Consciousness is not a physically provable property

Summary

The nature of consciousness remains one of science's deepest mysteries. Using mathematical logic and quantum theory, researchers demonstrate that no physical system - including our brains - can definitively prove its own consciousness. This finding suggests consciousness may involve quantum processes that actually violate energy conservation laws, challenging purely mechanistic views of awareness.

Abstract

We present a logical proof that computing machines, and by extension physical systems, can never be certain if they possess conscious awareness. This implies that human consciousness is associated with a violation of energy conservation. We examine the significance that a particular interpretation of quantum mechanics, known as single mind Q (Barrett 1999), might have for the detection of such a violation. Finally we apply single mind Q to the problem of free will as it arises in some celebrated experiments by the neurophysiologist Benjamin Libet.

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