and method.
Slots0 four specific types are summarized. Except ontology,
each type may have multiple instances. For the convenience
of discussions, we give a label to each instance when it is
loaded in STM to distinguish different slots with same type.
These four slot types are introduced as follows.
• Ontology identifies the agent itself. It has only one instance denoted as IS . If the agent is conscious, IS is in
STM as the root. Otherwise, if the agent is sleeping or unconscious for some reason, the cache becomes empty, with
IS switched out.
• Need represents the needs from feeling LTMs which will
be introduced in the next section. Each instance of need
ITF corresponds to a feeling LTM F . Besides the copy of
F , ITF has a weight to show its intensity, which is transferred from F and is a key factor to decide the need to be
processed by STM. The weight computation and the details of LTMs’ competition for STM will be described in
Section 3.2.
• Object accepts information from the environment. All objects correspond to the sensor LTM. Each one represents
one kind of signals from the sensor LTM.
• Method denotes the methods used to solve needs in slots.
However, slots just maintain a label of the method to save
more storage, and the modules of the methods are in the
LTM.
Each item in the slot has intensity value so that when the
slots are full, it can be decided whether or not to replace an
item and which item is to be replaced.
We use an example of solving hungry need to illustrate the
work of the STM, as is shown in Figure 4.
• Step 1. The agent Alice feels hungry (accepts the hungry
need from the corresponding feeling LTM). In this step, the
hungry need is packed into a slot and connected to self.
• Step 2. She tries to solve the need. The think module takes
the duty to invoke knowledge LTM to find the method that
is able to solve the hungry need. In this step, the method
is eat which is then packed into a slot and connected to
hungry. After she thinks out a method to solve the need,
she will try to conduct the method. While the truth is that
she has nothing to eat (When programming, this will be a
method of feasibility check).
• Step 3. She finds that the reason that she could not conduct eating is that she does not own food. Therefore there
is a new need labelled with food entering STM. It should
be noted that this kind of need is different from that from
feeling LTM. It can be regarded as a target here.
• Step 4. She processes the new need for hungry, and then
gets a search method. When search in going to enter STM,
one slot must be removed from STM since the upper bound
of slot’s number reaches 7. In the end, obj 3 is removed
out. Then she begins searching food. In the process of
searching, the object in obj 1 and obj 2 will accept different and new information from sensor LTM continually.
• Step 5. She has found food. Then search is removed out.
Eat method is called. After eating up, eat and food are
removed out. Then everything returns to normal.
Note that Figure 4 shows the details of STM in Figure 3.
The changes of objects in the environment are sent to the
STM through sensor LTMs, which may be affected by the
requirement of the agent. The STM should have the ability
of handling the information from the environment and make
decisions according to the changes in the environment. To
achieve this goal, we abstract the information in the environ-
Figure 4: The internal Structure of STM
ment to objects, each of which is wrapped up as a package
matching the slot in STM. In STM, think is designed to handle the such packages entered STM.
Think module contains many functions about thinking. It
makes decisions based on knowledge LTM as that will be
discussed in the next subsection. Decision determines the
method used to solve the need. Before the method is executed, think detects whether the premises of the action R can
be met. If the conditions are satisfied, this module will calculate parameters for the action, and monitor the running of R
to control its ending. Otherwise, new requirements are generated by thinking and enter the slots.
During monitoring, reduction, which is one of the functions in think to identify the event that the need is solved,
will be conducted if there is an object happening in one slot
sharing the same to the label of some need. For example, if
obj2 is food, then reduction happens, and as a result, food and
search will be removed from slots.
3.2
LTMs
Knowledge is a special kind of LTM. The storage is in form
of a knowledge graph and could be handled with graph engines. The functions for Knowledge include save, update
and query. update saves information that has been actively
or passively paid attention to or repeated. For example, just
as the example before, for an agent, it actively pays attention when looking for food for tackling hunger. Therefore,
such thing is stored in LTM automatically. query answer the
queries according to the knowledge base and return the results, e.g. make decisions according to the need that has been
described above. Apart from the basic query function, the
agent should also has the ability to take deep thought based
on knowledge and the cache to solve complex tasks, which
will be discussed in future work.
Skill is also a special kind of LTM. We furnished skills for
each need, and those skills help agent restore and interact
with environment. In the future, the skills can be split and
reorganized freely. The eat and search in the above example are example skills. Basically, each need corresponds to
a skill to solve it. Additionally, we develop some auxiliary
skills such as search, observe, move and put some thing in
some place.
Both the above two special LTMs do not directly receive
internal or external information. These information is processed by other LTMs called feeling LTM and sensor LTM.
Feeling LTMs keep on detecting the status of individual itself. The needs are generated by them. At present, we
have implemented 10 feeling LTMs including thirsty, hungry,
breed, sleep, personal safety, property safety, family affection, friendship, love and respect corresponding to the hierarchy of needs. Each feeling LTM has two basic attributes,
i.e. satisfaction and weight. Weight evaluates the strength of
the need, and the need with the largest weight will be handled by he agent. Satisfaction represents the degree that the
need is satisfied. We measure the satisfaction of need with the
following three rules, (1). The satisfaction of each physiological need will decrease with time. (2). All the satisfactions
of needs will be affected by some specific events. (3). The
level of satisfaction of high-level needs has an impact on the
low-level ones [Taormina and Gao, 2013]. The computation
approach of needs will be introduced in Section 3.4.
Sensor LTM keeps on detecting the status of the environment. We has two kinds of sensor LTM, one for visual information and another one for auditory information. Sensor
LTM gets message from the environment directly, partitions
and processes them to STM readable messages. Then sensor
LTM sends these messages to STM waiting to be wrapped as
a slot and processed. The transmission mechanism is implemented based on pipe, which will be described in the next
subsection.
3.3
Links
The function of links is to transfer information between STM
and LTMs, and also within LTMs. For the first kind of links,
links could be classified into Up-Tree and Down-Tree according to the direction of information transformation, which are
introduced as follows.
Up-Tree The purpose of the Up-Tree is to run competitions
that determine which chunks3 of LTM is to be loaded into
STM. This part of the work refers to the CTM [Blum et al.,
2019] model. The Up-Tree has a single root in STM and
n leaves, one leaf in each of the n LTM processors. Each
directed path from a leaf to the root has the same length h, h
= O(logn). Each node of the Up-Tree that is not a leaf (sits
at some level s, 0 < s ≤ h) has two children.
Down-Tree At each time t, the content of STM is broadcast
via this Down-Tree to all n LTMs.
Note that both Up- and Down-Trees are used to transfer
internal signals. Besides Up- and Down-Trees, STM accepts
the signals from the environment, which is handled with an
individual component, pipe. As shown in Figure 4, pipe is in
charge to transfer information from sensor LTM to STM.
Note that the links described above are between STM and
LTMs. The links among LTMs have been analyzed in Section 3.2.
3.4
The Computation of Need Weight
The computation of the weight of physiological needs is
straightforward, since it is only negatively related to the sat3
trunk is a copy of some LTM at a specific time
isfaction. The weight is computed by the maximal satisfactory minus the current one. However, the calculation of other
levels0 needs0 corresponding weight is not so easy to be expressed as a unified formula. Since we must ensure that when
the requirements of the lower layers are not met, the strength
of the high-level requirements cannot exceed that of the lower
layers, otherwise it is wrong. At the same time, the prediction of the underlying requirements by the high-level requirements must be considered.
When analyzing the calculation method of the weight of an
LTM, we should consider two factors, one is the satisfaction
corresponding to the LTM, and the other is the satisfaction
corresponding to all the LTMs at the next lower level of the
demand level where the LTM is located. We focus on those
LTMs that are predicted by themselves. Therefore, carefully
speaking, we should consider three factors as follows.
We then analyze the influence of three factors on the final weight. First, the weight represents the strength of demand. If the satisfaction is higher, then weight should be
lower, so the first factor’s contribution to the final weight
should be negative. Secondly, the weight can be relatively
large when all low-level requirements are resolved. Quantitatively, these satisfactions are positively related to weight.
Finally, for those LTMs predicted by themselves, if they are
not satisfied, it leads to a relatively large weight, which better
satisfies these LTMs in the future. From this point of view, the
third factor should be negatively related to weight. according
to the above analysis, the formula for calculating weight is as
follows.
wl,i
=
X
αl,i ∗ sl,i + βl,i ∗
sl−1,j +
j∈sons
+γl,i ∗
X
sl−1,j
(1)
j∈ltms in next layer
where w denotes weight, l denotes the layer number, and
physiology level’s l is 1. i and j indicate some LTM in layer
l. s denotes the satisfaction of some LTM indicated by l and
j(or i).
The first influencing factor is the level of satisfaction which
has a strong negative correlation with the weight of needs. We
call α the self-decreasing coefficient.
The second factor shows the level of satisfaction of next
level’s needs which are predicted by this need. That is, if
some lower needs predicted by this need is not satisfied well,
the lower needs will be satisfied by strengthening this need.
Thus, we call β the gain factor, which is negative and reflects
the influence of the third factor. For example, if one’s food
is provided by the parents, the need of food will enhance the
need of family affection.
The third factor is the level of satisfaction of all the lower
needs with positive correlation to the needs, which shows that
if some lower need is not satisfied, it should be satisfied first.
Thus, we call γ the suppression coefficient, which is a positive number, corresponding to the second factor.
α, β, γ can be different for each LTM. In this model, we
can meet the need by adjusting the value of each LTM’s
α, β, γ.
In our system we can have found suitable values from
Bayesian optimization with the goal as follows.
X
Xi )
(2)
max(
i∈test sample
where Xi = 1 when arg maxi {the weight of each LTM in
sample i} = ilabel .
We manually generate 100 sample data sets, and give the
requirements of which LTM should be selected in these 100
cases. When all the 100 cases corresponding to a certain set
of constants are successfully predicted, the values of these
constants are finally determined.
While the calculation result may be a negative value, we
add a positive number to the result as a correction as follows.
wl,i
=
X
αl,i ∗ sl,i + βl,i ∗
sl−1,j +
j∈sons
X
+γl,i ∗
sl−1,j + ∆
(3)
j∈ltms in next layer
4
Experiments
To verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and framework, we develop the system of agents with conscious AI and
conduct experimental study.
4.1
Experimental Setting
To verify the proposed approaches, we develop a proper scenario, which is simple enough for the explanation of the
connection with mental and physical behaviors, and scalable
enough to demonstrate the decisions under various environments.
Scenario Description The basic setting is to build two conscious agents named Alice and Bob, who are friends. Only
one predator threatens the agents, and agents have one food,
prey, which could be obtained with some skill called hunting.
Even though the scenario looks simple, 6 needs in 3 levels are
related to it, i.e. sleep, energy, water, bread, safety and friendship. The methodology of the experiments is to test whether
the behaviors of agents coincide to the prediction of human.
Since the prediction is natural and straightforward, we make
behavior prediction by the authors.
Parameters The parameters in Formula (1), i.e. α, β, γ, are
set as follows. Since for a creature, the “parameters” are
optimized by evolution, we also optimize the parameters according the survive possibility. We run an agent with various
parameters to observe her survive time denoted by s. Thus,
we obtain a set S={αi , βi , γi , si }. With sophisticated deep
network, a function 1s = f (α, β, γ) is constructed to fit S.
Then, with hyperparameter optimization techniques [Zhang
and Wang, 2020], the optimal parameters are obtained.
Needs We measure the strength of need ni as wi = 10 − sati ,
where δ=10, and sati is the satisfaction of ni . The computation of sati is shown as follows. The initial values of all
satisfaction in the first level, i.e. sleep, energy, water, breed,
is set to 5. The satisfaction decrease with time steadily. We
set the threshold as 5. When the satisfaction gets smaller than
5, the corresponding need arises. When the satisfaction of
Figure 5: The Experiment with Figure 6: The Satisfaction in
single Agent
single-agent Experiment
some need in the first level gets to 0, the agent dies. The satisfaction of the safety in the second level is measured by the
distance between the agent and the predictor. The closer between the agent and the predicator, the less the satisfaction
of the agent is. The threshold of safety satisfaction is also 5.
The satisfactory of friendship in the third level is measured
by the distance between the friend and the predator. A small
distance means that the friend has more possibility in danger
and a smaller friendship satisfactory. Note that the principle of the constant setting is sufficient to simulate the need
of agents and the decision to the needs. Even though many
parameter combinations satisfy the requirement, 10 and 5 are
sufficient to achieve the goal of our experiment.
We conduct two experiments, the first one with single agent
and the second one with double agents. In the remaining of
this section, we show the results and analysis.
4.2
Experiment with Single Agent
This experiments have three objects, the agent Alice, prey F
and predators P1 and P2 . The agent Alice is conscious. F
is the food of the agent and static. The predator P is nonconscious. When an agent A enters its view, P move to A
for predating. The whole view is a 2-dimension space. The
coordinates of these two predators are both (112, 84), and the
view of predicates is the circle with them as the center and
PREDATOR R = 23 as the radius. The speed of P1 and P2
is 1. The initial positions of the prey and Alice are (100,100)
and (88, 105), respectively. The radius of agent view is 23.
When the prey and predator enter the view of the agent, she
will acts. To accelerate the experiment, the satisfaction is initialized as 5.1. The initial scenario is shown in Figure 5.
According to the predication based on human, Alice will
move to the prey when she has the need of food. During the
moving to the prey, she will also noting the predicator. The
need of food drives Alice move to the prey. After preying, the
safety need comes to STM, dominates the behavior of Alice
and drives agent keep away from the predator.
We run the agents with 90 time slots and draw the status of
some key slots in Figure 7. From the results, three accidents
happen. Alice starts to move to the prey based on the food
need. Although Alice notices the predator, she still moves to
the prey. After the preying, she starts to keep away from the
predator. The behavior of the whole process coincides to the
prediction.
We print the satisfactions of various needs in Figure 6.
Note that the strength of need is evaluated with the satisfaction, the satisfaction and need weight are negative correlated.
From the figure, we observe that the food need gets below
Figure 9: The Status of some Slots in double-agent Experiment
Figure 7: The Status of some Slots in single-agent Experiment
Figure 8: The Satisfaction in double-agent Experiment
the threshold and keep decreasing. In the 32nd slot, Alice
finishes preying and obtains energy. Before that, in the 28th
slot, the safety need reaches the threshold, but the food need
is stronger. As a result, hungry occupies the conscious and
Alice attempts to finish preying. When preying is accomplished, safety becomes the most important need, and Alice
starts to keep away from the predator. In the 62nd slot, Alice
gets away from the predator. Her safety satisfaction gets back
to the normal range and increases slowly.
From the figure, in the 32th time slot, energy increases
again. According to the common sense, the safety need
should be handled when the safety need reaches the lowest
point. However, Alice still chooses to handle the food need.
This demonstrates the feature of our framework. This is related to the uptree of the agent, which is a binary tree. The
backup of the food need are stored in some medial node. During the uptree updating, the backup keeps goting up until the
root is reached. Then, they come to STM and are consumed.
4.3
Experiment with Double Agents
In this experiment, Bob, another agent and the friend of Alice, sees the scenario in the experiment and has some mental
change. The coordinate of Bob is (88, 110). To show the impact of Bob, the view radius of Alice is reduced to 16, and
that of Bob is set to 35. The view of Bob is larger and could
find the predator early.
According to the predication based on human, with the remaining of Bob, Alice notices the predator early and get away
from the predator early accordingly. When find the predator,
Bob reminds Alice at once. Even though Bob is also afraid,
he starts keep away from the predator after Alice has a distance from the predator since the friendship need is stronger.
As shown in Figure 9, the actual behavior also coincides
with the prediction. In the 17th slot, Bob finds the predator
and remind Alice. In the 41st slot, the predator gets near
to both Alice and Bob. Since at that time, the friend need
strength of Bob is higher than safety, he does not choose to
flee. In the 49th slot, Alice has flee to a safe place. At that
time, the friend need of Bob decreases, and safety becomes
the most important need. Bob starts to flee the predator.
The satisfaction is shown in Figure 8. For Alice, two accidents are to be handled. One is to meet the food need and
move to the prey, and the other is flee the predator with Bob’s
notification. These two accidents corresponds to the 1st and
19th slot. For Bob, more accidents happen. In the 15th slot,
his satisfactions of both friendship and safety fluctuate, and
then both of them decrease. In the 17th slot, the friendship
need goes beyond the threshold, which causes the action that
Bob reminds Alice. With the fleeing of Alice, the friendship
need satisfaction of Bob increases and gets larger than safety
in the 44th slot. This cause the action that when the predator gets too close to Bob during chasing Alice, Bob flees a
distance. After Bob gets away from the predator for a distance, he becomes safe. At that time, the friendship need gets
stronger than safety, which happens in the 53rd slot.
Note that the “need of friendship” for Alice changes even
though Bob was close to the predator. The reason is that when
Bob is in danger, Alice has been far from him, which means
that Bob is out of the scope of the view of Alice.
5
Conclusions and Future Work
Conscious AI is an interesting problem that draws attention
from the community. In this paper, we develop a preliminary
system for conscious AI driven by needs. We implement the
STM-LTM framework and a series of LTM algorithms. From
the experiments on typical scenarios, our system shows the
consciousness as predicted by human, and our system provides explainable mental behavior.
In current version, the prediction model that maps lower
level needs to higher level once is trained periodically from
the historical data. To avoid the storage of a large amount of
the historical data, we will develop an incremental learning
model which just store the features that requires for model
updating for the historical data. Apart from that, deep think,
a specific think method, will be developed for the agent to
adapt to complex environments and solve complex problems.
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Hossieni, H., Fatah, J. M. A., Kaki, S. & Khalil, A., Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle & Kant Philosophy: Why Hawking Thinks
Philosophy Is Dead
Research Essay
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle & Kant Philosophy:
Why Hawking Thinks Philosophy Is Dead
Hossien Hossieni*1, J. M. A. Fatah1, Saed Kaki2 & Arman Khalil1
1
University of Sulaimani, School of Science, Department of Physics, Sulaimani, Kurdistan-Region
Unversity of Salahaddin, College of Arts, Department of Philosophy, Erbil, Kurdistan-Region
2
Abstract
In this study, we explain why Hawking thinks in his book (The Grand Design) that philosophy is
dead. For this purpose, in the second and third sections we first introduce in brief quantum
mechanics, Heisenberg uncertainty, Bohr Complementary and path integral approach to quantum
mechanics and explain Young Experiment as heart of quantum mechanics and why no one can
predicate future a microscopic system definitely. In fourth section, we explain Kant philosophy
about causality and Kant understanding for phenomena and things itself. We discuss towards the
end of this work the Copenhagen interpretation, philosophy and Kantian concepts which cannot
be used to interpret reality of phenomena on atomic level and quantum mechanics. We then
introduce the alternative of philosophy in modern physics, i.e., mathematics.
Keywords: Hawking, Grand Design, philosophy, Copenhagen interpretation, Kant philosophy,
Heisenberg uncertainty, phenomena, Noumenon, complementary, mathematics, quantum
mechanics.
1. Introduction
Hawking in his book the Grand design asks “How can we understand the world in which we find
ourselves? How does the universe behave? What is the nature of reality? Where did all this come
from? Did the universe need a creator?” and he states “Traditionally these are questions for
philosophy, but philosophy is dead. Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in
science, particularly physics”[1]. Philosophers were alarmed when they heard the phrase
“philosophy is dead” [2]. Maybe the word “dead” is a challenging word and the objections are
attributed to that. The tool of philosophy to interpret phenomena is language [3]. Physicists
assert, in quantum mechanics (QM), the imprecise nature of human language to describe
different phenomena [4][5]. QM has undoubtedly, managed to change our knowledge and our
outlook on the world and different phenomena in physics.
* Correspondence: Hossien Hossieni, PhD, University of Sulaimani, School of Science, Department of Physics, Sulaimani,
Kurdistan-Region. Email: hossieni@univsul.edu.iq
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The influence of QM on philosophy has created challenges for philosophers to seek answer to
the most important questions in humans thinking. Natural sciences aid philosophers in creating
their arguments while scientists use philosophy to tie logically those phenomena together [6]. In
the first few years of twentieth century QM appeared on the science. it made different
philosophical views among physicists. The physics community was divided into two schools of
thought, the pro- quantum one led by Niels Bohr while Albert Einstein was in the forefront of the
opponent school. Einstein and his followers believed in classical deterministic of scientific
predictions and they were uncomfortable with the Copenhagen interpretation of QM predications
[7]. To them, QM is an incomplete theory and they tried to find an alternative theory with hidden
variables that coincides with the Laplace scientific determinism. The philosophy behind which is
the classical physics concepts, “I am convinced God does not play dice” is a famous declaration
to show his unease with the theory of QM [8].
In classical philosophy there was a contention between philosophers on rationalism and
empiricism. Rationalists claimed that there are some significant ways to obtain our knowledge
and our concepts are independent of our senses. On the other hand, the empiricists believed that
we acquire all our knowledge via our senses [9]. Kant used classical physics to establish a
thought system which is known nowadays as Kant philosophy. One of the most important
category in philosophy is the causality principle. This category has been a controversial one in
the history of philosophy. Kant considered causality as priori, which implies that it is
independent of experience [10].
In QM, causality is no longer a valid concept and this has created a big challenge for the
deterministic physicists and philosophers who believed Kant’s argument. In this paper, we first
explain some aspects of both quantum mechanics and Kant philosophy. It will be shown that the
roots of Hawking’s expressions go back to discussions of great physicists in the dawn of
quantum mechanics and the Copenhagen interpretation.
2. Quantum mechanics and Heisenberg uncertainty
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, some physicists thought that all the laws governing
nature have been discovered and what is remained is to make them more precise [11].
Some experiments in either microscopic level and/or high speed worlds showed that classical
physics is an incomplete theory.
This necessitated searching in earnest for a solution. QM was one of the theories which
addressed and solved main problems in classical physics and it was a revolution in science which
started by the original works of Plank, Einstein, Rutherford, Bohr, and Born. As a direct result of
the works done by Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Dirac, and Pauli, QM reached its peak. Schrodinger
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and Heisenberg presented a “complete” quantum theory that offered a full explanation for all
phenomena in microscopic world [12]. This theory describes the interaction between matter and
electromagnetic radiation. In QM, the energy states in a bound system are quantized and one can
only talk about probabilities with regard to future of the system. Every system can be described
by a wave function which represents its energy states. Each state corresponds to an Eigen value
which can be measured experimentally [13]. Wave functions do not correspond to any physical
quantity in real world as they are just mathematical tools [14].
According to Max Born interpretation, the square of a wave function for a system gives the
probability of finding that system in a specific state [15]. Werner Heisenberg laid the basis of
QM by discovering, in 1927, what is known as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. In terms of
this principle, the more precise one measures the position of a particle the less precise will be the
measurement of its momentum and vice versa. Momentum is the product of mass and velocity;
this implies that knowing a particle’s property well enough will lead vagueness about the other
property. Similar to these two properties, time and energy are tied together by the above
principle.
When you measure energy of a system with precision, you consequently will lose preciseness in
time of the measurement [16]. Schrodinger and Heisenberg independent approaches to quantum
mechanics have been proved that they are equivalent and indeed the wave mechanics of
Schrodinger and the matrix mechanics of Heisenberg are complementary. In term of Bohr’s
complementary principle the wave and the particle properties of a system or the visual and causal
representations both complement each other [17]. This implies that when we conduct an
experiment, we cannot simultaneously observe both particle and wave properties of an object.
These two properties are separate and it is up to the observer to choose which one to look at.
According to the uncertainty principle, one cannot predict the state of a system with any
precision as the observer interferes unavoidably with it. This is a failure for causality principle
[18].
3. Feynman path integral and Young experiment
In 1940s Richard Feynman presented a new version of QM that depends on classical principle of
least action. As a matter of fact, Paul Dirac mentioned this principle in his book [19]. In classical
mechanics there is just one path for an object to move on but in QM all paths are possible and
each of which plays its role. One has to consider the sum of all of these paths when it comes to
calculate the transition amplitude. Each path is indicated by a number and the sum of all these
numbers constitute the most probable path. The numbers of all those paths which are inconsistent
with Newton’s law of motion will cancel each out. If one lets Plank constant, h, to approach zero
then the result approaches that of classical one. This constant differentiates microscopic world
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from the macroscopic one [19]. Figure 1 shows a space-time plane with the initial point (x1,t1)
and the final point (xN, tN) of motion of a particle. There are infinite paths between the two points
and all of them are possible in QM [20].
Figure 1: The possible paths for a particle to move from an initial point to a final point
in QM is infinite but when (ℎ → 0 ) then the classical paths prevails.
One of the stunning experiments in physics is the Young experiment shown in Figure 2. It
consists of a photon source (or another particle), a double slit plate and a screen on which
interference patterns can be seen. In this experiment, a coherent beam of photons is divided by a
double slit screen into two coherent beams and they interfere with each other after passing
through the slits to make dark and bright points on the screen. This experiment can be done by a
single photon. Either a photon passes through both slits at the same time or no one can say for
certain through which slit the photon did pass. There are infinite paths that the photon can take
from the initial to the final point and each of these has a probability. But when an observer uses a
detector to find out the slit the photon passed through then this will cause the disappearance of
all the interference fringes. The Young experiment shows the wave properties of a particle and if
we want to know the particle passed through which slit, this means measuring the particle
property of a quantum entity, then this causes the disappearance of the interference
fringes[1][21]
Figure 2: Young experiment with path integral explanation.
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4. Kant’s understanding of causality
One of the basic problems of philosophy that many philosophers have historically thought about
is the causality principle. Most ancient and middle century philosophers took a view that cause is
behind every phenomenon. In ancient Greece, Aristotle believed that cause involved four
features. Generally, in Greek philosophy the cause of phenomena has roots in nature only [22].
4.1 Kant and Judgments
To understand causality principle, it is necessary to understand propositions. Prior to Kant, David
Hume believed that logical researches depend not only on the difference in logic (i.e., logical
separation) but also the definition of the statement [23]. Logical separation involves
metaphysical statements and is not empirical or analytical. To put it in another way, the
propositions cannot be verified or rejected by experiments or observations and they are not
falsifiable. For instance, propositions like: “Himalaya mount is white” or “salt dissolves in
water” are empirical and analytical while challenging statements such as “rain is wet” or “if
Socrates is human and human must die then Socrates die”. But statements like “human is an
ethical being” and “there is God” are meaningless.
Kant did not challenge this as everyone agreed with the above So a meaningful proposition is a
one that is either empirical or analytical [24]. Once this separation is agreed upon then the
conclusion is that metaphysical propositions are meaningless. One should remember that the
Kant’s division is not related to the proposition but to the judgments, i.e., those propositions that
were judged and proved. The Kant’s approach to a proposition like “cat is an carnivorous
animal” is how to judge it. In Kant philosophy every judgment is either analytical or synthetic.
This judgment is a relation between a subject and its predicate that is discussed rationally. This
relationship is accessible in two ways: predicate (B) is related to subject (A) seems consistent
with the idea of (A) or (B) to be totally outside the idea of A although they are related. The first
is an analytical judgment while the second is a synthetic one.
A judgment of the kind saying raining is humidity, the predicate humidity is consistent with the
subject raining. Putting it differently, a statement like “raining is not humidity” makes an
inconsistent judgment. But in a judgment like raining is cold, the predicate of cold is consistent
with raining, in other words, a judgment raining is not cold does not make any inconsistency
[25]. The first proposition is analytical while the second is synthetic. Analytical propositions
clarify the r meaning aspects of the proposition. From Kant’s view, every judgment is either a
priori or a posteriori. A judgment is a priori only and only if it does not rely on any sense
impressions. Kant’s classification produces these four categories:
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Analytical a posteriori
Analytical a priori
As the fourth judgment is inconsistent then we have to ignore it. Analytical proposition is
dependent on the meaning of the word but it does not give us any new and definite information.
On the other hand, a posteriori proposition depends on experience and so it remains only three
types of judgments. Kant believed not only there are these judgments but also there are many
examples r of them in our minds [26]. It is necessary that all analytical judgment to be a priori.
Consequently, these types of judgments are logically independent of sensory. Every analytical
judgment must be a posteriori and every a priori judgment must be none analytical or synthetic.
Now consider this judgment, every change has a cause which is a priori as it is not necessary to
apply a proposition to explain sense impressions. At the same time this judgment is a synthetic
one. For instance, if one thinks that a change occurs without a cause, as in the case of frequent
sense impressions. Of course, according to our interpretation, there is no contradiction here.
Contrary to this, if we reject the idea of a change to have a cause then one might ask this
question: are we allowed to collect information from the nature?
Kant’s answer to this is a
definite no [27]. Kant’s philosophy is opposite to the Hume opinions on cause and effect.
Hume emphasized that there no relationship between cause and effect. According to Hume, it is
just a matter of habit that we, humans, relate cause to effect based on observation. Hume totally
disagrees with this relationship and goes even a step further by discarding the metaphysical
aspects of the existence. But Kant opposed Hume’s opinion and believed that the origin of
causality is not from the nature but is pre-empiric. The judgments are duties of mind,
understanding, and are pre-empirical. According to Kant’s philosophical categories, causality is
not a type of idea that comes from outside. Kant thinks that abstraction of causality is via logical
form and conditional proposition [28]. For instance, when we say that every change comes from
a cause then this is a priori synthetic judgment. This implies the creation of the concept of
causality is in understanding. Therefore, understanding via this judgment, is understanding the
concept of causality.
4.2 Noumenon and phenomenon
In order to protect his philosophy from idealism, Hume’s simple phenomenalism, and criticisms
against both Berkeley and Hume, Kant had to make a difference between phenomenon and
noumenon. Phenomenon from philosophical point of view depends on priori form of sense, time,
position and understanding categories. We have to believe in noumenon in addition to
phenomenon. In reality, noumenon determines the boundaries of our knowledge. Therefore, from
theoretical perception, a noumenon has both negative and positive sides and belongs to the
practical wisdom part of in Kant’s philosophy.
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Dogmatic philosophers have not set a boundary to human wisdom and they believe that some
subjects similar to noumena are accessible. Kant, having agreed with them, set a part in the
understanding section for purely priori, such as causality and substance. The point is that in Kant
opinion these categories lose their contents when they are beyond sense boundaries. The
understanding categories become objective when they originate from perceptional subjects. In
Kant’s opinion there is a difference between thing-in-itself and noumenon. Thing-in-it self’s
origin is unknown while for Noumena’s concept, there is a rational world which is independent
of any experience [29].
5. Discussion
Quantum mechanics is a branch of theoretical physics that deals with understanding of the
properties of smallest physical objects which consist of atoms and subatomic particles. The
theories that are concerned with these subjects are odd as the famous theoretician Richard
Feynman once said “I can safely say that nobody understands the Quantum mechanics” [30].
Atoms and other subatomic particles are not similar to classical macro objects as we can only see
their effects. Data gathering from quantum experiments and their theoretical explanations are
two different kettles of fish [31]. In term of Copenhagen interpretation, a quantum mechanical
system can be described by a wave function (ψ). This wave function represents human
knowledge of the system. The interpretation of the system is intrinsically probabilistic. The
probability of an event to occur has shown to be the square of the wave function.
In terms of Heisenberg uncertainty principle, all properties of a system cannot be measured at
same time. Furthermore, the complementary principle states that the duality of wave-particle is a
basic characteristic of the matter. It is worth noting that the tools we use, which are classical by
nature, to measure properties of a quantum system are only capable of recording classical
measurements. Another aspect of the Copenhagen interpretation is the correspondence principle
which states that the description of a large quantum mechanical system should be approximately
agree with that of a classical one [32]. According to the Copenhagen interpretation, a wave
function is not a physical reality but is an abstract concept. The wave function, in this view, is
just an abstract mathematical apparatus to calculate a probability for an event. Putting this
differently, this interpretation states that a wave function contains all possible outcomes for an
event to occur, but as an outcome becomes a certainty then all other outcomes will be cancelled
[14].
Heisenberg uncertainty principle governs quantum mechanics. Most of things cannot be seen nor
sensed in the microscopic world. One can only know things with certain probability. This makes
quantum world blurry.
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Scientific predictions on events in nature are statistical and are stated through probabilities. We
cannot determine the position of a particle exactly. It is only with increasing probability we can
estimate where the particle is. We cannot ever measure both position and momentum
simultaneously and hence this blurriness in quantum mechanics cannot be eliminated. Therefore,
there are no hidden variables to find or to try to resolve this limitation [33].
When daily languages with classical concepts, which are in macroscopic world, are applied to
microscopic world will lose their accuracy. Niels Bohr believed that our concepts are not pure
but they are limited and we have to use these limited concepts to understand the nature [6]. As
we mentioned earlier, the causality principle in quantum mechanics fails but the philosophers
that deal with the new Kantian philosophy believe that Kantian interpretation of causality is
correct and as a result the contradiction between Kant philosophy and Quantum mechanics
implies that quantum mechanics is incomplete [6]. According to the Kant Philosophy, causality
is not an empirical assertion but is a category of the understanding, known as, a priori and on
which all other experiences depend. This law should be correct because if it fails then we cannot
objectify our observations and we must accept the existence of a relation between cause and
effect.
However, if causality fails then it creates challenges for the repeatability of science and that the
natural sciences include only the objective experiences therefore, science must accept causality
and without this law there is no science. Causality is a mental tool that we use to integrate our
senses into our understanding. Therefore, from Kant’s view quantum mechanics or any other
branch of science cannot break this law. As Kantian philosophers think new physics is in mistake
if scientists cannot find causes for effects. This implies that their information is incomplete and
they must search more to find causes for quantum mechanical events [6]. But in the view of
Copenhagen interpretation our quantum mechanics is complete and it is not necessary to search
more to find causes for effects. Take Young experiment in Fig. 2 as an example. Here, we cannot
know photon (or electron) passes through which slit and if we try to know the particle’s trail then
the interference pattern disappears. There are a huge number of examples in quantum mechanics
that are somehow related to the Young experiment and show more search does not mean
obtaining more information about causes for effects [1]. Consequently, a contradiction may arise
from this view as why more searches do not imply more information!
But this apparent contradiction is attributed to the assumption that atoms and other quantum
entities are “Kantian things themselves” but they are not [6]. They could not be experience by
observer; Kant states that we cannot say anything about thing itself as we could do on objects of
our perception. He assumed that things which are similar to thing itself can be correlated. In
other words, he considered the structure of experiences in daily life as a “priori”. In terms of
Kant Philosophy, the world consists of things which are distributed in space and they change in
time according to a set of rules. But in quantum mechanics observations cannot be correlated like
“thing in itself” as there are not atoms or subatomic particles in themselves. In Kant philosophy
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thing itself cannot appear even indirectly. In classical sciences, this concept corresponds to those
things which we cannot know about them and a prior knowledge is just a function to make
experience possible. In this philosophy, atoms, which cannot be seen, are objects but we can
understand them as they are observable through phenomena.
In the apparent world it is not possible to separate things that we directly see from things that we
deduce. If two observational situations are correlated in quantum mechanics then the
complementary principle states that complete information on one of them means a total lack of
information on another. This, of course, means that Kant philosophy analysis for experience is
no longer accurate in quantum mechanics even though it is correct in classical mechanics. The
intuitive form of space and time are not absolute but relative and as a result category of causality
is too. The uncertainty is something purely subjective and Kant a priori concepts hold true in
quantum mechanics but they are relative and not absolute [34][6].
An electron in an atom can be in different positions at the same time. On the other hand, particles
can be entangled. Two or more particles that are far apart, for example several billion kilometers,
are correlated in an unexplained way and anything happens to one of them causes an
instantaneous change in others [35][36].
In quantum mechanics, we must ignore our fixed idea by our senses on macroscopic world and
mathematics should lead us in our discovering of nature. Atomic and subatomic particles exist in
a mathematical space known as Hilbert space which is deferent from our space. This space
managed to explain mysterious behaviors of quantum world. This is why physicists in their work
to discover nature use mathematics to predict what happens in the future. This is attributed to the
fact that physicists and human in general, have not any intuitive idea on atomic and subatomic
world.
At the end, we return to our first question which was “why Hawking thinks philosophy is dead!”
This is one of the Hawking’s challenging sentences and of course an imprecise sentence [37-38].
But in comparison with quantum mechanics, classical physics relies on our sense to understand
nature and there is a great philosophical system known as Kant philosophy that complements the
classical physics. In modern science, physicists get less help from the philosophy but instead
they resort to mathematics for innovation. Hawking does not explicitly say what the alternative
of philosophy is, but Heisenberg stated in his time that mathematics is the alternative [21][6]. Of
course, this may not mean that philosophy is dead but is applies only for conception in
macroscopic world.
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Hossieni, H., Fatah, J. M. A., Kaki, S. & Khalil, A., Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle & Kant Philosophy: Why Hawking Thinks
Philosophy Is Dead
[25] Kant Immanuel, critique of pure reason, p.304, Cambridge,(1998).
[26] Kroner, Stephan "Kant" p.25-32, Penguin (1990).
[27] Smith, Norman K.,” A Commentary to Kant`s Critique of Pure”, p.361-362, the Macmillan Press
LTD, 1995.
[28] Copleston, Fredrick, A History of philosophy,volum5,p.281.image books,1994.
[29] Hartnack, Justus, Kant's theory of knowledge.
[30] RP Feynman, RB Leighton, M Sands, “The Feynman Lectures on Physics,” vol. III, p. 18-9 (1965).
[31] John Ellis,John S. Hagelin1 D.V. Nanopoulos, M. Srednicki, “Search for violations of quantum
mechanics”, Nuclear Physics B, Vol. 241, Issue 2, Pages 381–405 (1984).
[32] CF Weizsäcker, “The Copenhagen interpretation”, Quantum Theory and Beyond, Cambridge,
(1971).
[33] J. S. BELL, “ON THE EINSTEIN PODOLSKY ROSEN PARADOX” Physics Vol. 1, No. 3f pp.
195—200, (1964).
[34] J Faye, “Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
( 2008) .
[35] Giacomo Mauro DʼArianoa, Franco Manessia, Paolo Perinottia, “Spooky action-at-a-distance in
general probabilistic theories” Physics Letters A Vol. 376, Issue 45, Pages 2926–2930, (2012).
[36] Shahen Hacyan, “Einstein’s “Spooky Action at a Distance” in the Light of Kant’s Transcendental
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[38] Hossieni, H., “On God’s Supernatural Role in Hawking’s Literature”, September 2016, Volume 7,
Issue 8, pp. 482-491
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com |
Broken chaotic clocks of brain neurons and depression
Irregular spiking time-series obtained in vitro and in vivo from singular brain neurons of different
types of rats are analyzed by mapping to telegraph signals. Since the neural information is coded
in the length of the interspike intervals and their positions on the time axis, this mapping is the
most direct way to map a spike train into a signal which allows a proper application of the Fourier
transform methods. This analysis shows that healthy neurons firing has periodic and chaotic deterministic clocks while for the rats representing genetic animal model of human depression these
neuron clocks might be broken, that results in decoherence between the depressive neurons firing.
Since depression is usually accompanied by a narrowing of consciousness this specific decoherence
can be considered as a cause of the phenomenon of the consciousness narrowing as well. This suggestion is also supported by observation of the large-scale chaotic coherence of the posterior piriform
and entorhinal cortices’ electrical activity at transition from anesthesia to the waking state with full
consciousness.
PACS numbers: 87.19.L, 87.19.ll, 87.19.lm
I.
INTRODUCTION
All types of information, which is received by sensory system, are encoded by nerve cells into sequences
of pulses of similar shape (spikes) before they are transmitted to the brain. Brain neurons use such sequences
as main instrument for intercells connection. The information is reflected in the time intervals between successive firings (interspike intervals of the action potential
train, see Fig. 1). There need be no loss of information
in principle when converting from dynamical amplitude
information to spike trains [1] and the irregular spike sequences are the foundation of neural information processing. Although understanding of the origin of interspike
intervals irregularity has important implications for elucidating the temporal components of the neuronal code
and for treatment of such mental disorders as depression
and schizophrenia, the problem is still very far from its
solution.
The mighty Fourier transform method, for instance, is
practically non-applicable to the spike time trains. The
spikes are almost identical to each other and the neural
information is coded in the length of the interspike intervals and the interspike intervals positions on the time
axis, therefore it is the most direct way to map the spike
train into a telegraph time signal, which has values -1
from one side of a spike and values +1 from another side
of the spike with a chosen time-scale resolution. An example of such mapping is given in figure 1. While the
information coding is here the same as for the corresponding spike train, the Fourier transform method is
quite applicable to analysis of the telegraph time-series.
On the other hand, recent dynamical models of neuron activity revealed new and complex role of regimes of
a (deterministic) chaotic irregularity in the neuron spike
trains (see, for instance, [2]-[5]). Therefore, we have to
use all available mathematical tools in order to study the
experimental data on the deterministic chaos properties
(and, especially, in order to separate between determin-
telegraph
1
a
0
-1
1
b
spikes
arXiv:1012.1611v2 [q-bio.NC] 5 Mar 2011
A. Bershadskii
ICAR, P.O.B. 31155, Jerusalem 91000, Israel
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
t [s]
FIG. 1: Mapping of a spike train (figure 1b) into a telegraph
signal (figure 1a).
istic chaos and stochasticity in the experimental signals).
In present paper we have analyzed three types of experimentally obtained spike trains: a) obtained in vitro from
a spontaneous activity in CA3 hippocampal slice culture
of a healthy Wistar/ST rat (the raw data and the detail description of the experiment can be found online at
http://hippocampus.jp/data and in Refs. [6],[7]), b) obtained in an electrophysiological in vivo experiment from
neurons belonging to red nucleus of a healthy (SpragueDawley) rat’s brain (see Ref. [8] for more details of the
experiment and a preliminary discussion of the data), and
c) obtained in an electrophysiological in vivo experiment
from neurons belonging to red nucleus of a genetically
depressed (Flinders Sensitive Rat Line) rat’s brain (see
Ref. [8] for more details and a preliminary discussion of
the data).
In the in vitro experiment a) a functional imaging
technique with multicell loading of the calcium fluorophore was used in order to obtain the spike trains of
2
100
1
E(f)
0.8
0.6
25
20
15
10
5
0
10
0.5
0.4
1
1.5
2
f [s-1]
E(f)
C(τ)
0
0.2
1
0
-1.7
0.1
-0.2
-0.4
0.01
0.01
-0.6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0.1
1
10
f [s ]
-1
-1
τ [s ]
FIG. 2: Autocorrelation function for the telegraph signal corresponding to the cell-21 (800 spikes). Insert in the Fig. 2
shows corresponding spectrum.
FIG. 3: Spectrum of the telegraph signal corresponding to the
cell-21 in log-log scales. The dashed straight line indicates a
power law: E(f ) ∼ f −1.7 .
spontaneously active singular neurons in the absence
of external input [6],[7]. In the in vivo experiments
b) and c) the rats were anesthetized and the extracellular recordings were processed from the singular cells [8].
II.
NEURON CLOCK
In the in vitro experiment with spontaneous activity of the hippocampal pyramidal cells different levels
of activity were observed for different neurons [6],[7].
We take for our analysis the two most active neurons
(http://hippocampus.jp/data - Data-006, cell-21, with
800 spikes in the time-series; and cell-25, with 692 spikes).
10
E(f)
Motivation to study the hippocampus and red nucleus
areas of brain in relation to the psychomotor aspects of
depression is based on the recently discovered evidences
of their deep involvement in this mental disorder. The
hippocampus is a significant part of a brain system responsible for behavioral inhibition and attention, spatial memory, and navigation. It is also well known that
spatial memory and navigation of the rats is closely related to the rhythms of their moving activity. On the
other hand, the hippocampus of a human who has suffered long-term clinical depression can be as much as 20%
smaller than the hippocampus of someone who has never
been depressed [9]. Inputs to the Red Nucleus arise from
motor areas of the brain and in particular the deep cerebellar nuclei (via superior cerebellar peduncle; crossed
projection) and the motor cortex (corticorubral; ipsilateral projection). On the other hand it is known that
humans with deep depression have intrinsic locomotors
problems. Therefore, investigation of Red Nucleus for
genetically defined rat model of depression (these rats
partially resemble depressed humans because they exhibit reduced appetite and psychomotor function) can
be useful for understanding the mental disorder origin.
100
1
0.1
0.01
0.01
-1.7
0.1
1
10
f [s-1]
FIG. 4: As in Fig. 3 but for cell-25.
The spike trains were mapped to telegraph signals as it is
described above (see also [10]). Figure 2 shows autocorrelation function for the telegraph signal corresponding
to the cell-21 (800 spikes). Insert in the Fig. 2 shows
corresponding spectrum. Both the correlation function
and the spectrum provide clear indication of a strong
periodic component in the signal (the oscillations in the
correlation function and the peak in the spectrum). The
periodic component can be seen at frequency f0 ≃ 0.3Hz.
Figure 3 shows the spectrum in log-log scales. One can
see that at high frequencies the spectrum exhibits a scaling behavior (power law: E(f ) ∼ f −1.7 , as indicated by
the dashed straight line). The real power law can be more
pronounced but under the experimental conditions individual spikes emitted at firing rates higher than 5Hz were
experimentally inseparable [6],[7]. Figure 4 shows spectrum of the telegraph signal corresponding to the spike
train obtained for the cell-25 (692 spikes). The spectrum
is rather similar to the spectrum shown in Fig. 3 (for
cell-21). The more broad peak in Fig. 4 can be related
3
30
threshold
15
25
10
20
5
Z
X
20
0
15
10
-5
5
-10
0
-15
0
2000
4000
6000
0
8000
50
100
200
250
300
t
t
FIG. 5: X-component fluctuations of a chaotic solution of the
Rössler system Eq. (1) (a = 0.15, b = 0.20, c = 10.0).
150
FIG. 6: Z-component fluctuations of a chaotic solution of the
Rössler system.
to the poorer statistics for the cell-25 in comparison with
cell-21. The spectra were calculated using the maximum
entropy method (because it provides an optimal spectral
resolution even for small data sets [11]).
100
III.
THRESHOLD EFFECT
Now let us speculate about physics which could result
in the spectra observed in Figs. 3 and 4. And let us recall
some basic electrochemical properties of neuron. Nerve
cells are surrounded by a membrane that allows some
ions to pass through while it blocks the passage of other
ions. When a neuron is not sending a signal it is said to
be ”at rest”. At rest there are relatively more sodium
ions onside the neuron and more potassium ions inside
that neuron. The resting value of the membrane electrochemical potential P (the voltage difference across the
neural membrane) of a neuron is about -70mV. If some
event (a stimulus) causes the resting potential to move
toward 0mV and the depolarization reaches about -55mV
(a ”normal” threshold) a neuron will fire an action potential. The action potential is an explosive release of charge
between neuron and its surroundings that is created by
a depolarizing current. If the neuron does not reach this
critical threshold level, then no action potential will fire.
Also, when the threshold level is reached, an action potential of a fixed size will always fire (for any given neuron the size of the action potential is always the same).
Depending on different types of voltage-dependent ion
channels, different types of action potentials are generated in different cells types and the qualitative estimates
of the potentials and time periods can be varied. Recent
reconstructions of a driver of the membrane potential using the neuron spike trains indicate the Rössler oscillator
as the most probable (and simple) candidate (see, for instance, Refs. [10],[12]-[17]). Figure 5 shows as example
the x-component fluctuations of a chaotic solution of the
Rössler system [18]
E(f)
10
1
-1.7
0.1
0.01
0.001
0.01
0.1
1
f
FIG. 7: Spectrum of the telegraph signal corresponding to
the spike train generated by the x-component fluctuations
overcoming the threshold x = 7. The dashed straight line
indicates a power law: E(f ) ∼ f −1.7 .
dx
dy
dz
= −y − z;
= x + ay;
= b + xz − cz
dt
dt
dt
(1)
where a, b and c are parameters). At certain values of
the parameters a,b and c the z-component of the Rössler
system is a spiky time series [19],[20]: Fig. 6. It can
be shown that the Rössler system and the well known
Hindmarsh-Rose model [21] of neurons are subsystems of
the same differential model with a spiky component [20].
Previously the ’spiky’ component of such models was interpreted and studied as a simulation of a neuronal output. For the spontaneous neuron firing (without external
stimulus), however, we suggest to reverse the approach
and consider the spiky variable as the main component of
the electrical input (which naturally should have a ’spiky’
character, see above) to the neuron under consideration.
For each neuron the height of the spikes, which the neuron generates, is about the same. However, the heights
4
10
3
0
E(f) ~ exp-f/fe
Te =1/fe=0.9 s
E(f) ~ exp-f/fe
ln E(f)
ln E(f)
5
-5
-10
2
1
-15
0
-20
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
f
FIG. 8: Spectrum of the x-component fluctuations shown in
Fig. 5. We used the semi-log axes in order to indicate exponential decay of the spectrum.
of the spikes generated by different neurons are different. Also the signals coming from different neurons to
the neuron under consideration have to go through the
electrochemical passes with different properties. Therefore, the spiky z-time-series (Fig. 6) can naturally represent a multineuron signal, which can be considered as
a spontaneous input for the neuron under consideration.
If we use the usual interpretation of the x-component
as a driver of the membrane potential P (x) and the ycomponent as that taking into account the transport of
ions across the membrane through the ion channels [21],
then the position of the input (the component z) in the
first equation of the system Eq. (1) has a good physical background (cf. Ref. [21]). Then, the quadratic
nonlinearity in the third equation of the system Eq. (1)
can be interpreted as a simple (in the Taylor expansion
terms) feedback of the neuron to the main component
of the neuronal input. This model with the strong nonlinear feedback can be relevant to the most active neurons of a spontaneously active brain (see below results of
an in vitro experiment with a spontaneous brain activity). The details of the function P (x) is not significant
for the threshold firing process, what really matters is
that the membrane potential function P (x) reaches its
firing value when (and only when) its argument x crosses
certain threshold from below. In this simple model the
driving variable x may overcome its threshold value (Fig.
5) due to the deterministic (chaotic) spontaneous stimulus. Let us consider an output spike signal resulting from
overcoming a threshold value x = 7, for instance. Fig. 7
shows spectrum of the telegraph signal corresponding to
the spike signal.
One can compare Fig. 7 with Figs. 3 and 4 to see very
good reproduction of the main spectral properties.
In order to understand what is going on here we show
in figure 8 spectrum of the x-component itself.
The semi-log scales are used in these figures in order to
0
1
2
3
4
f [s-1]
FIG. 9: Spectrum of the telegraph signal corresponding to a
healthy red nucleus cell. The data is shown in the semi-log
scales in order to indicate the exponential decay Eq. 2 (the
straight line).
indicate exponential decay in the spectra (in the semi-log
scales this decay corresponds to a straight line):
E(f ) ∼ e−f /fe
(2)
While the peak in the spectrum corresponds to the fundamental frequency, f0 , of the Rössler chaotic attractor, the
rate of the exponentional decay (the slope of the straight
line in Fig. 8 provides us with and additional characteristic frequency fe . Thus Rössler chaotic attractor has
two clocks: periodic with frequency f0 and chaotic with
frequency fe . If one compares Fig. 8 and Fig. 7 one can
see that the periodic clock survived the threshold crossing (with a period doubling, see Appendix). The chaotic
clock, however, did not survive the threshold crossing at
spontaneous activity: the exponential decay in Fig. 8 has
been transformed into a scaling (power law) decay in Fig.
7, which has no characteristic frequency (scale invariance). The scaling exponent value ’-1.7’ is not sensitive
to a reasonable variation of the threshold value (∼ 20%)
and even to Gaussian fluctuations of the threshold value.
Therefore, it is not just a coincidence that the scaling law
in the Rössler case agrees with results of the in vitro experiment (cf. also [22],[23],[24] and Fig. 16a). It should
be noted that for a wide class of deterministic systems a
broad-band spectrum with exponential decay is a generic
feature of their chaotic solutions Refs. [11],[25]-[27]. It is
shown in Ref. [25] that the characteristic frequency
fe =
X
λ+
i
(3)
i
where λ+
i are positive Lyapunov exponents of the chaotic
system.
5
4
5
4
E(f) ~ exp-f/fe
Te =1/fe=0.9s
2
3
ln E(f)
ln E(f)
3
1
0
-1.5
2
1
0
-1
-1
-2
-2
0
1
2
3
4
-2
-1
f [s-1]
Both stochastic and deterministic processes can result
in the broad-band part of the spectrum, but the decay in
the spectral power is different for the two cases. An exponential decay with respect to frequency refers to chaotic
time series while a power-law decay indicates that the
spectrum is stochastic.
Figure 9 shows a power spectrum obtained by the fast
Fourier transform method applied to a telegraph signal
mapped from a spike train measured in the red nucleus
of a healthy rat (we can use the fast Fourier transform
here due to sufficiently large number of spikes in the spike
train: 2170). The spike train corresponds to a singular
neuron firing. Figure 10 shows analogous spectrum obtained from another healthy red nucleus’s neuron (2139
spikes). The semi-log scales are used in these figures in
order to indicate exponential decay in the spectra (unlike
the situation discribed above for a spontaneous activity):
in the semi-log scales this decay corresponds to a straight
line - Eq. 2. The characteristic frequency fe ≃ 1.1Hz in
the both cases. Figure 11 shows a power spectrum obtained by the fast Fourier transform method applied to a
telegraph signal mapped from a spike train (2022 spikes)
measured in the red nucleus of a genetically depressive
(the ”Flinders” line) rat. The spike train corresponds
to a singular neuron firing. Figure 12 shows analogous
spectrum obtained from another genetically depressive
red nucleus’s neuron (2048 spikes). The log-log scales
are used in these figures in order to indicate a powerlaw decay in the spectra (in the log-log scales this decay
corresponds to a straight line):
(4)
In this (scaling) situation there is no characteristic time
scale. The scaling exponent α ≃ 1.5 ± 0.1 and ≃ 1.4 ± 0.1
for these two cases.
FIG. 11: Spectrum of the telegraph signal corresponding to
a genetically depressed red nucleus cell. The data are shown
in the log-log scales in order to indicate the power law decay
Eq. 4 (the straight line).
5
4
-1.4
3
ln E(f)
CHAOS VS. STOCHASTICITY IN NEURON
FIRING
E(f ) ∼ f −α
1
ln f [s-1]
FIG. 10: As in Fig. 9 but for another healthy cell.
IV.
0
2
1
0
-1
-2
-2
-1
0
1
ln f [s-1]
FIG. 12: As in Fig. 11 but for another genetically depressed
red nucleus cell.
V.
CHAOTIC NEURAL COHERENCE AND
DEPRESSION
In order to work together the brain neurons have to
make adjustment of their rhythms. The main problem
for this adjustment is the very noisy environment of the
brain neurons. If their work was based on pure periodic inner clocks this adjustment would be impossible
due to the noise. The nature, however, has another option. This option is a chaotic clock. In chaotic attractors certain characteristic frequencies can be embedded
by broad-band spectra, that makes them much more stable to the noise perturbations [28].
In the light of presented results one can conclude that
for the considered cases the healthy neurons firing has deterministic clocks (periodic and chaotic), while the genetically depressive red nucleus’s neurons exhibited a pure
6
1
-140
healthy
E(f) ~ exp-f/fe
Te =1/fe =0.1s
-150
E(f) [dB]
coherency
0.8
0.6
depressed
0.4
0.2
-160
-170
-180
-190
-200
0
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0
0.03
20
40
60
80
100
f [s ]
-1
f [s-1]
FIG. 13: Comparison of coherency in firing for the healthy
(solid curve) and for the genetically depressed (doted curve)
neuron pairs in a low-frequency domain (the in vivo experiments).
FIG. 14: Spectrum of local field potentials for the posterior
piriform (the data were taken from Ref. [34]). The data are
shown in the semi-log scales in order to indicate the exponential decay Eq. (2) (the straight line).
stochastic firing and it seems that their background deterministic clocks were broken. The existence of the background clocks can be utilized by the healthy neurons for
synchronization of their activity [2],[6],[7],[29]-[31].
In order to compare coherent properties of the healthy
and the depressive neuron pairs we will use cross-spectral
analysis. The cross spectrum E1,2 (f ) of two processes
x1 (t) and x2 (t) is defined by the Fourier transformation of
the cross-correlation function normalized by the product
of square root of the univariate power spectra E1 (f ) and
E2 (f ):
P
hx1 (t)x2 (t − τ )i exp(−i2πf τ )
p
E1,2 (f ) = τ
(5)
2π E1 (f )E2 (f )
multi-second oscillations, for instance, are known to be
synchronized nearly brain-wide [32],[33]. In the case of
depression, however, the chaotic neuron clocks can be
broken in a significant part of the brain neurons. That
can result in certain decoherence in different parts of
the brain. Since depression is usually accompanied by
a narrowing of consciousness (and a distorted sense of
time) this specific decoherence could be considered as a
cause of the phenomenon of the consciousness narrowing
as well. The coherence is important for attention,
sensorimotor processing, etc.. In humans, in particular,
being low in attentional flexibility magnified the effects
of private self-focused attention so typical for depressive
persons.
the bracket h...i denotes the expectation value. The cross
spectrum can be decomposed into the phase spectrum
φ1,2 (f ) and the coherency C1,2 (f ):
In order to support the possibility of the extended
chaotic coherence we will use analysis of simultaneously
recorded local field potentials from three sites along
the olfactory-entorhinal axis (the anterior piriform,
posterior piriform, and entorhinal cortices: aPIR, pPIR
and Ent C) reported in a recent paper [34]. The
measurements reported in the Ref. [34] were performed
in lightly anesthetized healthy rats (the Long-Evans rats
with electrode bundles implanted in their anterior and
posterior cortices, and with vertical, silicon probes in
their entorhinal cortices), which were emerged from the
anesthesia to the waking state with full consciousness.
Since the measured local field potentials time series
are not spiky ones one does not need in the special
data mappings in this case. The authors of the Ref.
[34] discovered a new form of coherent neural activity
across the three widely separated brain sites, which they
named Synchronous Frequency Bursts (SFBs). The
high-energy bursts of spontaneous momentary synchrony
were observed across widely separated olfactory and
entorhinal sites (which have also different architecture:
the 6 layers of the entorhinal cortex vs. the three layers
of the piriform cortices). Moreover, a significant rate of
E1,2 (f ) = C1,2 (f )e−iφ1,2 (f )
(6)
Because of the normalization of the cross spectrum the
coherency is ranging from C1,2 (f ) = 0, i.e. no linear
relationship between x1 (t) and x2 (t) at f , to C1,2 (f ) = 1,
i.e. perfect linear relationship.
Figure 13 shows comparison of coherency in firing for
the healthy (solid curve) and for the genetically depressed
(doted curve) neuron pairs in a low-frequency domain
(the in vivo experiments). Despite of the deep anesthesia
the healthy neurons exhibit bands of rather high (> 0.5)
coherency in the low-frequency domain, while the depressive neurons activity is rather decoherent in this domain.
VI.
LONG-RANGE CHAOTIC COHERENCE
The chaotic coherence can involve a large number of
the healthy neurons and may be the entire brain. The
7
0.7
coherency
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
f [s ]
-1
FIG. 15: Coherency calculated for the SFBs in the posterior
piriform and entorhinal cortices (the data were taken from
Ref. [34]).
the SFBs simultaneous occurrences was also observed
across the different functional processing systems: motor
and olfactory ones.
The stereotypical duration of the SFBs was about
250 ms and the power spectra taken across the events
were exponentially decaying. Figure 14 shows a typical
spectrum for the posterior piriform area. The straight
line is drawn in this figure in order to indicate the
exponential decay Eq. (2) in the semi-log scales (cf.
Figs. 9 and 10 for the singular neuron firing). The
exponential decay indicates a chaotic nature of these
bursts (see above). The decay rate Te = 1/fe ≃ 0.1s is
significantly smaller than that observed for the singular
neurons (Figs. 9 and 10). Taking into account Eq. (3)
one can conclude that the chaotic mixing in the phase
space (determined by the Lyapunov’s exponents) is
much more active for the multineuron activity than for
the singular neuron firing (that seems quite natural).
This more active mixing shifts the spectrum into more
high frequency range. Moreover, one can expect that
expansion (globalization) of the chaotic coherence on the
larger brain areas will shift the coherent chaotic activity
even into the higher frequency ranges (cf. below).
The authors of the Ref. [34] computed coherence
across SFBs in a pair of brain regions. Figure 15 shows
the coherency calculated for the SFBs in the posterior
piriform and entorhinal cortices (which are separated in
brain space by about 8mm). One can compare this figure
with the Fig. 13 (where the coherency was calculated
for a pair of neighboring neurons). In this case the frequency bands of high coherency can be observed as well.
The coherent frequency-range is shifted considerably in
the high frequency direction for the multineuron case
(see above for a reason of this shift). Actually, ”the
main purpose of SFBs might be to coordinate multiple
frequency bands across different processing subsystems”
[34]. Such coordination provides a sufficient level of
coherence for the work of these separated subsystems
with speed and efficiency impossible in the case of
transmission of a specific behavioral content. This can
be considered as the main advantage of the chaotic
coherence. The hardware for these effective ’management’ can be provided (at least partially) by recently
discovered in the cortex and hippocampus interneuronal
networks with long-range axonal connections [35],[36]
and for the high frequency γ-range (30-90Hz) oscillations
”via neurons (and glia) inter-connected by electrical
synapses called gap junctions which physically fuse and
electrically couple neighboring cells.”[37].
The authors of the Ref. [34] observed also that the
SFBs occurrence is a function of level of consciousness.
They found ”that the SFBs occurred far more often
under light anesthesia than deeper anesthetic states,
and were especially prevalent as the animals regained
consciousness”. They did not observe the SFBs after
the rats regained full alertness, but as they comment
this can be a technical problem of inferring the specific
signal from the highly complex local field potential of
the awake state. Therefore, one cannot rule out the
possibility that the phenomenon is still in a full swing
also in the fully consciousness state (at least at certain
conditions).
Finally, it should be noted that the transitional states
of consciousness (emerging and decaying) have a very
interesting relationship to associative human creativity
(H. Poincare called these states as semi-somnolent conditions, see Ref. [38], Chapter: Mathematical discovery).
The very creative and unexpected associative ideas
that come in these states can have the above described
long-range chaotic coherence as their direct physical
background. Moreover, the same mechanism can also be
in work at full consciousness (see previous paragraph).
In this case, however, its results are considered as ones
coming from the ’clear sky’ and we tend to interpret
them (may be wrongly) as a result of a prolonged period
of unconscious work. In the full consciousness state
these results are more often turn out to be adequate
ones, unlike of those obtained in the transitional states
[38]).
”A new result has value, if any, when, by establishing connections between elements that are known but
until then dispersed and apparently unrelated to one another, order is immediately created where chaos seemed
to reign” [38].
VII.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank Dremencov E. and Ikegaya Y. for sharing the
data and discussions and also Allegrini P. and Grigolini
P. for comments and suggestions. I thank Greenberg A.
for help in computing.
8
VIII.
1
APPENDIX
neuron
Rossler
0.8
C(τ ) = (n − τ /T )(2p − 1)
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0.2
0
-0.4
a
-0.6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
-1
τ [s ]
1
0.8
model
0.6
n
+ (τ /T − (n − 1))(2p − 1)
(A1)
in the interval (n − 1)T ≤ τ < nT . Figure 16b shows
the autocorrelation function Eq. (A1) calculated for p =
0.25, as an example. For comparison figure 16a shows
also a superposition of the autocorrelation functions for
the telegraph signals corresponding to the cell-21 (the
solid line) and to the spike train generated by the the
Rössler attractor fluctuations overcoming the threshold
x = 7 (circles). In order to make the autocorrelation
functions comparable a rescaling has been made for the
Rössler attractor generated autocorrelation function.
0.4
-0.2
0.4
C(τ)
n−1
0.6
C(τ)
In order to understand how the fundamental chaotic
clock survives the threshold firing let us consider a very
simple and rough model, which allows analytic calculation of its autocorrelation function. In this model the
spike firing takes place at discrete moments: tn = nT +ζ,
where ζ is an uniformly distributed over the interval [0, T ]
random variable, n = 1, 2, 3... and T is a fixed period.
Then let us consider a telegraph signal constructed for
this spike train as it has been described above. If p is
a probability of the spike firing at a current moment
(0 ≤ p < 1), then the autocorrelation function of such
telegraph signal is:
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
b
T
2T
3T
4T
5T
6T
τ
FIG. 16: a) Autocorrelation functions for the telegraph signals corresponding to the cell-21 (solid curve) and to the spike
train generated by the Rössler attractor fluctuations overcoming the threshold x = 7 (circles). b) Autocorrelation function
for the simple model telegraph signal: Eq. (A1) with p = 0.25.
(2002)
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9
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | Janaury 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 1 | pp. 122-125
122
Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, M. R., Possible Application of Variational Cluster Expansion in Modeling Correlated Neurons Activities
Letter to the Editor
Possible Application of Variational Cluster Expansion in
Modeling Correlated Neurons Activities
M. R. Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar*
ABSTRACT
In this letter, we will model neural activities using variational cluster expansion in condensed
matter physics. In the model, we will assume that neurons and other brain cells are quantum
objects, and thus we merely need to know their interaction, their correlation, and neuron's
probability density function. Although it is very difficult to see how application of this formalism
could produce anything practical in the current situation when we are still trying to find
consensus on ontological and epistemological issues, it will be worth the effort to explore such
possible quantum mechanisms.
Key words: Many body theorem, cluster expansion, neural activities, correlated neurons, ground
state.
We suggest that variational cluster expansion technique in many-body physics (Clark &
Westhaus 1966; Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar 2001) may be used to model corrected neural activities
which may be treated as complex projection amplitudes that do not follow a signal path. It
should be noted that this is not related to dissipative quantum model of brain (Vitiello,1995;
Freeman & Vitiello, 2006). However, we do assume that neurons and other brain cells are
quantum objects, and thus we merely need to know their interaction, their correlation, and
neuron's probability density function.
By defining
I () |exp ()|
we will have:
E ( / ) ln I ()| 0
Now, we consider a 4-point (soma) matter and generalize the above. We define
Iijkl ijkl| FA (1... A) e FA (1... A)|ijkl
where i, j, k, l are points fields , F(1...A) is correlation function in generally, and maximum of A
is equal to 4.
*Correspondence: Physics Department, Theoretical and Life Science Faculty (Talif), P.O.Box 15855-363, Tehran, Iran. E-mail:
khoshbin@talif.sch.ir
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Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, M. R., Possible Application of Variational Cluster Expansion in Modeling Correlated Neurons Activities
We then will have:
Ii ( ) i | e i |i 1
ij
Iij () ij| F2 (12)e
F2 (12)|ij
ijk
Iijk () ijk| F3 (123)e
F3 (123)|ijk
ijkl
Iijkl () ijkl| F4 (1234)e
F4 (1234)|ijkl
It is possible to write each of I's using the factor decomposition:
Iijkl Yi Yij Yijk Yijkl I ()
i j
i
i j k
i j k l
Then, we have:
ln( I ()) ln Yi ln Yij ln Yijk
i j
i
i j k
ln Y
ijkl
i j k l
If we write I's using sum product decomposition
Ii Xi
Iij Ii I j (1 X ij )
X ij Yij / YY
i j
,
Iijk Ii I j I k (1 X ij X jk X ki X ijk )
,
X ijk Yijk / YY
i jYk
Iijkl Ii I j I k Il (1 X ij X jk X kl X ik X li X jl X ijk X jkl X lik X ijkl )
X ijkl Yijkl / YY
i jYk Yl
Now, we will be able to calculate effective two, three, and four-point energy:
ij
( / ) I (12, )|0 / ij| F2 (12)e
F2 (12)|ij 0 ij| F2 (12)ij F2 (12)|ij 0
/ (1 X ij )| 0 / ( X ij )| 0 Wij (12)
ijk
( / ) Iijk |0 ijk| F3 (123)e
F3 (123)|ijk 0 / ( X jk X ki Xij Xijk )0
W Wki Wij Wijk
= jk
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,
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Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, M. R., Possible Application of Variational Cluster Expansion in Modeling Correlated Neurons Activities
where
Wijk ijk | F3 (123) ijk F3 (123)|ijk
In the same way, we obtain:
( / ) Iijk ()| 0 Wjk Wik Wij Wkl Wli Wjl Wijk Wjkl Wlik Wijkl
where
Wijkl ijkl| F4 (1234) ijkl F4 (1234)|ijkl
If we define
F F ( lij )
i j
F(12)=F(12)
F(123)=F(12)F(23)F(13)
F(1234)=F(12)F(23)F(34)F(13)F(14)F(24)
and
W W ( lij )
i j
W(12)=W(12)
W(123)=W(12)+W(23)+W(13)
W(1234)=W(12)+W(23)+W(34)+W(14)+W(24)
ground state could be calculated via minimization of variational parameters of the model.
Both our model and dissipative quantum model will need the use of electroencephalography
data. For example, the textured patterns related to categories of conditioned stimuli, i.e.,
coexistence of physically distinct synchronized patterns and their remarkably rapid onset into
irreversible sequences resembling cinematographic frames.
In dissipative model, each spatial pattern is modeled as a consequence of spontaneous
breakdown of symmetry triggered by external stimulus (Freeman & Vittiello, 2007) . In contrast,
in our model, each spatial pattern is associated with one of the unitarily inequivalent ground
state which could be calculated numerically by cluster expansion method. It seems that such
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Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, M. R., Possible Application of Variational Cluster Expansion in Modeling Correlated Neurons Activities
idea has also a special role in space-time geometry (Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, 2013) as objective
reduction in quantum gravity (Hameroff & Penrose 1996; Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, 2007).
Although it is very difficult to see how application of this formalism could produce anything
practical in the current situation when we are still trying to find consensus on ontological and
epistemological issues, it will be worth the effort to explore such possible quantum mechanisms.
The author would like to communicate with researchers who may be able to find the analytical
forms of our desired potentials and correlations.
Acknowledgement: The author would like to thank Giuseppe Vitiello and Ritta Pizzi for personal
communications.
References
Clark J.W.and Westhaus P. Variational cluster expansion. Phys.Rev. 1966;141:833-843.
Freeman W.J. and Vittiello G., Nonlinear brain dynamics as macroscopic manifestation of underlying
many-body dynamics, Phys. of Life Reviews.2006;3:93-118.
Hameroff S.R. and Penrose R . Conscious events as orchestrated with some selections space-time.Journal
of Consiousness Studies 1996;3(1):36-53
Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar,M.R. Achilles hells of the Orch OR model, NeuroQuantology 2007;5(1):182185.
Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, M.R. Correlated quasi-skyrmions as alpha particles.Eur.Phys.J.A 2001;14: 207209.
Khoshbin-e-Khoshnazar, M.R. Binding energy of the very early universe. Gravitation and
Cosmology.2013; 19:106-113.
Vittiello G. , Dissipation and memory capacity in the quantum brain model.Int.J.Mod.Phys.B 1995;9:973989.
Vittiello G. and Freeman W.J. Dissipative many-body dynamics of the brain, Quantum Mind Conference,
2007.
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Pregnolato, M., & Pereira Jr., A., On the Possible Existence of Quantum Consciousness After Brain Death
969
Research Essay
On the Possible Existence of Quantum Consciousness
After Brain Death
Massimo Pregnolato* & Alfredo Pereira Jr.†
Abstract: One of the main clinical signs of irreversible human death is the flat EEG. It means
that in this condition neurons do not generate action potentials, and therefore cannot control body
movement and vital physiological functions. However, after brain death, the rate of destruction of
cerebral and other cells is different in the several body districts. We consider at least two approaches
to the physical correlates of quantum consciousness in that condition. The first one is related to
quantum effects in proteins, which can maintain unchanged their folding and water environment
in several cells after brain death. The second one considers a part of conscious activity related to the
formation of potentials in electrolyte systems containing water, ions and proteins, which can maintain
charges (difference of potentials) after brain death. In the first approach the Schrödinger proteins can
be considered the basis of quantum information; therefore, quantum consciousness may remain until
the last folded protein exists in the body. In the second approach, since the flat EEG comes from a
disturbance in the flux of some ions (mostly Na+ and K+, affecting neuronal firing), but not necessarily
other ions (mostly Ca2+ in glial cells), which may still maintain a low entropy distribution, some
instantiation of feelings and other conscious phenomena would take place until the system achieves a
Gaussian ionic distribution, in which any functional charge is absent. On these bases, we argue for the
possibility of fading quantum consciousness aspects after brain death. This claim deserves more
thorough investigations, not only for its scientific boldness, but also because of the legal consequences
that could be of considerable interest in a not too far future, when taking into consideration the aims
of transhumanism.
Key Words: Brain Death, Quantum Consciousness, Proteins, Ions, Transhumanism.
*
Correspondence: Massimo Pregnolato, Quantumbiolab, Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. Email:
massimo.pregnolato@unipv.it
†
Correspondence: Alfredo Pereira Jr., Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu-SP, Brazil; E-Mail:
apj@ibb.unesp.br
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Pregnolato, M., & Pereira Jr., A., On the Possible Existence of Quantum Consciousness After Brain Death
970
Introduction
We start by noting that the concepts of brain death and death are not synonymous. Brain
death, as discussed with more detail in the next section of the paper, refers to the absence of
neuronal action potentials, as revealed physiologically by the "flat EEG" and behaviorally by
the absence of voluntary movement. Our claim in this paper is that some modality of
consciousness is possible in the absence of action potentials and voluntary movement, while
other vital activities remain in the brain/body of a person.
After brain death, there is a degenerative process that (in our current biomedical
technological capabilities) irreversibly leads to the complete death of the body. The latter is
here understood as the death of every cell, or, in other words, the complete absence of
metabolism in the disintegrating body. It is very unlikely that in this condition any aspect of
consciousness could remain, at least if we do not assume a dualist view of consciousness as
being completely independent of the living body.
In this paper we will not discuss the metaphysical mind-body problem, but focus on the
possibility of the existence of a quantum-based aspect of consciousness in a phase that begins
soon after brain death while some cells and tissues of the body still present metabolic activity,
keeping proteins and ionic solutions in functional states. In this kind of state, the system may
still be conscious, but unable to express the conscious states behaviorally. This phase raises an
ethical issue about how to treat people in this condition. For instance, it does not seem
completely implausible that during the cremation the quantum consciousness of a recently
brain-dead person would record that experience literally like being in hell. This condition
would cause her extreme suffering that could be avoided if she is kept safe for some time after
brain death, as practiced in some cultures.
The Concepts of Death and Brain Death
In the biomedical context, death is conceived as “the irreversible cessation of
cardiopulmonary or neurological function” (Kirkpatrick, Beasley, & Caplan, 2010). The
problem with this definition is that it focuses on the outcome of the process (the body
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Pregnolato, M., & Pereira Jr., A., On the Possible Existence of Quantum Consciousness After Brain Death
971
becomes dead), but does not identify the phases that lead to the result. Noting the phases,
brain death is conceived, by the same authors, as “the irreversible loss of the brain’s ability to
regulate the organism". This condition "signals death, even if constituent parts can continue
to function independently or with assistance”. The question that emerges from these concepts
is: what happens to the system while it is signaling death, but is not (completely) dead yet?
In order to answer this question, it is necessary to discuss brain physiology and our
technology to measure and register it. The electroencephalogram is a century-old technology
to measure brain activity and afford our interpretations of the inner state of the brain/mind.
Bioelectric activity – as measured by the EEG – depends on electromagnetic fields produced
by a class of coherent ionic movements. The absence of such movements, or their reciprocal
cancellation (as in thermodynamic equilibrium) produces a flat EEG (Figure 1). There are
other functional ionic movements and resulting bioelectric fields, as well as protein activities,
which may continue to exist in the brain/mind system of a person, while her EEG is flat.
Figure 1 - Comparison of a normal and a flat EEG.
A: Normal; B: Flat EEG (Adapted from Sereinigg, 2012).
There are well known mechanisms that can produce a flat EEG while billions of brain cells
are still alive.
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For instance, astrocytes control the homeostasis of extracellular
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Pregnolato, M., & Pereira Jr., A., On the Possible Existence of Quantum Consciousness After Brain Death
972
potassium ions. An astroglial dysfunction may cause an abnormal increase of extracellular
potassium concentration, and then, neuronal repolarization, a necessary phase in the
generation of action potentials (Figure 2), cannot occur. In this condition, neurons are still
alive, but do not repolarize to generate action potentials.
Human life crucially depends on coherent movements of Ca++, Na+ and K+ ions bound to
proteins and water (Mentré, 2012), composing self-organizing processes. Coherent ionic
movement is essential to heart and brain functioning, and cellular coordination of replication
of macromolecules (Greer & Greenberg, 2008).
Figure 2: Neuron electric activity: a) depolarization; b) repolarization;
c) resting potential
(Source: http://biologyclass.neurobio.arizona.edu/images.jpg)
Enzymes are catalysts that facilitate reactions, but they can act in both directions of the
reactions, forward or backward. The actual direction is defined by a stream installed in the
systemic context in which the catalysts are inserted (Guimarães, 2012). When the protein-ionwater system is disturbed, a process of irreversible death can be triggered.
A mildly depressed level of consciousness or alertness may be classed as lethargy;
someone in this state can be aroused with little difficulty (Kandel, Jessell, & Schwartz, 2000).
People who are obtunded have a more depressed level of consciousness and cannot be fully
aroused (Porth, 2007). Those who are not able to be aroused from a sleep-like state are said to
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Pregnolato, M., & Pereira Jr., A., On the Possible Existence of Quantum Consciousness After Brain Death
973
be stuporous. Coma is the inability to make any purposeful response. Scales such as the
Glasgow coma scale have been designed to measure the level of consciousness.
A lower level of consciousness can result from a variety of factors, including alterations in
the chemical environment of the brain (e.g., exposure to poisons or intoxicants), insufficient
oxygen or blood flow in the brain, and excessive pressure within the skull. Prolonged
unconsciousness is understood to be a sign of a medical emergency (Pollak & Gupton, 2002).
A deficit in the level of consciousness suggests that the cerebral hemispheres or the reticular
activating system have been injured. A decreased level of consciousness correlates to
increased morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death) (Scheld, Whitley, & Marra, 2004). Thus
it is a valuable measure of a patient's medical and neurological status. In fact, some sources
consider the level of consciousness to be one of the vital signs (Forgey, 1999).
The Body After Death
Post mortem interval (PMI) is the time that has elapsed since a person has died. If the
time in question is not known, a number of medical/scientific techniques are used to
determine it. This also can refer to the stage of decomposition the person is in. Many types of
changes to a body occur after death (ceasing breathing, cessation of metabolism, no pulse)
and some of those can be used to determine the post mortem interval:
Pallor mortis: paleness which happens in the 15–120 minutes after death;
Livor mortis: a settling of the blood in the lower (dependent) portion of the
body;
Algor mortis: the reduction in body temperature following death. This is
generally a steady decline, until matching ambient temperature;
Rigor mortis: the limbs of the corpse become stiff (Latin rigor) and difficult to
move or manipulate
Forensic entomology: insect activity on the corpse;
Vitreous humour changes – changes in eye chemistry;
State of decomposition – autolysis (process of self digestion) and putrefaction
(process caused by bacteria found within the body). Putrefaction is the decomposition
of animal proteins – especially by anaerobic microorganisms (putrefying bacteria).
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Decomposition is a more general process. Putrefaction usually results in amines such
as putrescine and cadaverine, which have a putrid odor. Material that is subject to
putrefaction is called putrescible.
The putrefaction of a human body with respect to time of death occurs in phases:
• 2–3 days: Staining begins on the abdomen. The body begins to swell, owing to gas
formation.
• 3–4 days: The staining spreads and veins become discolored.
• 5–6 days: The abdomen swells with gas (produced by the bacteria that decompose
the body), and the skin blisters.
• 2 weeks: The abdomen becomes very tight and swollen.
• 3 weeks: Tissues begin to soften. Organs and cavities are bursting. The nails fall
off.
• 4 weeks: Soft tissues begin to liquefy, and the face becomes unrecognizable.
The exact rate of putrefaction is dependent upon many factors, such as weather, exposure
and location. Thus, refrigeration at a morgue or funeral home can retard the process, allowing
for burial in three days or so following death without embalming.
Two Models of Quantum Consciousness
According to the current neuroscientific view, consciousness fails to survive brain death
and, along with all other mental functions, is irrecoverably lost (Laureys & Tononi, 2009).
Nevertheless, as we read in a recent, very exhaustive review by Bob Davis (2016), the scientific
principles and studies that may fall within the domain of quantum mechanical processes may
eventually provide evidence to demonstrate how consciousness relates with the brain during
life, as well as during brain death, to better understand the possibility of conscious activity
after death.
In the literature, there are many quantum models of consciousness, some advocating a
radically revisionist metaphysics and others not. It would be impossible to catalog them here
or even explain in any substantial way the key features of quantum theory to which they
appeal. Among them, we find those that build on findings on oscillatory synchrony (Engel &
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Singer, 2001; Singer, 1999), which can be putatively related to the Orch-OR microtubulebased theory (Hameroff & Penrose, 1996, 2014; Hameroff & Powell, 2009) and astroglial
calcium waves (Pereira Jr., 2012; Pereira Jr. & Furlan, 2009, 2010). The connection between
the existence of oscillatory synchrony in different frequencies and conscious activity is well
established in neuroscience, while the mechanism underlying the generation of conscious
states and episodes is a controversial issue addressed by both the microtubule and the calcium
wave approaches.
Proteins and Consciousness After Brain Death
The Penrose-Hameroff "Orchestrated Objective Reduction" (Orch-OR) model of
consciousness was first proposed in 1995 and more recently revised in 2014 (Hameroff &
Penrose, 1995, 2014). Orch OR asserts that microtubular protein polymers inside brain
neurons act as quantum computers. Tubulin components of microtubules are understood to
constitute a “Schrödinger’s protein” existing in quantum superposition of different states and
hence encoding quantum bits, or qubits of information. They argue that quantum-superposed
states are developed in a tubulin that gradually recruits other superposed tubulin over a time
interval lasting up to 500 msec until a mass-time-energy threshold, related to quantum
gravity, is finally reached (without the intervention of an observer or measurement, as in most
of quantum mechanics models). This results in "objective collapses" involving the quantum
system passing from a superposition of multiple possible states to a single definite state.
This model predicts dendritic webs of approximately 100,000 neurons subserving
discrete conscious moments, or frames, occurring every 25 ms in gamma synchrony.
According to Penrose and Hameroff, the environment internal to the microtubules is
especially suitable for objective collapses, and the resulting self-collapses produce a coherent
flow regulating neuronal activity and making non-algorithmic mental processes possible.
Science can measure brain electrical activity known to correlate with consciousness, for
example high frequency synchronized electroencephalography (EEG) in the gamma range
(gamma synchrony). Monitors able to measure and process EEG and detect gamma
synchrony and other correlates of consciousness have been developed for use during
anesthesia to provide an indicator of depth of anesthesia and prevent intra-operative
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awareness, i.e., to avoid patients being conscious when they are supposed to be anesthetized
and unconscious. The BIS monitor (Aspect Medical Systems, Newton, MA) records and
processes frontal electroencephalography (EEG) to produce a digital bispectral index, or BIS
number, on a scale of 0 to 100. A BIS number of 0 equals EEG silence, and 100 is the expected
value in a fully awake, conscious adult.
Chawla et al. (2009) observed that in brain tissue that is metabolically dead, receiving no
blood flow nor oxygen, a further end-of-life activity occurs. The BIS and SEDline numbers,
indicators of level of awareness, are near zero, but then a burst of synchronized, coherent bifrontal brain activity occurs, seemingly EEG gamma synchrony (an indicator of
consciousness). As marked by BIS and SEDline numbers near 80, the activity persists for a
minute or more, then it abruptly ceases. They speculate that this level of BIS/SEDline activity
is related to the cellular loss of membrane polarization due to hypoxemia, but there are other
proposed explanations for the end-of-life brain activity as non-functional, generalized
neuronal depolarization.
Chawla et al. (2009) suggest that excess extracellular potassium causes last gasp neuronal
spasms throughout the brain, but that couldn’t account for the global coherence –
synchronized, organized. Another suggested cause is calcium-induced neuronal death, which
could implicate disruption of cytoskeletal microtubules inside neurons as the precipitating
factor. But again, how and why the bifrontal coherent synchrony? According to Hameroff’s
approach, neuronal hypoxia and acidosis would disable sodium-potassium ATPase pumps,
preventing axonal action potentials, but temporarily sparing lower energy dendritic activity,
which may correlate more directly with consciousness (Hameroff, 2010). Another possibility
is that consciousness is a low energy quantum process (Hameroff, 1998), in which case
reduced molecular dynamics may limit thermal decoherence, providing a temporal window
for enhanced quantum coherent states and a burst of enhanced consciousness. The HameroffChopra (2010) approach to quantum consciousness after death explains this burst of
enhanced awareness at death as the preliminary for further awakening to extraordinary levels
of consciousness possibly beyond the body.
An expanded level of consciousness (ELC), also named altered state of consciousness
(ASC), is any condition that is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state.
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The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig (1966) and brought into
common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart (1969). It describes induced changes in one's
mental state, almost always temporary.
Altered states of consciousness can be associated with artistic creativity. They also can be
shared interpersonally and studied as a subject of sociological research. Higher consciousness
is a concept of a spiritual transcendence of human consciousness in various traditions of
mysticism. Within monotheism, it also refers to the awareness or knowledge of an ultimate
reality sometimes known as God. Alternative terms with similar meanings include super
consciousness
(Yoga),
objective
consciousness
(Gurdjieff),
Buddhic
consciousness
(Theosophy), cosmic consciousness, God-consciousness (Sufism and Hinduism) and Christ
consciousness (New Thought). An ASC can sometimes be reached intentionally by the use of
sensory deprivation, an isolation tank, lucid dreaming, hypnosis, prolonged meditation, and
psychoactive drugs.
The ordinary levels of consciousness or ego can be represented (Figure 3) as a set of
communicating levels (Cocchi et al., 2011):
1. Pure biological level or “primordial ego”: the proto self of Damasio (1999),
attributing in a rudimentary form to his own body, feelings of hunger, thirst, pleasure,
pain;
2. Bio-eco-logical level: on the conscious interaction between subject and
environment, but set only the hic et nunc with no extension project.
3. Extended mnemonic level: belonging to a consciousness that, while expanding
back and forth, does not yet embody in a language its being as a continuous narrative,
preserved by the memory as a place of meaning of life.
4. Level of identity sense: from its original roots in biology the ego has gradually
expanded to the ecological dimension or mnemonic short-range, is then passed to the
mnemonic long-haul
dimension,
and now, through language, produces an
accomplished culture.
5. Mysteric level of consciousness or abyss of consciousness. The presence in
humans of a prophetic intuition, of an abyss of consciousness opens the way for
intellectual freedom as liberation from the outer limits (subject, obstacles to overcome
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in pursuit of their projects) and internal (indefinitely biological determinism or
panbiologism).
Figure 3: Levels of consciousness. (Revised from Cocchi et al., 2011).
In other words, the ego produces articulations of sense about oneself and the world that
incorporates into one’s experiences and one’s acting out, in a narrative, intellectual and
emotional, irreducible to any other, world views, social stress, scientific and cultural
expressions.
According to the model of Computational Loop Quantum Gravity (CLQG) (Zizzi, 2005),
the quantum extension of digital physics states that the concept of reality can be expressed as:
“It from qubit”, namely, reality is quantum information, QI.
Classical Information, I
Quantum Information, Iq
I = N (N = number of bits)
Iq = (N = number of qubits)
Classical digital reality (Classic truth)
Quantum digital reality (Quantum truth)
N = 1, I = 1 (Yes =1 or Not = 0)
N = 1, Iq = 2 (Yes = 1 and Not = 0)
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A quantum biological system, which is a particular type of complex system based on
quantum information, is a site of quantum computation. Later Zizzi (2010) showed that
quantum superposition and entanglement, which characterize quantum computing, can be
formalized by a particular quantum logic named Lq. The latter in turn was used (Zizzi, 2012)
to describe the quantum mental processes of the unconscious mind. This was done in the
framework of the quantum theory of mind of Penrose-Hameroff (Hameroff, 1994; Hameroff &
Penrose, 1995) where the units of quantum information (qubits) are biologically implemented
by tubulin units of brain’s microtubules.
Zizzi (2012) suggests that the Mind has three different operational modes:
1- the quantum computational mode
2- the classical computational mode
3- the non-algorithmic mode.
The quantum and classical computational modes pertain to ordinary thought processes,
while the non-algorithmic mode (Zizzi & Pregnolato, 2012) pertains to metathought, which is
the peculiar process of thinking about our own ordinary thought. In Figure 4 we represent the
hypothetic variations of quantum information contents in microtubules during the lifetime in
correlation with the different consciousness states and in the birth and death phases.
For those who dare follow the implications of such thoughts this far, a quantum basis for
consciousness also raises the scientific possibility of an afterlife, of an actual soul leaving the
body and persisting as entangled fluctuations in quantum spacetime geometry (Hameroff &
Chopra, 2010). According to this theory, when people enter clinical death, the microtubules
lose their quantum state but don't lose the information they contain. Some of this quantum
information might not be lost or dissipated or destroyed but could persist in some way in this
fundamental level of spacetime geometry, which, it seems, is not local but more like a
holographic repetition in scale and distances that persists perhaps even indefinitely at a finer
scale, which would be a higher frequency – a smaller scale but also lower energy. In this way,
it could continue to exist almost indefinitely.
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Figure 4: Scheme of possible consciousness states variations in a lifetime period (Pregnolato et al.,
original scheme). Iq = quantum Information.
Ions and Consciousness
There are two kinds of information processing in the brain. One (discreet) is by means of
electric pulses (action potentials) in neuronal networks. The other (continuous) is by means of
hydro-ionic waves guided by proteins, in glial cells, extracellular medium, cerebrospinal fluid
and blood flow. Beyond the Neuron Doctrine formulated by Ramón y Cajal – proposing that
neurons are the structural and functional unit of the mind/brain – our current theoretical
framework has been updated to include neuro-glial interactions and the putative contribution
of the astroglial network for conscious processes.
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The complex interactions of ions, water and proteins in the brain, supporting conscious
functions, have been deeply discussed since the work of Loeb (1900, 1906).
In the model of neuronal membrane excitation proposed by Tasaki and Chang (1958) and
Tasaki (1999), consisting of a water gel inside lipid layers that is swollen and contracted
according to changes in the concentration of sodium and calcium ions, it is assumed the
existence of electromagnetic potentials generated by an ionic mechanism. This mechanism is
different and possibly parallel to the well-known Hodkins-Huxley mechanism based on ion
pumps, binding of transmitters and sodium-potassium exchanges that generate the spike
trains that control muscles and glands. The Tasaki work opens the possibility of existence of
electric potentials dedicated to cognitive and affective processes (covert behavior), but not to
responsive action in the environment (overt behavior).
The work of Tasaki was complemented by innovative research made by Pollack (2010),
revealing the existence of a negative "exclusion zone" in water that can be regarded as
adequate to attract ions from the extracellular milieu and compose a biological battery inside
the neural membrane (Figure 5). According to Ho (2014),
Stable water clusters tens of nanometres to millimetres in dimensions can be seen under
the microscope. … The clusters consist of millions to billions of water molecules and come
in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. … They make up structures that are flexible, and can
be deformed. … Otherwise, they remain stable for weeks, even months at room
temperature and pressure. They have all the characteristics of “soft matter” – liquids,
liquid crystals, colloids, polymers, gels, and foams – that form mesoscopic structures
much larger than the molecules themselves, but small compared with the bulk material.
Structural changes in water are related to the loss of consciousness in general anesthesia
(Kundacina & Pollack, 2016). General anesthetics also change the state of astrocytes (Thrane,
2013). Considering that the energy and the information present at hydro-ionic waves is closely
related to the conscious state, we can hypothesize that in the case of brain death the biological
battery can keep and regenerate useful energy, and use it to support consciousness for some
time after the shortage of supply from mitochondria. (The independence from metabolism
was suggested to APJ by Vera Maura Fernandes de Lima, personal communication).
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“Coherent oscillations maintained by the
electromagnetic field…produce
correlations as large as several hundred
microns, giving rise to a common dipole
orientation…resulting in stable
supramolecular clusters”
Pollack’s theory of the fourth state of
water (gel, crystal) and formation of
exclusion zones from the dynamics of
attraction and repulsion
http://faculty.washington.edu/ghp/resea
Figure 5: Structured Water (Pollack, 2010)
Tasaki and Chang (1958), soon followed by Galambos (1960), were probably the first
neuroscientists to suggest that brain slow potentials related to cognitive and affective
processes are mediated by glial cells. The kind of glial cells that forms a brain wide network
able to propagate electric potentials is the astrocyte. Astrocytes do not have excitable
membranes, but can communicate signals and exchange energy by means of calcium ion
waves. These waves are generated by neural local fields potentials in tripartite synapses
(composed of two neurons and one astrocyte). The local field produced by the presynaptic
neuron, as well as the transmitters it releases, impact on the glial neighbors, producing small
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waves that reach the astroglial network. Gap junctions between astrocytes allow the passage of
the ions, and even boost their signal by means of ATP mechanisms. Astroglial intercellular
communication by means of gap junctions allow the interference of the smaller waves,
resulting in global wave patterns that feedback on the neurons that produced the smaller
waves. This cycle of action and reaction between neurons and astrocytes has been proposed to
support the formation of conscious episodes in the temporal window of 2 seconds (Pereira Jr.,
2015).
The astroglial calcium wave is a very complex phenomenon, having including both
travelling and standing waves. The smaller waves generated at tripartite synapses are
travelling ones, based on changes of concentration of calcium ions inside individual astrocytes
and in the network. Inositol triphosphate and its receptors proteins prompt the release of
calcium ions previously stored in deposits and their movements through the cytosol, reaching
astroglial distal branches, and then moving to other cells in the network. The result of the
interference of these smaller waves is a standing waveform across brain tissue, composed of
temporal patterns of vibrational energy. The structure of this waveform fits well the
description made by Mentrè (2012):
A given ion (phosphate, Ca2+, H+) seems to be transported along a chain (cascade) of
macromolecules containing this ion (or another one) in a sequestered form. A signal
(calcium, for example) occurring at the entry of the chain induces the liberation of the
sequestered ion from the first element of the chain and this one, in its turn, induces the
liberation of the ion from the following element, etc.: the ion entering the chain remains
sequestered by the first element of the chain. The ion appearing at the end of the chain is
liberated by the last element of the chain. This type of transport differs deeply from
diffusion. It is not a transport of matter but a transfer of a level of energy (transduction).
(p. 19)
As a consequence of the above discoveries and theories, it is possible to conjecture that
the neuron has a double life. Dendrites participate in the tissue function, generating graded
potentials that induce hydro-ionic waves by means of both chemical and electromagnetic
signaling; the axon produces spike trains that execute cognitive and motor functions. The
scalp EEG mostly captures the dendritic potentials that induce both hydro-ionic waves in
brain tissue and action potentials, but not the electric potentials endogenous to the hydroISSN: 2153-8212
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ionic waves, which may remain active and carrying their functions for some time after the
scalp EEG becomes flat and the subject is diagnosed with brain death.
The Vimal, Pereira and Pregnolato Approach
Current approaches to consciousness tend to abandon both materialism and idealism, as
well as interactive substance dualism, moving towards multi-aspect monisms. In a
collaborative book chapter (Pereira Jr., 2016), we proposed a qualitative biophysics helping to
solve the hard problem of consciousness (Chalmers, 1995, 1996). The idea is that elementary
waveforms (EW) that compose quantum microstates contain the potential for qualitative
macrostates (QMSs), as those observed in the morphology and physiology of living systems.
We further claim that the subjective qualities experienced in conscious episodes can be
described by a hypermatrix/hypertensor composed of QMSs.
In the nervous system of living individuals, including the human brain, the instantiation
of macrostates is spatially distributed and unconscious. The formation of conscious episodes
requires the formation of a recoherent collection of these macrostates. When all necessary
conditions of consciousness (such as activation of neural-networks, wakefulness, reentry,
attention, activation integration, working memory, stimulus contrast at or above threshold,
and potential experiences embedded in the neural network) are satisfied, a recoherent state
(corresponding to a conscious episode) emerges, from a collection of nonconscious QMS
instantiated in spatially distributed neural circuits. In this context, “recoherence” means that
qualities instantiated in unconscious brain macrostates are integrated into conscious
experiences when a set of conditions are fulfilled, as distance from thermodynamic
equilibrium, operation of biological self-organizing mechanisms and information integration
by quantum gates.
Brain recoherent macrostates result from the activity of entropy reducers, as ion channels
and proteins composing intracellular signal transduction pathways. These mechanisms
possibly instantiate quantum computing gates (Rocha, Pereira Jr., & Coutinho, 2001; Rocha,
Massad, & Pereira Jr., 2005). The operation of these gates form recoherent states, by means
of informationally integrating a collection of QMS. We note that this concept of recoherence is
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different from the conceptual framework of Penrose-Hameroff; the recoherence phase after
the decoherence process generates the conscious state, while in the Penrose-Hameroff model
the orchestrated collapse of the wave function generates a conscious state without the
recoherence phase.
Using this explanatory strategy, we can explain why some natural systems have
subjective conscious experiences, while others do not. The progressive interaction of EWs
generate a complex state space, of which some regions correspond to the first person
conscious activity of living individuals. The existence of these regions is derived from the
potentialities of EW, in a strongly emergent process. Other regions do not display conscious
activity, because the necessary conditions of consciousness (such as formation of neuralnetworks, wakefulness, reentry, attention, information integration, working memory,
stimulus contrast at or above threshold, and potential experiences embedded in neuralnetwork) are not satisfied.
The dynamical process above occurs in a temporal continuum. At one side of the
continuum, there are forms in a potential state. When actualized, they compose
physiochemical properties of substances and processes. In the middle, there are forms in an
intermediary stage, such that they have mental but unconscious functions. At the other side,
there are forms actualized in conscious episodes experienced by a living individual.
What’s after death?
The mystery of what happens to quantum consciousness after physical death of the body
is still far from being scientifically elucidated. Depending on the approach to quantum
consciousness and interpretation of quantum theory adopted, several authors have sketched
a possible answer to this question.
According to Penrose-Hameroff’s Orch OR theory, consciousness occurs as a process on
the edge between quantum and classical worlds. After the death of body, the quantum
information (which constitutes consciousness) could shift to deeper planes and continue to
exist, outside the brain, purely as patterns in nonlocal fractal/holographic-like space-time
geometry. This could be defined as a "quantum soul" interconnected via entanglement
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among beings and the universe, able to exist at deeper planes and scales independent of
biology. Thus after life an actual soul as quantum information leaving the body and persisting
as entangled fluctuations in multiple scales, or planes in quantum space-time geometry, may
be scientifically possible.
Teodorani (2015) extended this hypothesis by introducing the concept of a “Cosmic
Library” that exists everywhere throughout the universe, including the quantum vacuum and
all atoms with their subatomic units. “Souls” exist in the form of a quantum field that can
become manifest as consciousness in any biosystem that has the property of quantum
coherence (such as the brain) and acts as the terminal of a big supercomputer to work as
software controlling the hardware of the body to collect information about the physical
world. This information is automatically and non-locally uploaded on a hard disc located in
the quantum vacuum at the Planck scale (10-33 cm). The hypothesis is that the void
contains or is the memory of everything thought and felt by everyone downloaded into the
universal Big Library (BL) of pure information (Charman, 2016).
Robert Lanza (2010) claims that space and time are simply the tools our mind uses to
weave information together into a coherent experience and adopts the many-worlds
interpretation, where universes contain multiple ways for possible scenarios to occur. In one
universe, the body can be dead and in another it continues to exist, absorbing the
consciousness migrated to this universe. This means that a dead person, while traveling
through the ‘tunnel’, ends up in a similar world he or she once inhabited, but this time alive,
and so on, infinitely.
Concluding Remarks
The conjectures raised in this paper, if proven to be valid inferences, have serious
ethical implications. Even in the absence of voluntary movement and in a process that
irreversibly leads to death, a person may still experience conscious feelings. How to treat
people in this condition? Even in the absence of a proof of our hypothesis, according to the
precautionary principle of ethics any external intervention that may cause pain should be
avoided, until signs of complete death (complete absence of metabolism; general loss of vital
activity in all cells of the body) are evident.
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Do the human rights and bioethical principles that apply to the normal functioning person
also apply to the brain dead person? This is another ethical issue, with juridical implications,
to be better discussed. The recognition of existence of feelings in non-human animals has led
to the implementation of ethical rules in scientific experimentation. For the same reason,
special rules could be applied to post-mortem care in the hospital, funerary, prison, battlefield
and any other place where a recently dead person is sheltered.
Another problem is the lack of belief in an afterlife of transhumanists who have, among
other objectives, the plan to change the mind map of the brain to a computer. This has an
undeniable appeal for both religious and non-religious people, who are likely to delegate the
commitment to defeat death to medical science and the rise of technology. The main problem
is to delineate the line between perceptible and imperceptible reality, communicable and noncommunicable feeling, conscious and unconscious states.
On the basis of what we exposed in this paper, the actual definition of death does not take
into account the state of consciousness of the human being. The lack of knowledge of the
mechanisms of consciousness, together with the (apparently obvious) feeling that our inner
experience can continue after death, no doubt has led to the formulation that there must be a
soul, and from this idea many religious approaches are still accepted by so many people, even
though they are expressed in a diverse phantasmagoria of beliefs and rituals.
It may be impossible for anyone to really come to terms with the idea of life after death,
and so most people easily accept a theological explanation or prefer to ignore the problem of
consciousness after biological death. While theological philosophies try to assure people that
death is not the end, with a supreme being that holds the answer to eternal life, atheistic
philosophies are not able to comfort people with regard to the death with the same ease. This
could explain the growing (almost desperate) belief in the transhumanist movements (only
one step removed from the morbid fantasy of freezing the head of a dead rich person to later
be transplanted back onto a renewed or entirely new body when science catches up).
Transplanting a mind without a body onto a computer network is no transplant at all – the
mind could never be the same disembodied as when it was part of a body – but a
transmogrification, something akin to loss of identity from joining the Borg Collective from
the Star Trek series.
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We can conclude that a transcendent consciousness might be possible based on quantum
physics. However, our first attempt to understand the evolution of the states of consciousness
after biological death need to be better explored and considered for future research, in order
not to confine a important issue to the beliefs held in the various movements, like the
immortalists of the singularity (Ray Kurzweil) or transhumanism.
Acknowledgments: FAPESP for a grant conceded to A.P.J., including a short period of
work at the University of Pavia with M.P.; Vera Maura Fernandes de Lima for the suggestion
of several references and Alessio Ferrarotti for helping in figures and for helpful discussions.
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arXiv:2103.03361v1 [cs.AI] 1 Mar 2021
F ROM Q UANTIFYING VAGUENESS T O PAN - NIFTY- ISM
Natesh Ganesh
ITL, App. & Comp. Mathematics Division, NIST
Dept. of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
natesh.ganesh@colorado.edu
March 8, 2021
A BSTRACT
In this short paper, we will introduce a simple model for quantifying philosophical vagueness. We
will then discuss some of the implications of this model including the conditions under which the
quantification of X =‘nifty’ leads to pan-nifty-ism. Understanding this leads to an interesting insight
- the reason a framework to quantify consciousness like Integrated Information Theory (IIT) implies
(forms of) panpsychism is because there is favorable structure already implicitly encoded in the
construction of the quantification metric.
Keywords Vagueness · Pan-nifty-ism · Consciousness · IIT · Panpsychism
1 A Model for Quantification in Vagueness
Vagueness in philosophy is standardly defined by the possession of borderline cases [1] - “For example, ‘tall’ is vague
because a man who is 1.8 meters in height is neither clearly tall nor clearly non-tall. No amount of conceptual
analysis or empirical investigation can settle whether a 1.8 meter man is tall. Borderline cases are inquiry resistant.”
The opposite of this would be the idea of sharpness characterized by having no borderline cases. In this paper, we will
construct a simple yet powerful mathematical model of how borderline cases might arise in our epistemic pursuits,
and use it better understand vagueness and attempts to quantify it. This is important since many important concepts
like consciousness, agency, sentience could all be vague and there is growing interest in their quantification. There
has been interesting work in the area of quantifying vagueness and would allow us access further mathematical tools
to address this area of research [2], [3]. Furthermore it will allows us to explore whether things that might appear to
be vague initially might get sharpened through an iterative process of observations and model-building.
Let there be a property P (the use of the word property is more colloquial and not to be confused with any rigorous definition from philosophy. From the example above, ’tall’ is a property P, and we wish to determine if a person/system
of height 1.8 meters has/exhibits the property P : ‘tall’) that we wish to study and quantify. For this P, our model to
will be characterized by the tuple {A, ({S}C , {S}C̄ , {S}B ), {Ôi }, φ}P where we have
• An observer A with finite observational capabilities.
• A collection of systems that are apriori identified by A as a clear case of exhibiting P, a clear case of not
exhibiting P and borderline cases that are organized into the sets {S}C , {S}C̄ and {S}B respectively.
• A set of measurement/observation mechanisms {Ôi } utilized by A to generate a D-dimensional vector x̄S :
{Ôi }
S −−−→ x̄S ∈ RD of observables. The observer looks to determine if system S exhibits a property P using
x̄S .
• A function φ : RD → RN to faithfully (defined later in this section) quantify P, that will map the Ddimensional x̄S to a N -dimensional vector φ(x̄S ). The existence of a trivial faithful φ is discussed later.
• A system of interest S which for which we intend to determine whether or not it exhibits property P using φ.
A PREPRINT - M ARCH 8, 2021
The property P that is of interest of study is implicitly described by identifying the systems that make up {S}C ,
{S}C̄ and {S}B . We are not sure whether it is possible to identify some systems apriori as borderline cases of P to
form the elements of {S}B , as opposed to simply determine them to be borderline cases using φ. It is possible to
view the elements of {S}B as test cases for φ constructed using {S}C and {S}C̄ (this will be further evident below
when discussing a faithful φ). The strength of the model presented here lies in the generality of it’s application and
results presented in this work do not depend on these unresolved questions with respect to {S}B . If {S}B could be an
empty or non-empty set, then we can use it to form a (weaker) definition of sharp and vague based on apriori observer
identification. For a sharp P with no apriori borderline cases {S}B = {} and {S}B 6= {} for a vague P. The function
φ can then be constructed on the basis of the current elements in these three sets (though the necessity to identify and
utilize {S}C̄ in this construction is contested and will be the focus of our discussion later in the paper). Without loss
of generality, we will deal with the case of a scalar φ(x̄S ). This can be generalized for N -dimensional vector later if
needed using appropriate distance metrics. In this framework, will call φ (with αφ ≤ φ ≤ βφ ) a faithful quantification
of P if
• There is at least one system S ∈ {S}C for which we define η0 = φ(x̄S ) such that φ(x̄S ) ≥ η0 for all current
elements in {S}C i.e. φ(x̄S ) is in the interval [η0 , βφ ] for all S ∈ {S}C .
η0 =
min
φ(x̄S )
{Oi }
{∀S:S∈{S}C ,S −−−
→x̄S }
• There is at least one system S ∈ {S}C̄ for which we define γ0 = φ(x̄S ) such that φ(x̄S ) ≤ γ0 for all current
elements in {S}C̄ i.e. φ(x̄S ) is in the interval [αφ , γ0 ] for all S ∈ {S}C̄ .
γ0 =
φ(x̄S )
max
{Oi }
−−→x̄S }
{∀S:S∈{S}C̄ ,S −
• As a consequence of the above two conditions, we would have that γ0 < φ(x̄S ) < η0 for all the apriori
borderline cases S ∈ {S}B .
The above conditions also allows us to produce a stronger definition of sharp and vague. P is sharp using φ if γ0 = η0
and there is no interval for the borderline cases, and P is vague if γ0 6= η0 and there is a interval for borderline cases.
We can also show that for a given {S}C , {S}C̄ and {S} for P, a trivial yet faithful φ that satisfies the conditions above
always exists, and can be constructed as
Si
φ(x ) =
η0 = βφ
γ0 = αφ
if Si ∈ {S}C
if Si ∈ {S}C̄
We should also note here that the values of η0 and γ0 are not fixed and only represent a snapshot of the current
knowledge that observer A has with respect to apriori cases given by {S}C , {S}C̄ and {S}B and the construction of
φ based on that. If a new system that is apriori identified as a clear case of either exhibiting or not exhibiting P is
presented to A (we exclude {S}B for now, since it an open question as to whether we can apriori identify borderline
cases), the observer might have to make updates to both φ, the values η0 and γ0 and the corresponding intervals to
account for that. This identification of new elements of {S}C and {S}C̄ represent a positive since it allows for an
improvement in the implicit description of P by A. This improvement in the identification of P through new example
of clear cases could result in the reduction of the interval (γ0 , η0 ). As a result of this shrinkage, systems that were
previously determined to be borderline might now belong to either {S}C or {S}C̄ - achieving a sharpening of P. In
an extreme case, constant updates to {S}C and {S}C̄ results in making γ0 = η0 and reduces {S}B = {}. On the
other hand, if we were to obtain new examples that are identified as borderline cases of P, these new elements of
{S}B might need an expansion of the interval (γ0 , η0 ) and absorb elements that were previously viewed as clear cases.
We would once again need to make updates to φ to reflect these changes. This latter phenomenon can be viewed as a
vaguening of P. Both sharpening and vaguening represent the effect of the updates to {S}C , {S}C̄ and {S}B . We
will next present the 1st main proposition of this paper built using the framework from above.
Proposition-I: For the property P in the framework characterized by {A, ({S}C , {S}C̄ , {S}B ), {Ôi }, φ}P , we propose that
(1.1) A system S exhibits P if and only if φ(x̄S ) ≥ η0 . We know that η0 exists for a faithful φ by definition.
(1.2) A system S does not exhibit P if and only if φ(x̄S ) ≤ γ0 . We know that γ0 exists for a faithful φ by definition.
(1.3) A consequence of (1.1) and (1.2) above would be that a system S is considered to be a borderline case of P
if φ(x̄S ) is in the interval (γ0 , η0 ).
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A PREPRINT - M ARCH 8, 2021
It is also important to note that once we use φ to determine whether the new system S either clearly exhibits or does not
exhibit P or is a borderline case, the system should not be used to update the sets {S}C , {S}C̄ and {S}B respectively.
Only systems for which we make some type of apriori identification with respect to P (independent of φ) can be used
to update the corresponding sets and φ (if needed). The addition of these new systems S to {S}C , {S}C̄ and {S}B
would result in a false sharpening or vaguening of P.
In addition to the requirement that φ be a faithful quantification, it would also be favorable for φ to quantitatively
distinguish between different elements in a manner that would match with our expectation for P. For example, consider
S1 and S2 in {S}C with φ and η0 = 2. With φ(x̄S1 ) = 4 and φ(x̄S2 ) = 8, both S1 and S2 satisfy the condition
φ(x̄Si ) ≥ 2 but for two very different values of φ, with φ(x̄S2 ) = 2 × φ(x̄S2 ). This is especially favorable if we
are identifying S2 as exhibiting P more than S1 . The difference in the values of φ(x̄Si ) thus allows us to construct a
distance metric based on (φ(x̄Si ) − η0 ) and quantify how much more or less a particular system Si exhibits property
P. This becomes very evident from the construction the following function φ′ φ′ (xSi ) =
1 if φ(xSi ) ≥ η0
0 if φ(xSi ) < η0
We can see that φ′ (xSi ) can also be used faithfully to describe the same property P as φ′ (xS ) ≥ η0′ = 1 for all
Si ∈ {S}C . However since all the elements in {S}C now have the same value of φ′ (xSi ) = 1 which is not useful if
one would like to distinguish between S1 and S2 . While we have already that a faithful φ always exists, the existence
of favorable phi to appropriately distinguish between systems is an open question.
In this section, we have been discussing vagueness for an observer A as having {S}B 6= {}, as well as the expansion
and shrinkage of vagueness. We will now explore vagueness arising in conditions with multiple observers (we will
use two without loss of generality). For property P, the two observers A1 and A2 are characterized by the two tuples A1
A2
A1
A2
A1
A1
1
2
{A1 , ({S}A
, φ1 }P and {A2 , ({S}A
, φ2 }P respectively. While
C , {S}C̄ , {S}B ), {Ôi }
C , {S}C̄ , {S}B ), {Ôi }
different observers could have different observational capabilities that affect how they quantify P, we will assume
{Ôi }A1 = {Ôi }A2 to instead focus on differences elsewhere and their corresponding effects. Let A1 and A2 disagree
as to the elements in {S}C , {S}C̄ and/or {S}B . The difference in these sets could result in differences in φ, η0
and/or γ0 values. As a result of this, for the same system S we could have φ1 (x̄S ) ≥ η0A1 and φ2 (x̄S ) ≤ γ0A2 . Thus
observers A1 and A2 take opposite positions on S with respect to P. This is a form of vagueness in P with respect
to S arising due to differences between the observers, since the two observers by their identification of the clear cases
1
are constructing different characterizations of P that might not always overlap. Interestingly even with {S}A
B ) = {}
A2
and {S}B ) = {} making P sharp when we consider the observers individually, there is a vagueness that emerges
when we take them together. The path forward involves agreeing that both φ1 and φ2 are equally valid and the two
observers are simple talking about different P. If the observers agree that they are in fact talking about the same P,
the next step would be to view the two sets of (φ, η0 , γ0 as competing models and quantification metrics that are on
A1
A1
1
equal footing with respect to their respective ({S}A
C , {S}C̄ , {S}B ). Use of systems that the observers disagree
P
upon to judge φP
1 and φ2 would be fruitless and only reinforce the difference in what either observer describes as P.
A1
1
If a system is identified apriori by both observers to belong to either {S}A
C or {S}C̄ , then that system can be used to
judge which of φ1 and φ2 is the better metric. The failed metric can either be abandoned or improved to account for
this new system.
Now we explore a special case of the above in greater detail - assume that A1 and A1 agree on {S}C , but not on
2
1
6= {} for A2 . Thus observer A1 is not identifying any system as a clear
= {} and {S}A
{S}C̄ . For A1 , {S}A
C̄
C̄
2
meet that criteria for A2 . As before, they could construct
case of not satisfying P, whereas the elements of {S}A
C̄
different measures φ1 and φ2 but we will assume that φ1 = φ2 = φP . Since both observers share the same {S}C ,
we will have η0A1 = η0A2 = η0P and the condition to determine whether a new system S exhibits P - φP (x̄S ) ≥ η0P
is the same for both A1 and A2 i.e. A1 and A2 will always agree on which systems exhibit P using φP . This
successful agreement between A1 and A2 might inspire additional confidence in the efficacy of φP for A1 built under
A1
2
however will result in different values
and {S}A
the assumption of {S}C̄ = {}. The differences between {S}C̄
C̄
A1
A2
of γ0 and γ0 and the corresponding interval in which a system is determined to not exhibit P based on φP . For
2
φP , with αφ ≤ φP ≤ βφ ), we can define γ0A2 using {S}A
6= {}. Thus for A2 , a system S does not exhibit
C̄
A2
A1
S
P if αφ ≤ φP (x̄ ) ≤ γ0 . Since {S}C̄ = {} for observer A1 , we would have γ0A1 = αφ by definition. This
implies that a system S does not exhibit a P only when φP (x̄S ) = αφ , which is the lower bound of φP . As stated
earlier in this section, we have the interval of φP for which a system is determined to be a borderline case as (γ0 , η0 ).
Since γ0A1 = αφ for A1 , the corresponding interval for borderline cases is (γ0A1 , η0A1 ). As a result, observer A1 will
3
A PREPRINT - M ARCH 8, 2021
determine that any system S with φP (x̄S2 ) such that γ0A1 < φP (x̄S2 ) < η0A1 as a borderline case of exhibiting P.
This would be in disagreement for those systems with φP (x̄S ) ≤ γ0A2 that A2 determines as as not exhibiting P. This
disagreement contributes to the vagueness of P.
As stated earlier, we can think of differences in {S}C and {S}C̄ as differences in P itself between A1 and A2 (This
2P
1P
difference can be trivially dissolved in the case above by making {S}A
= {S}A
= {}). We can see this
C̄
C̄
clearly with the following example - for property P we will assume that both observers share the same {S}P
C , and
A2 P
1P
{S}A
=
{}
and
{S}
=
6
{}
for
A
and
A
respectively.
Both
observers
use
the
same
function
φ
which
is
1
2
P
C̄
C̄
bounded as: 0 ≤ φP ≤ βφ . Both observers will obtain the same η0P such that any system S with φP ≥ η0P is
considered to be exhibiting P. The interval of φP for borderline cases is (0, η0P ) and (γ0A2 P , η0P ) for A1 and A2
′
AP
′
P
P
2
respectively. Now consider a property P ′ constructed for A2 such that {S}P
C = {S}C ∪ {S}C̄ and {S}C̄ = {}.
We now construct ψP ′ in such a manner that for any Si with φP (x̄Si ) ≤ γ0A2 P and φP (x̄Si ) ≥ η0P , the corresponding
values for ψP ′ (x̄Si ) is appropriately scaled to lie in the interval [η0P , βφ ]. Also for any Si with γ0A2 P < φP (x̄Si ) < η0P ,
the corresponding values of ψP ′ (x̄Si ) is mapped into the interval (0, η0P ). Under this construction, ψP ′ has the same
′
′
lower and upper bound of 0 and βφ as φP , and η0P = η0P . We also get γ0A2 P = γ0A1 P = 0. The determination
′
intervals for A2 with respect to P using ψP ′ will be the same as the one A1 uses for P using φP for any system S i.e.
′
S exhibits P ′ if ψP ′ ≥ η0P = η0P , is borderline if ψP ′ is in (0, η0P ) and does not exhibit P ′ only when ψP ′ = ψP = 0.
′
′
The construction of ψP ′ is based only on the clear cases in {S}P
C , and we see that P and P do not correspond to the
same property as they are systems S for which A1 and A2 would make different determinations with respect to P and
P ′ . This further reinforces that the differences in {S}C and {S}C̄ does result in a different description of P and φ. In
the next section, we will explain how the vagueness discussed under our model lays the path for pan-nifty-ism.
2 From Vagueness to Pan-nifty-ism
The title and the content of the paper have been influenced by the quote from Dennett on pan-nifty-ism [4] - “Everything is nifty. Electrons are nifty. Protons are nifty. Molecules are nifty. Pan-nifty-ism.” While Dennett was making
an argument against the metaphysics of panpsychism, we would like to state clearly that the work here cannot and
does not take a position on any metaphysical stance. However our metaphysical stances are influenced by epistemic
information (which includes that provided by a quantification function φ), and quoting Massimo Pigliucci - “..one’s
metaphysical claims should never be too far from one’s epistemic warrants for those claims” [5]. Dennett’s quote thus
inspired this present inquiry into the conditions under which the quantification of X by φ produces results that would
push one towards a metaphyiscal stance of pan-X -ism, backed by the epistemic warrants obtained from φ. Under the
right conditions, when X is ’nifty’, we can go from the quantification of nifty to pan-nifty-ism.
We can build off the special case discussed at the end of the last section. When two observers A1 and A2 share
2
1
6= {} and have the same φX for the property X (not assumed to
= {} and {S}A
the same {S}C , with {S}A
C̄
C̄
either sharp or vague apriori), we know that A1 and A2 will both agree on which S exhibit X according to φX . We
also have that for A1 , a system does not exhibit X only when φX = αX and will be considered borderline for all
values of φX in the interval (αX , η0X ). Now let us assume that in addition to being a faithful quantification, φX
has been favorably constructed to quantitatively distinguish between systems Si and Sj in {S}X
C that matches with
our expectations of X . For example, we have Si smaller than Sj in scale and the observer’s description of X is
such that we get φ(xSi ) << φ(xSj ) as expected. If extremely small systems S gave low values of φ(xS ) such that
αX < φ(xS ) < η0X , then A1 would consider S as a borderline case of X . Furthermore if the low value of φ(xS )
matches with the expectation that smaller systems S should have lower φ(xS ) values than larger systems, then A1 is
led to the conclusion that even extremely small systems like S could exhibit X to a certain amount given by φ(xS )
2
6= {}, who would have determined the same S as a case of
(This would seem erroneous to observer A2 with {S}A
C̄
S
X
not exhibiting X if φ(x ) ≤ γ0 ). If there are systems at the smallest spatial and temporal scales that fall into the
borderline case interval for X , observer A1 will conclude that since X is exhibited at the current smallest scales. And
these results imply that X is a fundamental part of nature exhibited by all systems to some degree - hence laying the
inevitable path to the metaphysical stance of pan-X -ism. A stronger case for X at the fundamental scale could be
2
made if we have systems at this scale with φ(xS ) > γ0X when {S}A
6= {} and γ0X > αX . Note that this would be
C̄
true for any X , if the quantification of X maps on to the cases described earlier. The authors thus conjecture that the
pan-X -ist implications have already been encoded into the structure of the quantification metric.
If X is consciousness, then we can study the path from the quantification of consciousness towards panpsychism. The
study of consciousness is vital and Integrated Information Theory (IIT) [6] is often identified as the first framework
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A PREPRINT - M ARCH 8, 2021
to provide a quantification of consciousness through the use of it’s φIIT metric. It is extremely popular among
panpsychists, since it is the 1st scientific theory of consciousness that seems to imply panpsychism. Though IIT is a
phenomenology based approach, the use of aspects of human consciousness in the postulates, axioms and derivation
of φIIT would serve as the clear case elements of {S}IIT
and be subject to the model in this paper. In IIT, we
C
have φIIT bounded as 0 ≤ φIIT ≤ +∞, with a system being considered to not exhibit consciousness only if
φIIT = 0 and considered to be conscious to varying degree for any φIIT > 0. As a result, IIT assigns consciousness
to a much larger set of systems, many of which we might apriori identify as not being conscious. Now since IIT
is built upon the elements of {S}IIT
and does not seem to apriori identify any system as non-conscious, we have
C
{S}IIT
=
{}.
As
discussed
in
the
previous
section, the difference between whether or not {S}IIT
= {} implies
C̄
C̄
a difference in the ‘consciousness’ quantified by φIIT even when {S}IIT
remains
the
same
in
the
two
cases. In his
C
blogpost about IIT, Scott Aaronson makes the same point [7] - “ On reflection, I firmly believe that a two-state solution
is possible, in which we simply adopt different words for the different things that we mean by “consciousness”—like,
say, consciousnessReal for my kind and consciousnessW T F for the IIT kind. OK, OK, just kidding! How about
“paradigm-case consciousness” for the one and “IIT consciousness” for the other.’ The case of IIT and φIIT maps
well on to the case discussed above and in the previous section. While η0IIT has not been actually calculated, the
existence of {S}IIT
and φIIT ensures that there is a η0IIT . Thus all the systems S with 0 < φIIT < η0IIT now
C
represent borderline cases of exhibiting consciousness (In reality, since a clear η0IIT has not been calculated yet and
γ0IIT = 0, most people simply refer to the system as exhibiting consciousness to certain extent if φIIT > 0). If this
includes systems at very small scales, then we can see how the implication of panpsychism arises. On the other hand,
if we apriori identify which systems are not conscious and hence have {S}IIT
6= {}, we can calculate γ0IIT > 0 using
C̄
IIT
IIT
φIIT and a non-empty {S}C̄ , and determines systems S with φIIT ≤ γ0 as non-conscious systems. With the
suitable choice of {S}IIT
and γ0IIT , we might have φIIT ≤ γ0IIT for extremely small scale systems that will now be
C̄
determined to be a non-conscious system (and thus not attribute consciousness to the fundamental scales). However
with γ0IIT > 0, if we were to find systems at the smallest scales with φIIT > γ0IIT , that would be much stronger
justification for adopting the panpsychist metaphysics. It would thus be erroneous to say that results from IIT imply
panpsychism, since we can see that these have been already built into the construction of {S}IIT
and {S}IIT
from
C
C̄
which φIIT is derived.
3 Discussion
In this work we built a simple model of the quantification of sharpness and vagueness, produced definitions of both
under the model and analyzed the various cases of interest. We also showed that for any X , if the quantification metric
is built under some certain assumptions, then this metric and the underlying framework will provide epistemic backing
for the metaphysical stance of pan-X -ism. When we set X =‘consciousness,’ and use φIIT from Integrated Information
theory within our model, we can lay the path towards panpsychism. There is nothing unique about consciousness or
φIIT , and will work just as well for X =‘nifty’ to pan-nifty-ism. The necessity of whether nifty needs to be quantified
is beyond the scope of this work.
References
[1] Sorensen, Roy, “Vagueness,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1997.
[2] Zimmermann, H-J, and P. Zysno, “Quantifying vagueness in decision models,” European Journal of Operational
Research, 22.2 (1985): 148-158.
[3] Lassiter, Daniel, “Vagueness as probabilistic linguistic knowledge,” International workshop on Vagueness in communication, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2009.
[4] Dennett, Daniel, “Pan-nifty-ism,” YouTube, 2018.
[5] Pigliucci, Massimo, ”The crucial difference between metaphysics and epistemology,” Medium, April 2020.
[6] Oizumi Masafumi, Larissa Albantakis, and Giulio Tononi, “From the phenomenology to the mechanisms of consciousness: integrated information theory 3.0,” PLoS Comput Biol, 10.5 (2014): e1003588.
[7] Aaronson, Scott, “Giulio Tononi and Me: A Phi-nal Exchange," Shtetl Optimised, May 2014.
5 |
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Research Essay
Inherent Subjectivity in Consciousness:
A Functional Role of Acquaintance in Phenomenal Subjectivity (Part I)
Einar L. Halvorsen*
Abstract
"Phenomenal subjectivity" may arguably be describable as a mental state of "having" experience,
taking as premise that such "having" of experience cannot occur without any experiencing state.
Few theorists presently believe that a purely phenomenal kind of subjectivity can be known by
acquaintance. I will test as "straw man", nonetheless, a working hypothesis stating that beliefs in
acquainted knowledge of such phenomenal subjectivity is possible, through acquaintance with a
correspondingly subjective element within the human psyche. The working hypothesis also
implies that the concept CONSCIOUSNESS is possessed variously depending on whether
phenomenal subjectivity as felt to be experienced by acquaintance is "well known" to the
individual. Further still, it implies that the concept I in many cases may be possessed so as to
refer to phenomenal subjectivity, such as the referent phenomenon of the latter term is felt to be
consciously known following acquaintance with it.
Part I of this two-part article includes: 1. Introduction; 2. Background Theory of Self and
Consciousness; and 3. Auto-Experience of Consciousness.
Key Words: Subjectivity, consciousness, functional role, acquaintance, phenomenology.
1. Introduction
I will use the terms "consciousness" and "phenomenal consciousness" interchangeably, believing
Jesse Prinz has established them to be the most sensibly interpreted as synonymous (Prinz, p. 57). The concept CONSCIOUSNESS, further, I understand as describable by the notions
"conscious access" (Dehaene, p. 20-1) and "acquaintance" (Tye, p. 139), here interpreted as
synonyms terms.
The concept QUALIA, as among others Antonio Damasio uses it (Damasio, 2010, p. 256-62),
refers to conscious experience of discrete qualities to experience. David Rosenthal has argued
that qualia may be unconscious (Prinz, p. 144). Because of ambiguity even in light of the AIRtheory (Prinz, p. 126-33), I will specify "phenomenal qualia" when meaning consciously
discernible characteristics.
*Correspondence: Einar L. Halvorsen, Independent Researcher, Germany. Email: EinarLautenHalvorsen@gmail.com
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I believe that the concept I is sensibly understood so as to mean a "subject represented to itself".
Whether that subject is essentially phenomenal of nature and, if so, whether it is knowable by
acquaintance, are questions not answered by that formulation. Those questions will be important
topics of this essay. My working hypothesis holds that both questions can be answered with a
conditional "yes".
As noted in the abstract, I assume a difference between consciousness "to experience" and
consciousness as reflecting the existence of subjectivity, by Prinz called "the phenomenal I"
(Prinz, p. 213-4). I call the former "objective consciousness" and the latter "phenomenal
subjectivity". I see these as two faces of one coin, namely consciousness.
Saying "blue is kept in consciousness" may thus mean "blue is kept among the experiences
which in sum make up consciousness" (objective consciousness). Alternatively, it may mean
"blue is kept among those experiences which consciousness as the conscious subject beholds"
(phenomenal subjectivity).
I read the concept CONSCIOUSNESS so as not to differentiate the above two meanings. The
implicit "duality in oneness" may nonetheless be realizable without experience of subjectivity by
acquaintance, but through a posteriori inference. By every "accessed" experience, there´s
arguably a subjectivity to that experience (Strawson, in Freeman, p. 191).
Subjectivity, if not experienced a priori, may be deduced from the awareness of objectively
conscious experiences combined with the inferred necessity of an instance for which experiences
are being "held". The idea that phenomenal subjectivity may also be experienced a priori by
acquaintance, as brute fact, is what counts as controversial (Prinz, p. 214).
I read Michael Tye so as to express the same reserve (Tye, p. 145). The existence of such
experience, nonetheless, is what I put up as straw man and term "auto-experience". I hereby
purport that auto-experience is often felt as an "attribute" to objectively conscious experiences.
This "attribute", however, can either be strongly present or weakened/absent.
As to this essay´s build-up, the relatively voluminous part two of this essay presents a review of
recent views upon consciousness, the self and their interrelation. That will clarify what
background knowledge I take as mine. I see such clarification as important, providing a sound
theoretical foundation for the following, more hypothetical portions of the essay.
In part three, I present arguments concerning what the notion of "auto-experience" should
sensibly be taken to mean. In part four, I present the idea that one way to "possess" (Tye, p. 41)
the concept I, which more generally implies the presence of "self-consciousness", is expressed by
a belief that it refers to phenomenal subjectivity as experienced by acquaintance.
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2. Background Theory of Self and Consciousness
The coherence and complimentary nature of recent perspectives on consciousness
Single qualia are expressed by "vectorwaves" (Prinz, p. 128-31) occurring in populations of
neurons. Consciousness, however, may ensue first as vectorwaves are modulated by attention
(Prinz, p. 140-3), believed synonymous with certain neuronal activity in the gamma frequency
(Prinz, p. 137) and increasing abruptly by conscious states (Dehaene, p. 130-40). The neuronal
correlates of the consequent, phenomenal qualia are "gamma vectorwaves" (Prinz, p. 141 &
279).
Stanislas Dehaene (p. 21-2) sees attention as separable from consciousness. The notion of
"attention as the process by which perceptual information becomes available to working
memory" (Prinz, p. 95), however, demonstrates how also Prinz thinks attention merely "gives
rise to" consciousness (Prinz, p. 90). He holds "availability to working memory" to be definatory
for consciousness (Prinz, p. 106), whereas encoding not.
The term "gamma synchrony" refers to synchrony of neuronal firing frequencies within neuronal
populations (Prinz, p. 136). The "amplification effect" of non-random synchrony (Prinz, p. 252)
is a pre-requirement for attention and thus consciousness. Resonance is synchronization across
discrete experiential phenomena and sensory modalities (Prinz, p. 254), giving unity of
consciousness (Prinz, p. 243-71).
Gamma frequencies must not exclusively be consciousness or even attention, since gamma only
sometimes allow information to "operate under the control of the brain mechanism that
determine which bits of sensory information can gain access to working memory" (Prinz, p. 143).
A relationally correct depiction of reality, yet wherein the scale is unspecified and specification
of values above zero thus practically irrelevant, could resemble the following:
Attention-controlling brain structures extensively connect to so called "intermediate level areas
of perception" (Prinz, p. 143), yielding "attended, intermediate-level representations" or "AIRs".
Prinz sees attention as necessary and sufficient for making intermediate level representations,
exclusively, conscious (Prinz, p. 89).
Prinz´ notion of AIRs displays similarities with Dehaene´s notion of "samples" (Dehaene, p. 92100). AIRs represent us to the information we need for adaptive purposes, namely perspectival
and coherent perceptions of the world. A sample is a "summary of the best current interpretation
of the world" (Dehaene, p. 92). Both give us versions of reality transcending ambiguities of
initial, subconscious processing.
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5
4
3
Attention
2
Working mem. Availability
1
0
Gamma activity
Working mem. Encoding
Working mem. Availability
Attention
Working mem. Encoding
Gamma activity
AIRs must be "viewpoint-specific" and "available" in order to inform action (Prinz , p. 200-4).
"Samples", next, "cut through ambiguities" hence underlying our ability of "decision-making"
(Dehaene, p. 92-3). Theorizing a close "real world connection" between the two theoretical
conceptions is sensible.
Also at further levels, Prinz´ and Dehaene´s perspectives seem complimentary. Prinz´ thinks
attention, which modulation of AIRs is necessary and sufficient to make conscious, is a
"gatekeeper" to working memory (Prinz, p. 92). Dahaene observes that "working memory and
consciousness seem to be tightly related" as, if arguing with Daniel Dennett, "a main role of
consciousness may be to create lasting thoughts" (Dehaene, p. 100).
The "Damasian" self
Antonio Damasio sees "primordial feelings" as body-referent, originating in evolutionary
archaic, body-representing neuronal structures (Damasio, 2010, p. 21-2). A known concept-pair
is interoception vs. exteroception (Prinz, p. 51). Interoception connotes parameters internal to the
body, like sense of temperature, etc. (Damasio, 2010, p. 190-5).
A subset of interoceptive signals is what generates primordinal feelings (Damasio, 2010, p 191).
Exteroception essentially connotes parameters external to the body, beheld by means of the
externally directed senses. (Damasio, 2010, p. 51). While exteroception is not self-related,
interoception is the essential component of the "proto-self" (Damasio, 2010, p. 190), Damasio
believes.
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Damasio describes two types of so called "first order maps", of external reality and of the
organism (Damasio, 1999, p. 169-70). The latter appears held by Damasio to be synonymous
with the "proto-self" (Damasio, 2010, p. 190). Interoception, however, is too limited to define
that proto-self. The proto-self also maps body-facts, such as information about the body and its
parts as spatio-temporal structures (Damasio, 2010, p. 190-201). Interoceptive maps are
nonetheless what Damasio believes most essentially constitutes the proto-self (Damasio, 2010, p.
195).
The same bodily substrate gives rise to different maps in the brain (Damasio, 1994, p. 232-3).
The somato-sensory texture of the eye´s retina elicits pain if over-stimulated. Simultaneously,
also the visual image displayed on the retina "land" in that very same substrate. So called second
order maps "record" interaction between first order maps of external objects and first order maps
of the body (Prinz, p. 41).
This "recording" of second order maps is the constituent process of the so called "core self"
(Damasio, 2010, p. 22-3). Within this process, interoceptive and other body-related information
as represented in first order maps of the body-self (the proto-self) interact with exteroceptive
information as represented in first order maps of the external world.
Beyond structure, homeostatic regulatory mechanisms yield "biological values" (Damasio, 2010,
p. 46-9) which dictate the affective-emotional significance of stimuli (Damasio, 2010, p. 11114). Biological values may attach to external stimuli within second order maps, yielding
"emotionally competent stimuli" or "ECS" (Damasio, 2003, p. 53).
Viewed globally, such "somatic marking" yields a complex, unified organization of functions
governing attention and indirectly behaviour (Damasio, 1994, p. 196-8). This, one might even
say, is a function of the proto-self, the foundation of the self as a whole, as expressed through
body-representing states (Damasio, 2010, p. 20-6).
Consciousness´ point of entry
Damasio thinks qualia stem from the body as extensions of body cells (Damasio, 2010, p. 2567), yet believes consciousness arises first in second order maps (Prinz, p. 41) at the core self
level (Damasio, 1999, p. 174). If Damasio means phenomenal qualia, this seems like a
contradiction by terms. Prinz, for one, thinks phenomenal qualia can be conscious at the level of
first-order maps (Prinz, p. 42-3).
Following Prinz´ argumentation, if body feelings were conscious first at the level of second order
maps, conscious body feelings would be impossible unless the external source of the body
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feelings is represented in second order maps. When squeezing an arm in a door, however,
representation of the door is not needed to sense the conscious pain.
In the exteroceptive domain, intermediate-level representations (Prinz, p 54) appear to exist,
consciously attended as AIRs, prior to the core self. Otherwise, we wouldn´t perceive the visual
impression of a building or of motion (or perceive music) unless the self is represented as
experiencing it. By states of dissociative "absorption", this appears not to be the case (Howell, p.
19-20).
A question is whether the existence of purely body-related AIRs at the proto-self level is feasible.
Only such AIRs would let conscious bodily states prior to the core self be viewable as coherent
with the AIR-theory. Having developed his views before the AIR-theory came onto the market,
Damasio originally did not have the chance to take stance to that critical question.
Arguably, sensations appear to be perspectival, a requirement for AIRs (Prinz, p. 200-4), if one
knows where in the body a feeling occurs, like by normal, conscious pain. A core self does not
seem necessary for that, only that each constituent body part is represented as it stands in relation
to the body as whole.
There are functio-structural characteristics appearing to grant the fulfilment of this requirement.
These are those above described as non-interoceptive parts of the proto-self, specifically the
"master organism map" and "maps of externally directed sensory portals" (Damasio, 2010, p.
190-201). Potentially, such maps allow "intermediate level representation" (Prinz, p. 50-7), at
"pre-core-self" levels and hence also consciousness to "enter" here.
The neuronal correlates of consciousness
As to the topic of the neuronal correlates of consciousness (Chalmers, 2010, p. 91-100), ggamma
frequencies are present also by sub-conscious processing, yet show a massive increase by
conscious processing (Dehaene, p. 135-6). Dehaene sees such "global ignition" (Dehaene, p.
121-34) as instrumental for consciousness (Dehaene, p. 140).
Consciousness coincides with activation of various brain sites through global ignition, forming a
"distributed brain web", within which only "long-distance loops, bringing in prefrontal and
parietal regions, would create a conscious code" (Dehaene, p 156). Within such a "conscious
code", bidirectional causality (Dehaene, p. 139-40) cause refinement of perception through
sustained mutual, bi-directional exchange" (Dehaene, p. 96).
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An over-simplifying, but for illustrative purposes sufficing model depicting a relationship
between sampling (Dehaene, p. 92) and global ignition could look as follows:
Within the model, even an initial, bottom up sample must be understood as "intermediate level".
Subsequently to this, intermediate level perception appears expressible through the process of
ignition as such. The main question in the following, then, is what the neuronal correlates of
consciousness (NCC) is, within the above model.
If the NCC is the ignition process as a whole, from the first sampling onwards, subliminal
perception (Dehaene, p. 52-88) is not explainable, since ambiguous, merely probabilistic
information is all that exists prior to sampling (Dehaene, p. 92-3).
The NCC could alternatively appear at a threshold within the process of global ignition (one
sufficient for granting access to working memory). Subliminal perception would then require
degrees of ignition, an idea similarly at odds with knowledge (Dehaene, p. 119).
If the NCC would be "upwards" sampling (Dehaene, p. 139) responsible for presenting
unambiguous percepts, possibly also taking place by means of gamma activity, subliminal
perception would apparently have to be conscious. This is a contradiction by terms.
The NCC, however, could possibly be further gamma modulation causing top-down responses to
present samples (Dehaene, p. 139-40), thereby triggering or sustaining ignition. This differs from
top down, a-consciously defined attention ("scanning" for samples), which may occur without
global ignition and in the absence of bottom up sampling (Dehaene, p. 140).
One may believe such top-down responses to "check that the input is consistent with the current
interpretation at a higher level" (Dehaene, p. 140). If the NCC is thus constituted by top down
responses releasing or sustaining ignition as reaction to samples, subliminal perception is
understandable as occurrences of sampling bottom up not releasing ignition.
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How, however, can we then explain that binocular rivalry (where sampling is present) vanishes
by anesthesia (Dehaene, p. 96-8)? Dahaene sees this as a problem, believing global ignition is
necessary for sampling, since he claims consciousness is necessary for sampling (Dehaene, p.
98). Based on Dehaene himself (p. 92-100), however, seeing consciousness as necessary for
sampling rather than conversely seems unwarranted.
The awareness of conscious percepts described by binocular rivalry (Dehaene, p. 98) should
require ignition, since per definition conscious. Attention as a-consciously defined, could be all
which is required for sampling. Moreover, that could be what is dysfunctional by anesthesia.
Consciousness could potentially then follow exclusively after some initial sampling, as samples
get "selected" for global ignition and thus for conscious access.
To clear further inconsistencies between the present suggestion and the AIR-theory, we must
look at the meaning of "AIRs". Are they bottom up "samples"? Gamma could be involved in
sampling. Attention may be non-conscious. Prinz, however, sees attention of intermediate level
representations as sufficient for consciousness and hence per definition conscious (Prinz, p. 86).
The consciousness-requirement being the leading for AIRs, one could alternatively ask if AIRs
exclusively are top-down gamma modulation of present samples? That would allow bottom up
samples, describable as unconsciously attended intermediate representations, but without being
AIRs.
The above description chiefly corresponds to the NCC as according to the AIR theory (Prinz, p.
123-45). For coherence with Dahaene´s view, however, AIRs must be more narrowly defined,
since subconscious attention may modulate qualia as vector waves. This is something not
mentioned by Prinz as he introduces the concept AIR (Prinz, p. 89-99).
Having reached this far, one may also go another step further: Attention, a-consciously defined,
can occur without global ignition (Dehaene, p. 74-6). Can it, however, do so even following
bottom up sampling? A "yes" makes the present description the most coherent and would also
support Dahaene´s view that global ignition simply is the NCC. There could be unconscious,
bidirectional, bottom-top exchanges without global ignition and thus without consciousness.
This reality description removes the above mentioned hurdle to accepting global ignition as the
NCC; that subliminal perception would seem unexplainable due to the exclusive existence of
ambiguous, probabilistic perception prior to sampling. This no longer remains a naturally given
consequence, given that bidirectional exchanges (implying a "sampling process"), including top
down activity, actually take place without ignition. Conversely, even bottom up activity, if part
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of global ignition, could thus be part of the NCC, since being part of ignition makes it more than
"mere" sampling.
In light of the above, what we would need for Dehaene and Prinz´ to cohere is simple. We must
refine the definition of AIRs as "intermediate level representations part of ignition". This, as
alternative to Prinz´ definition: "Intermediate level representations modulated by attention".
In the introduction, it was left open whether qualia are separable from their phenomenal
experience. The above discussions allows sampled qualia to be definable as non-AIR. They may
reflect bottom-up / top-down activity not releasing global ignition, whereas such ignition is
necessary for consciousness.
If thus defined, qualia may apparently exist without consciousness, although the converse does
not naturally follow. True, Prinz thinks consciousness is necessary for qualia, but he explicitly
defines qualia as such (Prinz, p. 332-3). It is not given that his definition is universally accepted.
Separability of self and consciousness
To the extent that consciousness and self are separable, also the notion of auto-experience (to be
discussed in the next heading) will be irreducible to any process relying on the self or "selfconsciousness", as in "self as consciousness turning conscious of self as consciousness". The
latter formulation is one derivable from an assumption like Damasio´s, that self and
consciousness are essentially ontologically inseparable (2010, p. 256-9).
Damasio´s perspective allows the existence of non-conscious self-functions, including ones
causing attentional and behavioural modulation. One known example is subconscious somatic
marking (Damasio, 1994, p. 184-5). This takes place at the core self level, since exteroceptive
perception may activate biological values through ECSs, using an "as-if-loop" (Damasio, 1999,
p. 279-84).
Conversely, by dissociative, deeply absorbed, hypnotic or sleeping dream states, a "normal"
subsumption of such conscious experience under the umbrella of a self-conscious "I" arguably
lacks, which perspectivity I will later argue is defined by and through the self. This is not enough
to finally conclude, however.
By meditation, the practice of "bare attention" (Thera, p. 30-45) is a method to attain a mode of
conscious attention functioning autonomously of intrinsic dispositions (Epstein, p. 113). That is,
autonomously of the self´s attention-regulating functions. It is a goal to reach a state of "I-less"
(aka not self-conscious), yet highly conscious experience (Epstein. p. 84).
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This describes a flow of conscious subjectivity without self, apparently supporting the notion that
self and consciousness are separable. However, since biological values constitutes that which
decide action tendencies, the self should be the source of volition used in pursuit and training of
such a mode of consciousness. That the self should aid something not part of itself seems contraintuitive, however.
The apparent self-contradiction wanes, nonetheless, if the self benefits consciousness in some
manner. This is indeed plausible, in the sense that consciousness grants increased capacities of
adaption. Granted the two must thus not be "part and parcel" of another, separability of self and
consciousness is conceivable, in contradiction of Damasio. Phenomenal subjectivity and autoexperience must have nothing to do with the Damasian self.
3. Auto-Experience of Consciousness
The notion of a phenomenal subject
The concept SUBJECT (and derivate SUBJECTIVITY) should be clarified as to the presently
intended, phenomenal meaning. It is not here meant to describe any "perspectivity" (Graumann,
in Graumann & Kallmeyer, p. 25-40), as definable for "selves" from intermediate levels (Prinz,
p. 203) of the proto-self (Damasio, 2010, p. 190) onwards. In a minimalist sense, phenomenal
subjectivity is definable simply as a mental state of "having" conscious experience.
Such "having" of experience can be indicated as a "what-it-is-likeness for someone-orsomething" (Strawson, in Freeman, p.189). True, there is a perspectival aspect to all single cases
of having experience, but this is arguably not the defining element of phenomenal subjectivity.
The "someone or something" is merely the ontological counterpart of "having" in a "thin"
(Strawson, in Freeman, p. 191-3) sense, meaning specifiable or enduring perspectivity, such as
that of a self, is not the essential thing about it.
Galen Strawson describes the essence of subjectivity as understood in the thin sense: "if there
could, say, be pain-experience - massive, appalling, avoidable, wholly useless pain - without any
subject of experience, there would be no point in stopping it, because no one, no someone-orsomething would be suffering" (Strawson, in Freeman, p. 191).
Prinz questions the notion that "there is no experience without an experiencer" (Prinz, p. 220).
When "losing ourselves", he writes, "we don´t stop thinking" (Prinz, p. 221). By "absorption"
(Howell, p. 19), as I read that, we don´t stop having experiences, including those of thoughts.
This, however, allows the existence of a not self-conscious phenomenal subject.
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Prinz argues further that the "I´s" existence has no acquainted referents, no "I-qualia". Only
qualities of perception, sensation and emotion are constituents of experience, he writes (Prinz, p.
214). Still, he does not hereby touch upon the topic of whether phenomenal subjectivity exists,
only upon an epistemological concern (Prinz, p. 213-14). Phenomenal subjectivity remains
potentially realizable, yet by inference, not by acquaintance (Prinz, p. 215).
Auto-experience
I elsewhere expressed a belief that consciousness may experience "itself" (as subject) by
acquaintance (Halvorsen, p. 136-7). That idea is what Prinz essentially disputes (Prinz, p. 20134). If direct acquaintance with phenomenal subjectivity occurs, nonetheless, it should arguably
take place "pre self".
Terms like "itself", "own experience", "self-experience" and even "I" should thus be avoided
when dealing with auto-experience. Naturally, they are all conceptual representations of
"something" either fully or partially deriving identity from the self. Arguably, thus, Prinz causes
a degree of conceptual unclarity, talking about a "phenomenal I" (Prinz, p. 213) rather than
something like here; a "phenomenal subject".
By general consideration, auto-experience should never refer to consciousness as a conceptually
represented phenomenon. To the degree that auto-experience would require representation, the
subject-side of consciousness could arguably not be conveyed. Any subject represented naturally
turns into a representational object.
Clearly, there is no such thing as a "representational subject". If subjectivity gets represented,
auto-experience as inner display of an ontologically given subjectivity will arguably be replaced
by an epistemological problem of how to know whether the given representation "really" has
phenomenal subjectivity as referent. One might feel the represented phenomenon to have it, but
doubt may be elicited.
Maybe auto-experience is describable, but merely by approximation, assuming the same degree
of non-reducibility to descriptions of its phenomenal experience as may pertain to
"consciousness" generally (Tye, p. 1). I´ll here hold auto-experience to be describable as a
consciously experienced "feeling of existence". The term "existence" might be possessed so as to
indicate "having experience" while the term "feeling" might be possessed so as to indicate
acquaintance.
The notion "feeling", nonetheless, cannot be separated from that of "existence". Phenomenal
subjectivity as aspect of consciousness is not a "self" or otherwise something which, in addition
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to existing, "has" experience. Experience is its essential and sole nature and thus directly
underpins its status as existent. As to auto-experience as the experience by acquaintance of this,
however, further specification is needed.
Auto-experience, off course, must pr. definition be a conscious experience. That is, phenomenal
subjectivity is available to working memory as a "brute quality" (Chalmers, 1996, p. 291)
through auto-experience, thus potentially denotable as a "demonstrative concept" (Sainsbury
&Tye, p. 13-14), such as THAT, when awareness occurs.
The originating use of a demonstrative concept may later come to be possessed so as to be the
referent of some shared concept (Sainsbury & Tye, 40-4). We may thus assume the existence of
concepts which are believed to refer to auto-experience, either fully or partially. I believe the
concepts I and CONSCIOUSNESS to be the central such concepts.
Seeking understanding of auto-experience
I elsewhere used the experience of light as analogy for what I call auto-experience (Halvorsen, p.
136). I suggested that "focus" upon the sum total of all "brightness" as an independently existing,
global phenomenon could be an apt symbol for such experience. Such a focus, then, as opposed
to a focus upon light merely in and through what it represents as "medium", namely discrete
objects.
A complication to that is that consciously aware perception of light as "overarching"
phenomenon may take place. All light, as a universal "gestalt" or "object", may be perceptively
abstracted and represented as the concept LIGHT. Auto-experience should refer to something
also existing independently of any conceptualization.
Conscious, perceptual experience without conscious, conceptual representation should be
possible. What may turn conscious are products of subconscious perception (Dehaene, p. 92).
Further, consciousness is defined as availability to, not as encoding in, working memory (Prinz,
p. 106).
We act upon perceptions we are not aware of, like during "highway-hypnosis" (Howell, p. 20).
Conscious or unconscious, events and objects then remain just available to working memory
(Prinz, p. 99-102). This also sounds like what may take place during states of trance, hypnosis
(Howell, p. 32-3) and arguably dreaming sleep.
The state may also be described as consciousness without a self-conscious "I". Dieter Vaitl
describes "absorption" according to similar terms (Vaitl. p. 206-9). Auto-experience, in its
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defining essence, should similarly occur as a conscious but not aware state. The sum-of-lightanalogy could here still find a conditional use.
It is just as fruitful, nevertheless, to ask what takes place additionally to (or "behind") conceptual
thought as to ask what is there in its absence. The "strength" of objectively conscious qualia, like
the chromatic intensity or colour saturation (Finkeldei, online) could hypothetically be a factor
correlating with auto-experience, albeit not likely as sole, decisive variable.
A perspective like here indicated could also cohere with Zen-philosophy. Eckhart Tolle indicates
that meditation leads to the ceasing of the psyche´s compulsive orientation of attention around
"thought" (Tolle, p. 14-17). This is even described (Tolle, p. 96-8) to yield a feeling of
"presence", apparently close to that of "existence", indicative of auto-experience.
Neuronal correlates of auto-experience
The model which follows is hypothetical. It has as goal to aim at possibility of a neuro-functional
correlate to auto-experience. Neuronal interconnections are shown, each arrow representing a
single neuronal cell. The gaps between these are directly analogical to those of neuronal
synapses (Klinke & Silbernagl, p. 60-77). I tentatively call the model the "top-top model of autoexperience".
In a potential, neuro-functional reality corresponding to the model, within the so called "red"
activity, contents of consciousness get changed only at the "top point". The changes may thus not
be felt as founded in the body or senses, but as a "given" within a circular and hence autonomous
process. The conscious contents of the circular ("red") activity could be felt as "dissociated" from
the natural, bodily-sensual base of experiential contents.
Within the so called "black" activity, taken alone, the subjectivity inherent to all conscious
experience is "too close" to the objective content to be felt as separable from it. That notion
directly reflects Prinz´ notion that what he termed "I-qualia" are impossible (Prinz, p. 214).
Phenomenal subjectivity is there if inherent to consciousness, but no knowledge of this by
acquaintance. The only thing known by acquaintance are objective contents of consciousness.
Clearly, there is a situation analogical to that description also concerning the "red" activity, seen
isolated.
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Both "black" and "red" activity being conscious, however, one will be acquainted with
experiential phenomena through the "black" activity and additionally with an, as if
"superimposed" replication of those phenomena within the "red" activity. The "red" activity is
not just a medium for experiential contents, for which the "black" activity would suffice. The
"red" activity could thus be felt as "something extra"; as an epiphenomenal "presence". The
"sum-of-light-analogy" may find its conditional use right here, as meaning "the-sum-of-redactivity".
Some could argue against the latter notion, that "red" activity as such can´t be conscious, only
the contents of "red" activity as consciously experienced. In order to counter that argument,
neuro-functionally, there must be a two way street between "red" activity and some other, also
conscious state ("black" activity). That, furthermore, is provided by the above model, granted
that "black" activity as part of ignition is also "conscious".
Relative to "black" activity, "red" activity may be recognized as "other". This may occur due to a
minimal discrepancy of contents, as following due to the delay of bottom up input to the "red"
activity. Summarizing, "red" activity could be felt as an instance of conscious experience being
"present" or "existing" and in its own right also "having" the experiences inherent initially to the
"black" activity.
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Contours of a hypothesis of auto-experience
According to the presented model, experiencing "red" activity by acquaintance would be
synonymous with feeling as if experiencing the phenomenal subject. I write feeling "as if"
because one may still argue that the phenomenal subjectivity as inherent in all conscious
experience, "black" and "red" activity alike, may not be experienced by acquaintance.
That is, one may argue that one merely experiences an "intra-psychic object" having experiences
of its own, although that "having" implies subjectivity. This issue pertains to the so called "hard
problem" (Chalmers, 2010, p. 3-6), and may here be unnecessarily over-complicating. What I
purport to explain, essentially, is a mechanism allowing phenomenal judgments that phenomenal
subjectivity is acquainted, as being based on actual acquaintance with a corresponding "function
of phenomenal subjectivity".
Summarizing the more pragmatic implications of the present perspective, by objective
consciousness I believe that one notes consciousness as something "similar across experiences",
thus experienced to be a unitary phenomenon; "consciousness". I believe, furthermore, that the
concept CONSCIOUSNESS will be differently possessed (Tye, p. 41), if auto-experience is
involved.
One idea is that phenomenal subjectivity acquainted through auto-experience reflects one half of
a full possession of the concept CONSCIOUSNESS. Possessing the concept merely as objective
consciousness reflects a partial possession. If the concept CONSCIOUSNESS is possessed fully,
one should "grasp" its subjective nature by acquaintance as a "brute fact".
If merely objective consciousness is felt a priori, realizing that "consciousness" may refer to
conscious subjectivity should only occur a posteriori. Insight into the essential object-subject
duality of conscious experience then has to be based on inference of the logical necessity of a
"subjective element" to "having" experience, as linked to that objectively conscious experience.
(Continued on Part II)
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Research Essay
Super-ego & the Neuroscience of Empathy:
From Unconscious Wish to Manifest Behavior
- A New Human Model
Richard L. Norman*
Abstract
This paper will detail a new model of empathetic dynamism and affect control derived from
historical, neuroscientific and psychological perspectives. The transference from unconscious
sources which creates the particular subjective qualitative instantiation of conscious experience
is addressed, and a new construction of personality put forward. In this way the potential
endemic ethical basis of human behavior can be specified, and its unfortunate dissociation in the
modern case more precisely understood. A specific example of the unconscious associative
attachments of unified personality is then revealed, allowing direct insight into the basis of the
hidden formative aspects of the unconscious to conscious transference to be studied in an
integrated example. The startling and hopeful implications of these insights for the human
condition are specified.
Keywords: Super-ego, neuroscience, empathy, unconscious will, manifest behavior, new model.
Introduction
This paper will reveal the psychological and neuroscientific basis of insights which have been
derived from close to a decade of personal analysis and study. It is necessarily written at points,
in a style which is somewhat more laden with affect than is typical in scientific writing. This is
necessary, as we are discussing affect and affective states, and one might most deeply
communicate the tone of affective states to use not only analytic, but also more direct language
to achieve affective resonance in the reader. For this reason, and because what follows is in
large part derived from personal analysis, the first person is sometimes used. I do hope the
reader will forgive these small stylistic anomalies. The following information has direct bearing
on the neuroscientific and psychological basis of the most troubling social aspects and manifest
pathological behaviors which plague modern man.
Some seven years past, I had developed a psychoanalytic technique named Native
Psychoanalysis which allowed me to clear away a window of resistance and directly observe in
myself what should be unconscious content (Norman 2011, 2013b). This methodology is the
basis of a second technique, Re-Polarization Theory (Norman, 2013a) which has permitted the
alteration of pathology through curtailment of the basis of repression, super-ego, and hence
allowed repressed unconscious material to be directly accessed and past memories reformed and
altered. The transference which creates the quality of each moment of experience is in part a
*Correspondence: Richard L. Norman, Independent Researcher. Email: editor@thejournalofunconsciouspsychology.com
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function of memory (Norman 2015, 2016) and, to heal from damage, those memories must be
changed. Within us all, is our personal history and that of our entire race. To observe the hidden
interactions and effects which produce our behaviors and alter the restrictions which have been
built into us as modern humans, has demonstrated to me what are the deepest foundations of
human illness. These traits are second order manifestations of imbalance. It need not be so. The
hope of man is in finding what has been obscured beneath a tragic and ill past. Health can be
unearthed and again, just as it was so long ago, be brought to a position of predominance in the
mind of man. Our hope is an atavistic evolution.
Super-ego: of Conscience, Morality, Ethic & Illness, the Neuroscience & History
There is debate in the field of psychology about many things. This uncertainty is often the result
of the nature of unconscious processes and content, which by definition cannot be observed. To
have gained access to this hidden information has resolved these issues. The answers are quite
plain. Unconscious content is always specific and the intersubjective notion that it is unnamable
or indistinct is incorrect (Brown, 2011, Norman 2011, 2013a,b). Those mistaken views are only
a wish not to see these things. There is good reason for that error; the repressed content is more
disturbing than can be described. Mere exposure to it destroys ego structure permanently, and
may also be used to destroy the structure of super-ego at the deepest levels (Norman 2013a).
This knowledge shatters personality in a permanent way. The unconscious content revealed
closely parallels the Freudian picture. The operations of the unconscious mind are specific, just
as are its contents. In no case are these things indistinct.
In intersubjective psychology much is made of the idea of alpha function (Brown, 2011). Unlike
the questionable intersubjective ideas concerning the unconscious and its lack of omnipresent
specificity, the notion of alpha function is sound. Alpha function does have the effects supposed,
and can transform memories and current experience (Norman 2013, 2013a, 2014, 2015a, 2016a).
Just as hypothesized, it is created via the exchange of gaze and glance in the early mother/child
dyad. I have uncovered the circuitry which supports alpha function and made a surprising series
of discoveries concerning its use and effects:
a. Unlike the intersubjective approach, it is necessary to apply and engage the circuitry
manually with symbolism (Norman 2013, 2013a, 2015a, 2016a,b), and then attach the
function directly to a piece of pathogenic unconscious content, often USING a (physically
bound untransformed) beta element [this permits direct usage of energies bound into
untenable forms such as those ego dystonic pathological/perverse drives created in sexual
abuse];
b. To access the circuitry via the symbolized initial impression of its innervation (Norman
2013, 2013a, 2015a, 2016a,b), subsequently increases both exploratory interest in the
world corresponding to Panksepp’s SEEKING system (Panksepp, 1998), and forms
manifest empathy toward all things and people;
c. Intelligence blossoms as never seen before and interest in all aspects of life and reality,
sexual, artistic and and intellectual, suddenly flourish, whereas previously these aspects
were greatly if not completely diminished.
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Modern man, is controlled, made dull and obedient, cold and empty via a homeostatic imbalance
across specific circuit pathways, which has long been built into him from history both
ontogenetic and phylogenetic: super-ego. First I will present a brief circuit analysis within the
context of the transference, then the history from two fronts. From there a definition of ethics as
contrasted to authoritative moral mandate can be derived and specific conclusions and examples
provided.
Curiously, there is a very limited amount of cogent neuroscientific information concerning the
common basis of the problem: guilt as it is expressed across the circuitry and active anatomy of
the brain. This fundamental aspect of neurosis, social control and sexual expression so deeply
intertwined with the very basis of affect regulation itself, seems to be absent in neuroscientific
literature and review. Strange that the most important of all neuroscience is not made available in
close detail. I have derived the missing information from many sources, and may now present
the highly condensed and simplified results. Please contact me for further detail.
The Transference
The psychological notion of ‘transference’ is most clearly seen in the artificial therapeutic
situation of psychoanalysis as the familiar transference neurosis. However transference
phenomena are most assuredly not limited to this case of artificial functional pathology, but are
responsible for the healthy and unhealthy qualitative aspects of perception and experience itself
(Norman 2011, 2013a,b, 2015, 2016). Just as the neurotic in proper psychoanalytic therapy
displays the repetition compulsion and his fixations in an artificially induced neurosis which
defines their reality within therapy, so does the healthy case from his more fluid memory and
experience project outward his or her definition of the world and experience in a flexible,
dynamic, associative, non-linear process (Norman 2011, 2013b, 2015).
This transference which binds current perception to associated qualitative valence as an affective
distributional function of memory is available to observe in its foundational anatomical
formative innervations and their resultant allocational functions as stemming from circuit
architecture created in the first 18 months of life (Norman 2013, 2013a, 2014, 2016a). During
this initial period of development the groundwork is laid for the core of affective expression and
restriction throughout later life. This represents primary human unconscious autonomically
interdigitated regulatory functionality, as extending from the foundational innervations of
Schore’s dopaminergic "sympathetic ventral tegmental limbic" circuit, and also, the
noradrenergic "parasympathetic lateral limbic" circuit, which act in tandem to opposite effects
(Schore, as cited in Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002, pp. 234-235, 237). These two circuits span
the limbic and Orbito-Frontal regions to imbue experience with basic valence, and delegate or
perhaps restrict positive dopaminergic affective expression in response to social cues, meaning
shame and then guilt. This oppositional circuit balance, over all, creates either a foundational
basis of repression which is associated with amygdala activation, Corticotrophin Releasing
Factor and stress, or, if balanced differently toward predominant activity of the sympathetic
circuit, to permit feelings of elation and explorational behavior (Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002;
Panksepp 1998; Norman 2014, 2016a). These two circuits then are the foundational basis of
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expressed guilt, social control, sexual expression, health and happiness and, are mediated by
social cues, meaning: conditional regard.
It is now thought that mirror neurons are the neural substrate of empathy. This is incorrect.
Mirror neurons signify mere imitation, as distinct from empathy as can be seen in cases of
catatonics who display echopraxia, which is based in mirror neuronal response (Bengston 2015;
Rizzolatti et al., 2008). A catatonic is not empathizing with the attending physician to reflexively
imitate his motions, although imitation is an obvious sub-function under a primary empathy.
Empathy is akin to identification proper, and is first evidenced in the indistinct pre-individuated
period characteristic of initial limbic/OFC circuit innervation, not of the expression of the
sympathetic circuitry mentioned, but in the impression of its primary innervation (Norman 2013,
2014, 2016a). This is the basis of empathy: a primary identification with the world and each
other (see below). This in turn, is the very foundation of subsequent energetic circuit expression.
It is this which is so sharply curtailed in the painful guilt of conditional regard: the very basis of
energetic expression, and empathetic connection.
Clearly, these are the exact basis
malformations responsible for lack of caring within human relationships.
The curtailment of energetic expression as a function of super-ego, affective restriction due to
what we may colloquially refer to as conscience, is the basis of modern morality stemming from
primary conditional regard. It may clearly be seen from this vantage that such moral restriction
is opposed to empathetic expression, and is instead aligned with obedience to external authority.
This is a sure basis of modern afflictions such as neurosis. Modern man is controlled through,
and suffers from, a permanent low-grade homeostatic imbalance created via improper and
unhealthy energetic circuit allocations: Guilt. This is the locus of the problem.
Rights to caring, love, sexual contact and life itself in male and female cases, were traditionally
ascribed to the authority of the father, and now phylogenetic and epigenetic underpinnings of
patriarchal threat enforce pathology from unconscious sources (Norman 2011, 2013, 2013a,
2014, 2015b,c,d,e; Dodds 1973). This pathology stands in opposition to permission and rights to
the caring of the mother, which once formed the initial basis relationship in both male and
female cases. The feeling of human dissociation and anxious threat engendered by super-ego
and authority may be replaced with a feeling of empathy and safety, warmth and relaxation.
Health may replace the source of illness.
Affective regulatory analysis
Schore has discovered two circuits which are primary in development, and function in opposition
to each other: the dopaminergically modulated sympathetic ventral tegmental limbic circuit, and
the noradrenergically modulated lateral parasympathetic tegmental limbic circuit (Schore as cited
in Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002, p. 234-235). The sympathetic circuit, which I propose
underlies intersubjective Alpha Function (Brown, 2011; Norman 2013, Norman 2014) is formed,
much as Bion had supposed, as a function of the dyadic exchange between infant and mother of
glance and gaze, and we will add an inference which is quite obvious and easily supported
(Keverene, et al., 1989; Montagu, 1978; Panksepp, 1998, p.272) as infants engaged in the
exchange of maternal glances are usually being held, that maternal touch and the subsequent
addition of neuropeptides/endorphins also have a part to play in creating the result.
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"It is hypothesized that maternal regulated high intensity socioaffective stimulation
provided in the ontogenetic niche, specifically occurring in dyadic psychobiologically
attuned, arousal amplifying, face to face reciprocal gaze transactions, generates and
sustains positive affect in the dyad. These transactions induce particular neuroendocrine
changes which facilitate the expansive innervation of deep sights in orbitofrontal areas,
especially in the early maturing visuospatial right hemisphere, of ascending subcortical
axons of a neurochemical circuit of the limbic system––the sympathetic ventral
tegmental limbic circuit.” [Schore as cited in Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002, p. 234]
The famous studies from the 1940's conducted by Spitz (Spitz in Bowlby, 1980; Panksepp,
1998, p. 262) may well imply the primacy of this developmentally innervated brain circuitry
extends to include the most basic dependence: that of life itself. Specifically: if deprived of
maternal touch and gaze, the infant may well die. The sympathetic tegmental limbic circuit is
dopaminergically modulated, and can rightly be thought of as a primary manifestation of
libidinal excitation and discharge (Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002, p. 237). It should be noted that
the dopaminergic and opioid systems and circuitry which respond to create the good feelings
which reinforce socially mediated behavior, both involve many of the same areas, such as the
ventral tegmental area, where the A-10 meso-limbic dopamine cells are located (Panksepp, 1998,
p. 118). Neuropeptides, such as the endogenous opioids including beta-endorphin which is
triggered by social cues and touch, have a primary role in creating social bonds, quelling pain,
both physical and mental, are key in alleviating separation distress, creating sexual reward, and
addictive reinforcement (Panksepp, 1998, p. 255, 264). So we can see here, in the formation of
the sympathetic ventral limbic circuit triggered by maternal exchanges of glance, sight and
touch, a source of libido, an energetic dopaminergic circuit which up-mediates arousal and
shapes behavior, formed presumably by way of allocating both endorphins and those
neuroendocrine functions involved with encouraging the substantial innervations of
dopaminergic projections into orbitofrontal areas. Here, in the activity of the completed circuit,
along with the peptide systems, dopamine and opioids serve their reward and motivational
functions as social and energetic contributors.
The contrary circuit, the parasympathetic lateral limbic circuit, is to be thought of as a balance, a
cut off, a competing inhibitory system to counter the rewarding energetic expression of the
sympathetic circuit (Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002 p. 237). This circuit functions to stop our
energetic libidinal expression: functional, conditional, affect regulation in response to social cues
(Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002, pp. 234-238) and so, can best be understood as the physiological
structure triggered by social disapproval: by shame and guilt. Both of these circuits are
innervated into the orbitofrontal areas, which mediate social cues and functioning, just as one
would expect.
As the infant progresses through the initial 18 month period, during which the sympathetic and
parasympathetic limbic circuits are fully formed, the infant masters several stages of
differentiation.
It is now accepted through the work of Klein (1952) and empirical
demonstration that a developmental/behavioral correlation at the age of four months exists
between infants categorized as attachment secure or disorganized, "dis-coordinated"
[disorganized in the sense of being unable to properly integrate the intermeshed and exclusive
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psychical manifestations of separation RAGE and FEAR as they conflict and inhibit SEEKING
and CARE] (Hopkins, 2013, p. 47). The infant at this stage singles out the mother as a separate
object which is essential for CARE, and that this fact is then made evident by the manifestations
of separation-RAGE and stranger-FEAR, which become manifest at 7-8 months of age (Hopkins,
2013, p. 47). To observe firsthand, the interactions between mother and infant, the effect is
obvious to casual observation: the mother's face is the infant's entire world, once indistinct as an
object, now, once engaged in the exchange of gaze, touch and glance, only semi-distinct from
himself, her face responds to his affects and anticipates as if part of himself, as if the world itself
were a loving extension of the infant, a responsive and inclusive extension of himself. Here, we
see the essence of empathy: identification with the world. Note that I make no mention of the
less important distinction of identification with mankind, which is a small and far less important
embedded sub-aspect, itself associated in some small imitative part with mirror neurons, a subaspect of this most vital and needful result, identification with the entire of the world––Empathy
(Norman, 2013; 2014; 2016a). It is this which we will substitute for the pathogenic content.
I hope the reader can make out the basic idea: social control via conditional regard is enforced by
way of curtailment of dopaminergic (and endogenous opioid) expression associated with the
sympathetic limbic/OFC circuitry, forming a permanent homeostatic imbalance which restricts
empathetic feeling, intelligence, sexuality and exploratory interest in the world, and places in
their stead a preemptive condition: obedience to authority. Only meeting this condition of
obedience will return health and happiness to the modern human.
Intelligence and
empathy…hope itself, this ancient basis of life formed long ago in the early interactions with the
mother…it is no less than this basis of kindness, caring and higher thought to which we are all
entitled which has been curtailed.
Now I will briefly take account of but a small sample of the extensive history which has
inculcated this most basic and tragic error into the very heart, substance and epigenetic
expression of the afflicted modern human. I will briefly sum up that here, and distill the resultant
notions into a clear contrast in human existential/ontological formative paradigms. From there,
the implications can be clearly understood, and the better, happy result made plain in example.
Super-ego
". . . to ‘improve’ men: this above all was called morality. . . To call the taming of an
animal its ‘improvement’ sounds almost like a joke to our ears. Who ever knows what
goes on in menageries doubts that the beasts are ‘improved’ there. They are weakened,
they are made less harmful, and through the depressive effect of fear, through pain,
through wounds, and through hunger they become sickly beasts. It is no different with
the tame man..." Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols.
What is the precise interactive dynamic which yields the developmental result of conscience, of
super-ego in its punitive aspects, and, how are we to interpret this result as to its pathogenic and
healthful consequences?
E. R. Dodds, a superb scholar, has located for us the historical footprints which demonstrate the
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formation of our modern conscience, our super-ego. Super-ego is an introjected entity, an
internalized representative of what was once long ago external judgment and sadistic penalty.
Morality, as inculcated at the behest of this internalized structure, is based on punishment which
extends from a particular source.
In his most worthy book, The Greeks and the Irrational, E. R. Dodds, draws the strings of
history and psychology together for us. This ugly imprint has been nurtured over thousands and
thousands of years. Its exact source is clear to discern with Dodds's careful examination of the
historical record.
"The head of the household is its king . . . and his position is described by Aristotle as
analogous to that of a king. Over his children his authority is in early times unlimited:
he is free to expose them in infancy, and in manhood to expel an erring or rebellious
son from the community . . . as Zeus himself cast out Hephaestos from Olympus for
siding with his mother." [Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational, pp. 45-46. Emphasis
added.]
However, as early as the 6th century BC, the situation had begun to change, and as social
conditions began to improve, and the father's authority became less and less absolute in the face
of these new social conditions leading to increased personal freedom, the strict authoritarian
structure of family life began to loosen. Now, what was a shame based dynamic, one based on
external threat from the father, becomes a guilt based dynamism, one based on an internalized
threat, an internalized moral structure in the true modern sense of the word emerges: super-ego.
This is demonstrated by the need for laws introduced by Solon, and later, by Plato, to safeguard
the now threatened patriarchal family structure. [Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational, p. 46.]
Super-ego uses severe repressions to create by internal means, what were behaviors, inhibitions
and restrictions previously brought about by external patriarchal threat. Dodds fleshes the idea
out as follows:
"The peculiar horror with which Greeks viewed offenses against a father, and the
peculiar religious sanctions to which the offender was thought to be exposed, are in
themselves suggestive of strong repressions. So are the many stories in which a father's
curse produces terrible consequences––stories like those of Phoenix, of Hippolytus, of
Pelops and his sons, of Oedipus and his sons––all of them, it would seem, products of a
relatively late period where the position of the father was no longer entirely secure.
Suggestive in a different way, is the barbarous tale of Kronos and Ouranos . . . the
mythological projection of unconscious desires is surely transparent––as Plato perhaps
felt when he declared that this story was fit to be communicated only to a very few . . .
and should at all costs be kept from the young." [Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational,
pp. 46-47.]
Dodds then assembles the entire picture for us in these words:
"The psychologists have taught us how potent a source of guilt feelings is the pressure
of unacknowledged desires. . . the human father had from the earliest times his heavenly
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counterpart: Zeus pater. . . Zeus appears as a Supernatural Head of the Household. . . it
was natural to project onto the heavenly Father those curious mixed feelings about the
human one the child dare not acknowledge. . . that would explain very nicely why the
Archaic Age Zeus appears by turns to be the inscrutable source of good and evil gifts
alike. . . as the awful judge. . .who punishes inexorably the capitol sin of self-assertion,
the sin of hubris. (This last aspect corresponds to that phase in the development of
family relations when the authority of the father is felt to need the support of a moral
sanction; when "You will do it because I say so" gives place to "You will do it because
it is right.") [Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational, p. 48.]
Here in this historical transition from an external shame based ethical structure, to an internalized
guilt based structure, in this internalization of the patriarchal threat (introjection), we see the
creation of our modern ethic, our conscience, our masochistic capitulation: our super-ego. This
historical basis for our phylogenetic inheritance can be brought to light and assessed as to its
healthy or pathogenic contribution by way of economic analysis, and clinical example (Norman,
2013).
Conscience, our sense of personal and social justice, is created as an interactive
phylogenetic/ontogenetic function of masochistic and aggressive economy within a social
context, not as a function of any moral pretext. Our morality, is by the nature of its very
construction: immoral.
Here are a few sections from Freud which clarify and support this unusual notion:
"The first requisite of civilization, therefore, is that of justice––that is, the assurance that
a law once made will not be broken in favor of an individual. This implies nothing as to
the ethical value of such a law" (Freud, 1930, p. 95).
"The tension between the harsh super-ego, and the ego which is subjected to it, is called
by us the sense of guilt; it expresses itself as a need for punishment. Civilization,
therefore, obtains mastery over the individual's dangerous desire for aggression by
weakening and disarming it and by setting up an agency within him to watch over it,
like a garrison in a conquered city" (Freud, 1930, pp. 123-124).
As to the effect of super-ego in equating wish and act and the resultant loss of mental economy
and functioning:
"Here, instinctual renunciation is not enough, for the wish persists and cannot be
concealed from the super-ego. Thus, in spite of the renunciation that has been made, a
sense of guilt comes about. This constitutes a great economic disadvantage in the
erection of a super-ego or, as we may put it, in the formation of a conscience.
Instinctual renunciation now no longer has a completely liberating effect; virtuous
continence is no longer rewarded with the assurance of love. A threatened external
unhappiness––loss of love and punishment on the part of the external authority––has
been exchanged for a permanent internal unhappiness, for the tension of the sense of
guilt" (Freud, 1930, pp. 127-128).
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"...the original severity of the super-ego does not––or does not so much––represent the
severity which one has experienced from it [the object], or which one attributes to it; it
represents rather one's own aggressiveness towards it. If this is correct, we may assert
truly that in the beginning conscience arises through the suppression of an aggressive
impulse, and that it is subsequently reinforced by fresh suppressions of the same kind"
(Freud, 1930, pp. 129-130).
And as to the role of the phylogenetic in contributing to this outcome:
"It can also be asserted that, when a child reacts to his first great instinctual frustrations
with excessively strong aggressiveness and with a correspondingly severe super-ego, he
is following a phylogenetic model and is going beyond the response that would be
currently justified; for the father of prehistoric times was undoubtedly terrible, and an
extreme amount of aggressiveness may be attributed to him" (Freud, 1930, p. 131).
". . .we can tell what lies hidden behind the ego's dread of the super-ego, its fear of
conscience. The higher being which later becomes the ego-ideal once threatened the ego
with castration, and this dread of castration is probably the kernel round which the
subsequent fear of conscience has gathered; it is this dread that persists as the fear of
conscience." [Sigmund Freud, “The Ego and the Id” in A General Selection From The
Works of Sigmund Freud, p. 233.]
Please see (Norman, 2011, 2013, 2013a, 2015d) for examples and particular psychology relating
to specific patriarchal mutilations such as castration etc., which form current super-ego
supportive unconscious content. The role of epigenetics and complexity can be found here:
(Norman 2015b,c,d,e).
I wish to draw a sharp new distinction between Morality as engendered in super-ego, which is
based on (phylogenetic/epigenetic) patriarchal threat, and functions to foster obedience to
external authority, and Ethics, which are based in empathy, with its root in identification. The
former causes pathology, and functions in clear and specific ways to disengage the sympathetic
circuitry which is the basis of empathy, energetic curiosity, sexuality and intellect, and the later
in turn has opposing characteristics, leading to elation, appreciation, formative identification with
the world and others in the context of abundant subsequent energy, and absent any punitive
internalized death wish (guilt). Morality and Ethics as so defined are diametrically opposed.
Clearly, ethics are a natural systemic product which lead to health, an internal behavioral
compass based in identification and caring, and morality the converse. The reader may wish to
satisfy themselves in this regard, by reading the specific example of the formation of super-ego
offered up here (Norman 2013, 2013a).
Ethics are themselves identification, they ARE the ‘golden rule,’ and so require no such rule or
any other. Morality is an empathetic dissociative factor, by way of down-mediating the circuitry
responsible for identification. Ethics nullify any need for the tangle of moral law and replace
guilty maxims born under any mistaken ‘categorical imperative’ with a natural and effortless
ethical genesis free from rule, guilt or penalty. Ethics, as we will see, reflect the healthy internal
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construction of the mind, nurture our energies and evolve naturally, with no need for
punishment, rule or law. One need but rebalance the two opposing circuits and observe the
demonstrable alteration in all aspects of manifest experience. I have devised treatments to this
end (Norman 2013a, 2015a, 2016a,b). Next, we may take a closer look at empathy, and see if
we can understand the meaning of identification.
An aside: note how this clear basis of modern pathology appears to be nullified in the teachings
of many eastern spiritual ideas, which have little connection to patriarchal threat and
surprisingly, also in the true teachings of Jesus. Although modern adaptations are revealed as
corrupted and reversed by Paul, the careful philology of Nietzsche shows the original teachings
to be diametrically opposed to any hint of conditional regard, sin, punishment, reward, heaven or
hell. Those toxins are absent. Indeed, Jesus appears to make good on the reverse and answers, at
least in this case, Nietzsche’s own highest standard, which proclaims essentially: the highest
Godly act is the removal of guilt. Of Jesus Nietzsche writes:
"In the whole psychology of the "evangel" the concept of guilt and punishment is
lacking; also the concept of reward. "Sin"––any distance separating God and Man––is
abolished: precisely this is the "glad tidings". Blessedness is not promised, it is not tied
to conditions: it is the only reality––the rest is a sign with which to speak of it." p. 606
The Portable Nietzsche.
It should be noted that this author [R. N.] adheres to no spiritual doctrine or tradition. The above
insight being worthy of note in its own account.
Empathy, Paradigm & Example
Ethics are a natural extension of identification stemming from the early impressions of the
innervations forming the sympathetic ventral tegmental limbic circuit. In a basic schematic way,
we can see the idea of empathy in physics. Empathy is concurrent identification and
individuation. A sort of entanglement where the subject/object distinction is partly lost. If one
were to lose self-identity completely, psychosis results: I am not you! However, a component of
identification is the key, and it is this basis which the infant experienced with no such
individuated distinction whatever, an identification with their entire world! To get the basic idea,
think of it quite rightly as a sort of entanglement. A singlet state will do for this simple example.
Both photons are entangled and are one thing, one system: identification. However, one is spin
up, one spin down: individuation. Empathy apart from psychosis is akin to such an
entanglement, where identification and individuation exist concurrently.
Of course within the mental system, the presentation is no simple matter as it is with two
photons! Once the time has been taken and the painful effort applied to gut the current system
and replace it, one discovers the entire presentation of unconscious aspects changes and the
energies contained become far less intense and convoluted. The repressed unconscious, as
reflected in modern mental topography, is pathogenic in and of itself. I will explain that
statement and then offer up a detailed look within the better result, so as to show exactly what is
meant by all these far flung idealistic assertions in specific example. We may first understand
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the divergent topographies associated with the illness of moral penalty and the health of ethical
unification with experience.
Freud's theories [see Freud's A Phylogenetic Fantasy], postulate a sort of bottle neck in history,
perhaps around the ice age, where the pathology began and groups of our very distant ancestors
under patriarchal domination were common. The impressions of ancient penalty and sickness
are easily available to see and do not come from present experience, but are phylogenetic and
probably epigenetic (Norman 2015a,b,c,d,e). Before that bottle neck, I hypothesize things were
different. Just as before the later age of super-ego formation the child of 6/14 months had
conscious access to the native impression of identification, and later knows nothing of it, so also
in human phylogeny, the earlier fact is now hidden and unconscious. Pierce the unconscious
veil, and one can find this impression. Once this is raised up in the transference structure, health
and happiness, caring, sexuality, kindness, satisfaction and gratitude, a feeling of ‘fullness,’
interest and abundant energy replace pathology. Within both ontogeny and phylogeny: Hope for
mankind, is an atavistic evolution.
Sublimation by Repression vs. Sublimation by Integration
Consciousness itself is entirely a function of affect. Feeling powers thought. The source of
human consciousness, both at the cortical level and the subcortical, is neuro-anatomically
derived of affect (Norman 2015). The current model of mental topographical assemblage may
be subsumed under the heading of Sublimation by Repression. In this model, the core nuclear
component of mentation, affect/feeling is divided, and much of it is kept unconscious at great
energetic expenditure.
Our guilty affective repressions separate the very essence of
consciousness away, and use even more of this needed energy to hide the fact. From beneath a
costly unconscious repression, at great economic expenditure the affects endow experience with
quality and substance. Sublimation via repression. Here, we split apart consciousness at its very
source, to achieve the result we see all around us, and so find in this model the basis of our
aberrant modern condition. In this model, we see the exact conditions to create sickness, indeed,
no less than a definition of neurosis itself. This endemic imbalance is the lever of social control
and illness. Its very structure is imbalance and curtails empathetic dynamism. Symptoms are
created by the return of the repressed and so, the entire situation for illness is set up in repressing
those elements to start with. It is in the unification of component instincts that health is created.
The new model, which is a sort of atavism, stands in direct opposition. Sublimation by
Integration. Sublimation by integration reduces super-ego to a shadow of its former strength and
hence frees nearly all repressions, uniting these component instincts directly in consciousness
(Norman 2013a). The effect is to shatter personality irretrievably and release enormous energies
directly into experience, creating a vibrant and energetic sublimation into experience. The entire
act of perception and mentation becomes sexualized and empathy attains a place of
predominance: a sort of psychical fusion of all affects. Sublimation via repression and
sublimation via integration are related in efficiency, toxicity and output, as are the modes of
fission and fusion in their attributes as energy sources. Sublimation via repression is dirty, toxic,
and hypocritical to claim itself efficient beyond its cost.
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Pathogenic vs. Integrated Transference
Lastly, I will place before the reader two examples of the better result representative of
sublimation by integration with empathetic predominance. This section contains a simple
example, the next a deeper one. Please think of the transference by which reality in the
individual human case is given its subjective quality. In an instant, through an unconscious
associative process affect is distributed as a function of memory (Norman, 2015, 2016). We can
see this in an intuitive, simplified, schematic way through the process of free association. The
quality of our reality is a function affective associative transference from static mnemic sources
and active unconscious fantasy.
The lake you see should you gaze upon one, and the one I see, should I be beside you, are
not the same lake, as each perceives the view. The quality of that various impression
within each of us, is entirely created as a function of the conglomeration of affective
associations (and aspects of unconscious fantasy), which are attached to the singular
impression of the lake. Think of free association, and this becomes easily accessible, and
we can see why such a technique is valuable in gaining insight into the processes which
create object quality, and in assessing the general health and accuracy of emotional tone
as they define experience.
Here are two hypothetical associative chains:
Healthy subject: Stimulus: lake. Associative chain (hypothetical): Lake–silver–ripples–
dress–fluttering–mother–happiness.
Neurotic subject: Stimulus: lake. Associative chain (hypothetical): Lake–cold–drown–
hopeless–weight–chain–family.
We can see in that simple example, that associative affective valence is established as a
function of memory, to define object quality.
Next I would like the reader to understand that recent research has placed an epigenetic basis
under the phylogenetic, and that it appears deductively and analytically sound to assert that this
forms a sort of predefined ‘script’ which defines reality via transference (Norman, 2015a,b,c,d,e;
2016a). The unconscious presentation which forms the allocations of affect in the transference
then, gives the world its qualitative meaning and that transference can be healthy and unfettered,
or restricted and defined reactively through the roles ascribed in the phylogenetic. The
phylogenetically based repressed fantasies and reactions are the basis of pathology. The
unconscious processes of identification endemic to the transference are pathological, and their
source is repressed. This stands in sharp contrast to a healthy unified transference. An example
will clarify:
I am sitting at the kitchen table and watching. There is a bug working its way across the expanse
of the table…a ten mile jaunt by way of scale. It is quite a colorful bug, its shell as a scarab,
awash in may colors as it passes through the sunlight and shafted shade…a miracle to see the
coordinated automatism, so hypercomplex, the tiny legs expressing each delicate motion
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interwoven with the rest, all to accomplish this daunting task, and the tiny traveler advances,
pulling the miles under its colorful shell in a thousand thousand perfectly orchestrated steps. It is
a bit of functional poetry, and I can see in my view of the situation, a new appetite. Yes, this bug
is not so different than I, and I understand its difficulty, its folly, its correct and sure purpose
stepping to nowhere. The bug is right. One must imagine the beetle happy. I take the traveler,
and release it out of doors, placed on a leaf which seems to match its coloration.
Many believe a set of rules guide ethical activity. This is not the case. Appetite, desire, guides
us, and logic dances to the tune, creates excuses and reasons, plans and rationalizations: as a
footman sweeping up the crumbs of our wishes, always chasing behind, excusing and
serving…so are logic and human reason but the petty servants of desire. Once, my desire, my
appetite, was different. I would have killed the bug. Crushed it under a heavy fist with a curse
as an unclean thing, and killed it. I can feel quite clearly what I would have done before the
change, and I will analyze it here in a surface way, so you can see it.
All conscious mentation is unconsciously sourced. I will imagine my reactions and look to the
source, to the unconscious and provide a few of the many determinants. Just the upper layers.
(Please recall what should be unconscious is observable by using Native Psychoanalysis). As my
fist descends to kill the bug and crush it, I can observe in the unconscious the reason. The bug, is
exactly as above, an identification with myself, and I curse and crush it, speak as my father, his
rage is now my own. So just to see that shallow bit, we understand as a manic who fantasizes,
first identifying with the family situation one way, then as the other, first as the child, then the
hated parent, so is the surface analysis but in simultaneity––I am my raging father and, the bug is
myself. So, to kill the bug expresses an appetite, an appetite for sadism as an identification with
my father, and also, as a masochism as I identify with the bug. This is an appetite, a perverse
appetite: sadomasochistic in its form. Identifications are pathological.
Perversion, is the expression of a single component developmental instinct, such as sadism.
Health is to have fused all such instincts together in consciousness. We are raised to control and
shame our instincts, causing immoral behavior and illness. Please note the self-hatred in the
example. Control of a desire shames it, and, that desire is a piece of you! Top down control of
affect, poisons the bearer and creates not morality…no…but immorality! Modern personality
and conscience are false. Now, to have released all affect into experience, and restrict nothing,
the self-hatred is absent and feeling has given an entirely new and guiltless quality to all of
experience. Now the bug is beautiful, and my appetite wishes only to preserve it! So you can
see, no ethical code is required to live rightly. None. What is required is an integrated
transference. That changes the drive structure, and ethics arrive of their own accord. Ethics and
all manifest behavior in this context can rightly be seen as a function of our basic appetites and
wishes.
In that simple example you can see the pathogenic unconscious/epigenetic substitutive process
result. In (Norman 2015d) you may see examples of actual pathogenic unconscious
presentations. In the next section, I will offer up a proper depth analysis of the connectivity
which has been refused within the mistaken paradigm of sublimation by repression.
Sublimation by repression created to foster obedience to a smothering external authority is itself
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that fundamental error responsible for the plight of man. This error is primary. The empty
feeling all complain of which necessitates the endless consumerism that is destroying the planet
[lack of endorphins and dopamine], the obedience to authority leading to war [threat and
conditional regard which creates obedience to authority], the feeling that other peoples and the
earth are somehow beneath one and are to be exploited [lack of empathy/identification with
others and the physical world], the constant competition to prove who is better [(lack of
empathy) and low self-esteem/self-security from Corticotrophin Releasing Factor associated with
noradrenergic parasympathetic activation over dopamine and endorphins associated with the
sympathetic circuit], the feeling of being anxious, depressed, alone and separate [lack of
identification, parasympathetic stress cascade], drug addiction [lack of endogenous opioids and
dopamine, persistent release of CRF], and all the rest. From war and unthinking reflex
obedience, to consumerism, greed, exploitation and human cruelty…this one error, has spread as
cracks in a pane of glass. The broken mirror that is modern man may be repaired in all his
dimensions of compound fracture here. This is how we are controlled through unfair social
circumstance, and why we obey. Super-ego and repression. Here, is where we have been
reduced and made fodder for tyrants, bullies and the governments of this world.
I would like to place a disturbing fact before the reader. To study the history of war, is to know
with certainty that in all of recorded history top down control of the human affects has never
worked. The Pax Romana from 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E. in the Roman Empire is often put up as a
good example of human peace under authority. This is a laughable joke, as the Pax Romana was
maintained via blood, torture and crucifixion! No, in all of human history, top down control is a
complete
failure.
Absolute
and
complete
failure,
without
exception.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conflicts_in_Europe]
An integrated approach to
sublimation must be placed in its stead.
To do so alters the entire presentation and function of the repressed unconscious, which no
longer exists in the same way. I suggest that the repressed unconscious in the modern man is
itself a pathogenic structure. Once the highly energetic reactive and sexual content is allowed
natural expression and unified in consciousness, the presentation is smooth and flowing. The
unconscious then acts mainly as a distributional nexus for affect, and less so as a vessel of
containment for ego dystonic affects.
Sublimation by integration diminishes (much of) the repressed unconscious. Simplified, and in a
brief 'ideal' form the concept reduces to:
Let square brackets represent the unconscious distributional processes creating the transference:
[ ]. Where system Conscious is Cs, System repressed Unconscious is rUcs, and system
Preconscious is Pcs: Sublimation by repression is topographically defined as: [rUcs…Pcs…Cs].
Sublimation by integration is (ideally) defined as:
[Pcs…Cs].
The repressed unconscious is removed, and all individual component energetic aspects are ripe
for conscious sublimation via unconscious/associative processes, and unification.
Next I will detail the healthy result and allow you to see the unfettered unconscious to conscious
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transference [Pcs…Cs] in real time as it works in a real case. You may see the specific energetic
attachments which create world identification, health and natural ethical genesis in some
considerable detail.
What would it look like to peer into the very deepest aspects of healthy identification in the
human animal? Can we watch sublimation by integration at work? Exactly what are these
identifications, and across what pieces of personality and time do they span? Is it possible to see
into the essence of integrated dynamics?
Oneness, the Transference Unfettered [Analysis of a “Peak Experience”
(2014)]
General context
There are a great many texts and traditions of note which give account of the unique and peculiar
state of 'oneness' with the world, environment or universe. I have always found these many
spiritualized representations and entirely symbolic distortions to be deeply unsatisfactory but have
previously lacked any firsthand knowledge of the experience to gain a further direct articulation of
the underlying mechanics, origins or specific dynamics of the mindset, so as to understand and
explain it. I can now rectify that shortcoming here.
Omni-objective identification (oneness) does not abandon self. It includes self in a unified object
simultaneously individuated (self-aware) and coherent with the system as one object all at once.
One can rightly localize the nexus of the primitive motor affective self where the deep layers of
the colliculi intersect the ancient Peri Aqueductal Grey (Panksepp, 1998). The most basic and
essential inner kernel of the human self, is the bodily self, soma. We are our bodies and this
individuation. But…there is more! I contend that empathy itself extends from circuitry more
basic than just mirror neuronal activations, but also includes more basic circuitry innervated in a
world identification. Soon you will see its full breadth and depth of temporal extension.
Without revealing too much, I will say that I am very sensitive and aware after so many years of
self-analysis, of changes in my visual presentation which correlate with my emotional condition.
Each time a repression reinstates itself, I can see the subtle alterations in my perception of the
world. These points of transference appeared to be the main way unconscious energies are
instantiated into visual perception and experience in general. But there are others which have
been blocked by our narrow, refusing, punitive cultural madness: The identifications and their
fractal self-reflections.
Science understands clear evidence of brain and obviously bodily masculinization but all contain
all traits. I do not advocate perverse practices any more than I advocate shame at discussing the
facts or admitting openly the clear truth…that all men and woman are and should ideally be ‘uniperverse’, meaning: healthy sexual expression is itself a UNIFICATION of all the component
instincts themselves, a unification of the perversions. T h e m e a n i n g o f t h a t w i l l
s o o n b e e n t i r e l y c l e a r.
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Contextual analysis
I am happily married for some 30 years, and live in isolation with my wife in the Oregon
wilderness. I was fortunate enough to meet a person online who was able by way of her
unanticipated grace, intelligence and kindness, to raise in me an anima image. With new leaves
in the heavens of this world, and roots in the ancient ‘good mother’ so clearly represented within
the formative maternally triggered sympathetic limbic/OFC innervations, this was a magical
opportunity for my healing. Certain manipulations of the imagery involved allow a surface look
at the context and its identifications.
I had an idea. Rather than observe the image, and allow it to become an object of even greater
potency, a natural but unexpected idea arrived. For some reason, the image itself was equivalent
to another image, intuition first understood it meant just the same as…a heart beat, and the visual
representation of that, a pulsing golden ball of sunlight, became the focus of my mind's
rumination, now suspended as a bit of warmth and light in my mind's eye. I soon knew and
believed…this was her heart, and then saw my own heart beside it, beating in time…then joined
first as two pulsing balls of golden light…then not two at all…only one. One heart. No
separation…none. One. Only one. The heartbeat, symbolizes unification within the womb.
As the two images became a single image, the brightness increased four-fold and then, a sudden
warmth in my chest to go with the image…then tears welling and streaming…so very beautiful! I
had what I have needed my entire life…so full and filled with energy! The trees slipped and
shuffled in tender breeze, I could feel the caress of light and wind amongst their branches and
folds, see it and feel it, the ground filled and welling as my heart, and all the shame was gone,
now each desire spilling up without restraint to become one with everything, and I knew, I not
only had transference giving the world its meaning, but identifications, identifications…with
everything. The "Anima Mundi" meaning in this case, the predominant impression of the
maternally triggered sympathetic circuit identification with the world––creating reality via
identification and transference.
All sexuality from the most basic and undifferentiated first love to the most specific is a pattern
which thought might trace and make real as a part of the fabric, or deny the same and leave a
sunken place free of truth and life as we were taught. There are now twice as many points of
transference…and this is accomplished by the addition of identifications. The result is a single
coherent ontological object…the world. This is observable as ontogeny and as phylogeny, may be
seen to interact archetypally, and also, as a deeper detailed cascade of new interactive symbolic
determinants relating as a sort of self-interactive fractal.
Libidinal transference analysis
The experience of the world is a libidinal/affective sublimation (Norman, 2015): libido taking on
the broadest sense of inclusive meaning as undifferentiated affect forming conscious activations
extending from the Ascending Reticular Activating System (Kaplan-Solms & Solms, 2002) to
provide cortical tone and waking potential in the context of affective circuitry and REM
distribution in the Basic Rest Activity Cycle (Panksepp, 1998; Norman, 2015, 2016). All levels of
conscious expression from the activation of a waking state, to the quality of emotional content
assigned to perception from the lowest levels are affective. Reality is a libidinal sublimation. It
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will therefore be possible to determine the precise mechanism of unconscious operative influence
and deduce a correct, plain analysis of the process which creates this mindset, if we can analyze a
primary libidinal representation as to its underlying mechanism of energetic distribution.
P l eas e r em emb er, t h at r eal it y i s i n f act a li b id inal s u bl im ati on .
I will now bring forward an analysis of an active primary libidinal constituent process to gain
insight into the hidden mechanisms which create the general effect.
It is a simple matter, which is now not even disconcerting, for me to pierce the unconscious veil
and observe the underlying previously unconscious dynamism of each moment. Due to the
necessities specified above, I had to learn how to find these things and solve the symbols all but
in step with the rate of their production. To engage in sexual activity in the new condition, I can
see in my mind's eye a very distinct change, so symmetrical, energetic and beautiful. Now, a
clear set of doublings in forms available for all attachments, and a doubling of attachments as
well to each "object" from concurrent identifications exponentially increase the energy, potency
and intensity of the expression via increased systemic intra-connectivity. There are twice as many
attachments for transference to an object, more objects, and now there are concurrent
identifications with all objects… in the phylogenetic as well. These present as a mirror reflecting
deeper into a mirror with subtle changes, and so I refer to this as fractal. The following contains
actual unconscious content, and may be uncomfortable for some readers.
Specifically: Self-awareness is not diminished, the contents which give rise to self-specificity are
not denied and I am male, this male. However, this core is now just a part of a much greater
plethora of very potent impressions of a new sort…the image of my beautiful anima/friend is not
separate. I am also this just as I am male and I can feel in this a deeper meaning and look to see
how deeply as a woman, from a half image of a woman in a mirror of the anima, is contained a
deep longing for my genital…for it to be her own, and as I look upon the activity I am so grateful,
all but weeping in gratitude to feel the fact that I am male and have fulfilled her need, and this
ancient female wish to be also male is completed…such deep happiness, and also the
identification with the anima image brings a homosexual attachment point between the two
women, one identified from within as the anima/self…one identified as an object from
without…my wife, and one with my wife also as an identification. All objects are now subjects,
objects and identifications each fed by two pathways. This ancient phylogenetic wish, to love as a
woman loves a woman, behind it again a child, small and female being held by the mother––as a
woman is loved by a woman, the wish on all levels is fulfilled. Implied without question also, a
male and a male, although I did not see the image it must be present. We all contain all sexual
elements and each is needful from a thousand pasts built into our inheritance. Without question
the male homosexual drive was sublimated into the women…I would not have been able to gain
excitation if it were conscious. Also, the male heterosexual role was very clear and contributed its
predominant share of cathexis. The result of the doubling of objects and identifications, along with
sensory observation of the activity (as distinct from analysis, always dimming excitation), is
hyper-potent. To empathize with all elements, and know as well, more of the elements which
human development contributes to and from the human store was one of the most exquisite
experiences of my life. I felt…everything…from many different ‘perspectives’ which were not
perspectives in any way––Unity. All pasts and presents nourished one moment of empathy.
Unity. One heart.
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This analysis has exposed the hidden unconscious mechanisms beneath that unity which should be
the ordinary province of each healthy, ethical human. This mode of unfettered transference is in
my view, not a higher state, but each human's ordinary, daily birthright. We can isolate the
mechanism of the transference structure responsible for the experience of unification from
analysis of the libidinal representation. Remember, reality is a libidinal sublimation, so: the
mechanism responsible for the mythological archetypal presentation of the experience of
‘oneness’ in general is that of concurrent identifications and object transferences from all libidinal
components spanning ontogeny, clear from the first impressions in the womb (remember the heart
image) to those of the component instincts and their mature representations in eventual unity––
and––extending the same structure of concurrent identification and object, to include the complete
bisexual phylogenetic representation in each person, IN THE CONTEXT OF OBSERVATION.
To condense:
(Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic) Object + Identification in the context of Observation yields
Unity.
Obv[p/ontO + I] = U
That is the formula for our wish fulfillment, place and purpose in happiness on this planet.
Now I look at the world and am the world. This is ethics. I could never hurt or exploit a part of
myself. Sublimation by Integration. I can feel the rippling wind in the trees, and the the shadows
which play upon my flesh. I d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s t h e b a s i s o f e m p a t h y a n d
e t h i c s . O u r w i s h e s a r e o u r w o r l d . How full is my heart, one heart, this world is
my skin, my breath is its wind, and we know one simple truth of all things. For I have learned
there is a thing we should all have and bring near, to never let go of the fact and the pulse––of one
heart.
Conclusion
The basis of modern human psychology contains within it a fundamental error: punitive superego. This structure, so closely associated with our Morality, is a dissociative element which
splits the affective basis of conscious and empathetic predominance in two, creating the
homeostatic conditions for social control, neurosis, compulsive consumerism, cruelty, existential
angst and unthinking obedience to authority. Standing in direct opposition to Ethical functioning
which evolves as a natural product of identification based in the innervations of the sympathetic
dopaminergic limbic/OFC circuitry, punitive morality finds its historical footing and epigenetic
expression based in patriarchal penalty and mutilation (Norman 2013). The rebalancing of the
circuitry involved is difficult, involved and painful (Norman 2011, 2013a).
However, this single error has cast the unhappy lot of man and provided all those throughout
history with a hopeless situation doomed to repeat itself. To examine the numerous wars in
constant procession throughout recorded human history and understand that top down control of
the affects is a clear sham and a consistent failure, is to understand that the basis of human
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empathy must be allowed its natural place as the progenitor of ethical behavior. Although the
road for a modern adult is filled with pain to alter this pathological basis, the pathway for the
next generations is a hopeful one (Norman 2015f). In raising the next generations in an
environment free of reaction formations and penalties in excess, the basis of human connection
and empathy may be nurtured and the native connectivity and kindness within man, might finally
meet with his allotted measure of intellect. The broken race of man has within it the seed of its
own ascension. The hope for mankind is an atavistic evolution.
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Explorations
Living With Limits: The Continuum of Consciousness
Donald Brackett*
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to explore the possibility of unifying principles between certain
eastern philosophies on the nature of consciousness at death (which could be considered
mysticism) with certain Western quantum concepts of cognitive patterns (which are
customarily considered neuroscience). The intention is to outline the startling similarities
and compatibilities between these two modes of thought by examining the proposed idea
of embodied meaning, the concept that our use of symbolic forms encodes cultural
artifacts with common patterns that convey something of the continuity of consciousness
beyond arbitrary borders. Indeed, our physical entities themselves might also be
considered material artifacts (embodied meanings), which reflect obvious energy patterns
based on codes common to objects, thoughts, memories, dreams and to all philosophical
concepts. I further approach the potential for certain Tibetan Buddhist principles, such as
the Bardo Thodol teachings, to be practical examples of an early non-scientific (but not
non-empirical) precursor to contemporary neuroscience, especially to current notions of
neuroplasticity. The salient idea conveyed in the paper is that a unifying pattern exists
that suggests a proportional harmony between physical matter and psychic matter, and
that the identical ratio can be used to try to come to terms with the end of life experience
as both a departure and a return. (See Figure 1 at the end.)
I
“Just as psychoanalysis reconstructs the original traumatic situation in order to
release the repressed material, so we are now being plunged back into the
archaeopsychic past, uncovering the ancient taboos and drives that have been
dormant for epochs… Each one of us is as old as the entire biological kingdom,
and our bloodstreams are tributaries of the great sea of its total memory.”
(J. G. Ballard, The Drowned World, 1962, p. 41)
As a writer and culture critic my role is to explicate both works of art and
the cultures which create them, not from the usual judgmental point of view
that assesses success or failure from the relative angle of aesthetics but from
the phenomenological vantage point of encountering those works of art as
*
Correspondence: Donald Brackett, independent cultural journalist, writer, & curator, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Email: bardo1@telus.net. See autobiographical note at the end.
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what they actually are: embodied meanings. I often interpret whole cultures,
and even whole civilizations, as if they were individual works of art, because
that is precisely what they are. Such a comparative approach allows us to
utterly preclude issues such as liking or disliking the relative features of
works in any medium, or using our limited time and energy to declare the
success or failure of their maker’s intentions. Works of art, whether they are
visual, architectural, literary, musical, or durational, are all dark mirrors of
the consciousness that created them. Like us, they succeed because they
exist. Also, as per the work of Ernst Cassirer, all symbolic forms, including
our own, are a reflection of limits and patterns.
We are therefore free to more fully experience the degree to which
drastically different kinds of art objects, of embodied meanings, are really
the immediate sense data reflections of the consciousness of the particular
cultural context within which they were created. As such, none are superior
or inferior in kind, apart from the accumulated aesthetic, psychic and
spiritual assumptions of their culture. It suddenly becomes possible to
understand the deeper strata levels at which a classically representational
Vermeer painting is totally equivalent to an apparently randomly abstract
Pollock painting, as well as the degree to which both utterly succeed in
conveying the key elements of the space (and the time) in which they were
produced. They are emblems of an enigma: their maker’s consciousness.
As Cassirer’s exemplary research indicated, the symbolic forms we
utilize are multiple: that of language, which both the writer and reader are
using now in a quantum-like manner of transmission and reception which
utterly eliminates our separate locations; as well as of mathematics, the
principal language with which the universe makes itself accessible to and
discernible by us. One reciprocal and reconciling pattern ratio also governs
everything in existence, both physical and immaterial.
This is accomplished via a bio-mimicry motif that perpetually echoes the
proportional harmonies in nature and culture that replicate the spiral growth
pattern of the Fibonacci sequence and its ratio. In addition, we have at our
disposal the symbolic forms of music, design, mythology, religion,
philosophy and psychology, each of which is a distinct form-language with
specific aims and accomplishments, i.e., Chartres Cathedral, Einstein’s
relativity equation, Mozart’s concertos, Shakespeare, or the archetypal depth
principles found in both Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Tibetan Buddhism.
As we will see, and as readers looking for more detail than can be offered
in this short paper can easily find with available research, the last example in
particular is one which, apart from merely entertaining us on the path
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towards our eventual extinction, might also provide some useful indications
of what to expect and how to manage the ultimate transaction of dying and
death, and what if anything awaits us after the removal of one mask before
placing another mask in its place. A longstanding science of spiritual (for
lack of another word) instructions has been established in the Tibetan
Buddhist traditions, especially in the Bardo Thodol1 teachings about living,
dreaming, dying and navigating these transitions nightly via something
poetically called dream yoga.
Among other things, in this paper I am interested in exploring the
possibility that far from being a science fiction writer, J. G. Ballard (a
popular author of fiction born in Shanghai in 1930 and best known for his
memoir Empire of the Sun) was, like William Golding or Philip K. Dick or
even William Burroughs, a factual investigator of the human condition from
a visionary perspective which was most efficiently armored in the
architectural conceits of a certain genre of fiction. He was however,
primarily a metaphysician who searched through the motifs of human
behaviour for a pattern that could potentially explain that behaviour: a
conduct code.
It might be possible that the occasionally obscure poetry of Wallace
Stevens provides us with far deeper existential insights than the tomes of
Heidegger or Sartre. This is equally true of the novels of Dostoyevsky,
Kafka or Camus: they are different from the suppositions of Descartes,
Locke or Berkeley only due to the theatrical costumes and conceptual
disguises they wear, by the symbolic form-mask they have donned. To
entertain the notion that there is in fact an archaeopsychic realm at all is of
course to also embrace the Jungian notion of a collectively shared zone out
of which a myriad of archetypal images have emerged and will continue to
emerge, as long as we sentient beings continue to utilize the delicate
neurological operating system that has evolved over eons.
I will also on occasion refer to their being acres of time which require us
to traverse their territories in order to effectively link our disparate
behaviours in a cogent pattern: a map. Such a map of consciousness could
equally well be charted by the music of Erik Satie for example, or a dance
choreographed by Merce Cunningham, since, as I have already indicated,
1
Wikipedia: “The Bardo Thodol (Tibetan: , Wylie: bar do thos grol),
Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State, is a text from a larger corpus of teachings, the
Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones, revealed by
Karma Lingpa (1326–1386). It is the best-known work of Nyingma literature, and is known in the West as
the Tibetan Book of the Dead.”
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great works of art, at the embodied meaning level, are also philosophical
propositions or even spiritual statements on par with the Pre-Socratics.
I am not by profession an academic, and as a cultural journalist I am if
anything more of a professional voyeur, but since I take a scholarly approach
to all art objects, whether they are prehistoric stone carvings or Andy
Warhol silkscreens, I am perhaps advantageously positioned to speculate on
some of the questions posed by this thematic journal issue from a somewhat
unique perspective. As an art critic, and one who also writes about
photography and especially films as an integral part (maybe even the
culmination) of the history of art and visual culture, I have observed a
couple of key distinctions between the supposedly nebulous realm of
aesthetics and the supposedly concrete realm of science. Science, and
especially the zones devoted to neurological speculations, appears to be
devoted to reducing and eventually eliminating the unknown, to replacing
the unknown with the known. Fair enough, up to a point.
Art on the other hand, appears to be devoted to increasing the amount of
unknown in our world, expanding the unknown until there is perhaps
nothing but the unknown, which would of course by synonymous with a
state akin to perpetual wonderment, rapture, bliss or otherwise magical states
of contentment and awe. It stands to reason (no pun intended) that all the
ideas we might exchange in the service of the questions asked by this journal
in general and this issue in particular are speculative in nature. As far as I
know, no dead people are submitting papers reporting on their experiences
of the transitional state between the embodied existential condition and the
disembodied post-conscious state. If they have, I for one look forward to
reading their deceased accounts, and as far as I know Houdini has yet to
make good on his dying promise to communicate with us from the other
side, if he found it possible to do so.
Of course he may also be communicating with us daily but we are unable
to translate his transmissions. This observation is only partly tongue in
cheek, since clearly there will be no right or wrong avenues of speculation
when it comes to the ultimate fate of consciousness. Just as clearly, all
fervent disputes or aggressively constructed arguments on the subject, no
matter how cogently or rationally arrayed, will be utterly fruitless in the end,
since we will all only personally experience this transition once (though
Ludwig Wittgenstein once observed that we can never experience our own
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death). So did Maurice Blanchot: “Death is the absolute future in which the
absolute past approaches, but only approaches, for death is never present.”2
Therefore, it also stands to reason, by a logic perhaps even more powerful
than reason itself, that the sooner we contemplate the cessation of our own
consciousness, by whatever means seems most efficient and effective, the
better prepared we will be to meet this abrupt mortal departure (which, we
should remember, can occur anytime at all, even before the end of this very
sentence) with something resembling equanimity, elegance, poise and the
absence of fear. I don’t know about you, but from my perspective those four
descriptors are the key elements I would want to possess when I begin to
experience the dissolution of all other ingredients making up the embodied
realm around me. In other words, when “I” attempt to experience the
impossible absence of “me.”
Surely thinking about these two ingredients in advance via some kind of
contemplation would be useful, by whatever means necessary, and in my
particular case that includes some degree of Buddhist hermeneutics. Perhaps
this is because such speculation is the primary and principal impetus of the
Buddhist psychology examining the nature of consciousness, its potential
meanings, implications and consequences. In other words, the most
important factor in approaching questions about the nature of consciousness
must also include outcomes that influence our behaviours and interactions
with the other sentient beings around us, or else what is the point of such
speculation in the first place?
For example, if we were able to accomplish a phenomenal feat of elegant
and exhaustive deductive reasoning expressed in beautiful abstract terms
such as Heidegger’s, and yet we remained capable of such dense feats of
denial and delusion as expressed in his Black Book entries, what had really
been accomplished in the end (literally)? I mean, really, was his potentially
final thought as a human being on the planet earth, oh what a clever boy am
I? If so, what did he actually accomplish, apart from existential
entertainment of a vaudevillian sort? Was the gorgeous trajectory of his
thinking about thinking really just greasepaint, makeup on the human mask?
So, obviously the question we’re all considering here is what happens
when the human mask is removed? What if anything is underneath? And
perhaps even more importantly, what difference does it make, apart from
occupying our preciously short time on earth to the fullest extent? Therefore
my first speculative answer, as an agent of affect who accepts and even
2
Maurice Blanchot, The Space of Literature, A. Smock, trans. University of Nebraska Press, 1982, p. 117.
Original in French, 1955.
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embraces the unknown, uncertainty, obscurity and ambiguity, without
feeling the need to replace them with their binary opposites, is Yes. Does
consciousness end, yes. Does consciousness continue, yes. Does
consciousness awaken, yes. Does consciousness transform, yes. How could
it be otherwise?
It, consciousness, does all these things – and who can say otherwise,
apart from poor Houdini, whose messages remain as mute as the ending of a
Beckett play (another embodied meaning by the way, and one which might
address the nature of self-consciousness at least as adequately as Kant did).
When the brain and the body die, not being separate entities, the entire world
dies, not in the manner that solipsists might entertain (as delightful and
unassailable as their position is) but to the degree that our largely illusory
experience of having an inherent, separate and independent self or soul is
really what dies.
This is where the Buddhist psychology (preferable to the identifier
“religion” since there is no deity to speak of in its tenets) comes into play for
us. This is where the potential for a concept of consciousness being a
continuum that has always been here, a consciousness platform which in fact
manufactures the apparently solid world around us as a stage for our
performance, enters the picture. What if the entity we identify as a self never
existed in the first place but was merely a projection on our experience of
the sensory world as a collection of disconnected and disparate elements
within which we are trapped and isolated? What if “it” doesn’t die so much
as cease to have a format for application?
What if its existential job description is redundant? It drops away and
reveals to us what we were too disconnected to see before, a sudden expanse
in every direction of the luminosity of mind, not our mind per se, but the
theatrical playground of the senses within which our mask was being worn?
What if this sudden unmasking reveals us to be a succession of life forms
parading across a stage, each one wearing a different mask (table, robin,
shark, cloud, stone, water, cat, etc.) but each one being identically the same
thing?
One of the greatest psychologists and philosophers who asked pertinent
questions about the nature of our consciousness, and especially of our
identity, was the author Franz Kafka, who disguised his interrogative
insights in the form of his fiction and even more powerfully in his personal
diaries. His embodied meanings are riddled with riddles and parables that
are easy for the distracted reader to misinterpret as depressing, gloomy,
doomed or death-obsessed, but they are actually far from it. One of his finest
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observations was hidden like a glistening little gem in the middle of his
endless and exhaustive process of journal entry writing. It alone, if
interpreted accurately, presents a clear indication of the depth of this man’s
thought processes regarding the nature of consciousness.
“The meaning of life is that it stops,” Kafka remarks.3 But this doesn’t
mean, as many wrongly supposed, that he felt life was pointless, irrelevant,
or fated to conclude with failure (even though often enough elsewhere he
was all too consumed with his own perceived personal flaws and failures). If
we interpret this entry correctly it simply states something as clearly as
Wittgenstein himself may have put it. Life is temporary; its chief and primal
characteristic is that of impermanence. How do we intend to spend our
limited time? The corollary of such an insight is even more instructive and
moves us to the most obvious extension of this basic existential observation:
if that is the meaning of life, its temporary condition, then what is the
purpose if it?
The purpose of it, Kafka is suggesting by inference, is to make
impermanence meaningful, as in existentialism. Precisely how we do that, of
course, returns us to the relativity of any truth whatsoever: what is
meaningful is defined by the parameters, by the limits, of each individual
culture and each individual occupant of that culture. This naturally suggests
that all forms of meaning, just as with all forms of the embodiment known as
artworks, are equivalent, correct, proper, true, accurate, and deserving of our
tolerance. The only thing that prevents us from accepting the sometimes
drastically different forms of meaning around us is the myth of otherness,
the unceasing devotion to the belief that each of our “selves” is the real
world and that our perspective is the right one.
It is clearly the case that, after sufficient examination, it is only our
aggressively slavish perspective on this illusory condition of otherness that
ever really dies. Reports have come down to us over the ages however, not
created by psychics, mystics, séances, or believers in the other side but
rather by practitioners of the science of contemplation who penetrated to
what we might as well refer to as the quantum level of consciousness and
have garnered a clear picture of its continuum. They have even managed to
maintain enough cognizance of their/our condition to suggest an even more
spacious continuum, one extending from one life to another in a long
sequence of consciousness-events fueled by a consistent source of energy,
one which does not differentiate between our being a dolphin, a bee, a cactus
or a Billie Holiday.
3
Gustav Janouch (1971). Conversations with Kafka. New Directions, p. 120.
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II
“The phenomenon to explain is why the brain, as a machine, insists that it has this
property that is non-physical.”
(Michael Graziano, Neuroscientist, Princeton University, speaking to a
symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences, May, 2016)
Given that all possibilities are equally plausible, even the most outlandish
ones, and that all our speculations cannot be proven or disproven, I for one
see no particular reason to discount the intriguing line of reasoning
developed back in 1976 by Julian Jaynes in his remarkable book The Origin
of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. This of course
involved his supposition that until a relatively recent occurrence some five
thousand years ago, the domination of the brain by the right hemisphere
rendered us technically unconscious until the unification of those spheres
eliminated the apparent existence of voices outside our heads and instead
situated the one voice in the centre a functioning self-conscious entity.
The only thing he didn’t do that he could have done, since he resolved
that evolution only goes forward in one direction, was to postulate that upon
death the unified spheres forming our current format of consciousness return
to a bicameral state, leaving its central command position drifting to the
periphery and eventually dissolving altogether. Thus the only remaining
speculation, given such a possible scenario, would be to try to quantify or at
least interpret the sequence of hallucinatory experiences encountered by the
dying individual as he or she traverses this potential reverse evolution and
returns first to a bicameral format (exactly duplicating the binary polarities
in nature that cause the spiral growth pattern of the golden ratio and
Fibonacci sequence in the first place) and finally plunges into a no-cameral
mind, seemingly no matter what a particular self has experienced.
This would be a mind that is undifferentiated from all the matter and
mind surrounding it, existing, even temporarily, in a panpsychic (for lack of
a better word) realm. I don’t believe we should discount Jaynes’s notion just
because either it was formulated way back in the late 1970s, or just because
it was delivered in a vastly popular mainstream book instead of in an
academic journal. Another reason for reconsidering it is the subsequent
research on binary design codes conducted by Gyorgy Doczi in another
popular non-academic book, The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies
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in Nature, Art and Architecture, in which the author explored the dizzying
array of ways in which the reciprocal interaction of opposite forces creates
recursive patterns from galaxies to seashells, crystals and DNA helixes.
My point is that the same observation can be made about the dual sphere
design of the brain and the cognitive patterns which result from the
interaction of these two sides to produce a self-reflexive awareness
sophisticated enough to paint Sistine Chapels and write Tolstoy novels, as
well as being intimate enough to wonder what is happening in the last
moments of its own existence.
One saving grace of entertaining this and any other theory is that it also
doesn’t preclude the possibility for existential amusement while we are
doing so, and that even humour or comedy itself (a superb form of cognitive
dissonance when practiced at the level of an Aristophanes) can also be a
valid form of philosophical enquiry. Thus I found it seriously amusing
recently to observe the permutations of an article by the science writer of the
New York Times, George Johnson, reporting on his attendance at a recent
conference in Tucson now called The Science of Consciousness.
The May 16th article was called A Carnival of the Mind, the July 4th
iteration was called Messing with the Mind, and the July 5th reprint was titled
The Brain Versus the Mind, each one titled by a different editor from his or
her own vantage point and each one suggesting a slightly different nuance
on the same event. This struck me as having some salient similarities to what
all of us do, not only when entertaining different theories of the same
phenomenon but even on a daily basis when we reiterate our own memories
of either our childhood or just the day before this one.
The Tucson conference in question took place in April of this year, and
Johnson was reporting on the bewildering array of conflicting or at least
competing panels, sessions and papers being delivered simultaneously, more
than anyone could hope to attend unless they cloned their brain in order to
do so. He referenced one room where scientists and philosophers were
discussing the physiology of brain cells and how they might generate the
thinking mind; in another the subject was free will, whether such a generated
consciousness could actually have it or was just manifesting a delusion;
another session was examining panpsychism, the exotic but plausible idea
that everything, whether animal, vegetable or mineral is based at the subatomic level on mindlike features; and competing with these sessions were
others on phenomenal consciousness, the extended mind, and the neural
correlates of consciousness.
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All were exploring where consciousness came from, few if any were
examining where consciousness goes to, if anywhere, or more importantly to
me, anywhen – the time of consciousness. Johnson pointed out that the
human mind has plumbed the universe, determining that it is almost 14
billion years old, and the same mind has discovered, with the aid of superparticle colliders, that invisible dark particles such as the Higgs-Boson are
actually gluing all of reality together in a kind of supreme void which is
indistinguishable from the so-called solid contents it supports.
But as he observed, there is no scientific explanation for consciousness
itself, without which none of these discoveries about consciousness could
have been made. Further, what occurs at the moment of its extinction is even
more disregarded, perhaps because science has always abandoned such
notions as metaphysical and thus more the domain of religion, a strange
distinction to someone like me (and also for Werner Heisenberg) for whom
science and religion are two sides of the same coin, or should we say sides
of the same brain.
Johnson reported that, for one attendee, Michael Graziano, a
neuroscientist at Princeton,
Consciousness is a kind of con-game the brain plays with itself. The
brain is a computer that evolved to simulate the outside world. Among
its internal models is a simulation of itself—a crude approximation of
its own neurological processes. The result is an illusion. Instead of
neurons and synapses, we sense a ghostly presence—a self inside the
head. But it’s all just data processing. The machine mistakenly thinks
it has magic inside it, and it calls the magic consciousness. (“The
Mind Messing With the Mind”, New York Times – Science, July 4,
2016)
Of course, his processing can’t quite ever explain how such a machine
can produce James Joyce’s novels, Picasso’s paintings, or Duke Ellington’s
music.
But this Doczi sensibility of extending the pattern making processes in
nature’s matter all the way into the design motifs of human art and culture
can actually do so. Equally possible is the way in which the “self that isn’t
there” can be explored and explained by certain Tibetan Buddhist yogis who
compiled the assembled texts devoted to the experience of death and dying
(and for that matter of rebirth) known as The Book of Liberation Through
Understanding in the Between (i.e., Bardo Thodol). This is the book more
popular known in the west as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as a result of the
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misguided translations commissioned by the well-intentioned European
Evans-Wentz.
This remarkable book of contemplation is said to have semi-legendary
origins that incorporate multiple mythologies and merge them with
actualized practices. Its origins in both legend and mythology in no way
devalue its deep input into questions of mortality and the fate of
consciousness, since mythology – as Cassirer, Jung, Eliade, and others such
as James Hillman, Henri Corbin and the popular Joseph Campbell have
indicated – also contains a profound set of shared human projections, the
archetypes of the collective unconscious, which recur regularly through
every distinctly different culture and somehow unify them at the
foundational level of being.
This contemplative book, passages of which are actually read aloud to the
dying person, before, during and after the death experience in order to orient
them to the astonishing self-generated visions they are thought to be
experiencing, some of them terrifying in nature. These visions arise in the
mindstream of the dying person as he or she is coming into contact with the
so-called clear light nature of mind, or the white light vision reported by so
many westerners, a phenomenon which is not actually separate from the
mind of the individual dying person and which never was separate from it.
Tradition (which includes both legend and mythology remember) states
that this text was composed in about the 8th Century CE by the yogi master
Padma Sambhava and hidden by him for a later era to find, when it was
“unearthed as terma” by a renowned treasure-finder Karma Lingpa in the
14th century.4 Before discounting the supposedly superstitious aspects of
these practices, designed to remove fear and liberate the dying, we would do
well to remember that during these same historic periods in the West, we
were still engaged in barbaric heresy wars, brutal crusades, insanely selftorturing inquisitions and human burnings in an imaginary war against an
evil invented by our monotheistic and anthropomorphic deity projections.
By comparison to our own pathological history, this particular science of the
spiritual passage out of one life and into another is quite gentle, kind,
compassionate and visionary.
These meditative practices, which can also be engaged in on a nightly
basis by us when we fall asleep, dream and wake up again, are also part of a
larger corpus called The Profound Teaching of the Natural Liberation
through Contemplating the Mild and Fierce Deities (Norbu). Such “deities”
by the way are not thought to be real but are more the internal projections of
4
Namkhai Norbu, Self Liberation. Station Hill Press, 1989, p. xii.
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our mind as it comes to terms with the experience of extinction, and also as
it reflects the basic binary polarities inherent in the embodied condition. It
involves realizing that everything we are experiencing (whether it is meeting
the Virgin Mary, talking with Moses, or dancing with Rita Hayworth) is
actually happening only in our mind(s).
Removing the fear of hallucinations, which of course we also experience
on a daily and nightly basis, is actually the base for liberation from all our
sufferings, whether real or imagined. I mention this system of thought also
as a means of potentially situating the binary vision of Julian Jaynes in both
a transpersonal and a trans-cultural context. This makes sense to me, not
least because as we are dying surely we cease to be as distinctly separate as
entities as we usually believe we are, and also simply because the existence
of a collective unconscious foundation allows us all to perpetually
experience the same archetypical human dream images regardless of our
culture. It also suggests a valuable outcome to the nightly practice of
watching our minds dissolve into dreams before our eyes in the charmingly
titled rehearsal practice known as dream yoga.
Of course all of this speculative reasoning and contemplative practice
only works to our advantage if we are able to be brave enough to accept the
fact that life is temporary and existence is impermanent, that we might die at
any moment, and that it makes sense to be prepared. This is rather difficult
for those of us in the West whose whole daily existence is predicated upon
the fear of death, the presence of evil, sin and punishment in an afterlife
whose very parameters we never even imagine, apart from believing that
we’ll be rewarded for being good and by following the correct superstitions
and instructions.
By the way, I’m in no way denigrating the religions of the West, since I
was raised a Catholic before stumbling into Buddhism, only observing that
they in no practical way prepare us to actually encounter and experience the
death of our consciousness, whatever that might be. Also, I’m pretty secure
in my belief that in the transitional stages between the end of one life and the
beginning of another, I’ll most likely be dancing with Rita Hayworth. Of
that much I can be as reasonably certain as it is possible to be of a hologram.
One can always dream.
There is of course, no east or west in dreams. That is where we can most
readily research, anticipate and prepare for the alarming cessation of
consciousness as it occurs right in front of our eyes, and perhaps also to
maintain enough stability to establish continuity. The continuum of
consciousness is not however the same as some hoped for afterlife for the
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soul, since the soul is largely as illusory as the self was by that stage. On the
contrary, the continuum might suggest the potential for an awareness of the
transition from one to the next, not to the afterlife, but the next life. Or, if the
Bardo texts are accurate in some fashion, for the possibility of not having a
next life with all its attendant difficulties, unless, it suggests, one is a being
such as the Dalai Lama, who, as a bodhisattva or fully enlightened creature,
appears to return intentionally in order to lessen the sufferings of other
sentient beings. Few of us however are ever vouchsafed that particular
privilege, since obviously we are primarily preoccupied with our own lot in
this life, or the next one, or the one after that.
One of the best ways to engage with and utilize the energy of the dream
state is to become lucid in the midst of a dream and apply the insights
practically. This does differ significantly from the western New Age concept
of lucid dreaming, however, which usually results only in being able to
manufacture an endless series of encounters which don’t further the core
motivation (i.e., wasting our time with silly notions such as dancing with
Rita Hayworth for instance).
The more appropriate approach is to gain a familiarity with the luminous
nature of mind during mind-fabricated image scenarios which can then be
useful during the death experience, according to these traditions, and enable
the traveller to realize the ground-nature they always possessed but were too
distracted by the ghost-self to notice before. It is naturally therefore most
advantageous to apply such insights into the everyday nature of waking
consciousness in order to vitally witness the truly dreamlike aspects of our
daily experiences. In other words, to realize that we are essentially dreaming
at all times, constantly, without this exotic fact actually meaning that life is
not real. Incredibly, it is being dreamed, and yet it is definitely real.5
Familiarity with this fact of life, it is said, can allow us not only to be
comfortable during the dying process, but also benefit us in dealing with
other sentient beings we encounter during our lives, especially the ones who
may cause us some degree of difficulty. I myself have had some intriguing
experiences using dream yoga and bardo contemplation, starting from an
early age when it began to manifest itself spontaneously without my
intentional seeking, a phenomenon which prompted me to come into contact
with a degree of awareness continuity and a continuum of consciousness that
enabled me to (somehow) come into direct contact with information, data,
5
Waking brain states cannot be distinguished from dreaming brain states, so, from the brain’s perspective,
we are dreaming all the time, according to Rodolfo Llinás (I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self. MIT
Press, 2001).
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knowledge or experiential content that could only have come from another,
presumably earlier, lifetime. In other words, terma treasures.
But that however, is another story, and another paper. For now, suffice it
to say that this particular speculation, or theory of consciousness of the death
experience, posits that you cannot lose something (an inherent self) that
never actually existed in the first place, other than as a reflexive voice and its
concomitant emotional apparatus hovering in your head. It can however
permit us to gain a new appreciation for the magical nature of awareness, the
amazing capacity to produce symbolic forms, and the manner in which the
foundational base energy can shift into and out of focus as we are born, live,
dream, and die, over and over and over again. Perhaps most rewarding in
this approach is the fact that this ongoing evolutionary process has no
specific aim: it is not about evolving toward some fully perfected or angelic
state. We are all already in this perfect state, all the time. We’re just too
dumb to realize it. That’s where the assistance of a reality sherpa comes in
handy.
III
“What is this? Regarding these present phenomena, I have died and am wandering
in the transitional process; so this place, these companions and these indistinct
appearances are phenomena of the transitional process of becoming. Previously I
did not recognize that process, and I wandered on. Now I shall arise as the
embodiment of it.”
(Experiential Instructions on the Six Bardos, trans. Alan Wallace. Wisdom
Publications, 1998, p. 257)
Naturally enough, everything in which we are engaged is not only pure
speculation but also raw wondering. As a practitioner of Dzogchen and
Bardo Dream Yoga for many years, its emphasis on preparing carefully for
the moment of extinction or transition strikes me as very sound advice. By
no means an expert, I was fortunate enough to experience bardo states and
insights during personal encounters with the terma teachings of
Padmasambhava (which are preferable investigations to the Evans-Wentz
mistranslations known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead). His practice of the
six bardos, as well as those of Naropa, which draw parallels between
waking, sleeping, dreaming and dying, allow the practitioner (any
practitioner, regardless of intellectual capacity or background) to recognize
the base-nature of mind – which in Dzogchen is also known as The Great
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Perfection – and to become familiar with the transitions in and out of the
waking and sleeping states and the living, dying and post-death states
(bardos) with considerable continuity.
One thing that is certain, and which has been clarified by many
investigators such as Kübler-Ross (On Death and Dying, 1977) and others,
is that only the dying can teach us about death, if we are brave enough to
watch and listen. In the Tibetan Buddhist bardo traditions there are
specialists whose entire existential enterprise is based upon not only this
kind of bearing witness, but also to guiding the dying being through a
threshold that can obviously be disconcerting to the unprepared.
The profound Dzogchen methods practiced by Chogyal Norbu also
provide ample thought provoking speculation based on the actualized
practice of awareness continuity before, during and after death. The key to
this is not the post-mortem experience, but the preparation in sentient realms
we occupy on a daily basis. This ground awareness is accessible to everyone
here and now, since that is the ground of being which emerges, or appears to
emerge, during dreaming or dying but which is also present as the base from
which the entire phenomenal world appears in the mirror-like radiance with
which we're all familiar. So I would suggest that consciousness doesn't do
anything during death; it also doesn't quite transform either, it merely
continues doing what it always does, which is to be misconstrued as a solid
world of separate entities all competing for space and time locales.
The ground nature of mind, however, does seem to be uncovered, which
is why so many parallel experiences are reported at an archetypal level by
diverse peoples with utterly divergent belief systems, which are then
projected into or upon whatever cultural context they occupy. One thing they
all share, or so it seems to me, is the sudden realization that their entire life
and experiences had been based on the incorrect assumption that they
existed independently as a separate entity called a self. That entity appears to
shimmer like a mirage and dissolve into the transitional state (so great yogi
masters have reported) as it dawns briefly on the dying being that he or she
is in actuality space (or light or energy) itself without differentiation.
Therefore death, in this contemplative context at least, is not a question of
a tangible entity with a separate existence going anywhere or doing
anything, since such an entity is the very illusory dynamic which death itself
erases right before our eyes, and yet we seem to continue seeing. The dying
being becomes aware (all too temporarily, in what many have described as
the white light encounter) that all and everything had originated in a mind
luminosity which is not separate at all from the dying being, and towards
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which no travel at all is possible since it's always been right in front of us,
staring us in the face (not to mention around and within us).
But we – failing to recognize our own true face or nature as precisely this
essentially self-produced and maintained energy – were simply too deluded
by apparent concrete forms to recognize it until it's too late to do so. A flash
of light ensues, we react in habitual fear and suddenly we materialize once
again as a newborn baby – or, in some versions, we are drawn by visions of
sexual desire back into incarnation. In any case, fear or desire, the reembodying of awareness is thought to be a real possibility, but a failure to
awaken to the clear light of nirvana. Hence the importance of bardo
meditations, such as dream yoga, which are obviously useful in order to
develop new and more advantageous habitual tendencies. It’s not that habits
per se are inherently good or bad, only that good habits can be learned,
through practice and repetition, and can replace bad habits that were learned
in exactly the same manner.
In conclusion, I have no particular desire for resolution or answers. As
suggested, I have a high comfort level for uncertainty and ambiguity and a
low threshold for any finalities that accept or reject the conjectures of other
theorists. Perhaps this is because I am not a theorist. Since none of us can
ever be proven right or wrong in these matters, I tend to lean towards the
attitudes of those guides who offer the most spacious, flexible, generous,
open minded and inclusive approaches. Any heavens or hells which arise in
the midst of the post-death process of becoming are of our own making, but,
even so, they cannot either hurt or help us unless we find a way to fully
recognize the clear light nature of this transparent mind as it diminishes and
disappears.
The truth about our consciousness and its extinction is, to paraphrase the
poet Louis MacNeice in describing our crazy world, “incorrigibly plural”:
there is no necessity therefore of demanding or even hoping for an either/or
condition for speculating on the infinite fate of our finite awareness. So, my
own theories are deceptively simple: all physical objects (including us) and
the physical space in which they are situated are actually durational in nature
– they are frozen or congealed time moving too slowly to be discerned as
what we and they are, mirror images of constant and perpetual flux. Flux is
all there ever was and all there ever will be.
Far from being merely a science fiction concept, there really is a
phenomenon we could call the archaeopsychic and it’s staring us in the face
every single day. Our brains and bodies are flotsam and jetsam floating
down the bloodstream of its archaic memory, itself consisting of a fluid form
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of time. The non-physical property that we insist occupies our brain as a
presence is also real and actual, as it is a mirror-like echo of the sound of our
forms floating up or down the slipstream of this mind-made physical realm.
Our brains don’t die exactly, they merely return to the original form they had
before being embodied.
If we are fortunate enough (what the Tibetan Bardo Thodol death
contemplation practice calls “oh nobly born”) to achieve the status of a
human being in our present shapes, we are also fortunate enough to be able
to access and comprehend the codes of the biological kingdom that
manufactured consciousness in order to be aware of itself. If, that is, we do
not shy away in fear from the simple fact of impermanence and thus
manufacture more unnecessary suffering for ourselves (or the apparent
others around us) than we deserve as custodians of “the great sea of its total
memory” (Ballard, The Drowned World).
Basically, this places me squarely in the playground of the panpsychic
theories, which if I am practicing certain contemplative modes from the
Tibetan Buddhist bardo traditions, must perforce be my own orientation. It
also follows that I tend to subscribe, from personal experience one might
say, to the David Bohm notion of implicate and explicate orders to our
experience, since the bardo practice of dream yoga so clearly involves that
perspective (though in the end it privileges the implicate). I suppose it is best
summed up in Bohm’s words about the central underlying theme of his
(eventually holographic) theory that there is “an unbroken wholeness of the
totality of existence as an undivided flowing movement without borders”.6
His research also indicated that he held what could be called a basically
Gnostic viewpoint, not in the religious sense of the word but in terms of the
viability of each person (particle) having the ability to personally experience
the wholeness he refers to as a totality. To me this sounds very Buddhist in
scope, and also links to my own personal research into the nature of pattern
forming reciprocal limits without borders. When we die, it appears that the
explicate order of the hologram dissolves and the implicate order of the
projector is revealed, as is the unison between the two. The trick, according
to the bardo practices, is to be awake, stable and aware enough to detect this
degree of oneness without being afraid of the awesomeness of the
realization, without projecting, and without freaking out, so to speak.
On a personal note, and with reference to my notions about duration itself
being the conceptual crux of the flux, when I was ten years old I had a
spontaneous experience of something akin to what R. Maurice Bucke called
6
David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980, p. 218.
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“cosmic consciousness”, a transpersonal realm where the mind was not
located inside the head per se but inside everything else. I was listening to an
adult chattering on about their usual adult narratives, when they remarked to
me that commonplace observation we have all heard a thousand times and
maybe even uttered ourselves: “If I knew then what I know now…”, etc.
They were suggesting that at my tender age, if only I could access all the
extra additional information, data, knowledge, wisdom one might
accumulate from years of study and experience, my choices and actions
would be impacted significantly. Thus I would be able to make decisions
based on who I would become if I made the correct decisions. For some
unaccountable reason it suddenly struck me that the mind I had then was
technically identical to the mind I would have now, except presumably now
with more useful information. I became aware of the mind as a mindstream,
a fast flowing river with ever more debris, some of it useful some of it
useless, that in the “future” would still somehow be “me”, but a supposedly
wiser me.
I understand how this may sound somewhat exotic, but is it really any
more exotic than what we now customarily accept about the hidden
weirdness and uncertainties of an interconnected quantum reality? At any
rate, this thought experiment has now been conducted for some fifty five
years with surprisingly useful results, the most salient of which is that if
there is a mindstream with which we can connect at different stages in the
progression of our own lifetime, might it not also be possible to connect with
a future mindstream after this lifetime, extending forward indefinitely?
For some reason I’ve never been fond of the word incarnation, so
therefore I’m disinclined to call this potential phenomenon re-incarnation,
instead opting for my already stated preference for the notion of
embodiment. Therefore let’s name this, for the purposes of this discussion,
not even a re-embodiment but rather a successively progressing sequence of
embodiments, each one with perhaps a different personality but the same
identical … identical what? Life force? Spirit? Soul? Sentience? Words are
obviously our chief conundrum here, since as Wittgenstein reminds us, the
limits of language are the limits of our world, as well as the respectable fact
that what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.
Therefore as I draw these speculations to a close, I return once again to
the notion of an embodied meaning (or pattern) with which I have identified
all structures that utilize any of the symbolic forms at our disposal, whether
linguistic, visual, sculptural, mathematical, spiritual, musical or
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architectural, and I choose to suggest that the ways to survive the so-called
death experience of self are twofold.
The first is to create or compose something in which your consciousness
is embedded: if you are Dostoyevsky you do this in the form of a novel like
Crime and Punishment, if you’re T.S. Eliot, in the form of The Waste Land,
if you’re Martha Graham, in the form of Appalachian Spring, if you’re
Albert Einstein, in the form of the Theory of Relativity, if you’re John
Coltrane, in the form of A Love Supreme … to name but a few obvious
examples. In effect, such artists in multiple mediums are the gardeners of the
collective unconscious: growing these splendid blooms that are perennial,
outlive them, and return to blossom with each new successive generation.
If you do not operate within the spheres of influence for these particular
symbolic forms, perhaps you do so in the mundane form of the children you
give birth to, name, teach and send out into the world to live on after you
carrying your genes and their own obscure coded messages. If, like me, you
don’t choose to reproduce because you were too busy engaging in rampant
speculation about what it means to be alive in the first place, perhaps you
achieve the condition of an embodied meaning yourself, which in theory at
least is what happens when you engage in the Bardo Thodol contemplative
practices devoted to dream yoga and the eschatological realm of achieving a
kind of continuity before, during and after death.
One can, in principle, determine through the scrupulous management of
awareness during the stage of final things, to witness the transference of
your personal consciousness into a transpersonal and, for lack of a better
word, quantum state of consciousness, which clearly would seem to adhere
to both the panpsychic and by extension the archaeopsychic domains. An
example of such scrupulous management? Two of the most impressive
parallels to what we Buddhists often refer to as the mirror mind in Western
terms were proffered by Mikhail Bakhtin in his concept of the dialogic self
in consciousness (in which we are essentially talking to ourselves and
interpret this as a self, prior to engaging in a dialogic interaction with
“others”) and also by Charles Cooley in his concept of the looking glass
mind (which of necessity begins to blur at the edges and vanish during death
when the interior voice or monologue no longer has a vehicle).
These two notions are well worth further exploration in the context of
their remarkable similarities to the Bardo Thodol technologies for intuitive
insight, albeit in a primarily linguistic and cognitive science mode. Both of
them are also admirably explored and clarified in a recent book by Norbert
Wiley. Inner Speech and The Dialogic Self (Temple University Press, 2016)
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offers us a fascinating platform from which to leap from our linear Western
suppositions to a more lateral Buddhist perspective. I highly recommend it
to the reader for further exploration of these ideas.
Surely the most important aspect of all this conjecture is not only a grasp
of the self-conceptions that begin to evaporate upon the dying experience,
but also the pragmatic move toward resultant actions while still alive and
able to prepare for this most obvious, mysterious and awe-inspiring of all
life events, the end of physical life itself.
In the end, pun intended, perhaps the real question is not so much what
happens to our consciousness during the enigmatic death event, but rather
how and why we were able to have any consciousness in the first place.
And, maybe even more importantly, what did we actually do with our
precious consciousness when we were still alive? And just for the record, I
still plan to happily dance with Rita Hayworth in the afterlife. But I also plan
to bring along a reality sherpa to help guide me through the emotional
rapids.
Having contemplated the river in which these rapids occur for long
enough to determine that it is I myself who am both the water itself as well
as the turbulence being experienced, I plan to be somewhat prepared for the
shock of recognition during my final moments. Since I am in no way a
completely enlightened being, however, I am also quite ready both for
whatever latent tendencies might result in the flickering frames of mental
film as my movie runs out of my projector, hence my acceptance of Rita’s
presence without mistakenly thinking she is real. In addition, such long-term
contemplation of impermanence has also provided me with the benefit of
knowing quite tangibly that I am in fact already dying and departing,
moment by moment, in a perpetually shifting flux which will merely
continue after my final shimmering moments as “myself”.
Even though I know that the self who is dying is also merely a mask
worn by everything else that is not me, because I am still just as prone to the
potential for forgetfulness shared by all the other suffering sentient beings
surrounding me, I still plan to avail myself of the professional consulting
services of what I have referred to as a reality sherpa. Why? Because that
person, presumably a skilled practitioner who will be reading from the pages
of an ancient book devoted to the passage between one life and the next, will
be re-unminding me: Rita is not real, you are only dancing with the light
itself. Enjoy the trip, this guide might tell me: you are the continuum.
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IV
Figure 1:
I see no particular reason why this familiar diagram of the dinergy ratio known as
the golden mean (1:1.618) and Fibonacci sequence, which depict a spiral growth
pattern of all physical matter, wherein the relationship of the smallest part to largest
part is equivalent to the relation of the largest part to the whole, cannot also depict
the growth pattern of non-physical matter such as consciousness, in which the
individual’s mind is in an identical direct ratio to the collective unconscious, and
thus continues, in a continuum growing past the limits of the individual lifetime.
(Thanks to our editor, Greg Nixon, for his close work, encouragement and assistance with
this article.)
°°°
DONALD BRACKETT is a Vancouver-based cultural journalist and curator who
writes about art, films, music and architecture. He has been the Executive Director
of both the Professional Art Dealers Association of Canada and The Ontario
Association of Art Galleries. He is the author of the forthcoming book from Backbeat
Books, Back to Black: Amy Winehouse’s Only Masterpiece, released in November
2016. A frequent lecturer on the history of philosophy and theology at several west
coast universities, he is also currently working on a book about the applied
phenomenology of both Gaston Bachelard and Walter Benjamin.
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Exploration
From Continuity to Contiguity:
On the genesis of consciousness, culture and oral language (Part III)
Claudio Messori*
ABSTRACT
Based on my previous model and supported by a biophysical interpretation of nervous cell,
nervous system, memory, mind and phylogenesis, I further propose a Tensorial-Relational
model, aimed at providing a paleoanthropological and physicalist’s explanations of the genesis of
consciousness, culture and oral language among human communities.
Part III of this four-part article series includes: 1.5 Anthropic finds from Lower to Middle
Paleolithic: how and why have they been realized? 1.5.1 Lower and Middle Paleolithic artifacts,
an overview; and 1.5.2 From imaginific toward conceptualization via symbolling.
Keywords: Tensorial-relational model, tension-gradient, quanta-gradient, mnemopoiesis,
dissipative system, anticipatory system, epigenetic function, continuity, contiguity, sensingintuition dichotomy, thinking-feeling dichotomy, cavity resonator, acoustic-musical faculty.
1.5 Anthropic finds from Lower to Middle Paleolithic: how and why have they been
realized?
For instance, all the ‘cultures’ of the so-called Paleolithic period have
been defined almost exclusively on the basis of subjective and untestable
determinations of stone implement categories. Apart from the obvious fact
that this taxonomy cannot be falsified, tools do not define cultures: we have
no screwdriver, knife or spear cultures. Tools and artifact types can be and
often are used across many cultures; hence they are not a primary variable
defining cultures. In short, the ‘cultural sequence’ archaeology has given us
of the Pleistocene should not be expected to be a sequence of real cultures, or
a taxonomy of peoples, tribes or ethnic entities.
R.G. Bednarik1
Based on previous premises, and knowing that even though Humans2 belong to the
same taxonomic family as the great apes this does not mean they evolved from monkeys, I am
*
Corresponding author: Claudio Messori, Independent Researcher, Str. Villaggio Prinzera 1, Fraz. Boschi di Bardone, Terenzo
43040, Italy. Phone: +393282876077; e-mail: messori.claudio@gmail.com
1
R.G. Bednarik, The origins of symboling, p. 2, cited.
Lineage: Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata;
Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini; Catarrhini; Hominidae; Homo.
2
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Euteleostomi;
Mammalia; Eutheria;
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going to take into account a brief overview of the paleo-archeological record dating back to
Lower and Middle Paleolithic (the reader is referred to consult the vast literature on the subject,
often controversial as disagreement persists as to classification, terminology and chronology), by
which comparison and interpretation I uphold my hypothesis on the origin of culture and of oral
language, knowing that what happened on Earth in the distant past and what may have been the
conditions that triggered the advent of culture and of oral language is a concept we can talk
about, but these are events that we can not know for direct experience. Whatever hypothesis we
do, we can not in principle verify it by a direct comparison with what happened [17]. All we can
do is build a hypothesis that makes consistently linked together all the data in our possession,
eliminating any apparent contradiction3.
In this section I am going to take into account the advent of culture (leaving the discussion
concerning oral language to paragraph 1.6), to which I assign the following meaning:
- by culture is meant the ongoing overcoming of stereotyped behavioral patterns via
intentional, circumstantiated, not occasional, epigenetic ideation, programming,
organization and implementation (for adaptive and supra-adaptive purposes) of cognitive
behavioral4 strategies.
In the animal kingdom, all behavioral dynamics that do not satisfy, in whole or in part, the above
criteria should be considered as interactive dynamics belonging to the relational module of a
given neurological-minded organism, governed by the phylogenetic diktat and bound to
stereotypy.
On the background of the scenario that we are going to take into account, they stay open four
questions, to which I will try, at least in part, to give an answer to.
First question: since we are taking into account over than two millions years of very slightly
documented human pre-history, what are the benchmarks that we intend to adopt in our
investigation?
3
Any theory based on experience is necessarily statistical; that is to say, it formulates an ideal average which
abolishes all exceptions at either end of the scale and replaces them by an abstract mean. This mean is quite valid
though it need not necessarily occur in reality. Despite this it figures in the theory as an unassailable fundamental
fact. … If, for instance, I determine the weight of each stone in a bed of pebbles and get an average weight of 145
grams, this tells me very little about the real nature of the pebbles. Anyone who thought, on the basis of these
findings, that he could pick up a pebbles of 145 grams at the first try would be in for a serious disappointment.
Indeed, it might well happen that however long he searched he would not find a single pebble weighing exactly 145
grams. The statistical method shows the facts in the light of the ideal average but does not give us a picture of their
empirical reality. While reflecting an indisputable aspect of reality, it can falsify the actual truth in a most
misleading way. [C.G. Jung, The Undiscovered self, p. 6, 1958]
4
By cognitive behavioral is meant the epigenetic ability to program significant actions with respect to the ability of
formulate meaningful purposes.
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Certainly not the volume of the skull (it is puzzling that in the scientific field there is still who
claim that cognitive functions increase with the increasing in brain volume or brain capacity5),
and not even the modern scientific prejudice according to which the evolutionary degree of
human being (primitive vs emancipated) is directly proportional to the amount and quality of
artifacts that produces6(lower is the degree of manufacture, lower is the evolutionary degree).
Second question: in going so far backwards in time, do we come to a temporal border, beyond
which it is necessary to adapt the epistemological approach we have adopted until then, in the
analysis and interpretation of the records?
A similar question arises when we pass from the supra-atomic scale to the sub-atomic scale. In
this case the answer is yes, we must change our epistemological approach.
Third question: the animal species Homo it has been human since the beginning or it has become
human over time (besides possessing a fully upright bipedal gait and a full-time terrestrial
bipedality7, what are the features that makes human the animal)?
A question for which I have already suggested an answer in the previous paragraph.
Fourth question: does it makes any sense to compare the stages of cognitive development of the
child with the (supposed) stages of cognitive development of the human species? Or worse yet,
to compare the behavior of the human infant to that of apes?
From the neurological point of view, the early stages in the development of the individual are
marked by CNS operation’s modes very global and scarcely selective. Indeed, at birth humans
has a remarkable physiological immaturity of the CNS compared to the other mammals. In the
first weeks of life prevails a slightly differentiated mode, which organizes itself in massive
responses to even minimal stimuli, and the better functioning sensory analyzers are the proximal
(tactile, thermal, dolorific, vibratory and proprioceptive sensitivity, smell, taste) while hearing
and seeing, especially the latter, are not yet able to deploy all their discriminative potential. But
this is due to the physiological state of immaturity of the CNS, a state of great vulnerability but
also crucial for the development of the skills required for the relational autonomy and for
subsistence, a stage that can not be classified as "inferior" but “different” compared to the adult
stage, and that can not be assimilated neither to an early period in the history of humanity, nor to
non-human animal forms, a stage of neurological, behavioral and cognitive development widely
exploited by the so-called ricapitulation theory (Ernst Haeckel). According to this theory, the
5
“How did prehistoric man manage to leave behind such a rich cultural heritage of rock art? Answer: by
developing a bigger and more sophisticated brain.”, in Human Evolution: From Axes to Art, at: http://www.visualarts-cork.com/prehistoric-art.htm
6
“Human evolution is defined via the development of stone tools”, in Prehistoric Art Timeline (2.5 Million - 500
BCE), at: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric-art-timeline.htm
7
Recently it has been suggested that bipedal walking was already used by hominids around 3.7 MYA [18].
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embryological development of higher forms of life summarizes, in the Darwinian sense, the
phylogenetic evolutionary development: an individual organism's biological development, or
ontogeny, parallels and summarises its species' evolutionary development, or phylogeny.
In the nineteenth century, the ricapitulation served as general theory of biological determinism,
used to justify a hierarchical and linear ordering of human variation: groups judged inferior (in
particular, black adults, whites of the disadvantaged classes and women) were equated, for
anatomical and mental features, to the white males children of the groups considered superior,
and presented as living examples of the primitive stages of linear, progressive and ascending
evolution of the latter. Ricapitulation influenced numerous disciplines. In psychoanalysis, for
example, Freud was a ricapitulationist, believing that the child summarize the phases of adult
sexuality of his ancestors and that, in particular, the infant Oedipus complex represents the
repetition of a phylogenetic event (the original patricide) really happened between ancestral
adults (idea widely developed in Totem and Taboo, 1913, as part of a parallelism between the
psychology of the child and of the neurotic of modern society and the psychology of the people
considered primitive). Many estimated scientists of the past and present are ricapitulationists.
According to the German psychiatrist, pathologist and anatomist Paul Emil Flechsig (1847-1929)
the human infant is a decerebrated being equipped with reflexes. For the German biologist,
ethologist and philosopher Ernst Heinrich Haeckel (1834-1919) the ontogenetic development of
the child is a summary of the main phylogenetic stages from the emergence of life on earth to
present humans. For the US neurologist and neurosurgeon Temple Fay (1895-1963), by
analyzing and comparing the locomotor development of children and animals, in the course of
evolution of the species, we can select different levels of development: a spinal level of
undulatory locomotion, similar to that of fish; a bulbar level of amphibious locomotion in water;
a mesencephalic level of amphibious locomotion on the ground; a subcortical level of
quadrupedic locomotion; a cortical level of locomotion in upright position similar to that of
primates; a neocortical level of upright locomotion typically human. According to the US
neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean (1913-2007) the brain would be divided into three main
structures used to as many functions (triune brain): an instinctive reptilian brain, a paleomammalian instinctual brain and a neo-mammalian cognitive brain.
The temptation to assume the childhood as a comparative stage (a stage considered somehow
cognitively primitive and scarcely developed as compared to the emancipated and highly
developed adulthood of Homo technologicus) for the interpretation and explanation of the early
stages of development of the human species, is so high, that is widely followed even among
anthropologists, starting from Emil Huschke (1797-1858), a German anthropologist who wrote
(1854): The Negro brain possesses a spinal cord of the type found in children and women, and
beyond this, approaches the type of brain found in higher apes.
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Fig. 4. The Paleolithic stages began earlier and/or persisted longer in different regions.
Subsequently, the demarcations between stages was not sharp. The same is true of the
transitions between hominin species. Credit: http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_3.htm
Any assumptions we may do on the behavioural life of human communities that inhabited and
transmigrated on Earth during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, it depends almost exclusively
on the availability of anthropogenic lithic finds, durable enough to remain intact for hundreds of
thousands of years because they were made of or on rock or of/on non-lithic but durable
materials (e.g. bone, ivory, horn). Any other early efforts in other materials, such as wood or
leather, would have disappeared long ago, but this is not a good reason to doubt that the results
of these efforts once existed.
Most of these finds are utilitarian artifacts, i.e. tools, with some exceptions given by a kind of
non-utilitarian finds [19] belonging to the so-called paleo-art production, the analysis and
interpretation of which should establish whether their realization:
a) it has been possible thanks to the intentional application of time to time specific
processing techniques, or
b) it has been possible thanks to the put into practice of phylogenetically inherited skills, or
c) thanks to a combination, with varying (geographically and temporally) proportions, of
both a and b.
Which one of these three options, must be regarded as the most realistic, it is what will be
addressed by taking into consideration just the first one of the three in paragraph 1.5.2.
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I assume (thesis) that the necessary precondition for any form and degree of cultural and
linguistic production, to be such, is that who is producing it must perceive themselves as
individualities distinct from their environment. This kind of awareness, which I argue is
conceived in the womb of what I call psychological birth of human being [Messori, 2000, 2004,
2012], is reached only by human species (I say quite late in human history) and coincides with
the emerging of self-consciousness or just consciousness8. Therefore, from an anthropo-neuropsychological point of view the phenomenological definition of consciousness would be:
consciousness is the neuropsychological warp on which is interwoven the weft of the
ongoing faculty and ability to ideate, program and engage, not occasionally and not by
domestication nor by artificial programming, an adaptive and supra-adaptive behavior not
ruled by the phylogenetic prescription.
1.5.1 Lower and Middle Paleolithic artifacts, an overview
A scorpion came on a riverbank and wondered how to cross it. Suddenly, he noticed a frog
leaping around. “Hello, Mr. Frog, would you carry me to the other side of the river?” asked the
scorpion. “I would have but you see I don’t trust scorpions,” replied the frog. “All scorpions are
not bad. If I sting you on the way I will die for I do not know how to swim,” explained the
scorpion. Now the frog saw enough reason in the scorpion’s statement and agreed to carry him
across the river. So the scorpion hopped on to the frog’s back and they set out on the journey.
The frog paddled his limbs through the water as fast as he could. Half way through the journey,
he suddenly felt a sharp sting on his soft hide. “Why did you sting me? Now both of us shall
drown,” cried he. “What can I do for this is my nature,” replied the unrepentant scorpion. The
frog and the scorpion immediately drowned in the gushing water.
Zen story
The paleo-archaeological record through which we groped to reconstruct, at least in general and
with reasonable uncertainty, the essential features of the behavioral life of our distant ancestors
lived during the Lower Paleolithic period (c. 2.7-2.4 MY to c. 300-120 TYA), are
(controversially) of few genres (variously classified) and are becoming increasingly scarce and
fragmented as passing from the most recent finds, dating from the second half of the Lower
Paleolithic (c. 900-700 to c. 300-120 TYA), to the oldest anthropogenic finds dating from the
first half of the Lower Paleolithic (c. 2.7-2.4 MYA to c. 900-700 TYA), and even earlier [20].
The information we can glean from these anthropogenic finds vary according to their chronology
and depend on the type and provenance of records that we have available, namely utilitarian and
non-utilitarian anthropogenic finds.
8
Without consciousness there would, practically speaking, be no world, for the world exists as such only in so far as
it is consciously reflected and considered by a psyche. Consciousness is a precondition of being. [C.G. Jung, ibid.,
p. 48]
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Utilitarian finds are mainly artifacts, i.e. tools, dating back to the first half of the Lower
Paleolithic like simple pebble tools, quartzite pebble tools and flakes (India), chopping-tools
(Eastern Hemisphere), handaxes and cleavers (Middle Est, Africa, western Europe), bifacialtools and flint tools (western Europe, Jordan), all of them sharing a minimalist and essential
shape, made according to a synthetic spatial perspective of a mirror-symmetrical type (doublesided) [21], a symmetry (mirror simmetry) which reflects a two-dimensional spatial perspective
(bipolar) and a based guidance on the horizon, the line where, I argue, the two sides of the
sensing-intuition mental bipolar dimension comes together.
Fig. 5. Imagine source:
http://www.historydiscussion.net/ages/paleolithic-period-lower-middle-and-upper-paleolithic-period/1821
Non-utilitarian artifacts, i.e. palaeo-art finds, from this period are9 beads and pendants from the
Acheulean of France (at Saint-Acheul); iron hematite (ochre) fragments (occurring together with
Acheulean bifaces and exotic quartz crystals), the processing of which may have provided a
pigment used for coloring objects, bodies or surfaces, from Wonderwork Cave, in the northern
Cape region of South Africa; numerous manuports, i.e. natural objects that were collected and
carried by hominids because of some outstanding properties, such as quartz crystals from the
Lower Acheulean of Singi Talav (India), Choukoutien (China) and Gudenus Cave in Austria; the
red jasperite cobble with distinctive natural markings (that makes the cobble looking like an
anthropomorphic shaped face with eyes and mouth) from Makapansgat Cave in South Africa
(Fig. 6), which was collected by a hominid some 2.5-3 MYA; the Erfoud manuport, in the form
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of a fossilized fragment of a cuttlefish with natural phallic resemblance, from an archaeological
site near the towns of Erfoud and Rissani in eastern Morocco (Fig. 6a), which was collected by a
hominid some 300 TYA [22]; an engraved bone fragment from the Acheulean of Sainte Anne I,
France, which bears ten short cuts along an edge.
Fig. 6. The red jasperite manuport from Makapansgat Cave, South Africa, 2.5–3 million years,
the oldest known palaeoart object in the world. Credit: R.G. Bednarik, IFRAO, 1998
(Image source: http://www.semioticon.com/virtuals/symbolicity/origins.html)
Fig. 6a The Erfoud manuport, from a Late Acheulian dwelling in Morocco.
Credit: R.G. Bednarik, 2002 (Image source: http://www.semioticon.com/virtuals/symbolicity/origins.html )
Utilitarian finds from the second half of the Lower Paleolithic are artifacts that provide some
likely clues on Paleolithic humans migration flows (a series of quartz stone axes, found in Crete
and dated between 800 to 130 TYA suggest that already from the second half of the Lower
Paleolithic perhaps Homo erectus and certainly Homo heidelbergensis built rudimentary boats
for sailing in the open sea) [23]; stone tools (choppers, bifaces, scrapers, handaxes and spikes)
9
See: R. G. Bednarik, The Earliest Evedence of Paleoart, cited.
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[24] belonging to the so called core-tool tradition, developed and diversified in terms of their
intended use, but also because of the location of their makers perspective10, a fact of great
importance in the process of psycho-relational individuation that has transformed the inner life
and the relational approach of human communities, because it indicates that the human position,
in the binocular perception of reality, is taken as the psycho-spatial coordinate that gives a sense
of depth to the reality itself: the human actor's position, as psycho-spatial coordinate for the
depth, is the dependent variable which orients the two-dimensional extension of the line and the
one-dimensional point (dot) generating the tridimensionality11.
Non-utilitarian finds from this period are stone carvings, such as cupules [25] (a shallow, nonfunctional cup-like depression, cut into the surface of a rock as an engraved dot) and petroglyphs
[26] found in Bhimbetka and Daraki-Chattan Caves, India (dated between 700-500 to 290-200
TYA), lines and dots as engravings which add the size of the depth to the two-dimensional
perspective, creating the suggestion of three-dimensionality (for further explanations on the
subject see paragraph 1.5.2); artifacts with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic forms realized
according to a two-dimensional spatial perspective; specimens of anthropomorphic statuettes or
figurines classified as Venus (Venus of Tan Tan, Morocco, dated between 500 to 300 TYA;
Venus of Berekhat Ram, Israel, dated between 500 to 230 TYA) [27]; iconic figures in the
graphic art of eastern Europe and Asia such as some of the paintings in Kapova Cave and
Ignatiev Cave and two mammoth engravings, one each from Mal’ta and Bereliokh, Siberia, and
perhaps one figure from Hayonim Cave; geometric or non-iconic marks such as the numerous
geometric signs on portable objects from Russia, Ukraine, Siberia and India, best exemplified at
Eliseevichi, Mezin, Kirillovskaya and Mezherich (but also occurring, less pronounced or in
smaller numbers, at Patne, Mal’ta, Afontova, Kavkaz, Balinkosh, Klinets, Timonovka,
Suponevo, Novgorod-Severskaya, Avdeevo and Gagarino), in the first Palaeolithic art
discovered in China, in several engraved objects from the Levant (especially the Urkan e-Rub II
plaque and an Upper Besor 6 ostrich eggshell fragment) and in Blombos Cave [28], southern
Africa.
10
See: Evolutionary Psychology of the I/Me and the Idea of the Immortal Soul, cited.
11
With respect to the 3-dimensional sense Wynn observes: Perhaps the most critical new spatial concept is the
understanding and coordination of multiple points of view. The intentionally straight edges and parallels on some of
the Isimila bifaces require attention to a stable point of view, which is a projective notion. More complex still are
the regular cross sections of many of these bifaces . . . Unlike the spatial concepts used for earlier tools, these
projective notions allow the internal frame of the artifact to be controlled by the external relation of perspective. A
second spatial concept to appear by 300,000 years ago is that of a “Euclidean” space, that is, a space definable by
a three-dimensional coordinate grid. . . . The acquisition of this constellation appears to have hinged on a single
breakthrough in spatial thinking, the invention or discovery of perspective. . . . The evolution of these concepts of
space reflects, I think, the development of a very distinct concept of self as an actor in an independently existing
world. Such an awareness is at the heart of human understanding. [In: Wynn T., The evolution of spatial
competence, Chicago, University of Illinois, 61-65, 1989].
- Compare with: Harrod James B. Notes on Middle Acheulian Spirituality: Stone Tool Logic Structures and
Analogies of the Soul, 2002, available at: http://originsnet.org/machultool1183k.pdf
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The finds from the Middle Paleolithic (in Europe) or Middle Stone Age (Africa), c. 300-120 to c.
45-30 TYA, include pictographs, petroglyphs, survival flukes (rock paintings in deep caves),
proto-sculptures or figurines, iron hematite (ochre) fragments such as those found in an
archeological site near Twin Rivers, in Zambia, South Central Africa, dated c. 270 TYA,
abundant and varied types of tools and other hand processed stone artifacts belonging to the so
called flake-tool tradition12, some of them showing a clear propitiatory-magical significance, as
well as some evidences on the evolution of fire control. Their processing and typological variety
are in favour of a substantial refinement of the skills used in the manufacture of materials such as
stone, bone and wood13, showing that in humans’ psyche was taking place a mature process of
elaboration and structuring of the objectives pursued with their production, an evidence of the
settling of the three-dimensional perspective orientation assumed by humans in their relation
with the surrounding.
From now on it develops an anthropocentric orientation which entails a progressive detachment
from the relationship of continuity or phylogenetic (quasi)unconditioned identification with the
12
“The Middle Paleolithic period is differentiated mainly from the typological point of view where the presence or
absence of hand-axes or biface is critically important. The core-tool tradition have totally been transferred to the
flake-tool tradition in this level. Therefore, Chellean-Acheulian hand- axes are no more found. Instead, implements
have been made on flakes that are knocked off from the nodule. Both Levalloisian and Mousterian traditions were
developed on the flake tradition involving a higher technology. Levalloisian tradition was started from the Middle
Acheulian stage and its developed form is named as ‘Proto Mousterian’, which became further developed later with
the name ‘Levalloiso- Mousterian’. This indicates that the Mousterian also emerged from Middle Levalloisian stage.
As a matter of fact, evidences of Levalloisian flake-tools making come from the open-air sites, whereas the
Mousterian had kept its evidences mostly in caves and rock-shelters of South-Western France. Besides, the
Mosterian provides the earliest evidence on the regular use of fire and first definite burial has also been discovered
from this stage in Western Europe.
The Mousterian tools, in general, show facetted striking platform and secondary workings in the form of stepchippings where the pressure-flaking technique is commonly applied. For the first time, a crude bone-tool industry
appeared in the Mousterian stage (…..) Levallois flakes were preforms for making a variety of scraping, cutting,
and puncturing implements. The raw flakes were modified for particular uses by systematic percussion flaking their
edges. Mousterian flake knives made in this way were apparently used for such tasks as cutting small pieces of wood
and butchering animals. Flake scrapers had a number of uses but were particularly important in processing animal
skins. Levallois flakes were also shaped into crude unifacial spear points by Neandertals. This was the first time in
human prehistory that stone tips were affixed to spears. It allowed greater penetration of the spears and,
subsequently, more effective killing of large animals. The fact that Neandertals were the pioneers in creating these
new deadly weapons is further reason to reject the old view that they were "dull-witted, brutish, ape-like creatures."
[Credit: Mamta Aggarwal, Palaeolithic Period: Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Period , available at:
http://www.historydiscussion.net/ages/palaeolithic-period-lower-middle-and-upper-palaeolithic-period/1821 ]
13
“The earliest wooden spears yet recovered came from a 380,000-400,000 year old cave site near Schöningen in
Germany, presumably left by a group of late Homo heidelbergensis. They were 6-8 ft. (1.83-2.44 m.) long and had
sharpened points at both ends but were not stone tipped. The fact that these spears were found in association with
the butchered remains of 10 horses, suggests that they were hunting weapons. Only a few wooden artifacts have
been found associated with Neandertal remains. Those that have been discovered include spears, plates, and
possibly pegs. It is likely that Neandertals made other kinds of artifacts out of wood and more perishable materials.
Their hand axes and some other stone tools very likely were used to create and modify artifacts out of these organic
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natural habitat, determining a drift towards a problematic epigenetics relationship of contiguity,
or epigenetic-conditioned identification with the surrounding, which, in overcoming the
relationship of continuity, re-creates the world in the form of internal representation (first
symbolic and later on also semantic) of external reality.
In this regenerative and representative psychophysical process, the undivided unity composed by
the individual and its natural habitat is cleaved into a territory and its mapping. In the tension,
fraught with uncertainties, created by this splitting, the (quasi)absence of intentional supraadaptive purposes14 in early humans is facing and integrates with the rising humans’ state of
consciousness15, and from its anthropo-centric orientation flows the fully supra-adaptive
behavioral which we call, to all intents and purposes, cultural production.
Fig. 7. Bone fragment with two sets of sub-parallel lines engraved with stone tools, from the Oldisleben 1
site, Germany, of the Micoquian, and possibly in the order of 120,000 years old.
Credit: R.G. Bednarik, 2006 (Image source: http://www.ifrao.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/yev.pdf)
The path of the progressive detachment from a relationship of continuity, to enter into a
relationship of contiguity, hides many unknowns and hence a tragic side. A tragicalness that we
still discover expressed in the myth of Oedipus, of which M. Graves gives us the following
version16:
Narcissus was marked, in his short life, by the maternal intentionality which the myth wishes
modulated in Tiresias’ warning (“Your son will live until he knows himself”, which means “until
materials.” [Ibid].
14
It should be stressed that it is not possible to conceive the ongoing transformation process of human cognition, as
if it has been composed and divided by jumps. All forms of behavior observed at a certain period of time within a
given species, are always somehow prefigured, among that same species, in earlier behavioral forms. That is to say
that any behavior undergoes over time a more or less observable process of diversification, going from a phase in
which its effectiveness it is not fully established, to a phase in which it is. In human species it has never been a
behavior completely free of intentionality! However, the behavioral intentionality (stricto sensu) it has been for a
long time overshadowed by the prescriptive action (eminently unconscious) exerted by the sensing-intuition mental
function. For this reason, its impact on the behavior adopted by the human communities in the course of Lower
Paleolithic, does not seem compatible with the establishment of a fully cultural and linguistic production.
15
Individual consciousness is only the flower and the fruit of a season, sprung from the perennial rhizome beneath
the earth; and it would find itself in better accord with the truth if it took the existence of the rhizome into its
calculations. For the root matter is the mother of all things. [C.G. Jung, Symbols of Transformation]
16
In: D. Napolitani, Identità, Alterità, Culture, available at: http://www.rivistacomprendre.org/allegati/XIX.Napolitani.pdf
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he stops nestling in the conscious womb of you, his mother”) and, true to this “norm”, he
avoided any relationship, keeping himself to a solitude that we could define as “autistic”. Until
the day when, gazing at his reflection in a pond, as was his wont, he saw it rippling thanks to a
spiteful puff of air from Zephyrus, the spring wind, and so saw his image in the water disappear:
no longer, in this image, a Narcissus reflecting his existential condition of a oneness with the
maternal intentionality, but, all of a sudden, a reflective him in his own autonomy, in his selfknowledge emerging from the norm that had led him to this point. The unbearable distress due to
this laceration led him to stab himself to death.
1.5.2 From imaginific toward conceptualization via symbolling
Art is a kind of innate drive that seizes a human being and makes him its instrument. To perform
this difficult office it is sometimes necessary for him to sacrifice happiness and everything that
makes life worth living for the ordinary human being. As a human being he may have moods and
a will and personal aims, but as an artist he is "man" in a higher sense— he is "collective
man"— one who carries and shapes the unconscious, psychic forms of mankind.
Carl Gustav Jung17
While sharing Bednarik’s opinion18 on the relevance to be assigned to the finds he describes as
paleo-art or paleo-non-utilitarian traditions, e.g. rock carvings (petroglyphs), cupules, engraved
pebbles, beads, iron hematite’s pigment, manuports and the like, dated from the Lower
Paleolithic, in his words “the body of very early paleoart, and any other 'non-utilitarian'
evidence may provide clues to early hominid cognition”, I have to disagree with him in assigning
them a cultural value, which assume cultural relevance only in a complex social system of
symbolling and of value concepts. The reasons adduced in support of this hypothesis would
prove that as early as from the first half of the Lower Paleolithic human communities were
producing culture and were organized in a complex social system which could rely on the use of
symbolling and of value concepts, but I argue that this hypothesis is based on an interpretation of
the findings inferred by a definition of culture and of symbolling too broad and therefore very
questionable. In speaking of culture Bednarik writes19 “‘Culture’, defined scientifically, is the
passing on of practice by non-genetic means (Handwerker 1989), therefore many animal species
possess culture”, and elsewhere he writes20 “In the case of humans, ‘culture’ defines the
collective customs, beliefs and arts of a group of people who are usually bound together by it,
and these are passed on from generation to generation”.
About symbolling, he writes21: "One could further speculate that symbolling by re-enactment is
17
C.G. Jung, The Spirit in Man, Art, & Literature (Collected Works of Jung Vol. 15), Paperback, 1971
See, R. G. Bednarik, The Earliest Evidence of Paleoart, cited.
19
R.G. Bednarik, The origins of symboling, p. 2, cited.
20
R.G. Bednarik, The Lower and Middle Palaeolithic origins of semiotics, p. 1, cited.
21
Ibid, p. 5.
18
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likely to have originated from neuronal pathways facilitating deceptive behaviour, which has
been observed in chimps. Once again we see that symbol use is based on neuronal circuits that
may well have their antecedents in those of earlier primates. It is therefore inappropriate to
expect finding a specific development or event that would mark the beginning of symbolling.
Rather, this must be assumed to be an incremental process, with its origins deep in unconnected
neuronal structures that existed even before humans appeared (Fiedler L., 2003). It was
apparently during the Lower Palaeolithic that, in a sequence of developmental events that still
need to be identified, various strands or fragments of behavioural traits came together in such a
way that what we call “consciousness” became possible."
About culture I have already expressed my idea, which exclude the possibility that non-human
animals may be capable of ‘producing culture’ and at the same time establishes which cognitive
and behavioral criteria are to be adopted in the definition of ‘producing culture’.
About ‘symbolic production’ or symbolling, which I will discuss below, I merely point out that
the idea according to which it would be the structure (neurological) that generate the function
(mental) it is simply wrong, while the opposite is correct: in our psycho-physical reality the
function (Tensorial-Relational dynamics) is the cause while the structure (energy-matter
organization) is the effect.
As an alternative to the above hypothesis, I claim that i) the findings dated from the first half of
Lower Paleolithic lies on the plane of pre-symbolism, which belongs to the imaginific function,
the territory of the 'archaic remnants' or 'archetypes' or 'primordial images’ (C.G. Jung), mentalbasins of attraction rooted in the phylogenetic bifurcations that led first to the formation of
vertebrates and then to that of humans, in which they develop the tendency to form symbols and
therefore magic images or motifs; ii) while those dating from the second half of Lower
Paleolithic lies on the plane of proto-symbolism, i.e. on the plane of what exceeds the signified
because it does not contemplate a signified as such, i.e. as concept (one of the three factors that
together with the signifier and the referent compose the semiotic triangle) and, with it, exceeds
the abstract way of thinking (therefore it exceeds also the plane of concept, i.e. of abstract idea
or mental image which corresponds to some distinct entity or class of entities, or to its essential
features, or determines the application of a term – especially a predicate -, and thus plays a part
in the use of reason or language22).
If accepted, my hypothesis would provide a scenario of cognitive hominid evolution which do not
exclude a priori the possibility that the effectiveness of paleo-art production may also not be
because of belonging to a complex cultural and social system, which must include a variable but
significant amount of abstract thinking and conceptualization. That is to say that hundred of
thousands of humans generations for hundred of thousands of years have lived and transmigrated
on this planet just relying on the ground of the imaginific function and sensing-intuition mental
22
Credit: Oxford Dictionaries, Language matters, available at: www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/concept
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bipolar dimension, the phylogenetic basin of attraction where are embedded the essential and
ready to use humans’ pre-cultural behavioral strategies, without getting bogged down in the
maze of abstract thinking, concepts, cultural production, speech communication and the like.
They were human in every respect, able to take care of their offspring and to perform all the
functions required to meet the needs related to survival, included interpersonal relationships and
reproduction without perceiving themselves as entities subjectively distinct from the wild, which
is, I claim, the precondition for there to be cultural production.
Our pre-cultural and pre-verbal humanity perceived the world, via imaginific function and
sensing-intuition mental bipolar dimension, as a system of vibrating fields, each with a particular
sound and rhythm, and this is the reason why early non-utilitarian traditions have devoted much
of their physical and mental energy in the caves and rockshelters’ stone processing, because
caves and caverns are places whose sound structure makes them natural and primordial resonant
telluric crates, where sounds resonate, echoes, rumble, reverberate, places in which it may be
found the highest environmental acoustic effects, where not seeing for the dark requires to
sharpen the listening above and beyond the sensing, where the sound is an alive tension of
vibrations shrouded into the silence [29].
The cave as the cavern is the lithic throat (Vishuddha, the fifth chakra of Vedic Tradition) whose
breath generates the sound, the telluric uterus (Muladhara, the first chakra) where the echo of the
sound creates the mystery of births and deaths, of appearing and disappearing, of day and night,
the primordial abyss, the space of the unknown thing, the spell. With the magnificence of its
silences, its forms, shadows, transparences, the cavern is the place where all the resonances can
rejoin the primal resonance and hence re-born to a new sound. The rich and widespread
production of cupules is a tangible sign of the deep (unconscious) bond that unites cavern and
rock, as guardians of the primordial sound, to the human being, who digs and carves into it and
over it her/his sound, resonance, her/his sounding board, her/his uterus-throat concavity, her/his
receptacle of the sound, the cupula.
In saying so I join the Junghian thought. Carl Gustav Jung believed that symbol creation is a key
in understanding human nature. Symbol, as defined by him, is the best possible expression for
something essentially unknown. He wanted to investigate the similarity of symbols that are
located in different religious, mythological, and magical systems which occur in many cultures
and time periods.
To account for these similar symbols occurring across different cultures and time periods he
suggested the existence of two layers of the unconscious psyche. The first of the two layers is the
personal unconscious. It contains what the individual has acquired in his or her life, but has been
forgotten or repressed. The second layer is the collective unconscious which contains the memory
traces common to all humankind. These experiences form archetypes. These are innate
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predispositions to experience and symbolize certain situations in a distinct way. As pointed out
by Laughlin [30] citing Jung: Archetypal structures underlie all recurrent, "typical"
(panhumanly typical, not culturally or personally typical) ideas, images, categories, situations,
and events that arise in experience. They contain no inherent content, but exist "at first only as
forms without content, representing merely the possibility of a certain type of perception and
action". Archetypes may manifest as "a priori, inborn forms of 'intuition'". And as the instincts
impel us to act in a distinctly human way, so do the archetypes impel us to perceive and
understand the events we instinctively respond to in a distinctly human way.
That is. In agreeing with Junghian way of explaining what should be meant by symbol, I
speculate that in the absence of an I/Me that distinguishes itself from an Other than I/Me (which
is the psychological condition that has ruled, remaining essentially unchanged, humans behavior
for at least fifty of the sixty minutes that mark humans’ hour timeline), human psyche did not
contemplate a territory belonging to unconscious psychic material and the other one to conscious
psychic material, and did not even contemplate an unconscious psyche characterized by two well
distinguishable layers, one personal and one collective. Almost all there was during these fifty
minutes it was phylogenetic psychic material, the territory of the essentially unknown, embedded
with the innate predispositions which have assigned to humankind all the ready to use strategies
and skills necessary to fulfill its adaptive needs.
This is why from the beginning of Lower Paleolithic until the end of the first half of Middle
Paleolithic, there have not been huge variations in the type of products realized by human’s
hand, even though the variations that there have been, however slight, are nonetheless an
evidence of the fact that human psyche was undergoing the slow psychological process of
individuation which would be led to the settling of a state of consciousness, with all the
consequences that we observe in the findings dated from the second half of the Middle
Paleolithic onwards.
Fig. 8. Some of the more than 500 Paleolithic cupules in Daraki-Chattan, India, thought to be
of the Acheulian or Middle Paleolithic. Credit: Robert G. Bednarik
A clue that can help us in understanding these variations is given by taking into account the
paleo-art works according to their perspectives, namely the one-dimensional, two-dimesional and
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three-dimensional perspective.
On the subject Bednarik expresses an interesting point of view23, although not entirely sharable:
If we separate art works into three-dimensional figurative, two-dimensional figurative and nonfigurative genres, we see that the first is the least complex and the last the most complex. This is
because in the first art genre, referent (the object depicted, the signified) and referrer (the art
motif) are cognitively relatable by direct visual resemblance of certain characteristics. In
graphic figurative art, the referent is related to the art motif through the projection of certain of
its characteristics onto a two-dimensional plane, so the perception of its relationship to the
referrer involves a decoding process requiring certain cognitive faculties. In entirely nonfigurative arts as well as those that use highly ‘stylised’ versions of iconicity it is impossible to
know the referrer, unless one has direct access to the cultural conventions in question.
Moreover, in the last-named art form, concepts or ideas involving no figuratively definable
referents can readily be ‘depicted’. It is therefore clearly the most sophisticated art genre, and
can communicate unlimited numbers of ideas, in rather the same way as written characters.
The meaning to be assigned to the geometric or non-iconic marks or non-figurative genre, from
the earliest parallel sets of straight lines (vertical or oblique) and sets of convergent lines and
dots (cupules), to the increasingly complex geometric arrangements, such as multiple arcs,
zigzags, circles and radiate patterns and the likes, it remains an outstanding question. In this
regard, Bednarik has advanced the hypothesis, named phosphene theory (Bednarik 1984 et
passim), according to which phosphenes may have a role in the earliest engravings. This
hypothesis does not explain how phosphenes are connected to paleoart origins, but merely points
out that all known pre-figurative engravings appears to resemble phosphene motifs [31].
In Bednarik’s words [32]: Phosphenes are most easily described as a kind of test pattern of the
visual system. They are an autogeneous and involuntary phenomenon of the mammalian visual
system whose form constants cannot be influenced by cultural conditioning and which seem to be
ontogenically stable. This phenomenon can be produced by many factors, such as electrical
stimulation (frequency dependent), pressure on the eyeball, blows to the head (“seeing stars”),
certain hallucinogens and many others. Phosphene forms are the fifteen known standard form
constants of phosphenes, and most of these are found in the earliest engravings and petroglyphs.
It is beyond doubt that phosphenes are intrinsic phenomena of the visual system, or entoptic
phenomena, and that they reflect inherent structures of the visual system rather than any
external factor or information. Since the earliest graphic production of the modern infant and
the earliest production of hominins both consist entirely of compositions resembling phosphene
forms, I consider it likely that these art forms are in some way related to specific basic neural
processes of the visual system. Therefore the idea that these earliest engravings “resonate” with
the neuron structures of the brain seems to be confirmed by the phosphene theory, according to
23
R.G. Bednarik, The Lower and Middle Palaeolithic origins of semiotics, p. 101, cited.
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which the entoptic stimulation recorded by the visual centre resembles inherent structures, such
as perhaps that of the striate cortex.”
My hypothesis is developed on a different plane from that indicated by Bednarik, though not
incompatible with it. The three above-mentioned forms of art genres belongs to three different
levels of expression which lie on three different logical planes. They should be seen as correlated
to the three main marking steps of the psychological process of individuation which would be led
to the settling of a state of consciousness: the non-figurative genre (geometric or non-iconic)
marks the starting phase (first half of Lower Paleolithic) of this process, with a pre-symbolic
(imaginific function) and consciousness-free way of expressing the insight (a relationship of
continuity in which no space or time elaboration is involved, just totipotent sensing-intuition
images); the two-dimensional figurative genre marks the transition phase (second half of Lower
Paleolithic) towards a relationship of contiguity, with sensations turning into feeling-emotions,
with a way of expressing the insight contaminated by the psychologic tension that arise in
differentiating, i.e. orienting, the undifferentiated space-time of the non-figurative genre; the
three-dimensional figurative genre24 (dating from late Middle Paleolithic onward [33]) marks the
ending phase of the process, with a way of expressing the insight ruled by a state of
consciousness, pre-rational (stricto sensu), with a fully established competitive relationship
between continuity and contiguity, where out of sensing-intuition endowed by feeling-emotions
are settled the two mental bipolar dimensions of sensing-intuition and thinking-feeling that still
characterize our mind territory.
If we integrate the above statements with what Jung defines as art, i.e. “Art is a kind of innate
drive that seizes a human being and makes him its instrument. To perform this difficult office it is
sometimes necessary for him to sacrifice happiness and everything that makes life worth living
for the ordinary human being. As a human being he may have moods and a will and personal
aims, but as an artist he is "man" in a higher sense— he is "collective man"— one who carries
and shapes the unconscious, psychic forms of mankind.”, we obtain a quite clear picture of what
should be meant not only by paleo-non-utilitarian traditions but also by paleo-utilitarian
traditions: the tangible traces of the extraordinary efforts made by thousands of generations of
men and women to conform, without succumbing, to the tension (still acting) created from being
animals (as we are) governed by the phylogenetic dictates (the innate drive that seizes a human
being and makes him its instrument) but nevertheless carriers of the germs, essentially unknown,
of their possibility and capacity to undertake a long and full of dangers journey, still ongoing,
leading to come to terms with the phylogenetic innate drive.
It is within this tension, that is traced the history of our humanity, and it is from it that develop
24
On the subject see: F. Martini, Prima e al di là dell’arte: origine dei segni e delle figurazioni nell’arte paleolitica,
“Aisthesis. Pratiche, linguaggi e saperi dell’estetico” peer-reviewed international journal, v. 6, n. 2, p. 49-60, Dec.
2013. Available at: http://www.fupress.net/index.php/aisthesis/article/view/13768/12800
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all forms of psychic relationship with the existing, from those that did not contemplate an I/Me
as distinct from an Other than I/Me, to those that do. This last condition it is very well expressed
by the matrix of all the internal representations of external reality ruled by consciousness: above
is the Sky, below is the Earth, in between is the (troubled medium) Humankind, the carrier
of the tension developed within a humanity strongly held to the ground by phylogenesis
and a humanity pulled upright by consciousness.
So now we are able to answer the question posed at the beginning of paragraph 1.5. If we choose
to adhere to the first of the three possibilities advanced we should embrace the hypothesis
according to which technique and technology have been conceived and implemented at first by
Homo erectus’ early communities (Acheulean tradition) or even earlier (Oldowan tradition,
Homo Habilis?).
Given that technique is the daughter of the process of abstraction and that it has been driven by
social and cultural production that require instruments, and that technology is the know-how
meant as intentional ideation, production and application of manuals and/or instrumental
techniques (procedures) aimed at the satisfaction of anthropic purposes, and given that there is
well over than a million years stasis with very little trend in the overarching lithic manufacturing system, I claim that the hypothesis associated to the first possibility it appears
inconsistent with the fact that until late Middle Paleolithic humans communities i) must have had
very little interest and/or needs (that would have justify the request) for technique and for
technology, or at least for technique and technology aimed at stone manufacturing, and/or ii)
have not developed any particularly promising and/or useful kind of technique and technology
(aimed at stone manu-facturing), which means that for hundreds of thousands of years handaxes
variously worked was about everything they had need (we could also argue that their capacities,
possibilities and tendencies were insufficient or inadequate to trigger a progressive trend in the
overarching lithic manu-facturing system, but this would mean to measure their priorities on the
basis of our priorities, and I do not think that this is our aim, for sure is not mine).
Acheulean handaxes production is an example of what I mean by what stated at the above points
i) and ii). What we can say is that around 1.5 MYA a new kind of artifacts developed from
simple Oldowan broken (flaked) rock tools. These artifacts, known as the Acheulean, is typified
by one type of tool, perhaps the most successful tool ever used: the biface handaxe, a basic,
essential and functional tool produced and utilized for subsistence and adaptation’s needs. Homo
ergaster and/or erectus made this tool for over a million years as did later members of the Homo
genus. Homo erectus made handaxes everywhere they could find the appropriate kind of stone,
with little stylistic variation, all of them having the same tear-drop shape from any angle. Why?
According to what I stated so far, the reason for which the style and form of handaxes (like that
of other anthropogenic finds from Lower Paleolithic) were consistent for a very long time over a
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wide geographic range, from the Middle East to Europe and Africa25, it could be because the
ability to shape a stone in the form of handaxe was hardwired in the sensing-intuition
interactive dynamics phylogenetically inscribed into the neuropsychological relational
module of early Homo, much like the ability to make a particular kind of nest is hardwired in the
sensing interactive dynamics phylogenetically inscribed into the neurological relational module
of birds, the ability to make a particular kind of cobweb is hardwired in the sensing interactive
dynamics phylogenetically inscribed into the neurological relational module of spiders, the
ability to make a particular kind of hive is hardwired in the sensing interactive dynamics
phylogenetically inscribed into the neurological relational module of hymenopters and the like.
This is to say that early humans did not have to invent or conceive handaxes and the techniques
to manufacture them, all they had to do was to follow phylogenetic skill-prescriptions based on
sensing-intuition mental function.
If what stated is correct, the hypothesis according to which technique and technology would have
been conceived and implemented by Homo erectus’ early communities (or even earlier) it looks
very much unlikely. Instead, it looks more consistent the hypothesis according to which almost
all the anthropogenic production dating back to the Lower Paleolithic has been possible thanks to
the mental action exerted by the irrational function sensing-intuition, typical for mental and
perceptual activity that predominantly (and, for the most part, unconsciously) operates with
opportunities, i.e. various possible outcomes and sensations result from some premises and
sensations, mostly driven by unconscious processes.
Here, once again, I am following C.G. Jung’s explanation26 of 3rd century alchemist Maria
Prophetissa’s axiom: One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as
the fourth. To which Marie-Louise von Franz gives an alternative version thus27: Out of the One
comes Two, out of Two comes Three, and from the Third comes the One as the Fourth.
According to Jung the Maria’s Axiom may be interpreted as an alchemical analogy of the
process of individuation from the many to the one, from undifferentiated unconsciousness to
individual consciousness: “One is unconscious wholeness; two is the conflict of opposites; three
points to a potential resolution; the third is the transcendent function, described as a psychic
25
Compare with: A. Nowell and M. J. White, Growing Up in the Middle Pleistocene: Life history strategies and
their relationship to Acheulian industries, 2010, in: A. Nowell and I. Davidson (eds) Stone Tools and the Evolution
of Human Cognition. Available at:
https://www.academia.edu/292428/Growing_up_in_the_Middle_Pleistocene_Life_history_Strategies_and_their_rel
ationship_to_Acheulian_industries._In_Stone_Tools_and_the_Evolution_of_Human_Cognition
26
C.G. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy, Collected Works, Vol. 12. Bollingen Series XX. 2nd Edition. Princeton
University Press, 1980, p. 160
27
Marie-Louise von Franz, Number and Time: Reflections Leading Towards a Unification of Psychology and
Physics, Rider & Company, London, 1974, p. 65
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function that arises from the tension between consciousness and the unconscious and supports
their union”28, and the one as the fourth is a transformed state of consciousness, relatively whole
and at peace, namely the mystical way that leads to transcend the phylogenetic innate drive.
(Continued on Part IV)
28
Daryl Sharp, Jung Lexicon: A Primer of Terms and Concepts. Inner City Books, Toronto, 1991, p. 135
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Reddy, J. S. K. & Pereira, C., On the Perception of Reality in Science
Exploration
On Science & the Perception of Reality
*
J. S. K. Reddy & Contzen Pereira
Abstract
The present mainstream science tackles the problem of Consciousness by embracing the
objective or third person perspective; hence, it fails in understanding many fundamental aspects
of life. Further, knowledge gained from science is not absolute in the sense that it is based on a
human-centric view. This brings us to the question of how to access absolute reality? In this
article, we consider the subjective aspect associated with the objective phenomena and explore a
possible new science of subjective experience.
Keywords: Reality, perception, subjective experience, objective science, evolution.
Science of Subjective Experience
Every one of us experiences the beautiful and the mysterious ubiquitous phenomenon called life
within us as a subject having first person perspective and as an object having third person
prospect to happenings around us (Chalmers 1996, 2004; Velmans 2000, 2009; Zeman 2005;
Reddy and Pereira 2016a, b, d). Taking subjective aspect of life as granted, we worry most of the
time investigating the objective phenomena associated with the various constituents of life. For
this purpose, we have adopted a method of reasoning and a system of empirical validation called
‘Science’ to understand life better and thereby evolve. Over the years, science has evolved to
such an extent that it could try to explain and answer most of the phenomena and other
mechanisms occurring at various levels over multiple scales. Even though modern science
celebrates its success in explaining objective aspects of life, it fails in explaining or including the
subjective aspect of its investigations (Chalmers 1996, 2002; Velmans 2000, 2009; Reddy and
Pereira 2016a, b, c).
Recent studies in understanding the fundamental aspects of life and the nature of consciousness
made it clear that we may need a different approach of science to accommodate the subjective
experience of life (Chalmers 1996, 2002, 2004; Velmans 2000, 2009; Zeman 2005; Reddy and
Pereira 2016d, e, f). The science of subjective experience would then be a new approach to
science that goes with the level of perception of the subject. This way there would be no absolute
science or no absolute reality to be perceived. Even though the objective science may look like
an absolute one the inclusion of the subject or the subjective aspect of consciousness perturbs it.
For a science to be complete, it should also worry about considering subjective aspect associated
with the objective phenomenon of life (Chalmers 1996, 2002; Velmans 2000, 2009; Reddy and
Pereira 2016b, c, e, f).
*
Correspondence: J. Shashi Kiran Reddy, JNCASR, Bangalore-560064, India. Email: jumpal_shashi@yahoo.com
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Reddy, J. S. K. & Pereira, C., On the Perception of Reality in Science
Evolution of Perception in Different Biological Systems
The various mechanisms that give us the experience of our own self (or self-existence) as well as
the sense of the presence of others are called sensory faculties. They act as interface thereby
giving the unique individual subjective and objective experiences. Without the presence of such
faculties, an individual couldn’t have distinguished self from others or surroundings. They are
the only way we perceive reality and the extent to which we perceive in turn depends on the
capabilities of these sensory agents (Hoffman and Prakash 2014; Pereira and Reddy 2016b, c, f).
From an evolutionary standpoint, each biological system (or species) develops certain specific
sensory mechanisms to varying ranges of detection and different levels and scales of sensitivity
depending on the requirement for its selective survival and the interaction with surroundings
(Land and Nilsson 2002; Kendrick 2003; Peter et al 2004; Zeman 2005; Reddy 2016c, f). The
basic sensory mechanisms needed for the survival and interactive purposes of the biological
species may depend fundamentally on two sensory aspects, one that requires physical contact
with the individual (like taste and touch) and the other is based on detecting remotely from either
close or variable distances (like sight, smell, and hearing). Amusingly, in the process of
adaptation, certain species developed superior biological abilities to humans to sense subtle cues
from the surrounding environment that are accessible to humans only via the availability of
artificial sensors (Land and Nilsson 2002; Kendrick 2003; Chen et al 2016). In this context, do
we have any indication as to how human perception would have evolved from our primates? Do
present human species have the same level of perception as that of the cave man, which case
would need more survival strategies?
Recent studies show that different species not only perceive spatial reality differently but also
show the varying rate of perception or temporal perception (Healy et al 2013; Reddy 2016c). The
body mass and the metabolic activity rate determine how individuals of different biological
species perceive time. Accordingly, species that perceive time at the finest resolution and at
faster rate tend to be smaller and vice versa. For such a correlation between neural capacities and
temporal perception could result from various environmental and ecological factors combined
with other morphological factors in the process of adaptation and would ultimately decide the
optimal temporal capability of sensory perception.
Perception of the Absolute Reality
All phenomena around us that we observe and perceive depend on the level and the extent of
perception we are given access to. For example, as we know, human perception of reality is
limited by various sensory agents, whose spectra differ over an order of magnitudes from other
biological systems. We perceive the Cosmos or the Universe around us only in the limited
version that falls in the range of sensory spectra; visionary spectrum ranging from 400-700nm,
auditory spectrum from 20 to 20,000 Hz, and others (Peter et al 2004; Hoffman and Prakash
2014; Reddy and Pereira 2016b, c). So, in this context, how true is our experience and perception
of the world around us? Before looking to answer the question of experiencing the reality in its
truest sense and entirety, we may have to bring in the concept of the absolute reality.
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Reddy, J. S. K. & Pereira, C., On the Perception of Reality in Science
Is there an aspect of the absolute reality associated with each of the phenomena occurring in the
Universe? If this is the case, then are we partaking the version of the Cosmos that fits in with our
biological system? In this sense, what we observe and experience at our own level of perception
could be just an epiphenomenal of the fundamental happening at another level. So, what it takes
to perceive the absolute reality? Is there any reality which all the biological species would
perceive in the same way independent of sensory perceptions? If there is no concept of the
absolute reality and we define reality based on our level of perception and versions we are given
access to, then how could science be an absolute one? Science is just an objective extension of
our enquiring mind limited by our own observation and perception of reality. Present science is
based on a human-centric view. This notion of science doesn’t fit in well if we are trying to
understand the fundamental theories of life, which we expect to be the absolute and Universal.
Accordingly, our definition of phenomenal life becomes epiphenomenal at another level of
perception.
Even though the present science have explanations as to how we perceive the world involving
various biological and neurophysiological mechanisms, the location or space from where we
perceive the world still looks mysterious and remain unanswered (Feinberg and Keenan 2005;
Ananthaswamy 2015; Reddy 2016f). All the sensory agents, in general, could perceive a specific
aspect of the world separately using various modalities. But how capturing such objective
aspects could combine to create a unique subjective experience giving the first-hand experience
of the self is a mystery to be understood in the science of consciousness. When we perceive this
world, we are actually not aware of the functioning and identity of each and every part of the
sensory organ, that’s because these different organs create a universal or global feeling of the self
or subject, which goes beyond the functional or objective aspect of the organs (Feinberg and
Keenan 2005; Ananthaswamy 2015; Reddy 2016c, f).
Inspired by nature and other biological abilities shown by various species, we have developed
different kinds of artificial sensors that would serve the same functional purpose. One has to note
that even though we could objectively construct such devices, they lack the feeling of having
experienced by a subject. This brings in the question of why do we need a subject and how is it
constructed? In the above context, one can call a sensor to be a conscious device in some aspect
because it is sensitive and aware of the surrounding environment, but what it lacks is the subject
of such conscious activity and hence lacks in subjective experience (Chalmers 2004; Zeman
2005; Reddy and Pereira 2016b, c, f). This shows how different a biological system works from
that of the artificial device qualitatively.
Suppose if we are given access to complete electromagnetic (EM) spectrum and to all probable
sensory ranges then how the world would feel like from the subjective standpoint? Do we have
the same subjective experience resulting from the perception of a flower in a park? Do pink rose
appears pink and so on? One has to wait and see where evolution will lead us in this regard if we
will be given access to more subtle fields and energies existing in reality in the process of
evolution? It would be interesting to note if reality in itself will also evolve alongside the
evolution of various biological species?
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Conclusion
The present mainstream science tackles the problem of Consciousness by embracing the
objective or third person perspective; hence, it fails in understanding many fundamental aspects
of life. Further, knowledge gained from science is not absolute in the sense that it is based on a
human-centric view. This possibly brings in the question of absolute reality and if science will
ever be able to explain the true reality from an objective standpoint? Thus, we may need a
different approach in which science is subject-centric rather than object-centric.
References
Ananthaswamy A. The man who wasn’t there: Investigations into the strange new science of the self.
Dutton, 2015.
Chalmers D. J. The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory. Oxford University Press, 1996.
Chalmers D. J. Consciousness and its place in nature. In Philosophy of Mind: Classical and
Contemporary Readings. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Chalmers D. J. How Can We Construct a Science of Consciousness? The Cognitive Neurosciences III.
MIT Press, 2004.
Chen P. J., Awata H, Matsushita A, Yang EC, Arikawa K. Extreme spectral richness in the eye of the
Common Bluebottle butterfly, Graphium Sarpedon. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2016; 4.
Feinberg T. E., Keenan J. P. Where in the brain is the self? Consciousness and Cognition, 2005; 14: 661–
678
Healy K., McNally L., Ruxton G. D., Cooper N, Jackson AL. Metabolic rate and body size are linked
with perception of temporal information. Anim Behav, 2013; 86:685–696
Hoffman D. D., Prakash C. Objects of consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology, 2014; 5: 577.
Kendrick K. Animal senses: How do they perceive the world and what important things can they sense
that we cannot? 2003.
Land M. and Dan-E Nilsson. Animal Eyes. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Pereira C., Reddy J. S. K. Science, Subjectivity & Reality. Journal of Consciousness Exploration and
Research, 2016b; 7(4): 333-336
Peter A., Eileen K., Peter H. Biology in Context: The Spectrum of Life. Second Edition, Victoria: Oxford
University Press, 2004.
Reddy J. S. K. Subjective Science and Absolute Reality. Journal of Consciousness, 2016c (In Review).
Reddy J. S. K. A novel Subject-Object Model of Consciousness. NeuroQuantology, 2016f (In Review)
Reddy J. S. K, Pereira C. Cosmic Origami: Fingerprints of Life. Scientific God Journal, 2016a; 7(4):
252-255
Reddy J. S. K, Pereira C. Origin of life: A consequence of cosmic energy, redox homeostasis and
the quantum phenomenon. NeuroQuantology, 2016d (In Press).
Reddy J. S. K, Pereira C. An Essay on ‘Fracto-Resonant’ nature of Life. NeuroQuantology, 2016e (In
Press)
Velmans M. (ed.). Investigation phenomenal consciousness: new methodologies and maps. Advances in
consciousness research, ISSN 1381-589X; v. 13. John Benjamins Publishing Co, 2000.
Velmans M. Understanding consciousness (2nd ed). Psychology Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2009.
ISBN 0-203-88272-5.
Zeman A. What in the world is consciousness? Progress in Brain Research, 2005; 150: 1-10. ISSN 00796123
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arXiv:physics/9903010v2 [physics.hist-ph] 29 Mar 1999
Concepts of Space, Time, and Consciousness
in Ancient India
Subhash Kak
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5901
February 2, 2008
Abstract
This paper describes Indian ideas of the early-Purān.a/Mahābhārata
times (centuries BC) on the nature of space, time and consciousness
that would be of interest to the physicist. In order to simplify references, we quote mainly from Yoga-Vāsis. t.ha (YV), which is representative of that period of Indian thought. YV professes to be a book of
instruction on the nature of consciousness but it has many fascinating
passages on time, space, matter and cognition. This paper presents a
random selection that has parallels with recent speculations in physics.
It also presents a brief account of the context in which ideas of YV
developed.
1
Introduction
Ancient Indian ideas of physics, available to us through a variety of sources,
are generally not known in the physics world. Indian astronomer/physicists,
starting with a position that sought to unify space, time, matter, and consciousness, argued for relativity of space and time, cyclic and recursively
defined universes, and a non-anthropocentric view. The two most astonishing numerical claims from the ancient Indians are: a cyclic system of creation
1
of the universe with a period of 8.64 billion years, although there exist longer
cycles as well; and, speed of light to be 4,404 yojanas per nimes.a, which is
almost exactly 186,000 miles per second (Kak, 1998a)!
A critic would see the numbers as no more than idle coincidences. But
within the Indian tradition it is believed that reality, as a kind of a universal
state function, transcends the separate categories of space, time, matter, and
observation. In this function, called Brahman in the literature, inhere all
categories including knowledge. The conditioned mind can, by “tuning” in
to Brahman, obtain knowledge, although it can only be expressed in terms
of the associations already experienced by the mind. Within the Indian tradition, scientific knowledge describes as much aspects of outer reality as the
topography of the mindscape. Furthermore, there are connections between
the outer and the inner: we can comprehend reality only because we are
already equipped to do so! My own papers listed in the bibliography can
serve as an introduction to these ideas and point to further references for the
reader to examine.
Two philosophical systems at the basis of Indian physics—and metaphysics—
are Sām
. khya and Vaiśes.ika. Sām
. khya, which is an ancient system that goes
back to the 3rd millennium BC, posits 25 basic categories together with 3
constituent qualities, which evolve in different ways to create the universe
at the microcosmic as well as the macrocosmic levels. It also presupposes a
“potential” (tanmātra) to be more basic than the material entity. Vaiśes.ika
is a later system which is an atomic theory with the non-atomic ground of
ether, space, and time upon which rest four different classes of indestructible
atoms which combine in a variety of ways to constitute all matter; it also
considers mind to be atomic (Kak, 1999). These systems presuppose genesis
and evolution both at the cosmic and psychological levels. They also accept
cyclic and multiple universes, and centrality of observers.
Unfortunately, historians of science are generally oblivious of Indian physics,
astronomy or cosmology. Amongst popular books, Paul Halpern’s The Cyclical Serpent (1995) is unusual in that it places modern speculations regarding an oscillating universe within the context of the cyclic cosmology of the
Purān.as, but even this book doesn’t define a context for the Indian ideas.
In this paper we present, in a capsule form, the basic Indian ideas on
space, time, and observation from the age of the epics and the early Purān.as.
The ideas of these period seem to belong to last centuries BC and they are
described in the Mahābhārata, Purān.as, and the early Siddhāntas. To keep
2
our sources to a minimum, we mainly use Yoga-Vāsis.t.ha (YV), an ancient Indian text, over 29,000 verses long, traditionally attributed to Vālmı̄ki, author
of the epic Rāmāyan.a, which is over two thousand years old.
2
Vedic and Purān.ic Cosmology
We first look at Vedic cosmology. The Vedas are texts that represent the
ancient knowledge tradition of India. While their compilations go back to
at least the third millennium, some of their contents might be even older.
The Vedic tradition is a part of the Indian culture tradition that has been
traced back, archaeologically, to about 8000 BC (Feuerstein et al, 1995). The
antiquity of the Vedic texts is, in part, confirmed by their celebration of the
Sarasvati river as the greatest river of their age, and modern hydrological
studies have established that this river dried up around 2000 BC. The kinglists in the Purān.as take us to several millennia before the period of the
drying up of the Sarasvati. There is also a rock art tradition in India that
has been traced to about 40000 BC (Wakankar, 1992).
There are several statements in the Vedic texts about the universe being
infinite, while at the same time the finite distance to the sun is explicitly
mentioned (Kak, 1998a-d). Aditi, the great mother of the gods, is a personification of the concept of infinity. A famous mantra speaks of how taking
infinity out of infinity leaves it unchanged. This indicates that paradoxical
properties of the notion of infinity were known.
In a reference to mapping the outer world into an altar made of bricks,
the Yajurveda (hymn 17) names numbers in multiples of ten that go upto
ten hundred thousand million. This also suggests a belief in a very large
universe.
The Śatapatha Brāhman.a, a commentatorial prose text on the Veda,
that most likely goes back to the early centuries of the second millennium
BC, provides an overview of some broad aspects of Vedic cosmology. The
sixth chapter of the book, entitled “Creation of the Universe”, speaks of
the creation of the earth later than that of other stars. Creation is seen to
proceed under the aegis of the Prajāpati (reference either to a star or to
abstract time) with the emergence of Aśva, Rāsabha, Aja and Kūrma before
the emergence of the earth. Viśvanātha Vidyālaṅkāra suggests that these are
the sun (Aśva), Gemini (Rāsabha), Aja (Capricorn) and Kūrma (Cassiopeia).
3
This identification is supported by etymological considerations. The R
. gveda
1.164.2 and Nirukta 4.4.27 define Aśva as the sun. Rāsabha which literally
means the twin asses are defined in Nighant.u 1.15 as Aśvinau which later
usage suggests are Castor and Pollux in Gemini. In Western astronomy the
twin asses are to be found in the next constellation of Cancer as Asellus
Borealis and Asellus Australis. Aja (goat) is defined by Nighant.u 1.15 as a
sun and owing to the continuity that we see in the Vedic and later European
names for constellations (as in the case of the Great Bear) it is reasonable to
identify it as the constellation Capricorn (caper goat + cornu horn). Kūrma
is a synonym of Kaśyapa (tortoise) which is like Cassiopeia (from Greek
Kassiopeia), and it is appropriate because it is near the pole.
The Purān.as view the universe to have a diameter of about 500 million
yojanas, but beyond the universe lies the limitless Pradhāna, that has within
it countless other universes (Kak, 1998a).
3
The Yoga-Vāsis.t.ha
The internal evidence of the Yoga-Vāsis.t.ha (YV) indicates that it was authored or compiled later than the Rāmāyan.a. Chapple (1984) summarizes
the views of various scholars who date it variously as early as the sixth century AD or as late as the 13th or the 14th century. Dasgupta (1975, 1932)
dated it about the sixth century AD on the basis that one of its verses appears to be copied from one of Kālidāsa’s plays considering Kālidāsa to have
lived around the fifth century. The traditional date of Kālidāsa is 50 BC and
new arguments (Kak 1990) support this earlier date so that the estimates
regarding the age of YV are further muddled and it is possible that this text
could be 2000 years old.
YV may be viewed as a book of philosophy or as a philosophical novel.
It describes the instruction given by Vasis.t.ha to Rāma, the hero of the epic
Rāmāyan.a. Its premise may be termed radical idealism and it is couched in a
fashion that has many parallels with the notion of a participatory universe argued by Wheeler and others. Its most interesting passages from the scientific
point of view relate to the description of the nature of space, time, matter,
and consciousness. It should be emphasized that the YV ideas do not stand
in isolation. Similar ideas are to be found in the earlier Vedic books. At its
deepest level the Vedic conception is to view reality in a monist manner; at
4
the next level one may speak of the dichotomy of mind and matter. Ideas
similar to those found in YV are also encountered in Purān.as and Tantric
literature.
YV is a text that belongs to the mainstream of the ancient Vedic tradition
that professes to deal with knowledge. Astronomical references in the Vedic
texts take us back to the 4th or 5th millennium BC or even earlier (e.g. Kak
1994-6).
Roughly speaking, the Vedic system speaks of an interconnectedness between the observer and the observed. A similar conception appears to have
informed many ancient peoples including the Greeks.
The Vedic system of knowledge is based on a tripartite approach to the
universe where connections exist in triples in categories of one group and
across groups: sky, atmosphere, earth; object, medium, subject; future,
present, past; and so on. Beyond the triples lies the transcendental “fourth”.
Three kinds of motion are alluded to in the Vedic books: these are the
translational motion, sound, and light which are taken to be “equivalent” to
earth, air, and sky. The fourth motion is assigned to consciousness; and this
is considered to be infinite in speed.
At least one of the founders of quantum theory was directly inspired by
the Vedic system of knowledge. Schrödinger (1961) claims that the Vedic
slogan “All in One and One in All” was an idea that led him to the creation
of quantum mechanics (see also Moore, 1989). Even before Schrödinger, the
idealist philosophical tradition in Europe had long been moulded by Vedic
ideas. It should also be noted that many parts of the Vedic literature are still
not properly understood although considerable progress has recently taken
place in the study of Vedic science.
It is most interesting that the books in this Indian tradition speak about
the relativity of time and space in a variety of ways. The medieval books call
the Purān.as speak of countless universes, time flowing at different rates for
different observers and so on.
Universes defined recursively are described in the famous episode of Indra and the ants in Brahmavaivarta Purān.a 4.47.100-160, the Mahābhārata
12.187, and elsewhere. These flights of imagination are to be traced to more
than a straightforward generalization of the motions of the planets into a
cyclic universe. They must be viewed in the background of an amazingly
sophisticated tradition of cognitive and analytical thought (see e.g. Staal
1988; Rao and Kak 1998).
5
Selected Passages
The page numbers given at the end of each passage are from the Venkatesananda (1993) translation. YV consists of 6 books where the sixth book
itself has two parts. The numbers in the square brackets refer to the book,
(part), section, verse. The reference to the Sanskrit original is also listed in
the bibliography.
Time
• Time cannot be analyzed; for however much it is divided it survives
indestructible. [1.23]
• There is another aspect of this time, the end of action (kr.tānta), according to the law of nature (niyati). [1.25.6-7]
• The world is like a potter’s wheel: the wheel looks as if it stands still,
though it revolves at a terrific speed. [1.27]
• Just as space does not have a fixed span, time does not have a fixed
span either. Just as the world and its creation are mere appearances,
a moment and an epoch are also imaginary. [3.20]
• Infinite consciousness held in itself the notion of a unit of time equal to
one-millionth of the twinkling of an eye: and from this evolved the timescale right upto an epoch consisting of several revolutions of the four
ages, which is the life-span of one cosmic creation. Infinite consciousness itself is uninvolved in these, for it is devoid of rising and setting
(which are essential to all time-scales), and it devoid of a beginning,
middle and end. [3.61]
Space
• There are three types of space—the psychological space, the physical
space and the infinite space of consciousness. [3.17]
The infinite space of individed consciousness is that which exists in
all, inside and outside... The finite space of divided consciousness is
that which created divisions of time, which pervades all beings... The
6
physical space is that in which the elements exist. The latter two are
not independent of the first. [3.97]
• Other universes/wormholes. I saw within [the] rock [at the edge of the
universe] the creation, sustenance and the dissolution of the universe...
I saw innumerable creations in the very many rocks that I found on
the hill. In some of these creation was just beginning, others were
populated by humans, still others were far ahead in the passage of
their times. [6.2.86]
• I perceived within each molecule of air a whole universe. [6.2.92]
Matter
• In every atom there are worlds within worlds. [3.20]
• I saw reflected in that consciousness the image of countless universes.
I saw countless creations though they did not know of one another’s
existence. Some were coming into being, others were perishing, all of
them had different shielding atmospheres (from five to thirty-six atmospheres). There were different elements in each, they were inhabited
by different types of beings in different stages of evolution.. [In] some
there was apparent natural order in others there was utter disorder, in
some there was no light and hence no time-sense. [6.2.59]
Experience
• Direct experience alone is the basis for all proofs... That substratum is
the experiencing intelligence which itself becomes the experiencer, the
act of experiencing, and the experience. [2.19-20]
• Everyone has two bodies, the one physical and the other mental. The
physical body is insentient and seeks its own destruction; the mind is
finite but orderly. [4.10]
• I have carefully investigated, I have observed everything from the tips
of my toes to the top of my head, and I have not found anything of
which I could say, ‘This I am.’ Who is ‘I’ ? I am the all-pervading
7
consciousness which is itself not an object of knowledge or knowing
and is free from self-hood. I am that which is indivisible, which has no
name, which does not undergo change, which is beyond all concepts of
unity and diversity, which is beyond measure. [5.52]
• I remember that once upon a time there was nothing on this earth,
neither trees and plants, nor even mountains. For a period of eleven
thousand years the earth was covered by lava. In those days there was
neither day nor night below the polar region: for in the rest of the earth
neither the sun nor the moon shone. Only one half of the polar region
was illumined.
Then demons ruled the earth. They were deluded, powerful and prosperous, and the earth was their playground.
Apart from the polar region the rest of the earth was covered with
water. And then for a very long time the whole earth was covered with
forests, except the polar region. Then there arose great mountains, but
without any human inhabitants. For a period of ten thousand years
the earth was covered with the corpses of the demons. [6.1]
Mind
• The same infinite self conceives within itself the duality of oneself and
the other. [3.1]
• Thought is mind, there is no distinction between the two. [3.4]
• The body can neither enjoy nor suffer. It is the mind alone that experiences. [3.115]
• The mind has no body, no support and no form; yet by this mind is
everything consumed in this world. This is indeed a great mystery. He
who says that he is destroyed by the mind which has no substantiality
at all, says in effect that his head was smashed by the lotus petal...
The hero who is able to destroy a real enemy standing in front of him
is himself destroyed by this mind which is [non-material].
• The intelligence which is other than self-knowledge is what constitutes
the mind. [5.14]
8
Complementarity
• The absolute alone exists now and for ever. When one thinks of it as
a void, it is because of the feeling one has that it is not void; when one
thinks of it as not-void, it is because there is a feeling that it is void.
[3.10]
• All fundamental elements continued to act on one another—as experiencer and experience—and the entire creation came into being like ripples on the surface of the ocean. And, they are interwoven and mixed
up so effectively that they cannot be extricated from one another till
the cosmic dissolution. [3.12]
Consciousness
• The entire universe is forever the same as the consciousness that dwells
in every atom, even as an ornament is non-different from gold. [3.4]
• The five elements are the seed of which the world is the tree; and the
eternal consciousness is the seed of the elements. [3.13]
• Cosmic consciousness alone exists now and ever; in it are no worlds,
no created beings. That consciousness reflected in itself appears to be
creation. [3.13]
• This consciousness is not knowable: when it wishes to become the
knowable, it is known as the universe. Mind, intellect, egotism, the five
great elements, and the world—all these innumerable names and forms
are all consciousness alone. [3.14]
• The world exists because consciousness is, and the world is the body of
consciousness. There is no division, no difference, no distinction. Hence
the universe can be said to be both real and unreal: real because of the
reality of consciousness which is its own reality, and unreal because
the universe does not exist as universe, independent of consciousness.
[3.14]
• Consciousness is pure, eternal and infinite: it does not arise nor cease
to be. It is ever there in the moving and unmoving creatures, in the
sky, on the mountain and in fire and air. [3.55]
9
• Millions of universes appear in the infinite consciousness like specks of
dust in a beam of light. In one small atom all the three worlds appear
to be, with all their components like space, time, action, substance,
day and night. [4.2]
• The universe exists in infinte consciousness. Infinite consciousness is
unmanifest, though omnipresent, even as space, though existing everywhere, is manifest. [4.36]
• The manifestation of the omnipotence of infinite consciousness enters
into an alliance with time, space and causation. Thence arise infinite
names and forms. [4.42]
• Rudra is the pure, spontaneous self-experience which is the one consciousness that dwells in all substances. It is the seed of all seeds, it is
the essence of this world-appearance, it is the greatest of actions. It is
the cause of all causes and it is the essence of all beings, though in fact
it does not cause anything nor is it the concept of being, and therefore
cannot be conceived. It is the awareness in all that is sentient, it knows
itself as its own object, it is its own supreme object and it is aware of
infinite diversity within itself...
The ifinite consciousness can be compared to the ultimate atom which
yet hides within its heart the greatest of mountains. It encompasses
the span of countless epochs, but it does not let go of a moment of
time. It is subtler than the tip of single strand of hair, yet it pervades
the entire universe...
It does nothing, yet it has fashioned the universe. ..All substances
are non-different from it, yet it is not a substance; though it is nonsubstantial it pervades all substances. The cosmos is its body, yet it
has no body. [6.1.36]
The YV model of knowledge
YV is not written as a systematic text. Its narrative jumps between various
levels: psychological, biological, and physical. But since the Indian tradition
of knowledge is based on analogies that are recursive and connect various
domains, one can be certain that our literal reading of the passages is valid.
10
YV appears to accept the idea that laws are intrinsic to the universe.
In other words, the laws of nature in an unfolding universe will also evolve.
According to YV, new information does not emerge out of the inanimate
world but it is a result of the exchange between mind and matter.
It accepts consciousness as a kind of fundamental field that pervades the
whole universe. One might speculate that the parallels between YV and some
recent ideas of physics are a result of the inherent structure of the mind.
4
Other Texts
Our readings of the YV are confirmed by other texts such as the Mahābhārata
and the Purān.as as they are by the philosophical systems of Sām
. khya and
Vaiśes.ika, or the various astronomical texts.
Here is a reference to the size of the universe from the Mahābhārata
12.182:
The sky you see above is infinite. Its limits cannot be ascertained.
The sun and the moon cannot see, above or below, beyond the
range of their own rays. There where the rays of the sun and the
moon cannot reach are luminaries which are self-effulgent and
which possess splendor like that of the sun or the fire. Even these
last do not behold the limits of the firmament in consequence of
the inaccessibility and infinity of those limits. This space which
the very gods cannot measure is full of many blazing and selfluminous worlds each above the other.
(Ganguly translation, vol. 9, page 23)
The Mahābhārata has a very interesting passage (12.233), virtually identical with the corresponding material in YV, which describes the dissolution
of the world. Briefly, it is stated how a dozen suns burn up the earth, and
how elements get transmuted until space itself collapses into wind (one of
the elements). Ultimately, everything enters into primeval consciousness.
If one leaves out the often incongrous commentary on these ideas which
were strange to him, we find al-Bīrūnı̄ in his encyclopaedic book on India
written in 1030 speaking of essentially the same ideas. Here are two little
extracts:
11
The Hindus have divided duration into two periods, a period of
motion, which has been determined as time, and a period of rest,
which can only be determined in an imaginary way according to
the analogy of that which has first been determined, the period
of motion. The Hindus hold the eternity of the Creator to be
determinable, not measurable, since it is infinite.
They do not, by the word creation, understand a formation of
something out of nothing. They mean by creation only the working with a piece of clay, working out various combinations and
figures in it, and making such arrangements with it as will lead
to certain ends and aims which are potentially in it.
(Sachau, 1910, vol 1, pages 321-322)
The mystery of consciousness is a recurring theme in Indian texts (Kak,
1997). Unfortunately, the misrepresentation that Indian philosophy is idealistic, where the physical universe is considered an illusion, has become very
common. For an authoritative modern exposition of Indian ideas of consciousness one must turn to Aurobindo (e.g. 1939, 1956).
5
Concluding Remarks
It appears that Indian understanding of physics was informed not only by
astronomy and terrestrial experiments but also by speculative thought and by
meditations on the nature of consciousness. Unfettered by either geocentric
or anthropocentric views, this understanding unified the physics of the small
with that of the large within a framework that included metaphysics.
This was a framework consisting of innumerable worlds (solar systems),
where time and space were continuous, matter was atomic, and consciousness
was atomic, yet derived from an all-pervasive unity. The material atoms were
defined first by their subtle form, called tanmātra, which was visualized as
a potential, from which emerged the gross atoms. A central notion in this
system was that all descriptions of reality are circumscribed by paradox (Kak,
1986).
The universe was seen as dynamic, going through ceaseless change.
12
6
References
Sri Aurobindo, 1939. The Life Divine. Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry.
Sri Aurobindo, 1956. The Secret of the Veda. Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry.
C. Chapple, 1984. Introduction and bibliography in Venkatesananda (1984).
S. Dasgupta, 1975. A History of Indian Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass,
Delhi.
G. Feuerstein, S. Kak, D. Frawley, 1995. In Search of the Cradle of Civilization. Quest Books, Wheaton.
K.M. Ganguly (tr.), 1883-1896. The Mahābhārata. Reprinted Munshiram
Manoharlal, Delhi, 1970.
P. Halpern, 1995. The Cyclical Serpent: Prospects for an Ever-Repeating
Universe. Plenum Press, New York.
S. Kak, 1986. The Nature of Physical Reality. Peter Lang, New York.
S. Kak, 1990. Kalidasa and the Agnimitra problem. Journal of the Oriental
Institute 40: 51-54.
S. Kak, 1994. The Astronomical Code of the R
. gveda. Aditya, New Delhi.
S. Kak, 1995a. From Vedic science to Vedānta. Brahmavidyā: The Adyar
Library Bulletin, 59: 1-36.
S. Kak, 1995b. The astronomy of the age of geometric altars. Quarterly
Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 36: 385-396.
S. Kak, 1996. Knowledge of planets in the third millennium BC. Quarterly
Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 37: 709-715.
S. Kak, 1997. On the science of consciousness in ancient India. Indian
Journal of History of Science 32: 105-120.
S. Kak, 1997-8. Vais.n.ava metaphysics or a science of consciousness. Prāchya
Pratibhā 19: 113-141.
13
S. Kak, 1997-8. Consciousness and freedom according to the ŚivaSūtra.
Prāchya Pratibhā 19: 233-248.
S. Kak, 1998a. The speed of light and Purān.ic cosmology. LANL physics
archive 9804020. Also in Rao and Kak (1998).
S. Kak, 1998b. Sāyan.a’s astronomy. Indian Journal of History of Science
33: 31-36.
S. Kak, 1998c. Early theories on the distance to the sun. Indian Journal of
History of Science 33: 93-100.
S. Kak, 1998d. The orbit of the sun in the Brāhman.as. Indian Journal of
History of Science 33: 175-191.
S. Kak, 1999. Physical concepts in Sām
. khya and Vaiśes.ika. Chapter in
Science and Civilization in India, Vol. 1, Part 2, edited by G.C. Pande,
Oxford University Press, Delhi, in press.
W. Moore, 1989. Schrödinger: Life and Thought. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.
T.R.N. Rao and S. Kak, 1998. Computing Science in Ancient India. USL
Press, Lafayette.
E.C. Sachau, 1910. Alberuni’s India. Reprinted by Low Price Publications,
Delhi, 1989.
E. Schrödinger, 1961. Meine Weltansicht. Paul Zsolnay, Vienna.
F. Staal, 1988. Universals. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
S. Venkatesananda (tr.), 1984. The Concise Yoga Vāsis..tha. State University of New York Press, Albany.
S. Venkatesananda (tr.), 1993. Vāsis..tha’s Yoga. State University of New
York Press, Albany.
Yoga Vāsis..tha, 1981. Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi.
V.S. Wakankar, 1992. Rock painting in India. In Rock Art in the Old World,
M. Lorblanchet (ed.). 319-336. New Delhi.
14 |
Heidegger’s Quantum Phenomenology
François-Igor Pris1
Abstract
The article suggests that quantum mechanics is a science of
a new type, which refutes the classical metaphysical concept
of reality. The notion of a quantum concept is introduced. The
possibility of a Wittgensteinian “dissolution” of the measurement
problem with the help of the notion of a language game and the
possibility of a metaphysical solution of this problem with the help
of the Heideggerian notion of Dasein are considered.
Key words: quantum concepts, measurement problem, realism,
language game, Wittgenstein, Dasein, Heidegger
The Measurement Problem and Quantum Concepts
Some philosophers think that the measurement problem is the
principal philosophical problem of quantum mechanics (see, for
example, Wallace 2008). This problem has been widely discussed
in the literature since the creation of quantum mechanics. Many
different solutions to the problem have been proposed. Until now
though, no consensus has been reached.
In this paper I provide some reasons supporting the claim that
Heidegger’s philosophy (Heidegger 1967, 1996) contains resources
that allow one to better understand the measurement problem and
to come closer to its solution, if not to solve it. Moreover, in a sense
Heidegger’s phenomenology is the appropriate philosophy for the
understanding of non-classical physics in general.
1 Francois has a doctorate in quantum mechanics and is a researcher at the Universität
Dortmund, Germany.
Quantum Phenomenology
289
The quantum theory is considered as a non-classical theory, that
is, as a theory of a principally new type, while the Einstein theory
of relativity, despite its revolutionary character, is considered as a
classical theory. What is the difference between classical and nonclassical physics?
Let us adopt the realistic point of view and suppose that science
investigates reality. Then the border between classical science and
non-classical science can be drawn in accordance with the concept
of reality which is being used.
Any concept of reality supposes its ”objectivity”, that is, the
independence of what is real from the subject. But this independence
can be understood differently.
The concept of reality, which is implicit or explicit in classical
physics, is what philosophers call metaphysical realism. According
to this concept, reality of things, facts and phenomena does not
depend on the subject in a certain absolute sense; it can be
completely detached from the subject and opposed to her as an
“exterior world”. The subject-scientist learns about this reality
by means of a theoretical (mathematical) representation; she is
situated, so to say, face to face with the reality and theoretically
represents or “reflects” it. The concepts being used are those of
the classical type, in the sense that the result of their application
is always predetermined. For instance, the use of the classical
concepts of coordinates and momentum allows one to determine
the coordinates and momentum of a particle, which have definite
values even when the concepts of coordinates and momentum
have not been used.
Gary Ebbs formulates the idea of metaphysical realism as follows
(Ebbs 1997, p. 203; cited in Wilson 2008, p. 79):
“The idea behind metaphysical realism is that we can conceive
of the entities and substances and species of the ‘external’ world
independently of any of the empirical beliefs and theories we hold
or might hold in the future.”
According to French philosopher-phenomenologist Jocelyn
Benoist, the classical (metaphysical) realism is characterized by two
traits: (1) there is, in an important sense, (objective) reality which is
independent from the subject; (2) this objective reality is the reality
290
Transformation of Consciousness
of objects situated in front of the subject. Benoist keeps (1), but
rejects (2). For him, the genuine reality is the reality of interaction
between the subject and the world. (Benoist 2005)
Heisenberg distinguishes between dogmatic realism, which,
according to him, is the point of view of classical physics,
metaphysical realism and practical realism. The latter is the natural
realism of science. The dogmatic realism claims that all meaningful
affirmations about the material world can be made objective.
The metaphysical realism is the dogmatic realism together with
the claim that things really do exist. The notion of metaphysical
realism according to Heisenberg is thus the traditional notion of
metaphysical realism (conditions (1) and (2) above).
Heisenberg writes that Einstein criticized quantum mechanics
from the point of view of dogmatic realism. (Heisenberg 1989,
pp. 43 – 45.) In reality, however, Einstein’s position is much
more nuanced. For instance, he writes: “Physics is an attempt
conceptually to grasp reality as it is thought independently of its
being observed” (Einstein 1949, p. 81; cited in Stapp 1998). This
corresponds only to the condition (1) above.
The metaphysical realism leads to the difficulties in interpretation
of quantum mechanics, which can be dissolved if one replaced it by
a non-traditional form of realism.
Although within quantum mechanics the notions of subject and
object are meaningful, the ultimate quantum mechanical reality is
that of the “process of measurement” in which the subject interacts
with the object and in this interaction it is as though both become
“dissolved”, inseparable from each other.
Before the measurement, it makes sense to talk about a quantum
system situated in a state, for example, in a state of superposition
of eigenstates of a physical quantity (of a Hermitian operator)
and also about the subject, or observer, which is independent
of the quantum system and does not interact with it. After the
measurement, there is also an independent subject-observer and a
quantum system which is independent of the subject, and which is
situated in one of the eigenstates of the measured physical quantity.
After the act of measurement, the physical quantity has a definite
value. The result of its measurement is reproducible. But in the
process of measurement, when the probabilistic reduction of the
Quantum Phenomenology
291
wave function takes place, it makes no sense to talk about the
subject as such and the object as such. The process of measurement
(reduction of wave function) cannot be called a physical process in
the usual sense. It is unobservable and cannot be mathematized,
even in principle. The Born rules determining the probabilities of
transition from a superposition state into one of the eigenstates of a
physical quantity, i.e. the probabilities of obtaining a definite result
of measurement only establishes a correspondence between the
initial situation and the final situation and does not say anything
about the “process” of transition itself.
The principal hypothesis of this paper, in favour of which some
arguments are given below, is that it has a phenomenological
nature in the sense of the Heideggerian Dasein.
Quantum theory can be used as an instrument for preparing
a given experimental situation (it seems that this demands more
reflection on the foundations of the theory and the nature of reality
than in the case of classical physics), but instrumentalism without
phenomenology is not an appropriate philosophy of quantum
physics. (See also the following historical accounts (Carson 2010a,
2010b, 2010c).)
The result of the application of quantum concepts, for example,
of the concepts of coordinates and momentum of a particle, is not
predetermined: it is false or even meaningless to speak about the
simultaneous existence of definite values of position and momentum
of a particle or about the existence of a well-defined trajectory of
a quantum particle. Quantum concepts are rules (operators) for
obtaining definite values. A definite value appears only as the
result of an application of a quantum concept, that is, as the result
of a measurement. For example, if the momentum of a free particle
has a definite value, its position is absolutely undetermined. In
this case the result of an application of the concept of a coordinate
is absolutely undetermined (though quantum probabilities are
determined): the coordinate with equal probability can take any
value; a definite value appears only as the result of a process of
measurement of the coordinate.
Classical (commutative) physical quantities represent some real
numbers. This cannot be said about the corresponding quantum
operators. For a given quantum state, they represent matrices
292
Transformation of Consciousness
(sets) of possible values of physical quantities together with the
corresponding probabilities. The actualization of a given definite
value happens during the process of measurement.
One can say that quantum concepts of physical quantities
represent some quantum physical quantities (properties), which
should be understood as dispositional ones. (About dispositional
interpretation of quantum mechanics see, for example, works by
Suarez (2004, 2007).) In (Suarez 2004, p. 233, footnote 12), Suarez
writes that the representation of a quantum property has no
analogue in quantum mechanics:
“There is no analogue of this type of presentation in classical
mechanics. (…) A quantum state is not to be interpreted à la
classical mechanics as assignments of actually possessed properties
and their values, but rather as a mere assignment of probabilities.”
Although before the measurement of the position of the electron,
the electron does not have any definite position, one cannot say
that it does not have any position at all: the position of the electron
(given its wave function) is a real dispositional property, which is
described by the operator of its position.
That is why for Heisenberg “(...) the atoms or the elementary
particles (...) form a world of potentialities or possibilities rather
than one of things or facts” (Heisenberg 1958, p. 160; cited in
Suarez 2007, c. 423, footnote 8).
In spite of its revolutionary character, the theory of relativity
(special and general) is considered as a classical theory precisely
because the concepts used by the theory (and the theory as a
whole) function in the classical regime. The observer measures the
quantities whose concrete values exist before the measurement
(though they depend on a reference frame), i.e., independently of
whether or not the observer produces a measurement. The Einstein
principle of relativity saying that there is no privileged physical
framework (different observers observe different values of a
physical quantity) does not take into consideration the relativity of
the border between the observer and what is observed. In quantum
mechanics this border (in classical sense) is fixed only post factum,
as the result of a process of measurement.
Quantum Phenomenology
293
A classical concept and the corresponding quantum concept can
be understood as two aspects of one and the same more general
concept.
According to Mark Wilson, even “simple” concepts have a rich
internal fine structure consisting of sub-concepts related to each
other in different ways. (Wilson 2008)
Some concepts function as an atlas consisting of various partially
overlapping leaves (maps). Here is one of his examples, cited by
Robert Brandom (Brandom “Platforms…”, p. 6):
“Mass, impressed gravitational force, and work required to
move something relative to a local frame are (some of the) leaves of
the atlas-structured empirical concept weight.”
In the case of the “atlas” structure there is a Wittgensteinian
family resemblance between the different “leaves” of an atlas.
A more complex conceptual structure is the “patchwork”
one, proposed by Wilson. The various leaves in a patchwork are
connected to each other at their edges. Such is, for example, the
concept of hardness. Brandom describes this example as follows
(Brandom “Platforms…”, p. 6):
“Hardness generically is something like resistance to penetration.
To test such resistance, we might press a weight on a sample,
squeeze it, strike it, scratch it, cut, or rub it. The results of these
various tests will not always be consilient.”
The generalized concepts of physical quantities representing
classical as well as quantum properties can be understood as “atlaspatchwork” ones. The domains of application of a classical concept
and the corresponding quantum concept are overlapped when
the physical quantity has a definite value. (Wilson formulates 44
principal theses characterizing classical concepts (see Wilson 2008,
pp. 139-146). His understanding of the relation between “classical”
and “quantum” concepts is somewhat different from our own
(Wilson 2008, p. 197).)
The Wave Function And Quantum Reality
Let us illustrate the question about the quantum reality,
quantum objectivity and quantum concepts by using the example
of the wave function.
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It is known that the wave function suffers from the lack of
objective reality in the following sense (see, for example, (Haroche
2006)). A wave function can be determined in a statistical context,
when there is the possibility of performing measurements on its
identical copies. If one deals with only one exemplar of a quantum
system situated in a pure state ψ, which is an eigenstate (with the
eigenvalue 1) of a projector, the function ψ is known only to the
experimenter who prepared it, but cannot be known to an exterior
observer. Indeed, if an observer performs a measurement, the
system modifies its state irreversibly and randomly. A part of
the information about the initial state of the system is lost. The
experimenter obtains only partial information about it. (As a
consequence, it is impossible to copy exactly an unknown quantum
state (the no-cloning theorem).)
Hence one should either accept the existence of unknowable
reality (unknowable from the point of view of the observer who
is not implicated in the process of preparing the wave function),
or recognize that the ultimate reality supposes the presence of the
interacting subject-observer: independently of the observer, the
quantum function cannot be considered as objectively real; the
quantum reality is the reality of the act of preparing the state of the
system.
In the last case, the concept “wave function” cannot be viewed
as a concept in the classical sense, but as a “quantum concept”
whose functioning supposes the presence of the observer.
In substance, in quantum mechanics, concepts are functioning
not as a means for representing a metaphysical reality of objects,
existing independently from the observer, but as rules for the
interaction of the observer with the reality, for the formation of
the classical “metaphysical reality”, which is secondary, by the
observer. Hence the understanding of quantum mechanics should
not consist of understanding quantum concepts in a classical way,
which is not possible, but in understanding that such understanding
is not possible, that quantum concepts differ from the classical ones
in the way they function.
What has been said agrees with the following position which
Wilson (2006, 2008, p. 77) attributes to Kant:
Quantum Phenomenology
295
« … The general claim is that our naive conception of « objective »
concepts as corresponding to real world attributes is incoherent;
that every viable concept must inherently involve the constructive
agencies of our own minds in some irrevocable way”
The Measurement Problem, the “Hard Problem”in the
Philosophy of Mind and the Wittgensteinian Problem of RuleFollowing
The act of measurement – action of the subject in the process of
measurement – is being performed within an established scientific
and ordinary practice, in accordance with implicit and explicit
rules. That is why it is possible to solve/dissolve the measurement
problem pragmatically.
Michel Bitbol, for example, proposed a Wittgensteinian
“dissolution” of the measurement problem within the second
philosophy of Wittgenstein (without making an appeal to
Heidegger’s philosophy). The dissolution consists of using the
instruments and mathematical symbols in a way so that the problem
no longer appears. (Bitbol 2000а. See also Bitbol 2000b, 2002, 2008.)
This is not a naive avoidance of attempts to solve the problem.
The Wittgensteinian “dissolution of the problem” is the initial
point but also the final point of a long series of failed attempts to
solve the problem formally or discursively.
Bitbol emphasizes that the quantum observation is not an
observation of pre-existing entities. It is a practice organized
according to procedural rationalities guided by theoretical rules.
The ontology in the sense of Quine is a secondary retranslation of
this practice. The act of measurement is an execution of procedures
which, for a certain class of well-defined experiential preparations,
gives reproducible values. These values can be treated as secondary,
as reflecting properties of objects.
According to Bitbol, the function of “I” is to manifest an
engagement in the double sense of this word: engagement to
accomplish something and engagement in a situation. The
formalism of quantum mechanics taken in isolation from the
practice of its application is incomplete, and a formal completion
of quantum mechanics is impossible. Nevertheless, says Bitbol, a
larger system including the quantum formalism, the probability
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rules of its application and its effective confrontation with the
achievements of every concrete experiential situation has been
complete since the creation of quantum mechanics (a performative
completeness). (Bitbol 2000а, p. 342.)
Though at first sight no two philosophers are more different
than Heidegger and Wittgenstein, there is no doubt that both are
pragmatists. Brandom, for example, understands Heidegger’s
philosophy as a normative pragmatism. (Brandom 2002.) The
normative social practice is primary. Norms and rules are implicit in
practice. Phenomena, objects and the subject herself are secondary:
they can be (re)constructed pragmatically. (Brandom states his
theory of normative pragmatism in Brandom 1994, Brandom 2000.)
One can agree with Rouse (2002) that Brandom’s anti-naturalistic
interpretation of Heidegger should be turned on its head. Heidegger
is a naturalist. Natural phenomena are primary. They contain in
themselves their own implicit norms.
It is pretty obvious that the second philosophy of Wittgenstein is
also a specific (normative) naturalism. (Pris 2008.) The Wittgensteinian
language games, governed by the implicit or explicit natural rules,
are both natural and spontaneous (normative). Moreover, there are
some reasons to think that Heidegger’s metaphysics is implicit in
Wittgenstein’s philosophy and the Heideggerian notion of Dasein
(literally Being-there) corresponds to the Wittgensteinian notions
of language game and form of life.
For example, the following characterization of Dasein is also
applicable to the language games (Heidegger 1996, ch. 2, § 12):
“Dasein is an entity which, in its very Being, comports itself
understandingly towards that Being. Dasein exists. Furthermore,
Dasein is an entity which in each case I myself am. Mineness
belongs to any existent Dasein, and belongs to it as the condition
which makes authenticity and inauthenticity possible.”
According to Dreyfus, in contrast to Wittgenstein, Heidegger
needs in a special technical philosophical language to theorize
the background, i.e. practices. (Dreyfus 1991.) In other words,
Heidegger’s phenomenology makes explicit what is implicit in
multiple Wittgensteinian examples. The philosophical literature
indicates the existence of a close relationship between the notions
Quantum Phenomenology
297
of language game and form of life and Dasein. (As for the relations
between Wittgenstein and Heidegger see, for example, (Mulhall
1990), (Weston 2010), (Dreyfus 1991), (Rentsch 2003 and the
bibliography therein), (Egan 2013), (Benoist 2010), (Laurent 2015).)
Heidegger himself writes that “Language is not identical with
the sum total of all the words printed in a dictionary; instead…
language is as Dasein is ... it exists.” (Heidegger 1996.)
That is why one can suppose that together with the
Wittgensteinian notion of language game, the Heideggerian notion
of Dasein can be used for pragmatico-phenomenological solution
of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. To be more
precise, the notion of language game rather allows a therapeutic
“dissolution” of the measurement problem. The notion of Dasein
allows an explicit metaphysical solution of it (see below).
The theoretical rules used by the subject-observer for explanations
and predictions of quantum-mechanical phenomena, and the real
material quantum mechanical system – the things rules are being
applied to – are two complementary aspects of the functioning
of quantum mechanics. During the process of measurement, one
or another possibility is being actualized. The “gap” between the
phase of a theoretical prediction and the phase of asserting a result
of measurement, that is, between the domain of possible and that
of actual, is being closed pragmatically (see, for example, (Bachtold
2009)).
Hence the measurement problem can be understood as an
instantiation of the Wittgensteinian problem of rule-following, or
as the problem of a “gap” between the quantum mechanical rules,
or concepts, and their application, where the role of the quantum
observer (thus of consciousness) is significant. This problem
can be “solved” or “dissolved” à la Wittgenstein: the process of
measurement is a Wittgensteinian “process” – a language game –
of the application of quantum rules.
The so-called explanatory gap problem in the philosophy of
mind, which is also called the “hard problem” of consciousness,
that is, the problem of a physicalistic or naturalistic explanation
of a phenomenal consciousness, can also be understood as a
Wittgensteinian problem of a “gap” between a rule (concept) and
its application. Hence the measurement problem in quantum
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Transformation of Consciousness
mechanics is an instantiation of the explanatory gap problem, or
the hard problem, in the philosophy of mind.
The existence of different kinds of dualistic solutions of the
measurement problem: the affirmation that the reduction of the
wave function is due to the consciousness of the observer; or, on the
contrary, that it generates consciousness; the Wigner solution of the
measurement problem, which makes appeal to the consciousness
of the observer; the “many-minds” solution, and so on, indicates
that it is necessary to take consciousness into account. At the same
time, it is a consequence of a reification of consciousness which is
not a “nothing”, but is not a “something” either - a paraphrase of
the Wittgensteinian claim about sensations. (According to Bitbol
Wittgensteinian’s idea is that “consciousness” should be taken as
immediate experience rather than self-awareness. (Bitbol 2008)):
«Sie ist kein Etwas, aber auch nicht ein Nichts!» (It is not a something,
but not a nothing either!) (Wittgenstein 1953, 2001, §304). Although
Wittgenstein speaks about sensations, for him this is also true for
consciousness in general.
Consciousness must be included in quantum mechanics and
physics in general, not as a non-physical substance or non-physical
properties, but as a primary Given – an immediate experience, which
in itself is physical. This is the beginning and the end of a theory.
The immediate experience closes the explanatory gap between a
theory and its application. The “hard problem” in the philosophy
of mind, or the problem of closing the “gap” between phenomenal
consciousness and its physicalistic description, appears as a result
of reification of consciousness. It can be “solved” or “dissolved”
only by means of a correct understanding of the naturalistic
(physicalistic) nature of consciousness.
So, briefly, the logic of a pragmatic “dissolution”, or normativenaturalistic solution, of the measurement problem is the following:
(1) The measurement problem is a particular case of a more general
problem: the hard problem, or the problem of the explanatory
gap, in the philosophy of mind. (Michel Bitbol (2000) writes that
the measurement problem and the hard problem have one and
the same structure.) A human being, and thus consciousness, is
essentially involved in the process of measurement: a human being
forms an intention to accomplish a measurement, and accomplishes
Quantum Phenomenology
299
it, and finally observes the result of the measurement. (Heelan
(2004), for example, defends the thesis that consciousness has,
on phenomenological grounds, a similar structure to quantum
mechanics.)
(2) The hard problem can be reduced to the problem of
application of a rule (concept or theory) in the Wittgensteinian
sense. (Pris 2008.) The explanatory gap is a “gap” between a
neurological concept, describing a phenomenological experience
and its application to the phenomenological experience; hence it is
also a “gap” between a neurological concept and the corresponding
phenomenological concept. (A Wittgensteinian “dissolution” of
the hard problem was also proposed by Bitbol (2000a), but not in
terms of the Wittgensteinian problem of rule-following.)
(3) The act of application of a rule is a Wittgensteinian language
game. Within the language game the explanatory gap is closed.
(4) The notion of language game can be understood not only
pragmatically, that is as a normative activity, interaction, or
practice, but also naturalistically, that is, as a natural phenomenon.
The language game is both natural and spontaneous (normative).
Hence the Wittgensteinian naturalism is not metaphysical,
but normative, which means that the phenomenon contains in
itself its own implicit norms that are themselves natural. (The
corresponding notion in Joseph Rouse – “phenomenon”, or “intraaction”. According to Rouse, we should stop conceiving of the
normative and the material as separate – the two are constitutive of
each other. (Rouse 2002.))
(5) Heidegger’s notion of Dasein corresponds to Wittgenstein’s
notion of language game.
Thomas Rentsch (2003) thinks that Dasein corresponds rather
to the Wittgensteinian notion of form of life. However, the
Wittgensteinian notion of a form of life can be understood as a
system of established language games, background, or as a sort of
“language game of the second order” within which it only makes
sense to consider more concrete language games of the first order.
(6) The so-called collapse of the wave function in the process of
measurement is not a physical process. The process of measurement
in quantum mechanics is a Wittgensteinian language game, or, in
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Transformation of Consciousness
metaphysical Heideggerian language, Dasein (or a realization of
one of the possibilities of Dasein).
Notice in this connection that Heelan (2004) within his
phenomenological interpretation of the measurement problem in
quantum mechanics claims:
“Husserl’s noetic-noematic union of subject and object is an
entanglement between the intentional subject and the emerging
object – similar, perhaps, at this stage to Heidegger’s Dasein.”
The understanding of the nature of the “process” of measurement
this allows a therapeutic “dissolution” or a metaphysical solution
of the measurement problem.
Conclusion
Heidegger’s phenomenology, as well as the second philosophy
of Wittgenstein, can be understood as a normative pragmatism
and even as a specific – normative – naturalism. It makes explicit
the metaphysical presuppositions of the second philosophy of
Wittgenstein. Both philosophies are appropriate for understanding
quantum mechanics as a science of a new type, rejecting the
metaphysical notion of reality, and for solving (in the case of
Heidegger) or “dissolving” (in the case of Wittgenstein) the
measurement problem in quantum mechanics.
Quantum concepts function rather as rules for forming a new
reality, not as notions for describing a pre-existing metaphysical
reality which is independent from the observer in the absolute
sense.
The measurement problem in quantum mechanics has the same
structure as the hard problem in the philosophy of mind, and can
be reduced to the Wittgensteinian problem of rule-following. The
“gap” between the potential possibilities theoretically described
within quantum mechanics and the actualization of one of these
possibilities is being closed pragmatically within a language game
of a correct application of quantum mechanics playing the role of
a Wittgensteinian rule. In the theoretical/metaphysical language
of Heidegger, the language game is Dasein (or a realization of one
of the potential possibilities contained in Dasein). The addition of
this philosophical notion to the notional apparatus of quantum
mechanics allows a theoretical solution to the measurement
problem.
Quantum Phenomenology
301
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Bhutkar, R. G., Theory of Spirituality Based on Meaning Mechanism inside the Brain
Exploration
Theory of Spirituality Based on Meaning Mechanism inside the Brain
Rajesh G. Bhutkar*
Abstract
The conscious mind is a quantum field that itself is a virtual reality. It continuously plays a role
of “DecohesionAgent” to collapse the superposed wave function in the form of apparent reality.
Thus, the universe is swaying between these two fundamental realities of virtual and apparent
reality. The meaning mechanism in the mind-brain functionality is responsible to create and tie
these two realities based on the quantum effects. The meaning mechanism is a function of
conscious mind and therefore it becomes a “Seat” for all the intelligence based knowledge
systems and thus supports the relativistic nature of the universe.
Keywords:Quantum field, mind-brain functionality, consciousness, sensations, measurement
perturbation, response, experience, collapse, apparent reality, virtual reality, Spirituality.
1. Introduction
In this article, I explore thenature of meaning mechanism pertaining to the various efforts of
mind-brain functionality that portray the performance of intelligence. Such efforts may further
help us to establish the consciousness based theory of spiritual within the premise of quantum
theory.
A measurement is best defined as anything that gives us information.And information is what
allows us to narrow our choices, or at least refine our probabilities after the process of
understanding. In Quantum Theory, the act of measurement plays a vital role in bringing the
severalEigen-statesof the wave function that upon decohesion; collapse into its single Eigen-state
to call it as an Observable Stateinthe regime classicalworld. The von Neumann–Wigner
interpretation, also described as "consciousness causes collapse”, is an interpretation of quantum
mechanics in which consciousness is postulated to be necessary for the completion of the process
of quantum measurement. According to John von Neumann the mathematics of quantum
mechanics allows for the collapse of the wave function to be placed at any position in the causal
chain from the measurement device to the point of perception by the conscious
observer.Therefore, generally the measurement is said to be an act of conscious observer.
Therefore,it can be said that the act of measurement gets accomplished provided the
measurement is well perceived by the observer through its meaning mechanism that takes place
within the mind-brain functionality.
The universe is an intricate and intrinsic system of quantum information which is being observed
and analyzed by the mind-brain functionality in a piecemeal manner. Mind-brain functionality
*
Correspondence:Rajesh G. Bhutkar, Independent Researcher, India. Email: rbhutkar12@gmail.com
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Bhutkar, R. G., Theory of Spirituality Based on Meaning Mechanism inside the Brain
interacts with this quantum information and rearranges the form of wave function that
immediately achieves its superposition state within the quantum field of mind. The wave
function is pushed into its state of decohesion due to continuous observation invoking the
meaning mechanism within the mind-brain functionality. The meaning mechanism continuously
ensures that the state of decohesion lie within the framework of laws of nature or the laws of
apparent reality and tries to fit the decohesion state within this framework. Such mental and
physical efforts bring the wave function to its state of decohesion. The further efforts make wave
function to collapse in the form of resultin the material form or in the observable form with many
attributes and characteristics associated with it. Thus, the process of conscious
observationcreatesan apparent reality unveiling the secrets of the universe.The mind-brain
functionality senses such attributes and characteristics again converting the state of collapse into
its own knowledge system. Thus, in order to accomplish the act of measurement the meaning
mechanism shall have to be taken place therein.
Unless the mind-brain functionality exists, we cannot perceive the apparent reality in its
meaningful state and therefore we cannot say that the collapse has taken place upon
measurement. Thus, we can say that the virtual reality of existence of mind along with the brain
gives birth to the apparent reality governed by the meaning mechanism at its root. Thus, the
meaning mechanism is a connecting phenomenon in between virtual and apparent realities that
underline the existence of the universe.
Thus, we always deal with both virtual as well as apparent realities in order to build up our
intelligencebased knowledge system that makes our lives worthy. We need to see here whether
such knowledge system is governed by the nature of the meaning mechanism. We need to see
whether the nature of meaning mechanism helps us to establish the Theory of Spiritualityon the
background of anomniscient and omnipotent principle of consciousness.
2. Quantum Field of Consciousness and Mind
The advancements in the quantum field theory have been facilitating scientists to prepare a more
realistic quantum mechanical model of consciousness and mind. According to H. Hu and M. Wu,
the consciousness emerges through the spin mediated mechanism that appears in the quantum
field of mind by virtue of possible roles of neural membrane nuclear spin ensembles and
paramagnetic oxygen [1]. Thus, mind is a substrate for consciousness that creates its own field of
awareness. The state of conscious mind is a quantum phenomenon that undergoes the process of
Orchestrated-Objective Reduction [2] as envisaged by Roger Penroj and Stuart Hammeroffand
therefore it is said to be completely virtual in nature. While representing the “Quantum field
theory of the human psyche” [3],Baaquie BE and Martin F. formulated the equation of super
field of conscious mindin which the fermions field represents the individualized state of the mind
and the boson fieldrepresents the universal field of the consciousness. Such a super field of
conscious mind along with the brain not only plays the role of an observer but also act as a
decohesion agent undergoing the meaning mechanism to facilitate collapse of the wave function.
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Bhutkar, R. G., Theory of Spirituality Based on Meaning Mechanism inside the Brain
3.Behavior of Quantum Field of Conscious Mind
Our five sensory organs or say body continuously measures the environment and keeps us alert
about changes therein and self-educate by building a specific knowledge system within the mindbrain functionality. The universal field of consciousness; possesses the weirdest qualities and
potential in it to bring the sensations into its own ambit of awareness to undergo perturbations.
Not only the amount of perturbation would be measured by the mind but it would undergo its
effects also. Mind as an observer measures them as its own experiences. Such a series of
experiences build a knowledge system and chain of causality through the act of responsiveness to
stimuli. Thus the act of measurement, the act of being perturbed and the act of responses are the
fundamental functionality of the quantum field of the mind which makes it a vehicle of
perception and cognition.
The causality goes down to generate responses within the mind-field and we observe the physical
actions that cause displacement of objects on the physical plane of universe under the influence
of mind-brain functionality. Thus, when we perceive any object or subject then our mind absorbs
its classical properties and attributes and the "Self" or “I” quantum mechanically observes the
perturbations within its own field. This internal observation travels with the information through
mind-brain system to analyze and create responses. The object does not enter in the brain but the
conscious mind inherits all the qualities of the object and interacts with the brain to trigger
further functionality. The mind inherits all the physical characteristics of the object being
observed and sensesthem along with its characteristics and carries all such senses in its own field
of awareness with the help of brain.
Based on the principles ofQuantum Field Theory (QFT), various actions and states of quantum
field of the mind can be represented. [4] This will help us to understand the quantum mechanical
behavior of the mind field giving birth to the meaning mechanism.
4. Meaning Mechanism
The meaning mechanism is a continuous and consistent cycle ofMeasurement, Perturbation and
Response leading ultimately to build a decohesion state to facilitate the Intermediate Quantum
Collapse effect in the form of understanding/realization/satisfaction. Such a process of
understanding or the meaning mechanism helps us to create specific knowledge systems in the
lives of sentient beings.
Measurement:As the mind field assumes or inherits the characteristics of the observable, the
perturbations in the mind field are said to be the ensembles of all the characteristic information
of the object which is responsible to stimulate the brain. Thus the quantum actions in the field of
conscious mind are inherited by the mind-brain functionality through the act of measurement.
Therefore, with respect to the physical phenomenon of being sensed and experienced, we say
that all the physical characteristics of the physical object are in the form of quantum of energy
that is responsible to perturb the mind field of the observer upon measurement/observation.
Therefore, we can say that at the time of measurement, the quantum state of the mind gets
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broken up into the superposition of Eigen-states of the peculiar qualities that would cause
perturbation in the mind field.
Probability Density or the State of Knowledge:When such ensembles of quantons transmit
through the quantum field of mind, they carry with themselves the probabilities to manifest and
undergo meaning mechanism through mind-brain functionality. The density of such ensembles is
represented in the form of their probabilities. Therefore, we shall have to note that the quantum
states already contain within them some probabilities. Once we express a quantum state on some
basis, the coefficients for that basis determine the probabilities for finding the system in those
basis states. However, these probabilities are not enough to describe all the possible states-ofknowledge. In general then, our state-of-knowledge about a quantum system can be described by
a probability density over all the possible states of wave function of the mind.
Perturbation:The perturbation spontaneously occurs within the quantum field of the mind and it
is sensed by the mind-brain functionality. The entire process of being observed/ measured and
perturbed is witnessed by the centralized consciousness character of the mind-field “Self/I”. By
virtue of consciousness, it brings the perturbations in its own ambit of awareness. The centralized
consciousness character of the mind-field “I” measures the sensations being received. As this
quantum of energy change holds all the characteristic information of the observable, and as the
mind field possesses the potential to inherit those characteristics, the sensations are brought in
the ambit of awareness and acknowledged by the mind-brain functionality.
In the perturbed state of the mind, its field holds numerous of attributes and characteristics of the
five senses that are coming from the universe as well as the senses coming from the memory
unit. Mind can measure any one of the sensations at a given instance in light of consciousness.
The mind particles acquire certain momentum and thus such a perturbation creates tendencies
and desires within the mind. The perturbed state of the mind signifies the conversion of the
apparent reality into its virtual reality during meaning mechanism.
The observer or the "Self" reserves its choice whether to observe the perturbation due external
event happening in front of it on the physical plane or to observe the perturbation due to the
internal event generated with the help of superposition state of an earlier event retrieved from the
memory unit. For every change in the quantum field, we observe the change in the Hamiltonian
of the system through a specific mode of transition. Such perturbation that spontaneously occurs
within the quantum field of the mind is sensed by the mind-brain functionality.Thus, the
quantum effects have given us tremendous potential to overcome the limitations of physical
reality.
Response:We know that the perturbation is nothing but a meaningful profile of the quantum
field that appears within itself. Such appearance with all its characteristics and attributes forms a
picture of decohesion state of apparent reality. Thus all the physical information of interest is
contained in matrix elements of Schrodinger picture operators that are said to be time dependent.
The response is a spontaneous action generated within the mind field by virtue of decohesion
state of a wave function. The magnitude of the response from the perturbed mind field would
indicate that the quantum of energy that has been getting utilized to create the internal response
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from the mind field. Such an internal response would then trigger the physical movements along
with the thought process to describe them as responsiveness to stimuli.
The Self-oriented exhibition by the sentient being is a consequence and combined effect of
tendencies, knowledge and intelligence due to the sensations being received from the universe
through the interactions between the mind and the brain are called as responses. The potential
difference in quantum of energies due to the event of experience or the knowledge creates a
subtle electromagnetic field along with biochemical reactions in the brain. This creates triggering
mechanism for the state of decohesion and collapse effect in the form of physical or mental
responses. During act of responses we see changes in the universe from its subtlest form of
virtual reality to the gigantic form in the apparent reality of classical world. The response creates
momentum and gives new position to every particle of the matter.The magnitude of the response
from the perturbed mind field indicates that the quantum of energy is utilized to create the
internal response from the mind field.Therefore, even though the classical physics is a science of
displacement of the objects, it cannot be described as a science of causality.
MPRM Cycle:The changes we see on the material plane; are not due to the changes in the
position of particles therein, but they are due to the reasons behind their displacement by virtue
of all potential probabilities that the wave function holds. Such potential probabilities are the
outcome of the various quantum effects that have been taking place in their own quantum field
again due to the act of measurement of responses. Thus, every such event of experience is the
difference in the sensations that are being sensed by any one of the five sensory organs at a given
moment. Therefore, we say here that the potential difference between the successive
perturbations that trigger the MPRM cycle to create and maintain the chain of causality in the
universe. Such a chain of causality continues on both virtual plane of mind as well as physical
plane of apparent reality. These elements are nothing but the bunch of cycles of MeasurementPerturbation-Response-Measurement (MPRM) as such. Such bunches of MPRM cycles possess
potential to act as the cause of some other chain of causality and at the same time they possess
potential to act to carry out consequential effects in the form of a chain of causality.
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As shown in above diagram, we see that the MRPM cyclical process in the quantum field of the
mind gives meaning to the apparent reality of the surrounding world. Thus,the apparent nature of
reality of the surrounding world is said to be based on the quantum effects that are virtual in
nature. Such a transformation and transmission of the quantum of energy through the quantum
field of the mind creates trajectories of quantum of energy by virtue of this cyclical process.
Such trajectories of quantum of energy are the ensembles of the quantons of varied characteristic
and attributes that possess momentum due to each of the events of the observation/measurement.
Such trajectories of various characteristics and attributes are the building blocks of the
understanding, desires, tendencies and feelings in the form of a continuous flow of the thoughts.
This core mechanism exists in the “Virtual Machine” of Quantum phenomena that is called as
our conscious mind.Therefore, the quantum field of mind is very vibrant, unstable and sensitive
and complex in nature. The waves of potential probabilities create thought-chains in the mind.
Those thought-chains themselves become the cause of decohesion followed by the collapse
effects in the form of responses.
Postulate (1)
We say here that every act of internal observation leading to the measurement,
perturbation, response and measurement (MPRM-cycle) creates a cyclic process in the
mind field. Every observation is measured in a cyclic manner to create numerous of
perturbations, every perturbation is measured to create further responses and every
response is measured by the mind field to create further measurements in a cyclic manner
number of times till the mind reaches up to the event of state of decohesion of satisfaction
or of understanding or of realization. The mind can further underpin with such a
powerful tool of the cycle of MPRM to that level of its perception till it has an ability to
measure the differences between “what was expected and what has been achieved” in the
frame of law of nature. We can describe this as a kind of “Quantum Mechanical
Reduction Process” witnessing the event of understanding/realization/satisfaction as
such.If we go further down the line; we will realize that the difference between the
numerous and varied experiences and the causality cropping out of this cyclical process
builds the entire intelligence based knowledge system within; which is the complex
phenomenon to formulate.
Intermediate Quantum Collapse Effect: Up till now we have seen how the sensations are
brought into the ambit of awareness and sensed by the centralized conscious character of the
mind-field “I” in the light of consciousness. Now we will see the mechanism of the “Experience”
or “Realization” through “Intermediate Collapse Effect” within the mind field. The collapse state
of the wave function is a manifestation of one of the potential probabilities that is being
consistently observed and refined by the mind-brain functionality. In the case of quantum field of
mind wherein the “Meaning Mechanism” takes place, it shall have to undergo the “Intermediate
Quantum Collapse Effect” to describe it as “Understanding OR the realization of the situation
OR bringing the sensations in the field of its awareness OR the process of awareness” in the
usual sense. The perturbed state of a quantum field of mind is said to be the field of
consciousness that witnesses every event of perturbation due to material sensations to call it as
awareness as such. Therefore the awareness is an event that is perceived on the background of
the field of consciousness as such. Thus the process of “Being conscious about” OR “The
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Process of Understanding” OR “The Process of Realization” OR “The Process of Being
Experienced” is described here as a “Intermediate Quantum Collapse Effect” in the perturbed
state of the conscious mind. As shown in above diagram, we see that this effect is necessary to
cross the threshold of virtual reality to enter into the apparent reality as such.
Postulate (2)
The centralized consciousness character of the mind-field “Self/I” compares the
difference in the successive comparable states of decohesion caused due to the meaning
mechanism in the mind field and assumes it as an experience of understanding. I describe
this process of understanding as an “Intermediate Collapse State of
Understanding/Realization/Satisfaction” within the mind field. This meaning mechanism
is then followed by the response in terms of the sense of being acknowledged by that
particular experience in the ambit of its own awareness. During setting up of any
intelligence knowledge system such as invention, discovery, theory, postulate, principle
etc., human beings upon satisfaction at the minutest difference between the expected and
the actual that fits in the framework of law of nature. Then it is accepted and the result it
is represented in a material form as an apparent reality.
5. Two Realities of the Universe
As shown in the above diagram, we see that the meaning mechanism acts as a fueling process to
manifest the virtual reality into its apparent reality. Meaning mechanism generates various
states of decohesion by creating number of events of understanding or the realization within
themind-brain functionality. Thus person is said to remain in the state of virtual reality during its
intellectual underpinning.Person’s mind gets divided into number of superposition states that
generates number of states of decohesion through meaning mechanisms. But unless the result is
not getting positioned either within the framework of laws of nature or achieves the satisfaction
level of understanding or realization, such person continues with its act of underpinning. The
final event of satisfaction/understanding/realization is the Intermediate Quantum Collapse that
further gets collapsed on the material plane in the form of result as an apparent reality.
Postulate (3)
Thecyclical process of meaning mechanism leading to the Intermediate Quantum
Collapse of an event of understanding through the mind-brain functionality is said to be
completely virtual in nature. As soon as the level of satisfaction reaches the results are
brought on their material plane in the form of apparent reality as such. Such an apparent
reality is being perceived by the sentient beings through their sensory organs and thereby
the apparent reality achieves its meaningful existence on its physical plane.
6.Representation of “Consciousness Based Theory of Spirituality”
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From all the above three postulates, hereby we can make the statement of Theory of Spirituality.
“The cyclical process of MPRM builds the meaning mechanism that leads to collapse of the most
refined state of decohesion in the form of Understanding/Realization/Satisfaction to describe it as
an intermediate quantum collapse effect. This entire process from MPRM cycle to intermediate
quantum collapse is virtual reality of intelligence based knowledge system. The result or the
conclusions or the findings are then represented in a material form on the physical
planeidentified as an apparent reality of intelligence based knowledge system.Therefore, we say
here that with respect to the above three postulates, a meaning mechanism establishes the
intelligence based knowledge system as a product of these two realities with respect to the
consciousness present in the mind field. “Such a consciousness based knowledge system as a
product of these two realities (viz. virtual and apparent realities) is represented here in the form
of Theory of Spirituality.”The Theory of Spirituality thus becomes the foundation of illustration
and establishment of relativistic nature of the universe and supports the experience of its
existence. By virtue of meaning mechanism followed by intermediate quantum collapse effect,
the Theory of Spirituality interconnects the two realities such as virtual reality and apparent
reality. By virtue of meaning mechanism, all the intelligence based knowledge systems position
themselves in the ambit of Spirituality that prevail on both the planes of realities of virtual and
apparent as such.
Reference
1. H.Hu &M.Wu, Spin-Mediated Consciousness: Theory, Experimental Studies, Further Development &
Related Topics, http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0208068; Medical Hypotheses (2004) 63(4): 633-646.
2. Hameroff Stuart; Penrose Roger, Consciousness in the universe: A review of the 'Orch OR' theory. ,
Phys Life Rev, 2014; Mar 11(1):39-78. http://www.quantumconsciousness.org/content/scholarlyjournals
3. “Quantum Psyche: Quantum Field Theory of the Human Psyche”: NeuroQuantology 2005, Issue-1,
Page 7-42, By Baaquie BE and Martin F. ISSN 1303 5150 www.neuroquantology.com
4. Rajesh Bhutkar, The Quantum Field Model of Experiences, Responses and Thoughts, Journal of
NeuroQuantology, December 2015, Volume 13, Issue 4.
5. http://eduardo.physics.illinois.edu/phys582/LRT.pdf
6. Quantum Theory and Consciousness: An overview with selected examples by Harald Atmanspacher.
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Kaufman, S. E., The Liberation of Consciousness from Identification with Form through Non-reactivity (Part I)
Article
The Liberation of Consciousness from Identification with
Form through Non-reactivity (Part I)
Steven E. Kaufman*
ABSTRACT
Although what human Beings ultimately are is formless Consciousness, or That by which all
form is known, what the vast majority of human Beings presently know themselves to be is some
set of experiential forms that are being both created and known by the formless Consciousness
that they actually are. And once Consciousness believes itself to be form, that belief tends to
persist, because once Consciousness identifies with experiential form that misidentification is
perpetuated through the way in which form-identified Consciousness then tends to deal with the
universe of experiential forms while knowing itself as one of those forms. Specifically, while
knowing itself as form, Consciousness tends to react to all other forms of which it subsequently
becomes aware, and such reactions, or reactive Movements, because they are always a
continuation of the movement of Consciousness into identification with form, perpetuate the
identification of Consciousness with form, and therefore keep Consciousness trapped in a state of
delusion, where it remains both conscious of itself as it is not, as well as unable to become
conscious of That which it truly Is. And since it is primarily through these reactive Movements
that Consciousness both binds Itself to this delusion regarding its nature, and also blinds Itself to
its true Nature, it is only by beginning to become involved instead in the opposite Movement,
i.e., in non-reactivity, which is a movement of Consciousness that does not have as its basis the
identification of Consciousness with form, that Consciousness can begin to both free Itself from
this delusion, as well as become conscious of That which it truly Is.
Part I of this four-part article includes: Introduction and Overview; 1. Form-identification and
reactivity; and 2. Becoming conscious of Consciousness.
Keywords: Consciousness, Being, liberation, identification, form, formless, non-reactivity.
“By accepting the form you access the Formless. By resisting the form of the
present moment you become more deeply trapped in your own form-identity.”
- Eckhart Tolle1
*Correspondence: Steven E. Kaufman, Independent Researcher. http://www.unifiedreality.com
E-mail: skaufman@unifiedreality.com
1
At 27:25 into this video
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“Please be so good as to believe that there is nothing whatever mysterious about
this matter. If it were easy, should we not all be Buddhas? No doubt, but the
apparent difficulty is due to our conditioning. The apparent mystery, on the other
hand, is just obnubilation, an inability to perceive the obvious owing to a
conditioned reflex which causes us persistently to look in the wrong direction!”
- W.W.W.2
Introduction and Overview
The vast majority of human Beings presently live in a state of delusion that is not recognized as
delusion, because this state of delusion is what is, at present, considered normal. Specifically,
although what human Beings ultimately are is formless Consciousness, or That by which all
form is known, what the vast majority of human Beings presently know themselves to be is some
set of experiential forms that are being both created and known by the formless Consciousness
that they actually are, and yet do not know themselves to be. And once Consciousness enters this
state of delusion it tends to remain in that state, because once Consciousness identifies with
experiential form its misidentification is perpetuated through the way in which it then tends to
deal with the universe of experiential forms while knowing itself as one of those forms.
Specifically, while knowing itself as form, Consciousness tends to react to all other forms of
which it subsequently becomes aware, and such reactions, or reactive Movements, because they
are always a continuation of the movement of Consciousness into identification with form,
perpetuate the identification of Consciousness with form, and therefore keep Consciousness
trapped in this state of delusion, where it remains both conscious of itself as it is not, as well as
unable to become conscious of That which it truly Is. And since it is primarily through these
reactive Movements that Consciousness both binds Itself to this delusion regarding its nature,
and also blinds Itself to its true Nature, it is only by beginning to become involved instead in the
opposite Movement, i.e., in non-reactivity, which is a movement of Consciousness that does not
have as its basis the identification of Consciousness with form, that Consciousness can begin to
both free Itself from this delusion, as well as become conscious of That which it truly Is.
The identification of formless Consciousness with experiential form is not a mistake, but is
simply a necessary stage in an evolutionary process that Consciousness is undergoing.
Specifically, Consciousness identifies with form in order to eventually come to realize fully and
completely that form is what it is not. And the reason Consciousness wants to recognize fully
and completely that form is what it is not, is because what it really wants is to recognize and
realize fully and completely what it Is. However, while operating within the Universe, where it is
able to be conscious of both experiential form, as well as the Formlessness that it actually Is, in
order to be able to truly know and recognize what it Is, Consciousness must also be able to truly
know and recognize what it is not. And the way in which Consciousness comes to realize fully
that form is what it is not, is by identifying with form, by knowing itself as form, and then
becoming conscious of how that plays out, which is never well, because it only and ever leads to
2
From the foreword to All Else Is Bondage; Non-Volitional Living (Hong Kong University Press, 1964 and Sunstar
Publications, 1999).
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suffering. And once Consciousness begins to realize this, it begins to look for a way out of the
suffering it is unknowingly, and so unconsciously, creating for Itself.
However, such efforts are usually unsuccessful, because the way in which human Beings usually
try to escape the suffering their identification with form invariably produces is through some sort
of reactivity, which is to say, through some Movement that is ultimately just another
continuation of the movement of Consciousness into identification with form, and so through
some Movement that cannot do other than perpetuate both their identification with form, as well
as the suffering that identification invariably produces. As a result, the liberation of
Consciousness from that identification and its attendant suffering has historically been put forth
as being a much more difficult and arduous task than it actually is. That is, disidentifying from
form, becoming conscious of Consciousness directly, and recognizing one’s Self as That, is not
at all difficult, once one is able to become aware of what it is that one is doing to keep the trap in
operation, because the only thing that ever keeps the trap in operation is one’s own reactivity,
which is to say, one’s conditioned, habitual, and unconscious way of dealing with the world of
forms as a result of knowing one’s self to be form. And for this reason, just becoming aware of
one’s own reactivity is itself the beginning of non-reactivity, and so is all that is needed to begin
to both free the Consciousness that one actually is from one’s identification with form, as well as
make it possible for the Consciousness that one actually is to become conscious of
Consciousness directly, in which case it then also becomes possible for the Consciousness that
one actually is to know That, rather than some experiential form, as one’s Self.
All that having been said, the purpose of this work is to explain in detail how Consciousness
identifies with form, how that identification is perpetuated by the reactivity that naturally
follows, and why this misidentification is a necessary part of the evolution of Consciousness into
ever-greater awareness of Itself. Ultimately, the reason for explaining all of this is to make it
clear that the way out of this Self-constructed and Self-perpetuated delusion is through some
degree of non-reactivity. That is, what will be explained is that the way out of what seems to be
the trap in which we have purposefully placed ourselves lies simply through ceasing to
continuously interact with the world in a way that is dictated solely by our delusion regarding our
nature, i.e., by the idea that what we are is form. Because as long as we continue to interact with
the world solely on the basis of this delusion, the delusion cannot do other than persist. And as
long as the delusion persists, as long as we are actively generating and perpetuating this delusion
through our reactivity, i.e., through the way in which we naturally tend to interact with the world
of form while knowing ourselves as form, we must continue to know ourselves as we are not,
and so we must also continue to suffer. But even more importantly, as long as we continue to
actively generate and perpetuate our identification with form through our reactivity, the
Consciousness that we actually are, although ever-present and pervasive, remains completely
obscured from Itself, leaving us, as Consciousness, unable to become directly conscious of our
true Self. And obviously, as long as one remains unable to become even conscious of
Consciousness directly, which is to say, as long as Consciousness remains completely obscured
from Itself, owing to its own persistent reactivity, the opportunity for Consciousness to recognize
and realize Itself simply cannot and does not arise in one’s lifetime, leaving the Consciousness
that one actually is unable to fulfill, in one’s lifetime, the core desire that underlies the singular
movement of Consciousness by which the both the Universe, as well as human Beings, come
into being as Forms of Consciousness.
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1. Form-identification and reactivity
There is only Consciousness, and what you actually are is That, and nothing else. However, there
seems to be only experiential form—emotional, mental, and physical—and what you believe
yourself to be is that, and nothing else. And so there is a gap, an unbridgeable chasm, between
what you actually are and what you believe yourself to be, because what you actually are is
Consciousness, i.e., the Formlessness by which all experiential form is created and known,
whereas what you believe yourself to be is some collection or set of experiential forms—
emotional, mental, and physical—that you think of and know as your self.
The gap between what you actually are and what you believe yourself to be is unbridgeable
because Consciousness and experience are completely different in nature, as light is different in
nature than shadow. And just as it is light that creates shadow, it is Consciousness that creates
experience. And so, just as there is a relation between light and shadow, there is a relation
between Consciousness and experience, but there is not equivalence, there is not identicalness,
and so there is not true identity. For this reason, any idea harbored by the Consciousness that you
are that what it is, is some experience, is a misconception, a mistaken connection, a mistaken
equivalence, between two things, so to speak, that are not opposite, but are also in no way
equivalent or identical. And for this reason, no experience can reveal to you what you actually
are, because what you actually are is always other than experience. And for this reason as well,
while believing and so knowing yourself to be what is only an experience, that mistaken belief,
that mistaken knowledge, either conceals from you what you actually are, or does not allow you
to recognize what you actually are, once what you actually are is no longer concealed.
Every problem that you have has this mistaken belief, this mistaken idea of what you are, as its
basis, because in the absence of this idea there is no problem, only what-is. In essence, a problem
is ultimately no more than what form-identified Consciousness sees as the apparent and seeming
need to solve for the difference between what-is, in this moment, and what it, according to the
particular forms it is using to create its form-identity, thinks this moment should be. Because in
the absence of the identification of Consciousness with form, the idea that things either could or
should somehow be other than they are in this moment, i.e., other than what-is, simply does not
arise, since the idea that things either could or should somehow be other than they are in this
moment only arises with reference to one’s form-identity. That is, it is only relative to the idea of
your self as some experiential form that the universe of experiential forms, including its events
and circumstances, i.e., what-is, becomes arranged and labeled as good or bad, or as what should
or should not be, according to how those forms, events, and circumstances, are perceived or
conceived to effect whatever form, or set of forms, you believe your self to be. And once those
forms, events, and circumstances, have been labeled as good or bad, or as what should or should
not be, you then either cling to those that are labeled good and push away those that are labeled
bad, or you are left with the problem of trying to figure out how to cling to those that are labeled
good and push away those that are labeled bad as a means of trying to get the forms that are
arising in this moment to conform to what your form-identified Consciousness thinks this
moment should be.
Here it is important to note that although the identification of Consciousness with form may be
the source of one’s problems, this does not mean, as Eckhart Tolle often points out, that in the
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absence of such identification that one’s life becomes free of challenges. Rather, all it means is
that, in the absence of the identification of Consciousness with form, the challenges of life that
arise naturally, as both an unavoidable and ultimately necessary part of life, do not become
converted into problems that need to be solved and so continuously thought about, since in the
absence of the identification of Consciousness with form one no longer continuously projects
upon the unavoidable what-is-ness of this moment their personal idea of what this moment
should be, and so no longer continuously creates the problem of having to solve for the
difference between what-is, in this moment, and what one’s form-identified Consciousness
thinks this moment should be. One very important difference between meeting challenges as
challenges, instead of converting them into problems, is that meeting a challenge as a challenge,
i.e., as what-is, does not generate suffering. On the other hand, once a challenge, or even that
which is not truly a challenge, has been converted into a problem through the superimposition of
the idea of what should be upon what-is, the relatively useless and repetitive thinking that
unavoidably ensues, as one tries to solve the problem of converting what-is to what one thinks
should be, generates quite a bit of suffering, and is what actually generates the vast majority of
what human Beings experience as suffering.
The continuous labeling of events and circumstances as good or bad, and the resultant clinging to
the good and pushing away of the bad, as well as the continuous generation of problems brought
about by believing that this moment either could or should be other than it is, all owing and
according to the way in which one is identifying with form, are all reactive actions. These actions
are all referred to as reactive actions because all of these actions are not original actions, but are
re-actions, which means they are actions that are the natural and somewhat unavoidable
continuation of a prior action. And in the case of these reactive actions, or reactions, the original
or prior action is the formless Consciousness that you actually are identifying with experiential
form, i.e., knowing itself as form. And once that action or movement of Consciousness has taken
place, the subsequent or secondary actions or Movements, which are actually reactions—i.e., the
labeling of events and circumstances as good or bad, or as what should or should not be, the
relatively useless and repetitive thinking that flows from the problems that are created by all of
this labeling, and the clinging to that which has been labeled good, as well as the pushing away
of that which has been labeled bad—all occur naturally and somewhat unavoidably, as
continuations of the original action or primary Movement through which Consciousness
identifies with form.
The identification of Consciousness with form is, most fundamentally, Consciousness’ linkage of
Itself to form. That is, what the identification of Consciousness with form involves, most
fundamentally, is Consciousness using the mind to link Itself, i.e., the formless "I Am," or
eternal Subject, to some experiential "this" or "that." And it is through this linkage that
Consciousness creates the idea that is its identification with form, which idea we, as formidentified Consciousness, express as "I am this," or "I am that," where “this” or “that” represents
whatever form, or set of forms, that we, as a particular individualization of Consciousness, have
conceptually linked to our formless Self. Thus, the identification of Consciousness with form is
essentially the conceptualization of Consciousness, which is to say, the seeming or apparent
conversion of our formless Self into a thought-form or idea.
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Consciousness is, by its nature, formless, whereas concepts are, by their nature, forms. Creating
concepts involves the linkage of one thought-form to another thought-form to create a higher
order thought-form or concept composed of those linked thought-forms, with higher order
concepts expressing or representing higher order or more complex relationships. The
construction of language is itself an external expression of this progressive linkage of thoughtforms, by which linkage progressively higher order thought-forms or concepts are created.
Specifically, in the construction of language, extremely simple forms are linked to create letters,
and then the forms we call letters are linked to create words, after which the forms we call words
are linked to created sentences, and on and on it goes. What the identification of Consciousness
with form involves is Consciousness applying this process of conceptualization to Itself, through
the linkage of its sense of "I Am"—i.e., its awareness of its formless Self or Beingness—to some
thought-form of which it is also conscious or aware. Now the thought-form may have, and likely
does have, some perceptual form as its basis, but it is not the perceptual form that becomes
linked to the "I Am." Rather, what becomes linked to the "I Am" is that perceptual form as it has
been translated into a thought-form. And so it is always ultimately a thought-form that
Consciousness links to Itself, and so it is always ultimately a thought-form that Consciousness
uses to create its form-identity, because the process of conceptualization, i.e., the linkage of form
to form, or of form to the Formless, is a mental process, which is to say, is a function of mind.
And once Consciousness has done this, once it has used the mind to link Itself to some thoughtform, it can no longer see Itself as it Is, or be aware of Itself as it Is, which is as the formless "I
Am," but must instead see itself as it is not, or be aware of Itself as it is not, as it must then see or
be aware of itself as whatever thought-form it has conceptually linked to its sense of "I Am," and
so must then be aware of itself as either "this" or "that," as shown in figure 1.
At this point it seems prudent to clarify the terminology that will be used in this work. Depicted
in figure 1 are experiential forms, or just forms, as well as Forms of Consciousness, or just
Forms. The essential difference between form and Form is as follows: Form is composed of
Consciousness, whereas form is not composed of Consciousness. A Form of Consciousness is
composed of Consciousness because such Forms are Consciousness that has become structured
in relation to Itself through a relatively stable pattern of Movement in relation to Itself.
Experiential forms, on the other hand, are not composed of Consciousness, because such forms
are only boundaries that arise where Consciousness, through Movement in relation to Itself,
becomes defined in relation to Itself, much like the line that arises where the tips of two fingers
meet. We do not experience Form, we only ever experience form. We do not experience Form,
because Form is composed of Consciousness, and we do not experience Consciousness. That is,
experience is, by its nature, Consciousness becoming conscious of the boundaries or forms that
have been created within Itself as a result of its having become defined in relation to Itself
through its Movement in relation to Itself. We can become conscious of, and so know,
Consciousness directly, as the Formlessness that it Is, but such knowing is non-experiential,
because it is not the consciousness or awareness of form. And so, although experiential form
arises within Consciousness, and is both created and known by Consciousness, it is not
Consciousness. And it is precisely because experiential form is not Consciousness that the
identification of Consciousness with form eventually becomes so problematic and frustrating for
form-identified Consciousness, as that identification causes Consciousness to continuously seek
Itself in and through form, and so causes Consciousness to seek Itself in the one place in the
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Universe that its Self can never be found, much like a hand trying to accomplish the impossible
task of finding itself in the line that arises where the tips of two of its fingers meet.3
experiential thought-form
“that” now equals “other”
experiential thought-form
“this” now equals “me”
movement of
conceptualization of
Consciousness
Consciousness, i.e.. the
identification of Consciousness
with form, through mental linkage
of some thought-form to the
“I am not that”
“I Am” awareness
still formless Consciousness-Beingness, but now
"I am this"
hidden from Itself by its awareness of itself as form
Forms of Consciousness, i.e., Consciousness that has
become structured in relation to Itself through Movement
in relation to Itself, arise within Consciousness
experiential
thought-form
“this”
experiential
thought-form
“that”
experiential forms arise within
movement of
Consciousness as a boundary
Consciousness
where Consciousness becomes
defined in relation to Itself
through its Movement in
formless Consciousness-Beingness
relation to Itself
"I Am"
Figure 1 What is depicted in this drawing is the way in which formless Consciousness, i.e., the
pure "I Am," first creates experiential form, and then uses the mind to link Itself to form, thereby
identifying with, and so coming to know itself as, form. Depicted in the bottom half of the
drawing is the way in which Consciousness creates experiential form in general, which is always
through some movement of Consciousness. Because there is only Consciousness, any movement
of Consciousness causes Consciousness to flow in relation to Itself, and so to become defined in
relation to Itself. And where Consciousness becomes defined in relation to Itself, through its
Movement in relation to Itself, there arises within Consciousness a boundary that Consciousness
then becomes conscious of as some experiential form, physical, mental, or emotional. Depicted
here, as the spiral lines, is the creation opposite mental forms, or thought-forms, named here
3
The way in which Consciousness evolves into progressive levels of Form, through a process of iterative and
progressive Self-relation, and in so doing creates the different types of experiential forms, i.e., emotional, mental,
and physical, which it then experiences as reality, is described in somewhat excruciating detail in the various works
that are listed at the end of this article.
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"this" and "that," since it is through the linkage of Itself to mental form, or thought-form, that
Consciousness creates its identification with form, and so comes to know itself as form.
Depicted in the top half of the drawing is the linkage of Consciousness to the mental form, or
thought-form, we are calling "this." This linkage of a thought-form to the Formless, or to any
other experiential form, is the essence of the process of conceptualization, which process occurs
only within the mind, and so requires Consciousness to use the mind. Through this linkage of
Itself to the thought-form we are calling "this," Consciousness comes to know itself as "this," and
so instead of just knowing "I Am," it now knows "I am this." The thought-form "this," which is
only an idea, but which Consciousness now knows as itself, then becomes what Consciousness
considers or knows as "me." The word "me" simply refers to whatever form, or set of forms,
Consciousness has used to create its form-identity, and so knows as itself. And once
Consciousness knows itself as "this," it also knows itself as not "that." Put another way, once it
knows "this" as "me," it must then know "that" as "not me," and so then knows "that" as "other,"
since "other" is just a word that means "not me."
Thus, what this drawing also depicts is the basis and origin of the way in which singular
Consciousness is able to come into conflict with Itself, or with what is actually Itself, once it
identifies with form, and so knows one form as "me," and all other forms as "not me," or as
"other." Because once Consciousness identifies with form, it loses sight of the Formlessness that
is its true and essential Nature, and so loses sight of the unity and singularity of Beingness that
underlies all experiential form. And so, once Consciousness knows itself only as a "me," only as a
person, other forms can seem to be a threat to "me." And once other forms are seen as a threat to
the "me," it then appears to form-identified Consciousness that conflict with those other forms is
both necessary and unavoidable, if it is to protect the "me" it now believes, and so knows, itself to
be. But since in all cases what is always and actually there underlying any experiential form is
Consciousness in motion relative to Itself, any conflict with "other" is ultimately always a conflict
with Self.
There is only Consciousness. Everything else, i.e., all experiential form, only exists as the
product of some relation of Consciousness to Itself, much in the way that shadows exist as the
product of some relation of light to itself.4 Thus, underlying every experiential form is a Form of
Consciousness. Put another way, underlying every form that we experience is Consciousness that
has become structured in relation to Itself through some Movement in relation to Itself. In the
absence of these relations of Consciousness to Itself there can be no form, because it is these
relations of Consciousness to Itself that create what Consciousness becomes conscious of as
experience, or as experiential form. And so, underlying what you know or experience physically
as your body, or as any physical object or form, is a Form of Consciousness. Underlying even
what we apprehend as the emptiness of physical space is a Form of Consciousness, i.e.,
Consciousness that has become structured in relation to Itself through Movement in relation to
Itself. Mind is also a Form of Consciousness, and underlying every thought-form is a Form of
Consciousness, i.e., some movement of Consciousness that is creating some relation of
4
Underlying the physical experiential forms that we perceive as and call matter are relatively stable interactions
occurring between the Forms of Consciousness that underlie what we perceive as and call light, hence E = mc 2. This
is why the Sun, or any star, radiates light, as some of those interactions are unraveled, to some degree, as new
interactions are created through the process of nuclear fusion. And so, whenever light shines upon matter, i.e., some
physical object, and so casts a shadow, what is actually creating the shadow is a relation of light, in various forms, to
itself. Likewise, when Consciousness, in various Forms, forms relations with Itself, it also casts and creates what are
essentially shadows, which shadows it then becomes aware of as the various experiential forms—emotional, mental,
and physical—that then make up the totality of what it, while completely identified with form, knows as and calls
reality.
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Consciousness to Itself through which Consciousness is becoming both structured in relation to
Itself and defined in relation to Itself. But what we are aware or conscious of as experiential
forms are not these Forms of Consciousness. Rather, what we are aware or conscious of as
experiential forms are only the boundaries or seams that arise where Consciousness, as it Flows
or Moves in relation to Itself, and so becomes structured in relation to Itself, and so becomes
Form, also becomes defined in relation to Itself through that Flow or Movement in relation to
Itself.
In essence, all experiential forms of which we are conscious are of essentially the same nature as
shadows or reflections, inasmuch as none of these things are what is actually there where they
appear to be, although all can seem to be what is actually there where they all only appear to be.
Further, all of these things are created, and so come into existence, as the result of some relation
occurring between what it is that is actually there where they all only ever appear, and so seem,
to be. Socrates clearly understood the shadow-like nature of what humans typically experience as
reality, hence his cave allegory, as retold by Plato in The Republic, wherein Socrates describes
the way in which humans normally experience the world as being analogous to prisoners in a
cave knowing the truth of the world as nothing more than shadows appearing on the wall of a
cave in which they are chained. And as we shall see, human Beings are, by and large, through
their identification with form and the reactivity that follows, imprisoned within a sort of cave,
except that cave is what we call the mind. However, the mind is not by its nature a prison, not by
its nature a means or method of entrapment and enslavement. To the contrary, the mind is a
wonderful thing, a wonderful tool. But once Consciousness uses that tool to conceptualize Itself,
i.e., to link the formless "I Am" that it Is to some thought-form that only exists, then for reasons
that will eventually be described in detail, Consciousness then feels compelled to use the mind in
a way that keeps it trapped within the mind, which then limits what it can know both as the world
and itself only to form, and so limits what it can know only to the boundaries, seams, reflections,
and shadows that are created, and so come into existence, where the Formlessness that is actually
there becomes defined in relation to Itself through its Movement in relation to Itself.
That Consciousness is a "me," i.e., is actually a person or form, is a complete fiction, in the same
way that the moon being made of cheese is a complete fiction. But the thing about the process of
conceptualization is that Consciousness is able, through that process, to use the mind to link
together things, so to speak, that actually have no relation whatsoever. However, it does not
matter whether or not the linked things actually have any relation to each other, because once
Consciousness uses the mind to link a thought-form to either another experiential form, or even
to the formless "I Am," it then becomes possible for Consciousness to believe those two
completely unrelated things to be equivalent, or of the same nature, and so identical. Hence the
term “identity” to indicate whatever form Consciousness knows itself to be, and hence the term
“identification” to indicate the process whereby that knowledge is created. It is in this way, i.e.,
through the process of conceptualization, that it becomes possible for someone to believe that the
moon is actually made of cheese, and it is also through this same process that it becomes possible
for formless Consciousness to believe that what it is, is some experiential form that it is Itself
actually both creating and knowing.
The fundamental reason that Consciousness feels compelled to use the mind in a way that keeps
it trapped within the mind once it knows itself to be form, i.e., once it has identified with form, is
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because once Consciousness believes itself to be form, it must then also appear to Consciousness
that what it is can be made more or less, added to or subtracted from, and so enhanced or
diminished; not because the Formlessness that Consciousness actually Is can be made more or
less, added to or subtracted from, but only because the thought-form that Consciousness now
knows and believes itself to be actually can, through the process of further conceptualization, be
made more or less, by having other thought-forms added to or subtracted from it. And even if
one were to disregard completely any further operation of the process of conceptualization upon
the form-identity, it would still remain true that form can and does change. Indeed, experiential
form is ever changing because Form is ever changing, because Form is Consciousness in motion.
But what is never true, and so what is always an illusion, is that Consciousness can truly change,
that Consciousness can be made more or less, added to or subtracted from. For how can That
which has no form, and so is beyond form, be in any way truly altered? It cannot. But That which
is beyond form can appear to itself to be alterable, to be changeable, for as long as it continues to
create and believe in the fiction that what it is, is some form.
In any case, once it appears to Consciousness that what it is can be made more or less, added to
or subtracted from, and so enhanced or diminished, it then must also appear to such a formidentified Consciousness that other forms have the potential to affect those changes upon
whatever form it knows as itself, because it is true, at least as an appearance, that other forms can
change the form Consciousness knows itself to be, and so can cause the form Consciousness
knows as itself to be made more or less, and so to be enhanced or diminished. But the truth of
this applies only to form, and not to the Formless, i.e., not to Consciousness. However, through
the linkage of Itself to form, i.e., through its identification with form, and so through the creation
of that fiction, this truth seems to actually apply to itself, which is to say, to what form-identified
Consciousness believes and so knows to be itself. This delusion—and it is a delusion, because it
is a belief that derives from an illusion—then causes Consciousness to view all other forms of
which it becomes aware, once it has identified with form, on the basis of how those forms might
affect, or are affecting, the form it knows itself to be. And it is because Consciousness views all
experiential form in this way, once it has identified with form, that Consciousness feels
compelled to use the mind in a way that keeps it trapped within the mind, once it knows itself to
be form. Because once Consciousness has identified with form, it not only views all experiential
form through the lens of that belief, and so on the basis of how those forms might affect, or are
affecting, the form it knows itself to be, but it also acts upon those forms on the basis of how
those forms might affect, or are affecting, the form it knows itself to be. And it is those actions,
which are actually reactions—because they derive from the action that creates the fiction that is
its identification with form—that are the movements of Consciousness that keep Consciousness
trapped within the mind, and so bound to a very limited and distorted way of knowing both itself
and the world, once it has used the mind to conceptualize Itself, i.e., to link Itself to form, and in
so doing equate Itself with what is, relative to its actual Self, no more than a shadow.
In addition, as a result of this linkage of the formless "I Am" to some thought-form, i.e., to some
"this" or "that," the "I Am" becomes secondary, whereas the "this" or "that" which has been
linked to the "I Am" becomes primary, at least in the eye, or I, of Consciousness that has linked
Itself to form, and so is now aware of itself as form. More accurately, the "I Am" appears as
secondary, whereas the mental form, i.e., the "this" or "that," which has been linked to the "I
Am" appears as primary, to Consciousness that has linked Itself to form, and so is now aware of
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itself as form. And in this way there is a complete reversal and inversion in appearance, but not
in actuality, of the relation between the Formless and form, such that That which is actually
primary appears as secondary, while that which is actually secondary appears as primary. And
once form appears to be primary and the Formless appears to be secondary, form then appears to
be infinitely more important than the Formlessness by which all experiential form is actually
being both created and known, and so appears to be far more important than That upon which its
very existence is completely and utterly dependent. It is quite the turnabout. And once form
appears to Consciousness to be so much more important than the Formlessness that is truly its
Self, Consciousness gives virtually all of its attention to form, and so gives virtually none of its
attention to the Formless. And in giving all of its attention to that which it is not, Consciousness
simply has no attention left to give to That which it actually Is. This is one of the ways in which
Consciousness becomes effectively hidden from Itself, effectively obscured from Itself, while
nonetheless ever-present as That by which any form, any reality, is ever known. And so, this is
one of the ways in which Consciousness becomes hidden while still in plain sight.
The reason form appears to be primary while the Formless appears to be secondary, once
Consciousness has conceptually linked Itself to form, is simply a function of the mind, which is
the tool that Consciousness uses to both create thought-forms and concepts, as well as to view
the world in terms of those thought-forms and concepts. The mind, by its very nature, deals only
in form, and so can do nothing with the Formless. And so, once Consciousness has used the mind
to conceptualize Itself, i.e., to create a linkage between its formless Self and some thought-form,
some "this" or "that," it is only through the tool of the mind that Consciousness is then able to
view itself as that thought-form, which is to say, as whatever "this" or "that" it has linked to its
formless Self. And because the mind, by its very nature, deals only in form, and can do nothing
with the Formless, it quite naturally presents Consciousness with the viewpoint that form, i.e.,
"this" or "that," is more important, more real, and more substantial, than the formless "I Am,"
about which the mind knows nothing, and about which the mind can never actually know
anything, since all the mind can know is form. In the same way that a hammer cares nothing for
that which it cannot strike, so it is that the mind cares nothing for That which it cannot conceive.
It is for this reason that Consciousness, when viewing its form-self through the mind—which is
the only way it can view its conceptualized Self—must view what is actually Itself as completely
unimportant, because what is actually its Self cannot be known through form, and so cannot be
known through the tool of Consciousness that is the mind.
J. Krishnamurti once said, “The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never
see that bird again.” And the same is true of our own Consciousness, to a degree, because the
moment Consciousness gives Itself a name, i.e., conceptualizes Itself, is the moment
Consciousness loses sight of Itself. The day you teach the child the name of a bird, the child will
never see that bird again, because instead of seeing the pure perception of the bird, what the child
will see instead is that pure perception as viewed through the conception of the bird, which is to
say, that pure perception to which has been linked whatever name has been given to the bird.
And to Consciousness that sees or knows only through the mind—which is the way in which
form-identified Consciousness sees or knows—far more important than the pure perception is the
conception, since that is the domain of the mind. And so too, the moment Consciousness
conceptualizes Itself is the moment Consciousness ceases to know Itself, because all it then
knows is the mental form, and not the Formlessness that it actually Is. This situation is somewhat
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analogous to marking a piece of glass with the word "glass," so that when one then looks at the
glass, what one sees is not the glass, but only the word "glass," and so then comes to believe that
the word is what is actually there, leading then to the further delusion that knowledge of the word
is equivalent to knowledge of what is actually there, when in actuality what is actually there, i.e.,
the glass itself, is not known at all.
But Consciousness that sees or knows only through the mind does not see it this way, does not
realize that all it sees is just the label that it has Itself, through its use of the mind, applied to the
glass, or to the bird, or to Itself, or to whatever else it has conceptualized in this way. To the
contrary, Consciousness that sees or knows only through the mind believes that what it is seeing,
which is just the concept or thought-form that it has Itself, through its use of the mind, applied to
the pure perception, or even to Itself, is what is actually there. We do this all the time; that is, we
see a thing, give it a name, and then think we know what is actually there, when all we actually
know is the name our mind has attached to the thing. We are lost in the names, because having
used the mind to name our Self, to conceptualize our Self, we then use only the mind to see both
our self and the world. But it is not actually either our Self or the world that we see through the
mind. Rather, all that we see through the mind are just the names, just the mental forms, that we
attach both to our Self and to our otherwise pure perception of the world.
Consider your own statements "I am this" or "I am that," where “this” or “that” represents some
form of which you are aware and with which you identify. For example, I am rich, I am poor, I
am hot, I am cold, I am a man, I am a woman, and so on. Which seems more important in all
these statements, which seems primary and which secondary, the subject or the object? What
seems most important is the state in which the subject "I Am" finds Itself. What seems most
important is the object or mental form with which the "I Am" is identifying, and what seems of
far less importance is the "I Am" Itself, i.e., what seems far less important is That which is aware
or conscious of the state, form, or object. More specifically, which seems more real, the fact that
you are a man or a woman, or the simple fact that you are? Or which seems more important, the
fact that you are rich or poor, or the simple fact that you are?
In any case, once Consciousness links Itself to form, form then appears more important, more
real, and more substantial, to Consciousness than the "I Am," i.e., form appears more important,
more real, and more substantial, to Consciousness than Itself, as viewed through the mind.
Because once Consciousness uses the mind to conceptualize Itself, once it uses the mind to link
Itself to some form, the only way for Consciousness to know itself in that way, i.e., as some
form, is also by using the mind, because it is only in the context of the mind that the linkage, and
so apparent identity, between the formless "I Am" and the thought-form even exists, and so it is
only in that context, i.e., as seen through the mind, that formless Consciousness can appear to be
form. And so, the context that is necessary for Consciousness to know itself as form, which
context is Consciousness viewing or knowing through the conceptualizing mind, is the same
context that invariably and unavoidably causes form to appear as primary and the Formless as
secondary.
And once form appears more important, more real, and more substantial to Consciousness than
Itself, Consciousness ceases to act freely in the world, because it then begins instead to just react
to the world, by acting upon all the other forms of which it becomes aware only on the basis of
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how those other forms are perceived or conceived to affect the form it now knows and believes
itself to be. And for reasons that will be explained, those reactions, which are themselves
movements of Consciousness, lock Consciousness into the movement through mind by which it
is linking Itself to form. What this means is that those reactions effectively trap Consciousness in
mind, and so trap Consciousness into a way of knowing that is both quite limited and quite
distorting, with respect to how it must then view both Itself and the world, which is as seen only
through a veil of concepts.
For Consciousness that is fully identified with form, i.e., that knows itself only as form, all
actions are actually reactions, because all actions, even those that seem altruistic, have as their
basis the original or primary action that is the identification of Consciousness with form. And as
most human Beings at this time are fully identified with form, most human activity is nothing
more than reactivity. That is, most human actions are actually just reactions to events and
circumstances, with the particular reaction from a particular individualization of Consciousness
dependent upon the particular forms with which that individualization of Consciousness has
identified. Thus, an individualization of Consciousness, i.e., an Individual, that has identified
with one particular form may reactively label an event or circumstance in one way, e.g., as good,
in which case that Individual will therefore naturally try to reactively cling to that event or
circumstance, whereas an Individual that has identified with the opposite form may reactively
label the same event or circumstance in the opposite way, e.g., as bad, in which case they will
just as naturally try to reactively push away that event or circumstance.
The particular form, or set of forms, with which a particular individualization of Consciousness
identifies, which then determines the way in which that Individual then reacts to the events and
circumstances of which it subsequently becomes aware, i.e., labeling them as either good or bad
and then either clinging to them or pushing them away, is what is referred to as its conditioning.
One of the many illusions harbored by form-identified Consciousness, all of which illusions
derive ultimately from the primary illusion and delusion that is its identification with form, is the
idea that it possesses volition or free will, i.e., the ability to choose how it will act, independent
of events and circumstances. The idea harbored by form-identified Consciousness that it
possesses free will is an illusion, because as long as an individualization of Consciousness
remains identified with form, the way in which that form-identified Individual acts, or more
accurately, reacts, is in almost all cases, if not all cases, predetermined by its conditioning, which
is to say, predetermined by whatever idea it presently has of itself. Thus, a form-identified
individualization of Consciousness will reactively label an event or circumstance as good or bad
relative to the effect of enhancement or diminishment, respectively, that event or circumstance is
perceived or conceived to have upon the particular form it believes and so knows itself to be,
after which it will then react to that event or circumstance with attachment or aversion, also
respectively.
Attachment and aversion are just the names that have been given to the internal actions, which
are actually internal reactions, of trying to cling to and push away, respectively, experiences that
have been reactively labeled as good or bad, also respectively. Internal actions, or reactions, refer
to movements of individualized Consciousness relative to the experiences of which it is aware or
conscious. Those internal reactions may or may not, depending upon the particular conditioning
of the Individual, result in a corresponding external action being undertaken by that Individual,
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but those internal reactions always result in the generation of thoughts and emotions
corresponding to the particular internal reaction. And it is at this level of reality, or within this
reality, that most human Beings, which is to say, that most Consciousness as it flows through the
human Form, becomes and remains trapped; trapped within a reality that is no more than the
thoughts and emotions, i.e., mental and emotional forms, that are being generated through
secondary movements of Consciousness that are themselves the natural continuation of the
primary movement of individualized Consciousness into identification with form.
The only time Consciousness is actually able to act or move independent of events and
circumstances is when it no longer thinks of itself as, and so no longer knows itself as, some
form, some this or that, some idea of me, because as long as it knows itself as some form, as a
this or that, as a me, its actions cannot be other than reactions that are being determined by its
conditioning. There is only Consciousness, and it is only through the movement of
Consciousness in relation to Itself that experiential forms arise within Consciousness, in the same
way that swirls arise within water, where water flows in relation to itself. While identified with
form, Consciousness reactively moves in relation to forms, and so moves reactively in relation to
Itself, analogous to water that somehow flows only in reaction to swirls that have already arisen
within it. And this reactive Movement itself causes other forms to arise within Consciousness,
itself causes events and circumstances to arise within Consciousness, as the imaginary flow of
water in reaction to a swirl would itself create other swirls. And Consciousness then reacts to
these new forms, events, and circumstances, and through those reactive Movements other forms,
events, and circumstances arise, which forms, events, and circumstances are then reacted to,
causing other forms, events, and circumstances to arise, which are then reacted to, and on and on
and on it goes.
In this way, while identified with form, Consciousness becomes entangled in the forms it is Itself
creating, like a musician playing their instrument, but creating new notes only as a result of
swatting at the notes previously produced. Also in this way, through almost continuous
reactivity, Consciousness moves not truly as it will, but moves only as a reaction to whatever
forms arise, and so moves only according to its conditioning, i.e., according to whatever form or
set of forms it happens to believe itself to be. It is only once Consciousness no longer knows
itself as a person, as a me, as some form, and instead becomes once again conscious of Itself as it
Is, i.e., as the formless "I Am," that it then knows that what it is, is ultimately untouched by
events and circumstances, leaving it then, and only then, truly free to move as it will,
independent of the events and circumstances which are, in actuality, being created by its
Movements in relation to Itself.
The situation for form-identified Consciousness is analogous to a mirror forming a relation with
itself, i.e., bending upon itself, in order to get a look at itself, thereby creating a reflection within
itself, and then coming to believe that what it is, is the reflection that it has, through its relation to
itself, created within itself. Because once the mirror believes itself to be what is only a reflection
that has arisen within itself, although all of its subsequent movements would have as their
ultimate basis the initial or primary movement by which the mirror intended to see itself, and by
which movement it also created the reflection within itself, its subsequent movements would not
arise with the intention of serving that core intention or desire, but would instead arise with the
intention of serving the seeming needs of the reflection it now believes itself to be. And it is in
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this way that true desire becomes converted into deluded desire, and so it is also in this way that
pure Movement, which serves that true desire, becomes inverted, and so diverted, into reactive
Movements that serve only the deluded desire, once That which is moving in relation to Itself
mistakes itself for that which its movement in relation to Itself creates.
And so, putting aside for a moment the fact that the person is only an idea, only a sort of shadow
or reflection that the light of formless Consciousness mistakenly believes itself to be, it is not
possible for a person to possess free will, because as long as there is a person, i.e., as long as
Consciousness believes itself to be some form, to be a me, to be some sort of independent entity,
the otherwise free flowing movement of Consciousness through the human Form must pass
through that idea, like light passing through a lens. And as that flow or movement of
Consciousness passes through the lens that is its idea of itself, that Flow or Movement becomes
diverted into reactive Movement, which is to say, into Movement that has as its intention the
serving of the seeming needs of the person, the seeming needs of the me, the seeming needs of
the form-identity. And once that Flow or Movement has been diverted in this way, by passing
through the lens that is Consciousness' idea of itself, that Flow or Movement is no longer truly
free, because Consciousness then flows or moves not as it will, i.e., not according to its
unconditioned and impersonal Will, but instead Flows or Moves according to its conditioning,
which is to say, according to the particular idea or set of ideas Consciousness harbors regarding
itself in a given moment, as it seeks to serve what seem to be the needs of whatever form it
believes itself to be.
In any given moment there may be choices regarding the particular way in which Consciousness
can serve what seem to be the needs of its form-identity, but making such choices cannot be
called true acts of free will, because such acts take place within such an extremely constrained
system or reality. That system or reality is constrained by the fact that, while apprehending all
other experience through the lens of its form-identity, Consciousness seems to have no choice
but to act upon those other experiences in a way that it conceives as serving, in some way, the
needs of its form-identity. The ability to make these limited choices gives form-identified
Consciousness the illusion of free will, simply because it is able to choose freely between
different actions that appear possible within reality as it appears through the lens of its
identification with form. But such free will is still an illusion, because it is a will or flow of
Consciousness that is ultimately being constrained and dictated by what is only an idea or form
that Consciousness believes itself to be. In this way, form-identified Consciousness is like
someone who has spent their whole life in a very small cage, and who also knows of nothing
beyond that cage, and so who believes that cage to be all there is, to be all that is real, and so
believes themself to be free simply because they can choose to walk a few feet in this or that
direction within that cage. And for form-identified Consciousness, that cage is its limited
conception of reality, which limited conception derives completely from nothing other than the
mistaken idea that is its identification with form, which is to say, from nothing other than the
conceptual linkage of form to its formless Self.
For those who have a positive self-image, the cage is decorated very nicely, and does not
produce as much suffering, relatively speaking. But for those who have a negative self-image,
the cage is not decorated so nicely, and produces a lot of suffering, relatively speaking. Now it
may seem better to have a positive self-image rather than a negative self-image, and I suppose
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that this is true to some extent. But on the other hand, both self-images are an illusion, and both
therefore trap Consciousness in a pattern of reactive Movement that keeps it identified with form
and therefore unaware or unconscious of its true Nature. That having been said, as long as the
cage seems relatively comfortable, there is little motivation to find a way out, whereas the more
unpleasant the cage becomes, the more motivated one is to find a way out. Put another way,
while involved in a pleasant dream one does not want to wake up, whereas while in the grips of a
nightmare, one is quite ready to see the dream come to an end. Upon finding the cage to be quite
unpleasant, one can change the scenery to something more pleasant by developing a more
positive self-image, or one can step out of the cage entirely. If one only changes the scenery, then
little has actually changed, because one still remains trapped, albeit in a somewhat more pleasant
or less painful reality. On the other hand, stepping out of the cage entirely involves coming to
realize that all self-images, whether positive or negative, are a sort of illusion that keeps what
one actually is caught up in a dream-like reality, where there is the awareness of only
experiential form, and no awareness whatsoever of the Formlessness that is both one's true and
essential Nature, as well as That by which all form is being both known and created. Further,
while caught up in this illusion, even the experiential forms of which one is solely aware are not
seen as they are, but to the contrary, are seen only as they are conceived to relate to the selfimage, are seen only as they appear when viewed through the lens that is the form-identity, and
so are seen only in a way that keeps one bound to the reactive Movements that, in one way or
another, ultimately cause Consciousness to suffer.
As already stated, actions that arise from the identification of Consciousness with form are not
free actions, because they are ultimately only reactions, which is to say, secondary actions or
Movements that are the natural continuation of a prior or primary action or Movement, which
prior or primary action or Movement, in this case, is the movement of Consciousness that creates
its identification with form, which is to say, the movement of Consciousness by which it links
mental form to its formless Self. And so, truly free will only operates once Consciousness no
longer believes itself to be a person, to be a me, to be some form. Put another way, truly free will
only operates once Consciousness is able to move or act in a way that is no longer being dictated
by whatever form it believes itself to be, which is to say, once Consciousness is able to move or
flow through the human Form without that Movement or Flow passing through the lens that is its
idea of itself as some form, and so without being diverted to serve the seeming needs of the
form-identity, which is to say, the seeming needs of what Consciousness mistakenly believes
itself to be.
When that happens, when the movement of Consciousness in relation to Itself is no longer just a
reaction to forms that were created by some prior Movement, such a Consciousness is then said
to be liberated. Thus, once Consciousness no longer knows itself as a me, there is a Will, there is
Movement, but it is not the Will or Movement of the person; rather, it is simply the Will of the
Totality flowing undiverted through the individual human Form, since in the absence of the
identification of Consciousness with form as it flows through the human Form, the individual
flow of Consciousness through the human Form is no longer conceived to be a Flow or
Movement that is separate from, or ultimately other than, the Flow or Movement of the Totality.
On the other hand, as long as Consciousness thinks of itself as a me, i.e., as some form, that same
Will of the Totality still flows through the individual human Form, but as it does so, that Will or
Movement, rather than simply coming through as an undistorted expression of the Totality,
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becomes distorted and inverted, as it then flows through that Form as a reactive Movement,
which is to say, as an act of will that has as its sole purpose or intention the serving of the
seeming needs of the illusory me.
And as long as Consciousness flows through human Form in this way, i.e., as a reactive
Movement, those reactive Movements, for reasons that will be explained, cannot do other than
perpetuate the movement of Consciousness into identification with form that is their basis. And
so, as long as Consciousness identifies with form, there is an extremely strong tendency or
compulsion for the otherwise free movement of Consciousness through the human Form to
become diverted and converted into reactive Movements that perpetuate the identification of
Consciousness with form, which identification then maintains the extremely strong tendency or
compulsion toward the reactivity that perpetuates the identification, and on and on and on it
goes. It is this relatively simple self-perpetuating mechanism that keeps human Beings, by and
large, trapped in identification with form, despite all the efforts that both have been and continue
to be made to escape the suffering that unavoidably follows, or flows from, the identification of
Consciousness with form. And the reason those efforts almost always fail is because such efforts
are, in almost all cases, themselves reactions or reactive Movements that derive from the
identification of Consciousness with form, and as such are efforts that cannot do other than
perpetuate the identification of Consciousness with form that is itself the cause of the suffering
that one is usually, through those efforts, seeking to escape.
2. Becoming conscious of Consciousness
However, all that having been said, it is possible to escape the cage of form-identification, once
one is able to become directly aware or conscious of one's true and formless Nature, which is to
say, once one is able to become conscious of Consciousness directly, absent any intervening and
obscuring experience. Put another way, it is possible to escape the cage of form-identification,
once one is able to once again become directly aware or conscious of the formless "I Am"
without attaching or conceptually linking any form to that "I Am," which is to say, without
attaching or conceptually linking any form to one's formless Beingness. Because once the
Consciousness that you actually are is able to become conscious of its formless Self, rather than
conscious only of experiential form, it then becomes possible for the Consciousness that you
actually are to recognize That, rather than experiential form, as its Self. Becoming directly aware
of the formless Beingness that one actually is, and then recognizing that Formlessness as one's
true and essential Self, is the very simple goal, or the essence, of all true spirituality, regardless
of the form it takes. Thus, all spirituality is, all mysticism is, is the attempt by experienceidentified Consciousness to become aware or conscious of Consciousness, and then, having
become aware of Consciousness, to then recognize That, rather than experiential form, as its
Self.
In principle, it is not at all difficult to become conscious of Consciousness directly, in the same
way, in principle, it is not difficult to see what lies north, as seeing what lies north is usually just
a matter of turning one's attention in that direction. However, if for some reason one's attention is
fixated upon something that lies south, then turning one's attention in the opposite direction, i.e.,
toward the north, so that one can then see what lies there instead, becomes not only difficult, but
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impossible, for as long as one's attention remains fixed toward the south. And it is for essentially
the same reason that human Beings have great difficulty becoming conscious of Consciousness
directly, i.e., not because it is, in and of itself, something that is inherently difficult to do, so to
speak, but only because our attention is so firmly fixed in the direction that is the opposite of the
direction in which it must be directed if we are to become conscious of Consciousness directly,
that we have become unable to perform the otherwise simple and effortless task, so to speak, of
turning our attention toward That which is our true and formless Self.
And what is it that has our attention so firmly fixed in the direction that is the opposite of the
direction in which our attention must be directed if we are to become conscious of
Consciousness directly? What has our attention so firmly fixed in the wrong direction, so to
speak, is our chronic and habitual involvement in the reactive Movements that follow and flow
naturally from our identification with form. That is, our involvement in the reactive Movements,
which Movements are a continuation of our Movement into identification with form, have all of
our conscious attention firmly fixed upon experiential form, thereby leaving us with no attention
left to give to Consciousness Itself. It is simply the nature of reactive Movement to keep
conscious attention focused upon form, because reactivity is, by its very nature, a movement of
Consciousness in relation to Itself in which the attention of Consciousness is focused fully upon
form. And so, as long as we remain identified with form, there will be a tendency for us to
become involved in reactive Movements, and our involvement in those reactive Movements will
keep us identified with form, and will also keep our attention completely fixated upon
experiential form, thereby making it difficult, if not impossible, for us to perform the otherwise
simple task, so to speak, of turning at least some of our attention toward Consciousness, so that
we might become conscious of That, in addition to experiential form.
Here the question arises with regard to why reactivity, by its very nature, is a movement of
Consciousness in which the attention of Consciousness is or becomes focused fully upon form?
Reactivity, or reactive Movement, arises solely from the identification of Consciousness with
form, as the continuation of the movement of Consciousness into identification with form, and
reactivity also perpetuates the identification of Consciousness with form. Thus, through reactive
Movement the attention of Consciousness becomes fixed both upon whatever experiential forms
Consciousness is using to create its form-identity, as well as upon whatever forms Consciousness
is reacting toward in that moment. Put another way, the reactivity only arises because
Consciousness is conscious of itself as some form. And owing to that form-identification, all
other apprehended form is first reactively judged, based upon whether it is conceived to either
enhance or diminish the form-identity, after which the form that has been judged or conceptually
labeled, i.e., to which has been attached another form, is then reacted to with either attachment or
aversion, depending upon the way in which the particular form was judged relative to its
conceived effect upon the form-identity. And as a result of its continuous involvement in all of
these reactive Movements, all of which have form as their object, form-identified Consciousness
simply has no attention left to give to Itself, because while all of these reactive Movements
require that Consciousness be conscious of some form, none of these reactive Movements require
that Consciousness be conscious of Itself, which is to say, none of these reactive Movements
require that Consciousness be conscious of its own "I Am-ness." Put another way, none of these
reactive Movements require that Consciousness be conscious of the formless "I Am" aspect of its
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form-identity, but instead require only that Consciousness be conscious of whatever form it
knows itself to be, as well as whatever form it is reacting toward.
In fact, the direct consciousness of Consciousness is anathema to the form-identity, and so also
to the reactive Movements, because any movement of Consciousness into direct awareness of
Itself is simultaneously the withdrawal of Consciousness from the reactive Movements, and so is
also simultaneously the withdrawal of Consciousness from its Movement into complete
identification with form. Consciousness, as it flows through he human Form, cannot be
simultaneously both completely reactive and to any degree conscious of Itself directly, because
the movement of Consciousness into identification with form and the reactive Movements that
follow are ultimately a single Movement, and that single Movement is a Movement that is the
opposite of the Movement in which Consciousness is involved when it becomes conscious of
Itself directly, i.e., conscious of its own "I Am-ness." And because the movement of
Consciousness both into identification with form and into reactivity is a Movement that is the
opposite of the movement of Consciousness into consciousness or awareness of Itself directly,
these two Movements are mutually exclusive, meaning that the degree to which Consciousness is
involved in one Movement is the degree to which it cannot be involved in the opposite
Movement. But conversely, and just as importantly, because these two Movements are mutually
exclusive, the degree to which Consciousness ceases to be involved in one Movement is the
degree to which it is already becoming involved in the opposite Movement.
What this means, in practical terms, is that any withdrawal from reactive Movement is
automatically a withdrawal from the movement of Consciousness into identification with form,
and is also simultaneously an equivalent movement of Consciousness in the direction that allows
it to become conscious of Itself directly. Conversely, what this also means, in practical terms, is
that the degree to which Consciousness is able to become conscious of Itself directly, is exactly
the degree to which it has, in that moment, withdrawn both from reactive Movement, as well as
from its Movement into identification with form. With this in mind, it becomes possible to
understand that there are two ways in which Consciousness can disentangle Itself from its
identification with form while still identified with form. One way is by withdrawing from its
involvement in the reactive Movements that derive from its identification with form, and the
other way is by just becoming conscious of Itself directly.
(Continued in Part II)
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What is it Like to Be a Bot:
Simulated, Situated, Structurally Coherent Qualia (S3Q) Theory of Consciousness
Schmidt, K., Culbertson, J., Cox, C., Clouse, H.S., Larue, O., Molineaux, M., Rogers, S.
"…an organism has conscious mental states if and only if there is
something that it is like to be that organism…” - Thomas Nagel
ABSTRACT
A novel representationalist theory of consciousness is presented that is grounded in
neuroscience and provides a path to artificially conscious computing. Central to the theory are
representational affordances of the conscious experience based on the generation of qualia,
the fundamental unit of the conscious representation. The current approach is focused on
understanding the balance of simulation, situatedness, and structural coherence of artificial
conscious representations through converging evidence from neuroscientific and modeling
experiments. Representations instantiating a suitable balance of situated and structurally
coherent simulation-based qualia are hypothesized to afford the agent the flexibilities required
to succeed in rapidly changing environments.
INTRODUCTION
Any theory of consciousness must explain the neural correlates, the behavioral utility, and the
phenomenal characteristics of conscious experiences. Together these address the fundamental
question: 'what is it like to be conscious and why is it like that?' The theory presented here
suggests consciousness is a simulated, sensorimotor world model that is appropriately
situated and structurally coherent to achieve acceptable stability, consistency, and
usefulness. This theory is framed through neuroscience to propose experimental mechanisms
that index the balance of representational flexibility and practicality in conscious systems.
S3Q Theory suggests conscious representations must suitably balance three tenets:
1. Simulated—The representation is an internally generated sensorimotor world model
2. Situated—All aspects of the representation are defined by relationships and interactions
3. Structurally coherent—The representation captures enough information about reality
to facilitate interactions with the environment
All three of these tenets of consciousness can be investigated through experimentation and
modeling of neural activity in the human brain. These activities involve communications
between network components: simulation can be enabled by mechanisms such as synchronized
neural feedback of internally generated models, situatedness can be enabled by mechanisms
such as nested neural oscillations and lateral inhibition between processes, and structural
coherence can be enabled by interaction of internally generated models and externally
connected components for predictive learning. It is our contention that artificial intelligence
agents must also balance these tenets of consciousness to achieve a flexible
representation. Neuroscience has led to key advances in the development of novel AI
technologies, and conscious processing in the brain can provide further insights into flexible AI
through the translation of identified mechanistic principles of phenomenal experience (Rogers
and Kabrisky, 1991).
NEUROSCIENCE
In the human brain, sensory inputs form into features represented by the central tendency of
cell populations tuned to different values of that feature (Hubel and Wiesel, 1962). These
inputs feed forward through a hierarchical representation which is then incorporated into
feedback to earlier processing areas (Bullier, 2001). Synchronous neural activation patterns
emerge from these hierarchical recurrent interactions between brain regions, which are
characterized by distinct frequency bands of electrophysiological activity (Buzsaki, 2006). It
is hypothesized that these synchronizing networks in the human brain offer key insights to the
production of qualia, which are the fundamental computational units of uniquely bound
features that compose the conscious representation.
Simulated
Patterns of neural activity can be generated intrinsically from the internal dynamics of the brain.
Higher-order current generators act as simulators, predicting the incoming neural signal through
the production of a phase shift in ongoing electrical patterns sent back early processing areas to
act as a local pacemaker of neural activity (Bollimunta, Chen, Schroeder, & Ding;
2008; Bullier, 2001). This aspect of brain functioning has been modeled computationally as
pattern completion inference, where the top-down prediction generates missing stimuli from
partial input to the network (O'Reilly, 2017).
Situated
These recurrent electrophysiological feedback mechanisms between brain regions are
accomplished through a system of nested oscillations in distinct frequency bands of activity
spanning many orders of magnitude (Buzsaki, 2006). S3Q contends that qualia are situated in
the conscious representation through this synchronized, hierarchical embedding code that
clusters the computational units relative to each other (Orban, 2008). Mechanisms of this
clustering, such as lateral inhibition where an activated neuron will inhibit the neighboring
neurons for preferential selection, can be explored in modeling experiments implementing
features such as a k-winner-take-all algorithm (Kriete, Noelle, Cohen, and O’Reilly, 2013).
One reasonable theoretical model suggests reentrant synchronization enables the unique
properties of the conscious representation in humans, such as the binding of color, shape, and
location features (Seth, McKinstry, Edelman, and Krichmar, 2004). Computational models
implementing pattern completion accomplish binding of visual stimuli by predicting the
object and features to be recognized (Majani, Erlanson, and Abu-Mostafa, 1988; Kriete et al.,
2013; Bressler, Tang, Sylvester, Shulman, and Corbetta, 2008). Combining the ideas of
clustering and prediction for binding might be represented operationally by a classic Hopfield
network/Boltzmann machine constraint satisfaction system where top-down predictions lead
to contrast enhancement through mutual excitation which results in a winning set of neurons
encoding the relevant features and the inhibition of irrelevant features (Van Rullen, 2000).
Structurally Coherent
Groups of neurons that are engaged in synchronous neural oscillations have temporal
communication windows of excitability based on the phase of the activity waveform. During
the ‘Up’ phase of the oscillation, the network is able to communicate, while during the ‘Down’
state the network is decoupled from sensory input. Only oscillations in phase synchrony can
effectively interact, because the communication windows are open at the same time. The
temporal difference created from this predicted/actual outcome can provide an error measure
that can be used for predictive error driven learning in a simple recurrent network (O'Reilly,
2017). It is hypothesized that structural coherence can be indexed as a function of this error
measure. Phase synchrony across distinct oscillatory bands provides a structure of brain-wide
communication whereby faster rhythms reflect local communication and slower rhythms afford
long distance communication across the network (Buszaki, 2006). This pattern of structural
coherence across the distinct frequency bands combined with an internally generated simulated
and situated world-model dictates the flexible structure of human cognition (Fries, 2005).
CONCLUSIONS
Flexibility means that an agent can operate successfully when conditions are variable,
unexpected, or when novel tasks arise. S3Q suggests that human conscious representations
accomplish this desired flexibility through the relational structure of synchronizing neural
networks in hierarchical representations. These conscious representations overcome practical
limitations such as partial observability through a suitable balance of simulation, situatedness,
and structural coherence. These three characteristics are distinct, but closely interrelated. S3Q
theory conjectures that agents implementing a representation suitably balancing S3Q tenets are
afforded flexible responding to novel queries. The phenomenal ‘what it is like’ characteristics
of this conscious representation will be recognized in the specific configuration of the
simulated, situated, and structurally coherent qualia.
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editors, Steven K. Rogers, Matthew Kabrisky ; sponsored by SPIE.
Seth, A.K., McKinstry, J.L., Edelman, G.M., Krichmar, J.I. (2004). Visual Binding
Through Reentrant Connectivity and Dynamic Synchronization in a Brain-based
Device, Cerebral Cortex, 14(11), 1185–1199.
Van Rullen, R. (2009). Binding hardwires versus on-demand feature conjunctions. Visual
Cognition, 17(1-2), 103-119. |
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I Killed a Squirrel the Other Day…
Gregory M. Nixon*
I killed a squirrel the other day, or rather I was the instigator. At first, I refused to do it
(despite the demands of my less scrupulous lady whose furniture was being ruined), but the
little varmint had chosen our unsealed garden shed for his winter hideaway and was putting
all his pinecones and birdseed and whatever else he could grab into storage there. Worse, he
was tearing the stuffing out of our garden cushions from the lawn furniture, even gnawing
through the bamboo that coated the chairs. Not ready for murder, I bought two live-catch
traps and baited them with peanuts, but we – my lady, my stepdaughter, and our excited dog,
Raksha – watched through the window while the squirrel entered into the cage we had
placed on the cover of the hot tub and did a little tap dance on the trigger plate to grab the
nut, sniff it, insert it, pause, and just as lightly dance away. Nothing happened. It was too light
to release the trigger. I oiled the hinges, and we gathered again, but the same thing happened
– nothing but nut theft. (Secretly, I kind of admired the panache of the furry critter.)
Being the man of the house, I knew my duty. The squirrel was an enemy, a home invader that
had to be stopped. I bought two heavy rattraps. I put them in the shed baited with a dab of
peanut butter to support a small peanut. The release was so hair trigger it slipped and
smashed a peanut into powder, just missing my finger. I had no doubt the deadly plan would
work. I set it on a table already full of bamboo shavings. (“Do you feel lucky, squirrel?”) There
was no doubt. I went back in only 10 minutes and the trap I had put on a table near the wall
was missing. Already dreading what I would see, I looked over the edge of the table into the
darkness to the floor below. I saw the furry tail and knew the trap was sprung. I reached
down and pulled up the unfortunate creature by the tail, which also pulled up the trap that
had spring on its neck, sideways. To my horror, I saw the squirrel was still alive, barely, its
neck unbroken, probably nearly suffocated by now. With an unmanly panic, I ran with it
outside to the deck, calling for my 20-year old daughter, “Gracie! Gracie! It’s still alive.” I still
don’t know why I called her (silly, really), but I placed the bulgy-eyed squirrel still trapped on
the hardwood deck and ran to the garage to get a hammer. I returned just in time to see
Gracie drop a large lava rock from the garden directly onto the little beast immediately
stopping its suffering with a splat. She looked at me stoically and said without emotion, “It’s
the circle of life.”
Now this may be a long and perhaps slightly ridiculous story with which to begin an
Introduction to a JCER issue on “Theories of Consciousness & Death”, but it struck me later
that this is exactly what I have been writing about for years. The circle of life, made famous in
Disney’s “The Lion King” is the circle of time: from life comes death and death helps bring
forth new life. Gracie had made a very simple point that all of Nature (except for a rare group
* Correspondence: Greg Nixon, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
Email: doknyx@telus.net Public Website: https://unbc.academia.edu/GregoryNixon
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of scientists who actually think the universe will expand in one-way time until all the lights
go out) unquestioningly accepts: death is as much a part of life as the dark side of the moon is
a part of the moon. In fact, you cannot have one without the other. Life on Earth would have
suffocated and run out of food sources with the endless identical replication of amoebae in
the same way mitosis would never have allowed evolution to begin. It took meiosis and death,
not to mention sexual reproduction, for the evolutionary process to set forth. Life lives off life,
and death and sex are necessary for that to happen. To begin the process of unimaginable
differentiation that came to flourish across this planet (and possibly others) required the old
or weak make room for the new and that sexual breeding allow for slow evolutionary mixing
and unexpected mutations. In short, the first point I wish to make is that death is good, or at
least a necessary part of life. It’s especially good if we accept the recent philosophizing of
Thomas Nagel (2012) that evolution has a natural teleology (undirected by deity), a purpose
that is discovered by creating it. Evolution is basically competition, death, sex, and birth.
I want to make a few observations on consciousness and death, as I have often in my writings,
before I give a general introduction to the widely divergent perspectives on these primary
facts of life in this issue. The viewpoints vary widely, but I wish to express my own and add
some wild guesses. I won’t be writing a grand essay but may reference where I have
examined these ideas before. There are three points I wish to make, which seem true to me.
1. Death is good. It is not the opposite of life but the necessary polarity of life: it is part of the
life cycle and most entities in Nature simply live their cycles until those cycles cease to repeat.
Nature does not question and Nature does not regret. Life goes on.
Of course, none of this is to deny the trauma of losing a loved one, or the horror of mass
death caused by war, genocide, or natural disaster. Even the tragedy of accidental or early
death leaving a life unlived strikes us as metaphysically unfair. Death can be cruel and cause
great anguish. This is especially true for the living, but certainly the dying can experience
such things too. Once death occurs, however, and biological functions cease, we must assume
such physical pain ends.
Perhaps this is why our hints of submission to death are often sweet, especially for nonhumans or early in life before we learn to fear the loss of self-control or the fearful waste of
time. Our stories, poems, and songs often celebrate the pleasure of a long rest earned,
pleasant intoxication, even the pleasure of just letting the time go by, and some even
associate the shudder of orgasm with the sense of dying in bliss (see la petit mort). Edmund
Spenser (1552-1599) expressed this rest from struggle in his oft-cited words:
Sleep after toil, port after stormy seas,
ease after war, death after life
doth greatly please.
The old moonshiner in the traditional song sometimes known as “Rye Whiskey” expressed
the same peaceful acceptance of the end of things in this version (one of many):
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I’ll eat when I’m hungry,
I’ll drink when I dry,
And when I’m tired of living,
I’ll roll up and die.
I’ll even admit it. On occasion, the mindless peace of deep, dreamless sleep sounds most
inviting indeed.1 Sometimes when the bills arrive or I watch the usual TV shows, final escape
into oblivion seems desirable indeed.
But of course this is just talk, for we humans know of the finality of death. In spite of all the
recycling we now engage in, we ourselves do not expect to return from the dissolution of
death. We have learned through complex symbolism and the magic conjurations of language
that we are individual selves that exist in time for a lifespan and that someday that time will
end. Oh, other beasts know instinctively when the great tiredness comes and relax into it
without bitterness or desperate prayers to get into heaven or out of hell (not to mention
being strapped to a table to endure tubes in veins or jolts of electricity to our hearts or brains
to keep us “alive”). We, however, are the only animals that know conceptually of our
inevitable demise, yet despite our mortal knowledge we have devised brilliant or insane
means of avoiding the truth – from religious denial to power hungry conquest, to human
sacrifice (see, e.g., Becker, 1973; Brown, 1959; Burkert, 2002).
Yet, it is this knowledge of our own limits, of our mortality, that may drive us to seek beyond
those limits, to produce wondrous works of art and fantastic civilizations, to dream vast, and
imagine impossible things that may yet bring them into being. It is the dream imperishable
perfection, always out of reach, that keeps us desiring for impossible perfection. Perhaps that
is the meaning of the famous lines of Wallace Stevens in “Sunday Morning” (1923):
Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her,
Alone, shall come fulfilment to our dreams
And our desires.
In any case, it seems very likely that somewhere humans underwent an existential crisis
when they realized that death was inescapable – for their despotic Dear Leader, for their
loved ones, and for themselves. At the moment of potential despair, humans must have had a
breakthrough in consciousness: to realize one must die is also to realize one is now alive. Now
is the time of our lives: live now, for tomorrow we may die.2 We are unlike any another
1 I acknowledge that “deep, dreamless sleep” is the third deepest stage of mystical awareness amongst experienced
meditators, implying timeless, empty awareness is not extinguished, though it may remain unconscious from the
perspective of the self, as though for individuals it wasn’t there (See, e.g., Thompson, 2015).
2 For well-researched conjectures and excruciating detail on the symbolic awakening of humanity to selfconsciousness through language, see Nixon, 2010a. For the prehistoric background how awakening to mortal
knowledge brought upon the sense of the sacred and human consciousness, see e.g., Nixon, 2010b; Noble & Davidson,
1996; Pfeiffer, 1982; and Tattersall, 2002. It was mortal knowledge and self-consciousness that led us to believe in
linear time, and linear time, of course, comes to an end. Nature knows only cycles.
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animal in this respect. In some ways, it has drawn us together; however, in many others it
seems to have driven us quite mad.
It was this sort of thinking that got me onto this project. All this talk about consciousness,
brains, neuroscience, intersubjectivity, and even self-transcendent awareness getting more
intense all the time but nobody asking what to me is the obvious question: What does it all
matter? If consciousness (or selfhood or awareness-in-itself) simply ends at death, why we’re
back where we started: nowhere. Consciousness means nothing if “mind” is a bubble which
pops in the sea of the universal mind, or if it’s a brain byproduct, or if my mind just
evaporates, disappears (either into oblivion or oneness), and just blinks out at death? Surely
there is some implied relationship between the inner light of awareness and the end of
physical life (even if they both go out together).
Since then, as all the world knows, science and, yes, New Age thinking have challenged
organized religion for dealing with mortal knowledge and the resistance of the self to
disintegration, and each of them have revealed an equal propensity for magical if not outright
bizarre thinking. These extremes are evident in some of the essays that follow, but so is some
very clear and open-minded thinking based in one of disorganized religion, the further
reaches of science, philosophy of mind, or New Age spirituality.
For materialists, we each are our brain and we die with it. Interestingly, I sent out
invitations to all sorts of authors and online groups whom I thought might be interested, but
the one group of thinkers who disdained to take me seriously were those generally known as
ontological materialists (aka reductive materialists, mechanist materialists, material
physicalists, etc.), that is, those who believe matter evolved randomly yet somehow produced
life that randomly produced complex bodies that randomly evolved brains that, probably
accidentally, produced the side effect of consciousness. Most, of course, simply refused to
answer because it was obvious that when the brain died, the self died, and the since the self
(and self-consciousness) is all there is to being aware, that was the end of it. Well, that at
least makes sense (if you think within a box).
What did irk me to no end was to face the madness that a few extreme materialists have
chosen, and none of them submitted a paper either. There are two kinds of materialism; one
is the materialism that sees the biological brain as identical with consciousness. When the
brain dies, the self dies, so what’s a rich egotist to do if s/he wants to continue living? The
only answer, apparently, is to instantaneously freeze-dry the entire fresh corpse of the living
for future awakening when medical science will have advanced far enough to carry out such
operations, i.e., the merchandising known as cryonics. But, really, that’s a lot of trouble and
expense when who knows when that future will be and one will still be stuck with a really
old or decrepit body anyway. So there are some macabre institutions that – for a significant
fee – will remove only the head or even just the brain and instantaneously freeze-dry it for a
future awakening; and the best part of this ghoulish scheme is that the head can then be
transplanted onto a new youthful body. (Please don’t ask where those new youthful bodies
will come from.).
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I don’t find the other, now more popular choice much more palatable. It’s for the materialists
who believe the brain is like a wetware computer that runs the “mind-program” through its
neural circuits, like software. They are called by several names, including Ray Kurzweil’s
Singularity group, the transhumanists (or on Facebook Rational Transhumanists,
Tranhumanist-Posthumanists, or even the Vegan Transhumanists United). Despite my politest
invitation, none of these people wanted to explain to us in a short paper how the “mindprogram” in a human brain, which is part of a human body, which is embedded in a natural
environment, and which is part of a symbolically interactive community could possibly be
transferred to a computer or computer network and still be basically the same person. Yet I
was the one accused of science fiction for even suggesting that an unobserved cosmos of
dead material parts interacting randomly without purpose was not even imaginable (except
by choosing an observational perspective and imagining it)!
“If consciousness were simply brain processes, it would not be able so to distance
itself from brain processes to discover, or imagine that it has discovered, that it is
brain processes” (Tallis, 2012, p. 338).
As has been said many times, our brains, bodies, environments, and symbolic cultures shape
our minds and help determine our experience. But it is a complex interdependence in which,
in mutual creation, our relationships, minds and experience shape and determine our
symbolic cultures, our natural environments, our bodies, and even alter our brains through
plasticity and, occasionally – through epigenetics – in one lifetime!3
2. Obviously, hard science cannot account for awareness (or explain why life would
evolve). It has revealed many wonders and made incredible technologies possible, but it
cannot prove its own assumptions upon which the whole materialist edifice is built. Who can
tell us what an unobserved universe looks like or even acts like (except after the fact when we
observe and probably change its telltale residues)? An unobserved, pre-mind, pre-life
universe would have no form, no time, no substance, no … anything since time is relative to
observers, form relative to the sensory organs that view it, and the same thing applies to
everything else we assume to be ultimately real like density, texture, sounds, distances, etc.
And please don’t say machines can measure all this for us, for such mechanical motions have
to be built by human minds and have no meaning until they are read and interpreted by a
mind. It’s no used pleading we can extrapolate backwards from readings in the present for
who is doing such readings? We are – in the present! What mind is extrapolating backwards
to imagine what it would be like if it were there? Sorry, but an unobserved universe cannot
exist, much less one that inexplicably produces life and various forms of awareness.
Galilean science (reductive materialism) has been the most successful worldview ever put
into action in terms of production and technology. But what have we done to our world and
life experience as a result? What sort of consciousness believes torturing other primates and
mammals is necessary in laboratories throughout the world to help protect human beings
from possibly dangerous ingredients in cosmetics? What sort of psychopathic paranoia
3 See Jablonka & Lamb, 2012.
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drives a species to built such a stockpile of nuclear weapons and deadly viruses that it could
it destroy all civilization and possibly all life many times over?4
There is no doubt in my mind that the chasm of perspective between objectivity and
phenomenology (between experience and material) still stands firm. In the 90s, it was called
the hard problem (Chalmers), before that, the explanatory gap (Levine), and way before that
it was known as the unthinkable passage (Tyndall). Nothing can explain that first shudder of
experience, which is simply not material. Science occupied with measuring the minutiae or
cosmic grandeur of the external world cannot explain the inner light of consciousness in
itself, though neuroscience has certainly demonstrated fascinating connections between the
brain and mind. Obviously, without a brain, we could not be conscious in the way we
currently are, but then all we know is our own consciousness. Still, as Tyndall wrote in 1879:
The passage from the physics of the brain to the corresponding facts of consciousness
is unthinkable. Granted that a definite thought and a definite molecular action in the
brain occur simultaneously; we do not possess the intellectual organ, nor apparently
any rudiment of the organ, which would enable us to pass, by a process of reasoning,
from one to the other.
Some of the more visionary scientists, like Freeman Dyson (1988), saw that consciousness or
awareness or experience cannot simply be explained away but must accepted as original, if
not eternal, as in pre-spacetime:
It seems more reasonable to think that mind was a primary part of nature from the
beginning and we are simply manifestations of it at the present stage of history. It's
not so much that mind has a life of its own but that mind is inherent in the way the
universe is built. (p. 72)
Of course, for those who do not begin with the externalized scientific point of view, none of
this was ever a problem or gap. The world is here because some form of deity or primal
consciousness brought it forth. Those who begin with the reality of experience instead of
matter assume (creative) awareness is primary, though it manifests in various forms
according to the place, time, context, and powers of the vessel:
Consciousness is not tied down by the physical body. For the subtle body, things can
move faster than the speed of light. There are two kinds of time: physical time and
inner time. ... There are infinite universes and infinite time scales. (attributed to H.H.
the Dalai Lama)
Matter is a manifestation of consciousness but not a product of it. As several papers in this
issue indicate, the physical and the “mental” (for lack of a better term) are inextricably
intermingled, perhaps in some form of what we poor wordsmiths call dual-aspect monism.
4 See Lorna Green for an all-out feminist condemnation of our currently desperate man-made situation, and Deepak
Chopra puts the blame for our historically recent reduction to isolated egotism and stunted spiritual growth squarely
on reductionist materialism (both statements in this issue).
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3. How you live consciously is how you die consciously. This is my second speculation,
which I regard as almost a revelation. It seems to me that that both “life after death” and
“oblivion after death” are true, or can be true. I am hardly the first to suggest it, but it bears
repeating in this era when science sees us all dying the same, disappearing into oblivion. It is
also suggested that most of those who experience NDEs find them delightful and look
forward to losing themselves in the light (though there are exceptions). And, finally,
mentioned in Iona Miller’s statement in this issue, are all those cheery New Agers who
embrace only the bright part of spirituality and believe we will rejoin the blissful source from
which we began, forgetting our lives. This hardly seems fair when, really, there are so many
wicked, stupid, twisted, hateful persons living out their lives. This may not be a matter of
ethics, as such, but a matter of quality of consciousness.
It seems certain to me that I will die and stay dead. By “I”, I mean me, Greg Nixon, this person,
this identity. I am so intertwined with the chiasmus of lives, bodies, ecosystems, symbolic
intersubjectivity, and life on this particular planet that I cannot imagine this identity
continuing alone without them. Literary critic, Joseph Crapanzao (2004) has suggested it is
not the loss of the self we fear, but the world of others, those others who originally drew my
self-concept (ego) forth from embodied experience:
[Can we say that] the terror of death is a substitute for the terror of world-ending? Is
it less our own dissolution than that of the world — our intimate and perduring
connection with it — that terrifies us? The most frightening of nightmares is to be
absolutely alone — deprived of all context, human or material. (p. 202)
However, I can imagine, and often do, that there is a core consciousness, an inner light, a soul
if you wish, that has always been with me, that lies as deeply within my being as the farthest
star without. Perhaps this inner essence can continue on as light energy or some such thing
without my personal identity – but not necessarily without any of my memories.5 With the
death of ego, of self, a new unimaginable awakening may occur, as Theodore Roethke
expressed it so well in these lines of his poem “In a Dark Time” (1964):
Death of the self in a long, tearless night,
All natural shapes blazing unnatural light.
(The self dies, but some “blazing unnatural light” is born: my own interpretation of course.)
Surely if you have hated your own life or even that of all others because you see the ugliness
of all things, wouldn’t it make sense to have your dreams come true when you died? This may
not mean a hell of hatred, but simply oblivion, lights out. If you have been selfish all your life
and only pretending to be interested in others only insofar as they may benefit you, surely
you could not bear to let your dearly-beloved ego-self go. Since you called it into existence in
life (ask any social constructivist) you will surely disappear with it when you die. On the
5 See Nixon (2010a) for details on how lived, yet impersonal, clouds of memories could enrich the Source of Being – or
just read toward the end of T. S. Eliot’s extraordinary poem “Little Gidding” his Four Quartets (p. 59) on the next page.
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other hand, If you have been curious, compassionate, open to new experience, and, most of
all, courageous in life, you will probably be ready to face the most astonishing
metamorphosis of conscious awareness than you have ever dared dream, a cosmic
awakening or journey that begings in the twinkle of an eye.
Paul Ricoeur (1998) in one his last interviews put it as eloquently as anyone could have:
Afterlife is a representation that remains prisoner to empirical time, as an “after”
belonging to the same time as life. This intratemporal “after” can concern only the
survivors. … Here I come back to...the hope, at the moment of death, of tearing away
the veils that conceal the essential buried under historical revelations. I, therefore,
project not an after-death but a death that would be an ultimate affirmation of life. My
own experience of the end of life is nourished by this deeper wish to make the act of
dying an act of life. This wish I extend to mortality itself as a dying that remains
immanent to life. (p. 156)
He added significantly: "I consider life, almost eschatologically, as an unveiling in the face of
dying" (p. 160).
One survives one’s life by believing in universal awareness, perfection, and the peace that
passes all understanding. Perhaps we bring this back with us to the Source from which we
began, changing it, enriching it, which may be the implied meaning of T. S. Eliot’s (1944) oftquoted words (which I beg permission to cite just once more):
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Once we have lived – if we don’t choose the eternal silence of oblivion by life denial, vanity,
indifference, or simple weariness – the Source learns and we awaken within it. Awareness,
consciousness, is universal – it comes with the territory (in fact, it must be the territory,
though it could be nothing like the reduced animal-symbolic consciousness as we humans
practice it) – so maybe you will be one of the few prepared to become unexpectedly
enlightened after the loss of self. You may discover your own apotheosis – something you
always were, but after a lifetime of primate experience, now much more. Since you are of The
Source and since you have changed from life experience and yet retained the dream of
ultimate awakening, plus you have brought those chaotic emotions and memories back to the
Source with you (though no longer yours), your life & memories will have mattered. Those
who awaken beyond the death of self will have changed Reality. (As I see it anyway.)
Unfortunately, or perhaps not, mainly because of the weariness, stress, and frustration of life,
I would wager the vast majority of individuals who die succumb gratefully to peaceful
oblivion, and perhaps the dreams that come after shuffling off the mortal coil are made of
swirling clouds of memories, as Hamlet surmised. The Big Sleep beckons, and one must rest.
Cosmic consciousness continues, but for the sleepers, it won’t matter.
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°°°
The writers that follow in this issue think against the grain of the times, that is, they
dare to question the unearned closure of the universe to deterministic materialism. Each
writer is extraordinary in their own way. All these questions will be approached with many
answers daring to step beyond experimental science, logical positivism, medical limitations,
and even the fear and repusion of death – out into the thin ether of pure specuation, daring
conjecture, or even explicate personal experience or esoteric texts that actually conceive
awareness after the actual (not merely clinical) death of the body, to which NDEs are limited
(though still very important sources of information). This issue goes places or dimensions or
times – or perhaps none of the above – that consciousness studies has always avoided going.
BUT why talk about consciousness if it’s just that flash of activity between birth and death? I
admit I had to encourage a few hesitant authors to take the leap from writing of dying to
writing of death, and some of them actually did speculate on what a post-mortem situation
might be like.
So, the writers herein are scholars, both well known and not-so-well-known, some
independents, some well established in academia. Others are deep into the various sciences,
others philosophical explorers, and others yet have tossed out dependence on objective facts
alone and are openly seekers in esoterica or direct personal experience – what we might call
spiritual but w/o a creed to which they adhere. It is quite a mix. We have a good discussion of
NDEs and of mediumistic spiritualism, of other dimensions, of mystical breakthroughs, of
quantum entanglement, of idealism, of a conscious universe in which the physical is a
response, and a timeless present, which leaves the time of our lives an illusion. We have Jung
from the West, addressing the question in his old age, and we have the ageless wisdom of
Tibetan Buddhism from the East, distinguishing between bardo levels of consciousness after
death and hinting at potentially awakening in the void state or clear light of pure
consciousness, Nirvana, about which nothing can be said (but for which some can rehearse in
life through deep meditation). I am pleased to note we have four women writers who offer
the possibility of unique perspectives but whose science or philosophy is as strong as
anyone’s here. But, no, we do not have a committed hardcore reductive materialist among
this group of writers, though I tried. The ultimate ontology of dead materialism simply will
not stand as an explanation for life, for mind, or to explain the mind of this writer and editor
who recently killed a squirrel with assistance (and a good degree of guilt).
The important writings that follow are divided into three sections. The first, Research
Essays, are more formal academic essays with generous citing and referencing sources to
give credit where credit is due. They are often more cautious in their conclusions, but some
of them opened my eyes in wonder. Explorations are just that – more open-ended, less
proscribed by academic limitation and thus with the individuality and freedom to let their
imaginations soar; yet they remain tethered to logic and well-tested facts (facts not
necessarily accepted by mainstream science). The five short pieces in Statements are the
result of me asking well-known and widely published authors for their honest opinion on the
possibility of some sort of continuing consciousness after bodily death. Instead of research,
all they had to do was refer to their previous writings. Their answers were surprising,
dealing with everything from spiritual awakening to the real possibilities of revenants or
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Nixon, G., I Killed a Squirrel the Other Day
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ghosts that can reappear when called to, or into endless new incarnations in Nature. Each
piece in Statements is followed by a short biographical note.
Respectfully,
Greg Nixon, December 17, 2016
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ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com |
arXiv:1012.3765v1 [physics.gen-ph] 16 Dec 2010
Is Brain in a Superfluid State? Physics of
Consciousness.
Benoy Chakraverty **
Contents
1 Introduction
2
2 Quantum Information Field
2.1 Self Operators and Coherent Brain State . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Synaptic Self and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking . . . . . . .
2.3 Thermodynamics of Cognitive Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
11
16
21
3 Cognitive Response
25
3.1 Cognitive Response and Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.2 Memory and dynamics of Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4 Discussion
35
5 Appendix
38
6 Conclusion
41
Abstract
We set up the human brain as a quantum field of Information in the
cognitive functional space of the mind. To this end, a quantum operator
s is introduced which will create information like particle (called infons)
and generate a coherent macroscopic information field. This operator represents self and reflects our genetic identity.The non-zero average of this
non-hermitian operator,denoted by hsi is defined as the cognitive self
usually referred to as the first person I in our everyday life. A local field
operator ψ i is defined that generates infons at neuronal synaptic sites i.
We impose the identity of synaptic self hψi with the cognitive self I. We
establish consciouness as the causal cognitive response function of brain
or a susceptibility to the external world. We show that at the emergence of hsi, self-consciousness rises out of consciousness.This is reflected
precisely by divergence of the susceptibility function ; an infinitesimal perturbation due to external world becomes an incredibly intense cognitive
experience.We point out that a child at birth has cognitive response but
without having developed the hsi average or I− consciousness until later.
A state of unconsciousness or of sleep is a ground state, precisely the state
1
where cognitive response to the exterior world is zero but the self or I
remains perfectly well defined and in repose.The non − zero hsi average is
the result of perfect phase coherence of the coherent information field in
the brain with a fixed phase angle θ which represents a symmetry breaking transition (establishment of subjectivity with respect to an objective
world). Excitation from this phase coherent ground state of the information field is shown to constitute our consciousness. We also point out
the underlying structure of the dynamic memory matrix in terms of time
correlation of these self-operators.
**B.K.Chakraverty is a former director of Laboratoire de Transition
de Phase, C.N.R.S and has been a research staff member of the Solid State
Theory Group of C.N.R.S, Grenoble. He has been Emeritus director of
research, at Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble, France.
e-mail: benoy chakraborty@hotmail.fr
1
Introduction
Physics have come a long way since the days of Newton and Galileo when it was
mainly devoted to investigations of celestial bodies. Today there is virtually
no frontier that is forbidden to the methodology of physical investigation; from
stock-market to big bang passing thorough metereology and subatomic particles, physics tries to bring an unifying framework to the investigating mind.
The mystic of brain since time immemorial, the difficulty of doing experiment
in vivo, the belief that mind and brain have nothing to do with each other
had prevented progress in the field until very recently. There had been in the
past several classes of approach to the brain-phenomena. There has been work
revolving around the theory of neural networks and dynamical systems [1] [2]
[3]. These approaches have the congenital difficulty of never giving emergence
of the higher brain functions or consciusness like phenomenon. Then there had
been conjectures that brain is quantum. This goes as far back as Bohr, and
as recently as R.Penrose [4] [5] [6] There also has been suggested mechanisms
for these quantum aspects .[7] [8] [9]. The approach in this paper is distinctly
different. For the very first time one is introducing the concept of Self as a
quantum operator reflecting genetic identity and through the operation of this
operator we have created a quantum information field. Certain parts of this
paper has echoes of Quantum decision theories [10]
In the last twenty years or so there has been an explosion of sophisticated
experimental techniques like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Functional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI), Positron Emission Spectroscopy (PET),
Near-Infra-red Spectroscopy (NIRS), Electroencephalography (EEG), Magnetoencephalography (MEG) along with Computerised Tomography & variety
of Multi-modal Imaging to track diseases of the brain but also study neural
anatomy as well as its response to a variety of stimuli. One can now study
some of the brain activity in-situ as well as in real time (FMRI can produce
four images every second. The brain takes half a second to to be conscious
of stimuli). Since the pioneering activity of the noted brain surgeon Wilder
2
Penfield[11] who introduced electrodes into the brain to chart out the somatosensory map of the cortex and elicited memory pattern by proper excitation of
neural region, neurologists today are capable of pinpointing their electrode on
one single neuron and observe what happens.
Today we know a great deal about neurons, the primary agent that carry
signals to and fro between world outside and our brain inside.The human brain
is estimated to have about a hundred billion nerve cells or neurons, two million
miles of axons that take the signal down to its near neighbors and a million
billion synapses, the switch that connects one neuron with another [12]. Knowledge about the physiology and the architecture of dendrites, neurons and their
axons with its synapse has developed enormously over a century [13]. We now
know that behind every single set of information, feeling, sensation, thought
or action, a set of neurons are involved and that there is no reason to live in
the twilight of Cartesian duality [14] of relegating brain in some physical space
and mind elsewhere in some mental space. It would be simpler to assume that
both space is contained in the same Hilbert space where reality is played out
whether it is all measurable or not and that all of which goes on in the brain
is negotiated by the incessant flickering of these myriads of neurons, some of
them firing in unison, in a pattern with perfect inner coherence. Their populations as well as their connections are evolutive, never static, always adapting,
developing according to ebb and flow of information from the outside world as
well as to the needs of the living self. Everything that we do, whether experiencing an event or an emotion as we listen to Ravi Shankar or Beethoven, our
thought whether sublime or murderous, our imagination, our desire, our acting
out our will, every single thing that becomes fabric of our mind is so because
of this neural network that subtends the mental space, that Sherrington had
named the ‘enchanted loom’[15]. We assume that there is no little ‘man’ or a
homunculus sitting in a corner of the brain, pulling the strings of some Cartesian theater.The Hilbert space [16] where quantum mechanics acts out, is also
the mental space of brain. In this space new quantum operators will be defined
and asked to operate in perfect accordance with the laws of causality and of
thermodynamics.
On 15th january 2008, a monkey standing on a treadmill in a U.S Neurology
laboratorywith electrodes planted in some of her motor neurons made history
by making a robot stationed in Tokyo move its legs by the simple transfer
of the energy of her thoughts [17]. The day is not far when paralytics will
be able to control artificial hands and legs through their thoughts alone.Our
central assumption is based on the simple belief that thoughts and emotions
carry energy and as such physics of consciousness can be constructed from first
principles.
We consider that actions of the mind can be formulated through quantum
mechanical formulation, with operators operating on Hilbert space which is
an extension of what we call our physical Hilbert space. We shall show why
the quantum description is appropriate here: continuous deformation of neural medium is postulated to lead to discrete energy packets that we identify
as information in the mind.The quantum operators that we shall introduce are
3
operators of self. We designate them by S since they create states or information like particles for cognitive functions {α}. It is these states we shall define
as forming the armature of the mental space. We will show that these states
are formed by fundamental excitations or discrete information quanta that we
call infons. Infons are considered to be excitation out of mind field. These
excitations are taken to be boson like because a great number of them can
be imagined to be packed into a given function. These are taken to be indistinguishible particles. This fundamental indistinguishibility seperates quantum
mechanics from classical mechanics; the classical particles move in distinguishable space-time orbits which can be tracked continuously while this is not true
of quantum objects.From mental space we go to neural space and assume that
neurons vehicle these excitations, that they can be exchanged from one neuron
to another. Only when these boson-like information packets develop a coherent
macroscopic character by organising themselves into distinct states or functions
{α}, that we become aware of them as distinguishable entities, as joy or pain
or as good or bad. We can use the analogy with electrons; they are indistinguihable particles. But the way they organise, as they go from hydrogen atom to
Uranium, forming distinguishable orbits that each atom becomes different from
its constituting electrons and eventually completely different, from each other
giving us the infinitely rich periodic table of elements.
Our objective is to generate a global macroscopic coherent state of information for the brain by repeated application of these S operators using a neuron
or assembly of neurons to organise these function states. We show that a macroscopic global coherent state of the cognitive space will emerge. This coherent
state is the eigenfunction of the global S operator and whose eigenvalue is brain’s
cognitive order parameter. The resultant phase coherence is key to the whole
smooth cortical synchrony or symphony.
In the next section we develop the phenomenology of the coherent brain
state. In section 2, we present the coherent state for a single cognitive function
α and go on to form a global coherent state out of a bouquet of functions. To
do so, we use the coherent state formalism, due to Glauber, so called Glauber
state[18].
We replace the ‘real brain’ by an organised neuron network of neurons in the
cortex communicating with each other through their synaptic connections. We
take a model brain, containing a lattice of synaptic sites in the cortex connected
with each other through axon terminals that gather its input through a mesh
of dendrites. This is a far cry from the highly complex human brain that has
evolved over several hundred thousand years since the Homo sapiens. We show
how such an assembly has phase coherence naturally built in and that stays
in man all his life. It is at this stage that the global S operator develops a
macroscopic value and a non-zero average value hSi . The central idea of this
paper, consists in identifying this operator average as our quintessential self.
An internal executor emerges in our mind, the “I” that most people say they
feel exists inside their head!
In the subsection 2.2 we will write down the thermodynamic arguments of the
emergence of this hSi average and associated spontaneous symmetry breaking.
4
In the section 3, we introduce the novel idea that what we call consciousness
is nothing but a cognitive response of the neural brain to the world. This response
function or cognitive susceptibility will be defined in terms of these operators
and applied to different states of the brain. Section 4 will discuss some of these
results.
We may summarise this introduction by reiterating that our objective is not
whether physics can solve some of the problems of human brain (it probably
can’t, like anybody else !) but whether it will allow us to think reasonably about
some of these problems.
The noted eighteenth century French physician Pierre Cabannis once said
that ‘Brain secretes thought as liver secretes bile’ [19]. This is almost true.
Actually the function of the brain is to create representation of the world out of
the flood of incoming electro-chemical signals that neurons vehicle; these signals
are basically all alike yet their representations in our mind are indescribable in
their infinite richness and variety.
2
Quantum Information Field
Mental space is taken to be a quantum information field and we suggest that
a normal functioning brain is a coherent state of this field. Why quantum and
not classical?
We ought to precise what kind of a quantum particle are we considering
an information to be– electron like or photon like ? This is a legitimate question since the classical and quantum limits of these two elementary particles
are slghtly different. Electromagnetic theory of Maxwell derived its analogy
from classical fluid motion. Clasical electromagnetic theory works because in
a classical light beam millions of photons are involved where photon occupation is a continuous variable. One did not worry about discrete nature of this
number, neither did one know that a single photon existed. Hence in this limit
quantum theory or corpuscular description was not needed and wave description
was adequate. As far as electron went, in the beginning, it was just the very
opposite.The electron was just a particle and like any other particle had a mass
living at some point in space and time with a definite velocity or momentum
and obeyed Newton’s laws of motion. It was perfectly classical. Its quantum
wave nature was discovered much later with Scrodinger and de Broglie and
then came with it, the Heisenberg uncertainties of not knowing simultaneously
its position and momentum. It is one of the paradox of quantum mechanics
that one can hardly describe a single photon or able to write a wave function
for a single photon. Neither can one localise a photon. It was shown very early
[20] that this difficulty came from the fact that there was no position operator
for a photon. As a result, a single photon’s probability density or probability
amplitude, its wave function at a space point can neither be written down or
normalised to unity over the space. A quantum particle on the contrary can be
described perfectly by the Schrodinger wave function
R ψ (x) 2and like an electron
can be localised. Its probability density given by |ψ (x)| dx, where ψ (x) is
5
the probability amplitude to find the particle at a space point x, is perfectly
normalisable and is a conserved quantity.
The choice we have made is to take information as a discrete particle like
object rather than like a photon. We consider that in a normal human brain only
an infinitesimally small amont of neural space is occupied by these particles and
as a result classical wave description like that of a light beam is inappropriate.
On the other hand why do we think that these particles are quantum like than
classical? One of the principal characteristic of a classical particle that it can be
prepared precisely at a space point xo with a precise momentum po (po = mυ).
The limits of precision can be as fine as we want and is ∆xo ∆po = 0. This is
basically because x& p are independent quantities for a classical particle and we
can vary one without varying the other. We can measure one without disturbing
the other and we can measure both at the same time. All this is not true of
a quantum particle. The two quanties x and p are not indepenedent for a
quantum object, they are conjugate. They do not commute which means that
these two quantities cannot be measured simultaneously and if one measures x
one disturbs p and vice versa.This brings an uncertainty in the measurement
given bythe famous Heisenberg’s relationship
∆xo ∆po = ~
Here ~ is the Planck’s constant. For a classical particle if we prepared it
at the point xo it would remain there eternally unless acted upon by external
force which is Newton’s equation of motion. For a quantum particle on the other
hand, if we did the same thing and we insist on the particle being immobile at xo
it will not do so. There will be one or two things: either we will find the particle
at xo but we will find it at wild values of po or we will find it with a momentum
po but its location will be anywhere in the space, with a probability given by
the Schrodinger wave function ψ (x) . A classical baby in the cradle will remain
in the cradle while a quantum baby will not remain localised
but will ooze away,
R
2
much to the consternation of the mother (but since |ψ (x)| dx = 1)., mother
is bound to find her baby) !
There is a fundamental reason for this quantum behaviour. In classical
physics particle motion is deterministic, determined by laws of Newton, governing a paricle’s position and its velocity. These laws are explained by Hamilton’s
principle which says that trajectory a particle will choose is determined by the
principle of least action; of all the possible paths a particle may take, the most
probable one is the one that costs least action.
This least action path is the only path that a classical particle will take (path
0 of A − A0 figure 1). If we consider the action path as a possible program, a
classical information particle will execute the same program again and again.
By its very nature our mind and consequently our brain is supposed to have free
will. This means that there is no guarantee an information particle will take
the least action path in order to execute a given function. It may well choose
a variety of paths of which the least action path is just one. Many of its paths
will go over higher energy hills and sum total of these excursions constitute
6
Figure 1: Classical and Quantum Paths of an Information Particle in the Neuron
the Feynman path integrals [21] .At any instant of time t0 , (See Figure 1)
the information particle may well stray away from its classical path 0 (point
x0 , t0 ) and be found on points indicated on the trajectories 1, 2, 3, 4, although
R
2
its field amplitude ψ (x, t) must obey x |ψ (x, t0 )| dx = 1. Getting away from
the classical path, gives these information particles an infinite degrees of mental
freedom, which is the reason why we can suddenly change our mind in course
of an action and take a completely different path. A computer as it is today
does not have free will and is condemned to obey the programs that had been
prewritten. A computer is classical even if it borrows neo-classical algorithms
for its functioning. It is in this strict sense information particles are quantum
objects. What their paths minimise is certainly not action but perhaps risks
involved in the action and mind will choose the path of minimum risk.
An information particle is created at some synaptic site i but it does not
remain localised there; it hops from synapse to synapse and evetually joins
other information bits to create a coherent message. It is hopeless to ask where
a specific bit of information resides; it is delocalised, it is disincarnate, it is
everywhere and nowhere. Coherent cognitive functions they perform can be
localised and are identifiable in space and time but, not the information bits
themselves.
This is why mental space is a quantum information field. These quantum
particles can only be generated by application of some operator on some occupation number vectors that describe the Hilbert space of the mind. Only a
quantum description will be able to capture the underlying physics.
To start with, we have the electro-chemical signals that are coming through
different sensory channels, which seem perfectly banal, varying only in its intensity (frequency) and duration and yet each one will become a discrete excitation
or a bit of information, exactly where and how nobody knows. Probably the
transformation (transmutation or transcription) occurs at the somatic center of
each neuron from where it will go out towards other neurons through its axon as
7
an action potential eventually to its synapse.The scenario of ”information” generation in the brain may be following. Neural medium in the brain reacts to the
changing electro-chemical potential of its surrounding neurons whenever it is disturbed by the outside world. This disturbance generates a wave like oscillation
pattern in the medium that the mind perceives as a sensation or ”information”
coming in. A plane monochromatic distortion wave can carry no information;
this is equally true of a monochromatic light beam that cannot transport any
signal,unless it is frequency or amplitude modulated. If the ”meaning” vector
of a distortion wave is taken as amplitude of some perfectly sinusoidal wave
pattern, then evidently, summed over a few oscillation, the meaning adds to
zero for a monochromatic wave of wavelength λ. Basically an organism is being
bombarded incessantly with facts, whose sum total information content is zero.
On the other hand, several wave lengths or facts may be called upon to interfere
constructively, so that in a small space of extension ∆x, a large local amplitude
is suf(”information”) will develop if the spread in wave number ∆k k = 2π
λ
ficiently large. Out of the babel of noise or constant chattering of neurons, a
discrete information bit emerges.The ”information” bit ( it is a minimum uncertainty condition because brain likes to minimise uncertainty, whose unit is
~) is considered to be a discrete quantum object that we have called an infon.
From a background of a very agitated noisy neural medium, one information
quantum detaches itself almost by accident, a quantum particle that organism
finds suddenly very precious to posses. Meaning out of a random sea of facts
is an evolutionary event, revolutionary also, nothing less nothing more but this
led to cognition. This may very well be an acceptable scenario to start with.
The fundamental postulate of this communication states that mind
is a pure information space, is considered to be a quantum field and
that any state vector describing mind can only be an information
vector. The Fock space of the mind can be described by 0,1,2,...∞ bits of information living in Fock or occupation number states {m} where m = 1, 2, 3..∞.
These information quanta we shall call infons in analogy to electron or phonon
or photon.We shall use the Dirac bra,hA| or ket |Ai notations to designate
Hilbert space vectors for example the vector A [22].
The infons are considered to be identical. This is so if and only if they are
excitations of the same underlying field. The often asked question ”why all
electrons are identical ” arises from mistakenly regarding individual electrons as
fundamental objects, when in fact it is the underlying electron field that is fundamental. The same is true of infon particles with respect to the underlying field
which we call our mind. Quantum mechanics, in its most general formulation,
is a theory of abstract operators (observables) acting on an abstract state space
( Hilbert space), where the observables represent physically observable quantities and the state space represents the possible states of our system. Each
observable can be taken as a possible degree of freedom. A classical field contains only a limited number of degrees of freedom ( a classical electromagnetic
field has only two, local electrical and magnetic field vectors). A quantum field
has unlimited, possibly infinite degres of freedom. For our cognitive system,
the observables are the different cognitive functions, in principle there are an
8
unlimited number of them. We shall work in grand canonical ensemble, where
number of these fundamental excitations {m} will be allowed to vary. These
give rise to different functions in the mental space as quantum superpositions
of various Fock numbers {m}; they form the function states {α} that live and
that the organism conserves. Each function state is an eigenstate meant to preserve the required brain function through one’s whole life. The highest energy
functional state is the cognition whose ground state representation we shall now
construct. Phase coherence between infon particles which in turn gives rise to
inter-functional coherence is a result of constructive interference between infon
particles. This would not happen if these were classical particles which never
interfere and where each go their own way. It is in this inner sense that mental
space can be considered as a quantum field.
We can describe the mental field in two ways. Either in terms of mental
state wave functions in the Fock space |Ψα i where {α} is the label of a whole
collection of states that are expected to be grouped into distinct cognitive functions {α, β...} as defined below. Or we go out of the Fock space and define the
mental space in terms of neuronal wave functions |ii where {i} is the label of
a collections of cortical synapse sites i. Each group of some {i} is presumed to
be responsible for some particular function α. We insist on the cortical location
of these synapses which we consider to be the seat of Cognition and eventual
phenomenon of consciousness. Eventually a cognitive program or engram will
emerge which is an information code in the synapse. The information that brain
generates is useful only if it is associated with some program,{pα } .
In the mental functional space without referring to neurons, the shortest program one can conceive of is zero information state |0i . No information would be
comprehensible without presence of this state. The space between two written
words or the silence between two musical notes or the empty space between two
strokes of colour makes all the difference between meaning and meaninglessness.
Next must be a single information bit containing just one quantum |m = 1i ;
this is like the letter A or I of the English alphabet, comprising the two shortest
words of the language. In general we need a string of infons {m} to compose
a program, strung together in some coherent order, for it to make a sense. To
get an idea of what we call a program, let us distribute m number of infons (
where m goes from 0 to N ) over the different cognitive functions {α} where α
goes from 1 to M . If we assume that there is no restriction of number of infons
that can reside in any single function α, then the number of distinct ways or
complexions we can arrange the mα infons amongst pα programs is given by the
Bose-distribution [23]
(mα + pα − 1)!
(1)
p (mα ) =
mα ! (pα − 1)!
As an example, if we take the visual function, where we need to have programs
to, see the colours of the object, its location in space, the different contrasts
of light intensity for a given object, speed and direction of its motion, to name
at random just a few. The actual act of seeing must integrate all these subfunctions rapidly with minimum uncertainty. We need a whole set of programs
9
covering all energy channels, to execute a function α. We can define a coherent
cognitive function α, through sets of programs from each energy channel p (mα )
as
∞
X
|Ψα i =
am (α) |mα i
(2)
mα =o,1,..
The probability amplitude am (α) which is a complex number is the weight
of each state |mα i in the cognitive function α and is given by
2
|am (α)| =
pα
m
pm
We have
N
=
X
mα
α
X
pα
m
=
pm
α
The aα
m is a string of information bits m that we need for some function ; a
single information bit carries no meaning. The information content of α, β, γ
etc are the different cognitive genetic codes (different from the ones involved in
the autonomous nervous functions like respiration, heart rhythm control etc that
do not depend on the cortex). Many of these essential autonomous functions
are like deep quantum levels for the information bits and resemble orbital core
states. Those automatic nervous functions are stationary energy states like
molecular orbital states. In these states the information current is going round
and around as in electron orbitals in an atom, without dissipation, lasting a
life time; they form our daily automatism. These functions constitute sturdy
energy levels that normal outside events do not easily perturb, unless some
violent events occur.
Cognitive functions belong in this hierarchy of energy states to the highest
energy level c that the infons can occupy. Continuing the upward chain of
functional hierarchy, several cognitive functions (vision, smell, sound etc) bunch
together coherently to perform a task. Two tasks can mutually interfere just
as two classical light beams through two slits, showing the double nature of
infons: particles and wave just as light does in the two beam experiment. The
interference shows up as the difficulty often encountered to be attentive to two
cerebral tasks at the same time.
System will choose a certain set of complexions to constitute the required
function which could be vision or taste or memory or feeling. All of them will
constitute the ground or equlibrium state of the mind. We will show later on
that consciousness is a property of excited state of the cognitive system. In the
ground state one has no consciousness. We cannot have any idea what functions
will emerge in the brain of a dynosaur or a shrimp, so numerous are the possible
programs or the synaptic complexions. We shall never know what it feels to be
a bat ! Hence the question ” What is it like for bats to sense objects by echolocation ?” must remain unanswered [24] The functional aspect of the program
10
is tied to the distribution of infons around the synaptic sites. If certain synaptic
sites are never occupied the program will wither away. And if certain function
is rarely performed, the given synaptic connection may dissolve altogether; one
or some of the terms of pm will not contribute. This may happen within the
life time of the individual. New functions can emerge as part of the learning
process or over a longer period, like the function of writing that did not exist
until several thousand years ago. The information space that constitutes the
Hilbert space of the mind is a functional space and is inoperative without the
neurons. This Function space constitutes the Cognitive quantum field that will
be used to construct a coherent brain state.
2.1
Self Operators and Coherent Brain State
Let us introduce non-hermitian operators, that we have christened self operators.
It carries the instruction to fabricate information like particles in mental space,
responsible for information field and our mental life. Self is the expression
of our genetic identity that affirms wherever and whenever it is needed, the
uniqueness of the individual. The self operator sα and its Hermitian conjugate
sᆠhas the property of destroying one infon or creating an infon in the function
state |1α irespectively out of the mental vacum |0i .This is formally written as
the operation
sα† |0i = |1α i
(3)
sα |1α i = |0i
Repeated application of the infon operators will generate all the vectors of
{α} such as
√
1 |2α i
sα† |1α i =
√
sα |2α i =
2 |1α i
This is standard boson operator algebra; the operators are known as ladder operators since they increase or decrease the occupation number of a state
vector by just one every time they are applied on a ket vector.Any standard
quantum mechanics text book can be consulted for details. From this fundamental basic operators defining operations involving infons in the full mental
Hilbert space, we can go on and define operators in the Function space {α}
(which is a truncated Hilbert space) , through the operation
X
|Ψα i =
am (α) |miα
(4)
m
The states {m} are the independent linear orthogonal vectors of Fock space
defining the Hilbert space of mind while the orthogonal linear vectors |mα i
constitute the mental subspace of cognitive functions.The operators {sα } are
initiators of cognitive functions and are instruction protocols like all operators
11
in quantum mechanics. Neurons are the conduits of mental action, not the
otherway around. Cognitive functional space {α}is to neurons what cyber space
is to the electronic hardware comprising a computer.
The ensemble of representations {|Ψα i} constitutes the abstract space on
which our whole mental life will be constructed. All of the cognitive functions are
real, hence they belong to a Hilbert space.All reality, that which is measurable
(factual, Hermitian) and that which is non-measurable (but no less real ), like
pain or pleasure (emotional, non-Hermitian) comes out from this space. These
fundamental self operators (there are exactly three of them) are considered to
constitute the back bone of cognition system and have the following properties
:
1. Besides the creation operator s†α ,we have its conjugate twin, the corresponding destruction operator sα that has the instruction to destroy an
existing infon in the function α, thereby decreasing number of infons already existing in the state |Ψα i by one. By definition vacuum state itself
is annihilated by its action sα |0i = 0, for all α.
2. The combined action of these two operators is the third operator, called
preservation or number operator and helps count the total number of
infons in a given neuron, when it operates on that state.
s†α sα = nα
To emphasise the operator character of the number operator n we have
nα |ii = pα |αi
(5)
This operation or measurement gives us the total number of information
like particles in the function α. The creation and the destruction operators are taken to be non-hermitian while nα is hermitian.
3. We consider the infons as Bose particles. In contrast to Fermions which
occupy a spot in space, only one at a time (in the absence of spin), Bosons
have the advantage that they can be generated at any space as many as
one wants by repeated application of the creation operator on vacuum.
Any number pα of infons can crowd into any single function |Ψα i.
4. The different functions {α} commute. Translated into simple language,
it means that any number of cognitive functions can be measured (felt)
simultaneously.We write this as Bose commutation relationships [25]
h
i
[sα , sβ ] = s†α , s†β = 0
(6)
s†α (x) , sβ (x0 )
= δ αβ δ xx0
(7)
The first set of relationships tell us that those pair of operators commute at
equal time and that their actions are simultaneously measurable. Because they
12
commute, they are independent and do not interfere with each other. We will
show below that this equal time commutability proceeds from the fact that the
set of operators {sα } generate their individual eigen values when they operate
on the same coherent
wave function. The second set of relationships imply that
any two operators s†α (x) , sβ (x0 ) are orthogonal .
To get a coherent wave function signifying the coherent brain state, let us
first focus on just one single cognitive function α. The defining function state
for |Ψα i shows that a varying population of infons m is needed for each function
α. The coherent Glauber state of infons is written as the wave function |Ψα i,
as [26]
X
|Ψα i =
am (α) |miα
(8)
m=0,1,2,...
The significant aspect of this wave function is the possibility that at any given
time there can be any number of infons in the function α; the am (α) are complex
coefficients. If we choose these coefficients judiciously, then the different probability amplitudes am (α) of each of the Fock state |mi will add up constructively
to give a macroscopic amplitude of infons only if they have a common phase
angle θα . When this happens we shall get the coherent state |Ψα i.
An exactly equivalent formulation of the Glauber state, can be given explicitly in terms of s†α . The coherent state, in the zeroth order is given by the
exponential operation
|Ψα i = exp φα s†α |0i
(9)
Here although it is not visible yet, the exprssion has the parameter φα which
will turn out to be the hidden cognitive order of the function α. This state has
the expansion
2
φα s†α
†
|0i + ...
(10)
|Ψα i = |0i + φα sα |0i +
2!
This expansion shows that the coherent state is made out of varying number of
infons. To understand the coherent state, we may write the operator expression
†
†
sα (φα ) = exp−φα sα sα expφα sα = sα + φα
(11)
We see that the action of the exponential operator is to translate the destruction operator by a complex number φα . This gives the key property of the
coherent state as being the eigenstate of the destruction operator
†
†
†
sα |Ψα i = expφα sα exp−φα sα sα expφα sα |0i = φα |Ψα i
(12)
This result follows when we use the fact sα |0i = 0. The result also shows
that φα is the eigenvalue of the destruction operator. Since sα is a non-hermitian
operator, the eigenvalue can only be complex. This result points out that the
operator average hsα i is precisely φα .
hΨα | sα |Ψα i = φα
13
(13)
That the complex parameter φα is in reality an order parameter can be seen
from
hΨα | nα |Ψα i = hΨα | s†α sα |Ψα i = φ∗α φα = hNα i
Since hNα i is just a number, number of infons on an average involved in the
function α, we can write down the order parameter as a complex scalar quantity
p
φα = hNα i exp iθα
The different functions {Ψα } are distinguishable. Although the electrical
signals coming through the neurons are all alike to start with , what ultimately
distinguish them one from the other is the response they provoke in the different
sensory channels.The global coherent state due to all {Ψα } functions can now
be written down. For all these functions we can write for the global coherent
cognitive wave function, the product wave function
|ΨC i = Πα |Ψα i
(14)
P
†
†
|ΨC i = Πα exp φα s†α |0i = exp α (φα sα ) |0i = expS ΦC |0i
(15)
This can be expanded as
We have written ΦC as a υ × 1 column matrix
φα
φβ
ΦC =
..
φυ
(16)
We also write global creation operator S † as a 1 × υ row matrix
S † = s†α ....s†υ
Then we have
S † ΦC =
X
s†α φα
α,...υ
This allowed us to write as we did the global coherent state
†
|ΨC i = expS ΦC |0i
The coherent state |ΨC i has the nice property of being able to single out a given
function order parameter when it is acted upon by the function field operator
sα .
sα |ΨC i = φα |ΨC i
The global cognitive wave function |ΨC i allows simultaneous measurements
in all functional channels α and this is why these operators {sα } commute.
14
we can write for the global order parameter ΦC
Φ∗C ΦC =
1 X ∗
1 X
NC
Φ α Φα =
hNα i =
M α
M i
M
(17)
Here NC is the global average information population in the cortical brain
summed over all the cognitive functions, M . Now a global cognitive order
parameter ΦC has emerged with one single phase θC to signify over-all phase
coherence of the information field. Expression of equation 17 allows us to write
for the global cognitive order in the form
r
NC
exp i θC
(18)
ΦC =
M
There are several key points we would like to make at this stage:
(a) To obtain the global order, we have summed over all neuron labels. This
emphasises the fact that the cognitive order parameter ΦC represents in reality
the full mental landscape. The individual label and phase of each neuron has
disappeared from the global cognitive order which has emerged with its own
global phase θC indepenent of space and time.
(b) The global order parameter can be defined as the operator average of
the global destruction operator of self S which we write as
ΦC = hΨC | S |ΨC i
(19)
Here S is the column matrix representing destruction operators
sα
sβ
S=
...
sυ
Since S is one of the three matrix elements of Self, we take the bold step to call
this order parameter I. We make the identification
ΦC = I
(20)
Now the self operator has taken a macroscopic significance. ”I am” has
emerged as a result of global phase coherence between NC information
bits. The meaning of the global cognitive order is I. This phase coherence is brought about by more and more rapid information transfer through synaptic connections between neurons. A critical neuron
band-width or connectivity must occur before, I can emerge.
(c) The unique global phase angle θC for ΦC with which order parameter
emerges is a symmetry breaking transition. Any other θ would have been equally
good from the point of view of total energy of the cognitive system, but this θC
and only this one, the order parameter ΦC of the brain system has chosen and
retains throughout one’s whole life. We have named this I, precisely because
15
this unique θC confers on each individual his individuality, the imprint of an
unique personality. The subjective self given by hSi breaks the symmetry of
the mental space {m}; a subjective -objective symmetry so to speak. From this
point onwards, self and self −consciousness emerge as the hallmark of a stable
personality.
(d) Mathematically the unique global phase θC , translates the fact that the
infon population NC is a variable number and the coherent brain ground state
|FC (θ)i that fixes θ can be expressed in the form
X
Ψ (NC ) exp iNC θC
(21)
|ΨC (θ)i =
NC
∆NC ∆θC
∼ 1
(22)
The uncertainty relationship between phase locking of the global wave function and its information content is fundamental to the coherency of all brain
processes.We must allow this number to fluctuate if we are to have a macroscopic coherent cognitive state.
2.2
Synaptic Self and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
In the preceding section we have constructed a globally coherent cognitive state
|ΨC i associated with the cognitive order parameter ΦC that we have called the
first person I. We have worked entirely in the mental landscape defined by its
diverse cognitive functions. Everything was done as if outside world did not
exist. But developing coherent cognitive functions in the absence of interaction
with outside world is as useless as developing an alphabet or language that no
one would use. As a matter of fact, one suspects that the cognitive functions
that would survive are precisely those that help us to cope with the world in a
Darwinian sense.
The world connects to the mind through our neurons. Mind also expresses
itself through the same neuron network. Thus the neuron is the go-between mind
and world, a window for the mind within and for the world without. Neurons
connect with other neurons through the synaptic sites. While just before a baby
is born, neurons are being created at the astonishing rate of 250,000 neurons
per minute, right after birth synaptic connections between those neurons are
being made at the astronomical rate of several million connections per second!
[27]. One can make a strong case that synaptic connections are essential for
information transfer betwwen different regions of brain and that synaptic sites
may well be where infons are stored. At least this is the view we shall adopt.
We shall introduce field operators of self ψ i connected with info creation at
synaptic sites,i. The corresponding creation operator is ψ †i which when operates
on the vacuum state creates one infon in the state vector |1i i .We write
ψ †i |0i = |1i i
(23)
The local field operators ψ i can be wriiten in terms of the internal function
16
space basis operators sα
ψi =
X
φα (i) sα
(24)
α
And similarly for ψ †i . Here φα (i) is a complex probability amplitude of finding the projection of the mental state α on the synaptic site i. We can obtain
the average value of the synaptic site operator hψ i i by using the cognitive wave
function 14
hψ i i = hΨc | ψ i |Ψc i
(25)
To illustrate, suppose we have a Ψc composed of just two cognitive functions
α and β.
Ψα
Ψβ
ψ αβ
ψ αα
i
i
βα
ψ i ψ ββ
i
Ψα
Ψβ
Then we have for the wave function Ψc =
hψ i i = Ψ∗α Ψ∗β
Here ψ αα
is , hΨα | ψ i |Ψα i and similarly for the other matrix elements.
i
This is rewritten as
#
"
2
|Ψα | Ψα Ψ∗β
ψ αβ
ψ αα
i
i
hψ i i =
2
ψ βα
ψ ββ
Ψβ Ψ∗α |Ψβ |
i
i
This can be also written as
hψ i i = trace (ρψ i )
The infon density matrix ρ (which is a M × M square matrix ) has the usual
definition
Ψα
Ψβ
ρ = |Ψc i hΨc | =
. [Ψα Ψβ ...etc]
etc
Now we are in a position to define global synaptic self average Φs as
hψ i i
hψ k i
Φs =
hψ l i
etc
(26)
We impose global synaptic self average to be the same as the cognitive functional average and equate both to I. We write I = Φc = Φs . This implies
X
X
2
2
2
|Φc | = |Φs | =
|hψ i i| =
ni = Nc
i
i
17
The statement made just above is capital. It says what goes in the mind goes
in the synapses; there is no way to distinguish our cognitive self as epitomised
by I from our synaptic self. [27].
As the order parameter develops in the ground state, long range correlation
develops between local order between different synaptic sites , say i & j. If the
distance between i & j goes to ∞ but correlation hψ (i) ψ ∗ (j)i remains finite,
then we have a genuine Bose condensation [23] in human brain. Because of the
finite dimension of our system this is impossible to have. A less restrictive condition of having something like a bose-condenstate is to rewrite this correlation
in an alternate form. We write
*
+
X
X
†
∗
∗
hψ (i) ψ (j)i =
φα (i) sα
(27)
φβ (j) sβ
α
=
X
=
X
sα s†β
β
φα (i) φ∗β (j)
α,β
Nα hφα (i) φ∗α (j)i
α
Here we have used the commutation properties of the operators sα ,s†β etc introduced in the last section. This is off-diagonal information correlation between
two different synaptic sites and can have a macroscopic value if the condensate
density Nα develops in one of the functional channels.This is closest we shall
get to a bose-condensed state in these inhomogeneous finite size systems.
The coherent cognitive state is a symmetry broken state, as we explained in
the last section. Let us be a little more specific.
There is a whole general class of systems that show spontaneous symmetry
breaking in their ground state while their dynamics (hamiltonian) is invariant
of that symmetry[28].The ferromagnet is a familiar example: its global magnetisation chooses to lie in an arbitrary direction, while it could have chosen
any other direction without any extra energy cost. Superfluid He or Superconductors are other examples from condensed matter physics, where the order
parameter chooses a global unique phase while its free energy does not depend
on that phase angle. In our case the cognitive order parameter does the same
although we do not know the exact nature of the hamiltonian H0 that we need
to describe the dynamics or evolution of the information field. What we need to
note is that the coherent cognitive wave function |ΨC i and its associated order
parameter Φc were constructed by repeated action of the self operator on the
vacuum state |0i. This |0i is nothing but the bare inherited genetic magma
from the very instant that the child was conceived. There was no reference to
the world as yet. We need to confront this order parameter to the world which
the new born baby will face. It is convenient to introduce the world as some
0
external perurbation H to see if the unique ground state |ΨC i engendered by
H0 remains intact in the absence of the perturbation as we go to the limit of
no world. This is extremely relevant since everyday we go to this limit when we
fall asleep and every time we do so we need to recover the same unique ground
18
state |Ψc i with the cognitive order I .
Let us write the total hamiltonian governing the cognitive brain as
H = H0 + H 0
(28)
The perturbation due to world (this includes interaction with one’s own
body) is written as
i X
X h
H0 =
η i ψ i Ω∗i + ψ †i Ωi =
η i Hi0
(29)
i
i
Here the world designated by Ωi acts at the synaptic site i locally with the
operator ψ i through some suitable coupling constant η i .We assume that the
main part of the Hamiltonian H0 had done its job in creating the unperurbed
ground state |ΨC i, with a corresponding ground state energy EC , which is the
lowest energy of the coherent cognitive state, of the brain at repose. Due to
coupling η, both the ground state wave function as well as the state energy will
be shifted to |ΨC (η)i and EC (η) .Let us call the new total hamiltonian by H(η)
and write
EC (η) = hΨC (η) |H(η)| ΨC (η)i
(30)
The change in ground state energy can be written as ( due to a trick first
used by Pauli)
the so called coupling constant integration
XZ 1
∆EC = EC (1) − EC (0) =
dη i hΨC (η i ) |Hi0 | ΨC (η i )i
(31)
i
as
0
This perturbation generates a new operator average hψ i i that we can write
Z 1
∂ (∆EC )
∂Hi0
=
ΨC (η)
(32)
dη i ΨC (η)
hψ i i =
∂Ωi
∂Ωi
0
We do this integration by seperating it into two parts as
Z 1
∂Hi0
∂Hi0
ΨC (0) +
ΨC (η)
hψ i i = ΨC (0)
dη i ΨC (η)
∂Ωi
∂Ωi
η6=0
If the first term of the right hand side survives even in the absence of coupling
to the world then we have a symmetry broken ground state given by the local
cognitive order parameter average hψ i i0 . We can then write
hψ i i = hψ i i0 + δ hψ i i0
The sources or the ‘world’ Ω & Ω∗ were introduced in order to select a unique
equilibrium state–so as to set the ‘alignement’ of the cognitive system just as
a magnetic field does for the ferromagnet. These sources induce non-vanishing
values of the field operators,hψ †i i0 and hψ i i0 . For a normal system that does
19
not show spontaneous symmetry breaking, these field expectation values vanish
when the sources are turned off. But in a symmetry broken state, this does
not occur. The non zero operator averages remain intact even when there is no
external source.This result shows us that Φ has the broken symmetry : Φ → Φo
even when the world Ω → 0.Translated into more mundane cognitive terms, this
says that as we fall asleep, the world Ω → 0 but the cognitive order parameter,
I returns to the base value, characterising the equlibrium ground state. World
is lost during sleep, but not I.
No and θ are conjugate quantities. This is exemplified by the uncertainty
relationship
4No 4θ 1
The simple reason that phase and particle number are conjugate quantities
imply that their simultaneous measurement is limited by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Consequently, boson like particles can either be in an eigenstate
of particle number or of phase. The eigenstate of particle number means a system with fixed population of infons, and is a localised state or a neuron with no
connection to other neurons. This phase can be called a−state.The second state
of the information system, named b − state is the one where the information
is fluid but the phase coherence has very short range in space and time.This is
a mixed state, neither localised nor completely fluid, at best is an incoherent
mixture of the two and is not an eigenstate. The eigenstate of phase is a superfluid. This is the state where information particles live and move coherently
from synapse to synapse.This state we will call the state c. We can characterise
each of these states by
hexp iθi i =
0, state a
hexp iθi i =
6
0, hexp i (θi − θj )i = 0 ; state b
hexp i (θi − θj )i =
6
0, i − j → ∞, state c
Here i and j are neuron positions.
We can think of α − state as belonging to worms or single cellular creatures
possessing a few or no neurons to speak of. b − state can be expected to belong
to babies, less than 2 yrs old and higher domestic animals, creatures that are
perfectly conscious but not of themselves ;there is, as yet no long range phase
coherence, conscious experience is there but is fragmented. There may be a
ghost of I but it is more like the smile of a cheshire cat ! In the c − state, long
range phase correlation between neurons are firmly established and brain has
entered its coherent state; that of adult human brain. Penrose [39] had posed
the question whether a one cellular creature like a paramecium or a bacterium
(which does not even have a neuron) can have consciousness? Our answer
seems to be quite unambiguous– it cannot. It lives in the state α (neuron
or no neuron ), no order parameter can form locally ; even if it did, phase
and amplitude fluctuation will kill all coherence as it invariably does in one
dimensional systems. A 2-yr old baby posseses already an I and recognises
himself in the mirror. From I=0 at birth, the individual has gone to the free
20
energy minimum of I =
6 0, all due to the tremendous explosion in synaptic
connectivity in those first two years after a child’s birth. These three states
mimic closely condensed phase of bosonic systems, namely, localised insulting
state, disordered boson glass phase & symmetry broken superfluid phase , a, b
& c phases respectively [40].
2.3
Thermodynamics of Cognitive Order
To make some of these ideas more quantitative, we express the Hamiltonian H
of M − neurons, in two parts, a part which is internal to the brain system,
Ho and a part that brings about perturbation due to interaction of the infons
with the world, H 0 .We consider that in the absence of the world, the cognitive
system develops the coherent order parameter ΦC , called now ΦoC to indicate
that it is the unperturbed ground state, engendered by H o .
Let us write the partition function to obtain the relevant thermodynamic
quantities to obtain the equlibrium order parameter as an extremum of Hemholtz
free energy and see how this shifts in the presence of H 0 .We introduce real time
t but this symbol can also be replaced by imaginary time if we have to.We write
the perturbibation due to external world as
Z
Z
h
i
H 0 = dt dri ψ †i (t)Ω(i, t) + ψ i (t)Ω(i, t
We also have used
ψ(i, t) = expiHo t ψ i (o) exp−iHo t
Here Ho is the unperturbed original hamiltonian that we have not specified so
far. We can write for the grand partition function through functional integration
Z
Z
Z
Z
ψ ∗i (t)Ω(r, t)
∗
∗
(33)
Z [Ω, Ω ] = [dψ i ] [dψ i ] exp
dtL + dt dr
+ψ i (t)Ω∗ (r, t)
Here L is the Lagrangian given by
Z
L = Ho − i
dri ψ ∗i (t)
∂
ψ (t)
∂t i
(34)
Here we have replaced the operators ψ and ψ † by functional integration variable
ψ and ψ ∗ . In this formulation the self operators are integrated away and the
partition function is expressed only in terms of the world. The effective action
or Helmholtz free energy is given by
F [Ω, Ω∗ ] = ln Z [Ω, Ω∗ ]
(35)
By simple differentiaion we get
∂F [Ω, Ω∗ ]
∂Ω(i, t)
∂F [Ω, Ω∗ ]
∂Ω∗ (i, t)
=
=
D
E
1 dZ
= ψ †i (t)
Z dΩ(i, t)
1
dZ
= hψ i (t)i
Z dΩ∗ (i, t)
21
(36)
To see this clearly, it is convenient to consider the expectation values of
hψ †i (t)i and hψ i (t)i as the independent variables (rather than the sources Ω &
Ω∗ ) by carrying out a functional Lagrange transformation which defines the
Gibb’s potential Λ
Z
Z
Λ = dt dri [ψ ∗i (t)Ω(i, t) + ψ i (t)Ω∗ (i, t] − F [Ω, Ω∗ ]
(37)
Consider variation of this equation with respect to Ω & Ω† . We obtain
Z
Z
n
o
∂Λ = dt dri ∂hψ †i iΩ + Ω∗ ∂ hψ i i
RestEof the terms give zero. Thus we may regard Λ as a functional of hψi and
D
ψ † . This gives us
h
D Ei
∂Λ hψi , ψ †
D
E
∂ ψ † (i, t
h
D Ei
∂Λ hψi , ψ †
∂ hψ(i, ti
=
Ω(i, t)
=
Ω∗ (i, t)
(38)
These derivatives give us a functional definition of external world parametrised
by Ω. We can go to an external world which is constant in space and time,
Ω(i, t) → Ω and Ω∗ (i, t) → Ω∗ . In this case the expectation values of the field
operators must also be constant. Now, we can write the extensive Gibb’s potential in the intensive form
Λ = βV G(hψ i i , hψ †i i)
(39)
Here G is Gibb’s free energy per unit volume and V is the volume of the
system. Let us a global cognitive field order parameter as
hψ i i = hΨi = Φ
In the limit of sources uniform locally over each neuron, we have
2
∂G(|hΨi| )
∂ hψ i i
=
Ω∗i
=
Ωi
(40)
2
∂G(|hΨi| )
∂hψ †i i
The correct thermodynamic state is determined as a stationary point of the
effective potential or Gibb’s free energy. At the equilibrium point hψ i i = hΨieq
we must have
22
!
2
∂G(|hΨi| )
∂ hψ i i
hψ i i=hΨieq
2
)
∂G(|hΨi|
D E
†
∂ ψi
hψ†i i=hΨ† ieq
=
o
=
o
(41)
This expression is true at all extremum. This shows us immediately that at the
minimum of the Gibb’s free energy, which will determine the cognitive order
parameter with it’s unique symmetry broken state, the world Ω vanishes. When
we remember from the last section that hΨc i = Φs = I, then we can draw
the conclusion that when we are in the equlibrium state of the cognitive sysem,
the world vanishes. In full anaesthesia or in sleep I remains perfectly intact
and every time we wake up we do retrieve our I. This is the unambiguous
demonstration that the brain lives in a spontaneous symmetry broken state,
akin to many condensed state systems including superfluid.
From now onwards, we shall call the mental space containing the cognitive
order parameter hΨc i , as an I − f ield. The ground state of this field occurs
where hΨc i gives a free energy minimum. From a semiclassical point of view
,hΨc i can be considered as a field which interacts with itself through a potential
2
( also called the Gibb’s free energy function, G(|hΨc i| ) written in the GinzburgLandau form[32]
2
2
4
G(|hΨi| ) = A |Φ| + B |Φ|
(42)
Here |hΨi| = Φ, is the ampltude of the average of the order parameter which
we have shown to be a complex quantity with an amplitude and a phase. Let
us start from the non-symmetry broken phase , with a positive value of the
parameter A that gives the minimum at |Φ| = 0. Eventually when the phase
transition to a |Φ| =
6 0 phase would occur, symmetry breaking will take place,
fixing the phase once for all. This expression for Gibb’s free energy will assure
us a minimum of the free energy at Φ = Φeq if the parameter A is ≺ 0 and if
the coefficient of the fourth order term B is 0. The nature of these curves is
shownin Figure 2.
It is clear that the vital parameter that brings about this minimum is when
A changes sign from positive value where the minimum of cognitive order is zero
to a negative value,when some
non-zero value Φeq develps, which is the value
at equilibrium given by
∂G
∂|Φ|
|Φ|=|Φ|eq
occurs at
= 0. This ground state of the I − f ield
r
−A
exp −iθ
(43)
B
This ground state is infinitely degenerate in θ, lying as it does at the bottom of
the so called Mexican hat potential defined by “a ring of minima” for whatever
be the value of θ. If this phase angle θ can be arbitrarily chosen at each point in
hΨieq =
23
Figure 2: Free energy against amplitude of order parameter : A 0, babies
2 yrs; A = 0, threshold of self; A≺0,babies 2 yrs, self I formed
space and time, then the interaction of hΨieq with external world would move
it continually as if hΨi were a free particle. But it is not ; it is a coherent state.
The ground state of the system is required to be unique, so that phase must be
fixed once for all, at all points of space and time. Thus symmetry breaking is
self imposed to rid self of the tyranny of the outside world !
We know that a baby as born has no sense of self as yet and does not know
who he or she is until at certain age ∼ 2 years old. We also know that as as soon
as a child is born, there is an explosion in his brain of synaptic connections, at
the astonishing rate of ∼ two millions/second, which is a measure of density
of information flow from one neuron to its neighbors via its axon terminal (
there are about 104 synaptic connections per neuron ). The vital parameter A
is connected to this synaptic connectivity (Appendix). Beyond a critical value
of synaptic connectivity A becomes negative and all-important cognitive self
can emerge as a coherent order parameter hΨieq or I. We will sketch in the
appendix a possible scenario of how it comes about.
The fluctuation out of the Mexican hat potential well and is governed by the
coefficient of the second order term and gives A
1 ∂ 2 G(Φ2 )
(A)hψi=Φeq =
(44)
2
∂ 2 |Φ|
hψi=Φeq
24
3
Cognitive Response
3.1
Cognitive Response and Consciousness
The problem of Consciousness is considered by many modern philosophers as
the ”hard problem ” [29]. The Well known Australian philosopher Chalmers[30]
details in a book why it is so hard and also which ones are easy problems; these
include an objective study of the brain. In a more modest answer to some of
these issues, that avoids erudite pitfalls, it is meaningful to define consciousness
as part of cognitive response of the brain to the world. Having defined the
ground state of the cognitive system as the I−f ield, it seems sensible to ask
what the excited state is like. The excitation comes when world presents itself
and interacts with self operator. In the ground state where world is absent by
construction , there is no world to couple with ; there is no consciousness, as a
result. Consciousness is one of the function of the excited state of the cognitive
system. it is a pure Response Function. The problem is still hard but we have
cleared a small space to work on and part of the problem becomes more tractable
.
In this simple approach, we will couple external world designated by Ω to the
global self operator Ψ† , where Ω is considered to be an infinite source and sink
of information. Here Ψ and Ω are matrices {ψ i } and {Ωi } .We define cognitive
response χ as response of the brain to perturbation H 0 due to external world.
We use linear response theory [31]. and write
H 0 (t0 ) = − η Ω(t0 )Ψ† (t0 ) + h.c
Here we presume that world is turned on at time t0 very slowly,coupled to
the self creation operator Ψ† (t0 ) with a coupling constant η. For the time being
we omit the spatial index, to keep it simple. This perturbation will give the
retarded response
Z
i t
dt0 h[Ψ(t), H 0 (t0 )]i
(45)
δ hΨ(t)i = −
} −∞
I feels the change δ hΨ(t)i and is conscious of the change because the first
order change δ hΨ(t)i
brings about
a second order change of the free energy
2
of the ground state ∼ δ hΨ(t)i .This response constitutes awareness of I to
the world and we define it as cognitive perception. Only a small part of this
perception is a conscious perception and we call it our consciousness. Precisely
Consciousness results from that part of the response function which is dissipative
or imaginary. There is a whole part of the response function that we are not
conscious of. Because cognitive response is considered to be ruled by causality,
with response lagging behind the stimulation in time, we have .retarded response
function or susceptibility given by
Z t
δ hΨ(t)i =
dt0 χR (t − t0 ) Ω(t0 )
(46)
−∞
25
Here the susceptibility is defined by the commutator
i
χR (t − t0 ) = − θ(t − t0 ) Ψ(t), Ψ† (t0 )
}
(47)
The θ − f unction where t t0 assures the causality, cause preceding effect.
We all know what it is to be unconscious. We also know what it is to
be conscious or waking up to the hustle and bustle of the world. Unconscious
state is a state of repose. Our brain is at its free energy minimum and world
Ω is absent at this minimum. In deep sleep or general anesthesia, awareness
of the world around us disappears. We take it for granted that it should be
so. But there is a paradox in this. At this free energy minimum where I is
very much present, so is the cognitive response function,χR (ω) which we just
defined . Then why does the awareness go away? The precise answer lies in very
nature of the cognitive response function which will also permit us to give an
operational definition of consciousness and unconsciousness. Here the cognitive
susceptibility is a retarded function (subscript R ) given by the operator average
χR (t − t0 ) = Ψ(t)Ψ† (t0 ) , t ≥ t0
Defining cognitive susceptibility as a linear response function to the world, we
have made the implicit assumtion of causality. Its fourier transform is
Z ∞
χR (ω) =
d(t − t0 ) Ψ(t)Ψ† (t0 ) exp [iω (t − t0 )]
o
The causality imposes on the χR (ω) the Krammer’s-Kronig relationship, so that
the response is a complex quantity, having a real and an imaginary part (the
two parts are related through Hilbert transform).
χR (ω) = χ0 (ω) + iχ” (ω)
(48)
The imaginary part of the response function χ” (ω) monitors real neuronal
excitation from the ground state. This is the part that would give rise to
real sensations, emotion and eventual dissipation of the excitation back into
the outside world as heat and sensed by the organism as fatigue. We define
the imaginary part as Consciousness. Since χ” (ω) is odd in ω, χ” (ω) = 0, at
ω = 0.This explains why there is no conscious response when brain is at the free
energy minimum. This minimum is situated at hΨi = 0,for a baby≤ 2 yrs old
and at hΨi = I, for all other cases where selfhood has been achieved. We are
unconscious at this precise point. Real part of cognitive response χ0 (ω) is finite
of course due to virual infon excitations. Conscious perception results only with
the real excitations. Subsequent decay of real excitations confer on them a life
time or the time needed for us to be conscious of an event; the imaginary part
consequently has a spectral weight over which the excitation energies are spread
out,which we perceive as a conscious experience. This rainbow hue of spectral
spread is sensed by self (even when I is not yet formed) as a direct perception
of the world in all its splendour, called ”qualia ” of conscious experience [30]
26
.The full χR (ω) has poles in the lower energy ( = ~ω − iδ) plane that define
the exact excitation energies with a small imaginary part δ .
We will address this issue in both cases: for babies less than 2-yrs old when
one is at the free energy minimum of hΨi = Φ = I =0 and for children above
that age when hΨi = Φ = I =
6 0 when one is in the symmetry broken phase.
The approach to the coherent state free energy minimum is heralded by the
static real part of χR (ω = 0) which one does identifiy as inverse of A
!
2
1
∂ 2 G(|hΨi| )
= (A) =
χR (ω = 0)
∂ 2 |hΨi|
which goes to zero (susceptibility diverges, see appendix) as the cognitive order
begins to develop. The imaginary part related to dissipation during cognitive
perception is what we assert to be conscious. It includes the emotive part of the
response, as the perception manifests itself, through visible emotion, palpable
sensation, rapid eye motion or increased heart beat, skin temperature rise or
sudden blips in the E.E.G signal in the γ−frequency region often characteristic
of the awake conscious state. The real part χ0 (ω) is related to the lossy part
χ” (ω 0 )through
Z
1
1 ∞
0
dω 0 χ” (ω 0 ) P 0
(49)
χ (ω) =
π −∞
ω −ω
Here P is the principal value integral over the lossy part of susceptibility.
The integral says that if the real part of cognitive susceptibility on the left is to
become large at ω = 0, it can be so if the integral on the right with the imaginary
part becomes more and more intense around the low energy response. This is
clearly seen if we come down from the normal phase where there is as yet no
cognitive order I is still=0 (for a baby ≺ 2 yrs)and approach the point when
the real part of the cognitive response starts diverging. The imaginary part (see
Appendix ) of the susceptibility of any one given neuron i can be written
Im χli =
ρo ωτ
2
(1 − λρo ) + λ2 ρ2o ω 2 τ 2
Here ω is excitation energy measured from the equlibrium energy state and τ
a characteristic relaxation time for relaxation of the excitation, ρo is a density
of states of these info particles and λ a characteristic energy scale of synaptic
connectivity. As the system starts going critical at λρo → 1,when the real
part starts to diverge, the imaginary part becomes more and more peaked at
low energy. In the attached Figure 3.1 we plot, Im χli showing the series of
curves reflecting the intensity of conscious experience as λρo → 1 and the child
( 2 yrs old) acquires non-zero cognitive order (I =
6 0).
This may explain why early childhood experiences are so intense.This abundance of low energy excitations is probably at the root of intensity of some
conscious experience, and its ‘qualia’.
There are several key remarks that should be made to make clear the ground
on which we stand.
27
Figure 3: Approach to self as synaptic connectivity increases to threshold of
consciousness.
(a) Although at hΨi at hΨieq = I, external world has vanished, one can
be marginally conscious of dream like phenomenon. However, if one can avoid
falling asleep and achieve this ground state through some techniques of profound meditation, the cognitive susceptibility will consist in consciousness of
self without any awareness of the world. The pecrceiving self I is very much
present.
(b) The world springs into being as soon as hΨi moves out of the free energy
minimum at I and positions itself at any other point on the curve where the
slope is given by
!
2
∂G(|hΨi| )
=Ω
∂ hΨi
0
hψi=hψ i6=hψieq
The cognitive response will consist now of a significant part which is conscious
response that we will call consciousness defined below. This consists in awareness of the world and of self.
(c) Two space-time events Ω (i, t) and Ω (j, t0 ) will have relationship with
each other when and only when, the events are negotiated though the cognitive
28
susceptibility. This is given by the free energy piece
∆F = Ω (i, t) χR (i − j, t − t0 ) Ω (j, t0 )
(50)
This has the immediate consequence that relationship discovered between
phenomenon is mediated by our sensorial perception and is not independent of
the cognitive mechanism that observes it. There is one little comment about
the nature of physics that this last relationship underlines. In classical physics,
observations between facts and relationships between them are out there to
be discovered. In quantum physics, observables are only those that are not
disturbed by the observation process itself; not all relationships between observables are possible. In the physics of consciousness, observation depends on
the observer and relationships between objects are dependent on the perception
χR of the observer. An absolute relationship between observales does not exist,
as best is an illusion. But since the operator of self S is non-hermitian, its
average, called I the observer,is not Hermitian either. As a result,it is not a
measurable or can be object of observation.
3.2
Memory and dynamics of Perception
We have seen that a symmetry broken ground state emerges which is immuable
in space and time, characterised by the quantity I, the cognitive order parameter
which is a macroscopic manifestation of our penultimate self . We are permitted
to replace the original vacuum state |0i that we started with by the new ground
state which we call |Ii. While |0i represented the nothingness of no information
state of the original pristine mind, |Ii is the full coherent state that the self
operator S or its synaptic counterpart Ψ has sculpted out of this primordial
nothingness.
The basic infon propagator from one neuron i to another j is wriiten as the
Green’s function
D
E
g (i − j, t − t0 ) = 0 ψ(i, t)ψ † (j, t0 ) 0
(51)
This is formally obtained from the Free energy expression F of the preceding
section by differentiating it two times (here the average is over |Ii
D
E
∂2F
†
0
=
ψ(i,
t)ψ
(j,
t
)
∂Ω(j, t0 )∂Ω∗ (i, t)
This one particle Green’s function constitutes the building block of our dynamic
day to day or episodic memory in contrast to the ground state memory of the
reservoir of infon particles No built out of genetic material that gave rise to
I. If we differentiate the free energy 2M times we get the M -point correlation
function ,
D
E
∂ 2M F
†
†
0
0
=
ψ(i,
t)...ψ(M,
t)ψ
(j,
t
)...ψ
(M,
t
)
∂Ω(j, t0 )....∂Ω(M, t0 )∂Ω∗ (i, t)..∂Ω† (M, t).
29
We make use of Bloch-deDominicis decomposition [34] to get all combinations of
two by two factors to get the average of a product of creation and annihilation
operators that gives us
E
X D
ψ(i, t)ψ † (j, t0 )
h.....i =
all i,j
This is our dynamic memory matrix, MR a M × M matrix, given by
ψ i (t)
i
ψ j (t) h † 0
ψ (t ) ....ψ † (t0 ) = MR
h.......i =
i
M
...
ψ M (t)
h
i
The expression ψ †i (t0 ) ....ψ †M (t0 ) is a short hand for expressing that at some
past time t0 a page of a book was written with infons on different synaptic sites
i, j, ...M etc. It is like an instantaneous photograph at the instant t0 of the
states ofoccupation
of the synapses.The ket associated just on its left the long
ψ i (t)
ψ j (t)
is telling us that the same page is being read at the very
column
...
ψ M (t)
present moment t, or another photograph of the same set of sites is being taken
at the instant, t.. If the tensor product has a non-zero joint amplitude i.e if the
two sets of photograhs match, then one has memory of what happened at the
instant t0 . If there is decoherence in propagation of infons between these two
times, then memory will be impaired. This can be written more succintly as
retaded susceptibility function t t0 , with a subscript R
i
χR (t − t0 ) = − θ(t − t0 ) Ψ(t), Ψ† (t0 ) = matrix MR
}
(52)
Here Ψ(t) is the synaptic site destruction operator matrix
ψ i (t)
ψ j (t)
Ψ(t) =
...
ψ M (t)
h
i h
i
and Ψ† (t0 ) is the creation operator matrix given by ψ †i (t0 ) ....ψ †M (t0 ) . ψ †i (t0 ) ....ψ †M (t0 ) .
It is instructive to look at the Fourier transform χR (ω)of χR (t − t0 ) as t−t0 → ∞
We write
Z
0
d(t − t0 ) exp iω (t − t0 ) χR (t − t0 )
χR (ω) =
∞
There is no gurantee that such a Fourier transform exists, particularly if it exists
in the limit of χR (∞) . That would imply permanent memory. But if it does,
30
we can write is as
χR (ω) = χR (∞) δ (ω) + χR (ω 6= 0)
The second term of this expression contains contribution of all the short term
memories, while the first term tries to catch all episodic memories which we call
our autobiography. It is static and time does not efface it and retrievable at any
instant t , if we had the means to do so. They seem to be gone most of the time
but they are not. Under external stimulation sometimes they surface bursting
into our consciousness as fishes out of the deep sea, surprising us.
Finally, there is the instantaneous memory given by
Z
0
χR (ω) dω
(53)
χR (t = t ) =
ω
Instantaneous memory is the integrated energy response of the neural system.
These three regimes are shown in Figure 3.2.
Figure 4: Dynamic memory. Time correlation of cognitive response : instantenaeous, long time and short time memory.
The infinite temporal correlation between infon particles when it exists becomes the fabric of our dynamic memory matrix. This memory tape is eternally
preserved except in pathological situations. The whole aspect related to decoherence and memory loss is intended in a future publication.
The cognitive susceptibility,is given by single particle Green’s function or
propagator because it describes propagation of information from one space-time
point to another. Trasformed in the Fourier space, it describes the same information carrying a momentum q ( although momentum is not a good quantum
number in a non-homogeneous system) and excitation energy ω.Perturbation
due to external world causes an excitation from the ground state |Ii . we will
31
designate this excitation by the global consciousness operator ϕc
ϕc = Ψ − hΨC i
(54)
The consciousness annihilation operator has the operational definition
ϕc |Ii = 0
(55)
ϕ†c creates quasiparicles. The state |Ii is the vacuum of consciousness carrying quasiparticles. When one is at the ground state |Ii one has no consciousness. We will be in the Heisenberg representation where this symmetry broken
ground state |Ii is immobile in time while the consciousness operators are time
dependent. Hermitian conjugate of the annihilation operator ϕc is the creation
operator ϕ†c of a consciousness quasiparticle given by
ϕ†c |Ii = 1 |ci
Here |ci is an excited state describing consciousness.
Quasiparticle excitation is a single particle response. We shall now outline
a microscopic sketch of what is involved in single particle excitation that causes
consciousness.We express it in terms of local consciousness operator, ϕc (i, t) as
ϕc (i, t) = ψ(i, t) − hψ(i)i
(56)
Write for single particle Green’s function or the excited state information propagator
g (i − j, t − t0 ) = ϕc (i, t)ϕ†c (j, t0 )
(57)
We can expand just one single particle propagator, of a piece of information
going from neuron j to i
ϕc (i, t)ϕ†c (j, t0 )
= g (i − j, t − t0 ) = go (i − j, t − t0 )
00
+go (j − k, t0 − t”) Σ (k − i, t” − t) g i − k, t − t (58)
The first term on the right hand side is the amplitude of direct propagation
of information from j → i and from t0 → t.The second term describes the
same process but takes into fact that propagation may not be direct and can
go though many an indirect channels (like an intermediate neuron k )before
reaching the destination neuron i.We can go to the Fourier space ( since neurons
are distinguishable, q is a poor quantum number),
Z Z
ϕc (q, ω) =
d(i − j)d(t − t0 )ϕc (i − j, t − t0 ) exp iq(ri − rj ) exp iω(t − t0 )
t
r
we define
g (q, ω) = ϕ (q, ω) ϕ† (q, ω)
32
(59)
This propagator has poles where the amplitude becomes very large and occurs
at specific values of ω.The corresponding excitation carries a q and ω label as it
travels. Thus every thought and emotion which correspond to these excitations
carry real momentum and real energy.
g (q, ω) = go (q, ω) + go (q, ω) Σ (q, ω) } (q, ω)
g (q, ω) =
go (q, ω)
1 − go (q, ω) Σ (q, ω)
(60)
(61)
The function Σ (q, ω)is the fourier transform of the self energy of the fluctuation green’s function written earlier in real space-time as Σ (r” − r, t” − t) . The
non-interacting green’s function is go (q, ω) is a high energy process,has a pole
at ω = q , which is the energy needed to excite a particle out of the condensate
or ground state. It automatically confers the same pole to g (q, ω) .
go (q, ω) ≈
1
ω − q
This high energy excitation is subconscious perception process because the
information is carried swiftly from one spot to another. This is the amplitude
mode that is expected to have an energy gap q ≈ ∆ for excitation.
The lower energy excitation comes from the indirect path and is given by
the second pole g (q, ω) and occurs where the denominator of the expression 61
goes to zero. This will happen whenever
go (q, ω) =
1
Σ (q, ω)
(62)
If this occurs at ω = o, then the real part of g (q, ω) has diverged leading to
phase transition while the imaginary part is related to the real part through
expression of 49.The spectral weight of these low energy long lasting or slow
response excitations is to be identified as the bulk of our conscious experience.
The Spectral weight A (q, ω) of these excitations have a life time and come
essentially from the self energy part of the propagator and is given by[35]
A (q, ω) ≈ Im Σ (q, ω)
The spectral weight has the simple expression
X
2
A (ω) =
n Ψ† 0
δ (ω − ω n )
ωn
This shows that external world causes real neural excitations, the delta function in the energy summation assures energy conservation, while the square of
the matrix element gives us the intensity of the excitation spectrum. These
single excited particle states constitute bulk of the amplitude mode. These are
dissipative modes and hence lead to genuine conscious perception process.
33
Our ground state defined by the minimum of Gibb’s free energy at T = TR ,
is where world Ω is absent (at this minimum ).This is analogous to screening
out of magnetic field by a superconductor. Our I sits in this energy minimum
and fluctuates out of this minimum when interacted on by the world. This I
has an amplitde and a phase, the unique phase of the broken symmetry. The
single particle propagation operator ϕc (i, t) that we described describes the
amplitude oscillation and is an amplitude mode. It exists even if I is zero as
long as |I| is non-zero. It is a high energy mode, is an amplitude fluctuation,
where creation of quasi-particle like excitation i.e: infon particles require finite
energy. These have a gap ∆ or ‘mass’. We can give a number to the gap if
we recall that the critical voltage necessary to initiate action potential along
an axon is typically ∼ 100 mv. This can be taken as the value of ∆. Because
of θ−symmetry breaking, there is a second fluctuation mode in the potential
well of the Mexican hat[33]. This one ( present only when I =
6 0) is the low
energy mode, due to phase θ-fluctuation, where the order parameter fluctuates
locally along the “ring of the mexican hat along the minimum energy”. This
phase fluctuation mode is also known as Goldstone mode and is a phonon, whose
energy is given by (if the infons are charge neutral)
~ω q = υq
(63)
It is a gapless collective mode where υ is the velocity of mode propagation. This
really just a density fluctuation and is sound wave like. Because of the gap in the
single particle excitation spectrum, the sound wave like mode has virtually no
dissipation or damping in the low energy sector. We like to associate this mode
with consciousness of thought like processes. Here the excitation may be carried
as a soliton or a sound packet, going over a large distance adiabatically, losing
no energy in the transport. Because it is a very stable mode, it has virtually
no decay channel or imaginary part except at higher q − vectors where it will
merge into the continuum of the amplitude mode and will dampen and become
part of emotional perception.We cannot be too conscious of short q ( long wave
length),low ω (very low energy) thought waves ; they will remain subliminal.On
the other hand, the quasiparticle like amplitude oscillation can have a fairly
large imaginary part corresponding to real excitation but with a life time This
we believe is responsible for consciousness of emotional proceses.
Phase and amplitude mode will couple if phase fluctuation, which is density
fluctuation couples with amplitude fluctuation, which is a single particle excitation. There is a neural cut off at low and high energy.A violent shock that
makes I go over the high energy threshold is not perceived by the mind, because precisely those regions have no spectral weight. As a result of the shock,
we may become unconscious catapulting I to a metastable equilibrium a different extremum of free energy. All conscious perception of the incident including
pain,that accompanied the intense shock,vanishes.
In this section we have seen that cognitive response due to parrticle excitation has two essential channels. One is the swift response, often needed
for biological survival, which is a high energy virtual excitation process and is
34
largely subconscious. It is instantaneous reaction and we are barely aware of
what is going on. The second channel is the slow response, the propagator takes
routes and detours, uses low energy circuits and loops, is mainly dissipative because it is the imaginary part of overall cognitive susceptibility.This at the root
of conscious perception.
4
Discussion
The all - important self operator, has carved out of mind-space, cognitive order
or the I−f ield. It pervades uniformly whole space. It has given rise to a spatiotemporally homogeneous order parameter I that constutes our mental base.
This I is the executor of what we call, our mind. One cannot give a specific
neuron label to it; in order to get it, we have integrated over all the neuron
coordinates. We have asserted that This I and synaptic self are identical. This
is a highly questionable assertion. So far there seems to be no concrete evidence
of I surviving loss of personal memory or other pathological neural disorder
which seems to justify it. Penfield seems to think the contrary. It is of interest
to quote from Penfield:[36] ”It is what we have learnt to call the mind that
seems to focus attention. The mind is aware of what is going on. The mind
reasons and makes new decisions.It understands. It acts as though endowed with
an energy of its own. It can make decisions and put them into effect by calling
upon various brain mechanisms. It does this by activating neuron-mechanisms.”
And he says a little further that ” there is no place in the cerebral cortex where
electrical stimulation will cause a patient to believe or to decide.” Hence one
should be very cautious about our assertion.
As we have seen I is also synchronous with our memory, which in reality is
a huge (1011 × 1011 ) matrix constituted with local cognitive order on each and
every neuron and space-time correlation between them. When parts or whole of
memory is gone, we lose our sense of the precious I.The global cognitive order
has phase coherence because it has got a fixed phase θ, a different one for every
brain and which confers on each one of us,the unique personality that we have.
When we are in our ground state, at the minimum of the free energy parabola,
there is neither world or world awareness. Any fluctuation of I can only be
local in space and time and gives rise to vastly different excited states {m} of
the mental space.
Operators sm are non-hermitian and the world they create are real but not
measurable in the physical sense. The essence of sensory experience, named
‘qualia’ by philosophers, that includes colour, harmony, odor and alas pain are
only too real, none measurable (not Hermitian), nor explainable by the physical
nature of the stimuli. When one comes to think of it, physical properties that
we attribute to things is not an intrinsic characteristic of the outside world.
These are created by sm operators in the mental space.
The vacuum state |0i on which the exponentiated creation self operator ψ †
acts is the pure genetic material in the chromosomic soma of every neuron.
The operation is the attempt by self to express and make explicit the unique
35
physical identity of each individual I. This is the unconscious cognitive state
affirming pure bodily self, a process that must start in the womb in the very
first weeks after conception. The operator operates in anticipation of future,
prepares the representation of the body and bodily related cognitive function
in the brain. The motor area will be active to help in this representation;
the Penfield Homunculus[13] map would begin to be etched out. Sensations
will follow upon birth and find templates ready, unto which thoughts can latch
into. All this is still in the future, all this is a premonition of that future. One
can almost say that cause of all this activity is in the future, that I causes
itself ! It would continue long into the second year of the baby after birth, to
incorporate the varied input from the outside sensory world so as to add the
conscious narrative self to the zeroth order bodily self and thus complete the
individuation process.
Organisms have to be understood as a mesh of virtual selves. As Varela put
it ” I don’t have one identity, I have a bricolage of identities.I have a cellular
identity, I have an immune identity, I have a cognitive identity .”[37]The sm
and its Hermitian conjugate s†m operators are operators of self and as such
they are embedded into our genetic identity. They are simply there and go on
creating a variety of instruction protocols that are needed for the brain to be
the wonderful smooth machine it is.They start acting as soon as the first group
of neurons are functional in the womb and create out of the genetic endowment
of each individual a world of representations that are previsual, prelexique,
a primordial world of ideas and sensations and categories only, before being
named or verbalised. The cognitive ground state of the baby brain, as soon as
the cognitive order parameter hψi or I is non-zero (when it is about 2 yrs old)
is ready to interpret the outside world and to extract a coherent meaning out
of the divers exterior stimuli. From the outside world, both consciousness and
memory will form. But in the construction of I, only the genetic material is
transcripted and that will serve as a template for the world outside. Through
this I, the world within will meet the world without.
Blocking of θ at an arbritrary value is called symmetry breaking. This often
occurs in certain class of phase transitions , where a lower symmetry ordered
phase emerges from a higher symmetry chaotic phase. In our case emergence
of I signifies a rupture of the multidimensional U (N ) symmetry, from objectivity to subjectivity establishing a genetic affirmation of personality. Each θ
is a different individual, a completely different view of space-time. Blocking
of global θ at some value and that remains blocked signifies an extraordinary
phase stiffness. In order for this to happen, the infon population No must be
large and vary a great deal. This number varies because brain is plastic and
the fluidity of the information flow is matched by continuous birth and death of
synaptic connections. Because the brain is an open system, open to the world,
the information content as well as their number is a continually fluctuating
quantity. This flux and influx of information is precisely the condition necessary to achieve a phase coherent state. The information must fluctuate a great
deal around some average value which permits brain to achieve phase coherence
between different parts and we can extract a coherent meaning from our sen36
sory input. Nothing prevents θ to fluctuate locally and give rise to excitations
in the mind which are mind waves. These excitations could be collective and
massive extended through the whole system as in an epileptic seizure or could
be single particle like, intense and localised, like spikes of pain. Importance is
maintaining the phase coherence, no matter what and in this I is both witness
and regulator of coherence and assures a maximum of information flow, including contradictory information so as to create the overall meaning. The traffic
exchange between different neurons through the synaptic clefts is a key player
in this game. Nothing is more eloquent in this respect than the behaviour of
the two hemispheres of the brain, left and right . The left brain is analytical,
logical, time sensitive, while the right processes information in a holistic way
rather than breaking them down and more involved with sensory perception
rather than abstract cognition. Between the two hemispheres is a thick bundle
of axons or nerve fibers, about 80 million called corpus callosum that handles
the heavy traffic of information without which we shall not get a global conscious coherent state. If this traffic is interrupted, personality disorder will arise,
and most likely two different coherent states, one on the left and another one
on the right will rise and exist side by side. Symmetry breaking into more than
one Θ is conceivable in certain cases of brain disorder where the free energy
of the two Θ-states being the same, the ψ−operator will flip-flop between two
equivalent metastable equilibrium and the resultant personality will effortlessly
slip from one into other but with the same sense of “I”. Here we may quote the
noted neurologist Ramachandran [38] who writes ” The sense of ‘unity’ of self
also desrves comment. Why do you feel like ‘one’ despite being immersed in a
constant flux of sensory impressions, thoughts and emotions? .....Perhaps the
self by its very nature can be experienced only as a unity.” And a little further
” Even people with so-called multiple personality disorder don’t experience two
personalities simultaneously— the personalities tend to rotate and are mutually
amnesic”.
The brain order parameter Φeq , at the free energy minimum represents the
lowest energy state of the cognitive system. The order parameter Φ represents
a whole landscape of free energy valleys and hills (different states of awareness)
rather than one absolute minimum. The I that emerges is a tremendous transition from the Self that is simply an operator ψ to what becomes I am. This
I can be thought as a self appointed instructor of the cognitive machine: the
I that lives, governs and presides over our thought, action, emotions and our
dreams.
We want to make a comment here about Dream state. If from a state of
consciousness, the organism enters rapidly into sleep, world would not have had
time to be totally expelled or annealed out, before falling asleep. This remanence
of the world, these trapped flux of world-lines, resemble trapped magnetic flux
in a superconductor as it is cooled in a magentic field, and may be the cause
of vivid dreams. These dream states cannot be eliminated and the system will
oscillate between deep dreamless ground state of sleep and patches of dream
where local neuronal excitations continue to persist.
Before ending this discussion, a word may be apropriate about these self
37
operators we have employed. Sakurai [41] had written à propos the creation,
destruction and preservation operators used in quantum mechanics that these
”three operators correspond respectively to the Creator (Brahma), the Destroyer
(Siva), and the Preserver (Vishnu) in Hindu mythology.” If anything the operator of cognitive Self sm fits perfectly this description. Self creates,
self destroys,
self also preserves. Between this triad of operators, S = s†m , sm , n that we
may designate by the symbol S, the whole human drama is enacted.
5
Appendix
We shall give here a simple model hamiltonian that captures the role of synaptic
connectivity to bring about global consciousness response when a single neuron
gets connected to other neurons. We borrow for the purpose the simple tight
binding hamiltonian of electrons from solid state physics?? .
The response of a single neuron i , called χoi is defined as (superscript zero,
signifying zeroth order)response function in the absence of external perturbation
Z ∞
D
E
χoi (t) = ψ i (t) ψ †i (o) ; χoi (ω) =
dt χoi (t) exp iωt
(64)
−∞
As we have already expressed, in the presence of external force Fi , acting on
the neuron i we can write
hψ i (ω = 0)i = χli (ω = 0) Fi
Here χli (ω = 0)is the full interacting local susceptibility of the single neuron,
when it is giving and receiving signals to and from all other neurons. First
we write down the simplest hamiltonian we can that catches the essential
dynamics of information transfer between neurons and also between neurons
and the world.
This is written as sum of three essential parts
Hn
=
X
i n i − µ
i
Ht
= −
X
i
X
ni +
X
Vij ni nj
(65)
i,j
Tij ψ †i ψ j + h.c
(66)
gi Ωi ψ †i + Ω∗i ψ i
(67)
i,j
Hext
=
X
i
Here Hn is the hamiltonian that has onsite site energy i ,chemical potential
µ of infon on each site i as well as some assumed repulsive energy between
neuron population at sites i and j The part of the hamiltonoian H0 + Ht , when
written for bosons is well-known. In the special case, when Vij is repulsive and
if Vii = ∞,no two bosons can occupy the same site (hard core limit). The lattice
38
hamiltonian we used, in the hard core boson limit in translationally invariant
lattice is well -known to posess a superfluid ground state. [43] Neuron network
in human brain is highly irregular, is plastic, the synaptic interconnections are
far from being identical and continually evolving. Any conclusion about its
superfluidity should await a long time until we can have clean non-invasive
experimental data.
The all important tunneling of information from neuron i to neuron j is
given by the tunneling (also called hopping) matrix element Tij through the
synapses in between. The expression h.c within the bracket signifies the reverse
or hermitian conjugate process of info-transfer from j to i. The term Hext of the
hamiltonian expresses interaction of the neuron with the external world. This
includes one’s own body exterior to the cognitive system as well as the world
around. The first three terms can be written in the Hartree form as pure onsite
part . We thus divide the Hamiltonian in two parts,
X
Hn =
Hi + Hint
(68a)
i
Hi
where VH
= i ni − µni + VH ni
X
=
Vij hnj i
(68b)
(68c)
j
Hint
= −
X
X
(Tij ψ †i ψ j + h.c) +
gi Ωi ψ †i + Ω∗i ψ i
i,j
i
The termVH is the Hartree term and has been absorbed into the site energy
i . The term Hint contains interaction with other neurons and with the world.
The all-important tunneling Hamiltonian will be simplified as
D E
D E
X
X
X
Tij ψ j ψ †i +
Tij ψ †i ψ j +
Ht = −
Tij ψ †i ψ j + h.c (69)
i,j
i,j
i,j
The first two terms of the equation 69 act like a molecular field on the
information operators at i & j.The last term is just a c-number that we neglect
since it does not have any operator character .We want to express the interaction
hamiltonian into a molecular ‘Weiss Field ’ acting on the site i. We first consider
just nearest neighbor tunneling to get an order of magnitude idea of the effect of
the molecular field of nearest neighbors or short range tunneling on the static
(ω = o) single neuron susceptibility This is given by
"
Hto = −νTnn
ψj
X
#
D EX
ψ †i + ψ †j
ψ i + h.c
i
i
(70)
Here ν is the number of first near-neighbor neurons ∼ 104 of a given neuron
connected through synapses, with an average tunneling amplitude Tnn . Tnn has
39
the dimension of energy.Thus the tunneling term gives a Weiss molecular field
contribution acting on the site i
Ft = −νTnn ψ j
Similarly external world acts with a ‘force’
Fext = −gΩi
This permits us to write
hψ i i = χoi gΩi + νTnn ψ j
We make now the homogenity assumption ψ j = hψ i i and write a mean-field
susceptibility
hψ i i = χli Ωi
The R.P.A or mean-field interacting susceptibility is now expressed in the compact form
χoi
(71)
χli =
1 − νTnn χoi
For a ‘free’ particle like behaviour of infons in the symmetry unbroken phase,
we may write the real and imaginary part (as a Hilbert transform of the real
part) of the non-interacting susceptibility as
Re al χoi
≈ ρo
Im χoi
≈ ρo ωτ
Here ρo is density of states of the infons (number of infons per unit energyper
unit volume) as ω → 0, and τ is a characteristic relaxation time of the excitations, assumed frequency independent. Now we can equate the real and
imaginary part of the interacting susceptibility of expression 71 and obtain
Re al χli =
ρo − λρ2o (1 + ω 2 τ 2 )
2
(1 − λρo ) + λ2 ρ2o ω 2 τ 2
(72)
The imaginary part is given by
Im χli =
ρo ωτ
2
(1 − λρo ) + λ2 ρ2o ω 2 τ 2
(73)
Here we have wriiten the symbol λ for a characteristic energy parameter of
synaptic connectivity,
λ = νTnn
The real part of interacting susceptibility as ω → 0 blows up as λρo → 1.This
gives us the critical value of neuronal connectivity when ρo = νT1nn .This infinity signifies an unstability and a phase change indicating a new cognitive
40
state for the child, that of self consciouness developing rapidly out of consciousness. The phenomenon has a great degree of similitude to superconductive
instability[44]. This is precisely the point where A, the coefficient of the second
order term
Landau expression of the preceding section, goes
in the Ginzburg1
P
. From this point onwards, A can be negative, free
to zero 2A =
l
i χi (ω=0)
energy function races to a stable minimum at the non-zero value of Φeq . I can
emerge as a self conscious self.
6
Conclusion
In conclusion we can summarise our investigation of Consciousness as a three
step approach :
First and foremost we have defined Mind as a quantum field whose excitations are called quanta of information .
Second, we have defined a quantum operator S representing self, whose
action on the mind vacuum state called |0i generated a coherent macroscopic
functional space of mind where a non-zero average of the self operator emerged
as I. This |Ii field replaces the original vacuum |0i state and is our personal
ground state of the mind.
Finally, energy excitations out of this ground state, as a result of interaction
with outside world, is perceived by I as being conscious of the world. Consciousness is defined as a causal response function that vanishes when one is in
the true ground state |Ii .
Acknowledgement
I want to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to Philippe Nozières of College
de France for teaching some of us over the years many aspects of quantum fluid
including Bose-Einstein condensation and superfluidity. I am also grateful to
professor Jean Perret, former head of the department of Neurology at University
Joseph Fourier, Grenoble for his series of lectures on human brain.
Many persons contributed through their discussions with me. I want to
thank particularly Prof Ferdinando de Pasquale of University of Rome, La
Sapienza, dept of Physics, for bringing to my attention analogies with Quantum
decision theory, to Dr Amitabha Chakrabarti of Ecole Polytechnique, Paris for
very perceptive comments about emergence of ‘I’, to Dr Mario Cuoco of Physics
Dept, University of Salerno, to Prof T.V. Ramakrishnan of The Physics Dept,
University of Benaras, India for pointing out importance of Self in Indian Philosophy. Thanks are also due to Prof Philippe Nozieres for questioning quantum
nature of brain processes and to Dr Timothy Ziman of Theoretical Physics, Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble for suggesting that emergence of consciousness
may have to do with time scales. Finally Jeanine and Kolyan Chakraverty bore
the brunt of many interrogations on the subject with me these past years, shared
some of their insights and I am grateful for that.
41
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44 |
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research | February 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 2 | pp. 163-177
Messori, C., From Continuity to Contiguity: On the genesis of consciousness, culture and oral language (Part I)
163
Exploration
From Continuity to Contiguity:
On the genesis of consciousness, culture and oral language (Part I)
Claudio Messori*
ABSTRACT
Based on my previous model and supported by a biophysical interpretation of nervous cell,
nervous system, memory, mind and phylogenesis, I further propose a tensorial-relational model,
aimed at providing a paleoanthropological and physicalist’s explanations of the genesis of
consciousness, culture and oral language among human communities.
Part I of this four-part article series includes: Preamble; 1. General Premises; 1.1 Towards
bridging the Darwinist model of evolution; 1.2 The Tensorial-Relational Model; and 1.3
Quantum descriptions of signal transduction in biological systems.
Keywords: Tensorial-relational model, tension-gradient, quanta-gradient, mnemopoiesis,
dissipative system, anticipatory system, epigenetic function, continuity, contiguity, sensingintuition dichotomy, thinking-feeling dichotomy, cavity resonator, acoustic-musical faculty.
Preamble
By comparing the finds dating from the Lower Paleolithic period (c. 2.7-2.4 MY to c. 300-120
TYA) with finds dating from the Middle Paleolithic (c. 300-120 to c. 45-30 TYA), it is assumed
that the inner life (insight) of our distant ancestors underwent a slow process of psycho-relational
and psycho-biological individuation (incubation and settling of a distinct and relatively
autonomous neuro-psychological identity), a process started c. 2.7-2.4 MYA (Homo Habilis?),
that only recently, in a time ranging from about 300 TYA (Homo Sapiens?) onwards, led to the
formation of the relatively autonomous and independent psychic complex which we call
epigenetic function of the real, or (self)consciousness.
The establishment of the epigenetic function of the real marks the transition from an adaptive
and supra-adaptive behaviour focused on the sensing-intuition mental bipolar dimension (C.G.
Jung) and based on the primacy of the (quasi)unconditioned identification (relation of continuity)
of individuals with their natural habitat (a phylogenetically inherited behavior that has in itself
the neuro-psycho-relational conditions to enable the neurological-minded system homo to
overcome the stereotypical behavior common to all non-human animals), to a behavior
integrated by the thinking-feeling mental bipolar dimension and based on the primacy of a
conditioned identification (relation of contiguity) of individuals with their natural habitat, a
behavior that breaks the relationship with the existing in a subject that interprets the relationship
and an object that is interpreted, thereby initiating to all intents and purposes the cultural
*
Corresponding author: Claudio Messori, Independent Researcher, Str. Villaggio Prinzera 1, Fraz. Boschi di Bardone, Terenzo
43040, Italy. Phone: +393282876077; e-mail: messori.claudio@gmail.com
ISSN: 2153-8212
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164
production.
Disengaging itself from the adaptive strategies inherited via phylogeny (strategies that establish
the constraints that must be followed to adapt to natural habitats) humans communities
undertook a slow and difficult elaboration of epigenetic adaptive strategies, increasingly directed
to adapt the natural environments (domestication processes) and the individuals themselves
(social processes) to the needs and purposes elaborated and assumed by the communities.
The slow process that went from encoding (musically) to codification (syntactically) of oral
language became a consequence of the transfer of a portion of the psycho-physical energy or
libido (C.G. Jung), gained through the optimization of socio-cultural and technological strategies
employed to satisfy the requirements associated to survival and reproduction, from the plane of
oro-pharynx, as anatomical organ for the feeding and breathing, to the plane of oro-larynx, as
anatomical instrument for intentional emission of sounds (vocalization and phonation).
In more recent times (from about 40-15 TYA, Upper Paleolithic, onwards, Homo Sapiens et
faber) the cultural and neuropsychological evolution of adaptive strategies based on
domestication/ socialization, did recognized to the apotropaic use of the magic-word (which
allows to set different physical levels of reality in relation to each other) an added value (the
function of naming things as an act of legitimation of reality and the function of giving to
individual an own name - semantic baptism -, as an act of initiation that assigns to individual a
new value of reality) that puts the generatrix power of oro-larynx (where the pneuma is
transmuted into speech by which the World is re-created) in open competition with the
generatrix power of women's uterus (where the pneuma is transmuted into offspring by which the
progeny is re-created).
1. General Premises
The wing structure of the Bumblebee, in relation to its weight,
it is not airworthy, but he does not know this and flies anyway.
Anonymous
The investigation and interpretation of reality can have several paradigmatic models of reference.
The most studied and applied models in the fields including anthropology, are based on
Descartes' dualism and classical Physics, which are also the pillars of Darwinist theory of
evolution.
The one I will apply, namely Tensorial-Relational Model, to advance an explanation of the
events that have led to the arising of consciousness, culture and oral language, it stems from
applying my previous Endo-Dynamo-Tensive Model [1] to the hypothesis independently
developed by me [2] and by Sá-Nogueira Saraiva [Saraiva 2006, 2010] on the evolutionary
scenario that led to the settling of a distinct and relatively autonomous neuro-psychological
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identity of the human being, i.e. to the settling of an I/Me vs Other than I/Me, and from adopting
an approach to the interpretation of natural and cultural phenomena which rests on a framework
outlined by multidisciplinary contributions, such as Ilya Prigonine’s Complexity Theory [3],
Luigi Fantappiè’s Unified Theory of the Physical and Biological World [4], Humberto
Maturana’s Biology of Cognition [5], Robert Rosen’s Relational Complexity [6] (later being
called Relational Science or Relational Biology), Chris King’s model of Supercausality [7], SáNogueira Saraiva’s Functional Ethology [8], Francisco Varela’s Neurophenomenology [9], Carl
Gustav Jung’s Analytical Psychology, and last but not least Robert G. Bednarik’s
paleoanthropological contribution [10] aimed at demonstrating that “humans became human not
through natural processes that modified their skeletal structures, but by processes that enabled
them to develop culture, cognition and technology on a scale removing humans far from all other
primates in those areas”1.
1.1 Towards bridging the Darwinist model of evolution
Chuang-Tzu levels all things
And reduces them to the same Monad.
But I say that even in their sameness
Difference may be found.
Although in following the promptings of their nature
They display the same tendency,
Yet it seems to me that in some ways
A phoenix is superior to a reptile!
Po Chüi (772 AD-846 AD
The conventional model is based on a static and reductionist view of reality. According to this
model, there are fundamental, irreducible pieces of reality conceived as tiles of a mosaic
(building blocks). From their combination, derive the objects and phenomena that we observe,
inside and outside of us. Each different combination is headed by a code. If you know the code,
and have the material to be combined, and the tools to operate, you can artificially reproduce that
particular natural combination. A certain combination of building blocks generates a certain
structure, which generates certain processes that respond to certain functions. Following this
investigative and interpretative approach, the scientists are hunting for key pieces and hidden
codes at all levels, atomic and supra-atomic, inorganic and organic, animate and inanimate. They
are seeking pieces and codes of all kinds, including pieces of concepts, pieces of consciousness,
pieces of thought, pieces of life and the codes for the architecture of brain and cells and the like.
They assign a primary ontological value to the building blocks, and consider the relationships
1
R.G. Bednarik, The origins of symboling, Signs online, Vol. 2, 2008, p. 83
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and interactions that we observe as a fact derived and subordinate to their existence. In this
perspective, for modern molecular biology phylogeny is a strong succession, logic and
computational, of biochemical events orbiting around the building blocks of the biological
phenomenon, the nucleotide bases, the alphabet of the language of life (A, G, C, adenine,
guanine, cytosine and T, thymine in DNA; A, G, C and U, uracil in RNA), from which
combination and recombination would derive the phyletic descent (to this line of thinking
belongs the belief, denied by evidence, that the complexity and the evolutionary degree of a
species is directly proportional to the number of genes present in its genome).
By adopting the same genetic deterministic perspective, it is stated that the ability to comprehend
grammar and to control the mouth movements necessary to produce words it would be a
consequence of the presence of an allele of the FOXP2 gene2 (the language gene), more active in
females than in males, by which females would enjoy an advantage in learning language. The
modern human variant of the FOXP2 gene has been found recently in the bones of two
Neanderthals from Northern Spain3. The implication would be that Neanderthals could
comprehend and produce something like modern speech but, obviously, nobody would believe
that language development can be based solely on a single mutation in FOXP24. There are
several other factors that enable speech, including neuropsychological and neuromotor skills.
Among these are profound anatomical changes that make the human supra-laryngeal pathway
entirely different from any other mammal. The larynx has descended so that it provides a
resonant column for speech (but, as a side-effect, it exposes humans at the risk of choking on
2
This gene encodes a member of the forkhead/winged-helix (FOX) family of transcription factors. It is expressed in
fetal and adult brain as well as in several other organs such as the lung and gut. The protein product contains a FOX
DNA-binding domain and a large polyglutamine tract and is an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor, which
may bind directly to approximately 300 to 400 gene promoters in the human genome to regulate the expression of a
variety of genes. This gene is required for proper development of speech and language regions of the brain during
embryogenesis, and may be involved in a variety of biological pathways and cascades that may ultimately influence
language development. Mutations in this gene cause speech-language disorder 1 (SPCH1), also known as autosomal
dominant speech and language disorder with orofacial dyspraxia. Multiple alternative transcripts encoding different
isoforms have been identified in this gene.
3
Krause et al., The Derived FOXP2 Variant of Modern Humans Was Shared with Neandertals, Current Biology
(2007), doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.10.008. Available at: https://pgl.soe.ucsc.edu/krause07.pdf
4
The relationship between genes and observable traits is indisputable. Tall parents tend to have tall kids. Darkhaired parents have dark-haired kids. That traits are inherited has been clear since Mendel codified his famous Laws
of Inheritance, inferred from statistical observations of over 29,000 pea plants. In classical Mendelian genetics,
separate genes encoding for separate traits are passed independently from each other to their offspring. Thus, there is
a clear mapping between genetic information, or genotype, and observable traits, or phenotype. A single gene
(technically a locus or genetic location) encodes for a single trait and is not influenced by the other traits a person
possesses. Furthermore, environmental factors have little influence on most Mendelian traits. Famous examples that
fall into this framework include sickle-cell anemia and cystic fibrosis, each caused by a mutation to a specific gene.
However, it is now clear that the simple assumptions underlying Mendelian genetics are not applicable to most traits
and diseases. Nearly all phenotypes, from height and eye color to diseases such as diabetes, emerge from extremely
complex interactions between multiple genes (loci) and the environment. In contrast to Mendelian genetics, where
one can easily identify the gene that encodes for a particular trait, for many traits there is no simple mapping from
genotype to phenotype.
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food), and the nasal cavity can be closed preventing vowels from being nasalised and thus
increasing their comprehensibility.
Anyway, one thing is to recognize that ill-defined, temporally variable, hard-to-quantify traits
such as speech, consciousness or cultural preferences rely on the availability of specific
phylogenetic requirements carried on and transmitted by the genic activity, another thing is to
identify these traits with it, which is not only an unhealthy and dangerous idea, but beside this is
patently wrong. As Nigel Goldenfeld and Leo Kadanoff wrote5: Use the right level of description
to catch the phenomena of interest. Don’t model bulldozers with quarks. That is to say that while
it is certainly true that all the properties of a bulldozer result from the particles that make it up,
like quarks and electrons, it is useless to think about the properties of a bulldozer (its shape, its
color, its function) in terms of those particles. The shape and function of a bulldozer are
emergent properties of the system as a whole. Just as you can’t reduce the properties of a
bulldozer to those of quarks, you can’t reduce the complex behaviors and traits of an organism to
its genes or to its neurons.
The Darwinian theory of evolution is conceived in the womb of Positivism, which is based on
the postulates of classical Physics (that have been proven wrong by General Theory of Relativity
and Quantum Physics), which is based on the Cartesian dualism res extensa vs res cogitans
(which leaves to God what belongs to Him, the res cogitans, and gives to classical Science what
is of classical Science, the res extensa, forcing science to exclude a priori the mental
phenomenon from its field of investigation), which is the post-Galilean expression of the work of
rehabilitation of Platonic thought carried by medieval Thomism.
Like its predecessor and first author of a theory of evolution, the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste
Lamarck (1744-1829), Darwin conceived and formulated his historical truth, based on evidence
derived from an extensive collection of the empirical data in his possession, of what according to
the creationist paradigm was considered without history, i.e. created ad hoc, giving an
interpretation of life on Earth in conformity with the perspective of knowledge developed by the
positivist thought, the Anglo-Saxon in particular, that in the XIX century was solidly and
irreversibly ascended to the rank of the doctrine of the Faith in Science.
His vision of Nature was deterministic. For a man of his time, determinism matched the doctrine
expounded by the mathematician and astronomer Pierre-Simon de Laplace in Système du monde
(1814). This doctrine, which would dominate the scene until the conceptual revolution caused by
quantum physics, can be summarized as follows:
5
Nigel Goldenfeld and Leo P. Kadanoff, Simple Lessons from Complexity, Science 284, 87-89 (Apr 2, 1999).
Available at: http://guava.physics.uiuc.edu/~nigel/articles/complexity.html
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a) the universe is governed by causality;
b) in the history of the universe every state of matter is determined by what precedes and
determines the following, in a manner analysable by means of Newtonian mechanics;
c) causality allows predictability;
d) the phenomena are described according to the mechanistic and deterministic paradigm
which draws strength from the precision and rigor of Newtonian mechanics;
e) the case does not exist, it is a concept relative to the limits of human capabilities: it is
inconceivable that there are events which fall outside a law;
f) the causal network of the Universe is however too complex for it to be reconstructed by
the human mind; because of this all the physical knowledge can only be based on
probabilities (approximations for lack of data).
The modus operandi of evolution is made of tests and especially of errors. The only factor of
order is natural selection. This transforms a improbability in a probability: it makes out of a
fortuitous event (the appearance of a random variation) the beginning of a process that,
considered in retrospect, seems addressed from the beginning along a certain direction, but only
because any other paths have been cleared and what we see is the sole survivor, or the most
visible among the survivors. Darwin showed that the same causes that produced conservation,
stability and balance could produce instability, destruction and transformation. The serene,
majestic, luxuriant look of Nature coexisted with its tragic aspect. Nature was both cruel and
beneficent, avaricious and prodigal.
But how individual differences within a species are produced, which are the building materials
with which it operates natural selection? The starting point was the recognition of a spontaneous
variability of the species in Nature, namely the fact that even in the same environment
individuals of the same species differ all from each other, even if imperceptibly. This variability
is called spontaneous because it is a constant of Nature, is present in all environments and in all
conditions. Its causes are, according to Darwin, the most diverse (climate, food, lifestyle, weird
effects of sexual reproduction, etc.), but the variation alone does not explain the evolution. In
fact, not all the changes are of equal importance, not all can initiate an evolutionary line. Each
may be more or less advantageous than others, depending on the circumstances: all must pass
through the sieve of the environment, which has the final say.
The decision is made at a higher level, no longer individual, but ecological, that of natural
selection. The formation of new species is thus the result of two distinct processes: the
unpredictable and constant appearance of variations and the strict selection exerted by the
environment. The changes, according to Darwin, are not only spontaneous, but also random. This
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concept is crucial in his theory. Speaking of random variations Darwin does not mean that they
do not have a cause (and a law that determines them), but that are due to complex and unknown
causes: the term random is to indicate our ignorance of the causes, not their absence.
But the random term has also another meaning, logically distinct but inseparable from the first:
the variations are not oriented to favour the survival of the individual. The single variation is not
in itself the right answer to the needs arising from the environment; in other words, it is not born
to adapt the organism to the environment, does not in itself guarantee the survival and
reproductive success; indeed, in most cases the variations are unnecessary or indifferent, some
even harmful: eliminated the latter by natural selection, the others remain, as we say today,
floating, waiting for the environment to give a ruling on their fate. This, however, does not give
instructions to the organisms on how to change, but is merely judging, so to speak, their
spontaneous behavior. In Darwinian theory, the organism does not change to adapt: varied and
just. The changes are produced in many directions, without correlation with the needs of
survival. Whether and which of these changes are adaptive is determined by the complicated
network of ecological relationships that makes up that particular environment: the variation
proposes, the selection disposes.
Well, this is a very interesting paradigm, but it is not what Physics suggests today. It is what
classical Physics prescribed more than a century ago, before it was showed to be wrong.
1.2 The Tensorial-Relational Model
It is the twisted nature of cosmic symmetry-breaking, which makes the combined
action of the nuclear and electromagnetic forces capable of forming around a
hundred different types of stable nuclei, through the mutual interaction of strong
force attraction, electromagnetic repulsion of the protons, mediated by weak force
conversion to neutrons.
Chris King
The model I propose, namely Tensorial-Relational Model, to advance an explanation of the
events that have led to the arising of consciousness, culture and oral language among human
communities, it stems from applying my previous Endo-Dynamo-Tensive Model to the psychophysical plane, i.e. tension-energy plane, of reality.
The Tensorial-Relational Model is based on a Relationship Theory in which the only relevant
fact under the psycho-physical profile is the relationship between different events6 (Alfred North
Whitehead) in space-time. According to this model, each element of reality, at any level of
6
An event is intended as concrete primary element of the Universe, a knot of relations not isolated nor isolatable
from the whole in which it is comprised.
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observation, is a micro system of relations, set in a macro system of relations. Nothing of what
we observe exists in and by itself. Everything we can think of, observable and unobservable (ie
virtual), instead of being made up of building blocks, or even quantized, in its ground state
consists, as I’m going to clarify, of tenso-relationship systems.
To clarify the meaning of these statements, and the effects they may have on the interpretation of
the issues also examined in this work, we first need to set the ontological scenario within which
to place the energy phenomenon, as well as the biological, neurological and mental one, and this
is a journey that will take us to paragraph 1.5.
According to my Endo-Dynamo-Tensive Model, the establishment of a physical dimension based
on a relational dynamic it arises as a consequence of a cosmogonic event, namely the supraliminal auto-perturbation (tensorial symmetry breaking) of a primary, irriducible and
intrinsically dynamic state of tension, ontologically assumed as the physical background from
which emerge all the differences in potential, all the interactions or forces and all the physical
and psychical relationships. A second supra-liminal perturbation (tensorial transition) leads to
the constitution of the spacetime system of correlative interactions between gradients of tension
that we know as relativistic dimension or dimension of an exited tension-gradients distribution
or ET-GD (mass and energy free dimension). A third supra-liminal perturbation leads to the
constitution of a non-exited energy-quanta gradients distribution (zero point quantum field),
from whose perturbation (supra-liminal oscillatory motions and/or charge densities of energyquanta and impulse) takes shape the quantum and supra-quantum dimension (the dimension of
the exited energy quanta-gradients distribution or EEQ-GD), where the relation(ship) is
somehow explicated and may possibly be observed and directly experienced.
Every object or phenomenon of the quantum dimension is assimilable to a vibrational system
(describable via a mathematical tool known as wave function), that vibrates with a certain
frequential configuration, a certain oscillatory or phase modality (rhythm of oscillation) and a
certain intensity, maintaining an uninterrupted local and non-local relationship of interference
with other vibrational systems.
The phenomena of interference between the oscillatory modalities of the energy flows and
impulse involved in the perturbation/excitation of the quantum field give rise to coupling-phase
(oscillatory resonance7) able to trigger the phase transitions that lead, according to QED
(Quantum Electrodynamic Field Theory), to the structuring of matter (domains of oscillatory
coherence vs domains of oscillatory incoherence). In particular, each localized (in space and/or
7
In physics resonance or coupling-phase is a condition under which an oscillating system responds to an alternative
driving force with the maximum amplitude. Such condition may exist when the frequency of the driving force
matches the natural (non-damped) oscillatory frequency of the system. Thus, in case of an imposed oscillating
electromagnetic field, a biological system (e.g., a cell) will respond in a measurable manner only to those exogenous
oscillations (i.e. alternative driving force) that match the natural (endogenous) EM oscillations of such system.
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in time) form of confinement (tensorial, energetic, massive, subatomic, atomic, supra-atomic,
biological, cosmological), ie delimited by a boundary8, is a tenso-vibrational micro-environment
and corresponds to an oscillator or a resonant cavity (cavity resonator), a stationary system
organized around a particular tensorial/frequential configuration of perturbations
(tensions/oscillations), existing thanks to the relationships of interference it has with the
endogenous and exogenous tenso-vibrational environment9.
The final result is the diversification of the structuring of the phenomena affecting the exited
energy quanta-gradients distribution (EEQ-GD) regime in four orders of phenomena relatively
autonomous and independent, associated with just as many physical varieties, the first belonging
to the territory of the ET-GD, the second to the territory of the EEQ-GD and the other two to the
territory of the Hyper (cosmological) and Middle Dimension (H-MD):
-
-
Tensorial phenomena (tensorial varieties: differentiated vs undifferentiated
tensions; qualia; images)
Energy phenomena (electrodynamic varieties: wave fields and matter fields;
wave-particle duality; anti-symmetrical/chiral composite quantum states and
symmetrical/achiral composite quantum states)
Condensed matter phenomena (thermodynamic varieties, gas/liquid/solid, and
chemical varieties, inorganic/organic)
Biological phenomena (autopoietic varieties)
The condensative varieties of the EEQ-GD and of the H-MD derives from different correlations
among tensorial gradients on the one hand, and, on the other hand, from different correlations
among anti-symmetrical/chiral composite quantum states (fermions10) and symmetrical/achiral
8
Every structuring process of a system of correlations endowed with a degree of subsistence (condition of
resonance) such as to make it distinct and/or distinguishable (even when not observable) from the context of the
relationships it forms part of; in general, a confinement process is equivalent to a phenomenon of localization.
9
In this sense the terrestrial environment is to all effects a tenso-vibrational environment and every biological
structure/system corresponds to an oscillator/resonant cavity tuned on the particular tenso-vibrational configuration
of the environment to which it belongs.
10
The particles described by symmetrical wave functions are known as bosons and obey the statistics of BoseEinstein. The particles described by anti-symmetrical wave functions are known as fermions and obey the statistics
of Fermi-Dirac. Quantum-relativistic mechanics demonstrates that the property of being described by symmetrical
or anti-symmetrical wave functions depends on the nature of the particles. In particular it is unequivocally linked to
their spin:
- particles with semi-whole spin are fermions (e.g. electrons, protons, neutrons); all the elementary particles
that make up matter are fermions;
- particles with whole spin are bosons (e.g. photons).
All the elementary particles responsible for the forces that hold fermions together are bosons.
Since the exchange of two identical particles is mathematically equivalent to the rotation of each particle by 360°,
the symmetrical nature of the wave function depends on the spin of the particle after the rotation operator has been
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composite quantum states (bosons), corresponding to different coherent oscillatory
configurations (domains of oscillatory coherence) that oscillate with a non-linear pattern to the
rhythm impressed by a carrier frequency modulation.
Each oscillatory configuration corresponds to a figure of interference polarized in space
(fermions) interfaced (entangled) with a quasi-tensorial figure of interference polarized in time
(eg Nambu-Goldstone bosons; spin network), while the transitions between one oscillatory
configuration and another correspond to the suppression of certain oscillatory modes or rhythms
and certain tensorial gradients, which go from being explicated to implicated (David Bohm), and
to the amplification of other oscillatory modes and tensorial gradients that go from being
implicated to become explicated.
In other words, on quantum and supra-quantum level the weft of each energy phenomenon,
condensed or rarefied, originate from the ongoing and self-organized warp of tensorial gradients
constantly regenerated similar to themself (in order to keep a global quasi-symmetrical
condition) by the interaction between the quasi-continuous (fractal) and non-uniform
distribution of monopolar/achiral gradients of non-hertzian potential (bosons→symmetrical
wave function11; scalar component of the electromagnetic wave) and the quantized and nonuniform distribution of dipolar/chiral gradients of hertzian potential (fermions→antisymmetrical wave function; vectorial component of the electromagnetic wave).
Furthermore, the four orders of phenomena relatively autonomous and independent affecting the
EEQ-GD regime can interact thanks to three types of correlative dynamics or couplings:
- Phase Conjugate Dynamics (of the type Frequency-Phase Correlative Dynamics);
- Spin Coniugate Dynamics (of the type Phase-Tension Correlative Dynamics);
- Tension Coniugate Dynamics (of the type Tension-Tension Correlative Dynamics)
applied to it. Particles with whole spin do not change the sign of their wave function after a 360° rotation, as a
result, the wave function sign of the system as a whole does not change. Particles with semi-whole spin do change
the sign of their wave function after a 360° rotation. In accordance with the Pauli exclusion principle, two fermions
can not share the same quantum state, while bosons can. This translates into a strong resistance to fermion
compression. This resistance creates the rigidity of ordinary atomic matter.
11
Postulate of symmetrization: The observables of a system of identical n particles are represented by auto-added
operators invariant through any permutation of the particles. The pure states of the system are represented by Hilbert
space vectors which are symmetrical (bosons) or anti-symmetrical (fermions) due to the exchange of any pair of
particles.
The states of a quantum system of n particles can therefore be either symmetrical or anti-symmetrical due to the
exchange or permutation of interacting particles. This interaction is also called exchange force (or HeisenbergMajorana exchange force) and is attractive (plus sign) for symmetrical states and repulsive (minus sign) for antisymmetrical states.
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However, the global balanced relationship that sets up this interfacing, namely the fact that the
forms taken by energy-matter always remain similar to themselves (self similarity) is endowed
by a cascade of unbalanced relationships. That is to say that locally (in space and/or in time)
the universe of (self-similar) transformations, where nothing is created and nothing is destroyed,
it is constantly shifted towards the component polarized in space or towards the component
polarized in time. When this has to happen we speak of transitory quantum or supra-quantum
symmetry breaking. Moreover, when this unbalanced state becomes stationary we may observe
some very strange phenomenon, e.g. cosmological black holes when it is dramatically shifted
towards the figures of interference polarized in space (space collapses), and terrestrial living
systems when it is shifted towards the quasi-tensorial figures of interference polarized in time.
That is: in biological systems it prevails the component polarized in time and are themselves
polarized in time.
According to this model, then, there aren’t pieces of a mosaic, but relationship systems (that in
the ground state corresponds to pure Tensorial-Relational systems). Their identity and their
existence is determined by being part of a particular system of relationships which manifest
themselves solely in the correlative and functional availability of a complex series of energetic
and/or tensorial relationships. Talk about hidden codes or pieces of thought or consciousness or
life or whatever, without specifying that it is a scientific artifice, which can be provisionally
adopted to facilitate the investigation of a certain object of study, does not make sense. Any
building block corresponds to a piece of our mapping out of the territory and not to the territory,
that is to say that reality becomes composed and change its composition according to the
ordering function of the mental and instrumental investigation that we are adopting.
1.3 Quantum descriptions of signal transduction in biological systems
Phonons are the tiniest particles of sound.
Phonons are to sound as photons are to light.
It takes billions of phonons to make up a sound.
Phonons oscillate, echo, reverberate etc.
at the sub atomic level in the quantum soup.
Pauline Oliveros
In 1972, the Chilean biologist and philosopher Humberto Maturana coins the term autopoiesis
(auto, self, and poiesis, creation) in order to give a definition of a living system disconnected
from specific functional characteristics, such as mobility, the ability to reproduce, metabolism,
but based exclusively on the system as such. In practice an autopoietic system is a system that
responds to the laws of thermodynamics of non-equilibrium, that constantly redefines itself and
that internally it sustains and reproduces itself.
The autopoietic dynamic of the cell is organized around biochemical and biophysical
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autocatalytic patterns (ie self-accelerated) regulated by continuous and non-linear fluctuations of
selective energy transfer between intra and extra environment. The transmembrane selectivity is
the central element of the autopoietic dynamic. There is a catalytic core capable of interacting
with the environmental substrate so as to produce the components that form the membrane. A
membrane thus defines and separates this network of coherent interactions from and to the
environment so that it can realize an autonomous but not isolated unit.
Living systems are transient systems tuned on state variations or stimuli (perturbative events as
frequency variations, phase variations, tension variations) of the internal and external
environment: their subsistence depends on their ability to adapt to (specific) applied
perturbations. To adapt they must be, at first, selectively excitable. Selectivity is an essential
condition for the existence of an autopoietic system. An example of biological selectivity is
enantioselectivity. Biological systems are enantioselective, i.e. they strictly select the
enantiomeric forms of the molecular species of which they consist (biological reactions
synthesize and use always and only one of the two enantiomeric forms of a given molecule). The
enantioselectivity of biological systems is the reason for their homochirality, namely the
presence of groups of molecules that have all the same enantiomeric configuration (e.g., the
amino acids are all in the levorotatory configuration, while the ribose and deoxyribose of the
nucleic acids have only dextrorotatory configuration). Enantioselectivity, homochirality and
autopoiesis of biological phenomenon seem related to the phase transition of water from liquid
state to semi-crystalline or glassy and super-coherent state of biological water [11].
Selective energy transfer between intra and extra environment is associated with the production
and transduction of electromagnetic/electromechanical signals (coherent scans of state
variations or stimuli) that come into play in the oscillatory interconnection and in the biophysical
processes of transmembrane tuning (coupling phase). In particular, quantum description of
signal transduction in biological systems makes use of two models:
- the Fritz-Albert Popp’s model, that describes the intra- and intercellular communication by
introducing the notion of biophotons (coherent electromagnetic oscillations, longitudinal
polar optical vibrational modes with frequencies in the ultraviolet)
- the Alexander Davydov’s model, that describes the interaction of the vibrations of NHgroups (amide I vibrations) of protein molecules with hydrogen bonds by introducing the
notion of solitons12.
Any living system from a whole organism down to a single cell or an organelle contains charged
particles (ions) or polar molecules and functional radicals of molecules. A flux of such charged
particles within a living system owing to the diffusion of ions or conformational changes of polar
molecules causes extremely low intensity endogenous (i.e. generated by the living system itself)
12
A soliton is a scalar wave-particle, or longitudinal wave at half-integer spin (Fermions), whose diffusion occurs at
low speed, without energy loss.
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oscillating Electro-Magnetic (EM) field. Thus, living systems are known to emit (endogenous)
electromagnetic oscillations. The individual’s spectrum of such endogenous oscillations is rather
complex because of superposition of oscillations from different sources within an organism.
The broad spectrum of frequencies of the endogenous EM oscillations represents the broad
spectrum of sources of such oscillations within an organism. Basically, two regions of the whole
spectrum of EM oscillations of biological systems may be specified: the region of extremely low
frequencies (corresponding to the infrared light), and the region of high frequencies
(corresponding to the ultraviolet light). The high-frequency end of the spectrum of endogenous
EM oscillations corresponds to the emission of so called biophotons.
Fig. 1 Clusters of Interfacial Water (Image source: www.oscillatorium.com/id54.html)
The notion of biophotons has been coined by the Marburg group formed around biophysicist
Fritz-Albert Popp: biophotons are single (mass-free) energy-quanta, being continuously emitted
by all living systems. They are a subject of quantum physics and display a universal phenomenon
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attributed to all living systems.
According to Popp, intra- and intercellular communication occurs through the mutual absorption
and emission of biophotons and is effected by means of resonance phenomena (coupling-phase).
The results of the effects of the endogenous electromagnetic fields of biological systems on the
inherent coherency of life-supporting processes in individual cells, cell populations, and living
organisms suggest that natural integrity is supported mostly by non-linear interactions between
environmental and endogenous extremely-low-intensity electromagnetic oscillations.
The other quantum description of signal transduction in biological systems uses the A.
Davydov’s (Davydov 1976) [12] model that describes the interaction of the vibrations of NHgroups (amide I vibrations) of protein molecules with hydrogen bonds. Davydov has coined the
notion of soliton, a quantum quasiparticle representing an excitation of amide I propagating
along the protein α-helix. The elementary excitations within the α-helix are given by the phonons
(a phonon being a quantized mode of vibration, a coherent electromechanical oscillation) that
correspond to the deformational oscillations of a lattice.
Phonon is a quasi-particle but behave just like any other elementary particle at low energies
(longitudinal polar vibrational modes lowest in frequency). But if we look at phonons closely, we
do not see smaller parts that form a phonon. We see the atoms that form the entire lattice. The
phonons are not formed by those atoms, the phonons are simply collective motions of those
atoms. This makes us to wonder that photons, electrons, atoms, etc, may also be emergent
phenomena just like phonons. They may not be the building blocks of everything. They may be
collective motions of a deeper underlying structure, that in first approximation we can describe
as a lattice-like field.
A lattice is a synonym for the symmetric frame work of a crystalline structure, a 3-dimensional
array of regularly spaced points coinciding with the atom or molecule positions in a crystal. The
discretization of any continuum model automatically turns it into a lattice model (physical lattice
models frequently occur as an approximation to a continuum theory). More generally, a lattice is
a coherent distribution (a grid) of points and/or vibrations (e.g. phonons, solitons, photons) in
space and/or time.
Lattice-states can be found at different levels of energy organization : bosonic (spin grid),
fermionic, atomic, supratomic.
With regard to biological systems, the cytoplasmatic fluid, the amniotic fluid, the cerebrospinal
fluid and the cerebral white matter (i.e. neuroglia), are examples of lattice-like states with a high
ability to convert the mechanical vibration (phonons) in quanta of electromagnetic energy
(photons) and vice versa (piezoelectric effect).
In evolutionary terms, the differentiation of the biological phenomenon can be seen as
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differentiation of the levels of integration between structural and functional units and the latticestates in which they are immersed.
(Continued on Part II)
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arXiv:0912.5488v1 [quant-ph] 30 Dec 2009
Quantum computation and the physical
computation level of biological information
processing
Giuseppe Castagnoli
Pieve Ligure, Italy, giuseppe.castagnoli@gmail.com
November 5, 2018
Abstract
On the basis of introspective analysis, we establish a crucial requirement for the physical computation basis of consciousness: it should allow
processing a significant amount of information together at the same time.
Classical computation does not satisfy the requirement. At the fundamental physical level, it is a network of two body interactions, each the
input-output transformation of a universal Boolean gate. Thus, it cannot
process together at the same time more than the three bit input of this
gate – many such gates in parallel do not count since the information is not
processed together. Quantum computation satisfies the requirement. At
the light of our recent explanation of the speed up, quantum measurement
of the solution of the problem is analogous to a many body interaction
between the parts of a perfect classical machine, whose mechanical constraints represent the problem to be solved. The many body interaction
satisfies all the constraints together at the same time, producing the solution in one shot. This shades light on the physical computation level of the
theories that place consciousness in quantum measurement and explains
how informations coming from disparate sensorial channels come together
in the unity of subjective experience. The fact that the fundamental
mechanism of consciousness is the same of the quantum speed up, gives
quantum consciousness a potentially enormous evolutionary advantage.
1
Introduction
On the basis of the introspective analysis of visual perception, we establish a
crucial requirement for the physical computation basis of consciousness. In this
moment I see the meeting room, the audience, the chairs, a lot of things ”together at the same time”. This is an intuitive statement we cannot easily do
without. I do not see the audience and the chairs at different times. Consciousness concerns the present time. I certainly see the audience and the chairs
together and at the same time. We translate this statement into the language
1
of information theory. Seeing implies recognizing, thus processing. Therefore
the physical computation basis of consciousness should allow processing a significant amount of information (at least that of a digital picture) together at
the same time. We translate ”together” into impossibility of breaking down the
information processing into independent processings and assume that ”at the
same time” is to be be understood in a non-relativistic framework.
We compare classical and quantum computation with the requirement.
At the fundamental physical level, classical computation is represented by
a network of two body interactions, each the input-output transformation of
a universal Boolean gate. The maximum amount of information processed together at the same time, occurring in the instant of the collision between two
bodies, is the three bit input of the above gate. Many such gates in parallel do
not count since the information is not processed together.
Quantum computation is examined at the light of our recent explanation of
the ”quantum speed up” (quantum algorithms requiring less computations than
classical algorithms). Because of retrocausation, 50% of the information about
the solution of the problem, acquired by measuring the content of the computer
register at the end of the algorithm, goes back in time to before running the algorithm. The quantum algorithm uses this information to compute the solution
with a lower number of operations. It is a superposition of causal/local computation histories, each corresponding to a possible way of getting in advance
50% of the information about the solution.
This retrocausation mechanism has an idealized classical analog, useful to
compare quantum computation with the requirement. The quantum measurement that produces the solution is analogous to a many body interaction between the parts of a perfect classical machine. The classical representation of
quantum retrocausation and nonlocality requires perfect machine rigidity, accuracy, and reversibility. The mechanical constraints of this machine represent
the logical constraints of the problem to be solved. The many body interaction
senses and satisfies all the constraints together at the same time, producing
the solution in one shot. In contrast, classical computation, processing at most
three bits at the same time, cannot take into account all the problem constraints
at the same time; this leads to trial and error and to the relative zero of the
quantum speed up.
Summing up, quantum computation satisfies the requirement of the physical
computation basis of consciousness, which turns out to be the prerequisite of
the quantum speed up. This shades light on the physical computation level
of the theories that place consciousness in quantum measurement and explains
how informations coming from disparate sensorial channels come together in
the unity of subjective experience. The fact that the fundamental mechanism of
consciousness is the same of the quantum speed up, gives quantum consciousness
a potentially enormous evolutionary advantage.
In the following, after reviewing the quantum database search algorithm, we
provide its many body representation. Then we show that the explanation of
the speed up interplays with a variety of scientific and philosophical issues concerning consciousness and, more in general, biological information processing.
2
2
Reviewing Grover’s algorithm
We review Grover’s quantum data base search algorithm in the simple instance
of data base size N = 4. For the sake of interdisciplinarity, we explain Grover’s
algorithm from scratch, without requiring any previous knowledge of quantum
computer science. Data base search is seen as a game between two players. We
have a chest of 4 drawers numbered 00, 01, 10, 11, a ball, and the two players.
The oracle hides the ball in drawer number k ≡ k0 , k1 and gives to the second
player the chest of drawers, represented by a black box that, given in input a
drawer number x ≡ x0 , x1 , computes the Kronecker function fk (x) = δ (k, x)
(1 if k = x, 0 otherwise). The second player – the algorithm – should find
the number of the drawer with the ball, and this is done by computing δ (k, x)
for different values of x – by opening different drawers. A classical algorithm
requires 2.25 computations of δ (k, x) on average, 3 computations if one wants
to be a priori certain of finding the solution. The quantum algorithm yields the
solution with certainty with just one computation.
In our representation of the quantum algorithm, the computer has three
registers. A two-qubit register K contains the oracle’s choice of the value of k.
The state |00iK , or |01iK , etc. of this register means oracle’s choice k = 00,
or k = 01, etc.; of course the state of any register can also be a superposition
of sharp quantum states. Register K is only a useful conceptual reference, it
provides a panoramic view of the behavior of the quantum algorithm for all the
possible oracle’s choices. Then there are the two-qubit register X containing the
argument x to query the black box with and the one-qubit register V meant to
contain the result of the computation, modulo 2 added to its initial content for
logical reversibility. The three registers undergo a unitary evolution, where in
particular δ (k, x) is computed once. Measuring [K], the content of register K,
yields the oracle’s choice k; this measurement can be performed, indifferently,
at the beginning or at the end of the algorithm – which is in fact the identity
in the Hilbert space of K. Measuring [X] at the end of the algorithm yields the
solution of the problem x = k.
The initial state of the three registers is:
1
√ (|00iK + |01iK + |10iK + |11iK ) (|00iX + |01iX + |10iX + |11iX ) (|0iV − |1iV ) .
4 2
(1)
Preparing K in a uniform superposition of the four possible oracle’s choices
provides a panoramic view of the behavior of the quantum algorithm. We can
switch to a single choice by measuring [K] in (1), also after having prepared K
in a desired sharp quantum state (for uniformity of language, we see a classical
preparation of K as a measurement outcome).
State (1) is the input of the computation of δ (k, x), which is performed
in quantum parallelism on each term of the superposition. E. g. the input
term − |01iK |01iX |1iV means that the input of the black box is k = 01, x =
01 and that the initial content of register V is 1. The computation yields
δ (01, 01) = 1, which modulo 2 added to the initial content of V yields the
3
output term − |01iK |01iX |0iV (K and X keep the memory of the input for
logical reversibility). Similarly, the input term |01iK |01iX |0iV goes into the
output term |01iK |01iX |1iV . Summing up, |01iK |01iX (|0iV − |1iV ) goes into
− |01iK |01iX (|0iV − |1iV ). The computation of δ (k, x) inverts the phase of
those |kiK |xiX (|0iV − |1iV ) where k = x and is the identity otherwise. In the
overall, it changes (1) into:
|00iK (− |00iX + |01iX + |10iX + |11iX ) +
1 |01iK (|00iX − |01iX + |10iX + |11iX ) +
(|0i − |1i ) ,
√
V
V
4 2 |10iK (|00iX + |01iX − |10iX + |11iX ) +
|11iK (|00iX + |01iX + |10iX − |11iX )
(2)
a maximally entangled state where four orthogonal states of K , each corresponding to a single value of k, are correlated with four orthogonal states of X.
This means that the information about the value of k has propagated to X.
A suitable rotation of the measurement basis of X transforms entanglement
between K and X into correlation between the outcomes of measuring their
contents, transforming (2) into:
1
√ (|00iK |00iX + |01iK |01iX + |10iK |10iX + |11iK |11iX ) (|0iV − |1iV )
2 2
(3)
The solution is in register X. The oracle’s choice has not been performed as
yet. It is performed by measuring [K] in, indifferently, (1) or (3). Say that we
obtain k = 01. State (3) reduces on
1
√ |01iK |01iX (|0iV − |1iV ) .
(4)
2
Measuring [X] in (4) yields the solution produced by the algorithm, namely
the eigenvalue x = 01.
In former work [5], we showed that the quantum algorithm is the sum over
the (causal/local) histories of a classical algorithm that knows in advance 50% of
the information about the solution. Each history corresponds to a possible way
of getting the advanced information (e. g., the algorithm knows in advance that
k0 = 0) and to a possible result of computing the missing information (e. g., the
algorithm finds that k1 = 1). This decomposition of the quantum algorithm is
the generalization of a well known explanation of quantum nonlocality. We mean
explaining the correlation between the outcomes of two space-like separated
quantum measurements by connecting such outcomes with a causal/local history
where causality is allowed to go both forward and backward in time along the
time reversible quantum process. The following section provides the perfect
classical machine hidden in the quantum algorithm. The classical representation
of quantum retrocausation and nonlocality requires mechanical perfection: the
hidden machine should be perfectly rigid, accurate, and reversible. That infinite
classical precision can be dispensed for by quantization was already noted by
Finkelstein [11].
4
3
Many body interaction analogy
The quantum data base search algorithm hides a perfect classical machine that
computes δ (k, x) only once (the 2.25 computations on average apply to realistic,
imperfect, classical machines). This machine performs a hypothetical many
body interaction that is actually a visualization of the behavior of the qubit
populations throughout quantum measurement. This many body interaction
representation shows that a precondition of the quantum speed up is processing
all the information together at the same time.
We start with a representation of classical computation that highlights its
two body character. This is Fredkin&Toffoli’s billiard ball model of reversible
computation [12]. We have a billiard and a set of balls moving and, from time
to time, hitting each other or the sides of the billiard, with no dissipation.
We should prepare initial ball positions and speeds so that there will be no
many body collisions. This is not a problem, it is just an essential feature
of the machine: each individual collision is between two balls or a ball and a
side. Many body collisions should be avoided because they yield undetermined
outcomes – this is the many body problem of course.
Where and when in this situation can we say that any amount of information is processed together at the same time, as assumedly required to explain
perception? Outside collisions, the positions and speeds of different balls are
processed independently of one another. In collisions, the positions and speeds
of two balls are processed together at the same time. However, this joint processing of information never scales up, it is always confined to ball pairs. The
information processed together at the same time is the three bits of the input
of a universal Boolean gate – represented as a two body interaction by Fredkin’s controlled swap gate or Toffoli’s controlled-controlled not gate. Of course,
parallel computation – several two ball collisions at the same time – does not
count since the information is not processed together. Summing up, we should
discard classical computation as a model of perception, because the amount of
information processed together at the same time is no more than three bits.
The many body problem arises when more than two balls collide together at
the same time. The problem is that the outcome of the collision is undetermined.
However, this is an idealization; in fact the slightest dispersion in the times of
pairwise collisions restores deterministic two body behavior.
Now we describe the perfect classical machine (perfectly rigid, accurate,
and reversible) hidden in the quantum database search algorithm – see also [2]
and [3]. We represent δ (k, x), a function of the binary strings k ≡ k0 k1 and
x ≡ x0 x1 , by the system of Boolean equations
y0 =∼ XOR (k0 , x0 ) ,
y1 =∼ XOR (k1 , x1 ) ,
δ (k, x) = AN D(y0 , y1 ),
5
(5)
of truth tables
C00
C01
C02
C03
k0
0
0
1
1
x0
0
1
0
1
y0
1
0
0
1
k1
0
0
1
1
C10
, C11
C12
C13
x1
0
1
0
1
y1
1
0
0
1
C20
, C21
C22
C23
y0
0
0
1
1
y1
0
1
0
1
δ
0
0
0
1
.
(6)
The Cij (i = 0, 1, 2, j = 0, 1, 2, 3) labeling the rows of the truth tables are
real non-negative variables. They are the coordinates of the machine parts –
our hidden variables. We replace the system of Boolean equations (5) by the
following system of equations, representing mechanical constraints between the
coordinates of the machine parts,
∀i : Q =
X
X
χ
Cij
,
(7)
C11 + C12 = C20 + C22 ,
(8)
Qχ =
Cij ,
j
j
C01 + C02 = C20 + C21 ,
with χ > 1. Q is an auxiliary coordinate. In (7), we can think that left
equations are implemented by three differential gears, one for each truth table
i. Each gear has one input Q and four outputs Ci0 , Ci1 , Ci2 , Ci3 ; right equations are implemented by a similar arrangement with input Qχ and outputs
χ
χ
χ
χ
Ci0
, Ci1
, Ci2
, Ci3
, obtained from the former coordinates by means of nonlinear
transmissions. Equations (8) are implemented by other two differential gears,
each with two inputs and two outputs, and the coordinate C20 replicated in
each gear.
We discuss the behavior of this analog computer assembling it step by step:
P
1. We start with one of the left equations/gears (7), Q = j Cij , for some
value of i. Initially all coordinates are zero. If we push (the part of
coordinate) Q, the Cij move to satisfy push and equation. Collisions
between bodies are replaced by pushing between parts1 . A push instantly
changes the force (or couple) applied to a part from 0 to 6= 0. The outcome
of this many body interaction is undetermined: for a given Q, there are
infinitely many possible ”machine movements”. We have a many body
interaction between 4 machine parts of coordinates Cij – choosing Q as
the dependent variable. Since we have to match machine behavior with
the transition from state (3) before measurement to one of four possible
states after measurement, each occurring with probability 41 , we postulate
that the probability distribution of the machine movements is symmetrical
for the exchange of any two Cij .
P χ
2. We add the right equation/gear, Qχ = j Cij
, for the same value of i.
Now pushing Q can move at most one Cij – Cij movements become mutually exclusive with one another. Perfect coincidence of the times of the
1 Conversely, we could replace the billiard ball model of classical computation by the present
model, which can represent both many body and two body interactions.
6
push exchanged between parts requires perfect rigidity and accuracy of
the machine. Flexibility and other imperfections restore deterministic two
body behavior, likely with an ordering of pairwise pushes that frustrates
the mechanical constraints, thus jamming the machine. For example, if
two or more Cij move initially, thanks to a slight deformation of the mechanical constraints, the further movement of Q increases the deformation
until the machine jams. No deformation, i. e. machine perfection, implies no jams, namely postulating that one of the Cij moves to satisfy
push and equations. Symmetry of the probability distribution yields even
probabilities of movement for the Cij . The machine movement produces
the Boolean values of the row (of the truth table i) labeled by the one
Cij > 0.
3. We add the remaining equations/gears. Equations (7) assure that only one
Cij moves for each i, equations (8) assure that the Cij that move label
the same values of the same Boolean variables, namely that the machine
movement satisfies the system of Boolean equations (5).
4. If we push Q, there are 16 mutually exclusive machine movements, corresponding to all the possible ways of satisfying the system of Boolean
equations (5). We have a many body interaction between the 8 machine
parts of coordinates C0j and C1j , the other coordinates being dependent
variables.
5. If we push C23 instead of Q, the movement of C23 yields δ (k, x) = 1.
Now there are 4 mutually exclusive machine movements. Each movement
produces an oracle’s choice and the corresponding solution provided by
the second player by means of a single computation of δ (k, x) – a single
transition C23 = 0 → C23 > 0.
This latter many body interaction represents the behavior of the qubit populations throughout quantum measurement. In fact there is an invertible linear
C
C
relation between the eight Q0j , Q1j (j = 0, 1, 2, 3) and the eight qubit populations. For example, with reference to the reduced density operator of qubit k0 ,
11
let p00
k0 be the population of |0ik0 h0|k0 , and pk0 that of |1ik0 h1|k0 . By looking
C
at the truth tables, one can see that their relation with the Qij is:
C02 + C03
C00 + C01 11
, pk0 =
.
(9)
Q
Q
The relation for the other qubits, k1 , x0 , and x1 , is derived in a similar way.
When all coordinates are 0, all ratios are 00 and are thus compatible with any
value of the populations in the state before measurement. Having postulated a
symmetric probability distribution of machine movements sets to 21 the values of
the qubit populations before measurement (like in state 3). When C23 > 0, these
ratios become determined and correspond to either 0’s or 1’s of the populations
C
of the measured observables: the Cij that do not move yield Qij = 0, those that
p00
k0 =
move yield
Cij
Q = 1.
7
This many body analogy helps to understand what goes on, computationally,
in quantum measurement: satisfaction ”in one shot” – with a single computation
of δ (k, x) – of the nonlinear system of Boolean equations constituted by (5) and
δ (k, x) = 1 (satisfied by pushing C23 ).
On the contrary, satisfying this system classically, by means of deterministic
two body interactions, would require on average, 2.25 computations of δ (k, x).
More in general, a classical computation satisfies in one shot (i. e. satisfying
each gate at the first attempt) a linear Boolean network, in fact through the
deterministic propagation of an input into the output. In the case of a nonlinear
network, local deterministic satisfaction of gates can be done in several ways,
and is likely done in a way that does not satisfy other gates. This leads to
trial and error and repeated computations, which yields the relative zero of the
quantum speed up.
In the initial state of the quantum algorithm (1), the hidden machine is
disassembled and the coordinates of the machine parts are independent of one
another. Correspondingly the quantum state is factorizable – quantum measurement of the register contents would yield uncorrelated outcomes.
The unitary part of the quantum algorithm, yielding state (3), assembles
the machine: all parts – in the configuration all coordinates zero – get geared
together in a non-functional relation (established by equations 7, 8). Correspondingly the quantum state is entangled. Measuring the register contents in
this state corresponds to operating the machine – to pushing C23 . This generates the interaction that in one shot produces the oracle’s choice, runs the
algorithm, and produces the solution.
This many body analogy can easily be generalized.
If several function evaluations are required, like in data base search with
N > 4, just one computation of δ (k, x) and one rotation of the X basis creates the superposition of a state of maximal entanglement between K and X
(corresponding to the assembled machine) and the factorizable initial state back
again [4] , [5]
to the disassembled machine). Iterating these op√(corresponding
erations O
N times ”pumps” the amplitude of the entangled state to about
1. Measurement should be performed – the machine operated – in this final
state.
In the other quantum algorithms, the oracle chooses a function fk (x) out of
a known set of functions and gives to the second player the black box for its computation. The second player should find out a certain property of the function
(e. g. its period) by means of one computation of fk (x) – against, classically, a
number of computations exponential in the size of the argument. It is sufficient
to: (i) represent the oracle’s choice and the property of the function as a network of Boolean gates, with the rows of the truth tables labeled by the hidden
variables, (ii) introduce the equivalent system of equations on the qubit populations (iii) assemble the perfect machine through the unitary evolution part of
the quantum algorithm, and (iv) operate it by measuring the register contents.
Quantum measurement satisfies in one shot a nonlinear Boolean network.
8
4
Interdisciplinary implications
The notion that a quantum algorithm knows in advance 50% of the solution it
will find in the future, and the related notion of satisfying in one shot a nonlinear
Boolean network, interplay with a variety of scientific and philosophical issues.
In the following, we call the many body interaction hidden in the measurement
stage of the quantum algorithms simultaneous computation.
Among the scientific issues, we find:
• The character of visual perception implies the capability of processing together at the same time a significant amount of information. Simultaneous
computation can process in this way any amount of information, therefore
it can be the physical computation basis of perception. Classical computation, capable of processing together at the same time no more than
three bits, could not.
• Simultaneous computation provides a formalization of the physical computation level of those neurophysiological and physical theories that place
consciousness in quantum measurement, like Hameroff&Penrose’s orchestrated objective reduction theory [16] , [17] , [18] and Stapp’s theory [25].
• Let us adopt the strong artificial intelligence (AI) assumption that a state
of consciousness is a computation process with an upper bound to the
number of computation steps, thus representable as the process of satisfying a Boolean network. In the present perspective, the entire computation
should be performed in one shot, together at the same time, by quantum
measurement. To match subjective experience, the computation should
represent the feeling of self, memories, emotion, thinking, sensorial information, etc. Most of the processing (e. g. the feeling of self) would be
repeated at each successive measurement; part of the processing would be
updated to track changes – in memories, emotions, etc. A frequency of 50
measurements per second (50 ”frames per second”), could cope with our
rates of change.
• Simultaneous computation solves – at the physical computation level –
the ”hard problem” pinpointed by Chalmers [7]: explaining how disparate
informations can come together in the unity of subjective experience –
this unity is processing together at the same time all information.
• A qualia is an atomic sensation – apparently without an internal logical
structure – like that of ”redness” – see Ref. [22]. Classical computation
is phenomenological in character, feeling a qualia would correspond to an
algorithm that behaves consistently with that feeling (talking of the red
color, stopping at a red light). In the context of quantum simultaneous
computation, ”seeing”, or ”feeling”, are synonyms of ”measuring”. Feeling a qualia could correspond to measuring some fundamental observable
(and, at the same time, the self – possibly comprising other qualia – and
some relation between feeling of self and the feeling of a color).
9
• Identifying consciousness with simultaneous computation – i. e. the mechanism enabling the quantum speed up – gives quantum consciousness a
potential evolutionary advantage over a classical consciousness. The former could be immensely quicker and/or leaner in computational resources
in tasks essential for survival. With respect to classical computation,
quantum associative memory requires an exponentially lower number of
artificial neurons [28], quantum pattern recognition can be traced back to
quantum data base search, which yields a quadratic speed up [27] , [30],
quantum machine learning has recently been shown to be substantially
faster [20].
• Teleological evolutions often explain organic behavior better than deterministic classical evolutions – see Ref. [13]. However, such explanations
are generally considered to be phenomenological in character, because of
the belief that, really, evolutions could not be driven by final conditions.
Quantum algorithms, being partly driven by their future outcome, provide
well formalized examples of teleological evolutions.
• Stapp’s theory relies on the quantum Zeno effect and lives with decoherence – see Ref. [25]. The present model suffers decoherence exactly as
quantum computation does, which means very much. This divergence
could mean cross fertilization. It puts emphasis on the quantum information approach of driving the state of the computer registers by means of
the Zeno effect – see Ref. [22].
• The notion that quantum algorithms are partly driven by their future
outcome is consistent with Sheehan’s retrocausation theory and critical
revision of the notions of time and causality in physics – see Ref. [23].
Among the philosophical issues, we find:
• Being entirely driven by past conditions excludes free will, as well as being
entirely driven by future conditions. Being partly driven by either condition – like quantum algorithms – leaves room for freedom. In quantum
algorithms, freedom from determinism is nondeterministic computation –
capability of satisfying in one shot a nonlinear Boolean network.
• A quantum algorithm, for the fact of knowing in advance 50% of the solution it will find in the future, ”exists” in an extended present. This
suggests that our existence is not confined to the instantaneous present
we normally experience. With reference to Indian philosophy, the experience of an instantaneous present would be illusory, the timeless reality
experienced in Moksa (in western language, in special ”altered states of
consciousness” – see Ref. [8]) objective.
• Insight – understanding an even immensely complex structure in one instant – seems to be a most evident experience of simultaneous computation.
10
• Simultaneous computation has an upper bound to the number of computation steps, like quantum algorithms and AI. This is a limitation with
respect to Lucas-Penrose’s argument that consciousness – being able to
”see” Gödel’s theorems – is not confined to finitistic computation – see
Ref. [19] , [21]. As for the possibility of extending simultaneous computation to denumerably infinite Boolean networks, see Ref. [6].
• Mind-body duality, or the duality between a perfect world of ideas and
an imperfect material world, here becomes the duality between (i) perfect/nondeterministic classical machines (hidden in quantum measurement), yielding a speed up and capable of processing any amount of information together at the same time, thus of hosting consciousness, and
(ii) imperfect/deterministic classical machines, capable of processing no
more than three bits together at the same time, incapable of hosting consciousness. This also matches with Stapp’s distinction between the mind
and the rock aspect of quanta [25]. If there is only quantum physics, this
duality vanishes. The perfect/nondeterministic side would be objective,
the other side phenomenological or illusory.
5
Conclusions
The advanced knowledge of the solution, which explains the quantum speed
up, has been seen as a many body interaction between the parts of a perfect
classical machine whose coordinates represent the qubit populations throughout
quantum measurement. In one shot (with a single input-output transformation
of each gate), this interaction senses and satisfies all the gates of a nonlinear
Boolean network together at the same time.
In contrast, the amount of information processed together at the same time
by classical computation is limited to the three bit input of a single universal
Boolean gate – many such gates in parallel do not count since the information is
not processed together. Correspondingly, classical computation cannot satisfy
a nonlinear Boolean network in one shot (but for a very lucky instance).
Simultaneous computation answers our prerequisite for the physical computation level of perception – capability of processing any amount of information
together at the same time. With reference to the theories that place consciousness in quantum measurement, simultaneous computation takes two pigeons
with one stone:
1. it formalizes the physical computation level of these theories,
2. in such a way that the fundamental mechanism of consciousness is the
same of the quantum speed up.
The overall result is giving quantum consciousness, with respect to classical
consciousness, a potentially enormous evolutionary advantage.
More in general, simultaneous computation could be the physical computation level of biological information processing. It provides a scientific ground
11
to teleological explanations of organic behavior and a possible answer to long
standing philosophical questions.
The assumption that biological computation is simultaneous computation
implies that the brain hosts a sufficient quantum coherence – see Ref. [10] , [15] , [25] , [26] , [29].
It can be argued that the problem of decoherence is common to quantum information, whose alleged advantage – possibility of working close to 0 Kelvin
and without hydrophobic pressure – is frustrated by the fact that the size of
the computation cannot scale up in any conceivable way. Our biased opinion is
that the top level evidence that the mind is quantum, and cannot be classical,
is strong enough to look for a common solution. Tackling the problem of decoherence from the two leads – quantum information and biological – might yield
cross fertilization.
Acknowledgements
I thank for useful discussions, Vint Cerf, Artur Ekert, David Finkelstein, Shlomit
Finkelstein, Hartmut Neven, Barry Wessler, and my wife Ferdinanda.
5.1
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18. Hameroff, S. R. and Penrose, R.: Toward a Science of Consciousness.
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13 |
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| February 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 2 | pp. 229-231
Hu, H. & Wu, M., Gravitational Wave Detected by LIGO 100 Years after Einstein’s Prediction
News
Gravitational Wave Detected by LIGO
100 Years after Einstein’s Prediction
Huping Hu* & Maoxin Wu
ABSTRACT
On February 11, 2016, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) announced
the detection of gravitational waves from two merging black holes. We at JCER celebrate
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and congratulate LIGO and all the people and agencies
involved for this landmark discovery predicted by Einstein 100 years ago. Although it is unclear
whether this discovery will impact consciousness research, there is no doubt that this discovery
marks the beginning of a new era in astronomy, cosmology and even quantum gravity.
Key Words: LIGO, Einstein, General Relativity, gravitational wave, Black Hole, merger.
The scientists’ religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the
harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority .... Einstein.
(Credit: LIGO Laboratory)
On February 11, 2016, the World witnessed another great triumph in 21st Century physics - the
announcement of the discovery of gravitational wave [1-2] predicted by Einstein 100 years ago
[3].
Correspondence: Huping Hu, Ph.D., J.D., QuantumDream Inc., P. O. Box 267, Stony Brook,, NY 11790. E-mail: editor@jcer.com
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
230
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| February 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 2 | pp. 229-231
Hu, H. & Wu, M., Gravitational Wave Detected by LIGO 100 Years after Einstein’s Prediction
Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916 which was one year after his
mathematical formulation of general relativity [3]. After linearizing the weak-field equations,
Einstein found that the time variations of the mass quadrupole moment of the source could
generate transverse waves of spatial strain that travel at the speed of light [3].
The discovery of the binary pulsar system PSR B1913þ16 by Hulse and Taylor [4] and the
subsequent observation of its energy loss by Taylor and Weisberg [5] indirectly demonstrated the
existence of gravitational waves.
Now, the LIGO collaboration has just announced direct evidence of gravitational wave and
merging binary black holes. In the paper entitled “Observation of Gravitational Waves from a
Binary Black Hole Merger” [2], B. P. Abbott et al. state that:
On September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave Observatory simultaneously observed a transient gravitationalwave signal. The signal sweeps upwards in frequency from 35 to 250 Hz with a peak
gravitational-wave strain of 1.0 × 10−21. It matches the waveform predicted by general
relativity for the inspiral and merger of a pair of black holes and the ringdown of the
resulting single black hole…These observations demonstrate the existence of binary
stellar-mass black hole systems. This is the first direct detection of gravitational waves
and the first observation of a binary black hole merger.
The detection results are presented in a combination of several graphics [2]:
(Source: Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102)
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
Published by QuantumDream, Inc.
www.JCER.com
231
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| February 2016 | Volume 7 | Issue 2 | pp. 229-231
Hu, H. & Wu, M., Gravitational Wave Detected by LIGO 100 Years after Einstein’s Prediction
Let us recall that on July 4, 2012, the World learned the discovery of the long-sought Higgs
Boson (or Higgs like particle) by CERN [6].
Now with both Higgs Boson and gravitational wave apparently in the bags, the unification of
Standard Model and General Relativity, the search for the origins of dark matter and dark
energy, and the search for the causes of Big Bang and ensuing cosmic expansions become even
more pressing.
Besides the mainstream approaches, we point out here some alternatives to think about or work
on. Newton assumed that gravity was instantaneous and he would be correct if gravity is solely
the manifestation of quantum entanglement [7-9]. Indeed, if this is so, gravity is already unified
with the quantum theory and we can move on to derive General Relativity from the geometric
properties of quantum entanglement (or wave functions) at macroscopic scales.
However, the direct detection of gravitational wave [1-2] and exploratory experiments on nonlocal gravity [7-9] seem to suggest that: (1) there are multiple sources/causes, such as local
(subject to speed of light c), non-local (e.g., instantaneous) and/or unknown sources/causes,
which contribute to gravitation; or (2) General Relativity, including gravitational wave, is
derivable from the geometric and/or other properties of different types of quantum entanglement
[9].
It seems that some “Big Physics” are really paying off. However, the costs in manpower and
finance are extremely high. This brings us to the topic of table top experiments. Can fundamental
physics still be done in table top experiments besides the billion or multimillion dollar machines?
The answer is a resounding “Yes.” For example, using simple table top experimental setup,
nonlocal gravitational effects were detected indicating nonlocal interaction are one of the
origins/causes of gravity [9].
Although it is unclear at the present whether this discovery will impact consciousness research
(with perhaps the exception of [10] or nonlocal aspects of gravity related to quanum
entanglement [7-8]), there is no doubt that this direct detection of gravitational wave by LIGO
[1-2] marks the beginning of a new era in astronomy, cosmology and even quantum gravity.
References
1. https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211
2. B. P. Abbott et al. (2016), Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 061102.
3. A. Einstein (1916), Sitzungsber. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. 1, 688.
4. R. A. Hulse & J. H. Taylor (1975), Astrophys. J. 195, L51.
5. J. H. Taylor & J. M. Weisberg (1982), Astrophys. J. 253, 908.
6. http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2012/PR17.12E.html
7. H. Hu & M. Wu (2006), NeuroQuantology 4(4): 291-306; Progress in Physics (2007) v2: 17-21.
8. H. Hu & M. Wu (2007), NeuroQuantology 5(2): 190-196; & 5(2): 205-213.
9. H. Hu & M. Wu (2013), Prespacetime Journal, 4(11): 1003-1026.
10. S. Hameroff & R. Penrose, Roger (2014), Physics of Life Reviews 11 (1): 39–78.
ISSN: 2153-8212
Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research
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Consciousness as a State of Matter
Max Tegmark
arXiv:1401.1219v3 [quant-ph] 18 Mar 2015
Dept. of Physics & MIT Kavli Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
(Dated: Accepted for publication in Chaos, Solitons & Fractals March 17, 2015)
We examine the hypothesis that consciousness can be understood as a state of matter, “perceptronium”, with distinctive information processing abilities. We explore four basic principles that
may distinguish conscious matter from other physical systems such as solids, liquids and gases:
the information, integration, independence and dynamics principles. If such principles can identify
conscious entities, then they can help solve the quantum factorization problem: why do conscious
observers like us perceive the particular Hilbert space factorization corresponding to classical space
(rather than Fourier space, say), and more generally, why do we perceive the world around us as
a dynamic hierarchy of objects that are strongly integrated and relatively independent? Tensor
factorization of matrices is found to play a central role, and our technical results include a theorem
about Hamiltonian separability (defined using Hilbert-Schmidt superoperators) being maximized in
the energy eigenbasis. Our approach generalizes Giulio Tononi’s integrated information framework
for neural-network-based consciousness to arbitrary quantum systems, and we find interesting links
to error-correcting codes, condensed matter criticality, and the Quantum Darwinism program, as
well as an interesting connection between the emergence of consciousness and the emergence of time.
I.
A.
INTRODUCTION
Consciousness in physics
A commonly held view is that consciousness is irrelevant to physics and should therefore not be discussed
in physics papers. One oft-stated reason is a perceived
lack of rigor in past attempts to link consciousness to
physics. Another argument is that physics has been managed just fine for hundreds of years by avoiding this subject, and should therefore keep doing so. Yet the fact
that most physics problems can be solved without reference to consciousness does not guarantee that this applies
to all physics problems. Indeed, it is striking that many
of the most hotly debated issues in physics today involve
the notions of observations and observers, and we cannot
dismiss the possibility that part of the reason why these
issues have resisted resolution for so long is our reluctance as physicists to discuss consciousness and attempt
to rigorously define what constitutes an observer.
For example, does the non-observability of spacetime
regions beyond horizons imply that they in some sense
do not exist independently of the regions that we can
observe? This question lies at the heart of the controversies surrounding the holographic principle, black hole
complementarity and firewalls, and depends crucially on
the role of observers [1, 2]. What is the solution to the
quantum measurement problem? This again hinges crucially on the role of observation: does the wavefunction
undergo a non-unitary collapse when an observation is
made, are there Everettian parallel universes, or does it
make no sense to talk about an an observer-independent
reality, as argued by QBism advocates [3]? Is our persistent failure to unify general relativity with quantum
mechanics linked to the different roles of observers in the
two theories? After all, the idealized observer in general
relativity has no mass, no spatial extent and no effect
on what is observed, whereas the quantum observer no-
toriously does appear to affect the quantum state of the
observed system. Finally, out of all of the possible factorizations of Hilbert space, why is the particular factorization corresponding to classical space so special? Why
do we observers perceive ourselves are fairly local in real
space as opposed to Fourier space, say, which according
to the formalism of quantum field theory corresponds to
an equally valid Hilbert space factorization? This “quantum factorization problem” appears intimately related to
the nature of an observer.
The only issue there is consensus on is that there is
no consensus about how to define an observer and its
role. One might hope that a detailed observer definition
will prove unnecessary because some simple properties
such as the ability to record information might suffice;
however, we will see that at least two more properties of
observers may be necessary to solve the quantum factorization problem, and that a closer examination of consciousness may be required to identify these properties.
Another commonly held view is that consciousness is
unrelated to quantum mechanics because the brain is a
wet, warm system where decoherence destroys quantum
superpositions of neuron firing much faster than we can
think, preventing our brain from acting as a quantum
computer [4]. In this paper, I argue that consciousness
and quantum mechanics are nonetheless related, but in
a different way: it is not so much that quantum mechanics is relevant to the brain, as the other way around.
Specifically, consciousness is relevant to solving an open
problem at the very heart of quantum mechanics: the
quantum factorization problem.
B.
Consciousness in philosophy
Why are you conscious right now? Specifically, why
are you having a subjective experience of reading these
words, seeing colors and hearing sounds, while the inani-
2
mate objects around you are presumably not having any
subjective experience at all? Different people mean different things by “consciousness”, including awareness of
environment or self. I am asking the more basic question of why you experience anything at all, which is the
essence of what philosopher David Chalmers has termed
“the hard problem” of consciousness and which has preoccupied philosophers throughout the ages (see [5] and
references therein). A traditional answer to this problem is dualism — that living entities differ from inanimate ones because they contain some non-physical element such as an “anima” or “soul”. Support for dualism
among scientists has gradually dwindled with the realization that we are made of quarks and electrons, which
as far as we can tell move according to simple physical
laws. If your particles really move according to the laws
of physics, then your purported soul is having no effect on
your particles, so your conscious mind and its ability to
control your movements would have nothing to do with a
soul. If your particles were instead found not to obey the
known laws of physics because they were being pushed
around by your soul, then we could treat the soul as just
another physical entity able to exert forces on particles,
and study what physical laws it obeys, just as physicists
have studied new forces fields and particles in the past.
derstood what these physical properties were, then we
could in principle answer all of the above-mentioned open
physics questions by studying the equations of physics:
we could identify all conscious entities in any physical
system, and calculate what they would perceive. However, this approach is typically not pursued by physicists,
with the argument that we do not understand consciousness well enough.
The key assumption in this paper is that consciousness
is a property of certain physical systems, with no “secret sauce” or non-physical elements.1 , This transforms
Chalmers’ hard problem. Instead of starting with the
hard problem of why an arrangement of particles can
feel conscious, we will start with the hard fact that some
arrangement of particles (such as your brain) do feel conscious while others (such as your pillow) do not, and ask
what properties of the particle arrangement make the
difference.
1. Information: It has to have a large repertoire of
accessible states, i.e., the ability to store a large
amount of information.
This paper is not a comprehensive theory of conciousness. Rather, it is an investigation into the physical
properties that conscious systems must have. If we un-
1 More specifically, we pursue an extreme Occam’s razor approach
and explore whether all aspects of reality can be derived from
quantum mechanics with a density matrix evolving unitarily according to a Hamiltonian. It this approach should turn out to
be successful, then all observed aspects of reality must emerge
from the mathematical formalism alone: for example, the Born
rule for subjective randomness associated with observation would
emerge from the underlying deterministic density matrix evolution through Everett’s approach, and both a semiclassical
world and consciousness should somehow emerge as well, perhaps
though processes generalizing decoherence. Even if quantum
gravity phenomena cannot be captured with this simple quantum
formalism, it is far from clear that gravitational, relativistic or
non-unitary effects are central to understanding consciousness or
how conscious observers perceive their immediate surroundings.
There is of course no a priori guarantee that this approach will
work; this paper is motivated by the view that an Occam’s razor
approach is useful if it succeeds and very interesting if it fails,
by giving hints as to what alternative assumptions or ingredients
are needed.
C.
Consciousness in neuroscience
Arguably, recent progress in neuroscience has fundamentally changed this situation, so that we physicists
can no longer blame neuroscientists for our own lack of
progress. I have long contended that consciousness is the
way information feels when being processed in certain
complex ways [6, 7], i.e., that it corresponds to certain
complex patterns in spacetime that obey the same laws
of physics as other complex systems. In the seminal paper “Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto” [8], Giulio Tononi made this idea more
specific and useful, making a compelling argument that
for an information processing system to be conscious, it
needs to have two separate traits:
2. Integration: This information must be integrated
into a unified whole, i.e., it must be impossible
to decompose the system into nearly independent
parts, because otherwise these parts would subjectively feel like two separate conscious entities.
Tononi’s work has generated a flurry of activity in the
neuroscience community, spanning the spectrum from
theory to experiment (see [9–13] for recent reviews), making it timely to investigate its implications for physics as
well. This is the goal of the present paper — a goal whose
pursuit may ultimately provide additional tools for the
neuroscience community as well.
Despite its successes, Tononi’s Integrated Information
Theory (IIT)2 leaves many questions unanswered. If it
is to extend our consciousness-detection ability to animals, computers and arbitrary physical systems, then we
need to ground its principles in fundamental physics. IIT
takes information, measured in bits, as a starting point.
But when we view a brain or computer through our physicists eyes, as myriad moving particles, then what physical
properties of the system should be interpreted as logical
2 Since it’s inception [8], IIT has been further developed [12].
In
particular, IIT 3.0 considers both the past and the future of a
mechanism in a particular state (it’s so-called cause-effect repertoire) and replaces the Kullback-Leibler measure with a proper
metric.
3
Many
State of
long-lived Information Easily Complex?
matter
states? integrated? writable? dynamics?
Gas
N
N
N
Y
Liquid
N
N
N
Y
Solid
Y
N
N
N
Memory
Y
N
Y
N
Computer
Y
?
Y
Y
Consciousness
Y
Y
Y
Y
TABLE I: Substances that store or process information can
be viewed as novel states of matter and investigated with
traditional physics tools.
bits of information? I interpret as a “bit” both the position of certain electrons in my computers RAM memory (determining whether the micro-capacitor is charged)
and the position of certain sodium ions in your brain (determining whether a neuron is firing), but on the basis
of what principle? Surely there should be some way of
identifying consciousness from the particle motions alone,
or from the quantum state evolution, even without this
information interpretation? If so, what aspects of the
behavior of particles corresponds to conscious integrated
information? We will explore different measures of integration below. Neuroscientists have successfully mapped
out which brain activation patterns correspond to certain
types of conscious experiences, and named these patterns
neural correlates of consciousness. How can we generalize this and look for physical correlates of consciousness,
defined as the patterns of moving particles that are conscious? What particle arrangements are conscious?
D.
Consciousness as a state of matter
Generations of physicists and chemists have studied
what happens when you group together vast numbers of
atoms, finding that their collective behavior depends on
the pattern in which they are arranged: the key difference between a solid, a liquid and a gas lies not in the
types of atoms, but in their arrangement. In this paper, I conjecture that consciousness can be understood
as yet another state of matter. Just as there are many
types of liquids, there are many types of consciousness.
However, this should not preclude us from identifying,
quantifying, modeling and ultimately understanding the
characteristic properties that all liquid forms of matter
(or all conscious forms of matter) share.
To classify the traditionally studied states of matter,
we need to measure only a small number of physical parameters: viscosity, compressibility, electrical conductivity and (optionally) diffusivity. We call a substance a
solid if its viscosity is effectively infinite (producing structural stiffness), and call it a fluid otherwise. We call
a fluid a liquid if its compressibility and diffusivity are
small and otherwise call it either a gas or a plasma, depending on its electrical conductivity.
What are the corresponding physical parameters that
can help us identify conscious matter, and what are the
key physical features that characterize it? If such parameters can be identified, understood and measured, this
will help us identify (or at least rule out) consciousness
“from the outside”, without access to subjective introspection. This could be important for reaching consensus on many currently controversial topics, ranging from
the future of artificial intelligence to determining when
an animal, fetus or unresponsive patient can feel pain.
If would also be important for fundamental theoretical
physics, by allowing us to identify conscious observers
in our universe by using the equations of physics and
thereby answer thorny observation-related questions such
as those mentioned in the introductory paragraph.
E.
Memory
As a first warmup step toward consciousness, let us
first consider a state of matter that we would characterize as memory3 — what physical features does it have?
For a substance to be useful for storing information, it
clearly needs to have a large repertoire of possible longlived states or attractors (see Table I). Physically, this
means that its potential energy function has a large number of well-separated minima. The information storage
capacity (in bits) is simply the base-2 logarithm of the
number of minima. This equals the entropy (in bits)
of the degenerate ground state if all minima are equally
deep. For example, solids have many long-lived states,
whereas liquids and gases do not: if you engrave someone’s name on a gold ring, the information will still be
there years later, but if you engrave it in the surface of a
pond, it will be lost within a second as the water surface
changes its shape. Another desirable trait of a memory
substance, distinguishing it from generic solids, is that it
is not only easy to read from (as a gold ring), but also
easy to write to: altering the state of your hard drive or
your synapses requires less energy than engraving gold.
F.
Computronium
As a second warmup step, what properties should we
ascribe to what Margolus and Toffoli have termed “com-
3 Neuroscience research has demonstrated that long-term mem-
ory is not necessary for consciousness. However, even extremely
memory-impaired conscious humans such as Clive Wearing [14]
are able to retain information for several seconds; in this paper,
I will assume merely that information needs to be remembered
long enough to be subjectively experienced — perhaps 0.1 seconds for a human, and much less for entities processing information more rapidly.
4
putronium” [15], the most general substance that can
process information as a computer? Rather than just
remain immobile as a gold ring, it must exhibit complex dynamics so that its future state depends in some
complicated (and hopefully controllable/programmable)
way on the present state. Its atom arrangement must
be less ordered than a rigid solid where nothing interesting changes, but more ordered than a liquid or gas. At
the microscopic level, computronium need not be particularly complicated, because computer scientists have
long known that as long as a device can perform certain
elementary logic operations, it is universal: it can be programmed to perform the same computation as any other
computer with enough time and memory. Computer
vendors often parametrize computing power in FLOPS,
floating-point operations per second for 64-bit numbers;
more generically, we can parametrize computronium capable of universal computation by “FLIPS”: the number
of elementary logical operations such as bit flips that it
can perform per second. It has been shown by Lloyd
[16] that a system with average energy E can perform a
maximum of 4E/h elementary logical operations per second, where h is Planck’s constant. The performance of
today’s best computers is about 38 orders of magnitude
lower than this, because they use huge numbers of particles to store each bit and because most of their energy is
tied up in a computationally passive form, as rest mass.
G.
Perceptronium
What about “perceptronium”, the most general substance that feels subjectively self-aware? If Tononi is
right, then it should not merely be able to store and process information like computronium does, but it should
also satisfy the principle that its information is integrated, forming a unified and indivisible whole.
Let us also conjecture another principle that conscious
systems must satisfy: that of autonomy, i.e., that information can be processed with relative freedom from
external influence. Autonomy is thus the combination
of two separate properties: dynamics and independence.
Here dynamics means time dependence (hence information processing capacity) and independence means that
the dynamics is dominated by forces from within rather
than outside the system. Just like integration, autonomy
is postulated to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for a system to be conscious: for example, clocks
and diesel generators tend to exhibit high autonomy, but
lack substantial information storage capacity.
H.
Consciousness and the quantum factorization
problem
Table II summarizes the four candidate principles that
we will explore as necessary conditions for consciousness.
Our goal with isolating and studying these principles is
Principle
Information
principle
Dynamics
principle
Independence
principle
Integration
principle
Autonomy
principle
Utility
principle
Definition
A conscious system has substantial
information storage capacity.
A conscious system has substantial
information processing capacity.
A conscious system has substantial
independence from the rest of the world.
A conscious system cannot consist of
nearly independent parts.
A conscious system has substantial
dynamics and independence.
An evolved conscious system records mainly
information that is useful for it.
TABLE II: Four conjectured necessary conditions for consciousness that we explore in this paper. The fifth principle
simply combines the second and third. The sixth is not a
necessary condition, but may explain the evolutionary origin
of the others.
not merely to strengthen our understanding of consciousness as a physical process, but also to identify simple
traits of conscious matter that can help us tackle other
open problems in physics. For example, the only property
of consciousness that Hugh Everett needed to assume for
his work on quantum measurement was that of the information principle: by applying the Schrödinger equation
to systems that could record and store information, he
inferred that they would perceive subjective randomness
in accordance with the Born rule. In this spirit, we might
hope that adding further simple requirements such as in
the integration principle, the independence principle and
the dynamics principle might suffice to solve currently
open problems related to observation. The last principle listed in Table II, the utility principle, is of a different character than the others: we consider it not as a
necessary condition for consciousness, but as a potential
unifying evolutionary explanation of the others.
In this paper, we will pay particular attention to what
I will refer to as the quantum factorization problem:
why do conscious observers like us perceive the particular Hilbert space factorization corresponding to classical
space (rather than Fourier space, say), and more generally, why do we perceive the world around us as a dynamic hierarchy of objects that are strongly integrated
and relatively independent? This fundamental problem
has received almost no attention in the literature [18].
We will see that this problem is very closely related to
the one Tononi confronted for the brain, merely on a
larger scale. Solving it would also help solve the “physicsfrom-scratch” problem [7]: If the Hamiltonian H and the
total density matrix ρ fully specify our physical world,
how do we extract 3D space and the rest of our semiclassical world from nothing more than two Hermitian
matrices, which come without any a priori physical interpretation or additional structure such as a physical
space, quantum observables, quantum field definitions,
an “outside” system, etc.? Can some of this information
5
be extracted even from H alone, which is fully specified
by nothing more than its eigenvalue spectrum? We will
see that a generic Hamiltonian cannot be decomposed
using tensor products, which would correspond to a decomposition of the cosmos into non-interacting parts —
instead, there is an optimal factorization of our universe
into integrated and relatively independent parts. Based
on Tononi’s work, we might expect that this factorization, or some generalization thereof, is what conscious
observers perceive, because an integrated and relatively
autonomous information complex is fundamentally what
a conscious observer is!
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Section II, we explore the integration principle by quantifying integrated information in physical systems, finding
encouraging results for classical systems and interesting
challenges introduced by quantum mechanics. In Section III, we explore the independence principle, finding
that at least one additional principle is required to account for the observed factorization of our physical world
into an object hierarchy in three-dimensional space. In
Section IV, we explore the dynamics principle and other
possibilities for reconciling quantum-mechanical theory
with our observation of a semiclassical world. We discuss our conclusions in Section V, including applications
of the utility principle, and cover various mathematical
details in the three appendices. Throughout the paper,
we mainly consider finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces that
can be viewed as collections of qubits; as explained in Appendix C, this appears to cover standard quantum field
theory with its infinite-dimensional Hilbert space as well.
II.
A.
INTEGRATION
Our physical world as an object hierarchy
The problem of identifying consciousness in an arbitrary collection of moving particles is similar to the simpler problem of identifying objects there. One of the most
striking features of our physical world is that we perceive
it as an object hierarchy, as illustrated in Figure 1. If you
are enjoying a cold drink, you perceive ice cubes in your
glass as separate objects because they are both fairly integrated and fairly independent, e.g., their parts are more
strongly connected to one another than to the outside.
The same can be said about each of their constituents,
ranging from water molecules all the way down to electrons and quarks. Zooming out, you similarly perceive
the macroscopic world as a dynamic hierarchy of objects
that are strongly integrated and relatively independent,
all the way up to planets, solar systems and galaxies. Let
us quantify this by defining the robustness of an object
as the ratio of the integration temperature (the energy
per part needed to separate them) to the independence
temperature (the energy per part needed to separate the
parent object in the hierarchy). Figure 1 illustrates that
all of the ten types of objects shown have robustness of
ten or more. A highly robust object preserves its identity
(its integration and independence) over a wide range of
temperatures/energies/situations. The more robust an
object is, the more useful it is for us humans to perceive
it as an object and coin a name for it, as per the abovementioned utility principle.
Returning to the “physics-from-scratch” problem, how
can we identify this object hierarchy if all we have to
start with are two Hermitian matrices, the density matrix ρ encoding the state of our world and the Hamiltonian H determining its time-evolution? Imagine that we
know only these mathematical objects ρ and H and have
no information whatsoever about how to interpret the
various degrees of freedom or anything else about them.
A good beginning is to study integration. Consider, for
example, ρ and H for a single deuterium atom, whose
Hamiltonian is (ignoring spin interactions for simplicity)
H(rp , pp , rn , pn , re , pe ) =
(1)
= H1 (rp , pp , rn , pn ) + H2 (pe ) + H3 (rp , pp , rn , pn , re , pe ),
where r and p are position and momentum vectors, and
the subscripts p, n and e refer to the proton, the neutron
and the electron. On the second line, we have decomposed H into three terms: the internal energy of the
proton-neutron nucleus, the internal (kinetic) energy of
the electron, and the electromagnetic electron-nucleus interaction. This interaction is tiny, on average involving
much less energy than those within the nucleus:
tr H3 ρ
∼ 10−5 ,
tr H1 ρ
(2)
which we recognize as the inverse robustness for a typical
nucleus in Figure 3. We can therefore fruitfully approximate the nucleus and the electron as separate objects
that are almost independent, interacting only weakly
with one another. The key point here is that we could
have performed this object-finding exercise of dividing
the variables into two groups to find the greatest independence (analogous to what Tononi calls “the cruelest cut”)
based on the functional form of H alone, without even
having heard of electrons or nuclei, thereby identifying
their degrees of freedom through a purely mathematical
exercise.
B.
Integration and mutual information
If the interaction energy H3 were so small that we
could neglect it altogether, then H would be decomposable into two parts H1 and H2 , each one acting on only
one of the two sub-systems (in our case the nucleus and
the electron). This means that any thermal state would
be factorizable:
ρ ∝ e−H/kT = e−H1 /kT e−H2 /kT = ρ1 ρ2 ,
(3)
6
{
Object: Ice cube
Robustness: 105
Independence T: 3 mK
Integration T: 300 K
mgh/kB
~3mK per
molecule
Object: Water molecule
Robustness: 30
Independence T: 300 K
Integration T: 1 eV ~ 104K
Object: Oxygen atom
Robustness: 10
Independence T: 1 eV
Integration T: 10 eV
Object: Hydrogen atom
Robustness: 10
Independence T: 1 eV
Integration T: 10 eV
Object: Oxygen nucleus
Robustness: 105
Independence T: 10 eV
Integration T: 1 MeV
Object: Neutron
Robustness: 200
Independence T: 1 MeV
Integration T: 200 MeV
Object: Proton
Robustness: 200
Independence T: 1 MeV
Integration T: 200 MeV
Object: Down quark
Robustness: 1017?
Independence T: 200 MeV
Integration T: 1016 GeV?
Object: Up quark
Robustness: 1017?
Independence T: 200 MeV
Integration T: 1016 GeV?
Object: Electron
Robustness: 1022?
Independence T: 10 eV
Integration T: 1016 GeV?
FIG. 1: We perceive the external world as a hierarchy of objects, whose parts are more strongly connected to one another
than to the outside. The robustness of an object is defined as the ratio of the integration temperature (the energy per part
needed to separate them) to the independence temperature (the energy per part needed to separate the parent object in the
hierarchy).
so the total state ρ can be factored into a product of
the subsystem states ρ1 and ρ2 . In this case, the mutual
information
I ≡ S(ρ1 ) + S(ρ2 ) − S(ρ)
(4)
vanishes, where
S(ρ) ≡ −tr ρ log2 ρ
(5)
is the von Neumann entropy (in bits) — which is simply
the Shannon entropy of eigenvalues of ρ. Even for nonthermal states, the time-evolution operator U becomes
separable:
U ≡ eiHt/~ = eiH1 t/~ eiH2 t/~ = U1 U2 ,
which (as we will discuss in detail in Section III) implies
that the mutual information stays constant over time and
no information is ever exchanged between the objects. In
summary, if a Hamiltonian can be decomposed without
an interaction term (with H3 = 0), then it describes two
perfectly independent systems.4
(6)
4 Note that in this paper, we are generally considering H and ρ
for the entire cosmos, so that there is no “outside” containing
observers etc. If H3 = 0, entanglement between the two systems
thus cannot have any observable effects. This is in stark contrast
to most textbook quantum mechanics considerations, where one
studies a small subsystem of the world.
7
Let us now consider the opposite case, when a system cannot be decomposed into independent parts. Let
us define the integrated information Φ as the mutual information I for the “cruelest cut” (the cut minimizing
I) in some class of cuts that subdivide the system into
two (we will discuss many different classes of cuts below). Although our Φ-definition is slightly different from
Tononi’s [8]5 , it is similar in spirit, and we are reusing his
Φ-symbol for its elegant symbolism (unifying the shapes
of I for information and O for integration).
C.
Maximizing integration
We just saw that if two systems are dynamically independent (H3 = 0), then Φ = 0 at all time both for thermal states and for states that were independent (Φ = 0)
at some point in time. Let us now consider the opposite extreme. How large can the integrated information
Φ get? A as warmup example, let us consider the familiar 2D Ising model in Figure 2 where n = 2500 magnetic dipoles (or spins) that can point up or down are
placed on a square lattice, and H is such that they prefer aligning with their nearest neighbors. When T → ∞,
ρ ∝ e−H/kT → I, so all 2n states are equally likely, all
n bits are statistically independent, and Φ = 0. When
T → 0, all states freeze out except the two degenerate
ground states (all spin up or all spin down), so all spins
are perfectly correlated and Φ = 1 bit. For intermediate temperatures, long-range correlations are seen to
exist such that typical states have contiguous spin-up or
spin-down patches. On average, we get about one bit of
mutual information for each such patch crossing our cut
(since a spin on one side “knows” about at a spin on the
other side), so for bipartitions that cut the system into
two equally large halves, the mutual information will be
proportional to the length of the cutting curve. The “cruelest cut” is therefore a vertical or horizontal straight line
of length n1/2 , giving Φ ∼ n1/2 at the temperature where
typical patches are only a few pixels wide. We would similarly get a maximum integration Φ ∼ n1/3 for a 3D Ising
system and Φ ∼ 1 bit for a 1D Ising system.
Since it is the spatial correlations that provide the integration, it is interesting to speculate about whether
the conscious subsystem of our brain is a system near its
critical temperature, close to a phase transition. Indeed,
Damasio has argued that to be in homeostasis, a number of physical parameters of our brain need to be kept
within a narrow range of values [19] — this is precisely
what is required of any condensed matter system to be
near-critical, exhibiting correlations that are long-range
5 Tononi’s definition of Φ [8] applies only for classical systems,
whereas we wish to study the quantum case as well. Our Φ is
measured in bits and can grow with system size like an extrinsic
variable, whereas his is an intrinsic variable akin representing a
sort of average integration per bit.
(providing integration) but not so strong that the whole
system becomes correlated like in the right panel or in a
brain experiencing an epileptic seizure.
D.
Integration, coding theory and error correction
Even when we tuned the temperature to the most favorable value in our 2D Ising model example, the integrated information never exceeded Φ ∼ n1/2 bits, which
is merely a fraction n−1/2 of the n bits of information
that n spins can potentially store. So can we do better?
Fortunately, a closely related question has been carefully
studied in the branch of mathematics known as coding
theory, with the aim of optimizing error correcting codes.
Consider, for example, the following set of m = 16 bit
strings, each written as a column vector of length n = 8:
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
M =
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
This is known as the Hamming(8,4)-code, and has Hamming distance d = 4, which means that at least 4 bit
flips are required to change one string into another [20].
It is easy to see that for a code with Hamming distance
d, any (d − 1) bits can always be reconstructed from the
others: You can always reconstruct b bits as long as erasing them does not make two bit strings identical, which
would cause ambiguity about which the correct bit string
is. This implies that reconstruction works when the Hamming distance d > b.
To translate such codes of m bit strings of length n
into physical systems, we simply created a state space
with n bits (interpretable as n spins or other two-state
systems) and construct a Hamiltonian which has an mfold degenerate ground state, with one minimum corresponding to each of the m bit strings in the code.
In the low-temperature limit, all bit strings will receive the same probability weight 1/m, giving an entropy
S = log2 m. The corresponding integrated information
Φ of the ground state is plotted in Figure 3 for a few
examples, as a function of cut size k (the number of bits
assigned to the first subsystem). To calculate Φ for a cut
size k in practice, we simply minimize the mutual information I over all nk ways of partitioning the n bits into
k and (n − k) bits.
We see that, as advertised, the Hamming(8,4)-code
gives gives Φ = 3 when 3 bits are cut off. However,
it gives only Φ = 2 for bipartitions; the Φ-value for bipartitions is not simply related to the Hamming distance,
and is not a quantity that most popular bit string codes
are optimized for. Indeed, Figure 3 shows that for bipartitions, it underperforms a code consisting of 16 random
8
Less
correlation
More
correlation
Random
Too little
Optimum Too much
Uniform
FIG. 2: The panels show simulations of the 2D Ising model on a 50 × 50 lattice, with the temperature progressively decreasing
from left to right. The integrated information Φ drops to zero bits at T → ∞ (leftmost panel) and to one bit as T → 0
(rightmost panel), taking a maximum at an intermediate temperature near the phase transition temperature.
8
Integrated information
Integrated information
4
Hamming
(8,4)-code
(16 8-bit strings)
3
2
16 random
8-bit strings
1
128 8-bit strings
with checksum bit
2
4
Bits cut off
6
8
FIG. 3: For various 8-bit systems, the integrated information
is plotted as a function of the number of bits cut off into a
sub-system with the “cruelest cut”. The Hamming (8,4)-code
is seen to give classically optimal integration except for a bipartition into 4 + 4 bits: an arbitrary subset containing no
more than three bits is completely determined by the remaining bits. The code consisting of the half of all 8-bit strings
whose bit sum is even (i.e., each of the 128 7-bit strings followed by a parity checksum bit) has Hamming distance d = 2
and gives Φ = 1 however many bits are cut off. A random set
of 16 8-bit strings is seen to outperform the Hamming (8,4)code for 4+4-bipartitions, but not when fewer bits are cut off.
unique bit strings of the same length. A rich and diverse
set of codes have been published in the literature, and
the state-of-the-art in terms of maximal Hamming distance for a given n is continually updated [21]. Although
codes with arbitrarily large Hamming distance d exist,
there is (just as for our Hamming(8,4)-example above)
no guarantee that Φ will be as large as d − 1 when the
smaller of the two subsystems contains more than d bits.
Moreover, although Reed-Solomon codes are sometimes
billed as classically optimal erasure codes (maximizing
d for a given n), their fundamental units are generally
6
4
2
ds rds
or
o
w
tw
t
bi -bi s
14 rd
16
ds
m om t wo wor
o
d
i
t
ds
nd ran 2-b 0-bi
wor
ra
6 128 64 1 32 1 6 8-bitit words
5
b
1 8 6- 4 4-bit words
2
5
Bits cut off
10
15
FIG. 4: Same as for previous figure, but for random codes
with progressively √
longer bit strings, consisting of a random
subset containing 2n of the 2n possible bit strings. For
better legibility, the vertical axis has been re-centered for the
shorter codes.
not bits but groups of bits (generally numbers modulo
some prime number), and the optimality is violated if we
make cuts that do not respect the boundaries of these bit
groups.
Although further research on codes maximizing Φ
would be of interest, it is worth noting that simple random codes appear to give Φ-values within a couple of bits
of the theoretical maximum in the limit of large n, as illustrated in Figure 4. When cutting off k out of n bits,
the mutual information in classical physics clearly cannot exceed the number of bits in either subsystem, i.e., k
and n − k, so the Φ-curve for a code must lie within the
shaded triangle in the figure. (The quantum-mechanical
case is more complicated, and we well see in the next section that it in a sense integrates both better and worse.)
The codes for which the integrated information is plotted
simply consist of a random subset containing 2n/2 of the
2n possible bit strings, so roughly speaking, half the bits
encode fresh information and the other half provide the
9
Integrated information (bits)
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
2
4
6
8
10
2-logarithm of number of patterns used
12
14
FIG. 5: The integrated information is shown for random
codes using progressively larger random subsets of the 214
possible strings of 14 bits. The optimal choice is seen to be
using about 27 bit strings, i.e., using about half the bits to
encode information and the other half to integrate it.
redundancy giving near-perfect integration.
Just as we saw for the Ising model example, these random codes show a tradeoff between entropy and redundancy, as illustrated in Figure 5. When there are n bits,
how many of the 2n possible bit strings should we use
to maximize the integrated information Φ? If we use m
of them, we clearly have Φ ≤ log2 m, since in classical
physics, Φ cannot exceed the entropy if the system (the
mutual information is I = S1 + S2 − S, where S1 ≤ S
and S2 ≤ S so I ≤ S). Using very few bit strings is
therefore a bad idea. On the other hand, if we use all
2n of them, we lose all redundancy, the bits become independent, and Φ = 0, so being greedy and using too
many bit strings in an attempt to store more information is also a bad √
idea. Figure 5 shows that the optimal
tradeoff is to use 2n of the codewords, i.e., to use half
the bits to encode information and the other half to integrate it. Taken together, the last two figures therefore
suggest that n physical bits can be used to provide about
n/2 bits of integrated information in the large-n limit.
E.
Integration in physical systems
Let us explore the consequences of these results for
physical systems described by a Hamiltonian H and a
state ρ. As emphasized by Hopfield [22], any physical
system with multiple attractors can be viewed as an information storage device, since its state permanently encodes information about which attractor it belongs to.
Figure 6 shows two examples of H interpretable as potential energy functions for a a single particle in two dimensions. They can both be used as information storage
devices, by placing the particle in a potential well and
keeping the system cool enough that the particle stays
in the same well indefinitely. The egg crate potential
V (x, y) = sin2 (πx) sin2 (πy) (top) has 256 minima and
hence a ground state entropy (information storage capacity) S = 8 bits, whereas the lower potential has only
FIG. 6: A particle in the egg-crate potential energy landscape (top panel) stably encodes 8 bits of information that
are completely independent of one another and therefore not
integrated. In contrast, a particle in a Hamming(8,4) potential (bottom panel) encodes only 4 bits of information, but
with excellent integration. Qualitatively, a hard drive is more
like the top panel, while a neural network is more like the
bottom panel.
16 minima and S = 4 bits.
The basins of attraction in the top panel are seen to
be the squares shown in the bottom panel. If we write
the x− and y− coordinates as binary numbers with b
bits each, then the first 4 bits of x and y encode which
square (x, y) is in. The information in the remaining
bits encodes the location within this square; these bits
are not useful for information storage because they can
vary over time, as the particle oscillates around a minimum. If the system is actively cooled, these oscillations
are gradually damped out and the particle settles toward
the attractor solution at the minimum, at the center of its
basin. This example illustrates that cooling is a physical
example of error correction: if thermal noise adds small
perturbations to the particle position, altering the least
significant bits, then cooling will remove these perturbations and push the particle back towards the minimum
it came from. As long as cooling keeps the perturbations
small enough that the particle never rolls out of its basin
of attraction, all the 8 bits of information encoding its
basin number are perfectly preserved. Instead of interpreting our n = 8 data bits as positions in two dimensions, we can interpret them as positions in n dimensions,
where each possible state corresponds to a corner of the
n-dimensional hypercube. This captures the essence of
many computer memory devices, where each bit is stored
in a system with two degenerate minima; the least significant and redundant bits that can be error-corrected
via cooling now get equally distributed among all the dimensions.
10
How integrated is the information S? For the top panel
of Figure 6, not at all: H can be factored as a tensor
product of 8 two-state systems, so Φ = 0, just as for
typical computer memory. In other words, if the particle
is in a particular egg crate basin, knowing any one of the
bits specifying the basin position tells us nothing about
the other bits. The potential in the lower panel, on the
other hand, gives good integration. This potential retains
only 16 of the 256 minima, corresponding to the 16 bit
strings of the Hamming(8,4)-code, which as we saw gives
Φ = 3 for any 3 bits cut off and Φ = 2 bits for symmetric
bipartitions. Since the Hamming distance d = 4 for this
code, at least 4 bits must be flipped to reach another
minimum, which among other things implies that no two
basins can share a row or column.
F.
The pros and cons of integration
Natural selection suggests that self-reproducing
information-processing systems will evolve integration if
it is useful to them, regardless of whether they are conscious or not. Error correction can obviously be useful, both to correct errors caused by thermal noise and
to provide redundancy that improves robustness toward
failure of individual physical components such as neurons. Indeed, such utility explains the preponderance
of error correction built into human-developed devices,
from RAID-storage to bar codes to forward error correction in telecommunications. If Tononi is correct and
consciousness requires integration, then this raises an interesting possibility: our human consciousness may have
evolved as an accidental by-product of error correction.
There is also empirical evidence that integration is useful
for problem-solving: artificial life simulations of vehicles
that have to traverse mazes and whose brains evolve by
natural selection show that the more adapted they are to
their environment, the higher the integrated information
of the main complex in their brain [23].
However, integration comes at a cost, and as we will
now see, near maximal integration appears to be prohibitively expensive. Let us distinguish between the maximum amount of information that can be stored in a state
defined by ρ and the maximum amount of information
that can be stored in a physical system defined by H. The
former is simply S(ρ) for the perfectly mixed (T = ∞)
state, i.e., log2 of the number of possible states (the number of bits characterizing the system). The latter can
be much larger, corresponding to log2 of the number of
Hamiltonians that you could distinguish between given
your time and energy available for experimentation. Let
us consider potential energy functions whose k different
minima can be encoded as bit strings (as in Figure 6),
and let us limit our experimentation to finding all the
minima. Then H encodes not a single string of n bits,
n
but a subset consisting of k outof all
2 such strings, one
2n
for each minimum. There are k such subsets, so the
information contained in H is
n
2
2n !
= log2
≈
S(H) = log2
k
k!(2n − k)!
≈ log2
(2n )k
= k(n − log2 k)
kk
(7)
for k 2n , where we used Stirling’s approximation
k! ≈ k k . So crudely speaking, H encodes not n bits
but kn bits. For the near-maximal integration given
by the random codes from the previous section, we had
k = 2n/2 , which gives S(H) ∼ 2n/2 n2 bits. For example,
if the n ∼ 1011 neurons in your brain were maximally
integrated in this way, then your neural network would
require a dizzying 1010000000000 bits to describe, vastly
more information than can be encoded by all the 1089
particles in our universe combined.
The neuronal mechanisms of human memory are still
unclear despite intensive experimental and theoretical explorations [24], but there is significant evidence that the
brain uses attractor dynamics in its integration and memory functions, where discrete attractors may be used to
represent discrete items [25]. The classic implementation of such dynamics as a simple symmetric and asynchronous Hopfield neural network [22] can be conveniently interpreted in terms of potential energy functions: the equations of the continuous Hopfield network
are identical to a set of mean-field equations that minimize a potential energy function, so this network always
converges to a basin of attraction [26]. Such a Hopfield
network gives a dramatically lower information content
S(H) of only about 0.25 bits per synapse[26], and we have
only about 1014 synapses, suggesting that our brains can
store only on the order of a few Terabytes of information.
The integrated information of a Hopfield network is
even lower. For a Hopfield network of n neurons with
Hebbian learning, the total number of attractors is
bounded by 0.14n [26], so the maximum information capacity is merely S ≈ log2 0.14n ≈ log2 n ≈ 37 bits for
n = 1011 neurons. Even in the most favorable case where
these bits are maximally integrated, our 1011 neurons
thus provide a measly Φ ≈ 37 bits of integrated information, as opposed to about Φ ≈ 5 × 1010 bits for a random
coding.
G.
The integration paradox
This leaves us with an integration paradox: why does
the information content of our conscious experience appear to be vastly larger than 37 bits? If Tononi’s information and integration principles from Section I are correct,
the integration paradox forces us6 to draw at least one of
6 Can we sidestep the integration paradox by simply dismissing the
idea that integration is necessary? Although it remains contro-
11
the following three conclusions:
1. Our brains use some more clever scheme for encoding our conscious bits of information, which allows
dramatically larger Φ than Hebbian Hopfield networks.
2. These conscious bits are much fewer than we might
naively have thought from introspection, implying
that we are only able to pay attention to a very
modest amount of information at any instant.
3. To be relevant for consciousness, the definition of
integrated information that we have used must be
modified or supplemented by at least one additional
principle.
We will see that the quantum results in the next section
bolster the case for conclusion 3. Interestingly, there is
also support for conclusion 2 in the large psychophysical
literature on the illusion of the perceptual richness of the
world. For example, there is evidence suggesting that of
the roughly 107 bits of information that enter our brain
each second from our sensory organs, we can only be
aware of a tiny fraction, with estimates ranging from 10
to 50 bits [27, 28].
The fundamental reason why a Hopfield network is
specified by much less information than a near-maximally
integrated network is that it involves only pairwise couplings between neurons, thus requiring only ∼ n2 coupling parameters to be specified — as opposed to 2n parameters giving the energy for each of the 2n possible
states. It is striking how H is similarly simple for the
standard model of particle physics, with the energy involving only sums of pairwise interactions between particles supplemented with occasional 3-way and 4-way couplings. H for the brain and H for fundamental physics
thus both appear to belong to an extremely simple subclass of all Hamiltonians, that require an unusually small
amount of information to describe. Just as a system implementing near-maximal integration via random coding
is too complicated to fit inside the brain, it is also too
complicated to work in fundamental physics: Since the
information storage capacity S of a physical system is
approximately bounded by its number of particles [16] or
by its area in Planck units by the Holographic principle
[17], it cannot be integrated by physical dynamics that
itself requires storage of the exponentially larger information quantity S(H) ∼ 2S/2 S2 unless the Standard Model
Hamiltonian is replaced by something dramatically more
complicated.
versial whether integrated information is a sufficient condition
for consciousness as asserted by IIT, it appears rather obvious
that it is a necessary condition if the conscious experience is
unified: if there were no integration, the conscious mind would
consist of two separate parts that were independent of one another and hence unaware of each other.
An interesting theoretical direction for further research
(pursuing resolution 1 to the integration paradox) is
therefore to investigate what maximum amount of integrated information Φ can be feasibly stored in a physical system using codes that are algorithmic (such as RScodes) rather than random. An interesting experimental
direction would be to search for concrete implementations of error-correction algorithms in the brain.
In summary, we have explored the integration principle by quantifying integrated information in physical
systems. We have found that although excellent integration is possible in principle, it is more difficult in practice. In theory, random codes provide nearly maximal
integration, with about half of all n bits coding for data
and the other half providing Ψ ≈ n bits of integration),
but in practice, the dynamics required for implementing them is too complex for our brain or our universe.
Most of our exploration has focused on classical physics,
where cuts into subsystems have corresponded to partitions of classical bits. As we will see in the next section,
finding systems encoding large amounts of integrated information is even more challenging when we turn to the
quantum-mechanical case.
III.
A.
INDEPENDENCE
Classical versus quantum independence
How cruel is what Tononi calls “the cruelest cut”, dividing a system into two parts that are maximally independent? The situation is quite different in classical
physics and quantum physics, as Figure 7 illustrates for
a simple 2-bit system. In classical physics, the state is
specified by a 2×2 matrix giving the probabilities for the
four states 00, 01, 10 and 11, which define an entropy S
and mutual information I. Since there is only one possible cut, the integrated information Φ = I. The point
defined by the pair (S, Φ) can lie anywhere in the “pyramid” in the figure, who’s top at (S, Φ) = (1, 1) (black
star) gives maximum integration, and corresponds to perfect correlation between the two bits: 50% probability for
00 and 11. Perfect anti-correlation gives the same point.
The other two vertices of the classically allowed region
are seen to be (S, Φ) = (0, 0) (100% probability for a single outcome) and (S, Φ) = (2, 0) (equal probability for all
four outcomes).
In quantum mechanics, where the 2-qubit state is defined by a 4 × 4 density matrix, the available area in the
(S, I)-plane doubles to include the entire shaded triangle, with the classically unattainable region opened up
because of entanglement. The extreme case is a Bell pair
state such as
1
|ψi = √ (|↑i|↑i + |↓i|↓i) ,
2
(8)
which gives (S, I) = (0, 2). However, whereas there was
only one possible cut for 2 classical bits, there are now in-
12
2.0
Bell pair
1/2
0
0
1/2
Possible only
quantum-mechanically
(entanglement)
1.0
Possible
classically
Un
it a r
io n
()
.91
.03
.03
.03
y t r a n sf o r m at
0.5
n
()
1
0
0
0
()
Unitary tran
sformatio
Mutual information I
1.5
( ) () ()
.7
.1
.1
.1
1/2
1/2
0
0
.4
.4
.2
.0
()
1/3
1/3
1/3
0
()( )
.3
.3
.3
.1
1/4
1/4
1/4
1/4
Quantum integrated
0.5
1.0
Entropy S
1.5
finitely many possible cuts because in quantum mechanics, all Hilbert space bases are equally valid, and we can
choose to perform the factorization in any of them. Since
Φ is defined as I after the cruelest cut, it is the I-value
minimized over all possible factorizations. For simplicity,
we use the notation where ⊗ denotes factorization in the
coordinate basis, so the integrated information is
U
B.
Canonical transformations, independence and
relativity
2.0
FIG. 7: Mutual information versus entropy for various 2-bit
systems. The different dots, squares and stars correspond
to different states, which in the classical cases are defined
by the probabilities for the four basis states 00, 01 10 and
11. Classical states can lie only in the pyramid below the
upper black star with (S, I) = (1, 1), whereas entanglement
allows quantum states to extend all the way up to the upper
black square at (0, 2). However, the integrated information Φ
for a quantum state cannot lie above the shaded green/grey
region, into which any other quantum state can be brought
by a unitary transformation. Along the upper boundary of
this region, either three of the four probabilities are equal, or
to two of them are equal while one vanishes.
Φ = min I(UρU† ),
states possible in quantum mechanics have no integrated
information at all!
The same cruel fate awaits the most integrated 2bit state from classical physics: the perfectly correlated
mixed state ρ = 21 | ↑ih↑ | + 12 | ↓ih↓ |. It gave Φ = 1 bit
classically above (upper black star in the figure), but a
unitary transformation permuting its diagonal elements
makes it factorable:
1
1
1
2 0 0 0
2 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 † 0 1 0 0
1 0
0
2
U =
U
=
⊗ 2 1 ,
0 0 0 0
0 0
0 0 0 0
0 2
0 0 0 12
0 0 0 0
(11)
so Φ = 0 quantum-mechanically (lower black star in the
figure).
(9)
i.e., the mutual information minimized over all possible unitary transformations U. Since the Bell pair of
equation (8) is a pure state ρ = |ψihψ|, we can unitarily
transform it into a basis where the first basis vector is
|ψi, making it factorizable:
1
1
1000
2 0 0 2
0 0 0 0 † 0 0 0 0
10
1 0
U
U =
=
⊗
.
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
00
0 0
1
1
0000
2 0 0 2
(10)
This means that Φ = 0, so in quantum mechanics, the
cruelest cut can be very cruel indeed: the most entangled
The fundamental reason that these states are more separable quantum-mechanically is clearly that more cuts
are available, making the cruelest one crueler. Interestingly, the same thing can happen also in classical physics.
Consider, for example, our example of the deuterium
atom from equation (1). When we restricted our cuts to
simply separating different degrees of freedom, we found
that the group (rp , pp , rn , pn ) was quite (but not completely) independent of the group (re , pe ), and that there
was no cut splitting things into perfectly independent
pieces. In other words, the nucleus was fairly independent of the electron, but none of the three particles was
completely independent of the other two. However, if we
allow our degrees of freedom to be transformed before
the cut, then things can be split into two perfectly independent parts! The classical equivalent of a unitary
transformation is of course a canonical transformation
(one that preserves phase-space volume). If we perform
the canonical transformation where the new coordinates
are the center-of-mass position rM and the relative displacements r0p ≡ rp − rM and r0e ≡ re − rM , and correspondingly define pM as the total momentum of the
whole system, etc., then we find that (rM , pM ) is completely independent of the rest. In other words, the average motion of the entire deuterium atom is completely
decoupled from the internal motions around its centerof-mass.
Interestingly, this well-known possibility of decomposing any isolated system into average and relative motions
(the “average-relative decomposition”, for short) is equivalent to relativity theory in the following sense. The
core of relativity theory is that all laws of physics (including the speed of light) are the same in all inertial
frames. This implies the average-relative decomposition,
since the laws of physics governing the relative motions
of the system are the same in all inertial frames and
hence independent of the (uniform) center-of-mass motion. Conversely, we can view relativity as a special case
13
of the average-relative decomposition. If two systems are
completely independent, then they can gain no knowledge of each other, so a conscious observer in one will
be unaware of the other. The average-relative decomposition therefore implies that an observer in an isolated
system has no way of knowing whether she is at rest or
in uniform motion, because these are simply two different
allowed states for the center-of-mass subsystem, which is
completely independent from (and hence inaccessible to)
the internal-motions subsystem of which her consciousness is a part.
easy to see that when seeking the permutation giving
maximum separability, we can without loss of generality
place the largest eigenvalue first (in the upper left corner)
and the smallest one last (in the lower right corner). If
there are only 4 eigenvalues (as in the above example),
the ordering of the remaining two has no effect on I.
D.
C.
The quantum integration paradox
How integrated can quantum states be?
We saw in Figure 7 that some seemingly integrated states, such as a Bell pair or a pair of classically perfectly correlated bits, are in fact not integrated at all. But the figure also shows that some
states are truly integrated even quantum-mechanically,
with I > 0 even for the cruelest cut. How integrated can a quantum state be? The following theorem, proved by Jevtic, Jennings & Rudolph [29], enables the answer to be straightforwardly calculated7 :
ρ-Diagonality Theorem (ρDC):
The mutual information always takes its minimum in a basis where ρ is diagonal
The first step in computing the integrated information
Φ(ρ) is thus to diagonalize the n × n density matrix ρ.
If all n eigenvalues are different, then there are n! possible ways of doing this, corresponding to the n! ways
of permuting the eigenvalues, so the ρDC simplifies the
continuous minimization problem of equation (9) to a discrete minimization problem over these n! permutations.
Suppose that n = l × m, and that we wish to factor the
n-dimensional Hilbert space into factor spaces of dimensionality l and m, so that Φ = 0. It is easy to see that
this is possible if the n eigenvalues of ρ can be arranged
into an l × m matrix that is multiplicatively separable
(rank 1), i.e., the product of a column vector and a row
vector. Extracting the eigenvalues for our example from
equation (11) where l = m = 2 and n = 4, we see that
1 1
1
2 0
2 2
is separable, but
is not,
0 0
0 12
and that the only difference is that the order of the four
numbers has been permuted. More generally, we see that
to find the “cruelest cut” that defines the integrated information Φ, we want to find the permutation that makes
the matrix of eigenvalues as separable as possible. It is
7 The converse of the ρDC is straightforward to prove:
if Φ = 0
(which is equivalent to the state being factorizable; ρ = ρ1 ⊗ ρ2 ),
then it is factorizable also in its eigenbasis where both ρ1 and ρ2
are diagonal.
We now have the tools in hand to answer the key question from the last section: which state ρ maximizes the
integrated information Φ? Numerical search suggests
that the most integrated state is a rescaled projection
matrix satisfying ρ2 ∝ ρ. This means that some number k of the n eigenvalues equal 1/k and the remaining ones vanish.8 For the n = 4 example from Figure 7, k = 3 is seen to give the best integration, with
eigenvalues (probabilities) 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 and 0, giving
Φ = log(27/16)/ log(8) ≈ 0.2516.
For classical physics, we saw that the maximal attainable Φ grows roughly linearly with n. Quantummechanically, however, it decreases as n increases!9
In summary, no matter how large a quantum system
we create, its state can never contain more than about a
quarter of a bit of integrated information! This exacerbates the integration paradox from Section II G, eliminating both of the first two resolutions: you are clearly aware
of more than 0.25 bits of information right now, and this
quarter-bit maximum applies not merely to states of Hopfield networks, but to any quantum states of any system.
Let us therefore begin exploring the third resolution: that
our definition of integrated information must be modified
or supplemented by at least one additional principle.
8 A heuristic way of understanding why having many equal eigen-
values is advantageous is that it helps eliminate the effect of the
eigenvalue permutations that we are minimizing over. If the optimal state has two distinct eigenvalues, then if swapping them
changes I, it must by definition increase I by some finite amount.
This suggests that we can increase the integration Φ by bringing
the eigenvalues infinitesimally closer or further apart, and repeating this procedure lets us further increase Φ until all eigenvalues
are either zero or equal to the same positive constant.
9 One finds that Φ is maximized when the k identical nonzero
eigenvalues are arranged in a Young Tableau, which corresponds to a partition of k as a sum of positive integers
k1 + k2 + ..., giving Φ = S(p) + S(p∗ ) − log2 k, where
the probability vectors p and p∗ are defined by pi = ki /k
and p∗i = ki∗ /k. Here ki∗ denotes the conjugate partition.
For example, if we cut an even number of qubits into two
parts with n/2 qubits each, then n = 2, 4, 6, ..., 20 gives
Φ ≈ 0.252, 0.171, 0.128, 0.085, 0.085, 0.073, 0.056, 0.056, 0.051
and 0.042 bits, respectively.
14
E.
G.
How integrated is the Hamiltonian?
An obvious way to begin this exploration is to consider the state ρ not merely at a single fixed time t, but
as a function of time. After all, it is widely assumed that
consciousness is related to information processing, not
mere information storage. Indeed, Tononi’s original Φdefinition [8] (which applies to classical neural networks
rather than general quantum systems) involves time, depending on the extent to which current events affect future ones.
Because the time-evolution of the state ρ is determined
by the Hamiltonian H via the Schrödinger equation
ρ̇ = i[H, ρ],
(12)
ρ(t) = eiHt ρe−iHt ,
(13)
whose solution is
we need to investigate the extent to which the cruelest
cut can decompose not merely ρ but the pair (ρ, H) into
independent parts. (Here and throughout, we often use
units where ~ = 1 for simplicity.)
F.
Evolution with separable Hamiltonian
As we saw above, the key question for ρ is whether it
it is factorizable (expressible as product ρ = ρ1 ⊗ ρ2 of
matrices acting on the two subsystems), whereas the key
question for H is whether it is what we will call additively separable, being a sum of matrices acting on the
two subsystems, i.e., expressible in the form
H = H1 ⊗ I + I ⊗ H2
(14)
for some matrices H1 and H2 . For brevity, we will often
write simply separable instead of additively separable. As
mentioned in Section II B, a separable Hamiltonian H
implies that both the thermal state ρ ∝ e−H/kT and
the time-evolution operator U ≡ eiHt/~ are factorizable.
An important property of density matrices which was
pointed out already by von Neumann when he invented
them [30] is that if H is separable, then
ρ̇1 = i[H1 , ρ1 ],
(15)
The cruelest cut as the maximization of
separability
Since a general Hamiltonian H cannot be written in
the separable form of equation (14), it will also include a
third term H3 that is non-separable. The independence
principle from Section I therefore suggests an interesting mathematical approach to the physics-from-scratch
problem of analyzing the total Hamiltonian H for our
physical world:
1. Find the Hilbert space factorization giving the
“cruelest cut”, decomposing H into parts with the
smallest interaction Hamiltonian H3 possible.
2. Keep repeating this subdivision procedure for each
part until only relatively integrated parts remain
that cannot be further decomposed with a small
interaction Hamiltonian.
The hope would be that applying this procedure to the
Hamiltonian of our standard model would reproduce the
full observed object hierarchy from Figure 1, with the factorization corresponding to the objects, and the various
non-separable terms H3 describing the interactions between these objects. Any decomposition with H3 = 0
would correspond to two parallel universes unable to
communicate with one another.
We will now formulate this as a rigorous mathematics problem, solve it, and derive the observational consequences. We will find that this approach fails catastrophically when confronted with observation, giving interesting hints regarding further physical principles needed for
understanding why we perceive our world as an object
hierarchy.
H.
The Hilbert-Schmidt vector space
To enable a rigorous formulation of our problem, let
us first briefly review the Hilbert-Schmidt vector space, a
convenient inner-product space where the vectors are not
wave functions |ψi but matrices such as H and ρ. For
any two matrices A and B, the Hilbert-Schmidt inner
product is defined by
(A, B) ≡ tr A† B.
(18)
i.e., the time-evolution of the state of the first subsystem,
ρ1 ≡ tr 2 ρ, is independent of the other subsystem and of
any entanglement with it that may exist. This is easy to
prove: Using the identities (A12) and (A14) shows that
For example, the trace operator can be written as an
inner product with the identity matrix:
tr [H1 ⊗ I, ρ] = tr {(H1 ⊗ I)ρ} − tr {ρ(H1 ⊗ I)}
tr A = (I, A).
2
2
= H1 ρ1 − ρ1 H2 = [H1 , ρ1 ].
(16)
Using the identity (A10) shows that
tr [I ⊗ H2 , ρ] = 0.
2
(19)
2
(17)
Summing equations (16) and (17) completes the proof.
This inner product defines the Hilbert-Schmidt norm
(also known as the Frobenius norm)
12
1
2
1
2
||A|| ≡ (A, A) = (tr A† A) =
X
ij
|Aij |2 . (20)
15
If A is Hermitian (A† = A), then ||A||2 is simply the
sum of the squares of its eigenvalues.
Real symmetric and antisymmetric matrices form orthogonal subspaces under the Hilbert-Schmidt inner
product, since (S, A) = 0 for any symmetric matrix S
(satisfying St = S) and any antisymmetric matrix A
(satisfying At = −A). Because a Hermitian matrix (satisfying H† = H) can be written in terms of real symmetric and antisymmetric matrices as H = S + iA, we
have
(H1 , H2 ) = (S1 , S2 ) + (A1 , A2 ),
which means that the inner product of two Hermitian
matrices is purely real.
I.
Separating H with orthogonal projectors
By viewing H as a vector in the Hilbert-Schmidt vector space, we can rigorously define an decomposition of
it into orthogonal components, two of which are the separable terms from equation (14). Given a factorization of
the Hilbert space where the matrix H operates, we define
four linear superoperators10 Πi as follows:
1
(tr H) I
n
1
Π1 H ≡
tr H ⊗ I2 − Π0 H
n2 2
1
Π2 H ≡ I1 ⊗
tr H − Π0 H
n1 1
Π3 H ≡ (I − Π1 − Π2 − Π3 )H
Π0 H ≡
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
It is straightforward to show that these four linear operators Πi form a complete set of orthogonal projectors,
i.e., that
ponents:
H = H0 + H1 + H2 + H3 ,
Hi ≡ Πi H,
(Hi , Hj ) = ||Hi ||2 δij ,
(28)
(29)
(30)
||H||2 = ||H0 ||2+||H1 ||2+||H2 ||2+||H3 ||2 . (31)
We see that H0 ∝ I picks out the trace of H, whereas the
other three matrices are trace-free. This trace term is of
course physically uninteresting, since it can be eliminated
by simply adding an unobservable constant zero-point energy to the Hamiltonian. H1 and H2 corresponds to the
two separable terms in equation (14) (without the trace
term, which could have been arbitrarily assigned to either), and H3 corresponds to the non-separable residual.
A Hermitian matrix H is therefore separable if and only if
Π3 H = 0. Just as it is customary to write the norm or a
vector r by r ≡ |r| (without boldface), we will denote the
Hilbert-Schmidt norm of a matrix H by H ≡ ||H||. For
example, with this notation we can rewrite equation (31)
as simply H 2 = H02 + H12 + H22 + H32 .
Geometrically, we can think of n × n Hermitian matrices H as points in the N -dimensional vector space RN ,
where N = n×n (Hermiteal matrices have n real numbers
on the diagonal and n(n − 1)/2 complex numbers off the
diagonal, constituting a total of n + 2 × n(n − 1)/2 = n2
real parameters). Diagonal matrices form a hyperplane
of dimension n in this space. The projection operators
Π0 , Π1 , Π2 and Π3 project onto hyperplanes of dimension 1, (n − 1), (n − 1) and (n − 1)2 , respectively, so
separable matrices form a hyperplane in this space of dimension 2n − 1. For example, a general 4 × 4 Hermitian
matrix can be parametrized by 10 numbers (4 real for the
diagonal part and 6 complex for the off-diagonal part),
and its decomposition from equation (28) can be written
as follows:
t+a+b+v
d+w
c+x
y
∗
∗
t+a−b−v
z
c−x
d +w
H = ∗
=
c +x∗
z∗
t−a+b−v
d−w
y∗
c∗ −x∗
d∗ −w∗ t−a−b+v
t 0 0 0
a 0 c 0
b d 0 0
∗
0 t 0 0 0 a 0 c d −b 0 0
=
+
+
+
0 0 t 0 c∗ 0 −a 0 0 0 b d
∗
∗
0 0 0 t
0 c 0 −a
0 0 d −b
v w
x
y
w∗ −v z −x
+ ∗ ∗
(32)
x z
−v −w
y ∗ −x∗ −w∗ v
3
X
Πi = I,
(25)
Πi Πj = Πi δij ,
(26)
(Πi H, Πj H) = ||Πi H||2 δij .
(27)
i=0
This means that any Hermitian matrix H can be decomposed as a sum of four orthogonal components Hi ≡
Πi H, so that its squared Hilbert-Schmidt norm can be
decomposed as a sum of contributions from the four com-
10 Operators on the Hilbert-Schmidt space are usually called su-
peroperators in the literature, to avoid confusions with operators
on the underlying Hilbert space, which are mere vectors in the
Hilbert-Schmidt space.
We see that t contributes to the trace (and H0 ) while
the other three components Hi are traceless. We also see
that tr 1 H2 = tr 2 H1 = 0, and that both partial traces
vanish for H3 .
16
condition for maximal separability:
We now have all the tools we need to rigorously maximize separability and test the physics-from-scratch approach described in Section III G. Given a Hamiltonian
H, we simply wish to minimize the norm of its nonseparable component H3 over all possible Hilbert space
factorizations, i.e., over all possible unitary transformations. In other words, we wish to compute
E̊ ≡ min ||Π3 H||,
U
(33)
where we have defined the integration energy E̊ by analogy with the integrated information Φ. If E̊ = 0, then
there is a basis where our system separates into two parallel universes, otherwise E̊ quantifies the coupling between
the two parts of the system under the cruelest cut.
The Hilbert-Schmidt space allows us to interpret the
minimization problem of equation (33) geometrically, as
illustrated in Figure 8. Let H∗ denote the Hamiltonian
in some given basis, and consider its orbit H = UHU†
under all unitary transformations U. This is a curved hypersurface whose dimensionality is generically n(n − 1),
i.e., n lower than that of the full space of Hermitian matrices, since unitary transformation leave all n eigenvalues invariant.11 We will refer to this curved hypersurface as a subsphere, because it is a subset of the full n2 dimensional sphere: the radius H (the Hilbert-Schmidt
norm ||H||) is invariant under unitary transformations,
but the subsphere may have a more complicated topology
than a hypersphere; for example, the 3-sphere is known
to topologically be the double cover of SO(3), the matrix
group of 3 × 3 orthonormal transformations.
We are interested in finding the most separable point H
on this subsphere, i.e., the point on the subsphere that is
closest to the (2n − 1)-dimensional separable hyperplane.
In our notation, this means that we want to find the point
H on the subsphere that minimizes ||Π3 H||, the HilbertSchmidt norm of the non-separable component. If we
perform infinitesimal displacements along the subsphere,
||Π3 H|| thus remains constant to first order (the gradient
vanishes at the minimum), so all tangent vectors of the
subsphere are orthogonal to Π3 H, the vector from the
separable hyperplane to the subsphere.
Unitary transformations are generated by antiHermitian matrices, so the most general tangent vector
δH is of the form
δH = [A, H] ≡ AH − HA
(34)
for some anti-Hermitian n × n matrix A (any matrix satisfying A† = −A). We thus obtain the following simple
11 n×n-dimensional Unitary matrices U are known to form an n×n-
dimensional manifold: they can always be written as U = eiH
for some Hermitian matrix H, so they are parametrized by the
same number of real parameters (n × n) as Hermitian matrices.
(Π3 H, [A, H]) = 0
(35)
for any anti-Hermitian matrix A. Because the most general anti-Hermitian matrix can be written as A = iB for
a Hermitian matrix B, equation (35) is equivalent to the
condition (Π3 H, [B, H]) = 0 for all Hermitian matrices
B. Since there are n2 anti-Hermitian matrices, equation (35) is a system of n2 coupled quadratic equations
that the components of H must obey.
Tangent vector
δH=[A,H]
Non-separable
component
Π3Η
{
Maximizing separability
Separable hyperplane: Π3Η=0
J.
Integration
energy
E=||Π3Η||
†
Subsph
ere H=UH *U
FIG. 8: Geometrically, we can view the integration energy
as the shortest distance (in Hilbert-Schmidt norm) between
the hyperplane of separable Hamiltonians and a subsphere
of Hamiltonians that can be unitarily transformed into one
another. The most separable Hamiltonian H on the subsphere
is such that its non-separable component Π3 is orthogonal
to all subsphere tangent vectors [A, H] generated by antiHermitian matrices A.
K.
The Hamiltonian diagonality theorem
Analogously to the above-mentioned ρ-diagonality theorem, we will now prove that maximal separability is attained in the eigenbasis.
H-Diagonality Theorem (HDT):
The Hamiltonian is always maximally separable (minimizing ||H3 ||) in the energy eigenbasis where it is diagonal.
As a preliminary, let us first prove the following:
Lemma 1: For any Hermitian positive semidefinite
matrix H, there is a diagonal matrix H∗ giving the same
subsystem eigenvalue spectra, λ(Π1 H∗ ) = λ(Π1 H),
λ(Π2 H∗ ) = λ(Π2 H), and whose eigenvalue spectrum is
majorized by that of H, i.e., λ(H) λ(H∗ ).
17
Proof: Define the matrix H0 ≡ UHU† , where U ≡
U1 ⊗ U2 , and U1 and U2 are unitary matrices diagonalizing the partial trace matrices tr 2 H and tr 1 H, respectively. This implies that tr 1 H0 and tr 2 H0 are diagonal,
and λ(H0 ) = λ(H). Now define the matrix H∗ to be H0
with all off-diagonal elements set to zero. Then tr 1 H∗ =
tr 1 H0 and tr 2 H∗ = tr 2 H0 , so λ(Π1 H∗ ) = λ(Π1 H) and
λ(Π2 H∗ ) = λ(Π2 H). Moreover, since the eigenvalues of
any Hermitian positive semidefinite matrix majorize its
diagonal elements [31], λ(H∗ ) ≺ λ(H0 ) = λ(H), which
completes the proof.
Lemma 2: The set S(H) of all diagonal matrices
whose diagonal elements are majorized by the vector
λ(H) is a convex subset of the subsphere, with boundary
points on the surface of the subsphere that are diagonal
matrices with all permutations of λ(H).
Proof: Any matrix H∗ ∈ S(H) must lie either on
the subsphere surface or in its interior, because of the
well-known result that for any two positive semidefinite
Hermitian matrices of equal trace, the majorization condition λ(H∗ ) ≺ λ(H) is equivalent to the former lying
in the convex hull of the unitary orbit of the latter [32]:
P
P
H∗ = i pi Ui HU†i , pi ≥ 0, i pi = 1, Ui U†i = I. S(H)
contains the above-mentioned boundary points, because
they can be written as UHU† for all unitary matrices
U that diagonalize H, and for a diagonal matrix, the
corresponding H∗ is simply the matrix itself. The set
S(H) is convex, because the convexity condition that
pλ1 + (1 − p)λ2 λ if λ1 λ, λ2 λ, 0 ≤ p ≤ 1
follows straight from the definition of .
Lemma 3: The function f (H) ≡ ||Π1 H||2 + ||Π2 H||2
is convex, i.e., satisfies f (pa Ha + pb Hb ) ≤ pa f (Ha ) +
pb f (Hb ) for any constants satisfying pa ≥ 0, pb ≥ 0,
pa + pb = 1.
Proof: If we arrange the elements of H into a vector h and denote the action of the superoperators Πi
on h by matrices Pi , then f (H) = |P1 h|2 + |P2 h|2 =
h† (P†1 P1 + P†2 P2 )h. Since the matrix in parenthesis is
symmetric and positive semidefinite, the function f is a
positive semidefinite quadratic form and hence convex.
We are now ready to prove the H-diagonality theorem.
This is equivalent to proving that f (H) takes its maximum value on the subsphere in Figure 8 for a diagonal H:
since both ||H|| and ||H0 || are unitarily invariant, minimizing ||H3 ||2 = ||H||2 − ||H0 ||2 − f (H) is equivalent to
maximizing f (H).
Let O(H) denote the subphere, i.e., the unitary orbit
of H. By Lemma 1, for every H ∈ O(H), there is an H∗ ∈
S(H) such that f (H) = f (H∗ ). If f takes its maximum
over S(H) at a point H∗ which also belongs to O(H),
then this is therefore also the maximum of f over O(H).
Since the function f is convex (by Lemma 3) and the set
S(H) is convex (by Lemma 2), f cannot have any local
maxima within the set and must take its maximum value
at at least one point on the boundary of the set. As per
Lemma 2, these boundary points are diagonal matrices
with all permutations of the eigenvalues of H, so they
also belong to O(H) and therefore constitute maxima of
f over the subsphere. In other words, the Hamiltonian
is always maximally separable in its energy eigenbasis,
q.e.d.
This result holds also for Hamiltonians with negative
eigenvalues, since we can make all eigenvalues positive
by adding an H0 -component without altering the optimization problem. In addition to the diagonal optimum,
there will generally be other bases with identical values
of ||H3 ||, corresponding to separable unitary transformations of the diagonal optimum.
We have thus proved that separability is always maximized in the energy eigenbasis, where the n × n matrix
H is diagonal and the projection operators Πi defined
by equations (21)-(24) greatly simplify. If we arrange
the n = lm diagonal elements of H into an l × m matrix
H, then the action of the linear operators Πi is given by
simple matrix operations:
H0 ≡ Ql HQm ,
H1 ≡ Pl HQm ,
H2 ≡ Ql HPm ,
H3 ≡ Pl HPm ,
(36)
(37)
(38)
(39)
Pk ≡ I − Qk ,
1
(Qk )ij ≡
k
(40)
where
(41)
are k × k projection matrices satisfying Pk2 = Pk , Q2k =
Qk , Pk Qk = Qk Pk = 0, Pk + Qk = I. (To avoid confusion, we are using boldface for n × n matrices and plain
font for smaller matrices involving only the eigenvalues.)
For the n = 2 × 2 example of equation (32), we have
!
!
1 1
1
1
1
2 2
2 −2
P2 = 1 1 , Q2 =
,
(42)
2 − 12 12
2 2
and a general diagonal H is decomposed into four terms
H = H0 + H1 + H2 + H3 as follows:
t t
a a
b −b
v −v
H=
+
+
+
. (43)
t t
−a −a
b −b
−v v
As expected, only the last matrix is non-separable, and
the row/column sums vanish for the two previous matrices, corresponding to vanishing partial traces.
Note that we are here choosing the n basis states of
the full Hilbert space to be products of basis states from
the two factor spaces. This is without loss of generality,
since any other basis states can be transformed into such
product states by a unitary transformation.
Finally, note that the theorem above applies only to exact finite-dimensional Hamiltonians, not to approximate
discretizations of infinite-dimensional ones such as are
frequently employed in physics. If n is not factorizable,
the H-factorization problem can be rigorously mapped
18
onto a physically indistinguishable one with a slightly
larger factorizable n by setting the corresponding new
rows and columns of the density matrix ρ equal to zero,
so that the new degrees of freedom are all frozen out —
we will discuss this idea in more detail in in Section IV F.
L.
Ultimate independence and the Quantum Zeno
paradox
As emphasized by Zurek [33], states commuting with
the interaction Hamiltonian form a “pointer basis” of
classically observable states, playing an important role
in understanding the emergence of a classical world.
The fact that the independence principle automatically
leads to commutativity with interaction Hamiltonians
might therefore be taken as an encouraging indication
that we are on the right track. However, whereas
the pointer states in Zurek’s examples evolve over time
due to the system’s own Hamiltonian H1 , those in our
independence-maximizing decomposition do not, because
they commute also with H1 . Indeed, the situation
is even worse, as illustrated in Figure 9: any timedependent system will evolve into a time-independent
one, as environment-induced decoherence [34–37, 39, 40]
drives it towards an eigenstate of the interaction Hamiltonian, i.e., an energy eigenstate.12
The famous Quantum Zeno effect, whereby a system
can cease to evolve in the limit where it is arbitrarily strongly coupled to its environment [41], thus has a
stronger and more pernicious cousin, which we will term
the Quantum Zeno Paradox or the Independence Paradox.
Quantum Zeno Paradox:
If we decompose our universe into maximally
independent objects, then all change grinds to
a halt.
FIG. 9: If the Hamiltonian of a system commutes with the
interaction Hamiltonian ([H1 , H3 ] = 0), then decoherence
drives the system toward a time-independent state ρ where
nothing ever changes. The figure illustrates this for the Bloch
Sphere of a single qubit starting in a pure state and ending up
in a fully mixed state ρ = I/2. More general initial states end
up somewhere along the z-axis. Here H1 ∝ σz , generating a
simple precession around the z-axis.
In Section III G, we began exploring the idea that if we
divide the world into maximally independent parts (with
minimal interaction Hamiltonians), then the observed object hierarchy from Figure 1 would emerge. The HDT
tells us that this decomposition (factorization) into maximally independent parts can be performed in the energy
eigenbasis of the total Hamiltonian. This means that all
subsystem Hamiltonians and all interaction Hamiltonians
commute with one another, corresponding to an essentially classical world where none of the quantum effects
associated with non-commutativity manifest themselves!
In contrast, many systems that we customarily refer to
as objects in our classical world do not commute with
their interaction Hamiltonians: for example, the Hamiltonian governing the dynamics of a baseball involves its
momentum, which does not commute with the positiondependent potential energy due to external forces.
In summary, we have tried to understand the emergence of our observed semiclassical world, with its hierarchy of moving objects, by decomposing the world
into maximally independent parts, but our attempts have
failed dismally, producing merely a timeless world reminiscent of heat death. In Section II G, we saw that using
the integration principle alone led to a similarly embarrassing failure, with no more than a quarter of a bit of
integrated information possible. At least one more principle is therefore needed.
IV.
DYNAMICS AND AUTONOMY
Let us now explore the implications of the dynamics
principle from Table II, according to which a conscious
system has the capacity to not only store information,
but also to process it. As we just saw above, there is an
interesting tension between this principle and the independence principle, whose Quantum Zeno Paradox gives
the exact opposite: no dynamics and no information processing at all.
12 For a system with a finite environment, the entropy will eventu-
ally decrease again, causing the resumption of time-dependence,
but this Poincaré recurrence time grows exponentially with environment size and is normally large enough that decoherence can
be approximated as permanent.
19
We will term the synthesis of these two competing principles the autonomy principle: a conscious system has
substantial dynamics and independence. When exploring autonomous systems below, we can no longer study
the state ρ and the Hamiltonian H separately, since their
interplay is crucial. Indeed, we well see that there are interesting classes of states ρ that provide substantial dynamics and near-perfect independence even when the interaction Hamiltonian H3 is not small. In other words,
for certain preferred classes of states, the independence
principle no longer pushes us to simply minimize H3 and
face the Quantum Zeno Paradox.
A.
so we can equivalently use either of v or δH as convenient measures of quantum dynamics.13 Whimsically
speaking, the dynamics principle thus implies that energy eigenstates are as unconscious as things come, and
that if you know your own energy exactly, you’re dead.
Although it is not obvious from their definitions, these
quantities vmax and δH are independent of time (even
though ρ generally evolves). This is easily seen in the
energy eigenbasis, where
− iρ̇mn = [H, ρ]mn = ρmn (Em − En ),
(51)
where the energies En are the eigenvalues of H. In this
basis, ρ(t) = eiHt ρ(0)e−iHt simplifies to
Probability velocity and energy coherence
ρ(t)mn = ρ(0)mn ei(Em −En )t ,
(52)
To obtain a quantitative measure of dynamics, let us
first define the probability velocity v ≡ ṗ, where the probability vector p is given by pi ≡ ρii . In other words,
This means that in the energy eigenbasis, the probabilities pn ≡ ρnn are invariant over time. These quantities
constitute the energy spectral density for the state:
vk = ρ̇kk = i[H, ρ]kk .
pn = hEn |ρ|En i.
(44)
Since v is basis-dependent, we are interested in finding
the basis where
X
X
v2 ≡
vk2 =
(ρ̇kk )2
(45)
k
jk
2
= ||ρ̇|| −
X
n
k
is maximized, i.e., the basis where the sums of squares of
the diagonal elements of ρ̇ is maximal. It is easy to see
that this basis is the eigenbasis of ρ̇:
X
X
X
v2 =
(ρ̇kk )2 =
(ρ̇jk )2 −
(ρ̇jk )2
k
In the energy eigenbasis, equation (48) reduces to
!2
X
X
2
2
2
δH = ∆H =
pn En −
pn En ,
j6=k
2
(ρ̇jk )
(46)
j6=k
is clearly maximized in the eigenbasis where all offdiagonal elements in the last term vanish, since the
Hilbert-Schmidt norm ||ρ̇|| is the same in every basis;
||ρ̇||2 = tr ρ̇2 , which is simply the sum of the squares of
the eigenvalues of ρ̇.
Let us define the energy coherence
r
1
1
−tr {[H, ρ]2 }
δH ≡ √ ||ρ̇|| = √ ||i[H, ρ]|| =
2
2
2
p
2
2
=
tr [H ρ − HρHρ].
(47)
(54)
n
which is time-invariant because the spectral density pn
is. For general states, equation (47) simplifies to
X
δH 2 =
|ρmn |2 En (En − Em ).
(55)
mn
This is time-independent because equation (52) shows
that ρmn changes merely by a phase factor, leaving |ρmn |
invariant. In other words, when a quantum state evolves
unitarily in the Hilbert-Schmidt vector space, both the
position vector ρ and the velocity vector ρ̇ retain their
lengths: both ||ρ|| and ||ρ̇|| remain invariant over time.
B.
Dynamics versus complexity
Our results above show that if all we are interested in is
maximizing the maximal probability velocity vmax , then
we should find the two most widely separated eigenvalues of H, Emin and Emax , and choose a pure state that
involves a coherent superposition of the two:
For a pure state ρ = |ψihψ|, this definition implies that
δH ≡ ∆H, where ∆H is the energy uncertainty
1/2
∆H = hψ|H2 |ψi − hψ|H|ψi2
,
(48)
so we can think of δH as the coherent part of the energy uncertainty, i.e., as the part that is due to quantum
rather than classical uncertainty.
√
Since ||ρ̇|| = ||[H, ρ]|| = 2δH, we see that the maximum possible probability velocity v is simply
√
(49)
vmax = 2 δH,
(53)
|ψi = c1 |Emin i + c2 |Emax i,
(56)
13 The fidelity between the state ψ(t) and the initial state ψ
0
is
defined as
F (t) ≡ hψ0 |ψ(t)i,
(50)
and it is easy to show that Ḟ (0) = 0 and F̈ (0) = −(∆H)2 , so
the energy uncertainty is a good measure of dynamics in that it
also determines the fidelity evolution to lowest order, for pure
states. For a detailed review of related measures of dynamics/information processing capacity, see [16].
20
FIG. 10: Time-evolution of Bloch vector tr σ ρ̇1 for a single qubit subsystem. We saw how minimizing H3 leads to a static state
with no dynamics, such as the left example. Maximizing δH, on the other hand, produces extremely simple dynamics such as
the right example. Reducing δH by a modest factor of order unity can allow complex and chaotic dynamics (center); shown
here is a 2-qubit system where the second qubit is traced out.
√
where |c1 | = |c2 | = 1/ 2. This gives δH = (Emax −
Emin )/2, the largest possible value, but produces an extremely simple and boring solution ρ(t). Since the spectral density pn = 0 except for these two energies, the
dynamics is effectively that of a 2-state system (a single qubit) no matter how large the dimensionality of H
is, corresponding to a simple periodic solution with frequency ω = Emax − Emin (a circular trajectory in the
Bloch sphere as in the right panel of Figure 10). This violates the dynamics principle as defined in Table II, since
no substantial information processing capacity exists: the
system is simply performing the trivial computation that
flips a single bit repeatedly.
C.
Highly autonomous systems: sliding along the
diagonal
What combinations of H, ρ and factorization produce
highly autonomous systems? A broad and interesting
class corresponds to macroscopic objects around us that
move classically to an excellent approximation.
The states that are most robust toward environmentinduced decoherence are those that approximately commute with the interaction Hamiltonian [36]. As a simple
but important example, let us consider an interaction
Hamiltonian of the factorizable form
H3 = A ⊗ B,
To perform interesting computations, the system
clearly needs to exploit a significant part of its energy
spectrum. As can be seen from equation (52), if the
eigenvalue differences are irrational multiples of one another, then the time evolution will never repeat, and ρ
will eventually evolve through all parts of Hilbert space
allowed by the invariants |hEm |ρ|En i|. The reduction of
δH required to transition from simple periodic motion
to such complex aperiodic motion is quite modest. For
example, if the eigenvalues are roughly equispaced, then
changing the spectral density pn from having all weight at
the two endpoints to having approximately equal weight
for all eigenvalues will √
only reduce the energy coherence
δH by about a factor 3, since
√ the standard deviation
of a uniform distribution is 3 times smaller than its
half-width.
(57)
and work in a system basis where the interaction term
A is diagonal. If ρ1 is approximately diagonal in this
basis, then H3 has little effect on the dynamics, which
becomes dominated by the internal subsystem Hamiltonian H1 . The Quantum Zeno Paradox we encountered
in Section III L involved a situation where H1 was also
diagonal in this same basis, so that we ended up with
no dynamics. As we will illustrate with examples below,
classically moving objects in a sense constitute the opposite limit: the commutator ρ̇1 = i[H1 , ρ1 ] is essentially
as large as possible instead of as small as possible, continually evading decoherence by concentrating ρ around
a single point that continually slides along the diagonal,
as illustrated in Figure 11. Decohererence rapidly suppresses off-diagonal elements far from this diagonal, but
leaves the diagonal elements completely unaffected, so
21
j
u
es
es
ss
nc
re j
re
pp ρ i
su nts
he
co
H 3 me
de
m le
ro l e
hs f na
ig
ic go
H
am dia
yn off-
D
n
re
he
co
de
wLo
s
ce
p
bs
e
ac
e
ac
sp
ub
H
ρij≠0
H 1 al
m on
ro ag
s f di
ic ng
am lo
yn a
D ides
sl
ec
d
h-
ig
es
ss
re j
pp ρ i
su nts
ce
H3 e
m
pa
m le
bs
ro l e
su
s f na
ic go
ce
am ia
d
en
yn fer
D of
oh
i
FIG. 11: Schematic representation of the time-evolution of
the density matrix ρij for a highly autonomous subsystem.
ρij ≈ 0 except for a single region around the diagonal
(red/grey dot), and this region slides along the diagonal under the influence of the subsystem Hamiltonian H1 . Any ρij elements far from the diagonal rapidly approach zero because
of environment-decoherence caused by the interaction Hamiltonian H3 .
there exists a low-decoherence band around the diagonal.
Suppose, for instance, that our subsystem is the centerof-mass position x of a macroscopic object experiencing
a position-dependent potential V (x) caused by coupling
to the environment, so that Figure 11 represents the density matrix ρ1 (x, x0 ) in the position basis. If the potential
V (x) has a flat (V 0 = 0) bottom of width L, then ρ1 (x, x0 )
will be completely unaffected by decoherence for the band
|x0 − x| < L. For a generic smooth potential V , the decoherence suppression of off-diagonal elements grows only
quadratically with the distance |x0 − x| from the diagonal
[4, 35], again making decoherence much slower than the
internal dynamics in a narrow diagonal band.
As a specific example of this highly autonomous type,
let us consider a subsystem with a uniformly spaced energy spectrum. Specifically, consider an n-dimensional
Hilbert space and a Hamiltonian with spectrum
n−1
Ek = k −
~ω = k~ω + E0 ,
(58)
2
k = 0, 1, ..., n − 1. We will often set ~ω = 1 for simplicity. For example, n = 2 gives the spectrum {− 12 , 21 }
like the Pauli matrices divided by two, n = 5 gives
{−2, −1, 0, 1, 2} and n → ∞ gives the simple Harmonic
oscillator (since the zero-point energy P
is physically irrelevant, we have chosen it so that tr H = Ek = 0, whereas
the customary choice for the harmonic oscillator is such
that the ground state energy is E0 = ~ω/2).
If we want to, we can define the familiar position and
momentum operators x and p, and interpret this system
as a Harmonic oscillator. However, the probability velocity v is not maximized in either the position or the
momentum basis, except twice per oscillation — when
the oscillator has only kinetic energy, v is maximized in
the x-basis, and when it has only potential energy, v is
maximized in the p-basis, and when it has only potential energy. If we consider the Wigner function W (x, p),
which simply rotates uniformly with frequency ω, it becomes clear that the observable which is always changing with the maximal probability velocity is instead the
phase, the Fourier-dual of the energy. Let us therefore
define the phase operator
Φ ≡ FHF† ,
(59)
where F is the unitary Fourier matrix.
Please remember that none of the systems H that we
consider have any a priori physical interpretation; rather,
the ultimate goal of the physics-from-scratch program is
to derive any interpretation from the mathematics alone.
Generally, any thus emergent interpretation of a subsystem will depend on its interactions with other systems.
Since we have not yet introduced any interactions for our
subsystem, we are free to interpret it in whichever way is
convenient. In this spirit, an equivalent and sometimes
more convenient way to interpret our Hamiltonian from
equation (58) is as a massless one-dimensional scalar particle, for which the momentum equals the energy, so the
momentum operator is p = H. If we interpret the particle as existing in a discrete space with n points and a
toroidal topology (which we can think of as n equispaced
points on a ring), then the position operator is related to
the momentum operator by a discrete Fourier transform:
x = FpF† ,
jk
1
Fjk ≡ √ ei 2πn .
N
(60)
Comparing equations (59) and (60), we see that x =
Φ. Since F is unitary, the operators H, p, x and Φ
all have the same spectrum: the evenly spaced grid of
equation (58).
As illustrated in Figure 12, the time-evolution generated by H has a simple geometric interpretation in
the space spanned by the position eigenstates |xk i, k =
1, ...n: the space is unitarily rotating with frequency ω,
so after a time t = 2π/nω, a state |ψ(0)i = |xk i has
been rotated such that it equals the next eigenvector:
|ψ(t)i = |xk+1 i, where the addition is modulo n. This
means that the system has period T ≡ 2π/ω, and that
|ψi rotates through each of the n basis vectors during
each period.
Let us now quantify the autonomy of this system, starting with the dynamics. Since a position eigenstate is a
Dirac delta function in position space, it is a plane wave
in momentum space — and in energy space, since H = p.
22
yˆ
x̂4
x̂3
ω
x̂5
z
x̂2
ω
ω
y
xˆ
zˆ
x̂1
x̂6
x
x̂7
x̂8
FIG. 12: For a system with an equispaced energy spectrum (such as a truncated harmonic oscillator or a massless particle in
a discrete 1-dimensional periodic space), the time-evolution has a simple geometric interpretation in the space spanned by the
eigenvectors x̂k of the phase operator FHF, the Fourier dual of the Hamiltonian, corresponding to unitarily rotating the entire
space with frequency ω, where ~ω is the energy level spacing. After a time 2π/nω, each basis vector has been rotated into the
subsequent one, as schematically illustrated above. (The orbit in Hilbert space is only planar for n ≤ 3, so the figure should
not be taken too literally.) The black star denotes the α = 1 apodized state described in the text, which is more robust toward
decoherence.
1.0
This means that the spectral density is pn = 1/n for a
position eigenstate. Substituting equation (58) into equation (54) gives an energy coherence
r
n2 − 1
δH = ~ω
.
(61)
12
||H|| =
!1/2
Ek2
r
= ~ω
n(n2 − 1)
k=0
12
=
√
Non-apodized
fun
lty
0.4
Pe
na
Apodized
0.6
For comparison,
n−1
X
cti
o
n
0.8
0.2
n δH. (62)
-150°
-100°
-50°
50°
100°
150°
-0.2
Let us now turn to quantifying independence and decoherence. The inner product between the unit vector
|ψ(0)i and the vector |ψ(t)i ≡ eiHt |ψ(0)i into which it
evolves after a time t is
φ
fn (φ) ≡ hψ|eiH ω |ψi =
n−1
n−1
k=0
k=0
X
n−1
1 X iEk φ
e
= e−i 2 φ
eikφ
n
n−1
1
1 − einφ
sin nφ
= e−i 2 φ
=
,
iφ
n
1−e
n sin φ
(63)
where φ ≡ ωt. This inner product fn is plotted in Figure 13, and is seen to be a sharply peaked even function
satisfying fn (0) = 1, fn (2πk/n) = 0 for k = 1, ..., n − 1
and exhibiting one small oscillation between each of these
zeros. The angle θ ≡ cos−1 fn (φ) between an initial vector φ and its time evolution thus grows rapidly from 0◦ to
90◦ , then oscillates close to 90◦ until returning to 0◦ after
a full period T . An initial state |ψ(0)i = |xk i therefore
evolves as
ψj (t) = fn (ωt − 2π[j − k]/n)
FIG. 13: The wiggliest (heavy black) curve shows the inner
product of a position eigenstate with what it evolves into a
time t = φ/ω later due to our n = 20-dimensional Hamiltonian with energy spacings ~ω. When optimizing to minimize
the square of this curve using the 1 − cos φ penalty function shown, corresponding to apodization in the Fourier domain, we instead obtain the green/light grey curve, resulting
in much less decoherence.
in the position basis, i.e., a wavefunction ψj sharply
peaked for j ∼ k + nωt/2π (mod n). Since the density
matrix evolves as ρij (t) = ψi (t)ψj (t)∗ , it will therefore
be small except for i ∼ j ∼ k + nωt/2π (mod n), corresponding to the round dot on the diagonal in Figure 11.
In particular, the decoherence-sensitive elements ρjk will
be small far from the diagonal, corresponding to the small
values that fn takes far from zero. How small will the
decoherence be? Let us now develop the tools needed to
quantify this.
23
D.
The exponential growth of autonomy with
system size
Let us return to the most general Hamiltonian H
and study how an initially separable state ρ = ρ1 ⊗ ρ2
evolves over time. Using the orthogonal projectors of
Section III I, we can decompose H as
H = H1 ⊗ I + I ⊗ H2 + H3 ,
(64)
where tr 1 H3 = tr 2 H3 = 0. By substituting equation (64) into the evolution equation ρ̇1 = tr 2 ρ̇ =
itr 2 [H, ρ] and using various partial trace identities from
Section A to simplify the resulting three terms, we obtain
ρ̇1 = i tr [H, ρ1 ⊗ ρ2 ] = i [H1 + H∗ , ρ1 ],
2
(65)
This means that it we restrict ourselves to the HilbertSchmidt vector space of Hermitian matrices, we obtain an
interesting generalization of the standard dot and cross
products for 3D vectors. Defining
A · B ≡ (A, B),
A × B ≡ i[A, B],
we see that these operations satisfy all the same properties as their familiar 3D analogs: the scalar (dot)
product is symmetric (B · A = tr B† A = tr AB† =
A · B), while the vector (cross) product is antisymmetric (A × B = B × A), orthogonal to both factors
([A × B] · A = [A × B] · B = 0), and produces a result of
the same type as the two factors (a Hermitian matrix).
In this notation, the products of an arbitrary Hermitian matrix A with the identity matrix I are
where what we will term the effective interaction Hamiltonian
H∗ ≡ tr {(I ⊗ ρ2 )H3 }
2
I · A = tr A,
I × A = 0,
and the Schrödinger equation ρ̇ = i[H, ρ] becomes simply
ρ̇ = H × ρ.
d
d
||ρ||2 = ρ · ρ = 2ρ̇ · ρ = 2(H × ρ) · ρ = 0.
dt
dt
(75)
A simple and popular way of quantifying whether evolution is non-unitary is to compute the linear entropy
S lin ≡ 1 − tr ρ2 = 1 − ||ρ||2 ,
(76)
and repeatedly differentiating equation (76) tells us that
Ṡ lin = −2ρ · ρ̇,
(67)
(68)
To qualify independence and autonomy, we are interested in the extent to which H3 causes entanglement and
makes the time-evolution of ρ1 non-unitary. When thinking of ρ as a vector in the Hilbert-Schmidt vector space
that we reviewed in Section III H, unitary evolution preserves its length ||ρ||. To provide geometric intuition for
this, let us define dot and cross product notation analogous to vector calculus. First note that
(A† , [A, B]) = tr AAB − tr ABA = 0,
(74)
Just as in the 3D vector analogy, we can think of this
as generating rotation of the vector ρ that preserves its
length:
lin
(69)
since a trace of a product is invariant under cyclic permutations of the factors. This shows that a commutator [A, B] is orthogonal to both A† and B† under the
Hilbert-Schmidt inner product, and a Hermitian matrix
H is orthogonal to its commutator with any matrix.
(77)
2
S̈
= −2(||ρ̇|| + ρ · ρ̈),
...lin
...
= −6ρ̇ · ρ̈ − 2ρ · ρ .
S
where we have defined the Hermitian matrix
K ≡ i tr 2 {(I ⊗ [H2 , ρ2 ])H3 }.
(72)
(73)
(66)
can be interpreted as an average of the interaction Hamiltonian H3 , weighted by the environment state ρ2 . A
similar effective Hamiltonian is studied in [42–44]. Equation (65) implies that the evolution of ρ1 remains unitary
to first order in time, the only effect of the interaction H3
being to replace H1 from equation (15) by an effective
Hamiltonian H1 + H∗ .
The second time derivative is given by ρ̈1 = tr 2 ρ̇ =
−tr 2 [H, [H, ρ]], and by analogously substituting equation (64) and using partial trace identities from Section A
to simplify the resulting nine terms, we obtain
− ρ̈1 = tr 2 [H, [H, ρ1 ⊗ ρ2 ]] =
= [H1 , [H1 , ρ1 ]] − i [K, ρ1 ] +
+ [H1 , [H∗ , ρ1 ]] + [H∗ , [H1 , ρ1 ]] +
+ tr 2 [H3 , [H3 , ρ1 ⊗ ρ2 ]],
(70)
(71)
(78)
(79)
Substituting equations (65) and (67) into equations (77)
and (78) for ρ1 , we find that almost all terms cancel,
leaving us with the simple result
Ṡ1lin = 0,
S̈1lin
(80)
2
= 2 tr {ρ1 tr [H3 , [H3 , ρ]]} − 2||[H∗ , ρ1 ]|| . (81)
2
This means that, to second order in time, the entropy
production is completely independent of H1 and H2 , depending only on quadratic combinations of H3 , weighted
by quadratic combinations of ρ. We find analogous results for the Shannon entropy S: If the density matrix
is initially separable, then Ṡ1 = 0 and S̈1 depends not
on the full Hamiltonian H, but only on its non-separable
component H3 , quadratically.
We now have the tools we need to compute the autonomy of our “diagonal-sliding” system from the previous
24
subsection. As a simple example, let us take H1 to be
our Hamiltonian from equation (58) with its equispaced
energy spectrum, with n = 2b , so that we can view the
Hilbert space as that of b coupled qubits. Equation (61)
then gives an energy coherence
~ω
δH ≈ √ 2b ,
12
(82)
so the probability velocity grows exponentially with the
system size b.
We augment this Hilbert space with one additional
“environment” qubit that begins in the state | ↑i, with
internal dynamics given by H2 = ~ω2 σx , and couple it
to our subsystem with an interaction
H3 = V (x) ⊗ σx
(83)
for some potential V ; x is the position operator from
equation (60). As a first example, we use the sinusoidal
potential V (x) = sin(2πx/n), start the first subsystem
in the position eigenstate |x1 i and compute the linear
entropy S1lin (t) numerically.
As expected from our qualitative arguments of the previous section, S1lin (t) grows only very slowly, and we find
that it can be accurately approximated by its Taylor expansion around t = 0 for many orbital periods T ≡ 2π/ω:
S1lin (t) ≈ S̈1lin (0) t2 /2, where S̈1lin (0) is given by equation (81). Figure 14 shows the linear entropy after one
orbit, S1lin (T ), as a function of the number of qubits b
in our subsystem (top curve in top panel). Whereas
equation (83) showed that the dynamics increases exponentially with system size (as 2b ), the figure shows that
S1lin (T ) decreases exponentially with system size, asymptotically falling as 2−4b as b → ∞.
Let us define the dynamical timescale τdyn and the independence timescale τind as
~
,
δH
τind = [S̈1lin (0)]−1/2 .
τdyn =
(84)
(85)
Loosely speaking, we can think of τdyn as the time our
system requires to perform an elementary information
processing operation such as a bit flip [16], and τind as the
time it takes for the linear entropy to change by of order
unity, i.e., for significant information exchange with the
environment to occur. If we define the autonomy A as
the ratio
τind
A≡
,
(86)
τdyn
the autonomy of our subsystem thus grows exponentially with system size, asymptotically increasing as A ∝
22b /2−b = 23b as b → ∞.
As illustrated by Figure 11, we expect this exponential scaling to be quite generic, independent of interaction
details: the origin of the exponential is simply that the
size of the round dot in the figure is of order 2b times
smaller than the size of the square representing the full
density matrix. The independence timescale τind is exponentially large because the dot, with its non-negligible
elements ρij , is exponentially close to the diagonal. The
dynamics timescale τdyn is exponentially small because it
is roughly the time it takes the dot to traverse its own diameter as it moves around at some b-independent speed
in the figure.
This exponential increase of autonomy with system
size makes it very easy to have highly autonomous systems even if the magnitude H3 of the interaction Hamiltonian is quite large. Although the environment continually “measures” the position of the subsystem through
the strong coupling H3 , this measurement does not decohere the subsystem because it is (to an exponentially good approximation) a non-demolition measurement, with the subsystem effectively in a position eigenstate. This phenomenon is intimately linked to the quantum Darwinism paradigm developed by Zurek and collaborators [40], where the environment mediates the emergence of a classical world by acting as a witness, storing large numbers of redundant copies of information
about the system state in the basis that it measures. We
thus see that systems that have high autonomy via the
“diagonal-sliding” mechanism are precisely objects that
dominate quantum Darwinism’s “survival of the fittest”
by proliferating imprints of their states in the environment.
E.
Boosting autonomy with optimized wave
packets
In our worked example above, we started our subsystem in a position eigenstate |x1 i, which cyclically evolved
though all other position eigenstates. The slight decoherence that did occur thus originated during the times when
the state was between eigenstates, in a coherent superpositions of multiple eigenstates quantified by the most
wiggly curve in Figure 13. Not surprisingly, these wiggles
(and hence the decoherence) can be reduced by a better
P
P
choice of initial state |ψi = k ψk |xk i = k ψ̂k |Ek i for
our subsystem, where ψk and ψ̂k are the wavefunction
amplitudes in the position and energy bases, respectively.
Equation (63) then gets generalized to
φ
n−1
gn (φ) ≡ hx1 |eiH ω |ψi = e−i 2 φ
n−1
X
ψ̂k eikφ .
(87)
k=0
Let us choose the initial state |ψi that minimizes the
quantity
Z π
|gn (θ)|2 w(θ)dθ
(88)
−π
for some penalty function w(θ) that punishes states giving large unwanted |g(θ)| far from θ = 0. This gives
a simple quadratic minimization problem for the vector of coefficients ψ̂k , whose solution turns out to be the
25
Entropy increase during first orbit
1
points. In the n → ∞ limit, our original choice corresponded to ψ̂ = 1 for −π ≤ φ ≤ π, which is discontinuous, whereas our replacement function ψ̂ = cos φ2 vanishes at the endpoints and is continuous. This reduces
the wiggling because Riemann-Lebesgue’s lemma implies
that the Fourier transform of a function whose first d
derivatives are continuous falls off faster than k −d . By
instead using ψ̂ (α) (φ) = (cos φ2 )α for some integer α ≥ 0,
we get α continuous derivatives, so the larger we choose
α, the smaller the decoherence-inducing wiggles, at the
cost of widening the central peak. The first five cases
give
Sinusoidal potential
10-2
10-4
α=
10-6
α=
10-8
0
1
(0)
10
ψk
Gaussian potential
10-4
α=
10-6
4
α
10-8
10-10
=
1
α=
2
α= 3
α=
Entropy increase during first orbit
4
-2
2
3
4
5
6
7
System qubits
8
0
9
10
FIG. 14: The linear entropy increase during the first orbit,
S̈1lin (2π/ω), is plotted for as a function of the subsystem
size (number of qubits b). The interaction potential V (x)
is sinusoidal (top) and Gaussian (bottom), and the different
apodization schemes used to select the initial state are labeled
by their corresponding α-value, where α = 0 corresponds to
no apodization (the initial state being a position eigenstate).
Some lines have been terminated in the bottom panel due to
insufficient numerical precision.
last (with smallest eigenvalue) eigenvector of the Toeplitz
matrix whose first row is the Fourier series of w(θ). A
convenient choice of penalty function 1 − cos φ (see Figure 13), which respects the periodicity of the problem
and grows quadratically around its φ = 0 minimum. In
the n → ∞ limit, the Toeplitz eigenvalue problem simplifies to Laplace’s equation with a ψ̂(φ) = cos φ2 winning
eigenvector, giving
Z π
cos(πk)
ψk ≡
cos(kφ)φ̂(φ)dφ =
.
(89)
1 − 4k 2
−π
The corresponding curve gn (φ) is plotted is Figure 13,
and is seen to have significantly smaller wiggles away
from the origin at the cost of a very slight widening of the
central peak. Figure 14 (top panel, lower curve) shows
that this choice significantly reduces decoherence.
What we have effectively done is employ the standard
signal processing technique known as apodization. Aside
from the irrelevant phase factor, equation (87) is simply
the Fourier transform of ψ̂, which can be made narrower
by making ψ̂ smoothly approach zero at the two end-
= δ0k ,
(90)
cos(πk)
(1)
,
(91)
ψk =
1 − 4k 2
1
(2)
ψk = δ0k + δ1,|k| ,
(92)
2
cos(πk)
(3)
ψk =
,
(93)
(1 − 4k 2 )(1 − 49 k 2 )
1
2
(4)
(94)
ψk = δ0k + δ1,|k| + δ2,|k| ,
3
6
and it is easy to show that the α → ∞ limit corresponds
to a Gaussian shape.
Which apodization is best? This depends on the interaction H3 . For our sinusoidal interaction potential
(Figure 14, top), the best results are for α = 1, when
the penalty function has a quadratic minimum. When
switching to the roughly Gaussian interaction potential
V (x) ∝ e4 cos(2πx/n) (Figure 14, bottom), the results
are instead seen to keep improving as we increase α, producing dramatically less decoherence than for the sinusoidal potential, and suggesting that the optical choice
is the α → ∞ state: a Gaussian wave packet. Gaussian
wave packets have long garnered interest as models of approximately classical states. They correspond to generalized coherent states, which have shown to be maximally
robust toward decoherence in important situations involving harmonic oscillator interactions [45]. They have
also been shown to emerge dynamically in harmonic oscillator environments, from the accumulation of many
independent interactions, in much the same way as the
central limit theorem gives a Gaussian probability distribution to sums of many independent contributions [46].
Our results suggest that Gaussian wave packets may also
emerge as the most robust states towards decoherence
from short-range interactions with exponential fall-off.
F.
Optimizing autonomy when we can choose the
state: factorizable effective theories
Above we explored specific examples of highly autonomous systems, motivated by approximately classical
systems that we find around us in nature. We found that
there are combinations of ρ, H and Hilbert space factorization that provide excellent autonomy even when the
26
interaction H3 is not small. We will now see that, more
generally, given any H and factorization, there are states
ρ that give perfect factorization and infinite autonomy.
The basic idea is that for states such that some of the
spectral density invariants pk vanish, it makes no difference if we replace the corresponding unused eigenvalues
of H by others to make the Hamiltonian separable.
Consider a subspace of the full Hilbert space defined by
a projection operator Π. A projection operator satisfies
Π2 = Π = Π† , so its eigenvalues are all zero or one, and
the latter correspond to our subspace of interest. Let
us define the symbol l to denote that operator equality
holds in this subspace. For example,
A−Bl0
(95)
Π(A − B)Π = 0.
(96)
means that
Below will often chose the subspace to correspond to lowenergy states, so the wave symbol in l is intended to remind us that equality holds in the long wavelength limit.
We saw that the energy spectral density pn of equation (53) remains invariant under unitary time evolution,
so any energy levels for which pn = 0 will never have
any physical effect, and the corresponding dimensions of
the Hilbert space can simply be ignored as “frozen out”.
This remains true even considering observation-related
state projection as described in the next subsection. Let
us therefore define
X
Π=
θ(pn )|En ihEn |,
(97)
k
where θ is the Heaviside step function (θ(x) = 1 if x > 0,
vanishing otherwise) i.e., summing only over those energy eigenstates for which the probability pn is non-zero.
Defining new operators in our subspace by
ρ0 ≡ ΠρΠ,
H0 ≡ ΠHΠ,
(98)
(99)
(100)
equation (97) implies that
X
ρ0 =
θ(pm )θ(pn )|Em ihEm |ρ|En ihEn |
mn
=
X
hand side must vanish whenever either pm or pn vanishes
— the Heaviside step functions therefore have no effect
in equation (101) and can be dropped.
Although H0 6= H, we do have H0 l H, and this means
that the time-evolution of ρ can be correctly computed
using H0 in place of the full Hamiltonian H:
0
The frozen-out part of the Hilbert space is therefore completely unobservable, and we can act as though the subspace is the only Hilbert space that exists, and as if H0
is the true Hamiltonian. By working only with ρ0 and H0
restricted to the subspace, we have also simplified things
by reducing the dimensionality of these matrices.
Sometimes, H0 can possess more symmetry than H.
Sometimes, H0 can be separable even if H is not:
H l H0 = H1 ⊗ I + I ⊗ H2
(102)
To create such a situation for an arbitrary n×n Hamiltonian, where n = n1 n2 , simply pick a state ρ such that the
spectral densities pk vanish for all except n1 + n2 − 1 energy eigenvectors. This means that in the energy eigenbasis, with the eigenvectors sorted to place these n1 +n2 −1
special ones first, ρ is a block-diagonal matrix vanishing
outside of the upper left (n1 +n2 −1)×(n1 +n2 −1) block.
Equation (52) shows that ρ(t) will retain this block form
for all time, and that changing the energy eigenvalues Ek
with k > n1 + n2 − 1 leaves the time-evolution of ρ unaffected. We can therefore choose these eigenvalues so that
H becomes separable. For example, for the case where
the Hilbert space dimensionality n = 9, suppose that pk
vanishes for all energies except E0 , E1 , E2 , E3 , E4 , and
adjust the irrelevant zero-point energy so that E0 = 0.
Then define H0 whose 9 eigenvalues are
0
E1
E2
E3
E1 + E3
E2 + E3 .
(103)
E4
E1 + E4
E2 + E4
Note that H0 l H, and that although H is generically
not separable, H0 is separable, with subsystem Hamiltonians H01 = diag {0, E1 , E2 } and H02 = diag {0, E3 , E4 }.
Subsystems 1 and 2 will therefore evolve as a parallel
universes governed by H01 and H01 , respectively.
G.
|Em ihEm |ρ|En ihEn | = ρ,
0
ρ(t) = Πρ(t)Π = ΠeiHt Πρ(0)Πe−iHt Π = eiH t ρ(0)e−iH t .
Minimizing quantum randomness
(101)
mn
Here the second equal sign follows from the fact that
|hEm |ρ|En i|2 ≤ hEm |ρ|Em ihEn |ρ|En i14 , so that the left
14 This last inequality follows because ρ is Hermitian and positive
semidefinite, so the determinant must be non-negative for the
2 × 2 matrix hEi |ρ|Ej i where i and j each take the two values k
and l.
When we attempted to maximize the independence for
a subsystem above, we implicitly wanted to maximize
the ability to predict the subsystems future state from
its present state. The source of unpredictability that
we considered was influence from outside the subsystem,
from the environment, which caused decoherence and increased subsystem entropy.
Since we are interested in modeling also conscious systems, there is a second independent source of unpredictability that we need to consider, which can occur even
27
if there is no interaction with the environment: “quantum
randomness”. If the system begins in a single conscious
state and unitarily evolves into a superposition of subjectively distinguishable conscious states, then the observer
in the initial state has no way of uniquely predicting her
future perceptions.
A comprehensive framework for treating such situations is given in [47], and in the interest of brevity, we
will not review it here, merely use the results. To be able
to state them as succinctly as possible, let us first introduce notation for a projection process “pr ” that is in a
sense dual to partial-tracing.
For a Hilbert space that is factored into two parts,
we define the following notation. We indicate the tensor
product structure by splitting a single index α into an index pair ii0 . For example, if the Hilbert space is the tensor product of an m-dimensional and an n-dimensional
space, then α = n(i − 1) + i0 , i = 1, ..., m, i0 = 1, ..., n,
α = 1, ..., mn, and if A = B ⊗ C, then
Aαβ = Aii0 jj 0 = Bij Ci0 j 0 .
ρo = tr ρ.
e
If the subject-object density matrix is ρ, then the subject may be in a superposition of having many different
perceptions |sk i. Take the |sk i to form a basis of the
subject Hilbert space. The probability that the subject
finds itself in the state |sk i is
pk = (tr ρ)kk ,
(105)
We define pr k A as the k th diagonal block of A:
(114)
2
and for a subject finding itself in this state |sk i, the object
density matrix is
ρ(k)
o =
(104)
We define ? as the operation exchanging subsystems 1
and 2:
(A? )ii0 jj 0 = Ai0 ij 0 j
the observer is interested in making predictions about)
and the environment (all remaining degrees of freedom).
If the subject knows the object-environment density
matrix to be ρ, it obtains its density matrix for the object
by tracing out the environment:
pr k ρ
.
pk
(115)
If ρ refers to a future subject-object state, and the subject wishes to predict its future knowledge of the object,
it takes the weighted average of these density matrices,
obtaining
X
X
ρo =
pk ρ(k)
pr ρ = tr ρ,
o =
k
k
k
s
(pr A)ij = Akikj
k
For example, pr 1 A is the m × m upper left corner of A.
As before tr i A, denotes the partial trace over the ith
subsystem:
X
(tr A)ij =
Akikj
(106)
1
k
(tr A)ij =
2
X
Aikjk
(107)
k
The following identities are straightforward to verify:
tr A? = tr A
(108)
tr A? = tr A
2
1
X
tr A =
pr A
(109)
1
2
1
tr A =
2
k
X
k
pr A?
2
tr pr A? = (tr A)kk
k
1
(111)
k
tr pr A = (tr A)kk
k
(110)
k
(112)
(113)
Let us adopt the framework of [47] and decompose
the full Hilbert space into three parts corresponding to
the subject (the conscious degrees of freedom of the observer), the object (the external degrees of freedom that
i.e., it traces out itself! (We used the identity (110) in
the last step.) Note that this simple result is independent of whatever basis is used for the object-space, so all
issues related to how various states are perceived become
irrelevant.
As proven in [48], any unitary transformation of a separable ρ will increase the entropy of tr 1 ρ. This means
that the subject’s future knowledge of ρo is more uncertain than its present knowledge thereof. However, as
proven in [47], the future subject’s knowledge of ρo will
on average be less uncertain than it presently is, at least if
the time-evolution is restricted to be of the measurement
type.
The result ρo = tr 1 ρ also holds if you measure the
object and then forget what the outcome was. In this
case, you are simply playing the role of an environment,
resulting in the exact same partial-trace equation.
In summary, for a conscious system to be able to predict the future state of what it cares about (ρo ) as well
as possible, we must minimize uncertainty introduced
both by the interactions with the environment (fluctuation, dissipation and decoherence) and by measurement
(“quantum randomness”). The future evolution can be
better predicted for certain object states than for others, because they are more stable against both of the
above-mentioned sources of unpredictability. The utility principle from Table II suggests that it is precisely
these most stable and predictable states that conscious
observers will perceive. The successful “predictability
28
H.
Optimizing autonomy when the state is given
Let us now consider the case where both H and ρ are
treated as given, and we want to vary the Hilbert space
factorization to attain maximal separability. H and ρ
together determine the full time-evolution ρ(t) via the
Schrödinger equation, so we seek the unitary transforma-
tion U that makes Uρ(t)U† as factorizable as possible.
For a pure initial state, exact factorability is equivalent
to ρ1 (t) being pure, with ||ρ1 || = 1 and vanishing linear
entropy S lin = 1 − ||ρ1 (t)||2 , so let us minimize the linear
entropy averaged over a range of times. As a concrete
example, we minimize the function
m
f (U) ≡ 1 −
1 X
|| tr Uρ(ti )U† ||2 ,
m i=1 1
(116)
using 9 equispaced times ti ranging from t = 0 and t = 1,
a random 4 × 4 Hamiltonian H, and a random pure state
ρ(0).
1.0
n
torizatio
New fac
ion
Old factorizat
0.8
Norm ||ρ1||
sieve” idea of Zurek and collaborators [50] involves precisely this idea when the source of unpredictability is
environment-induced decoherence, so the utility principle
lets us generalize this idea to include the second unpredictability source as well: to minimize apparent quantum
randomness, we should pay attention to states whose dynamics lets them remain relatively diagonal in the eigenbasis of the subject-object interaction Hamiltonian, so
that our future observations of the object are essentially
quantum non-demolition measurements.
A classical computer is a flagship example of a such
a maximally causal system, minimizing its uncertainty
about its future. By clever design, a small subset of
the degrees of freedom in the computer, interpreted as
bits, deterministically determine their future state with
virtually no uncertainty. For my laptop, each bit corresponds to the positions of certain electrons in its memory
(determining whether a micro-capacitor is charged). An
ideal computer with zero error rate thus has not only
complex dynamics (which is Turing-complete modulo resource limitations), but also perfect autonomy, with its
future state determined entirely by its own state, independently of the environment state. The Hilbert space
factorization that groups the bits of this computer into
a subsystem is therefore optimal, in the sense that any
other factorization would reduce the autonomy. Moreover, this optimal solution to the quantum factorization
problem is quite sharply defined: considering infinitesimal unitary transformations away from this optimum,
any transformation that begins rotating an environment
bit into the system will cause a sharp reduction of the
autonomy, because the decoherence rate for environment
qubits (say a thermal collision frequency ∼ 1015 Hz) is
orders of magnitude larger than the dynamics rate (say
the clock frequency ∼ 109 Hz). Note that H3 is far from
zero in this example; the pointer basis corresponds to
classical bit strings of which the environment performs
frequent quantum non-demolition measurements.
This means that if artificial intelligence researchers one
day succeed in making a classical computer conscious,
and if we turn off any input devices though which our
outside world can affect its information processing, then
it will subjectively perceive itself as existing in a parallel
universe completely disconnected from ours, even though
we can probe its internal state from outside. If a future
quantum computer is conscious, then it will feel like in a
parallel universe evolving under the Hamiltonian H1 (t)
that we have designed for it — until the readout stage,
when we switch on an interaction H3 .
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
2
4
Time
6
8
10
FIG. 15: The Hilbert-Schmidt norm ||ρ1 || is plotted for a random pure-state 2-qubit system when factorizing the Hilbert
space in the original basis (black curve) and after a unitary
transformation optimized to keep ρ1 as pure as possible for
t ≤ 1 (red/grey curve).
The result of numerically solving this optimization
problem is shown in Figure 15, and we see that the new
factorization keeps the norm ||ρ1 || visually indistinguishable from unity for the entire time period optimized for.
The optimization reduced the average Shannon entropy
over this period from S ≈ 1.1 bits to S = 0.0009 bits.
The reason that the optimization is so successful is
presumably that it by adjusting N = n2 − n21 − n22 =
16 − 4 − 4 = 8 real parameters15 in U, it is able to
approximately zero out the first N terms in the Taylor
expansion of S lin (t), whose leading terms are given by
equations (77)- (79). A series of similar numerical experiments indicated that such excellent separability could
generally be found as long as the number of time steps
ti was somewhat smaller than the number of free parameters N but not otherwise, suggesting that separability can be extended over long time periods for large
15 There are n2 parameters for U, but transformations within each
of the two subspaces have no effect, wasting n21 and n22 parameters.
29
n. However, because we are studying only unitary evolution here, neglecting the important projection effect from
the previous section, it is unclear how relevant these results are to our underlying goal. We have therefore not
extended these numerical optimizations, which are quite
time-consuming, to larger n.
V.
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, we have explored two problems that are
intimately related. The first problem is that of understanding consciousness as a state of matter, “perceptronium”. We have focused not on solving this problem,
but rather on exploring the implications of this viewpoint. Specifically, we have explored four basic principles
that may distinguish conscious matter from other physical systems: the information, integration, independence
and dynamics principles.
The second one is the physics-from-scratch problem:
If the total Hamiltonian H and the total density matrix ρ fully specify our physical world, how do we extract 3D space and the rest of our semiclassical world
from nothing more than two Hermitian matrices? Can
some of this information be extracted even from H alone,
which is fully specified by nothing more than its eigenvalue spectrum? We have focused on a core part of this
challenge which we have termed the quantum factorization problem: why do conscious observers like us perceive
the particular Hilbert space factorization corresponding
to classical space (rather than Fourier space, say), and
more generally, why do we perceive the world around us
as a dynamic hierarchy of objects that are strongly integrated and relatively independent?
These two problems go hand in hand, because a generic
Hamiltonian cannot be decomposed using tensor products, which would correspond to a decomposition of the
cosmos into non-interacting parts, so there is some optimal factorization of our universe into integrated and
relatively independent parts. Based on Tononi’s work,
we might expect that this factorization, or some generalization thereof, is what conscious observers perceive,
because an integrated and relatively autonomous information complex is fundamentally what a conscious observer is.
A.
Summary of findings
We first explored the integration principle, and found
that classical physics allows information to be essentially
fully integrated using error-correcting codes, so that any
subset containing up to about half the bits can be reconstructed from the remaining bits. Information stored
in Hopfield neural networks is naturally error-corrected,
but 1011 neurons support only about 37 bits of integrated
information. This leaves us with an integration paradox:
why does the information content of our conscious expe-
rience appear to be vastly larger than 37 bits? We found
that generalizing these results to quantum information
exacerbated this integration paradox, allowing no more
than about a quarter of a bit of integrated information
— and this result applied not only to Hopfield networks
of a given size, but to the state of any quantum system of
any size. This strongly implies that the integration principle must be supplemented by at least one additional
principle.
We next explored the independence principle and the
extent to which a Hilbert space factorization can decompose the Hamiltonian H (as opposed to the state ρ) into
independent parts. We quantified this using projection
operators in the Hilbert-Schmidt vector space where H
and ρ are viewed as vectors rather than operators, and
proved that the best decomposition can always be found
in the energy eigenbasis, where H is diagonal. This leads
to a more pernicious variant of the Quantum Zeno Effect that we termed the Quantum Zeno Paradox: if we
decompose our universe into maximally independent objects, then all change grinds to a halt. Since conscious
observers clearly do not perceive reality as being static
and unchanging, the integration and independence principles must therefore be supplemented by at least one
additional principle.
We then explored the dynamics principle, according
to which a conscious system has the capacity to not
only store information, but alsopto process it. We found
the energy coherence δH ≡
2 tr ρ̇2 to be a convenient measure of dynamics: it can be proven to be timeindependent, and it reduces to the energy uncertainty
∆H for the special case of pure states. Maximizing dynamics alone gives boring periodic solutions unable to
support complex information processing, but reducing
δH by merely a modest percentage enables chaotic and
complex dynamics that explores the full dimensionality of
the Hilbert space. We found that high autonomy (a combination of dynamics and independence) can be attained
even if the environment interaction is strong. One class
of examples involves the environment effectively performing quantum-non-demolition measurements of the autonomous system, whose internal dynamics causes the
non-negligible elements of the density matrix ρ to “slide
along the diagonal” in the measured basis, remaining
in the low-decoherence subspace. We studied such an
example involving a truncated harmonic oscillator coupled to an external spin, and saw that it is easy to find
classes of systems whose autonomy grows exponentially
with the system size (measured in qubits). Generalized
coherent states with Gaussian wavefunctions appeared
particularly robust toward interactions with steep/shortrange potentials. We found that any given H can also be
perfectly decomposed given a suitably chosen ρ that assigns zero amplitude to some energy eigenstates. When
optimizing the Hilbert space factorization for H and ρ
jointly, it appears possible to make a subsystem history
ρ1 (t) close to separable for a long time. However, it is
unclear how relevant this is, because the state projection
30
caused by observation also alters ρ1 .
B.
How does a conscious entity perceive the world?
What are we to make of these findings? We have not
solved the quantum factorization problem, but our results have brought it into sharper focus, and highlighted
both concrete open sub-problems and various hints and
clues from observation about paths forward. Let us first
discuss some open problems, then turn to the hints.
For the physics-from-scratch problem of deriving how
we perceive our world from merely H, ρ and the
Schrödinger equation, there are two possibilities: either
the problem is well-posed or it is not. If not, this would
be very interesting, implying that some sort of additional
structure beyond ρ and H is needed at the fundamental level — some additional mathematical structure encoding properties of space, for instance, which would be
surprising given that this appears unnecessary in lattice
Gauge theory (see Appendix C). Since we have limited
our treatment to unitary non-relativistic quantum mechanics, obvious candidates for missing structure relate
to relativity and quantum gravity, where the Hamiltonian
vanishes, and to mechanisms causing non-unitary wavefunction collapse. Indeed, Penrose and others have speculated that gravity is crucial for a proper understanding
of quantum mechanics even on small scales relevant to
brains and laboratory experiments, and that it causes
non-unitary wavefunction collapse [51]. Yet the Occam’s
razor approach is clearly the commonly held view that
neither relativistic, gravitational nor non-unitary effects
are central to understanding consciousness or how conscious observers perceive their immediate surroundings:
astronauts appear to still perceive themselves in a semiclassical 3D space even when they are effectively in a zerogravity environment, seemingly independently of relativistic effects, Planck-scale spacetime fluctuations, black
hole evaporation, cosmic expansion of astronomically distant regions, etc.
If, on the other hand, the physics-from-scratch problem is well-posed, we face crucial unanswered questions
related to Hilbert space factorization. Why do we perceive electromagnetic waves as transferring information
between different regions of space, rather than as completely independent harmonic oscillators that each stay
put in a fixed spatial location? These two viewpoints
correspond to factoring the Hilbert space of the electromagnetic field in either real space or Fourier space,
which are simply two unitarily equivalent Hilbert space
bases. Moreover, how can we perceive a harmonic oscillator as an integrated system when its Hamiltonian can,
as reviewed in Appendix B, be separated into completely
independent qubits? Why do we perceive a magnetic system described by the 3D Ising model as integrated, when
it separates into completely independent qubits after a
unitary transformation?16 In all three cases, the answer
clearly lies not within the system itself (in its internal
dynamics H1 ), but in its interaction H3 with the rest of
the world. But H3 involves the factorization problem all
over again: whence this distinction between the system
itself and the rest of the world, when there are countless
other Hilbert space factorizations that mix the two?
C.
Open problems
Based on our findings, three specific problems stand
in the way of solving the quantum factorization problem
and answering these questions, and we will now discuss
each of them in turn.
1.
Factorization and the chicken-and-egg problem
What should we determine first: the state or the factorization? If we are given a Hilbert space factorization
and an environment state, we can use the predictability
sieve formalism [50] to find the states of our subsystem
that are most robust toward decoherence. In some simple cases, they are eigenstates of the effective interaction
Hamiltonian H∗ from equation (66). However, to find
the best factorization, we need information about the
state. A clock is a highly autonomous system if we factor the Hilbert space so that the first factor corresponds
to the spatial volume containing the clock, but if the
state were different such that the clock were somewhere
else, we should factor out a different volume. Moreover,
if the state has the clock in a superposition of two macroscopically different locations, then there is no single optimal factorization, but instead a separate one for each
branch of the wavefunction. An observer looking at the
clock would use the clock position seen to project onto
the appropriate branch using equation (115), so the solution to the quantum factorization problem that we should
be looking for is not a single unique factorization of the
Hilbert space. Rather, we need a criterion for identifying
conscious observers, and then a prescription that determines which factorization each of them will perceive.
2.
Factorization and the integration paradox
A second challenge that we have encountered is the
extreme separability possible for both H and ρ. In the
16 If
we write the Ising Hamiltonian as a quadratic function of
σx -operators, then it is also quadratic in the annihilation and
creation operators and can therefore be diagonalized after a
Jordan-Wigner transform [49]. Note that such diagonalization
is impossible for the Heisenberg ferromagnet, whose couplings
are quadratic in all three Pauli matrices, because σz2 -terms are
quartic in the annihilation and creation operators.
31
introduction, we expressed hope that the apparent integration of minds and external objects might trace back to
the fact that for generic ρ and H, there is no Hilbert space
factorization that makes ρ factorizable or H additively
separable. Yet by generalizing Tononi’s ideas to quantum
systems, we found that what he terms the “cruelest cut”
is very cruel indeed, able to reduce the mutual information in ρ to no more than about 0.25 bits, and typically
able to make the interaction Hamiltonian H3 very small
as well. We saw in Section IV H that even the combined
effects ρ and H can typically be made close to separable,
in the sense that there is a Hilbert space factorization
where a subsystem history ρ1 (t) is close to separable for
a long time. So why do we nonetheless perceive out universe as being relatively integrated, with abundant information available to us from near and far? Why do we not
instead perceive our mind as essentially constituting its
own parallel universe, solipsism-style, with merely exponentially small interactions with the outside world? We
saw that the origin of this integration paradox is the vastness of the group of unitary transformations that we are
minimizing over, whose number of parameters scales like
n2 = 22b with the number of qubits b and thus grows exponentially with system size (measured in either volume
or number of particles).
3.
unitary and therefore evades our timelessness argument
above. Because she always perceives herself in a pure
state, knowing the state of her mind, the joint state or
her and the rest of the world is always separable. It therefore appears that if we can one day solve the quantum
factorization problem, then we will find that the emergence of time is linked to the emergence of consciousness:
the former cannot be fully understood without the latter.
D.
Observational hints and clues
In summary, the quantum factorization problem is
both very interesting and very hard. However, as opposed to the hard problem of quantum gravity, say, where
we have few if any observational clues to guide us, physics
research has produced many valuable hints and clues relevant to the quantum factorization problem. The factorization of the world that we perceive and the quantum
states that we find objects in have turned out to be exceptionally unusual and special in various ways, and for
each such way that we can identify, quantify and understand the underlying principle responsible for, we will
make another important stride towards solving the factorization problem. Let us now discuss the hints that we
have identified upon so far.
Factorization and the emergence of time
1.
A third challenge involves the emergence of time. Although this is a famously thorny problem in quantum
gravity, our results show that it appears even in nonrelativistic unitary quantum mechanics. It is intimately
linked with our factorization problem, because we are
optimizing over all unitary transformations U, and time
evolution is simply a one-dimensional subset of these
transformations, given by U = eiHt . Should the optimal factorization be determined separately at each time,
or only once and for all? In the latter case, this would
appear to select only one special time when our universe
is optimally separable, seemingly contrary to our observations that the laws of physics are time-translation invariant. In the former case, the continuous change in
factorization will simply undo time evolution [18], making you feel that time stands still! Observationally, it is
obvious that the optimal factorization can change at least
somewhat with time, since our designation of objects is
temporary: the atoms of a highly autonomous wooden
bowling ball rolling down a lane were once dispersed (as
CO2 and H2 O in the air, etc.) and will eventually disperse
again.
An obvious way out of this impasse is to bring consciousness back to center-stage as in Section IV G and
[4, 47, 48]. Whenever a conscious observer interacts with
her environment and gains new information, the state ρ
with which she describes her world gets updated according to equation (115), the quantum-mechanical version
of Bayes Theorem [48]. This change in her ρ is non-
The universality of the utility principle
The principles that we listed in Table II were for conscious systems. If we shift attention to non-conscious
objects, we find that although dynamics, independence
and integration still apply in many if not most cases, the
utility principle is the only one that universally applies
to all of them. For example, a rain drop lacks significant
information storage capacity, a boulder lacks dynamics,
a cogwheel can lack independence, and a sand pile lacks
integration. This universality of the utility principle is
hardly surprising, since utility is presumably the reason
we evolved consciousness in the first place. This suggests
that we examine all other clues below through the lens of
utility, to see whether the unusual circumstances in question can be explained via some implication of the utility
principle. In other words, if we find that useful consciousness can only exist given certain strict requirements on
the quantum factorization, then this could explain why
we perceive a factorization satisfying these requirements.
2.
ρ is exceptional
The observed state ρ of our universe is exceptional in that it is extremely cold, with most of the
Hilbert space frozen out — what principles might require this? Perhaps this is useful for consciousness
by allowing relatively stable information storage and
by allowing large autonomous systems thanks to the
32
large available dynamic range in length scales (universe/brain/atom/Planck scale)? Us being far from thermal equilibrium with our 300K planet dumping heat from
our 6000K sun into our 3K space is clearly conducive to
dynamics and information processing.
3.
H is exceptional
The Hamiltonian H of the standard model of particle
physics is of the very special form
Z
H = Hr (r)d3 r,
(117)
which is seen to be almost additively separable in the
spatial basis, and in no other basis. Although equation (117)Psuperficially looks completely separable just
as H =
i Hi , there is a coupling between infinitesimally close spatial points due to spatial derivatives in
the kinetic terms. If we replace the integral by a sum in
equation (117) by discretizing space as in lattice gauge
theory, we need couplings only between nearest-neighbor
points. This is a strong hint of the independence principle at work; all this near-independence gets ruined by a
generic unitary transformation, making the factorization
corresponding to our 3D physical space highly special;
indeed, 3D space and the exact form of equation (117)
could presumably be inferred from simply knowing the
spectrum of H.
H from equation (117) is also exceptional in that it
contains mainly quadratic, cubic and quartic functions
of the fermion and boson fields, which can in turn be
expressed linearly or quadratically in terms of qubit raising and lowering operators (see Appendix C). A generic
unitary transformation would ruin this simplicity as well,
introducing polynomials of enormous degree. What principle might be responsible for this?
H from equation (117) is also exceptional by exhibiting
tremendous symmetry: the form of Hr in invariant under
both space and time translation, and indeed under the
full Poincare group; using a factorization other than 3D
space would ruin this symmetry.
4.
The ubiquity of autonomy
When discussing the integration paradox above, we
worried about factorizations splitting the world into
nearly independent parts. If there is a factorization with
H3 = 0, then the two subsystems are independent for any
state, for all time, and will act as two parallel universes.
This means that if the only way to achieve high independence were to make H3 tiny, the integration paradox
would indeed be highly problematic. However, we saw in
Section IV that this is not at all the case: it is quite easy
to achieve high independence for some states, at least
temporarily, even when H3 is large. The independence
principle therefore does not push us inexorably towards
perceiving a more disconnected world than the one we are
familiar with. The ease of approximately factoring ρ1 (t)
during a significant time period as in Section IV H also
appears unlikely to be a problem: as mentioned, our calculation answered the wrong question by studying only
unitary evolution, neglecting projection. The take-away
hint is thus that observation needs to be taken into account to address this issue properly, just as we argued
that it must be taken into account to understand the
emergence of time.
5.
Decoherence as enemy
Early work on decoherence [34, 35] portrayed it mainly
as an enemy, rapidly killing off most quantum states,
with only a tiny minority surviving long enough to be
observable. For example, a bowling ball gets struck by
about 1025 air molecules each second, and a single strike
suffices to ruin any macrosuperposition of the balls position extending further than about an angstrom, the
molecular De Broglie wavelength [35, 52]. The successful
predictability sieve idea of Zurek and collaborators [50]
states that we will only perceive those quantum states
that are most robust towards decoherence, which in the
case of macroscopic objects such as bowling balls selects
roughly classical states with fairly well-defined positions.
In situations where the position basis emerges as special,
this might thus trace back to the environmental interactions H3 (with air molecules etc.) probing the position,
which might in turn traces back to the fact that H from
equation (117) is roughly separable in the position basis.
Note, however, that the general situation is more complicated, since the predictability sieve depends also on the
state ρ, which might contain long-distance entanglement
built up over time by the kinetic terms in equation (117).
Indeed, ρ can describe a laboratory where a system is
probed in a non-spatial basis, causing the predictablity
sieve to favor, say, energy eigenstates.
In terms of Table II, we can view the predictability
sieve as an application of the utility principle, since there
is clearly no utility in trying to perceive something that
will be irrelevant 10−25 seconds later. In summary, the
hint from this negative view of decoherence is that we
should minimize it, either by factoring to minimize H3
itself or by using robust states on which H3 essentially
performs quantum non-demolition measurements.
6.
Decoherence as friend
Although quantum computer builders still view decoherence as their enemy, more recent work on decoherence has emphasized that it also has a positive side: the
Quantum Darwinism framework [40] emphasizes the role
of environment interactions H3 as a valuable communication channel, repeatedly copying information about the
33
states of certain systems into the environment17 , thereby
helping explain the emergence of a consensus reality [53].
Quantum Darwinism can also be viewed as an application of the utility principle: it is only useful for us to
try to be aware of things that we can get information
about, i.e., about states that have quantum-spammed
the environment with redundant copies of themselves. A
hint from this positive view of environmental interactions
is that we should not try to minimize H3 after all, but
should instead reduce decoherence by the second mechanism: using states that are approximate eigenstates of
the effective interaction H∗ and therefore get abundantly
copied into the environment.
Further work on Quantum Darwinism has revealed
that such situations are quite exceptional, reaching the
following conclusion [54]: “A state selected at random
from the Hilbert space of a many-body system is overwhelmingly likely to exhibit highly non-classical correlations. For these typical states, half of the environment
must be measured by an observer to determine the state
of a given subsystem. The objectivity of classical reality
— the fact that multiple observers can agree on the state
of a subsystem after measuring just a small fraction of
its environment — implies that the correlations found in
nature between macroscopic systems and their environments are very exceptional.” This gives a hint that the
particular Hilbert space factorization we observe might
be very special and unique, so that using the utility principle to insist on the existence of a consensus reality may
have large constraining power among the factorizations
— perhaps even helping nail down the one we actually
17 Charles Bennett has suggested that Quantum Darwinism would
be more aptly named “Quantum Spam”, since the many redundant imprints of the system’s state are normally not further re-
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In summary, the hypothesis that consciousness can be
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and quantum mechanics. Can we find concrete examples of error-correcting codes in the brain? Are there
brain-sized non-Hopfield neural networks that support
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Acknowledgments: The author wishes to thank
Christoph Koch, Meia Chita-Tegmark, Russell Hanson,
Hrant Gharibyan, Seth Lloyd, Bill Poirier, Matthew
Pusey, Harold Shapiro and Marin Soljačić and for helpful information and discussions, and Hrant Gharibyan
for mathematical insights regarding the ρ- and Hdiagonality theorems. This work was supported by NSF
AST-090884 & AST-1105835.
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Appendix A: Useful identities involving tensor
products
Below is a list of useful identities involving tensor multiplication and partial tracing, many of which are used
in the main part of the paper. Although they are all
straightforward to prove by writing them out in the in-
dex notation of equation (104), I have been unable to
find many of them in the literature. The tensor product
⊗ is also known as the Kronecker product.
(A ⊗ B) ⊗ C = A ⊗ (B ⊗ C)
A ⊗ (B + C) = A ⊗ B + A ⊗ C
(B + C) ⊗ A = B ⊗ A + C ⊗ A
(A ⊗ B)† = A† ⊗ B†
(A ⊗ B)−1 = A−1 ⊗ B−1
tr [A ⊗ B] = (tr A)(tr B)
tr [A ⊗ B] = (tr A)B
1
(A1)
(A2)
(A3)
(A4)
(A5)
(A6)
(A7)
tr [A ⊗ B] = (tr B)A
(A8)
tr [A(B ⊗ I)] = tr [(B ⊗ I)A]
(A9)
tr [A(I ⊗ B)] = tr [(I ⊗ B)A]
(A10)
tr [(I ⊗ A)B] = A(tr B)
(A11)
tr [(A ⊗ I)B] = A(tr B)
(A12)
tr [A(I ⊗ B)] = (tr A)B
(A13)
tr [A(B ⊗ I)] = (tr A)B
(A14)
tr [A(B ⊗ C)] = tr [A(B ⊗ I)]C
(A15)
tr [A(B ⊗ C)] = tr [A(I ⊗ C)]B
(A16)
tr [(B ⊗ C)A] = C tr [(A ⊗ I)B]
(A17)
tr [(B ⊗ C)A] = B tr [(I ⊗ C)A]
2
2
n
o
tr [(tr A) ⊗ I]B = tr [(tr A)(tr B)]
2
2
2
n
o
tr [I ⊗ (tr A)]B = tr [(tr A)(tr B)]
(A18)
(A ⊗ B, C ⊗ D) = (A, C)(B, D)
||A ⊗ B|| = ||A|| ||B||
(A21)
(A22)
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
(A19)
(A20)
Identities A11-A14 are seen to be special cases of identities A15-A18. If we define the superoperators T1 and
T2 by
1
I ⊗ (tr 1 A),
n1
1
T2 A ≡
(tr 2 A) ⊗ I,
n2
T1 A ≡
(A23)
(A24)
then identities A19-A20 imply that they are self-adjoint:
(T1 A, B) = (A, T1 B),
(T2 A, B) = (A, T2 B).
They are also projection operators, since they satisfy
T21 = T1 and T22 = T2 .
Appendix B: Factorization of Harmonic oscillator
into uncoupled qubits
If the Hilbert space dimensionality n = 2b for some
integer b, then the truncated harmonic oscillator Hamil-
35
tonian of equation (58) can be decomposed into b independent qubits: in the energy eigenbasis,
H=
b−1
X
Hj ,
j
Hj = 2
1
0
0 − 21
= 2j−1 σjz ,
2
I. For example, since the binary representation of 6 is
“110”, we have
|E6 i = σ † ⊗ σ † ⊗ I|0i = |110i,
(B6)
(B1)
the state where the first two qubits are up and the last
one is down. Since (σ † )kj 01 is an eigenvector of σ z with
eigenvalue (2kj − 1), i.e., +1 for spin up and −1 for spin
where the subscripts j indicate that an operator acts only
th
down, equations (B1) and (B4) give H|Ek i = Ek |Ek i,
on the j qubit, leaving the others unaffected. For exwhere
ample, for b = 3 qubits,
1
b−1
X
2b − 1
2 0
1 0
0
Ek =
(B7)
2j−1 (2kj − 1)|Ek i = k −
H =
⊗I⊗I+I⊗
⊗I+I⊗I⊗ 2 1
2
0 −2
0 −1
0 −2
j=0
7
−2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
in agreement with equation (58).
0 − 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
2
The standard textbook harmonic oscillator corre 0 0 − 3 0 0 0 0 0
2
sponds to the limit b → ∞, which remains completely
0 0 0 − 1 0 0 0 0
2
(B2)separable. In practice, a number of qubits b = 200 is
=
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 ,
2
large enough to be experimentally indistinguishable from
0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
2
b = ∞ for describing any harmonic oscillator ever en 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
2
countered in nature, since it corresponds to a dynamic
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 72
range of 2200 ∼ 1060 , the ratio between the largest and
j=0
j
smallest potentially measurable energies (the Planck enin agreement with equation (58). This factorization corergy versus the energy of a photon with wavelength equal
responds to the standard binary representation of inteto the diameter of our observable universe). So far, we
gers, which is more clearly seen when adding back the
have never measured any physical quantity to better than
trace (n − 1)/2 = (2b − 1)/2:
17 significant digits, corresponding to 56 bits.
7
40
20
1 0
H+
=
⊗I⊗I+I⊗
⊗I+I⊗I⊗
00
00
0 0
2
Appendix C: Emergent space and particles from
nothing but qubits
00000000
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
Throughout the main body of our paper, we have lim
0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
ited
our discussion to a Hilbert space of finite dimen=
(B3)
.
0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
sionality n, often interpreting it as b qubits with n = 2b .
0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0
On the other hand, textbook quantum mechanics usually
0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
sets n = ∞ and contains plenty of structure additional to
00000007
merely H and ρ, such as a continuous space and various
fermion and boson fields. The purpose of this appendix
Here we use the ordering convention that the most sigis to briefly review how the latter picture might emerge
nificant qubit goes to the left. If we write k as
from the former. An introduction to this “it’s all qubits”
approach by one of its pioneers, Seth Lloyd, is given in
b−1
X
[55], and an up-to-date technical review can be found in
k=
kj 2j ,
[56].
j=0
As motivation for this emergence approach, note that a
large
number of quasiparticles have been observed such as
where kj are the binary digits of k and take values 0 or
phonons, holes, magnons, rotons, plasmons and polarons,
1, then the energy eigenstates can be written
which are known not to be fundamental particles, but
b−1
instead mere excitations in some underlying substrate.
|Ek i = ⊗ (σ † )kj |0i,
(B4)
This raises the question of whether our standard model
j=0
particles may be quasiparticles as well. It has been shown
that this is indeed a possibility for photons, electrons and
where |0i is the ground state (all b qubits in the down
quarks [57–59], and perhaps even for gravitons [56], with
state), the creation operator
the substrate being nothing more than a set of qubits
without any space or other additional structure.
01
†
σ =
(B5)
In Appendix B, we saw how to build a harmonic oscil00
lator out of infinitely many qubits, and that a truncated
harmonic oscillator built from merely 200 qubits is experraises a qubit from the down state to the up state, and
imentally indistinguishable from an infinite-dimensional
(σ † )0 is meant to be interpreted as the identity matrix
36
one. We will casually refer to such a qubit collection describing a truncated harmonic oscillator as a “qubyte”,
even if the number of qubits it contains is not precisely
8. As long as our universe is cold enough that the very
highest energy level is never excited, a qubyte will behave
identically to a true harmonic oscillator, and can be used
to define position and momentum operators obeying the
usual canonical commutation relations.
To see how space can emerge from qubits alone, consider a large set of coupled truncated harmonic oscillators
(qubytes), whose position operators qr and momentum
operators pr are labeled by an index r = (i, j, k) consisting of a triplet of integers — r has no a priori meaning
or interpretation whatsoever except as a record-keeping
device used to specify the Hamiltonian. Grouping these
operators into vectors p and q, we choose the Hamiltonian
H=
1 2 1 t
|p| + q Aq,
2
2
r
For example, consider the simple case where each oscillator has a self-coupling µ and is only coupled to its 6 nearest neighbors by a coupling γ: a1,0,0 = a−1,0,0 = a0,1,0 =
a0,−1,0 = a0,0,1 = a0,0,−1 = −γ 2 , a0,0,0 = µ2 + 6γ 2 . Then
κx
κy
κz
ω(κ)2 = µ2 + 4γ 2 sin2
+ sin2
+ sin2
, (C3)
2
2
2
where κx , κy and κz lie in the interval [π, π]. If we
were to interpret the lattice points as existing in a threedimensional space with separation a between neighboring
lattice points, then the physical wave vector k would be
given by
κ
.
a
ω 2 = µ2 + γ 2 κ2x + κ2y + κ2z = µ2 + γ 2 κ2 ,
(C5)
i.e., where the discreteness effects are absent. Comparing
this with the standard dispersion relation for a relativistic
particle,
ω 2 = µ2 + (ck)2 ,
(C6)
where c is the speed of light, we see that the two agree if
the lattice spacing is
(C1)
where the coupling matrix A is translationally invariant,
i.e., Arr0 = ar0 −r , depending only on the difference r0 − r
between two index vectors. For simplicity, let us treat
the lattice of index vectors r as infinite, so that A is
diagonalized by a 3D Fourier transform. (Alternatively,
we can take the lattice to be finite and the matrix A to
be circulant, in which case A is again diagonalized by a
Fourier transform; this will lead to the emergence of a
toroidal space.)
Fourier transforming our qubyte lattice preserves the
canonical commutation relations and corresponds to a
unitary transformation that decomposes H into independent harmonic oscillators. As in [60], the frequency of the
oscillator corresponding to wave vector κ is
X
ω(k)2 =
ar e−iκ·r .
(C2)
k=
Let us now consider a state ρ where all modes except
long-wavelength ones with |κ| 1 are frozen out, in the
spirit of our own relatively cold universe. Using the l
symbol from Section IV F, we then have H l H0 , where
H0 is a Hamiltonian with the isotropic dispersion relation
(C4)
a=
c
.
γ
(C7)
For example, if the lattice spacing is the Planck length,
then the coupling strength γ is the inverse Planck time.
In summary, this Hilbert space built out of qubytes, with
no structure whatsoever except for the Hamiltonian H,
is physically indistinguishable from a system with quantum particles (scalar bosons of mass µ) propagating in
a continuous 3D space with the same translational and
rotational symmetry that we normally associate with
infinite Hilbert spaces, so not only did space emerge,
but continuous symmetries not inherent in the original
qubit Hamiltonian emerged as well. The 3D structure of
space emerged from the pattern of couplings between the
qubits: if they had been presented in a random order, the
graph of which qubits were coupled could have been analyzed to conclude that everything could be simplified into
a 3D rectangular lattice with nearest-neighbor couplings.
Adding polarization to build photons and other vector particles is straightforward. Building simple fermion
fields using qubit lattices is analogous as well, except that
a unitary Jordan-Wigner transform is required for converting the qubits to fermions. Details on how to build
photons, electrons, quarks and perhaps even gravitons
are given in [56–59]. Lattice gauge theory works similarly, except that here, the underlying finite-dimensional
Hilbert space is viewed not as the actual truth but as
a numerically tractable approximation to the presumed
true infinite-dimensional Hilbert space of quantum field
theory. |
arXiv:quant-ph/0206064v5 10 Jul 2003
Consciousness: The rules of engagement
Richard Mould∗
Abstract
We examine the role of a conscious observer in a typical quantum
mechanical measurement. Four rules are given that govern stochastic
choice and state reduction in several cases of continuous and intermittent
observation. It is found that consciousness always accompanies a state
reduction leading to observation, but its presence is not sufficient to ‘cause’
a reduction. The distinction is clarified and codified by the rules that are
given below. This is the first of several papers that lead to an experimental
test of the rules, and of the “parallel principle” that is described elsewhere.
Introduction
A free particle interacts with a detector in such a way that it might be captured, or it might pass over the detector without being captured. During the
interaction the quantum mechanical state of the system is given by
Φ(t) = ψ(t)D0 + D1 (t)
(1)
where ψ(t) is the incoming/scattered particle wave as a function of time. This
function is correlated with a detector state D0 that has not captured the particle.
The second component D1 (t) is the detector state that includes the captured
particle. D1 (t) is initially equal to zero and increases in time, whereas ψ(t)D0
is initially normalized and decreases in time.
The first component in eq. 1 is really a time dependent expansion that describes a gradual transfer of momentum from the scattered part of the wave to
the detector, including y-components. But because of the macroscopic nature
of the detector, these details can be ignored; so the detector state D0 is approximated by a single constant term that is factored out of its entanglement with
the scattered wave. With D0 normalized, we have
∗ Department
of Physics and Astronomy, State University of New York, Stony Brook,
New York 11794-3800; http://nuclear.physics.sunysb.edu/ ˜mould
1
Z
{ψ(t)∗ ψ(t) + D1 (t)∗ D1 (t)} = 1
It may be objected that eq. 1 cannot be a superposition of quantum mechanical states because the detector states are macroscopic. Strictly speaking,
each component in eq. 1 should have an environmental term attached, because
the two detector states affect the radiation or sonic field differently. So the first
component should read D0 E0 , and the second component should read D1 E1 ,
where E0 and E1 are orthonormal environmental states.
Φ(t) = ψ(t)D0 E0 + D1 (t)E1
The cross terms are therefore zero when the environment is integrated out, reflecting environmental decoherence. This means that the detector states cannot
locally interfere with one another, and this is often considered to be the defining
property of a macroscopic system. It is what generally justifies calling a macroscopic object “classical” [1, 2]. But non-interference is not really a universal
property of macroscopic things, for certain macroscopic systems at low temperatures have been shown to display interference effects as a result of cryostatic
isolation from the environment [3, 4, 5, 6].
The defining property of a macroscopic system is only that it is ‘big’. It
is no less quantum mechanical if it lacks interference terms. Since a possible
phase relationship between the two components in eq. 1 is of no importance
to the problem being considered, that possibility is hereafter ignored together
with the above environmental terms. In every other respect the detector is a
quantum mechanical object that responds to a quantum mechanical interaction
with the particle. I therefore continue to call the sum of components in eq. 1 a
quantum mechanical superposition1 .
The Conscious Observer
My primary assumption is that conscious brains are legitimate components of
a quantum mechanical system, and that it is proper to ask how consciousness
interacts with the system if it is present during an ongoing interaction. Brains,
conscious or not, are subject to the same principles of environmental decoherence as any other macroscopic object, so they are similarly responsive to the
1 Joss and Zeh call the local system an “improper mixture”(ref. 1). I refer to the total
superposition because it is the system’s quantum mechanical properties that I want to explore.
2
methodology of quantum mechanics. They just don’t display interference effects. This treatment shares Everett’s many-world assumption that conscious
brains are ordinary quantum mechanical objects [7], but it differs in that the
rules adopted below allow only one of the many-world branches to be conscious
at a time.
Figure 1
We begin by examining the above interaction when viewed by an observer
as shown in fig. 1. The first stage of the figure shows the particle approaching
the detector, where the particle is represented by the shaded area moving to the
right, and the detector is represented by the stationary white rectangle. The
observer is represented in the figure by an eye that is viewing that surface.
The observer is engaged by radiation coming from the detector. Equation 1
is therefore amended to include normalized brain states of the observer B0 and
B1 that are correlated with the detector states D0 and D1 .2
Φ(t) = ψ(t)D0 B0 + D1 (t)B1
Since the time of Schrödinger’s cat it has been considered unphysical to imagine a ‘conscious’ brain state in superposition with something else. But if the
observer is consciously looking at the detector from the beginning, and if the
interaction proceeds for a finite time before the detector (possibly) captures the
particle, then during that time B0 will be conscious and will be continuously
interacting with the detector. So prior to the particle being captured, B0 will be
conscious and B1 will not be conscious. I denote this difference by underlining
B0 but not B1 , thereby amending the above equations to read
2 B is entangled with D and B is entangled with D ; so strictly speaking, they cannot
0
0
1
1
be represented as the simple products D0 B0 and D1 B1 . As before, this is an approximation
that is justified by the macroscopic nature of these states.
3
Φ(t) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 + D1 (t)B1
(2)
I call B1 a ready brain state, which means that it is physiologically capable
of becoming a conscious state if and when the detector is stochastically chosen
(i.e., if and when there is a capture). There are therefore three categories of
brain states (i) conscious, (ii) unconscious, and (iii) ready. The latter does not
have a classical meaning, for it occurs only in a quantum mechanical superposition. The distinction between a conscious brain state and a ready brain state is
unavoidable if one accepts the possibility that brain states can exist in quantum
mechanical superposition, and that only one component can be conscious at a
time. The other components would then be ‘ready’.
A ready state is not unconscious. An unconscious state is physiologically
incapable of consciousness as when the observer is asleep or dead; whereas,
a ready brain state is fully capable of consciousness when it is stochastically
“realized”. Measuring any quantum mechanical variable produces an eigenvalue
that is consciously realized, as opposed to others that are not. In this case, B1
will not become “real” unless and until it is stochastically chosen to succeed B 0 .
That happens when the detector captures the particle.
A brain state B or B will be understood to be limited to the part of the
cortex that can be set into direct correspondence with conscious experience.
This excludes all those parts of the brain that are involved in image processing.
These “lower” parts will now be included in the detector, so the detector in
eq. 2 is different than the one in eq. 1.
According to the von Neumann theory of state reduction, it is consciousness
that initiates the reduction of a quantum mechanical state [8]. We see that
that is not true, for the superposition in eq. 2 is not reduced by the presence
of a conscious brain state in one of its components. However, consciousness
is associated with the state reduction that occurs when the detector records a
particle capture.
Possible Outcomes
Suppose the particle is detected and observed before the end of the interaction.
This will require a stochastic choice based on quantum mechanical probabilities,
and we will say that that happens at a time tsc . The state in eq. 2 will then be
reduced, giving
Φ(t ≥ tsc ) = D1 B 1
4
(3)
In this case, the superposition in eq. 2 is reduced so that only its second component survives, consciousness is transferred to the brain state B 1 , and the
interaction is terminated.
The other possible outcome is that there is no particle capture during the
time of the interaction. In that case eq. 2 will remain undisturbed, even after
the interaction is complete at time tf . The system will therefore remain in a
residual superposition given by
Φ(t > tf ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 + D1 (tf )B1
(4)
Since the observer is only conscious of the first component in this equation, the
existence of the second (not conscious) component is of no empirical concern,
even when there is no longer any possibility of a capture. Of course, the form
of eq. 4 is potentially important to another observer who, after tf , observes the
system over the shoulder of the primary observer. We will see in another section
that the second component in eq. 4 will be eliminated by the mere ‘interactive’
presence of a second observer. In addition, we will see it eliminated by the
primary observer himself when his conscious attention drifts in any way from
the state B 0 . However, for the moment we will leave eq. 4 as it stands. It is not
empirically wrong.
The Rules
I accept that brain states can exist in superposition with themselves, but I
do not accept an Everett-like plurality of simultaneous conscious components.
It is therefore necessary to find the general rules that govern the relationship
between conscious and ready brain states, consistent with the requirement that
only one conscious state of an observer can be realized at a time. In particular,
the rules must tell us how and when a reduction occurs so as to bring about the
outcomes in the previous section. I propose four rules that I believe are sufficient
to describe all the interactions that are considered in this and in subsequent
papers. These rules are ad hoc in that they are made to fit the cases studied. It
is my belief that if and when we find a proper theory of the relationship between
consciousness and matter, these rules, or rules like them, will naturally emerge.
The first three rules are adequate to deal with the outcomes in eqs. 3 and 4,
as well as several other situations that are described in the following sections. I
therefore begin by introducing just these three. The fourth rule will be offered
when it becomes clear that the first three by themselves are unable to resolve a
particular difficulty that arises.
5
A central concept in rule (1) is probability current J, which is defined to
be the time rate of change of square modulus. Probability in this treatment is
introduced only through the current J.
Rule(1): For any subsystem of n components in an isolated system with a
square modulus equal to s, the probability per unit time of a stochastic choice of
one of those components at time t is given by (Σn Jn )/s, where the net probability
current Jn going into the nth component at that time is positive.
Rule (1) puts no limit on the kind of state that is chosen, so long as J > 0.
It will apply to any interaction in any representation. There is no need to say
that it applies only to irreversible interactions, or to components representing
macroscopic objects, or to objects that lack the possibility of interference.
I cannot say why Nature should harbor such a triggering device any more
than I can say why Nature should make use of intrinsic probability. But if
probability is natural to a physical system, then so is stochastic choice. With
this understanding, I would say that rule (1) adds nothing that is not already
implicit in standard quantum mechanics; except that the underlying notion of
probability is shifted from the square modulus to the probability current. In
rule (2), an active brain state is one that is either conscious or ready. It is
actively engaged with the apparatus.
Rule(2): If the Hamiltonian gives rise to new components that are not classically continuous with the old components or with each other, then all active
brain states that are included in the new components will be ready brain states.
This rule provides for the introduction of ready brain states. For example,
if a conscious brain state B interacts with an apparatus state Ak , then the
product of independent states Ak B will lose amplitude to an entangled state
Ak Bk . That is,
Ak B becomes Ak B + Ak Bk
As before, I write the result Ak Bk as a simple product for ease of recognition.
It is a good approximation for these macroscopic states. The emerging state Bk
must be a ready brain state according to rule (2).
In another example, an unknown brain state X interacting with a superposition of apparatus states Ar + As , will give rise to another superposition
(Ar + As )X becomes (Ar + As )X + Ar Br + As Bs
where the emerging states Br and Bs must be ready brain states. In the present
6
paper, all different brain states will be discrete. In a future paper we will
consider brain states to be a continuum in which close neighborhood states are
not discrete.
The third rule describes the collapse of the wave function associated with
measurement. This wave collapse, or state reduction, does not interrupt the
Schrödinger process, and it does not modify the Hamiltonian or withhold its
continuous application. I regard the collapse as an abrupt change in the boundary conditions on the solutions of the Schrödinger equation, and that is all.
This is what an observation does. It adds new information. That information abruptly changes the physical context, and hence, it abruptly changes the
Schrödinger solution. It does not change the evolutionary process itself.
Rule(3): If a component AB is stochastically chosen, where A is the total
amplitude of a total ready brain state B that emerges from an interaction, then
B will become conscious and all the other components will be immediately reduced
to zero.
This rule does not provide for renormalization after a stochastic choice. One
might include that requirement for convenience, but it is not necessary. We
will continue to normalize B0 , B1 , and D0 , but not Φ(t) following a stochastic
collapse. If rule (1) is followed as stated, the probabilities will work out correctly
without a normalization requirement.
Rule (3) does not say that a ready brain state must be present for there to
be a state reduction. One might suppose that a state reduction can occur in
eq. (1) without the presence of a conscious observation of any kind, but I do
not believe that will ever happen. I believe that a stochastic trigger will have
no consequence unless, through rule (3), a ready brain state is both available
and stochastically chosen, followed by a reduction that favors the chosen state.
My view is similar to one expressed by von Neumann and Wigner that attaches
fundamental importance to conscious observation.
All of the examples that I present in these papers reflect this understanding
because they all deal with reduction in the presence of an observer. If the
reader believes that this thinking is to narrow, he is welcome to generalize
rule (3) to describe a reduction in the absence of an observer. There are many
problems associated with a generality of this kind, principally the question of
representation and basic eigenstates. I dispose of these questions by specializing
the rule as I do. In any case, there can be nothing wrong with my limiting this
study to cases in which an observer is present. We know what the conscious
7
experience is in these cases, so we are in possession of the experiential ‘facts’. A
broader interpretation of rule (3) should not invalidate these facts or contradict
the way I put them into a formal framework.
The ‘possible outcomes’ of the previous section follow from these rules.
Rule (1) explains why the first (conscious) component in eq. 2 is not selected
for a reduction that eliminates the second (non-conscious) component. It is because current flows out of the first component making J < 0. Rule (2) insures
that eq. 2 is not a superposition of two conscious states. Rule (3) tells us why
the conscious state B 1 survives the collapse resulting in eq. 3. It is because the
positive flow of current into the ready state B1 permits a stochastic hit, and that
causes the state to become conscious and to be the sole survivor of the reduction. These rules therefore describe the expected outcomes of the interaction.
They explain much more as will be shown.
I make no attempt to physiologically define a conscious brain state or a ready
brain state; but however that is done, their role as basis states is a matter of
importance to quantum “epistemology”, even in the Copenhagen interpretation.
Stapp makes the point that according to Copenhagen, the observer “who stands
outside of the Hilbert space structure decides how he will set up the experiments,
and this decision fixes the ‘basis’ (states)”[9]. Something beyond the Schrödinger
process is surely necessary to fix the basis, and that is taken by Copenhagen
to be the observer’s experience of the apparatus. In the present treatment the
basis is fixed in the same way, and is made explicit in rule (3). Only through
rule (3) does the trigger have subjective reality implications, and that happens
only when the trigger hits a ready brain state that is created by rule (2). When a
choice like that is made, the chosen state becomes a conscious state, establishing
a new boundary condition on Schrödinger’s equation.
It is apparent that consciousness is an important player in the above interaction. However, the rules do not represent it as having a ‘causal’ influence of
any kind. The stochastic choice of a ready brain state is said to do two things.
It makes that state conscious and reduces all others to zero. Consciousness is
said to appear in these circumstances, but it will have no effect of its own on
the physical system. The rules therefore preserve the traditional epiphenomenal
nature of consciousness. Of course, a rule (3) reduction depends on the existence of a ready brain state. To that extent, the observer is an essential part of
the methodology; and that is a departure from standard interpretations in the
direction suggested by von Neumann and Wigner.
Future papers will add two more rules to the four given in this paper. The
additional rules are specific to a model of the brain that takes account of the
8
continuous nature of brain states. The first of these addditional rules merely
expands rule (3) to accommodate the continuum case. The final rule that we add
will give consciousness a causal influence that should be measurable in principle.
Therefore, the structure that is developed here has eventual consequences that
are experimentally testable in principle. See the final section of this paper.
A Terminal Observer
Going back to the bare interaction in eq. 1, the question is: do the above
rules adequately describe the expected results of a terminal observation in this
case? Are they adequate to the usual findings in a physics laboratory where an
observer only comes into the picture when the interaction is complete? After
the final pass-over time tf , the system in eq. 1 stabilizes at
Φ(t > tf ) = ψ(t)D0 + D1 (tf )
This superposition will be reduced when it interacts with the observer after time
tf . As before, a ready state B0 will become correlated with the ‘no capture’
detector state D0 , and B1 will become correlated with the ‘capture’ detector
state D1 . The state X given below in eq. 5 is an unknown brain state of the
observer prior to his turning his attention to the detector. State X will not be a
ready brain state3 . According to rule (2), the system after the initial interaction
at time tob > tf is
Φ(t ≥ tob > tf ) =
+
ψ(t)D0 X + D1 (tf )X
(5)
′
ψ (t)D0 B0 + D1′ (tf )B1
where conscious states do not yet appeared, and the primed states in the second
row are equal to zero at the moment of observation. Immediately after that,
the probability currents of the unprimed components will be negative, and the
probability currents of the primed components will be positive
J0′ > 0 and J1′ > 0
J0 < 0 and J1 < 0
Inasmuch as the initial state is normalized, rule (1) with n = 1 tells us that
the probability of a stochastic hit in time dt is equal to J0′ dt for the first primed
3 If the terminal observer’s initial X
state is either conscious or unconscious, it is that
state that will be “converted” to the new experience when the interaction begins, and not an
associated ready brain state. Rule (4) will provide a reason why X cannot be a ready brain
state.
9
component in eq. 5, and J1′ dt for the second. According to rule (3), the first
hit that occurs will cause the affected brain state to become conscious, yielding
either B 0 or B 1 , and will reduce the other states to zero.
We also know that there will be at least one stochastic hit on the system.
Rule (1) with n = 2 gives
Z
[J0′ + J1′ ]dt = 1
where currents J0′ and J1′ are assumed to flow until the observers physiological
interaction is complete.
The integrated probability of 1.0 insures at least one stochastic hit. Furthermore, there will be no more than one hit because the reduction resulting
from the first hit will reduce all other components to zero. A second hit on the
component that is already conscious is meaningless. Therefore, dropping the
prime and the time dependence, the final state of the system after reduction at
tsc will be either
D1 B 1
(6)
or ψ(t ≥ tsc > tob > tf )D0 B 0
depending on the stochastic choice. Both reductions occur with a total probability given by their square moduli at time tf .
The terminal result in eq. 6 is the one that is most familiar in a physics
laboratory. The first row is identical with eq. 3, and the second is identical
with eq. 4 so far as the observer is concerned, inasmuch as he is unaware in
eq. 4 that he is part of a residual superposition. These results are therefore
in (empirical) agreement with the possible outcomes described above for an
observer who watches the interaction from the beginning.
An Intermediate Observer
Suppose the observer first looks at the detector after the interaction has begun,
but before the particle has stopped interacting with the detector. The observation will then occur sometime after D1 (t) in eq. 1 has acquired a finite value,
and while current into that component is still positive. The equation is then
Φ(tf > t ≥ tob ) =
+
ψ(t)D0 X + D1 (t)X
′
ψ (t)D0 B0 + D1′ (t)B1
10
(7)
where B0 and B1 are the ready brain states of the observer, and where ψ ′ (t) and
D1′ (t) are zero at tob . State X is again the unknown brain state of the observer
prior to turning attention to the detector; where again, it cannot be a ready
state (footnote 4).
Current flowing vertically from the first row to the corresponding component
in the second row is the result of the physiological interaction. It might very
well give rise to a stochastic choice of D1′ B1 at some time tsc1 , in which case
the entire process will be brought quickly to an end. Dropping the prime and
the time dependence, only the component D1 B 1 would then survive.
Φ(t ≥ tsc1 > tob ) = D1 B 1
(8)
This reflects the possibility that the particle has already been captured when
the observer makes his appearance.
The other primed component might be stochastically chosen, and that would
select ψ(t)D0 B 0 (dropping the prime) at a time tsc0 in the middle of the primary
interaction. A mid-stream collapse of this kind is not unphysical. It amounts
to starting again at a time when the function ψ(t) has passed over the detector
to some extent without a particle capture. A physicist might very well look at
the detector in the middle of an interaction, note that the particle has not yet
been detected, and determine the initial conditions to be given by the solitary
component ψ(t)D0 B 0 starting at the new time tsc0 . The interaction would
proceed from there to give
Φ(tf > t ≥ tsc0 > tob ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 + D1′′ (t)B1
where D1′′ (t)B1 is equal to zero at tsc0 . If there is another stochastic hit at a
time tsc1′ , the system will become
Φ(t ≥ tsc1′ > tsc0 > tob ) = D1 B 1
(9)
Equations 8 and 9 are two separate routes to a particle capture. The total
probability of their occurrence is equal to the probability that there was a capture prior to the intermediate observation, plus the probability of a subsequent
capture.
The remaining possibility is that the interaction terminates without a second
stochastic hit at tsc1′ . Dropping the double prime, the residual superposition
Φ(t > tf > tob ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 + D1 (tf )B1
will then persist beyond tf , and will last indefinitely as it did in eq. 4.
11
(10)
There are therefore two consequences of an intermediate observation. The
observer will either experience a capture (eqs. 8 and 9), or he will experience no
capture and will continue until the end of the interaction as part of the residual
superposition in eq. 10. The observer’s experience after tob is therefore identical
with that of an observer who was on board from the beginning. As in that
case, we claim and will show below that the second component in eq. 10 will
be eliminated by a second observer, or by drift consciousness of the primary
observer.
An Outside Terminal Observer - Rule (4)
If another observer looks at the apparatus at some time tob after the interaction
has terminated in the residual superposition of eq. 4 or eq. 10, we will have
according to rule (2)
Φ(t ≥ tob > tf )
= ψ(t)D0 B 0 X + D1 (tf )B1 X
+
(11)
′
ψ (t)D0 B 0 B0 + D1′ (tf )B1 B1
where the primed components are equal to zero at tob . The brain states of
two observers will appear as a product such as B1 X, where the first refers to
the first observer and the second refers to the second observer. In this case,
B1 is the ready brain state of the primary observer, and X is the unknown
brain state of the outside observer prior to his interacting with the detector.
The state X could be either conscious or unconscious, but not ready as per
footnote 4. Equation 11 parallels eq. 5, except that the outside observer is now
in the process of coming on board with the primary observer.
The second component in eq. 11 seems to contribute positive current to the
fourth component, and that could result in a stochastic hit on the capture state
D1′ (tf )B1 B1 after the particle has passed over the detector. This is not possible,
for the primary observer cannot witness a capture after the primary interaction
has been terminated. The rules apparently allow an anomalous capture of this
kind, and we must to do something to insure that that does not happen. Rule (4)
prevents it from happening.
Rule(4)A transition between two components is forbidden if each is an entanglement containing a ready brain state of the same observer.
An interaction between a ready brain state and a conscious or unconscious
state is not affected by this rule. So the primary interaction between the first
12
and the second component in eq. 11 is preserved, as is the physiological interaction between the first and the third components. However, rule (4) states that
a primary interaction is not possible between the third and the fourth components, and that a physiological interaction is not possible between second and
the fourth components. In addition, there is no term in the Hamiltonian that
directly connects the first and the fourth components. Therefore, the fourth
component D1′ (tf )B1 B1 in eq. 11 does not belong there at all, for it cannot
interact with any of the other components.
The fourth rule does not just say that there is no interaction between ready
brain states. That mild requirement would allow a transition from X to B1 (2nd
to the 4th component), or from B 0 to B1 (3rd to the 4th component). The rule
is much stronger. It forbids any transition that carries a ready brain state into
itself, or into another ready brain state of the same observer.
Rule (4) solves the anomaly problem. The absent component D1′ (tf )B1 B1
cannot possibly be chosen, so the there will not be an anomalous capture of
the particle after tf . It is also too late (after tf ) for a transition to the second
component. Therefore, the third component is the only candidate for stochastic
choice. Furthermore, rule (1) assures that it will be chosen.
The original state in eq. 11 is Φ(t0 ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 X, and current goes from
that state into the second and third components of eq. 11. From rule (1) with
n = 2 we have
Z
[Jx + J0 ]dt = 1
where currents Jx and J0 flow into D1 (t)B1 X and ψ ′ (t)D0 B 0 B0 . The time
integral extends from t0 to the end of the physiological interaction when the
original state is entirely depleted. Since it is stipulated that the second component D1 (t)B1 X in eq. 11 was not chosen during the primary interaction, the
third component ψ ′ (t)D0 B 0 B0 must be chosen at some time tsc .
From rule (3), the third component will then become ψ(t ≥ tsc > tf )D0 B 0 B 0 ,
and the interaction will be complete with the outside observer on board with
the primary observer. This has the effect of eliminating the superfluous (capture) component, so the system is no longer a residue superposition. And most
important, there will be no anomalous capture.
In a similar way, any residual superposition can be reduced by the presence
of an outside observer, thereby removing the superfluous component in the
superposition. The rule also explains why the unknown state X appearing in
eqs. 5, 7, and 11 cannot be a ready brain state as claimed in footnote 4. It is
because a ready brain state is forbidden by rule (4) to deliver current to the
primed states appearing in the second row of each of those equations. In the
13
second paper in this series, rule (4) forbids other anomalies that are different in
kind from the one described above.
There are now three features of a ready state that distinguish it from a conscious state. (i) it is not-conscious, (ii) it can be made conscious by a stochastic
hit, and (iii) it cannot interact with others of its kind. It is not my general
intention to propose physiological mechanisms, but there is one suggestion that
may help understand what might be going on.
Imagine that each ready brain state of an observer includes a physiological
feature that I will call a stop, and require that an interaction is forbidden between any two states that possess a stop (i.e., between two ready brain states
of an observer). Current can flow into or out of a stopped state, but it cannot
flow between two such states within one observer. Imagine also that this same
physiological difference between a ready state and a conscious state is sufficient
to explain the inability of a ready state to be conscious. And finally, imagine
that when this state is stochastically chosen the stop is disabled, and this allows
the state to become conscious, and to interact more normally with other states.
Although I do not explicitly propose this mechanism, the conjecture illustrates
how a correct understanding of the rules governing psycho-physical interactions
might help to narrow the constraints on the Hamiltonian of a conscious brain.
Reviewing the effect of rule (4) on previous cases, we note that it produces no
change in the terminal observation of eq. 5, or in the intermediate observation
of eq. 7, except to validate the claim that the state X on the first row of these
equations cannot be a ready brain state. We did not previously consider the
possibility of a stochastic choice arising from a current flow from the third to
the fourth component of eq. 7. This possibility is now explicitly forbidden by
rule (4).
An Intermediate Outside Observer
Suppose an outside observer makes an observation during the primary interaction, and before a particle capture, looking over the shoulder of the primary
observer in eq. 2. If tob refers to the time of this observation, then the moment
the outside observer interacts with the detector, the system becomes
Φ(tf > t ≥ tob )
= ψ(t)D0 B 0 X + D1 (t)B1 X
(12)
+ ψ ′ (t)D0 B 0 B0
where there is no possibility of a fourth component because of rule (4). The
primed component is again equal to zero at tob .
14
If there is a stochastic hit on the second component in eq. 12 at time tscx ,
the result will be
Φ(tf > t = tscx > tob ) = D1 (t)B 1 X
This corresponds to a particle capture that occurs before the physiological interaction is complete. Since that interaction is still in engaged, this will lead
directly to
Φ(tf > t ≥ tscx > tob ) = D1 (t)B 1 X + D1′ (t)B 1 B1
where D1′ (t)B 1 B1 is equal to zero at tscx .
The only thing that can follow is another stochastic hit at tsc1 , giving
Φ(t ≥ tsc1 > tscx ) = D1 B 1 B 1
(13)
thereby completing the measurement.
If, on the other hand, the third component in eq. 12 is the first to be stochastically chosen at tsc0 , the reduction will be
Φ(tf > t = tsc0 > tob ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 B 0
where the prime on ψ(t) is dropped. Since the primary interaction is still affective, this will become
Φ(tf > t ≥ tsc0 > tob ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 B 0 + D1′′ (t)B1 B1
(14)
If there is a second stochastic hit before the particle interaction is complete
at tf , the result will be identical with eq. 13. However, if there is no capture
before tf , the residual superposition
Φ(t > tf ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0 B 0 + D1′′ (tf )B1 B1
(15)
will remain in place as it did in eqs. 4 and 10. As in those cases, the second
component serves no further purpose at this time, and will be removed by the
appearance of a third observer as was previously shown, or by drift consciousness
as will be shown below.
Drift Consciousness
Even though an observer may have a steady eye, his attention is bound to drift
slightly to neighboring brain states that continue to interact with the detector.
Suppose the observer in eq. 2 lets his mind wander to a neighboring brain state
15
that still allows him to be aware of D0 , but not in the same way. The neighboring
state may regard the detector from a slightly different angle, or it may include
qualitative differences that have more to do with the observer’s emotional state
than anything else. In any case, a new brain state will become available through
a physiological process that phases out B 0 and gives rise to a new brain state
that also interacts with the detector. The Hamiltonian will direct the drift that
goes from the original brain state to the neighboring states represented as
Φ(t > t0 )
= ψ(t)D0 B 0 + D1 (t)B1
′
(16)
′′
+ ψ (t)D0 B0a + ψ (t)D0 B0b
+ ψ ′′′ (t)D0 B0c + etc.
where Ba , Bb , Bc , etc. are qualitatively different from the given brain state.
Probability current will flow out of the first component in eq. 16 into all
of the other components. Rule (4) forbids current flow to captive states of
the alternative brain states. If one of the primed components is stochastically
chosen at some time tsc , there will be a reduction following rule (3). Assuming
that the double primed component is chosen, we will have
Φ(tsc ) = ψ(t)D0 B 0b
(17)
where the primes are now dropped. The drift process will begin again starting
at the new time tsc , giving
Φ(t ≥ tsc ) =
+
ψ(t)D0 B 0b + D1′ (t)B1b
ψ ′′′′ (t)D0 B0d + etc.
where all but the first component are zero at time tsc . So a system that begins
with the first component of eq. 16, becomes ψ(t)D0 B 0b in eq. 17 at some later
time. The effect of drifting is therefore to renew the system at a new drift site
at a new time, and to continue the ‘primary’ interaction stating at that time.
If eq. 16 were a residual superposition, the drift result would be eq. 17
without the possibility of a new capture state such as D1′ (t)B1b . This means that
drifting will eliminate the superfluous component of a residual superposition as
previously claimed. We have seen that a second observer has that effect; and
apparently, the primary observer can do that all by himself.
When I speak of the above physiological drifting I do not mean the eye
motion that produces a jitter of the retina with respect to a visual image. That
motion is part of the image processing that is considered here to be included
in the detector, and is not perceptible in consciousness. A brain state denoted
16
by B or B in this paper refers to a higher cortical state in which all image
processing is complete, so the above result can be set into direct correspondence
with conscious awareness. It is the variations in this direct awareness that I say
results in drift consciousness.
On this drift model, the neighborhood states in eq. 16 are finitely separated
from one another. Although the ready brain states in that equation are distinct,
they evolve in an orderly quantum mechanical way that is governed by the
Hamiltonian; whereas, conscious states appear discontinuously when there is
a stochastic switch from one brain state to the next. In a future paper we
will consider the case in which neighboring brain states are differentially close
together.
Phantom Component
It has now been shown that the second component of a residual superposition
can be washed away by the presence of another observer, or by drift consciousness on the part of the primary observer. That component has rule (1) physical
significance as long as current flows into it from the first component; but the
moment that current stops, it is no longer a physically meaningful quantity.
It becomes a phantom component of the superposition. It certainly does have
a non-zero square modulus, but that is not interpreted as ‘probability’ in this
treatment. Of course, a physicist may want to integrate current flow to calculate
total probability, but the validity of that procedure does not mean that Nature
gives intrinsic meaning the absolute value of square modulus. In the case of a
phantom component, square modulus may be said to represent the probability
that the component might have been stochastically chosen, but was not.
Drifting Away
If the observer drifts into unconsciousness by some process such as falling asleep,
then the process will begin in the same way described above. The difference is
that the Hamiltonian will lead the system into a part of the brain that is not
capable of supporting ready brain states, and cannot become conscious. In that
case, the Hamiltonian will drive the “last” conscious component to zero at a
time tu , insuring a decisive exit of consciousness. For instance, suppose that all
of the primed brain states in eq. 16 are unconscious. If the Hamiltonian drives
the first row to zero before the capture state D1 (t)B1 can be stochastically
17
chosen, then the remaining system will consist of the lingering superposition
Φ(tu ) = {ψ ′ (t)D0 + ψ ′′ (t)D0 + ψ ′′′ (t)D0 + etc.}U
where U is the newly acquired unconscious state of the observer4. This leaves
the system in an elaborate superposition of detector states. Since all the times
in this equation are equal, it can be simplified to read
Φ(t ≥ tu ) = {ψ(t)D0 + D1′ (t)}U
where D1′ (t) is equal to zero at tu . This equation is identical with eq. 1, except
that the unconscious observer is now independent of the interaction.
Fast Interaction
Nothing has been said about the primary interaction time compared to the
physiological interaction time. To take account of a fast primary interaction, a
more complete description of the detector is necessary.
As previously explained, the detector includes the observer, except for the
part of the cortex that can be set into direct correspondence with conscious
experience. It includes all image processing. The detector therefore requires at
least physiological time to do its job. Let it be represented by D(α, β, γ, ..., ω)
where α, β, γ, ..., ω are internal variables. In that case, current flowing into
the detector will first cause α to pulse, then β, and etc. When this input is
‘impulsive’ it will be carried along by the other variables, spreading as it goes,
and arriving at the ready brain site long after the highly localized and fast
moving particle has passed by the detector. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to
suppose that all of the primary interaction times in the examples in this paper
(governing the horizontal flow) are executed in physiological time, or longer.
A Co-Observer
Finally, consider what would happen if a co-observer participated in the interaction with the original observer. Let the scintillation area of the detector be
divided into two parts. We then have two separate brains, where the first brain
in each component of eq. 18 looks at the first detector area, and the second
4 Factoring out U is an approximation, inasmuch as the U of each component is entangled
with its own detector/particle state.
18
brain looks at the second area. As soon as the detector becomes entangled with
the brain states of each observer, the equivalent to eq. 2 is
Φ(t) = ψ(t)D00 B 0 B 0 + D10 B1 B0 + D01 B0 B1
(18)
where the detector state D00 displays no captured particle, D10 displays the
captured particle in the first area, and D01 displays the captured particle in the
second area. The dual brain state B 0 B 0 represents the first observer experiencing no scintillations in the first area of the detector, and the second observer
experiencing no scintillations in the second area of the detector. If either of the
dual ready brain components in eq. 18 is stochastically chosen at time tsc , then
both states will qualify under rule (3) to achieve consciousness. This will lead
to either
Φ(t > tsc ) = D10 B 1 B 0
or
Φ(t > tsc ) = D01 B 0 B 1
If the superposition in eq. 18 survives the interaction, it will be reduced to the
state ψ(t)D00 B 0 B 0 as a consequence of a third observer or drift consciousness
on the part of either one of the observers.
The above results can be generalized to apply when there is more than one
particle in the wave ψ(t). In that case, components with detector states of the
form Dmn will appear in product with the particle wave diminished by m + n
particles, where n is the number of particles striking the first scintillation area,
and m is the number striking the second scintillation area.
Discussion
The purpose of this paper is to describe what must happen when a conscious
observer witness a quantum mechanical interaction, and to find the simplest
rules that codify the results in different situations. The underlying assumption
is that macroscopic brains (conscious or not) are legitimate components of a
quantum mechanical superposition, and that Everett’s thesis is not a consideration. To accomplish this, four rules are given that describe how brain states
affect the reduction of quantum mechanical systems.
These rules do not explicitly require that only one brain state of an observer
can be conscious at one time, but they do manage to bring about that result.
The absurdity of indefinitely many-worlds of consciousness is thereby avoided.
The many-world feature is here transferred to ready brain states that perform a
non-trivial function in this treatment. These states are on standby, ready to take
over the role of consciousness if and when they are stochastically chosen. When
19
chosen, they contribute “real” boundary conditions that govern the solutions of
Schrödingers equation.
In a following paper I apply these four rules to the Schrödinger cat experiment, and they give the normally expected results [10]. This case also allows
us to consider how the rules apply to two sequential interactions, and to two
parallel interactions. The cat paper will be followed by two more papers that
include two additional rules that are specific to a continuous model of the brain
[11, 12]. The first of these rules {called rule (3a) in ref. 11} is an extension of
rule (3) that is specific to a continuous brain.
The rules given in the present paper preserve the traditional epiphenomenal
nature of consciousness, for consciousness is not here given a causal role of
any kind. It simply appears when it is required to appear. However, the last
of the continuous brain rules (called rule (5) in ref. 12) gives consciousness a
causal role. It is structured in a way that allows von Neumann’s psycho-physical
parallelism to naturally occur (ref. 8). That is, the last rule enforces the parallel
principle that underlies and makes possible the evolution of a psycho-physical
parallelism in any conscious species [13]. As a result, consciousness has an effect
that is measurable in principle. The author has already proposed an experiment
that tests the parallel principle, so it implicitly tests the structure defined by
all of these rules [14].
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Fred Goldhaber, Erle Graf, Hal Medcalf, Luis Orozco, and
Greg Zelinsky for looking over this paper and making useful comments and
suggestions.
References
[1] E. Joos and H. D. Zeh, “The Emergence of Classical Properties Through
Interaction with the Environment” Z. Phys. B 59, 223 (1985), top p. 224
[2] D. Giulini, et al, Decoherence and the Appearance of a Classical World in
Quantum Theory, (Springer, Berlin, New York, 1996) p. 41-44
[3] J. R. Friedman, et.al. “Quantum superposition of distinct macroscopic
states”, Nature, 406, 43-45 (2000)
20
[4] T. Leggett, “New life for Schrodinger’s Cat”, Phys. World, 23, 23-24
(August 2000)
[5] C. Townsen, W. Ketterle, “Bose-Einstein condensation”, Physics World,
March 1997, p. 29
[6] E. A. Cornell, C. E. Wieman, “The Bose-Einstein Condensate”, Sci. Am.,
March 1998, p. 40
[7] J. C. Everett, “Relative State Formulation of Quantum Mechanics”,
Rev. Mod. Phys., 29, 454-465 (1957)
[8] J. von Neumann, Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics,
(Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey, 1955), pp. 418-421
[9] H. Stapp, “The importance of quantum decoherence in brain processes”, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Report LBNL-46871;
quant-ph/0010029
[10] R.A. Mould, “Schrödinger’s
quant-ph/0206065
Cat:
The
rules
of
engagement”,
[11] R.A. Mould, to be called “Conscious Pulse I: The rules of engagement”
[12] R.A. Mould, to be called “Conscious Pulse II: The rules of engagement”
[13] R.A. Mould, ”The Parallel Principle”, quant-ph/0111096
[14] R.A. Mould, “Endogenous Conscious State Reduction: Two Experiments”,
Found. Phys. Lett. 14 (4), 377-386 (2001); quant-ph/0106103
21 |
Axiomatizing consciousness
with applications
arXiv:2202.05700v1 [cs.LO] 23 Jan 2022
Henk Barendregt∗1 and Antonino Raffone†2
1
Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
2
Sapienza University, Roma, Italy.
Version 14.2.2022 : 95 (minutes after midnight)
Abstract
Consciousness will be introduced axiomatically, inspired by Buddhist insight meditation and psychology, logic in computer science, and cognitive
neuroscience, as consisting of a stream of configurations that is compound,
discrete, and (non-deterministically) computable. Within this context the
notions of self, concentration, mindfulness, and various forms of suffering
can be defined. As an application of this set up, it will be shown how a
combined development of concentration and mindfulness can attenuate and
eventually eradicate some of the forms of suffering.
1. Towards consciousness
Studying phenomena in the ‘external world’ by making conceptual models has
led to physics. Its success gives the impression that also the human mind could
be studied similarly, answering questions like “How does consciousness (experience) arise?” There is, however, a persistent ‘explanatory gap’ between models of
the universe and ‘first-person’ awareness. This gap is called the ‘hard problem’
[Chalmers 1995]. Whatever model of consciousness is proposed, the question “And
where is awareness in all of this?” cannot be bypassed [Bitbol 2008]. Not only
is the consciousness problem hard to solve, it even seems impossible to properly
state it1 .
∗
Corresponding author. Email: henk.barendregt@ru.nl
Email: antonino.raffone@uniroma1.it
1
Personal communication by Bill Phillips.
†
1
In contrast to the third person description of consciousness, the phenomenological approach employs a first person perspective, in which the experience of
consciousness comes prior to anything else. In this view, matter and the whole
universe derive from consciousness as a construction of the world with predictive
value. But then another problem pops up: “Why does the external world gives the
impression to be stable?” [Hut & Shepard 1996]. In this paper the hard consciousness problem will not be discussed as such. See [Weisberg 2014, Slors, et al. 2015]
for recent discussions. We position ourselves among the phenomenologists: there is
the experience of phenomena that can be studied phenomenologically. In this way
consciousness will be described as an objective personal phenomenon, not from
the brain side, but from the other side of the explanatory gap: direct experience.
The description will be called objective, since it is claimed that the description is
universally valid, and personal, since it takes place in the mind of a given person.
The difficulty of defining what consciousness is will be dealt with by the
methodology of the axiomatic method [Aristotle 1928]. In a given setting there are
primitive (undefined) objects (also called concepts, as the objects are mental) and
axioms about these that are taken to be valid. In this way, following [Hilbert 2000],
the axioms form an implicit definition 2 of the primitive objects. In the next sections a setting and axiomatization of consciousness will be proposed using the
notions object (input), state, and action (output) of consciousness.3 The details
are inspired by Buddhist psychology, the Abhidhamma [Anuruddha 1993], translated into the language of science: cognitive neuroscience, mathematical logic and
computability. Intended is an axiomatization of those aspects of consciousness that
are shared by adult humans in possession of their ordinary faculties. The axiomatization will not touch the hard problem, but aims at describing certain aspects
of consciousness to arrive at some applications in the domain of computability,
learning and deconditioning, and the cause and eradication of existential suffering.
2
In planar geometry one has as setting that there are points and lines, and that there is a
relation “point P lies on line l”, in notation P |l. In this setting an example of an axiom is
For distinct points P, Q there is exactly one line l such that both P |l and Q|l.
What actually is a point and a line doesn’t matter, as long as the axioms are valid for these.
Since the axioms do not always fully determine the objects, one better speaks about an ‘implicit
specification’ of the primitive concepts.
3
This paper is a continuation of [Barendregt & Raffone 2013]. Another axiomatic approach to
consciousness is Integrated Information Theory (IIT) [Tononi 2012]. That theory also contains
the triples object-state-action (using different terminology). The model IIT diverges from ours,
wanting to propose a solution to the hard problem of consciousness. Although [Bitbol 2008] argues convincingly that this is impossible, IIT is an interesting further analysis of the mechanisms
needed for consciousness. Our axiomatization focuses on several applications, mentioned in the
abstract and detailed below. Further comparison between IIT and our model is beyond the scope
of this paper.
2
2. Consciousness as discrete, quasi-deterministic actor
Change
Science doesn’t know what is consciousness. But we know. Consciousness consists
of phenomena, called configurations and are members of a space C, that change in
time. We write ct for the configuration at time t ∈ T, to be thought of as ‘what is
perceived at moment t’. Time is not to be seen as a given from the outside, but as
a construct from the phenomena themselves. Time has passed from t to t′ if there
is a change from ct to ct′ and there is memory part of ct within ct′ . This is called
the primordial intuition of time, [Brouwer 1952].
The changing configurations create the stream of consciousness, which is the
function c : T → C that assigns to a moment t in time the configuration ct :
c(t) = ct , with t ∈ T.
(2.1)
The stream of consciousness c may seem like a dynamical system that changes in
time, in which a future state is determined by the state at present. Examples of
such systems are the following. 1. A single planet orbiting a star. 2. Conway’s
Game of Life.
Actors in a world
But (the stream of) consciousness is not a dynamical system. The configurations
are enacted in an environment, the world. This way the environment is being
changed, which in turn has an influence on c. Thus consciousness may be better
compared to one planet among other ones in the gravitational field of a star and
the (other) planets. For example the orbit of Uranus could not be explained by
the laws of mechanics w.r.t the sun alone: it had an aberration that only could
be explained by the existence of a hypothetical further planet. In this way the
planet Neptune was discovered. The mathematics involved is becoming complex:
the three body problem (c.q. predicting the movements of Uranus and Neptune
with respect to the sun) has chaotic solutions.
An agent A living in a world W consists of the following. Both A and W
consists of changing configurations; those of A are denoted by c, c′ , c′′ , c0 , c1 , . . .
and similarly those of W by variations of the letter w. Agent A in configuration
c enacts with the world W in configuration w. This enacting is denoted by c|w,
thereby changing both configurations4 . It may be postulated that the present
configuration of agent and world, say (c0 , w0 ) determine both future configurations
4
Dynamical systems are a special case, having a world that doesn’t change (e.g. Conway’s
game of Life). On the other hand an agent and its world can be considered as a pair, forming a
single dynamical system. The choice is pragmatic.
3
(ct , wt ) in a near-deterministic way5 . The resulting combined stream of the agent
A thrown in the world W will be denoted as (c, w) so that for t ∈ T one has
(2.2)
(c, w)(t) = (ct , wt ).
Discreteness of time
Based on insights of neurocognition, micro biology and vipassana meditation we
postulate that time is discrete. This means that T is not modeled by the set R of
real numbers, but by Z = {. . . , −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, . . .} the set of integers. So
T = Z.
(2.3)
This explains how for agent A in world W the combined stream (c, w) develops by
the repeated interaction operation c|w = (c′ , w ′), as a ND-computable function:
...
c|w
>> c
⑤⑤
⑤
⑤
⑤⑤
⑤⑤
′
!!
w′
′′
c′ |w ′
==
❇❇
❇❇
❇❇
❇
<< c
③③
③
③
③③
③③
❉❉
❉❉
❉❉
❉❉
""
""
c′′ |w ′′
<<
... ,
(2.4)
w ′′
creating streams c : c → c′ → c′′ → . . . and w : w → w ′ → w ′′ → . . . of configurations and states of the world. The w could be called the trace or footprint of the
agent in the world. The transitions from the interacting c and w to c′ and w ′ take
place in discrete time, that imaginatively could be called stroboscopic. This creates
phenomenological time. We have chosen T = Z and not T = N = {0, 1, 2, . . .} to
make time without beginning. The reader may like to make another choice.
In [Zylberberg, et al. 2011] it is explained that discreteness of the stream of
consciousness neatly answers the question of von Neumann how it is possible that
the human mind, being based on a biological substrate with its inherent imprecision, is capable to arrive at the precision that is available in e.g. mathematics. This
is similar to a digital CD that represents sound with less noise than an analogue
record.
5
This postulate is trivial, because any function is near-computable. A better view is that
some aspects of the future are computable and others not. These latter aspects depend on nondeterministic (ND) factors (like the throwing of the dice in the game of Goose Board). Whether
these factors are essentially non-deterministic or only illustrate a lack of knowledge is irrelevant
(ontological non-determinism vs not knowing non-determinism). In this situation it is important,
for humans and other species alike, to be able to make educated guesses about the probability
of events, as has been emphasized by [Friston 2010]. Full knowledge may be desirable, but it is
not feasible.
4
Stream of consciousness is ND-computable
The stream of consciousness proceeds in mutual dependency on the stream of the
world. The progression is determined by repeatedly applying the the operation
c|w. In this way one obtains a new pair of configurations (c′ , w ′) that are being
subject to their interaction c′ |w ′ . Etcetera. We assign the task of obtaining the
next c′ or w ′ to the agent A and its world W ; so we have
A(c, w) = c′ ;
W (c, w) = w ′.
(2.5)
That is c|w = (A(c, w), W (c, w)). The functions A, W with
A : A × W → A, W : A × W → W
(2.6)
are postulated to be ND-computable, i.e. computable by non-deterministic Turing
Machine. The non-determinism is caused by the following. 1. There are neural
nets in the brain of a human agent that act adequately but not with 100% precision;
2. not knowing how the world reacts; 3. not knowing what other agents are doing
to the world. This third point can be seen as part of the second.
As motivation for the axiom of ND-computability of the stream of consciousness one can refer to: functioning of neurons, see [Maaß & Markram 2004]. The
Buddhist view, and corresponding meditation experience, that everything has a
cause (dependent origination) also motivates this axiom. The axiom also is consistent with the Turing Thesis [Turing 1937] that states that human computability
is exactly machine computability.
Summarizing. Consciousness is a quasi-deterministic actor, where the nondeterminism is caused by the imprecision of the agent and the unknown aspects
of the world. Nevertheless, because the actions are digitized, great precision is
possible.
3. Compound consciousness
Input, state, action
Acting in a world is made efficient by sensors, channels for input (i), and actuators,
for action (a). Behaviorism took as position that humans could be described by
the set of pairs (i, a) (in short ia), also called ‘stimulus and reaction’. In this line
of thinking one could write
c(t) = ct = it at , with t ∈ Z
5
(3.1)
This, however, is a limited view, as a person doesn’t behave in the same way if being
subject to the same input. Therefore next to i and a one needs an (internal) ‘state’
s to describe the agent. This ‘mind-state’ s can be considered as ‘the tendency to
act in a certain way’. This results in postulating that for the configurations c of an
agent A one has c = isa, so that the stream of consciousness c can be considered
to consist of three streams6 .
. . . , i−1 , i0 , i1 , . . .
c = . . . → i−1 s−1 a−1 → i0 s0 a0 → i1 s1 a1 → . . . =
. . . , s−1 , s0 , s1 . . . .
| {z }
| {z }
| {z }
. . . , a−1 , a0 , a1 , . . .
c0
c1
c−1
(3.2)
Feeling tone: reward system
For humans (and other species) it is useful to make a further division. 1. Writing
s = sf sc , where sf is the feeling tone and sc is the rest of the state of consciousness.
The sf is an element of {−−, −, 0, +, ++} and indicates whether the present configuration is felt as very unpleasant, unpleasant, neutral, pleasant, very pleasant.
It is the reward-punishment for humans and other species; nature makes certain
things pleasant, like eating and making children, in order to make Homo Sapiens
thrive.
Cognition: memory, language, mental programs
Another subdivision, notably for humans, is to add a group im for ‘cognition’7 ,
consisting of concepts and images and split i as follows: i = ib im . The objects of
ib consist of input from the physical senses, hence the superscript ‘b’ refering to
‘body’. The objects of im consist of mental images, concepts, and intentions to
act. Except for pathological cases, humans can distinguish these respectively from
actual input through ib and from actual execution of the intended act as a.
The elements of the streams in c = ib im sf sc a are acting in an associative
way. The sound of a bell (ib ) preceding a meal for a dog that triggers saliva,
after a couple of times is enough to trigger the saliva without a meal. In general
associations between elements of the isa may trigger occurrences of other objects
possibly in another stream. The group im has a rich potential of elements that can
be triggered by an event coming in through ib , and causing in its turn the right
reaction in a.
6
This is how the transitions in a Turing Machine can be seen. The Read/Write device (R/Whead) is positioned on a cell and reads i. Then depending on this and on the state s an action is
performed: either moving the R/W-head, or writing a symbol on the cell where the R/W-head
is positioned, or changing the inner state.
7
Traditionally this is called the group of ‘perception’.
6
For this to work well there is cued recall. After a particular object o1 in say
ib is presented several times and followed by another object o2 , the presentation
of just o1 may trigger the memory of o2 . In a small brain cued recall has limited
reliability (the recalled o2 may not be correct) and capacity (only a limited numbers
of pairs (o1 , o2 ) may be stored. This limitation can be increased considerably,
[de Bruijn 2003], at the cost of brain tissue and energy consumption. In this way
Language and mental programs can be developed.
The five groups
Taken together one obtains the five groups, aka aggregates/skandhas:
c = |{z}
ib im |{z}
sf sc a,
(3.3)
s
i
so that the stream of consciousness has five substreams. The new substreams
sf = . . . → sf−1 → sf0 → sf1 → . . .
m
m
im = . . . → im
−1 → i0 → i1 → . . .
(3.4)
are the stream of feeling tones and that of mental activities, like thinking or imagining. These two streams often are being hypertrophied (in the sense of getting
much attention) in human existence, notably reinforcing each other.
Finer details of consciousness
f c
A triple ct = it st at (or more accurately a quintuple ct = ibt im
t st st at ) is called a
ceta (aka citta or mind-moment). A state can be approximately seen as a large
array of values (parameters). Think of a possible state of the weather, e.g. a local
snowstorm. Relevant for that state are the temperature, humidity, wind, and more
at the different relevant local positions. In Buddhist psychology, the Abhidhamma,
the mind-state s is seen as such an array of many so called mental factors, called
cetasikas. As feeling tone sf is such an important factor, that is always present,
it is singled out in the five groups. Other mental factors, that however are not
always present, are aversion, desire on the unwholesome side, and mindfulness, to
be introduced below, and compassion on the wholesome side.
4. Self
That an agent in the world proceeds with a ND-computable stream of consciousness may be expressed by saying that it is ‘impersonal’. It just follows the laws of
7
nature, depending on the configuration of A and the state of the world. Another
way of expressing this is by saying that A is self-less. It proceeds without independent existence, just like like a glider crawls diagonally over the field of Conway’s
Game of Life, or like a wave towards the shore, that seems to proceed from a pebble thrown into the middle of a pool. In the latter case water only moves up and
down, not sideways, as becomes clear when placing a ping-pong ball in the water.
Nevertheless within the life-stream of the agent it can happen that a self is being
formed. It is a dynamical process consisting of a collection of behavioral strategies
that protect and take care of the individual. This self needs some balance: fine
tuning of the different sub-strategies.
Healthy attachments
When homo sapiens considered as agent grows up it learns as a baby first the
following: relating a and i, so that some control over the environment can be
obtained. Shortly after in the development of a child, as each i is coupled with sf ,
the actions will be directed towards avoiding input with unpleasant sf .
With the capacities so far: acting towards pleasant input in an intelligent way,
learned from the social environment, agent A develops strategies that are good for
A, for itself. If this happens in the right way, one has developed a healthy self
through healthy attachments.
Selfing
If one doesn’t have enough empathy, the capacity to imagine the state of others in
a given situation, the notion of self may become too central and becomes counter
productive. If one mentions to often ‘I, me, mine’, and acts accordingly, then one
will be avoided by people in one’s environment.
Wrong view
The self that has been described as a dynamical process is used so often, that it
gets reified as a thing. In the same way as the wave is seen as an object that moves
towards the shore, the self is perceived as an entity with independent existence.
This is called ‘Wrong View’. In the first place this causes fear of death. But many
more problems will result, as Wrong View creates the idea that one needs to defend
self. Also it leads to the unwholesome habit of selfing.
8
5. Mindfulness: mechanism and application (ER)
Mechanism of mindfulness
In the given model of consciousness one can define mindfulness. In this way one
primitive term can be eliminated.
Mindfulness at ct+1 is a mental factor that has (part of) the previous ceta ct as object. If ct = isa, then the next ceta being mindful means that it is ct+1 = (‘isa’)s′ a′ .
One speaks of the ‘right’ mindfulness if s′ contains friendliness.
Mindfulness can help emotional regulation. Suppose ct = i(
+ s)a is a
ceta in which the mind-state contains the cetasika (mental factor) of angriness.
The presence of this unwholesome factor makes it probable that the action a is
unwholesome, increasing the chance of suffering at some or more future consciousness moments. Being mindful of the angriness at the next ceta can be seen as
’)sa′ . The transition
ct+1 = (i + ‘
i(
+ s)a 7−→ (i + ‘
’)s′ a′
(5.1)
is said to be the transformation of being angry, possibly with unwholesome act a,
to seeing angriness, with an equanimous mental state s′ and wholesome act a′ .
Application of mindfulness: purification. Mindfulness training consists of exercising the transition (5.1) so that mindfulness becomes easy to apply. To increase
the effect of mindfulness in the direction of emotional regulation (ER) one may
train it so that it becomes strong and sharp. Strong means that it is being applied
during a longer time period; sharp means that it is being applied with a high frequency. In Section 7 we will see that there is another application of mindfulness,
as tool to insight and release.
Mindfulness as risk factor
A strong and sharp form of mindfulness is useful for removing counterproductive
mind-states. When mindfulness has been sufficiently developed, so that it possesses
a high resolution and can be maintained for an extended period, eventually it will
show that consciousness is
compound, fluctuating, impersonal,
(5.2)
and therefore a cause of suffering. In the Buddhist tradition, [Buddhaghosa 1999],
one mentions the three fundamental characteristics of existence (and thereby of
consciousness):
non permanence, suffering, non self.
(5.3)
9
Experiencing this causes further ‘insights’: feelings of (irrational) fear, delusions
of seeing (non existing) danger and (utter) disgust/nausea, often experienced in
quick succession. These form an impressive cross-section of psychiatric conditions.
6. Suffering
One can distinguish three essentially different forms of suffering and distress.
1. Distress by
avoiding pain
2. Distress by
avoiding change
3. Chaos & Lack:
existential fear
Suffering as pain
The most basic form of suffering comes in the form of feeling-tone sf having a
negative value. Things are unpleasant or even very much so.
Suffering as change
The strategies constituting the self have as goal to minimize pain and maximize
pleasure. If one has some success in this, then one likes to keep the life style one
lives. For that reason change is felt as a threat and is felt as cause of suffering.
Next to this there is also a mechanism of trying to hold onto one’s lifestyle,
even if it is not conductive to decreasing suffering. This will be explained in the
next subsection.
Both the drive to accomplish what one wants and to cover up what one fears
lead to rigidity.
Suffering from Lack
The fact that consciousness is progressing as a stream that is compound, fluctuating as a stroboscope, and impersonal, is a serious blow to self, when there is
the Wrong View of it being permanent and substantial (having independent existence). Therefore all kind of defense mechanisms create a cover-up, so that this
fundamental fact will not be seen. This cover-up becomes rigid, if one gets the
feeling that it is taken away. This explains the second reason why change may be
felt as suffering, mentioned in the previous subsection.
10
If, on the other hand, one doesn’t succeed in maintaining the cover-up, then
outright existential fear appears. This fear is not related to objects, like a wild
animal, that appear in the world. It is related to the mechanism of consciousness
and therefore is difficult to understand by friends that would like to provide help,
but are unfamiliar to the experience of the three fundamental characteristics.
(Un)wholesome actions
An action is (un)wholesome if the chance of later resulting suffering (increases)
decreases. A mind-state is (un)wholesome if it leads to (un)wholesome acts. While
hedonist acts are intended to lead to immediate pleasure, wholesome acts are
intended to lead to sustainably avoiding suffering.
7. Release: ↓suffering & ↑freedom
To increase resilience against stress and make it sustainable one needs to release
existential suffering. For this the insight meditation tradition [] has created the
triple training:
behavior 7−→ concentration 7−→ wisdom.
(7.1)
The development of behavior, also called discipline or ethics, is towards having
respect for oneself, others, and the world. This prevents necessary actions in the
future and simplifies life. For example if one doesn’t steal one will not risk to come
into contact with the police to be charged for theft. This helps enabling to develop
a lifestyle apt to build concentration, i.e. being able to restrict attention to fewer
objects. Details how to do this are beyond the scope of this paper, but can be
found in many meditation manuals, e.g. [Mahasi 2016]. Then, finally, it becomes
possible to obtain insight into the functioning of our body-mind system so that
unwholesome mental loops (vicious circles) can be defused and avoided.
An important aspect of the training of behavior and concentration is that also
mental activity im , which is both an action and an input, decreases.
It is not the case that one first fully develops ethical behavior, then concentration, and only then insight arises. With some discipline in behavior, some
concentration may be developed, and then some wisdom arises. With that wisdom one is motivated to increase discipline, so that concentration and wisdom can
be developed further. This then leads to an upward spiral.
Discipline means that one follows a mental program a plan. Concentration
means that one is able to keep one’s attention to a desired object, the meditation
object, for example the physical sensations of the movements related to breathing.
This is practiced by taking a meditation object with as aim to keep it as long
as possible in focus. Each time when attention has drifted somewhere else, often
11
without even noticing this, as soon as one is aware of this, one gently brings
attention back to the chosen object. When this is done continuously, eventually
concentration grows and the period to remain focused on the meditation object
increases considerably.
With enough discipline and concentration one is able to restrict the i and a
that they are approximately constant and become i0 and a0 . Then a usual stream
of consciousness like
. . . → isa → i′ a′ s′ → i′′ a′′ s′′ → . . .
(7.2)
. . . → i0 sa0 → i0 s′ a0 → i0 s′′ a0 → . . .
(7.3)
becomes
with the input and action fixed to i0 , a0 , respectively. This means that the only
change is happening in the stream of mind-states
. . . → s → s′ → s′′ → . . .
(7.4)
Being for some longer time in this scenario is restful. But certain tendencies remain
present. After stopping meditation, going back to sensory and mental input one
returns to the usual scenario (7.2). Nevertheless having felt the quietness of (7.3)
is already refreshing, wholesome, and increasing one’s resilience.
But it is possible to develop something better: sustainable resilience. Not
counting mental or sensory input, it can be assumed that there are only a limited
number of mind-states. Therefore the stream of mind-states will enter a loop:
s → s′ → s′′ → . . . s(k) → s
(7.5)
If one is fully aware of this loop, or at least of a subloop jumping now and then a
few positions, then habituation occurs and consciousness occurs without an object
arises where even i0 disappears. This is called nibbana/nirvana. It causes a powerful reset, enabling the stream of consciousness to escape from the quasi-attractor
in which it was caught for a long time. Wrong View becomes Right View, that was
already intuitively clear during the insight of Lack, but it was not yet accepted.
The transitions (7.2) 7−→ (7.3) 7−→ (7.5) can be intuitively depicted as follows:
→ freedom!
ego (cover-up)
concentration
12
release
8. Freedom paradox
There is a remarkable pseudo paradox. Being fully aware of the loop (7.5) one
intuitively understands what is called ‘Dependent origination’. Basically this states
that the stream of consciousness (7.5), but then also (7.2), is subject to a quasideterministic process. This is liberating, as one is no longer obliged to pretend one
has an essential say in the propagation of our stream of consciousness. No longer
pretending frees us from rigidity fixated on the self-image we held on to for a long
time. Therefore there is the freedom paradox:
We become free by realizing that we are fully determined.
(8.1)
To understand this, we may compare homo sapiens to a goat that is attached
by a rope around its neck to a pole in the grass. Consequently the animal can
graze only in a circle around the pole. The goat learns from someone, or invents
it auto-didactically, that to become free one should gnaw on the rope. When the
goat has succeeded to break the rope, it is free to walk away from the farm where
it is being held, walk into the fields, forests, and mountains to find other goats
for playing and mating. Thereby the goat follows its way of being conditioned. It
even can go back to the farm. In this simile the rope for homo sapiens consists
of the image one has of oneself, including our desires and fears. One is attached
to this self-image, in order not to feel the fundamental Lack [Loy 1996] of self, of
substantial independent being. Freedom consists of having ‘algorithms’ that are
pretty good in calculating in an intelligent and compassionate way what is our
best surviving strategy. This way our actions are based on a flow and no longer
on ideas that create our narrative being. Another way of stating8 the freedom
paradox is the following.
There is freedom. But it is not ours.
(8.2)
Something similar has been stated in [Merleau-Ponty 2013], in a literary way.
I am a psychological and historical structure. Along with existence, I received a way
of existing, or a style. All of my actions and thoughts are related to this structure,
and even a philosopher’s thought is merely a way of making explicit his hold upon
the world, which is all he is. And yet, I am free, not in spite of or beneath these
motivations, but rather by their means. For that meaningful life, that particular
signification of nature and history that I am, does not restrict my access to the
world; it is rather my means of communication with it.
Merleau-Ponty : Phenomenology of perception
8
Formulation by Karin Videc.
13
9. Layers of consciousness
Using our physical senses and possibly also the mental sense through which the im
arrive, is overwhelming. Therefore the human mind has a mechanism of attention
that makes a selection. This can be modeled by allowing each i to be a large set of
values, together with a (chosen) subset F ⊆ i of values to which attention is being
paid. In the same way action a can be seen as a large set of possible actions to
which one needs to apply attention as subset G ⊆ a, to select the intended actions.
As we live in a complex environment we are not aware of all the input stimuli
that reach our eyes. We make a choice using attention. So input ib in fact is
ib = h~i; F i, where F is a subset of the large set of ‘pixels’ {~i} falling on our visual
field, chosen by attention.
Forms of consciousness
One can ride over a well-known bridge in town without realizing that one does this.
Arrived in the other part of town suddenly one realizes ‘We are here, so I must have
crossed the bridge.’ Consciousness is sometimes described as proto-consciousness
plus knowing. As the example shows, this knowing part is not always there. In the
theory presented so far this can be modeled as having a (series of) mind-moment(s)
including the mental factor of mindfulness that enables input not via the physical
senses, but more directly from the information of the previous mind-moment.
One may even differentiate further. Pre-consciousness of an object i0 may be
described as a (({~i}; F ), s, a) in which i0 is among the ~i, but is not attended to,
i.e. not in F . Proto consciousness of an object i0 is such that F focuses on at least
i0 . And as stated, full consciousness arises when i0 is also observed in the next
mind-moment by mindfulness.
(full) consciousness
proto-consciousness
=
=
proto-consciousness + knowing
pre-consciousness + attention
(9.1)
See [Hobson 2009] and [Dehaene, et al. 2006] where these distinctions have been
made, using slightly different terminology.
Layers of agents
Conscious agents A, B can be combined by diverting the actions of A towards the
input of B and vice versa the actions of B towards the input of A. This has been
done in an attractive way by [Hoffman & Prakash 2014] and [Fields, et al. 2018].
By also considering the physical base as agent interaction, as is done in quantum
physics, these authors and also [Rovelli 2021] coin the interesting possibility that
the explanatory gap of the body-mind problem may be bridged.
14
10. Conclusion
Consciousness is
compound, fluctuating, impersonal.
(10.1)
Discovering this has strong psychological implications. It may explain on the
one hand part of the psychiatric phenomena: fear (panic attacks and phobias9 ),
delusion (paranoia), disenchantment (depression). On the other hand that it is
possible to develop the mind in impressive ways. Through combined phenomenological and neurophysiological investigations this may eventually give full insight
into the objective nature of consciousness, its ailments and possibilities.
Acknowledgments
The Lorentz Institute at Leiden University and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies provided support in the form of the Distinguished Lorentz Fellowship. The following persons provided much appreciated help: Mark van Atten,
Martin Davis, Fabio Giommi. Wolfgang Maaß, Bill Phillips, and Karin Videc.
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9
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15
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17 |
arXiv:2005.08620v1 [eess.SP] 15 May 2020
Assessment of Unconsciousness
for Memory Consolidation Using EEG Signals
Gi-Hwan Shin
Minji Lee
Seong-Whan Lee
Dept. Brain and Cognitive Engineering
Korea University
Seoul, Republic of Korea
gh shin@korea.ac.kr
Dept. Brain and Cognitive Engineering
Korea University
Seoul, Republic of Korea
minjilee@korea.ac.kr
Dept. Artificial Intelligence
Korea University
Seoul, Republic of Korea
sw.lee@korea.ac.kr
Abstract—The assessment of consciousness and unconsciousness is a challenging issue in modern neuroscience. Consciousness
is closely related to memory consolidation in that memory is a
critical component of conscious experience. So far, many studies
have been reported on memory consolidation during consciousness, but there is little research on memory consolidation during
unconsciousness. Therefore, we aim to assess the unconsciousness
in terms of memory consolidation using electroencephalogram
signals. In particular, we used unconscious state during a nap;
because sleep is the only state in which consciousness disappears
under normal physiological conditions. Seven participants performed two memory tasks (word-pairs and visuo-spatial) before
and after the nap to assess the memory consolidation during
unconsciousness. As a result, spindle power in central, parietal,
occipital regions during unconsciousness was positively correlated
with the performance of location memory. With the memory
performance, there was also a negative correlation between
delta connectivity and word-pairs memory, alpha connectivity
and location memory, and spindle connectivity and word-pairs
memory. We additionally observed the significant relationship
between unconsciousness and brain changes during memory
recall before and after the nap. These findings could help present
new insights into the assessment of unconsciousness by exploring
the relationship with memory consolidation.
Index Terms—unconsciousness, brain-machine interface, memory consolidation, electroencephalography, power spectral density, functional connectivity
I. I NTRODUCTION
Brain-machine interface (BMI) has been widely used to
assess the levels of consciousness [1]. In particular, these
techniques are helpful to diagnose patients with disorders of
consciousness [2], [3]. The fact that consciousness consists of
wakefulness and awareness is very important in that the standards of consciousness can be different [4]. The wakefulness
includes arousal, alertness, and vigilance, while awareness is
the sum of cognitive and emotional functions [5]. Simply
20xx IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from
IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media,
including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional
purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers
or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
This work was supported by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the
Korea government (No. 2017-0-00451, Development of BCI based Brain
and Cognitive Computing Technology for Recognizing Users Intentions using
Deep Learning).
put, wakefulness indicates whether the user could react to
external stimuli and awareness represents whether the user
has conscious experience. For example, the ketamine-induced
unconsciousness has a dreamlike conscious experience but has
no response to external stimuli, so it can be said to be low
wakefulness but high awareness [6].
Many studies have reported that assessment of consciousness using electroencephalogram (EEG), which is low cost and
a high temporal resolution [7]–[9]. From an awareness point
of view, delta connectivity and spectral exponent of the resting
EEG could evaluate consciousness [10], [11]. In addition,
the difference in brain connectivity between propofol-induced
unconsciousness and wakefulness was especially found in the
parietal region [12]. Recently, studies have been reported to
assess consciousness from a wakefulness perspective [13].
However, it is still unclear about the assessment of consciousness in the wakefulness.
Memory is deeply related to consciousness [14]. In specific,
memory consolidation makes it possible for memories of our
daily experiences to be stored in an enduring way during sleep
and wakefulness [15]. Therefore, memory performance itself
may be used as a measure of consciousness assessment in that
memory recall is directly related to the levels of consciousness.
Many studies show that changes in spindle band and parietal
regions are linked to memory during consciousness [16].
However, research about changes associated with memory
consolidation during unconsciousness is to be needed.
In this study, we aimed to assess the unconsciousness
in terms of memory consolidation using EEG signals. In
particular, we focused on wakefulness that could not react
to external stimuli, not awareness. Therefore, we used the
nap to maintain the unconscious state in normal physiological
conditions [17]. We hypothesized that there is the strong
relationship between memory consolidation and EEG features
during unconsciousness. Our results could present as a new
biomarker in assessing unconsciousness in terms of memory
consolidation.
II. M ETHODS
A. Participants
Seven healthy adults (all males, age 26.0 ± 2.4 years)
participated in this study. No participants had any history
Figure 1. Experimental setup
Frontal region
Central region
Temporal region
Parietal region
Occipital region
Daytime nap
Learning & Recall
Recall
Time
13:00
14:00
17:00
15:30
Figure 2. Memory tasks
Fig. 1. Experimental procedures. The experiment consisted of questionnaires, memory tasks, and the nap (unconscious state). PSQI and SSS questionnaires
are performed before the nap, and only SSS questionnaire is performed after the nap. The memory tasks are performed before and after the nap. PSQI =
Pittsburg sleep quality index, SSS = Stanford sleepiness scale.
All participants visited the laboratory at noon and prepared
EEG recordings. They answered the questionnaires about the
subjective quality of sleep before the experiment (Pittsburg
sleep quality index, PSQI) [18] and current sleepiness (Stanford sleepiness scale, SSS) [19]. The memory tasks consisting
of the learning, immediate recall, and delayed recall sessions
were performed before the nap. At 2:00 pm, the participants
were asked to take the nap for 90 min. After waking up,
they took a rest for 30 min and reported the SSS, again. The
delayed recall session was performed to investigate the effect
on memory consolidation (Fig. 1).
C. Memory Tasks
The memory tasks consisted of two declarative memory tests (a word-pairs task [20] and a visuo-spatial task
including picture and location memory [21]) (Fig. 2).
All memory tasks were implemented with Psychtoolbox
(http://psychtoolbox.org). Participants were instructed to memorize items for recall of memory, but no specific strategy was
recommended [22].
1) Word-pairs memory: The word-pairs task included 108
semantically related word-pairs (e.g.,“event-festival”) [23].
The order of word-pairs was presented randomly for each
participant. In the learning session, each pair of words was
presented during 4 sec, preceded by an inter-stimulus interval
(ISI) that lasted for 1 sec. The immediate recall session
was performed after the learning session. The participants
were asked to enter a word that corresponds to the word
displayed on the screen. After the response, the correct answer
was visible for 2 sec independent of the correctness of the
participant’s answer. After the unconscious state, the delayed
Visuo-spatial task
1 sec
Learning
B. Experimental Procedure
Word-pair task
Event
Festival
4 sec
2 sec
1 sec
2 sec
0.5 sec
Recall
of neurologic, psychiatric, sleep, or internal disorders. This
study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Korea
University (KUIRB-2020-0112-01), and each participant gave
written informed consent before the experiments.
Event
?
30 sec
3 sec
Event
Festival
Old or New?
1 sec
1 sec
2 sec
1
3
2
4
2 sec
Where?
1 sec
Only immediate
recall task
Fig. 2. A detailed description of the word-pairs and visuo-spatial memory
tasks. The word-pairs memory task consisted of 54 trials in both the learning
and recall sessions, and the visuo-spaital memory task consisted of 38 trials
and 76 trials in the learning and recall sessions, respectively.
recall session was the same except that no correct answer was
displayed.
The memory performance was evaluated by summing all
correctly recalled words. The correct answers included responses with typos or inflectional error. In addition, derivations
mistakes were counted as errors.
2) Visuo-spaital memory: The visuo-spatial memory task
required participants to learn 38 neutral pictures (objects,
scenes taken from the SUN database [24]) (picture memory)
and additionally to memorize the location at which they were
presented (location memory). During each trial, a fixation
cross was first presented during 1 sec, preceded by a gray
square randomly at one of the 4 quadrants on the screen for 2
sec. This was followed by a picture within the square for 2 sec.
The immediate and delayed recall sessions showed a fixation
Figure 3. Memory task performance
*
100
40
20
0
80
70
Accuracy (%)
Accuracy (%)
60
Accuracy (%)
cross for 1 sec and subsequent stimuli (38 learned and 38 new
pictures) were randomly displayed in the center of the screen
for 3 sec. Within this period, participants pressed old (“o”)
or new (“n”) buttons (picture memory). If they recognized a
picture, they also selected in which quadrant they believed the
picture had been presented (location memory).
As a measure of picture recognition memory performance,
percent correct responses were determined for each participant
as follows: the proportion of correct old responses + proportion
of correct new responses. To determine the performance of
location memory, both correctly and incorrectly recall picture
locations were taken into account as follows: number of
correctly recall/number of correct old responses - number of
falsely recall location/number of correct old responses.
60
Word-pairs
memory
4
3
2
*
50
30
Picture
memory
Before napAfter nap
Before nap After nap
Location
memory
Fig. 3. Memory task performance. Error bars show standard errors. * indicates
statistical significance at p < 0.05 determined by paired permutation test.
D. Data Acquisition and Preprocessing
The EEG signals were recorded at 1,000 Hz using an
amplifier (BrainAmp; Brain Project GmBH, Germany). The
60 Ag/AgCl electrodes were used according to the 10-20
international system. Additionally, the reference electrode was
located at FCz and the reference electrode was placed in AFz.
For all electrodes impedance was kept below 10 kΩ.
The EEG signals were processed with MATLAB R2018b
using the EEGLAB toolbox [25]. Data were down-sampled
to 250 Hz and band-pass filtered between 0.5 to 50 Hz. We
divided into nap and memory recall. EEG data of the 15 min
before and after were excluded during the 90 min nap to
clearly include the non-responsive state in external stimuli.
Then the 60 min data was segmented into 3 sec intervals.
In the memory recall, we segmented the EEG signals at the
specific time that is most prominent when perceived by the
brain for each task (word-pairs memory: 400-800 msec [26],
picture and location memory: 200-400 msec [27]). To remove
artifacts such as muscle movements and eye blinks, the epochs
were excluded when the amplitude value exceeded ± 100 µV.
The independent component analysis was also performed to
remove components with dominant artifacts in the memory
task.
E. Data Analysis
To compare the EEG feature in the spectral and spatial
domain, we grouped into five brain regions as follows: frontal,
central, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions. In addition,
we divided into six frequency bands as follows: delta (0.5-4
Hz), theta (4-7 Hz), alpha (7-12 Hz), spindle (12-16 Hz), beta
(16-30 Hz), and gamma (30-50 Hz) bands.
1) Spectral power: The signals were processed to analyze
EEG characteristics in the frequency domain using the fast
Fourier transform (FFT). The power spectral density (PSD)
was calculated for each frequency component composing those
EEG signals [28]:
Z f2
P SDf1 −f2 = 10 ∗ log10 (2
f1
|x̂(2πf )|2 df )
(1)
where f1 , f2 represent the lower and upper frequencies respectively, and x̂(2πf ) was obtained by FFT. 10 ∗ log10 (•)
denotes unit conversion from microvolts to decibels.
2) Functional connectivity: To investigate the functional
connectivity among brain regions [29], we used the weighted
phase lag index (wPLI). This measure is used to identify
non-zero phase lag statistical inter-dependencies between EEG
time series from pairs of channels. Specifically, wPLI was
calculated to minimize the impact of volume conduction and
the number of artifacts [30]:
wP LI =
|E{J {X}}|
|E{|J {X}|sgn(J {X})}|
=
E{|J {X}|}
E{|J {X}|}
(2)
where J {X} is based only on the imaginary component of
the cross-spectrum X = Zi Zj∗ between two channels, Zi is
the complex-valued Fourier transform of the signal of channel
i, Zj∗ is the complex conjugate of Zj , and E{•} means the
expected-value operator.
F. Statistical Analysis
We performed a non-parametric paired permutation test (r
= 1,000) to compare EEG features during unconsciousness
and memory-related characteristics. We also used Pearson’s
correlation to examine the relationship between differences
in memory task performance and the EEG features during
unconsciousness. In addition, the Kruskal-Wallis test (nonparametric one way analysis of variance) was performed to
investigate the neurophysiological changes associated with
memory before and after the nap. For post-hoc analysis, a
paired permutation was used with Bonferroni’s correction (r
= 1,000). The alpha level was set at 0.05 for all statistical
significance.
III. R ESULTS
A. Nap Quality and Memory Task Performance
All participants had no sleep problems (PSQI > 8). In
addition, for nap quality, there were no statistical differences in
SSS before and after the nap (t = -2.121, p = 0.153). Therefore,
memory task itself before the nap did not affect nap quality.
Central region
Parietal region
-10
5
Difference (%)
Difference (%)
Difference (%)
Occipital region
5
5
-10
-25
-25
1.5
2.5
PSD (dB)
-25
4.5
3.5
-10
6
PSD (dB)
7.5
6.5
8.25
PSD (dB)
10
Figure 5. Correlation between wPLI and memory performance
Fig. 4. Correlation between spindle PSD during unconsciousness and difference in the location memory performance. The differences in memory performance
indicate the performance between immediate and delayed memory recall sessions. PSD = power spectral density.
Delta band
Central region
PM_Acc
5
-10
Occipital region
C-P
PM_Acc
Difference (%)
Difference (%)
-10
Parietal region
C-P
Difference (%)
5
PM_Acc
Spindle band
Alpha band
5
C-P
r-value
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-10
-1.0
Fig. 5. Correlation between wPLI during unconsciousness and difference in the memory performance. Blue lines indicate the significantly negative correlation,
whereas gray lines indicate no significant connections. wPLI = weighted phase lag index, WP Acc = difference in word-pairs memory performance between
-25
-25
-25
immediate and
delayed memory recall sessions, PM Acc = difference in picture memory performance between immediate and delayed memory recall sessions,
4.5
6
7.5
8.25 C = central10region, T =
1.5
2.5
3.5
LM Acc = difference in location memory performance between immediate and delayed memory recall sessions, 6.5
F = frontal region,
(dB)
PSD (dB)
PSD (dB)
temporal region, P = parietalPSD
region,
O = occipital region.
Fig. 3 showed the average performance of all participants
in each memory task. As a result, word-pairs memory was
significantly increased (t = 6.940, p = 0.021), and the location
memory was significantly decreased (t = -0.647, p = 0.023)
after the nap. On the other hand, there were no significant
differences in picture memory (t = -0.276, p = 0.642).
B. Assessment of Unconsciousness with Memory Performance
We examined the relationship between PSD during unconsciousness and differences in the memory performance. Fig. 4
showed a strong positive correlation between the performance
of location memory and PSD in spindle band (central region
(r = 0.813, p = 0.026); parietal region (r = 0.869, p = 0.011);
occipital region (r = 0.839, p = 0.018) (Fig. 4). There was
no correlation between PSD in other frequency bands and
location memory. In addition, we observed that the wordpairs and picture memory have no correlation with PSD during
unconsciousness, respectively.
Fig. 5 showed the relationship between wPLI during unconsciousness and difference in memory performance. Unlike
PSD, negative correlation was observed in wPLI. Specifically,
negative relationship with word-pairs performance was found
in the occipital wPLI (r = -0.773, p = 0.042) in the delta
band. We also explored a significant negative correlation with
the performance of location memory in alpha band (frontalparietal wPLI: r-value = -0.872, p = 0.011; frontal-occipital
wPLI: r = -0.845, p = 0.017; central wPLI: r = -0.863, p =
0.012; central-temporal wPLI: r = -0.815, p = 0.026; centralparietal wPLI: r = -0.886, p = 0.008; central-occipital wPLI:
r = -0.876, p = 0.010; parietal-parietal wPLI: r = -0.870,
p = 0.011; parietal-occipital wPLI: r = -0.778, p = 0.039).
Similarly, in the spindle band, there was a negative correlation
between the performance of the word-pairs memory (frontalcentral wPLI: r = -0.859, p = 0.013; frontal-temporal wPLI: r =
-0.921, p = 0.003; frontal-parietal wPLI: r = -0.903, p = 0.005;
frontal-occipital wPLI: r = -0.916, p = 0.004; temporal-parietal
wPLI: r = -0.756, p = 0.049) temporal-occipital wPLI: r = 0.897, p = 0.006). On the other hand, wPLI in the theta, beta,
gamma bands showed no significant correlation with memory
task performance.
C. Difference in EEG Features According to Nap during
Memory Recall
We observed the spatial differences in spectral power during
memory recall before and after the nap (Fig. 6). In the wordpairs memory decreased spindle PSD in the temporal and
occipital regions during recall task after the unconscious. In
the location memory, delta and theta PSD in the parietal
Delta band
Theta band
Alpha band
감소
감소
감소
Spindle band
Beta band
Gamma band
t-value
8.9
WP
**
*
*
*
*
*
** **
4.5
*
*
0
-4.5
-8.9
t-value
2.6
PM
1.3
0
-1.3
-2.6
LM
t-value
*
******
*
***
** *
6.6
**
* **
****
* ***
** *
3.3
0
-3.3
-6.6
감소
감소 successful memory recall before and after the nap. The white asterisk indicates a significant electrode in spectral
Fig. 6. Statistical
differences in PSD during
power (p < 0.05 with Bonferroni’s correction). PSD = power spectral density, WP = word-pairs memory, PM = picture memory, LM = location memory.
and occipital regions decreased during recall tasks after the
unconscious. On the other hand, there was no spatial difference
in picture memory during memory recall.
Additionally, differences in wPLI during memory recall
were explored. In the word pair memory, all the significant
functional connectivity of the delayed recall after unconsciousness increased in the delta band (frontal wPLI: t = 3.461, p
= 0.016; frontal-central wPLI: t = 2.431, p = 0.047), theta
band (frontal wPLI: t = 2.498, p = 0.046) and gamma band
(central-temporal wPLI: t = 3.395, p = 0.015; temporal wPLI:
t = 2.598, p < 0.001; temporal-parietal wPLI: t = 2.161, p
= 0.046; parietal wPLI: t = -2.710, p = 0.047). In addition,
picture memory showed a significant difference only in the
alpha band. In specific, the frontal wPLI increased during
recall task after unconsciousness (t = 2.359, p = 0.046)
and central-parietal wPLI decreased during recall task after
unconsciousness (t = -2.984, p = 0.015). The location memory
showed a significant difference only in theta band when
comparing immediate and delayed recall sessions, and wPLI
decreased after unconsciousness (central wPLI: t = -2.352, p
= 0.030; parietal wPLI: t = -3.088, p = 0.032).
0.029), and the location memory showed a significant positive
correlation PSD in Before
only alpha
Afterband (central region: r =
0.807, p = 0.028; occipital region: r = 0.756, p = 0.049).
In summary, gamma PSD has mainly a positive correlation
between unconsciousness
and differences in memory recall.
60ch
7
7 사람 수
Kruskalwallis
Fig. 7 indicated the important relationship with wPLI during
P<0.05
D. Assessment of Unconsciousness with EEG Features during
Memory Recall
Bonferr
To investigate the assessment of unconsciousness with differences in PSD during memory recall before and after nap,
Table I showed a strong positive relationship in PSD during
unconsciousness and memory recall in the gamma band. In
addition, word-pairs memory indicated positive relationship
PSD in alpha band (central region: r = 0.777, p = 0.039;
temporal region: r = 0.775, p = 0.041), spindle band (r =
0.839, p = 0.018), and beta band (r = 0.832, p = 0.002).
The picture memory showed a significant positive correlation
PSD in only theta band (temporal region: r = 0.802, p =
memory recall. In the delta band, a positive correlation was
found between the word-pairs memory and the frontal-parietal
wPLI (r = 0.757, p = 0.049). We additionally observed a
negative correlation between picture memory and centraloccipital wPLI (r = -0.785, p = 0.037). Only strong negative
correlations were found in the theta band. Specifically, there
was a significant difference between the picture memory and
frontal-occipital wPLI (r = -0.821, p = 0.024) and there was
a significant difference between location memory and brain
regions (temporal wPLI: r = -0.968, p < 0.001; parietal wPLI:
r = -0.851, p = 0.015; parietal-occipital wPLI: r = -0.831, p
= 0.021). In alpha band, a negative correlation between the
word-pairs memory and the occipital wPLI (r = -0.763, p =
0.046) and a positive correlation between positive memory
and parietal wPLI (r = 0.854, p = 0.001) were observed. The
most significant association was found in the spindle band. As
a result, the word-pairs memory and brain regions (centralparietal wPLI: r = -0.790, p = 0.035; parietal regions: r =
-0.774, p = 0.041) showed a negative correlation. In addition,
the positive correlation between picture memory and brain
regions (frontal-pareital wPLI: r = 0.761, p = 0.047; frontaloccipital wPLI: r = 0.778, p = 0.040) and negative correlation
with occipital wPLI (r = -0.928, p < 0.001) were found. On
the other hand, wPLI in the beta and gamma bands showed
no significant correlation with memory recall.
TABLE I
C ORRELATION BETWEEN G AMMA PSD DURING U NCONSCIOUSNESS AND D IFFERENCES IN G AMMA PSD DURING M EMORY R ECALL B EFORE AND
A FTER THE NAP
Word-pairs memory
r-value
p-value
0.869
0.011
0.441
0.322
0.038
0.936
0.776
0.040
0.796
0.032
Frontal region
Central region
Temporal region
Parietal region
Occipital region
Picture memory
r-value
p-value
0.962
<0.001
0.803
0.029
0.649
0.115
0.849
0.016
0.929
0.002
Location memory
r-value
p-value
0.817
0.025
0.727
0.064
0.504
0.249
0.816
0.025
0.956
<0.001
Figure 7. Correlation between 낮잠 (후-전) 과 낮잠 - wPLI
Delta band
Theta band
Alpha band
Spindle band
r-value
C-P PM_Acc
PM_Acc
C-P PM_Acc
C-P PM_Acc
C-P
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
Fig. 7. Correlation between wPLI and difference in memory performance. Red, blue, and gray lines indicate the significantly positive correlation, the
significantly negative correlation, and no significant connections, respectively. wPLI = weighted phase lag index, WP Acc = difference in word-pairs memory
performance between immediate and delayed memory recall sessions, PM Acc = difference in picture memory performance between immediate and delayed
memory recall sessions, LM Acc = difference in location memory performance between immediate and delayed memory recall sessions, F = frontal region,
C = central region, T = temporal region, P = parietal region, O = occipital region.
IV. D ISCUSSION
In this study, we investigated the relationship between
unconsciousness and memory consolidation. In the memory
performance, spindle PSD during unconsciousness mainly had
a positive correlation, and delta, alpha, and spindle wPLI
during unconsciousness had a negative correlation. In the
memory recall before and after the nap, gamma PSD during
unconsciousness showed a strong positive correlation, especially in the parietal and occipital regions. The differences in
wPLI during memory recall showed both positive and negative
correlations.
Comparing memory performance before and after the nap,
word-pairs memory significantly increased, picture memory
did not change, and location memory rather decreased. The
reason for improving word-pairs memory performance after
the nap is related to memory consolidation. The semantically
related word-pairs is potentially sensitive to changes in the
hippocampus-dependent consolidation process [31]. Therefore,
memory consolidation during unconsciousness has been positively affected and is thought to have increased word-pairs
memory performance. On the other hand, picture memory
has been demonstrated to be less dependent on memory
consolidation as in the previous studies [32]. Finally, the
reduction in the performance of location memory may be due
to the combination of simple picture memory task and more
complex location memory task, resulting in fewer valid items
[21].
wPLI
Word-pair
영역
(15)
밴드
VM
영역
(15)
We observed that spindle activity during unconsciousness
is closely related to memory consolidation. It has already
been reported that the spindle band is associated with memory
[16]. In addition, sleep spindle is even being used as a
physiological marker for maintaining unconsciousness [33].
In the alpha band, many negative correlations with memory
performance were found in wPLI during unconsciousness. It
is thought that the alpha band is involved in the inhibition
of brain activity that is not involved in mental activity [34].
In summary, memory consolidation represents the positive or
negative relationship with unconsciousness according to the
role of frequency.
With regard to spatial information, the parietal-occipital
regions during consciousness were mainly related to memory
consolidation in both PSD and wPLI. These parietal-occipital
regions are neural correlates of consciousness as a posterior
hot zone [6], [11]. It is considered that a major feature of these
regions is associated with memory consolidation. Therefore,
these regional changes can be used to assess unconsciousness
based on memory consolidation.
Some limitations should be noted when interpreting these
findings. First, the number of participants was relatively small
and there was no comparison group. Second, we analyzed
only successful recall sessions. In future work, a comparative
analysis of successful and forgotten trials can be needed.
In conclusion, we investigated the relationship between
unconsciousness and memory consolidation. To assess uncon-
SM
밴드
영역
(15)
밴드
sciousness, we performed two memory tasks before and after
the nap. As a result, significant correlations with unconsciousness were explored in memory performance and differences
between immediate and delayed memory recall sessions. These
findings could help provide new insights into the assessment
of unconsciousness by exploring memory consolidation based
on BMI.
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| August 2023 | Volume 14| Issue 4 | pp. 325-336
Malik, S. S., Fundamental Nature of Space & Time
325
Exploration
Fundamental Nature of Space &Time
Satinder S. Malik*
Abstract
This paper lays a hypothesis about the fundamental nature of Space and Time. Time is absolute
as well as relative. Relative quantity can occur only if the absolute exists in the theory. It is an
established fact that elementary particles such as quarks keep forming up in space and keep
decaying. This happens in the quantum foam due to the presence of quantum vacuum
fluctuations. The quantum vacuum fluctuations are caused by time energy as per the design of
Consciousness (sentience). This theory aims to explain the workings of relative time, motion in
the cosmos and the source of energy of the quarks, electrons and other elementary particles. This
model accounts for observations such as the correlation of distance and redshift of galaxies. The
conclusions of the paper are as follows:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
Time is an absolute dimension. What we experience is a relative time.
Time results from the capability of interpretation of past, present and future. Any
entity that experiences only the present would not appreciate time without memory
or correlation.
Time results from the motion. If the motion stops, time stops. Stoppage of motion in
the electrons and other quarks may lead to the disintegration of all matter.
The backward movement of time towards the past is a fantasy and so is time travel in
backward time.
Time is resultant of energy that causes motion. Time and space are similar
substances (of energy) but vary in effect.
The quantum vacuum fluctuations in dark energy are caused by time energy, guided
by space energy as per the will of Consciousness.
Consciousness is a para dimension besides space, time, energy, matter and
intelligence.
The homogeneity, isotropism and continuous expansion of space may be an incorrect
conclusion.
Keywords: Time, space, universe, dimension, consciousness, intelligence, creation, energy,
matter.
Introduction
The cosmos is a dynamic place where everything remains in motion. The reference frame of an
observer who is part of the Cosmos also moves. This gives rise to relative motion. The motion is
an action which is also known as ‘Kriya’ (similar to a verb in language) in Sanskrit, which is also
the root of the word ‘Creation’. Kriya is an important factor that makes the existence and running
*
Correspondence author: Dr. Satinder S. Malik, Independent Researcher, India. E-mail: adventuressmalik@gmail.com
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Malik, S. S., Fundamental Nature of Space & Time
326
of this cosmos possible. Perception of time results from the sequence of appreciation of events
that take place in our observable surroundings. The first notion of time comes from day and night
which arise due to the motion of the Earth. Since this measure alone was not sufficient, larger
time measurements were devised using phases of the moon (month) and the movement of Earth
around the Sun. The equinoxes and repeating seasons played a great role in creating this
understanding.
Since the year was also a comparatively shorter duration compared to the human life span, to
help remember life events, larger time periods were required. These larger time periods could
only be recorded by careful observation of the night sky. By observing the fixed number of
constellations rising in the night sky in combination with the moon, sun or any other planets, new
ways of marking time were devised. One such system was Brihaspati Samvat, which provided a
calculation of 100 years' rise of Brihaspati (Jupiter) in each constellation. Since there are 27
constellations, it led to 2700 years of calendar system. However, this too could cause confusion
in a civilization thriving long and by now wobble of the Earth’s axis was carefully measured. It
allowed to keep a measure of approximately a 24000-year time period. This was divided into
ascending and descending cycles of four Yugas each. This calendar was made by Mayasura
along with fixing the seven days in a week. The aim of this description is to indicate that time
was measured by the movement of light sources in the sky.
Human beings drive more than 80% of their sense perception by observation. that’s why light is
the most important measure. If we sense diurnal variation in atmospheric pressure, we can detect
some change but other senses of taste, sound or smell wouldn’t allow any repeated observations.
Plants sense light as their cycles of making food from CO2 (photosynthesis) depend on sunlight.
The human body also senses time in its cycles, its biorhythms, heartbeat, pulse and digestive
cycle etc. Our speed of thought can lead to a perceived dilation or contraction of time.
Etymology of Time-related Words
The word ‘time’1 comes from Middle English tyme, from Old English tīma from Proto-Germanic
tīmō, from Proto-Germanic tīmô, Swedish timme (hour), Old English ‘tīd’ from Proto-Germanic
tīdi- "division of time". Meaning "rise and fall of the sea" (mid-14c.) probably is via the notion
of "fixed time," specifically "time of high water;" The Latin word for time is ‘tempus’ tempo
from which comes temporal, the Greek word ‘Khronos’ and Sanskrit ‘Kaal’.
Another word repressing time is ‘Date’2 from Old French date (13c.) "date, day; time," from
Medieval Latin data, noun use of fem. singular of Latin Datus "given," from late 14c as "the part
of a writing or inscription which specifies when it was done."
The word ‘Month’3 comes from Old English monað, Old Saxon manoth, German Monat, Old
Norse manaðr, which is related to menon- "moon". Originally the month was the interval
between one new moon and the next.
The word ‘Year’4 comes from Proto-Germanic jēr, Old Norse ar, Danish aar, Old Frisian ger,
Dutch Jaar, German Jahr, Gothic Jer, from PIE yer-o-, from root yer- (Avestan yare). Probably
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Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research| August 2023 | Volume 14| Issue 4 | pp. 325-336
Malik, S. S., Fundamental Nature of Space & Time
327
originally "that which makes (a complete cycle)," and from the verbal root ei- meaning "to do,
make."
Modern Understanding of Space-Time
The understanding of the nature of time and space was them being assumed as homogeneous and
isotropic. Homogeneity means there is no inherent property arising from the general nature of
space or time which may be ascribed to any one particular point. Isaac Newton5 built the
foundations of classical physics upon the ideas of Descartes, Galileo and Kepler. Kepler’s three
laws of planetary motion, coupled with Galileo’s association of gravity with acceleration, led
directly to Newton’s inverse square law of gravitation and his laws of motion. His equation
predicted the motions of planets but couldn’t explain what causes gravity.
In Einstein's general and special theory of relativity, time is relativistic. It depends on the frame
of reference of an observer in a space-time continuum. This can result in time dilation, where the
time between events becomes longer (dilated), as one travels closer to the speed of light. Moving
clocks run more slowly than stationary clocks, with the effect becoming more pronounced as the
moving clock approaches the speed of light. Einstein explained that gravity is because of time
dilation or time difference curves geodesic lines in his 4-dimensional spacetime model.
When Albert Einstein published the theory of special relativity in 1905 and subsequently of
general relativity in 1916. He assumed that space is isotropic (it has the same properties in all
directions), and that space and time are both homogeneous (all points in space and time are
equivalent). These theoretical extensions of symmetry to space and time were necessary to
assert the constancy of light propagation in opposite directions, and to “derive” his Lorentz
transformation equations. Einstein also assumed that Aether was superfluous to his Special
Theory and that all motions are relative. Such assumptions made the problem fit into an available
method of solution. Therefore, the results were true only if the condition of isotropism and
homogeneity existed.
Various Perspectives of Time
A perspective (or scien-ce) belongs to an interpreter or observer. However, for the sake of
understanding, we can assume ourselves to be observers of some other existences to better
appreciate the notion of time.
For a plant, time is appreciated by the availability of sunlight for photosynthesis. Plant and
animal life evolved on Earth following the cycles of the sun moon and other planets leading to
diurnal (solar), lunar and seasonal cycles. In this fashion, time may be assumed to be cyclic in
nature where small and big circles of recurring availability of heavenly bodies affect life on
Earth. The resultant loci of such circles may result in a quasi-circular time, that appears to be in
circles but also keeps advancing.
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328
For rays of light, electromagnetic waves and other type of radiation time doesn’t exist because
they are eternal and continuous. The universe contains 93% hydrogen which is fuel for the stars.
An atom is also considered eternal despite there being a time for its origin. Like Helium atoms
are made in the fusion process in the stars. For some particles, time may exist as a force that
produces and destroys them. Time for sub-atomic particles such as neutrons and protons matters
less as their life span is of the order of 6 × 1039 to 1039 years and then again it is experienced as a
force. For such purposes, a super-linear model of time is most suitable.
From the human perspective, time is the movement of light. By this interpretation when we
apply time to ourselves and accelerate to the speed of light it stops to exist (dilates infinitely)
because time doesn't exist for a photon. It is forever in its unhindered travel.
Ancient Understanding of Space-Time
Most of the ancient’s understanding is out of reach to us. Breaks in the civilizational journey
didn’t allow the transfer of knowledge and technology to succeeding civilizations. The
availability of some designs such as ancient Vimanas, advances in architecture and timekeeping
systems provide an idea of their technological prowess. The Greeks made space the subject
matter of simplicity and certainty. They hypothesized the presence of four elements of Fire,
Water, Earth, and Air. Air was originally supposed to be a component of the Æther. Earth
represented all matter. Matter was imagined to be a substance involved in every change, and it
was thought that every piece of matter could be measured as a quantity. The Law of
Conservation of Matter asserts that matter remains constant in amount throughout every change.
Ancient India was a hotbed of knowledge and perspectives. A thriving civilization that could
sustain civilizational breaks is a result of that knowledge. Vedas and Upanishads lay down the
foundation of Consciousness. More emphasis was laid on the conscious than on physical
sciences and nature. According to Maharishi Kaṇāda6, there is but one Substance, variously
called Space, Time, and extent (Dik, direction). He has taken much pain to establish the
difference between Akasa (Ether, space) from other tangible things such as the Self and the
Mind, but he has made no attempt to prove the difference between Space and Time. Nor has he
attempted to prove the difference of these from any other Dravyas (energy, initial substance). It
may be, therefore, considered that with the difference of Time and Space and extent, if there is
only one Substance then how does it come to be variously called Time, Space and extent? He
replies that this is due to the variety of effects produced by it and also to the variety of external
conditions attending it.
Akasa is one of the two facets of Brahman (extent of expansion). One is Chitta (Intellect,
Universal mind) formed by the limited (digital) words and the other is Akasa formed by the
Dravya (energy substance) which is fluidic (or rather radiating) and without limits, eternal and
continuous. Brahman has two types of vibration (Shabda, word) Akshar (unchanging) and Kshar
(changeable). Akshar is the root of intelligence, mind, and self. It helps in shaping the Mahat
(cascading principle of Massivity or mass generation) passively. The form, sound and colour
(Varna) and its alphabet are not only the Akshar (letters) but also contain the numbers. The space
is one manifestation of Kshar Shabda (vibrations, word) and the other is of Akshar Shabda as the
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Malik, S. S., Fundamental Nature of Space & Time
329
universal mind. The Akshara (consonants) are the basis of space and from the command (of
Akshar), other forces make up Vrittis (wave spirals).
Egress and Ingress are the marks (of the existence) of Ether because it flows. There is no mark,
as an Action (resulting in relative time) but it is one Substance. Space and Time differ in
property from the characteristic of another cause. Space is the inert and guiding cause. Time is
non-combinative. Action is produced on account of absence conjunction. The attribute of the
cause is seen in the attribute of the effect. The resultant vibration (by the effect of time energy)
has an attribute of touch (affecting other such vibrations). Because it combines with other
substances (energy) and because it is an object of sense-perception, it is neither an attribute of
the soul nor an attribute of the mind.
The method of exhaustion (removal of vibrations) is the mark of Ether. The Substance-ness and
eternality of Ether have been explained by the analogy of Air. That is like potentiality (or force)
because there is no difference in the produced vibration which is its mark, and there exists no
other distinguishing mark. Ether is unique so logically it is fundamental. The diversity of Space
is due to the difference in effect it caused.
Posterior in respect of that which is posterior, ‘simultaneous’, ‘slow,’ and ‘quick,’—Such
(cognitions) are the marks of Time. The Substance-ness and eternality (of Time) are explained
by the analogy of Air. Time is a potentiality (or force). The name ‘Time’ is applicable to a cause,
in as much as it does not exist in eternal substances and exists in non-eternal substances.
The above can be understood by an analogy of the air creating waves on the sea surface. The
water here reparents the original substratum whereas the air is time. The action of air on the
water surface produces waves but the air blows due to differences in pressure and that intelligent
role is played by space. The energy substratum which is the basis of the quantum foam after
many combinations and permutations following a cascading principle is known as Tamas
(superlative, extreme), energy moving it providing control is Rajas (time energy) and energy
guiding it is Sattva (space energy). These are also explained by the analogy of a lamp as the
material is Tamas, the flow of oil through the wick is Rajas and the light produced is Sattva.
Consciousness in Cosmos
Classical Newtonian physics is suitable for most everyday applications, but it does not apply at
the microscopic level and cannot be used for many cosmic processes. General relativity7 applies
at the large scale of the universe and quantum theory at the microcosmic level. Both general
relativity and quantum theory differ from each other. Quantum theory allows the interference of
consciousness (observer) in the measurement process. The role of consciousness is a
fundamental process in quantum mechanics.
Space, energy, matter and motion through space (time) are regarded as the existences of the real
world. Matter appears to be a link in the chain of design gradually leading to biological species.
The laws of physics try to represent the design of the cosmos. The patterns, movement and
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330
design is an effect of an unseen cause which is consciousness. It is in the complex idea of design
that these fundamental existences are seen in an intimate and interdependent relationship.
Does the universe have cosmological memory? 8 If so, does this imply cosmic consciousness?
Memory and entropy are deeply related aspects of each other, in much the same way that various
forms of energy are related and can be converted into one form or the other without loss. Any
system converting entropy into memory, or memory into entropy, which also involves choice
(such as opening or closing a gate), thus contributing to running the system, we characterize as
having intelligence or consciousness. If such a system is the universe itself, or multiverses, we
say cosmic consciousness is involved in the operation of the cosmology.
Consciousness9 spreads out its web, in the form of time, over reality. Change, motion, elapse of
time, becoming and ceasing to be, exist in time itself; just as my will acts on the external world
through and beyond my body as a motive power, so the external world is in its turn active (as the
German word " Wirklichkeit," reality, derived from "wirken " =» to act, indicates). Its
phenomena are related throughout by a causal connection. In fact, physics shows that cosmic
time and physical form cannot be dissociated from one another. The new solution to the problem
of amalgamating space and time offered by the theory of relativity brings with it a deeper insight
into the harmony of action in the world.
At a basic level, consciousness10 seems to be associated with a sense of separation and awareness
of the surrounding environment from the conscious entity. It also seems to be associated with the
ability to process, store and/or act on information gathered from that external environment. This
is only the effect of consciousness. As a cause, it is much unknown and can be understood in
contrast to the energy. The cause 11of the manifest (energy) is the unmanifest (consciousness)
which has the opposite characteristics of the manifest. The manifest energy is for a cause, it is
non-pervasive or finite, active, of many types, having a mark of its presence, made up of
constituents and dependent under someone else's control.
Quantum Vacuum Fluctuations
The formatted space presents a particular way the energy flows. The root substratum energy
signifies the numbers. The integers denote the potentiality in various forms and combinations of
this energy. An infinite series of repetitive patterns in nature exists in cascading principle where
two adjacent numbers combine to form the next number. This sequence is presently known as the
Fibonacci Sequence. The alphabets represent modifications of the primal energy caused by
consciousness and their resultant words and language of reality. This force translates into the
vibrations of a certain frequency and carries that significance in shaping the root sub-atomic
particles which are the building blocks of matter. Such cosmic language is known as Para. Para
means remote or beyond and this belongs to Consciousness. It contains Akshar and Kshar (noncontinuous, discreet, measures, consonants and Kshar, Svar, changeable, vowels). Like that in
language, these vowels bind the consonants in a word.
This language embedded with intelligence may represent the coding of Quantum Vacuum
Fluctuations. The frequency and complexity of quantum vacuum fluctuations display how much
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processing of such energy has taken place before it reached this subtle level. As the waveform
becomes laden with attributes of frequency, beats, amplitude, phase etc, the speed may get
reduced.
The idea of creation from nothingness to expanding spheroid (Brahman) starts from the
integration of initial vibration with time, forming space and non-manifesting wavelet strings.
These wavelet strings further integrate into time and space using many combinations and
permutations of conjunctions and disjunctions creating forces and the wavelets, strings, waves,
rays, unstable elementary particles, quarks and so on.
From the ether (space), changing itself, springs the pure, powerful wavelets, the vehicle of all
perfumes; that are held to possess the quality of touch (exertion of force, a cause). Next from
wavelets modifying (by combining in various permutations and combinations), proceeds the
brilliant light, which illuminates and dispels darkness; is declared to possess the quality of colour
(visibility). The formation of matter (heavier from lighter) is according to that one cascading
principle of Mahat. Brahman becomes the playground of both intelligent and intelligence-driven
energies.
Source of Spin and Motion of Particles
Neutrinos are likely the most abundant particles in the universe. Neutrinos are a type of leptons,
which are also fermions, and together with quarks make up matter. The difference between
leptons and quarks is that leptons exist on their own, whereas quarks combine to form baryons. A
neutrino is an exponentially small particle with no electrical charge. As other particles traverse
galactic and extra-galactic distances, they can become deflected, scattered, or even stopped
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332
altogether by matter, gravitational and magnetic fields. Neutrinos can pass through all of these
uninhibited.
An electron orbiting a nucleus is electrically attracted to the nucleus; it's always being pulled
closer. A charged particle that accelerates emits electromagnetic radiation12. And because
electrons are charged particles and they accelerate during their orbits, they should emit radiation.
This emission would cause the electrons to lose energy and quickly spiral in and collide with the
nucleus, according to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. A balance of forces keeps the
atom stable. Such balance is established by the time energy available in the quantum foam
because quantum foam is everywhere even inside the atom. It is always playing a role in the
formation, sustenance and decay of the elementary particles.
Homogeneity and Isotropism of Space-time
The quantum foam could be of varying density depending on the presence of stars, planets and
dark stars (black holes). Black holes are very strong centres affecting such energy. Due to this
reason space and time energy are not homogeneous and isotropic. Some molecular and atomic
structures can be ripped apart in proximity to the dark stars. The dilation takes place near dark
stars. A few minutes near a dark star could mean a few hundred or thousand years on Earth. That
means the dense environment presents a challenge to the propagation of light rays. This
challenge increases as they reach and never return back.
This also means that the time of the Big Bang is certainly incorrect because the time kind of
matter compressed in primaeval atom had a huge amount of gravity and this time was dilated to
such a great extent. Today what is perceived as 10-32 sec could have been billions of years in that
reference frame. Similarly, the space between the galaxies could be so rare that light might speed
up. Time varies in speed due to variations in the density of quantum foam space. Space is filled
with quantum foam and due to the presence of massive objects with gravitational and other
forces the fabric of space-time gets altered leading to unequal distribution of quantum foam
hence space too doesn’t meet Einstein’s assumption of isotropism and homogeneity.
Likely Variation in Speed of Light
Einstein inferred that gravity is caused by the curvature of space-time. The presence of
gravitational waves has proved their independent existence, It is the gravity that causes the bends
and variation in space and time, The bending of light by gravitational lensing is a proven fact.
The reason for incorrect perception has been the incorrect assumption of homogeneity and
isotropism of Space-time.
Given below in a picture of a part of Cosmos, a rough depiction of the speed of and lensing of
light has been attempted. In a denser space-time, medium light will be slowed such as near dark
stars (black holes), in dense electromagnetic and gravitational fields. The light will also bend
consequently time too. This speeding of light might also be responsible for the redshift.
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Redshift in the received light gives an illusion that the cosmos is expanding, in some estimates
near or even more than the speed of light (in our local universe). In 2016, a measurement of the
value of the Hubble constant, implying a universe that seems expanding too fast compared to
previous measurements reported a value of 73 for the constant. This led to the development of
models of cosmic inflation, the expansion of the universe became a general feature resulting
from vacuum decay to answer the question of why is the universe expanding.
The universe is not based on an ad-hoc idea. It came into existence against great odds. As per the
physicist Lee Smolin, the odds of life-compatible numbers coming up by chance is 1 in 10229.
The idea of an expanding universe is therefore based on an incorrect assumption, observation or
deduction.
Slower speed of Light and Lensing
Faster speed of Light
Slower speed of Light and Lensing
This Hubble image shows two galaxies, 2MASX J03193743+4137580 (left) and UGC 2665
(right), in the Perseus cluster. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / W. Harris / L. Shatz.
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Time and Quantum Uncertainty
The logic of causality (that every effect has a cause) is perennial and axiomatic. The Cosmos
seems to be built to perfection without wastage in which all systems act in harmony. Time
consciousness works in tandem with energy to direct the motion in Cosmos from smallest to
biggest formations. The Vedic view of time and space is that cosmic consciousness acts as an
observer and decides the quantum uncertainty. The observer of the event here is cosmic intent
and intelligence influencing space and time energies in shaping up and in motion. This also acts
as the cause of quantum vacuum fluctuations. Intervening the mind and Scien-ce (knowing in a
special way) in a particular order is the mark of general consciousness. It is spread in conscious
and non-conscious existences. Depending on the forces the expression of light transforms.
The intelligence spread in space is part of the quantum vacuum fluctuations and the unified field.
In the famous cat experiment by Schrodinger, the cat will live or die as per the action of the
cosmic observer. If an assumption can explain the riddle of life in the cosmos then the hypothesis
is proved. Quantum uncertainty can be solved and the mathematical solution to quantum wave
fluctuation can be understood as to why it may not exist. In the quest to know humanity moves a
step closer and evolves.
Direction of Time
The arrow of time indicates the direction of the flow of time. The question of why time is
irreversible is one of the biggest unresolved questions in science. One explanation is that the
physical world follows the laws of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics states
that within an isolated system, the entropy of the system either remains constant or increases. If
the universe is considered to be an isolated system, its entropy (degree of disorder) can never
decrease. In other words, the universe cannot return to exactly the same state in which it was at
an earlier point. Time cannot move backwards.
Entropy is a measure of disorder and the thermodynamic arrow of time implies that entropy
always goes up. This law is often misinterpreted taking the universe as a closed system. The
Universe looks so well organised and is in order with solar systems, galaxies and intricate cosmic
structures. The entropy may increase in a closed system but the intelligence in the Cosmos acts
against the entropy and organises it.
The orderliness encountered in the unfolding of life springs from two different 'mechanisms' by
which orderly events can be produced: the 'statistical mechanism' which produces 'order from
disorder13' and the new one, producing 'order from order'. The 'order-from-disorder' principle, is
actually followed in Nature and which alone conveys an understanding of the great line of
natural events, in the first place of their irreversibility. But we cannot expect that the 'laws of
physics' derived from it suffice straightaway to explain the behaviour of living matter, whose
most striking features are visibly based to a large extent on the 'order-from-order' principle.
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The philosophical explanation of the direction of time is based on intent, because the cosmos has
a purpose for its existence and time is a causal force to achieve that. The sequence of events
creates a notion of time. If time as a causal force is removed from the cosmos, all matter will
cease to exist. If due for some reason in a particular galaxy, the time energy stops rotating
particles, then all the matter would collapse and that galaxy will cease to exist. Other galaxies
will continue to rotate. A theoretical sequence of events (God’s view of the Cosmos) would still
be maintained and therefore the absolute time is superlinear, it will always move forward.
There is no way of knowing or measuring that superlinear time because it is represented by the
will and purpose of the cosmos. Since time itself appears as an illusion caused by motion, the
backward movement of time towards the past is a fantasy. It also impacts the notion of time
travel.
Time Travel
Like any other wave, the speed of light is dependent upon the properties of the medium. In the
case of a light wave, the speed of the wave depends upon the optical density of that medium. To
understand time travel it is important to understand time dilation. Let’s assume one reference
frame is Earth and the other reference frame is at an arbitrary point. If the arbitrary point is in a
place from where the events at earth appear faster (there may be no way to practically confirm
this by the observer) then time for that observer is dilated (events there are slow).
Time travel is possible in the forward direction of time. That means if a person transports himself
near the boundaries of Sagittarius A*, he can stay there for a few minutes and come to find that a
few hundred years may have passed on Earth. In ca 3150 BCE when science fiction hadn’t even
been invented there is a story in the Mahabharata when Kakudmi and Revati14 returned to Earth.
For them, it was as if they had left only just a short while ago to Sagittarius A* (seat of Brahma).
They were shocked by the changes that had taken place on Earth. Not only had the landscape and
environment changed, but over the intervening 27 Chaturyugas had elapsed. This time period
means 324,000 years. They found that mankind was at a lower index of human spiritual and
cultural evolution. The Bhagavata Purana describes that, on return to Earth, they found the race
of men had become dwindled in stature, reduced in vigour, and enfeebled in intellect.
Conclusion
The research methods used in this article are references, inferences and direct perception. The
foremost conclusion is that relative time is dependent on the motion and particularly the motion
of light. Time dilation is caused by gravity and not vice versa. The laws of science represent the
effect of Consciousness in shaping our cosmos. Energy is a primordial substance which starts as
extremely subtle and leads to the creation of matter. Matter forms through a combination of
elementary particles resulting from the fluctuations or vibrations in quantum foam. These
vibrations are caused by time energy and their shaping is guided by space energy. There is
integrity and intelligence from deciding about the quantum outcome through the smallest of
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336
particles to the biggest of galaxies. It is carried forward from the code of design of the initial
substratum and affects the way in which ways the initial energies interacted, accelerated, and
accentuated leading to the formation of quarks, unstable particles, elementary and subatomic
particles etc. The nature of space of time is the same but it varies in effects. Time energy results
in movement and movement gives us a sequence and an idea of time.
Received July 20, 2023; Accepted July 26, 2023
References
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https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/time
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https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=month&ref=searchbar_searchhint
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Quantum Reality and Mind, Henry P. Stapp, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California,
Berkeley,
California
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https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vaisheshika-sutra-commentary/d/doc485735.html
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How Consciousness Becomes the Physical Universe, Menas Kafatos, Ph.D.1, Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.2,
and
Deepak Chopra, M.D.3 1Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor in Computational Physics, Schmid College of
Science, Chapman University, One University Dr., Orange, Cali fornia, 92866, U.S.A.2 Joseph P. and
Rose F. Kennedy, Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School Genetics and Aging. Research Unit
Massachusetts General
Hospital/Harvard Medical School 114 16th Street Charlestown, MA 021 293The Chopra Center for
Wellbeing,
2013 Costa del Mar Rd. Carlsbad, CA 92 009
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Does the Universe have Cosmological Memory? Does This Imply Cosmic Consciousness? Walter J.
Christensen Jr.
Physics Department, Cal Poly Pomona University, 3801 W. Temple Ave, Pomona CA 91768
9
Space—Time- Matter By Hermann Weyl translated From the german by henry l. Brose with fifteen
Diagrams dover publications, inc.
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The Quantum Hologram And the Nature of Consciousness, Edgar D. Mitchell, Sc.D.1, and Robert
Staretz, M.S.
1Apollo Astronaut, 6th Man to Walk on the Moon
11
A Logic of Every Being, Dr Satinder Singh Malik
12
https://www.livescience.com/32427-where-do-electrons-get-energy-to-spin-around-an-atomsnucleus.html
13
Eleven Pictures of Time, CK Raju PhD
14
Beyond Common Sense, Dr Satinder Singh Malik. Garuda Prakashan
2
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Kowall, J., The Metaphysics of Modern Physics
Research Essay
The Metaphysics of Modern Physics
James Kowall*
Abstract
Metaphysics is concerned with the nature of being, while modern physics is concerned with the
physical world. If consciousness itself is the nature of being, then how is being related to the
physical world? An answer can be given in terms of recent discoveries in physics, including the
holographic principle, dark energy, non-commutative geometry, and unification mechanisms.
These metaphysical connections suggest that the ultimate nature of reality and existence can only
be identified as undifferentiated consciousness, often referred to as the void.
Keywords: Consciousness, void, existence, reality.
Metaphysics is concerned with the nature of being, which is to say existence. Modern physics is
concerned with the nature of the physical world, which is to say matter and energy apparently
existing within some kind of space-time geometry. There is a big puzzle in the connection
between metaphysics and modern physics in that all the matter and energy in the physical world
(that apparently exists within some kind of space-time geometry) is composed of observable
things (like fundamental particles), while there is a long philosophical tradition that equates the
nature of being to consciousness itself, which is to say the observer of the observable things.
The big conundrum is about whether consciousness itself (the observer of the observable things)
can arise from some complicated configuration of the observable things (like a human brain). Is
it possible that consciousness arises from the things it observes? The simple answer is no.
Almost all serious philosophers that have considered this puzzle have come to the conclusion
that it is not possible, which begs the question: where does consciousness come from?
Wheeler's Universal Observer (image from cosmoquest.org)
Remarkably, modern physics suggests an answer that is completely consistent with the long
history of non-dual metaphysics, as conceptually explored in Plato's Allegory of the Cave, in the
Tao-Te-Ching, in Hinduism (such as in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita) and in Zen Buddhism
*
Correspondence: James Kowall, MD, PhD, Independent Researcher. letranger0101@gmail.com
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(such as in the Gateless Gate paradoxes). This scientific answer is also consistent with what
contemporary truth-realized beings have to say about the nature of consciousness and reality.
The scientific answer to this question about the nature of consciousness is really about what is
ultimately real. Is the physical world the ultimate nature of reality, or is there an ultimate (most
fundamental) state of reality that is beyond the physical world? Until recent discoveries in
physics, many physicists held the position that the physical world is the ultimate nature of
reality, the “be all and end all of reality”, but that position is no longer tenable.
The basic difficulty with this position goes back to the problem of the unification of quantum
theory with relativity theory, which is basically the problem of fundamental particles existing in
some kind of space-time geometry. Relativity theory tells us there is no such thing as an absolute
or fundamental space-time geometry, and so with unification, there can be no such thing as
fundamental particles. Change the space-time geometry (as observed from the point of view of
an accelerating observer) and the symmetries inherent in that space-time geometry also change.
Since all so-called fundamental particles reflect the symmetries of the space-time geometry,
there really are no such things as fundamental particles.
The ultimate example of this dilemma is an event horizon, which always arises from the point of
view of an accelerating observer. The observer's horizon fundamentally limits the observer's
ability to observe things (like particles) in space. As Hawking realized with the discovery of
Hawking radiation from the horizon of a black hole, an accelerating observer (for example that
accelerates away from the black hole horizon in a rocket ship) does not observe the same set of
particles that a freely falling observer observes (that freely falls through the black hole horizon).
The basic problem is the event horizon of the black hole breaks the symmetry of empty space,
and so radically alters what these two observers call fundamental particles. For the freely falling
observer, particles of Hawking radiation do not exist.
Hawking Radiation (image from universetoday.com)
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How can particles of Hawking radiation (radiated away from the event horizon of a black hole)
exist for the accelerating observer but not for the freely falling observer? How can any particles
be fundamental if the particles that appear to exist for an observer can change (go in and out of
existence) based on the observer's point of view (whether that point of view is accelerated or
not). If neither space-time geometry nor particles are really fundamental, then what is?
We might guess that only the consciousness of the observer itself is really fundamental, and that
so-called fundamental particles (like the observer's space-time geometry) can change based on
the observer's frame of reference (whether the observer's point of view is accelerated or not).
Although this is a good guess, it's not quite the right answer. There must be something more
fundamental than the point of view of the observer that explains whether or not that point of
view is accelerated. The basic problem is acceleration implies the expenditure of energy, and that
energy has to come from someplace. There must be some kind of a mechanism inherent in the
generation of the energy that gives rise to the observer's accelerated frame of reference (the
observer’s accelerated point of view). If that energy is not expended (i.e., the acceleration
mechanism is not put into effect), then the observer's frame of reference is freely falling.
At the root of this problem is the underlying foundation of relativity theory. Relativity theory is
fundamentally based on the principle of equivalence. The exertion of any force (which requires
the expenditure of energy) is equivalent to an observer's accelerated frame of reference. For
example, the force of gravity on the surface of a massive planet is equivalent to the acceleration
of a rocket ship through empty space. An observer on the surface of the planet observes exactly
the same kind of accelerated motion of objects that fall through space as an observer in the
accelerating rocket ship, and so there is no possible way to distinguish between these two
scenarios based only on the accelerated motion of objects. As an object accelerates through
space, it gains kinetic energy. We usually think that gravitational potential energy is converted
into kinetic energy as the object accelerates under the influence of gravity, but where does the
energy come from in the accelerating rocket ship? The answer is the energy comes from the
energy expended as the thrusters of the rocket ship force it forward through space.
Principle of Equivalence (image from mysearch.org)
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This means that before we can discuss an observer's accelerated frame of reference, we have to
discuss the expenditure of energy (or the mechanism that generates this accelerated motion). The
consciousness of the observer cannot really be fundamental because there is the issue of whether
or not the observer's point of view is accelerated (whether or not energy is expended). The
observer is only in an accelerated frame of reference if energy is expended. Where does this
energy come from? The strange answer is the energy comes from the same place that the
observer's point of view comes from. The irony of this answer is that this most fundamental of
all places (the most fundamental of all things) can only be described as the void (nothingness).
Closely related to the issue of the principle of equivalence is the issue of the generation of an
event horizon. Although the event horizon of a black hole seems like a special case, it turns out
event horizons arise for all accelerated observers. The observer's event horizon always limits the
ability of the observer to see things in space. An event horizon (that limits the observer's ability
to see things in space) always arises for any observer in an accelerated frame of reference (an
accelerated point of view). In the most generic case, this is called a Rindler horizon. In line with
the idea that the observer’s accelerated frame of reference is only an accelerated point of view,
we say the observer’s horizon arises as the observer follows an accelerated world-line.
Accelerating Observer's Horizon (image from Smolin)
This brings us back to the question of where does the energy come from that gives rise to the
observer's accelerated frame of reference? Although the answer seems exceedingly strange, it
can be summarized with only a few concepts. This answer is at the heart of all theories of the big
bang creation event. The energy must come from the same place that the observer comes from,
which is the void. The nature of this energy is called dark energy, which is understood in
relativity theory as the exponential (accelerated) expansion of space, which always expands
relative to the central point of view of an observer. Dark energy is the creative energy that puts
the “bang” in the big bang event. If space does not expand (if dark energy is not expended), then
only the void exists, which is like an empty space of potentiality. If space does expand (if dark
energy is expended), then an observer's world is created, and the observer of that world is always
present to observe that world at the central point of view of that world.
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Accelerated Expansion of Space (image from Susskind)
In order to explore this scientific answer further, we have to begin somewhere. The only logical
starting point (metaphysically speaking) is the void. What is the void? This is where metaphysics
is pushed to its limits. In the sense of non-dual metaphysics (the concept of One Being), the
nature of the void is undifferentiated consciousness. In the ultimate state of being, there is only
undifferentiated consciousness. The other way the void can be described is as an empty space of
potentiality. This is the potentiality not only to create a physical world, but also to observe that
world. If this potentiality is not expressed, only the ultimate nature of being (the void) exists.
How does the void express this potentiality? Modern physics has recently discovered the answer,
which is called dark energy. Dark energy is the creative energy that gives rise to the big bang
creation event.
Accelerated Expansion of the Universe (image from scholarpedia.org)
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Although a lot of dark energy was used up in the big bang event, astronomical observations
indicate there is still a lot of dark energy left in the universe. These are observations of the rate
with which distant galaxies accelerate away from us. If the only kind of force operative over
galactic distance scales was the force of gravity, the expansion of the universe should be slowing
down, since gravity is an attractive force, but that is not what is observed. The expansion of the
universe is speeding up, as though all the galaxies were repelling each other. This repulsive force
(like a force of anti-gravity) is called the force of dark energy. Its current observed value in terms
of the cosmological constant is Λ=10−123.
In relativity theory the force of dark energy is called a cosmological constant Λ, which gives rise
to the exponential expansion of space that always expands relative to the central point of view of
an observer. With the exponential expansion of space (the expression of dark energy) the farther
out in space the observer looks, the faster space appears to expand away from the observer. Due
to the limitation of the speed of light (which simply says nothing can travel faster than the speed
of light), the observer is always surrounded by a cosmic horizon that limits the observer's ability
to see things in space. This limitation of the speed of light is really not that mysterious, since it is
like the maximal rate of information transfer in a computer network. At the observer’s cosmic
horizon, space appears to expand away from the observer at the speed of light, and so this is as
far out in space as the observer can see things in space.
Exponential Expansion of Space (image from scienceblogs.com)
How can space appear to expand? The answer is the curvature of space-time geometry as
formulated by Einstein's field equations for the space-time metric. The space-time metric is the
field that measures the curvature of space-time geometry. Einstein's field equations directly
relate a change in the metric (a change in the curvature of space-time geometry) in a region of
space to changes in the energy content of that region of space.
Einstein's Field Equations for the Space-time Metric
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With the attractive force of gravity, space appears to contract. This gravitational contraction of
space is like the kind of length contraction (and time dilation) that occurs with uniform
(constant) motion in special relativity, but with gravity it is generalized to accelerated motion.
Relativity theory tells us the gravitational contraction of space always occurs relative to point of
view of an observer, like the observations of a distant observer that are limited by the event
horizon of a black hole. At the event horizon of a black hole the contraction of space (the
attractive force of gravity) is so strong that even light cannot escape away from the black hole
(cross outside the boundary of the black hole horizon) and reach the point of view of a distant
observer.
In a very similar way, the repulsive force of dark energy gives rise to a cosmic horizon that limits
the observations of the observer at the central point of view. With the repulsive force of dark
energy, space appears to exponentially expand relative to the central point of view of the
observer, and due to the limitation of the speed of light, this limits the observer's ability to see
things in space. At the observer’s cosmic horizon the expansion of space (the repulsive force of
dark energy) is so strong that even light cannot cross inside the boundary of the horizon and
reach the central point of view of the observer.
If the only recent discovery of modern physics was that of dark energy, we would only have
another puzzle, but about the same time dark energy was discovered (about twenty years ago),
the holographic principle was also discovered. The holographic principle is about where all the
bits of information that define all the observable things in a region of space are encoded.
The strange answer is that these bits of information are not encoded in space itself, but on a
bounding surface of space. This bounding surface of space acts as a holographic screen that
projects the images of things into space, just like a conventional piece of holographic film
projects holographic images into space. The other analogy is a computer screen. Bits of
information encoded on the screen project images into space.
Holographic Projection (image from Susskind)
This kind of holographic projection from a screen into space is really no different than the kind
of animated space-time geometry projected from a computer screen to the point of view of an
observer, except the images appear three dimensional since their nature is holographic. Just like
the animated frames of a movie, the projected images are animated over a sequence of screen
outputs. With each screen output (which corresponds to an instant of time), the images are
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projected into space. Since the projected images can become distorted (as they change in size and
shape), the projection of images from a screen to an observer over a sequence of screen outputs
can give the appearance of the curving (warping) of space-time geometry.
Just like a computer screen, each pixel defined on the screen encodes a bit of information in a
binary code of 1's and 0's. In a conventional computer, this encoding of information in a binary
code is performed by switches that are either in the on or the off position, but on a holographic
screen, the encoding is generically performed by spin variables that are either in the spin up or
the spin down position. Since spin variables are mathematically represented by SU(2) matrices,
this encoding of information has a purely mathematical representation.
The holographic principle is fundamentally about how the space-time geometry of any bounded
region of space is defined (specifically where all the bits of information defining the space-time
geometry of that bounded region of space are encoded). The strange answer is that all the bits of
information are not encoded in space, but on the bounding surface of that region of space.
Bits of information are encoded in a pixelated way, with each pixel on the screen encoding a
single bit of information. The holographic principle tells us the pixel size is about a Planck area
ℓ2=ћG/c3, given in terms of Planck's constant, the gravitational constant and the speed of light.
For a bounding surface of space of surface area A, the total number of bits of information
encoded is given by n=A/4ℓ2.
The Holographic Principle (image from ‘t Hooft)
What is a bounding surface of space? The answer is for any region of space, the bounding
surface is an event horizon that limits the ability of the observer of that region of space to see
things in that region of space. With the expression of dark energy (the exponential expansion of
space), the observer at the central point of view has limited ability to see things in space due to
the limitation of the observer's cosmic horizon, and so the bounding surface of that region of
space is the observer's cosmic horizon.
This is where things start to get weird. The holographic principle tells us the observer's cosmic
horizon acts as a holographic screen that encodes all the bits of information that define
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everything the observer can possibly observe in that region of space. Every observation of
something is like the projection of an image of that thing from the observer's holographic screen
to the observer's central point of view.
The Observer, the Screen and the Thing (image from Smolin)
Before delving into all the weird implications of the holographic principle, it is worth an
examination of how the holographic principle arises in the first place, and secondly, how the
holographic principle gives rise to a world that appears (from the point of view of the observer of
that world) to be composed of matter and energy (all of which appears to reduce down to some
kind of fundamental particles) existing in some kind of space-time geometry.
The first question is: how does the holographic principle arise in the first place? The answer is it
can only arise if there is a bounding surface of space that acts as a holographic screen which
projects all the images of things in that bounded region of space to the central point of view of an
observer. This is the critical role that dark energy (the exponential expansion of space) plays, as
the expenditure of dark energy gives rise to a cosmic horizon that acts as the observer's
holographic screen. All the bits of information encoded on the observer's holographic screen in
effect define everything in the observer's world (in the sense of a Hilbert space). The observer's
cosmic horizon is the bounding surface of space that defines the observer's world as it limits the
observer's observations of things in space.
How does the observer's cosmic horizon encode all the bits of information that define everything
the observer can possibly observe in its world? The answer has to do with the quantization of
space-time geometry. This is what the unification of quantum theory with relativity theory is all
about. The most generic way to understand unification is with a non-commutative geometry.
Although the holographic principle was initially discovered in string theory (now generalized to
M-theory), string theory is a special case of non-commutative geometry. All examples of the
holographic principle occur in some kind of non-commutative geometry. The other way to state
this is: if non-commutative geometry is applied to a bounding surface of space, the holographic
principle is automatically in effect. Non-commutative geometry is manifestly holographic. This
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basically says the space-time geometry of any bounded region of space is a direct consequence
of how bits of information are encoded on the bounding surface of that region of space.
How does this happen? The basic problem is that position coordinates on the bounding surface of
space can always be parameterized in terms of some (x, y) coordinate system, like latitude and
longitude on the surface of a sphere. In a commutative geometry, there are an infinite number of
(x, y) position coordinates, since the geometry of the bounding surface is a two dimensional
continuum and is infinitely divisible. The quantization of space-time geometry turns this
infinitely divisible continuum into a finite number of position coordinates on the surface.
The way non-commutative geometry performs this trick (in the most generic case) is to require
an uncertainty relation between the x and y position coordinates: ΔxΔy≥ℓ2. This is analogous to
the uncertainty relation between the position, x, and the momentum, p, of a particle in ordinary
quantum theory: ΔpΔx≥ћ, except in non-commutative geometry the uncertainty relation is
between the position coordinates of space itself, not the dynamical variables of particles defined
in a space-time geometry. Non-commutative geometry is fundamentally about how space-time
geometry is quantized (not how the dynamical variables of particles are quantized), which turns
the (x, y) position coordinates defined on the bounding surface into non-commuting variables.
Whenever non-commutative geometry is applied to a bounding surface of space (like a cosmic
horizon), there are no longer an infinite number of position coordinates defined on the surface,
but rather a finite number of non-commuting variables, which give rise to pixels. In effect, each
quantized position coordinate is smeared out into an area element (pixel) of size ℓ 2. The total
number of pixels defined on the bounding surface (with an area A) is given as n=A/4ℓ2. The
number of pixels corresponds to the number of non-commuting variables that define the noncommutative geometry.
In the most generic case of non-commutative geometry, these n non-commuting variables give
rise to n bits of information defined by the n eigenvalues of an SU(n) matrix, and so the n pixels
defined on the bounding surface encode n bits of information. Since an SU(n) matrix can always
be decomposed into SU(2) matrices, and since SU(2) matrices encode bits of information in a
binary code (like spin variables that are either spin up or spin down), the SU(n) matrix thus
encodes n bits of information in a binary code, which is the nature of horizon entropy.
Horizon Entropy
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Horizon Information (image from eskola.hfd.hr)
To recap, the holographic principle is a direct consequence of two effects. The first effect is the
exponential expansion of space that gives rise to a cosmic horizon that arises relative to the
central point of view of an observer. The second effect is the mechanism of non-commutative
geometry that turns the bounding surface of space into a holographic screen that encodes n bits
of information. These n bits of information encoded on the observer's holographic screen in turn
give rise to the images of things in space projected from the screen to the observer.
To be clear about things, these two effects are only mechanisms. The first mechanism is the
exponential expansion of space that gives rise to the observer's cosmic horizon, and the second
mechanism is non-commutative geometry that turns the observer's horizon into a holographic
screen. These are both geometrical mechanisms. The weird thing about these two mechanisms is
that they give rise to an observer and its observable world.
If the expansion of space and the holographic principle are only generic mechanisms, then what
about a Theory of Everything? At the deepest level of reality, isn't there a fundamental theory
that explains everything? The simple answer is no. At the deepest level of reality there is only
potentiality that gives rise to geometrical mechanisms.
This is the potentiality of the void to create a world for itself and to observe that world from the
central point of view of that world. The void (as an empty space of potentiality) expresses this
potentiality through the exponential expansion of space (that gives rise to the observer's cosmic
horizon) and non-commutative geometry (that turns the observer's horizon into a holographic
screen that projects images of things to the observer's central point of view). At the deepest level
of reality there is only this potentiality of the void to express these geometrical mechanisms.
If we take the big bang creation theory seriously (as formulated with inflationary cosmology) we
understand that at the moment of creation of the observer’s world a great deal of dark energy is
expended. That world is initially only about a Planck length in size, but then inflates in size due
to an instability in the amount of dark energy. This instability in dark energy is like a process that
burns away dark energy. Inflationary cosmology hypothesizes that at the moment of creation the
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cosmological constant takes on a value of about Λ=1, but due to an instability in the amount of
dark energy, the cosmological constant transitions to a lower value. This transition is like a phase
transition from a metastable false vacuum state to a more stable vacuum state of lower energy.
The most stable state (the true vacuum with Λ=0) is a state with zero dark energy.
Metastable State (image from ned.ipac.caltech.edu)
The expenditure of dark energy breaks the symmetry of empty space by constructing an
observation limiting cosmic horizon that surrounds the observer at the central point of view. The
instability in dark energy is like a consumptive process of burning that burns away dark energy
and undoes this broken symmetry. As dark energy burns away to zero, the cosmic horizon
inflates in size to infinity, and the symmetry is restored. We understand this undoing of
symmetry breaking is like a phase transition from a false vacuum state to a true vacuum state.
Dark energy burns away as the phase transition goes forward. This idea is also consistent with
the current measured value of the cosmological constant Λ=10−123 (based on the rate with which
distant galaxies are observed to accelerate away from us), which also corresponds to the size of
the observable universe of about 15 billion light years.
This burning away of dark energy also explains the normal flow of energy in the observer’s
world in terms of the second law of thermodynamics. Relativity theory tells us the radius R of
the observer’s cosmic horizon is inversely related to the cosmological constant as R2/ℓ2=3/Λ,
while the holographic principle tells us the absolute temperature of the observer’s horizon is
inversely related to its radius as kT=ћc/2πR. At the moment of creation, R is about ℓ, Λ is about
1, and the absolute temperature is about 1032 degrees Kelvin. As Λ decreases to zero, R inflates
in size to infinity, and the temperature cools to absolute zero.
The second law of thermodynamics simply says that heat tends to flow from hotter objects to
colder objects because the hotter objects radiate away more heat, which is thermal radiation. The
instability in dark energy explains the second law as dark energy burns away, the observer’s
world inflates in size and cools in temperature, and heat tends to flow from hotter states of the
observer’s world to colder states of the observer’s world.
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Second Law of Thermodynamics (image from Penrose)
The normal flow of energy through the observer’s world reflects this normal flow of heat as dark
energy burns away and the observer’s world inflates in size and cools. This normal flow of
energy naturally arises in a thermal gradient. This also explains the mystery of “time’s arrow”, as
the normal course of time is related to the normal flow of energy through the observer’s world.
As far as the holographic principle goes, a thermal gradient is also a temporal gradient.
The second question was about how the holographic principle gives rise to a world that appears
(from the point of view of the observer of that world) to be composed of matter and energy (all
of which appears to reduce down to some kind of fundamental particles) and that appears to exist
in some kind of space-time geometry. Although this begins to sound like a broken record, the
answer is again geometrical mechanisms.
The first step in solving this puzzle is to understand how bits of information encoded on a
bounding surface of space give rise to the appearance of a curved space-time geometry in a
bounded region of space. This is the problem of how the holographic principle explains the
nature of gravity, which is understood as the curvature of space-time geometry.
Although there are many ways to approach this problem, the most generic way is the second law
of thermodynamics. The second law is a very general statistical relationship that relates how a
change in the number of bits of information (entropy) that define the configuration state of
everything in a region of space are related to the thermal flow of energy (heat) through that
region of space. This relation is usually written as ΔQ=TΔS, where ΔQ is the flow of heat
through the region of space, T is the absolute temperature of that region of space, and ΔS is the
change in entropy (number of bits of information) that define everything in that region of space.
The flow of heat through that region of space is understood as the random thermal motion
(kinetic energy) of those things through space, while the holographic principle tells us all the bits
of information (entropy) defining everything in that region of space are encoded on the bounding
surface of that region of space as S=kn, where the total number of bits of information encoded is
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given in terms of the surface area A of the bounding surface as n=A/4ℓ2. The constant k is called
Boltzmann's constant, which converts thermal kinetic energy (heat) into conventional units of
absolute temperature (degrees Kelvin).
Remarkably, this simple statistical (thermal) relation between the flow of heat through a region
of space and the entropy of that region of space implies Einstein's field equations for the spacetime metric in that region of space as a thermodynamic average (as long as things are near
thermodynamic equilibrium), which is called a thermodynamic equation of state. The reason is
fairly simple. The holographic principle tells us all the bits of information that define everything
in a region of space are defined on the bounding surface of that region of space as S=kn. As heat
flows through that region of space and the heat content of that region changes as ΔQ=TΔS, the
second law tells us the entropy of that region of space must also change as ΔS=kΔn.
Since entropy is given in terms of the surface area of the bounding surface, n=A/4ℓ2, as heat
flows across the bounding surface, the surface area of the bounding surface must also change. As
the bounding surface of space changes, the geometry of the region of space bounded by the
bounding surface also changes. This change in the geometry of the bounded region of space is
mathematically specified by Einstein's field equations for the space-time metric, which relates a
change in the curvature of the space-time geometry of that bounded region of space to a change
in the energy content of that bounded region of space.
If this result doesn’t knock your socks off, then you're not thinking like a physicist. Before the
discovery of the holographic principle, the vast majority of theoretical physicists thought
Einstein's field equations for the space-time metric were about as fundamental as physics can
ever get. Thanks to the holographic principle, we now know that Einstein's field equations are
not really fundamental, but only arise as a thermodynamic average in any bounded region of
space (a thermodynamic equation of state that is only valid near thermal equilibrium) from the
holographic way bits of information are encoded on the bounding surface of that space.
Shockingly, the holographic principle is more fundamental than Einstein's field equations for the
space-time metric. Einstein’s field equations are only derivative of the holographic principle as a
statistical (thermal) average (near thermal equilibrium). The force of gravity (the curvature of
space-time geometry) only arises in a bounded region of space from the holographic way bits of
information are encoded on the bounding surface of that region of space.
The holographic principle in turn is only a geometrical mechanism that allows bits of
information to become encoded on a bounding surface of space whenever a bounding surface (a
cosmic horizon) arises with the expression of dark energy and the exponential expansion of
space.
If Einstein's field equations are only derivative of the holographic principle, which in turn is only
a geometrical mechanism, then what is really fundamental? The weird answer is nothing is really
fundamental. Only the potentiality of the void (the potentiality of the void to express itself with
the expression of dark energy and encode bits of information on a bounding surface of space) is
really fundamental. This is the potentiality of the void to create a world for itself and observe that
world from the central point of view of that world.
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What about other forces of nature besides gravity, like the electromagnetic and nuclear forces?
What about other quantum fields besides the space-time metric, which comprise the standard
model of particle physics? The unification of quantum theory with relativity theory solves this
problem in a very straightforward way, again based on geometrical mechanisms. The only
known mechanisms of unification are super-symmetry and extra compactified dimensions of
space (the Kaluza-Klein mechanism).
Extra Compactified Dimensions of Space (image from Greene)
If there are six extra compactified dimensions of space, then Einstein's field equations for the
space-time metric give rise to the electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear forces. The quantum
fields that describe these forces are extra components of the space-time metric that arise in extra
compactified dimensions of space. In other words, the quantum fields for these extra forces
represent the curvature of space-time geometry in extra compactified dimensions of space, just
like the ordinary components of the space-time metric for the usual four extended dimensions of
space-time represent the force of gravity.
If super-symmetry (spatial coordinates that have both commuting and anti-commuting aspects) is
applied to Einstein's field equations for the space-time metric (with six extra compactified
dimensions of space), then not only are the boson (force particle) quantum fields generated, but
also the fermion (matter particle) quantum fields are generated. If the extra compactified
dimensions of space are formulated in terms of non-commutative geometry, then not only are the
force particle fields and the matter particle fields generated, but also the Higgs (symmetry
breaking) fields are generated. By breaking the symmetry of space, the Higgs fields give rise to
the mass energy carried by all the matter particle fields.
The final result of unification is called 11-dimensional super-gravity, which includes all the
standard quantum fields of the standard model of particles physics (including the electromagnetic
and nuclear forces in addition to gravity). Since 11-dimensional super-gravity can only arise as a
thermodynamical average (valid near thermal equilibrium), it is only valid as a low energy limit.
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All so-called fundamental particles are thus understood to be nothing more than localized
excitations of field energy, which are called wave-packets. The wave-packet is localized in space
and time, which gives rise to the particle quantization of energy and momentum.
Wave-packet
A so-called fundamental particle is thus nothing more than a localized excitation of field energy.
These quantum fields all arise from the space-time metric through the unification mechanisms of
super-symmetry, extra compactified dimensions of space, and non-commutative geometry. All
the quantum fields of the standard model of particle physics are really only extra components of
the space-time metric that arise through these geometrical mechanisms. Even the space-time
metric only arises (as a thermal average) through the geometrical mechanisms of the expression
of dark energy (the exponential expansion of space) and non-commutative geometry. In reality,
there are no such things as fundamental particles (or fundamental forces), only the potentiality of
the void to express these geometrical mechanisms. This potentiality always arises from the void.
So much for the fool's errand of searching for a Theory of Everything! There is no theory of
everything because there is No Theory of Nothing. The potentiality of the void cannot be
reduced to a theory, or conceptualized in any other possible way. That is the nature of infinite
potentiality. Scientific reductionism simply does not apply to infinite potentiality. Anything is
possible as long as it can be expressed in terms of a geometrical mechanism. The expression of
this potentiality always requires the expenditure of energy. In emotional terms, the expression of
this energy is the expression of desire, which directly leads to the manifestation of desires.
This important point cannot be stressed enough. The physical world is only an expression of the
potentiality of the void. Through its geometrical mechanisms, the void has the potentiality to
create a world for itself and to observe that world from the central point of view of that world.
The nature of this potentiality is undifferentiated consciousness.
If the void is the ultimate nature of reality, the physical world is a lower form of reality, like a
virtual reality of images projected from a screen to the central point of view of an observer. This
lower form of reality (the projection of images from a screen) only exists when the void
expresses its potentiality through geometrical mechanisms. If this potentiality is not expressed,
only the void exists. As undifferentiated consciousness, the void exists as One Being. When the
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void does express its potentiality through these geometrical mechanisms, it creates a world for
itself, which it always observes from the central point of view of that world.
What about a consensual reality apparently shared by many observers? The answer is many
observers can share a consensual reality to the degree their respective holographic screens
overlap (in the sense of a Venn diagram) and share information. This is just like the kind of
information sharing that occurs in an interactive computer network. Each observer only observes
its own holographic screen, but to the degree different screens overlap, different observers can
apparently interact and share information. The network of holographic screens can share
information to the degree the screens overlap.
Overlapping Bounded Spaces
Each holographic screen encodes bits of information in a binary code. This is due to defining n
distinct position coordinates (pixels) on a bounding surface of space, which is a consequence of
defining n non-commuting variables on the bounding surface. The n bits of information (one per
pixel) that arise from this holographic mechanism arise as the n eigenvalues of an SU(n) matrix.
It’s worth pointing out out that the holographic principle is completely consistent with quantum
theory. In effect, each observer has its own Hilbert space of observable values, with all the bits of
information for observables encoded on the observer’s holographic screen. In this sense, each
observation of something by the observer is like a screen output that projects an image of the
thing from the screen to the central point of view of the observer.
How do these screen outputs occur? Truth realized beings describe their own direct experience
that each projection of an image is like a reflection of “light” off the screen back to the observer,
except this is not ordinary physical light, but the “light of consciousness”. It is the observer’s
own “light of consciousness” that emanates from the observer, reflects off the screen, and
projects the images of things back to the observer’s point of view. In this sense, the observer’s
own “light of consciousness” illuminates all the images of its own world.
Just as the observer is a focal point of consciousness (to which images are projected from the
observer’s holographic screen), the “light of consciousness” (emanating from the observer’s
point of view and reflecting off the screen) is the observer’s focus of attention (which is focused
on the observable images). To use a physical analogy, the observer’s “light of consciousness” is
like the light of a laser that projects images from an ordinary hologram.
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The very fact that the observer has the innate ability to focus its attention on things in its world
raises the issue of choice. How is this choice expressed? Quantum theory gives a natural answer
in terms of a quantum state of potentiality. The quantum state can always be expressed in terms
of a sum over all possible paths in some configuration space.
Sum over all Paths (image from Penrose)
The configuration space relevant for the holographic principle are the n non-commuting
variables defined on the observer’s holographic screen that give rise to the SU(n) matrix that
defines the n bits of information encoded on the screen. That is the nature of the observer’s
Hilbert space.
Since the observer’s holographic screen projects all images of the observer’s world, each path
specified in the sum over all paths is a possible world-line through the observer’s projected
space-time geometry. The observer’s space-time geometry is not only projected from its
holographic screen, but is also animated over a sequence of screen outputs. It is the observer
itself that follows this world-line through its projected and animated space-time geometry. As a
focal point of consciousness, an accelerating observer always follows a world-line.
Each screen output on the observer’s world-line is a decision point where the observer chooses to
follow some particular path rather than some other possible path. Each possible path of the
observer through its projected and animated space-time geometry is a possible world-line. At
every decision point (screen output) the observer has a choice to make about what to observe and
which path to follow in its world. This choice arises with the observer’s focus of attention, which
is best understood in the metaphysical sense of the “light of consciousness”.
Quantum theory tells us that each observer has its own Hilbert space of observable values for its
own world (defined by an SU(n) matrix or the quantization of n non-commuting variables on the
observer’s holographic screen) that defines everything the observer can possible observe in its
own world, but due to information sharing (in the network of overlapping holographic screens)
these observations can become correlated with the observations of other observers.
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What is meant by other observers? Each observer is only a point of view that arises in relation to
its own holographic screen. This point of view can be called a differentiated focal point of
consciousness, or individual consciousness. The holographic principle tells us this focal point of
consciousness is a point of singularity that arises at the center of the observer’s horizon, which is
to say the observer is the singularity at the center of its own world. Many apparently distinct
observers can share a consensual reality, but ultimately (when these geometrical mechanisms are
no longer expressed), only the void (undifferentiated consciousness) exists.
In a metaphysical sense, each observer’s differentiated “light of consciousness” (emanating from
its own focal point of consciousness or singularity) is the nature of spiritual being, while the
undifferentiated consciousness of the void is the ultimate nature of all being (One Being).
Each observer’s consciousness has an apparent individual existence, but at the end of the day
(when the holographic mechanism is no longer expressed and the observer’s world disappears)
every observer must return to its ultimate state of being as undifferentiated consciousness.
Ultimately, there is only One Being. The void expresses its potentiality as it creates many
worlds, each observed by its own observer at the central point of view, and sharing information
to the degree each observer's holographic screen overlaps with the holographic screens of other
observers, but at the end of the day (when these holographic mechanisms are no longer
expressed) only the void exists as One Being (undifferentiated consciousness). Every observer
must eventually return to this ultimate state of being. The divided “light of consciousness” of the
observer must ultimately return to the undivided darkness of the void.
Genesis:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth
And the earth was without form and void
And darkness was upon the face of the deep
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters
And God said “Let there be light”, and there was light
And God saw the light, that it was good
And God divided the light from the darkness
Tao-Te-Ching
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth
The named is the mother of ten thousand things
Ever desireless one can see the mystery
Ever desiring one can see the manifestations
These two spring from the same source but differ in name
This appears as darkness
Darkness within darkness
The gate to all mystery
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References
Raphael Bousso (2002): The Holographic Principle. arXiv:hep-th/0203101
Amanda Gefter (2014): Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn (Random House)
Brian Greene (2000): The Elegant Universe (Vintage Books)
Gerard 't Hooft (2000): The Holographic Principle. arXiv:hep-th/0003004
Ted Jacobson (1995): Thermodynamics of Spacetime. arXiv:gr-qc/9504004
J Madore (1999): Non-commutative Geometry for Pedestrians. arXiv:gr-qc/9906059
Roger Penrose (2005): The Road to Reality (Alfred A Knopf)
Lee Smolin (2001): Three Roads to Quantum Gravity (Basic Books)
Leonard Susskind (2008): The Black Hole War (Little, Brown and Company)
Leonard Susskind (1994): The World as a Hologram. arXiv:hep-th/9409089
A. Zee (2003): Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell (Princeton University Press)
(Metaphysical References)
Nisargadatta Maharaj (1996): The Experience of Nothingness (Blue Dove Press)
Nisargadatta Maharaj (1973): I Am That (Acorn Press)
Jed McKenna (2013): Theory of Everything (Wisefool Press)
Jed McKenna (2002, 2004, 2007): Spiritual Enlightenment Trilogy (Wisefool Press)
Osho (1974): The Book of Secrets (St. Martin's Griffin)
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Integrated Information as a Metric for Group Interaction:
Analyzing Human and Computer Groups Using a Technique
Developed to Measure Consciousness
David Engel1,2,3 and Thomas W. Malone1,2,*
1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Collective Intelligence, Cambridge, MA
02142, USA
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA 02142,
USA
3
Now at Google, Inc., Zurich, Switzerland
*
Corresponding author. Email: malone@mit.edu
Abstract. Researchers in many disciplines have previously used a variety of
mathematical techniques for analyzing group interactions. Here we use a new
metric for this purpose, called “integrated information” or “phi.” Phi was
originally developed by neuroscientists as a measure of consciousness in brains,
but it captures, in a single mathematical quantity, two properties that are
important in many other kinds of groups as well: differentiated information and
integration. Here we apply this metric to the activity of three types of groups that
involve people and computers. First, we find that 4-person work groups with
higher measured phi perform a wide range of tasks more effectively, as measured
by their collective intelligence. Next, we find that groups of Wikipedia editors
with higher measured phi create higher quality articles. Last, we find that the
measured phi of the collection of people and computers communicating on the
Internet increased over a recent six-year period. Together, these results suggest
that integrated information can be a useful way of characterizing a certain kind of
interactional complexity that, at least sometimes, predicts group performance. In
this sense, phi can be viewed as a potential metric of effective group
collaboration. Since the metric was originally developed as a measure of
consciousness, the results also raise intriguing questions about the conditions
under which it might be useful to regard groups as having a kind of
consciousness.
Introduction
A vast number of phenomena in the world arise out of the interactions of individuals in groups,
from the emotional tone of a family [1,2] to the productivity of an economy [3] to the spread of
disease in a community [4], and researchers in a variety of disciplines have used many different
mathematical tools to analyze these phenomena. For instance, psychologists have used Markov
models to analyze the sequences of actions in small groups of people [5–7], economists have
1
used general equilibrium theory to analyze the interactions among buyers and sellers in a market
[8], and sociologists have used graph theory to analyze various kinds of social networks [4,9].
In this paper, we examine another mathematical technique that has not previously been used for
analyzing group interactions. This technique, based on information theory, is intriguing because
it was developed as a physical measure that would correlate with the consciousness of a brain
[10–14]. We will see, however, that the metric is general enough to apply to many other kinds of
systems, and we focus here on using it to analyze groups of people and computers.
What is integrated information?
The metric we use is called “integrated information” or “phi” and was proposed by Tononi and
colleagues [10–14]. There have been several successively refined versions of phi (summarized
in [12]), but all the versions aim to quantify the integrated information in a system. Loosely
speaking, this means the amount of information generated by the system as a whole that is more
than just the sum of its parts. The phi metric does this by splitting the system into subsystems
and then calculating how much information can be explained by looking at the system as a whole
but not by looking at the subsystems separately.
In other words, for a system to have a high value of phi, it must, first of all, generate a large
amount of information. Information can be defined as the reduction of uncertainty produced
when one event occurs out of many possible events that might have occurred [15]. Thus a
system can produce more information when it can produce more possible events. This, in turn, is
possible when it has more different parts that can be in more different combinations of states. In
other words, a system needs a certain kind of differentiated complexity in its structure in order to
generate a large amount of information.
But phi requires more than just information; it also requires the information to be integrated at
the level of the system as a whole. A system with many different parts could produce a great
deal of information, but if the different parts were completely independent of each other, then the
information would not be integrated at all, and the value of phi would be 0. For a system to be
integrated, the events in some parts of the system need to depend on events in other parts of the
system. And the stronger and more widespread these interdependencies are, the greater the
degree of integration.
For instance, a single photodiode that senses whether a scene is light or dark does not generate
much information because it can only be in two possible states. But even a digital camera with a
million photodiodes, which can discriminate among 21,000,000 possible states, would not produce
any integrated information because each photodiode is independently responding to a different
tiny segment of the scene. Since there are no interdependencies among the different
photodiodes, there is no integrated information [13].
Tononi and colleagues argue that these two properties—differentiated information and
integration—are both essential to the subjective experience of consciousness. For example, the
conscious perception of a red triangle is an integrated subjective experience that is more than the
sum of perceiving “a triangle but no red, plus a red patch but no triangle” [12]. The information
is integrated in the sense that we cannot consciously perceive the triangle’s shape independently
2
from its color, nor can we perceive the left visual hemisphere independently from the right. Said
differently, integrated information in conscious experience results from functionally specialized
subsystems that interact significantly with each other [16].
Even though there is not yet a general consensus among researchers that phi actually measures
consciousness in humans (e.g., [17]), it does capture these important aspects of the experience of
consciousness, and the mathematical behavior of phi is also consistent with many empirical
observations of human consciousness [10,18–22].
Interestingly, the two properties used to define phi—differentiated information and integration—
are similar to properties that are important in many other kinds of systems, too. For example,
Adam Smith [23] observed that economic systems are often more productive when (a) division
of labor leads different people to specialize in different kinds of work and (b) the “invisible
hand” of the market integrates their diverse efforts. Lawrence and Lorsch [24] discussed the
importance of differentiation and integration in large, hierarchical human organizations: (a)
dividing the organization into specialized subunits and (b) integrating these units to achieve the
goals of the overall organization. And in many fields of engineering and other kinds of design,
effective problem solving often involves (a) dividing a problem into subparts and (b) integrating
solutions for the subparts into a solution for the whole problem [25–27].
In other words, the mathematical concept of integrated information provides a quantitative way
of measuring a combination of two properties that are important across a wide range of different
types of systems. And whether phi is measuring consciousness or not, it is clearly measuring
something that is of potential interest to many different disciplines.
A mathematical formulation of integrated information
The concept of integrated information, or phi, can be represented mathematically as follows [28]:
𝒓
𝑯 𝑴𝒌𝟎 | 𝑴𝒌𝟏 − 𝑯 𝑿𝟎 | 𝑿𝟏 ,
∅=
(𝟏)
𝒌!𝟏
where H(X|Y) is the entropy of variable X given knowledge of variable Y, X0 and X1 are the
k
states of the whole system at time t0 and t1, respectively, and M 0k and M1 are subsets of X that
completely partition the parts of X at these times. For example, H (M 0k | M1k ) quantifies how
much of the uncertainty of subsystem k at time t0 cannot be explained by knowledge of the state
of the subsystem at time t1.
Summing over all subsystems (the first term in equation (1)) gives us the amount of entropy that
cannot be explained by the subsystems themselves. The second term in equation (1) quantifies
the conditional entropy of the whole system. Thus phi is high if there is a large amount of
entropy that cannot be explained by looking at the subsystems separately but that is explained by
looking at the system as a whole.
The value calculated by equation (1) is the phi as defined by Tononi and colleagues if and only if
the partitioning is chosen as the maximum information bipartition (MIB), that is, the
3
decomposition into two parts that are most independent. More thorough descriptions of phi can
be found in [11–14,21,29].
Applying the phi metric
As we saw above, phi provides a quantitative measure of properties that figure prominently in
several theories of group performance, so we first test whether it is, in fact, correlated with
performance in two different kinds of groups: (a) small groups of experimental subjects working
together on shared laboratory tasks, and (b) groups of Wikipedia contributors improving
Wikipedia articles over time. As a further test of the applicability of phi, we also examine
whether it detects what we might assume would be the increasingly differentiated and integrated
complexity of the Internet over time. We evaluate this by applying the phi metric to data about
all the computers (and people) communicating over a specific Internet backbone during a sixyear period.
In order to apply the theoretical definition of phi, a complete model of the rules governing state
transitions in the system is needed, but such models are rarely available for observational data.
Therefore, we use two alternative versions of phi suggested by Barrett and Seth [28] that
estimate conditional probabilities for state transitions from the actual observed data (see
Methods). In each case, in order to use the phi metric, we needed to determine: (a) a
characterization of the state of the system at different times, and (b) a time delay with respect to
which phi will be calculated [10].
Results
Study 1: Small work groups
In Study 1, we applied the phi metric to interaction data we gathered from a previous study of
groups performing a series of tasks designed to measure their collective intelligence [30].
Collective intelligence (CI) is a statistical factor for a group that predicts the group’s
performance on a wide range of tasks, just as individual intelligence does for individuals [31].
Following [31], we measured collective intelligence by asking 68 groups of 4 people each to
perform a range of tasks, from brainstorming and memory tasks to solving visual and word
puzzles. Then we did a factor analysis of the groups’ performance on these tasks. Analogously
to individual intelligence, we called the first factor that emerged from this factor analysis a
group’s collective intelligence.
All groups did the tasks using a shared online tool. In the first condition, the groups also
communicated face-to-face while collaborating on the tasks. In the second condition, groups only
communicated via online text chat.
In order to apply the phi metric, we characterized the state of the group in terms of which group
member was communicating at which point in time. This yielded a binary state vector for each
person (talking or not talking) in each time step (see Methods). In the face-to-face condition, we
recorded separate audio files for each person and encoded which individuals were talking at each
time. For the online groups we analyzed the chat log to determine which group members sent
messages at each time.
4
We also needed to determine the time delay with respect to which phi would be calculated. For
the online condition, we expect to see an influence of what is said in one comment on the next
comment, so we set the time delay to one “timestep,” that is, the time from one textual comment
to the next one.
For the face-to-face groups, we don’t expect the actions of one group member to immediately
influence the actions of another one. Instead, we would expect time delays on the order of a few
seconds, the approximate time it takes for a person to hear and respond to what someone else
says. To determine exactly how long this delay should be, we plotted average phi for different
time delays (Fig 1). There is a clear peak at around 2 seconds, an intuitively plausible value, so
we used this value as the time delay for analyzing phi.
Fig 1. Average phi for face-to-face groups computed with different time delays.
When we calculated phi, it was significantly correlated with the measured collective intelligence
of the groups in both the face-to-face condition (r=0.401, p=0.047) and the online condition
(r=0.352, p=0.035). The correlation was also very significant when we normalized both phi and
CI scores and combined both conditions (r=0.372, p=0.003).
Study 2: Groups of Wikipedia editors
In Study 2, we analyzed the edit history of the articles from the “vital articles” list in Wikipedia
[32] which at the time of retrieval contained 1000 articles. The quality of Wikipedia articles are
classified by the community into the classes FA (Featured Article), which is the highest class,
followed, in order of decreasing quality, by the categories A, GA (Good Article), B and C [33].
We examined all edits made in the 30-, 60-, and 90-day periods before an article was promoted
to its current quality level, discarding the periods in which only one or two editors were active
5
(see descriptive statistics in S3 Table). All editors who edited an article during a given time
period were considered members of the “group” for that article.
Since the number of editors in these groups can be large (up to several hundred), computing phi
for the minimum information bipartition is no longer computationally feasible since it would
entail testing all possible bipartitions. Consequently we used an alternative measure of phi that
treats each node as a separate partition (see Methods).
Using this measure, it is clear that, in general, groups of editors who produce higher quality
articles also have significantly higher phi (Fig 2 and S1 Fig; 30 days: Kendall Tau 0.0697, p <
0.00001; 60 days: Kendall Tau 0.113; p < 0.0001; 90 days Kendall Tau 0.1267, p< 0.00001,
respectively).
Fig. 2: Average phi for groups editing Wikipedia articles of different quality
levels in the 60-day period before the articles were promoted to their current
quality level. Quality levels are arranged in order of increasing quality. Error bars
show standard error.
To test whether this effect on phi is a result of the number of editors or of the number of edits
they made, we created a regression model that predicted phi for each article from the number of
editors, the number of edits per editor and four variables encoding the quality of the article. Note,
that we used the categorical variables with standard treatment contrasts. That means the first
level (quality C) was used as a reference and did not get parameter estimation. All other
categorical quality parameters were computed relative to quality C. We did not expect the
quality levels that are not significantly different from each other (see above) to be separate
significant factors by themselves, and we indeed found that only quality levels B and A are
significant predictors of phi (Table 1).
6
(Intercept)
Number of editors
Edits per editor
Quality B
Quality GA
Quality A
Quality FA
Estimate
Std. Error t Value Pr(>|t|)
1.594
0.207
7.708 1.75e-14 ***
0.012
0.001
18.076 < 2e-16 ***
-0.123
0.009
-14.46 < 2e-16 ***
0.604
0.240
2.515 0.012 *
0.345
0.311
1.11 0.267
1.291
0.359
3.592 0.0003 ***
0.370
0.378
0.978 0.328
Adjusted R-squared = 0.127, F = 70.11, p < 2.2e-16
Table 1: Regression results when predicting phi for each article from number of
edits, average number of edits per editor, and newly acquired quality level of the
article.
The effect of the newly attained quality level in the presence of covariates was also assessed by a
likelihood ratio test between the model without quality as a variable and the full model. This
showed that the article quality was still significantly correlated with phi, even when controlling
for the other factors (F = 3.6847, p = 0.0053).
More specifically, pairwise Wilcoxon ranksum tests show that the groups editing FA and A
articles have significantly higher phi values than GA and B articles which, in turn, are
significantly higher than C (Wilcoxon z-Statistics = 5.6024 p < 0.00001 between C and B and zstatistic = 3.5132, p = 0.0004 between GA and A).
Study 3: Groups of computers and people on the Internet
In Study 3, we applied the phi metric to a sample of the Internet traffic that passed through one
Internet backbone over a six-year period [34]. We sampled one-minute segments of traffic
separated by approximately six-month intervals over this period (see Methods). We encoded the
state of the system in terms of whether a given machine was active (i.e., sent a data packet) at a
given time. We picked a time delay of 1 time step and chose the time step size that maximized
phi averaged over all years in the dataset (see Fig 3, Methods). In this case, the maximum is at
100 ms which is reassuring since it coincides well with average response times observed over the
Internet (see Methods). In order to keep the computations of phi tractable, we also reduced the
number of machines by randomly sampling subsets of machines that communicated with each
other (see Methods).
7
Fig. 3. Average phi for Internet traffic computed with different time step sizes.
When computing phi, there appears to be a steady upward trend over time. For example, Fig 4
shows one example of a highly significant relationship between the date and phi (β = 1.779,
p<0.0001). Similar results were obtained for numerous other sampling methods and parameters
(see Methods, S2 – S4 Figs). These results all take into account adjustments for a discontinuity
between 2011 and 2012 due to a change in the hardware configuration at the recording site [35].
It is important to note that the results do not arise simply from an increasing number of machines
in the Internet over time, since the number of machines in the samples analyzed is constant in
each case (see Methods).
8
Fig. 4: Average phi computed on Internet traffic data over a span of 6 years (node
sampling = random walk, node sample size = 100, time step size = 100 ms. See
details in Methods). A change in hardware at the recording site between 2011 and
2012 caused a drop in subsequent recorded traffic [35]. The actual traffic in
subsequent years is indicated by a horizontal black line and light red bars. The red
bars and the red line show values adjusted to compensate for this change (see
Methods).
Discussion
Together, these results suggest that the concept of integrated information, as formalized by the
phi metric, can be usefully applied to group interactions. To begin with, the time delays at which
this measure is maximized are intuitively plausible for a measure of interaction: 2 seconds for
face-to-face human groups and 100 ms for machines on the Internet.
Predicting group performance
More importantly, phi is correlated with various measures of group performance. In 4-person
work groups, it is correlated with the groups’ collective intelligence. Previous work has shown
that collective intelligence, in turn, predicts a group’s performance on a wide range of other tasks
[30,31,36]. Furthermore, in groups of Wikipedia editors, phi is correlated with the quality of the
articles the groups edited.
Since phi can be calculated from a relatively small sample of group interactions, this suggests
that it might be possible to predict many kinds of group performance, long before a group’s
output is complete, merely by measuring phi. This possible use of phi seems plausible because
we could interpret phi as a measure of group collaboration, and it seems likely that the degree of
collaboration in a group could be a good predictor of the group’s performance in many
situations.
9
This use of phi would be analogous to the use of intelligence tests for individuals [37] or groups
[31] to predict performance on future tasks. But these intelligence tests are interventional
measures; they require people to do specific testing activities they would not otherwise have
done in order to predict their performance on another task. The versions of phi used here, on the
other hand, are observational measures; as we have seen, they can be calculated merely by
observing what people are doing anyway. In this sense, then, phi could provide a relatively easy
way of measuring how well a group is working together and using that to predict how well the
group will perform on other tasks in the future.
Of course, it is certainly possible that other metrics would have predictive power similar to that
of phi. Therefore, we believe an important task for future research is to investigate the predictive
power of various other metrics. For instance, it is possible that some of the information theoretic
or correlational quantities used to compute phi would, themselves, predict performance as well
as phi does. Or, perhaps, other measures of complexity (e.g., [38–41]) would be better
predictors. And it will certainly be important to compare the predictive power of phi (or its
components) with other potential explanatory variables such as (a) the relative participation of
different group members [31], (b) the amount of effort and ability members devote to the group’s
tasks [42] and (c) different measures of the network topology of the group’s interactions [4].
Measuring the complexity of group interaction
In addition to predicting group performance in two cases, phi also provided quantitative
confirmation of the plausible hypothesis that the Internet is increasing in a particular kind of
complexity over time. This kind of complexity involves both increasing differentiation among
parts and also increasing integration among the parts. And, as we saw, it is not simply a result of
the increasing size of the Internet, since the comparisons all included the same number of nodes.
Measuring the consciousness of groups
We conclude this discussion with some speculations suggested by the interpretation of phi in the
way it was originally intended—as a measure of consciousness. Of course, our results don’t
prove that groups can be conscious. That is primarily a philosophical question, not an empirical
one. But our results do suggest that regarding groups as conscious, in the sense measured by
integrated information, would lead to conclusions that are at least consistent with some of our
intuitions about how conscious entities behave. Humans, for instance, generally perform better
on a variety of tasks when they are more conscious, and we found a similar result for groups.
One might also speculate that, if there is a sense in which the Internet is conscious, then its level
of consciousness should be increasing over time. Our results are consistent with this speculation
as well.
From a philosophical perspective, the question of whether groups should be considered
conscious involves whether doing so would lead to consequences that are unintuitive or
otherwise undesirable. For instance, two recent philosophical papers take opposite positions on
this question. List [43] argues that, even though groups may well be conscious in the functional
sense of awareness, they do not have the subjective experience of consciousness. He supports
this view, in part, by speculating that the integrated information of most groups would probably
10
be much lower than that of individuals. He also argues that if we consider groups as conscious,
then we might be morally obligated to give them certain legal rights formerly reserved for
individuals (such as the free-speech rights in the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision).
Schwitzgebel [44], on the other hand, argues that not allowing the possibility that groups could
be conscious leads to conclusions that are incompatible with other materialist assumptions about
the world. For instance, he argues that, unless you believe consciousness involves some kind of
immaterial spirit, then it should be possible, in principle at least, for it to exist in animals, in
hypothetical alien creatures, and in groups of humans. Believing otherwise, he asserts, leads
either to inconsistencies or to arbitrarily excluding groups from being conscious simply by
definition.
The developers of integrated information theory have taken a philosophical position on this
question that is referenced by both List and Schwitzgebel. Tononi and colleagues [12,16,45])
include, in their most recent version of the theory, an “exclusion postulate,” which says that we
should only regard a system as “conscious” if it is at the level of aggregation that maximizes phi.
For example, if the phi value for a human brain is greater than the phi value for a group in which
that human participates, then we should regard the human as conscious but not the group.
Of course, it’s possible to define consciousness in this way, and doing so avoids a possibility that
many people find unintuitive: that groups might be conscious. But intuition is not an infallible
guide here. As Huebner [46] writes: “it is hard to imagine that collectivities can be conscious;
but it is just as hard to imagine that a mass of neurons, skin, blood, bones, and chemicals can be
... conscious.”
And the exclusion postulate has the undesirable consequence that a system can become
unconscious, even without any change in its value of phi, if another system that contains it (or
that it contains) attains a slightly higher value of phi. For instance, imagine that humans will
someday be part of a very complex participatory democracy in which people are massively
connected online. According to the exclusion postulate, if the participatory democracy becomes
more and more richly integrated and someday reaches a level of phi greater than that of the
individual humans, then all the individual humans would suddenly become “unconscious.”
[16,44].
From a scientific point of view, one interesting way to proceed might be to formulate an
alternative version of integrated information theory that substantially weakens or eliminates the
exclusion postulate. Such a theory might, for instance, allow us to say that conscious humans
could also be part of higher-level groups that had a certain level of consciousness themselves.
And it seems possible, at least, that such a theory could lead to interesting insights about groups
as well as individuals. For example, as List [43] points out, corporations often act as more
efficient profit maximizers than individual humans, and perhaps viewing the corporations as
doing this consciously would provide useful insights.
Conclusion
In this paper, we have seen how the mathematical concept of integrated information formalizes
observations about the importance of differentiation and integration that have arisen, more or less
11
independently, in a number of different disciplines. We have also seen how applying this metric
to empirically analyze group interactions can lead to potentially useful predictions of group
performance, measurements of group complexity, and measurements of something we might
even want to call group consciousness.
Much work remains to be done, but, perhaps, applying the concept of integrated information to
large groups will be especially useful in understanding the complex kinds of hybrid humancomputer systems that are becoming increasingly important in our modern world.
Methods
The research was approved by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Institutional Review
Board.
Study 1: Small work groups
Measuring the collective intelligence of small work groups
The data about collective intelligence were collected during a previous study that tested the
impact of mode of communication on general group performance [30]. In this study, groups of
four people worked together on a set of diverse online tasks. The tasks included both verbal and
nonverbal activities of the following types: generating, choosing, remembering, sensing, and
taking physical actions. For instance, tasks included brainstorming uses for a brick, solving
Raven’s Matrices problems from a standardized intelligence test, remembering features of
complex videos and images, and copying complex text passages into a shared online editor.
Detailed task descriptions and descriptive statistics are included in [30], and summary task
descriptions are in S1 and S2 Tables.
All group members used individual laptop computers to work on the shared online tasks. In one
condition, the group members were seated near each other and were able to communicate faceto-face while solving the tasks. In the other condition, the group members were seated far apart
and were only able to communicate via the text chat functionality built into the online system.
To determine the collective intelligence scores for the different groups, we performed a factor
analysis of the groups’ scores on the different tasks. As with previous work [31], the first factor
in these analyses explained around 40% of the variance in the groups’ performance on all the
tasks. We treated each group’s score on this first factor as the group’s collective intelligence.
This collective intelligence score, therefore, is a weighted average of the group’s scores on all
the tasks with the weights chosen to maximize the predictive power for performance on all the
tasks. In this sense, the collective intelligence score for a group is exactly analogous to individual
intelligence test scores for individuals [31,37].
12
Calculating phi for small work groups
For analyzing the data from Study 1, we used the phi metric that Barrett and Seth [28] call ΦE
(“empirical phi”). This metric is based upon the theoretical definition of phi by Balduzzi and
Tononi [13] and assumes that the system being analyzed is stationary. It can be written as:
Φ! [X; τ] = I (𝑋!!! ; 𝑿! ) −
!
!
!
!!! 𝐼 (𝑀!!! ; 𝑀! )
where X is a stochastic system, 𝜏 is the time delay with respect to which phi is measured, Xt is
the state of the system at time t, and M1 and M2 are subsets of X chosen such that they constitute
a minimum information bipartition (MIB) of X.
I (X,Y) is the mutual information between X and Y which is defined as the reduction in
uncertainty (entropy), about X, knowing the outcome of Y:
I (X; Y) = H (X) – H (X|Y).
Thus ΦE is another way of calculating the information generated by the system as a whole that is
more than just the sum of its parts.
To use this metric, we recorded communication in different ways for the two conditions. For the
face-to-face condition, each group member had an individual microphone. This resulted in four
time-aligned audio tracks. We first used software to split the audio tracks into time steps of 200
ms each. The software then determined for each time step, who, if anyone, was speaking. To do
this, the software analyzed which group members’ audio volumes were above a threshold level.
This level was optimized based on “ground truth” data obtained from human observer ratings of
who was speaking for a limited subset of the data. The next step suppressed the audio tracks that
picked up muted versions of someone else’s speech. The final step merged speaking turns of a
single speaker that were 400ms or less apart (e.g. someone making a brief pause during a
speaking turn).
This procedure thus yielded, for each team, a state vector that encoded everyone who was
speaking at a specific time step with a 1 and everyone else with a 0. We then applied the phi
metric to this state vector.
For the online condition, we used software to analyze the chat transcripts. We encoded each line
of chat as one time step. During this time step, the group member who chatted is encoded as 1
(for active) and all other group members are encoded as 0 (for inactive). This encoding leads to a
situation (unlike with the face-to-face groups) where only one person can be active at any given
time. We then computed the phi metric on this state dataset.
Note that, in this study and the other two, we assume, but do not test for, stationarity of the time
series of state vectors that are used to calculate phi. We believe that the results reported above
about correlations between phi and other variables are of interest, in any case, even if they are
caused, in part, by factors that led to non-stationarity in the systems. However, as noted in the
Discussion above, we also believe that an important focus for future work would be to examine
many alternative factors that might explain our results, including any that might have involved
non-stationarity in the systems.
13
Study 2: Groups of Wikipedia editors
Measuring quality of Wikipedia articles
In this study, we analyzed the edit histories of the articles in Wikipedia’s Vital Articles list [32].
At the time of downloading, this included 1000 articles spanning a wide range of rated quality
levels, topics, and popularity. We discarded the Wikipedia front-page article since it had an order
of magnitude more edits than any other article in the list and thus was as a clear outlier. This left
999 articles that we analyzed.
From the edit histories of these articles, we parsed the quality level of the articles for each edit
step giving us the points in time when changes in quality occurred. We then analyzed the 30-,
60-, and 90-day periods before each quality change, discarding the periods in which only one or
two editors were active (see descriptive statistics in S3 Table).
Calculating phi for groups of Wikipedia editors
We computed phi for each article in the 30-, 60-, and 90-day periods before each quality change.
As with the chat transcripts in Study 1, we encoded each edit as a single time step. An editor was
considered to be active if he or she edited the Wikipedia article in question at that time step and
inactive otherwise.
However, we could not compute phi for Study 2 using the ΦE metric used in Study 1 for two
reasons. First, as the number of nodes in the network grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to
obtain enough data to accurately estimate all the relevant entropies using ΦE [28]. To deal with
this problem, we used the phi metric that Barrett and Seth call ΦAR (“auto-regressive phi”). This
metric provides reasonable estimates for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian systems with smaller
amounts of data [28] and can be written as:
1
det (𝑋)
𝜑!" 𝑋; 𝜏, {𝑀 , 𝑀 } = log
−
2
det (𝐸 ! )
!
1
!
!
!!!
1
det (𝑀! )
log
!
2
det (𝐸! )
2
where M and M are a bipartition of the data, detΣ(X) is the determinant of the covariance
k
matrix of X, and EM and EX are residuals in regression equations that estimate states of the
system at one time based on knowledge of the system state at another time. To compute this
version of phi, we used a MATLAB toolbox provided by Adam Barrett [28].
The second problem that arises with large systems is that determining the minimum information
bipartition (MIB) requires enumerating all possible bipartitions of the dataset. Since the number
of these bipartitions grows exponentially with the size of the network, this method quickly
becomes computationally infeasible. To avoid these problems, we used “atomic” partitions in
determining phi as recommended by [29,47]. With this approach, each node is considered as its
own partition Mk and the summation in the second term is done over all these.
14
We verified the validity of this atomic measure on our dataset by computing the normal phi and
the atomic phi for all edit histories from the Wikipedia dataset with 14 editors or less, 14 being
the largest number where enumerating all bipartitions is still computationally feasible for all
articles. The values of the atomic phi are higher but the correlation between the original phi and
the atomic phi was highly significant (r = 0.83, p<0.001).
In some cases in our data, the ΦAR algorithm became numerically unstable and was unable to
return a value at all or returned a value that was theoretically impossible (that is, less than 0 or
greater than the number of nodes). These problems usually occurred in cases where many nodes
had (little or) no variance in their activities (e.g., the nodes were almost always on or almost
always off). In these cases, the state vector matrices often became rank deficient, and the
algorithm was unable to compute a valid value for phi.
Since nodes with (little or) no variance have (little or) no entropy, they also have (little or) no
effect on phi. Therefore, in cases where the algorithm did not return a valid value for phi, we
simply dropped the 5% of nodes with the least variance and reran the computation, repeating this
procedure until the algorithm did return a valid value. In Study 2, these problems occurred in
19.5% of the cases, and when they occurred, we had to repeat the procedure 2.27 times on
average. In other words, we corrected for numerical instabilities in the calculation of phi by
removing a small number of low-variance nodes that would have had little effect on phi in any
case. This insured that all the data analyzed was for groups of nodes for which valid values of
phi could be computed.
Study 3: Groups of computers and people on the Internet
To analyze Internet traffic, we used a database compiled by the Cooperative Association for
Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA) [34]. This database includes records of the data logged by two
high-speed monitors on a commercial backbone link on the Internet. The monitors are in
Chicago and San Jose, and we chose the one in San Jose since it provides a longer undisrupted
history (from 2008 to the present). We analyzed datasets separated by approximately 6-month
intervals during the period (usually every March and September).
Since the volume of Internet backbone traffic is huge, the database includes only one hour of
data for each month, and we limited our analysis to one minute of this data for the months we
analyzed. We picked the fourth minute of each hour to avoid any unusual activities in the first
minute of the hour (such as special programs that operate automatically at the beginning of each
hour).
The database contains a trace of each packet of information sent, including an anonymized
version of the Internet Protocol (IP) address for the origin and destination node of each packet.
Each node (or “host”) is a different computer, such as an end user’s laptop, a mail server, or a
web server for Google, Amazon, and other web service providers. The IP addresses for these
nodes are anonymized in such a way that each real IP address always matches to the same
anonymized counterpart.
Descriptive statistics for the dataset, after unpacking and parsing (including, for example,
removing IPv6 and unreadable packets) are shown in S4 Table.
15
Calculating phi
We calculated phi for Study 3 using the same phi metric used for Study 2. To do this, we
characterized the state of the system in terms of which nodes were active (in the sense of sending
an information packet) at a given time. We also determined a time delay with respect to which
to calculate phi. In order to do these things, several other steps were also needed.
Sampling nodes
As shown in S4 Table, the number of nodes sending packets in the months we analyzed ranged
from about 200,000 to 1.6 million. We know of no method for calculating phi that is
computationally feasible and numerically stable for systems with anything remotely approaching
this number of nodes, so, before calculating phi, we needed to subsample the nodes to be
analyzed. Ideally, these sampling methods should select subsets of nodes whose activity
relationships are representative of those in the whole sample. Therefore, the first two methods
we used were the two methods for sampling from large graphs that were found by Leskovec and
Faloutsos [48] to best retain the network properties of the graphs.
In describing these methods, we denote by S the set of all nodes in a sample of information
packets, and by A ⊂ S the subsample of nodes to be analyzed. Bold lower case letters indicate
single nodes. D(a) refers to the set of all destination nodes to which node a sent a packet in the
sampled period and D(A) is the set of all destinations for any node in A. We do not allow
duplicate nodes in A.
The two methods we used were:
a) Random walk. We first pick a random node x ∈ S, add it to A, and make it the active
node. We then randomly pick a new active node y ∈ D(x) and add it to A. At each step,
we continue by doing one of two things. With probability 0.85, we pick a new active
node from the destinations of the current active node. And with probability 0.15, we
return to x and start a new path from there. If we run out of new nodes to visit (e.g. in the
case of a small isolated subset) we pick a new starting node x. This method is repeated
until we have reached the sampling goal. As stated by [48] the return probability of 0.15
is the standard value picked in literature.
b) Forest fire. We first pick a random starting node x ∈ S, add it to A, and make it the active
node. Next we pick a random number n from a geometric distribution with mean 2.3 (the
value suggested by [48]), randomly pick n nodes from D(x), and add these nodes to A.
The procedure continues by selecting new active nodes from A and repeating the process
until the required number of nodes is reached. If at any point, there are no nodes left in
D(A) that are not already in A, then a new random starting node x ∈ S is selected and
added to A.
For comparison, we also used two other simple sampling methods:
c) Breadth first. We randomly pick x ∈ S as our starting node and add it to A. We then
iteratively add to A all nodes to which nodes in A sent packets (i.e. D(A)) until we reach
our sampling goal. If there are no more nodes in D(A) that are not already in A, we pick a
new starting node x ∈ S and continue from there.
16
d) Random nodes. We randomly pick x ∈ S and add it to A until we reach our sampling
goal. Note that this method selects a small number of nodes (e.g., 100) completely
randomly from a much larger set (e.g., several hundred thousand nodes). Therefore, even
if there are substantial interactions among nodes of the type phi measures, this node
sampling method may not detect them very well. However, we still include it for
comparison purposes.
For each date and each node sampling method, we created 100 different random subsamples of
nodes. We then computed phi on the resulting state vectors and averaged the results across all
100 different random subsamples.
Determining time step size and time delay
To characterize the state of the system, we needed to determine the size δ of the time steps into
which activity data will be grouped (i.e. for which we assume all the data packets are sent at the
same time). We also needed to pick a time delay τ with respect to which phi will be calculated.
These two factors depend on each other logically. For instance, if there are true interactions at a
timescale of 100 ms, we could detect them with phi by, for example, setting δ = 100 ms and τ =
1 time step or by setting δ = 50 ms and τ = 2 time steps.
To make the search space of possibilities more manageable, we fixed the time delay τ = 1 and
selected the time step size δ that maximized phi when averaged across all the dates in our
analysis. In calculating phi for this purpose, we made the following assumptions: (a) node
sampling was done using the random walk method, and (b) the other corrections described below
were made. This resulted in a time step size δ of 100 ms (see Fig 3). We also obtained similar
results for other combinations of parameters.
This corresponds very well with typical response times observed on the Internet. As noted by
[49], the typical “round trip” time for data on the Internet to travel from point A to point B and
back is about 200 ms. If we make the reasonable assumption that the processing time on the
remote machine is minimal, then the delay is almost entirely due to time spent travelling back
and forth on the network, so each one-way trip would be about 100 ms. The time delay relevant
for calculating phi is the delay for one-way travel plus the time for the remote machine to
respond, so these numbers correspond very well.
Determining node sample size
Based on preliminary experiments with our data, we found that the computations for phi often
became numerically unstable and very computationally expensive at around 200 nodes. To
avoid these problems we picked a standard node sample size of 100 nodes. As noted below,
however, the results were also similar with samples of 150 and 200 nodes.
17
Correcting for numerical instabilities
We used the same method to correct for numerical instabilities as used in Study 2. In Study 3,
invalid values occurred initially in 67.14% of the cases, but they disappeared after repeating an
average of 2.12 times the procedure of dropping low variance nodes.
Correcting for hardware change at the recording site
As mentioned in the main text, the hardware at the recording site was upgraded in the time
period between September 2011 and March 2012, which led to a noticeable drop in the phi
values. To correct for this, we added an indicator variable to our linear model that indicates if the
date is before or after March 2012. This allowed us to extrapolate the corrected phi according to
the model. For readability reasons, the graphs in Fig 4 and S2-S4 Figs show the extrapolated
values in red, the uncorrected values in light red, the regression line for the corrected values as a
red line and the regression line for the uncorrected values as a black line.
Results
Using the procedures just described, we calculated the value of phi over time for four node
sampling methods (random walk, forest fire, breadth first, and random nodes). The resulting
graphs are shown in Fig 4 and S2 Fig. In all cases except random node sampling, the relation
between phi and year is positive and very significant (see Table 2). As noted above, we did not
expect the random node sampling method to be very effective at detecting interactions of the sort
phi measures, so it is not surprising that the results were not significant in this case.
Regression coefficient
Random
Walk
Node sampling method
Forest
Breadth
Random
Fire
First
Nodes
1.675***
1.676***
1.715***
-0.26
*** = p < 10-8
Table 2. Regression coefficients for predicting phi from date with four different
node sampling methods
Robustness check for time step size
As noted above, the main results were calculated with a time step size δ = 100 ms which
maximized the value of phi. However, S3 Fig shows that using time step sizes of 50 ms or 150
ms also yields similar results.
18
Robustness check for node sample size
As noted above, the main results were calculated with a node sample size of 100 nodes.
However, S4 Fig shows that using sample sizes of 150 or 200 also yield similar results.
Robustness check for number of packets sampled
As shown in S4 Table, the number of packets sent in the minutes we studied is not constant over
the dates we studied. To investigate whether the variable number of packets could have affected
the results, we also investigated a different method for sampling packets. With this alternate
method, we analyzed only the first 10,000,000 packets in each minute, since this is the maximum
(round) number of packets present for all dates. S5 Table shows the regression coefficients for
this sampling method. We see again that date is a significant predictor of phi in this case for all
four sampling methods.
Acknowledgments
This work was made possible by financial support from the National Science Foundation (grant
numbers IIS-0963285, ACI-1322254, and IIS-0963451), the U. S. Army Research Office (grant
numbers 56692-MA, 64079-NS, and W911NF-15-1-0577) and Cisco Systems, Inc., through
their sponsorship of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. We wish to especially thank
Adam Barrett from the University of Sussex for providing the MATLAB toolbox to compute
phi. We also thank Stephan Gade for help with the statistical analysis and Larissa Albantakis,
Adam Barrett, Tomaso Poggio, and two anonymous referees for providing feedback on previous
versions of the paper.
19
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23
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
S1 Table. Task categories and verbal vs. non-verbal dimensions in the Collective Intelligence
task battery (reproduced from (23))
Task Category
Verbal
Non-Verbal
1. Generating
Brainstorming Words
Brainstorming Uses for a Brick
Brainstorming Equations
2. Choosing
Unscramble Words
Judgment Slogans
Matrix Reasoning
Sudoku
Judgment Picture
Judgment Pages
3. Executing
Typing Text
Typing Numbers
4. Remembering
Memory Words*
Memory Video
Memory Images
5. Sensing
Detection Words
Detection Images
* Due to technical problems with administration of the “Memory Words” task, it was excluded
from the analysis.
24
S2 Table. Description of tasks used to measure collective intelligence of groups.
Task Type
Description
Brainstorming Groups had to collectively come up with as many as possible of the following:
(a) uses for a brick, (b) words that started with S and ended with N, and (c)
equations that equal 10 with certain constraints on operators and values used.
Points were given for number of answers and uniqueness of answers.
Unscrambling
The subjects were awarded points for correctly identifying words whose letters
were randomly scrambled
Matrix
Reasoning
Solving a set of Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices, a standardized test of
general fluid intelligence.
Sudoku
Solving a Sudoku puzzle. Points were awarded for number of correct answers
Judgment
Groups had to predict how a larger population would rate the quality of images
and slogans. They also had to estimate the number of pages in a book based on a
picture of the book.
Typing
The groups had to copy a complex text passage and a complex series of
numbers into a shared workspace similar to Google Docs. Scoring was based on
number of items copied correctly with significant penalties for incorrect and
skipped items. Therefore, it was important for groups to carefully coordinate
their work to avoid duplications and long sequences of skipped items.
Memory
Groups were shown complex videos, images, and sequences of words and then
asked to answer a set of questions about the items they had seen.
Detection
Groups answered questions about a grid of small images such as “What is the
most frequent object in the grid?”
25
S3 Table: Descriptive statistics of the number of articles, editors, edits, and edits per editor in
various periods before quality changes in the Wikipedia dataset (time windows of 30-, 60-, and
90-days shown in panels A, B, and C, respectively).
FA
Number of
articles
Number of
editors per
article
Number of
edits
per article
Number of
edits per
editor per
article
Mean
Min
Max
Std
Mean
Min
Max
Std
Mean
Min
Max
Std
A
GA
B
C
136
108
185
535
169
16.206
2
72
12.075
201.544
4
1049
210.452
12.153
1.75
72.8
11.186
12.806
3
56
9.216
94.241
8
861
136.702
8.039
1.833
172.2
17.157
10.984
3
63
8.589
110.676
8
825
137.086
10.909
1.8
71.8
11.857
9.164
2
51
7.111
50.206
4
857
78.652
5.356
1.667
159.2
9.422
6.728
2
18
3.382
34.817
6
318
44.514
5.611
1.75
58.333
8.765
(A) 30-day period before quality change
FA
Number of
articles
Number of
editors
per article
Number of
edits per
article
Number of
edits per
Editor per
article
Mean
Min
Max
Std
Mean
Min
Max
Std
Mean
Min
Max
Std
138
25.92
3
115
19.411
326.768
9
2341
345.283
12.655
2
70.939
10.908
A
GA
129
20.163
3
89
16.355
152.24
7
1637
213.7
9.036
1.75
272.833
24.181
(B) 60-day period before quality change
26
215
16.893
2
97
13.851
170.995
8
969
175.6
12.052
2
104
13.133
B
C
699
13.701
2
77
11.39
79.495
4
1635
124.957
5.66
1.75
272.5
11.846
273
9.183
2
31
5.611
45.388
4
350
52.16
4.931
1.75
47.5
6.19
FA
Number of
articles
Number of
editors
per article
Number of
edits per
article
Number of
edits per
editor per
article
Mean
Min
Max
Std
Mean
Min
Max
Std
Mean
Min
Max
Std
A
139
34.576
6
152
26.284
413.281
21
2550
407.634
12.466
2.231
67.105
10.067
GA
135
26.837
4
110
20.8
203.541
11
1653
243.445
9.051
2.2
236.143
20.515
(C) 90-day period before quality change
27
226
22.845
3
121
18.114
229.615
9
1721
231.389
12.47
1.8
245.857
18.921
B
C
773
18.107
2
123
15.609
106.585
3
1661
151.653
5.647
1.5
237.286
9.684
345
11.533
2
41
8.222
54.939
3
420
61.581
4.591
1.5
46.667
5.049
S4 Table: Number of information packets, origin nodes and destination nodes for each month
analyzed.
Year
Month
2008
2009
2009
2010
2010
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2014
8
3
9
3
9
3
9
3
9
3
9
3
Number of Number of Number of
information origin
destination
packets
nodes
nodes
10,419,879
284,987
248,892
15,640,702
373,440
551,702
17,402,179
495,864
622,101
15,322,907
343,577
399,145
14,570,116
294,594
173,678
18,094,613
559,263
352,122
20,132,417
411,129
412,778
11,242,632
294,890
164,138
10,503,070
220,584
96,248
11,195,621 1,675,419
150,134
20,739,677
274,875
204,683
18,803,582
413,410
164,051
** = p < 10-6
S5 Table: Regression coefficients for predicting phi from date with four different node sampling
methods while only looking at a fixed number of packets (10,000,000 packets).
Node sampling method
Regression coefficient
Random
Walk
3.487***
Forest
Fire
3.025***
*** = p < 10-6
28
Breadth
First
3.850***
Random
Nodes
7.334***
B
A
S1 Fig. Average phi for groups editing Wikipedia articles of different quality levels in the 30-day
period (A) and the 90-day period (B) before the articles were promoted to their current quality
level.
29
S2 Fig: Average phi over time for various node sampling methods (top left to bottom right:
Random Walk, Forest Fire, Breadth First and Random Nodes). In all cases node sample size =
100, and time step size δ = 100 ms.
30
S3 Fig: Average phi plotted over time (node sampling = random walk, node sample size = 100,
time step size δ = 50 ms (left) and 150ms (right). For 50ms, β = 0.8227, p = 0.000007; for
150ms, β = 1.333, p=0.002.
S4 Fig: Average phi plotted over time (node sampling = random walk, node sample size = 150
(left) and 200 (right), time step size δ = 100 ms). For 150 nodes, β = 0.4477, p = 0.018; for 200
nodes, β = 0.6535, p=0.00026.
31 |
Subsets and Splits