Quantum No-Go Theorems and Consciousness
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Quantum No-Go Theorems and Consciousness Danko Georgiev
Received: 6 October 2012 / Accepted: 14 December 2012 / Published online: 22 December 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012
Abstract Our conscious minds exist in the Universe, therefore they should be identified with physical states that are subject to physical laws. In classical theories of mind, the mental states are identified with brain states that satisfy the deterministic laws of classical mechanics. This approach, however, leads to insurmountable paradoxes such as epiphenomenal minds and illusionary free will. Alternatively, one may identify mental states with quantum states realized within the brain and try to resolve the above paradoxes using the standard Hilbert space formalism of quantum mechanics. In this essay, we first show that identification of mind states with quantum states within the brain is biologically feasible, and then elaborating on the mathematical proofs of two quantum mechanical no-go theorems, we explain why quantum theory might have profound implications for the scientific understanding of one’s mental states, self identity, beliefs and free will. Keywords Brain Classical mechanics Compatibilism Determinism Free will Indeterminism Mind No-cloning theorem Quantum mechanics
1 Introduction In neuroscience it is assumed that consciousness is a product of the brain whose function is governed by Newtonian (classical) physical laws. In this viewpoint, all brain processes that give rise to conscious experience can be reduced to chains of causes and effects, which although immensely complex operate as a clockwork mechanism (James 1879). In contrast, quantum mechanics tells us that the fundamental constituents of matter obey probabilistic laws, such that there is not a single predetermined future outcome, but a multitude of potentialities, only one of D. Georgiev (&) Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan e-mail: [email protected]
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which is to be actualized (Born 1926; Heisenberg 1925; Schro¨dinger 1926). The predictions of quantum theory were experimentally proven to be so accurate that at present there is a little doubt that the nature is governed by quantum laws. Because consciousness is an ambiguous term that may refer to many different things, we introduce a formal definition, which is more or less identical to the one given by Nagel (1974) and Chalmers (1995). Definition 1 Consciousness is a collective term that refers to the subjective character of our mental states, our ability to experience or to feel. A conscious state is a state of experience. The terms consciousness, mind and experience will be used interchangeably hereafter. There are several unresolved problems in the theory of consciousness, which might benefit from quantum mechanical analysis. Here, we will formulate only those problems that are relevant for our discussion and will refer the reader elsewhere for a general introduction to the theory of consciousness (Feser 2007). Problem 1 Beca
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