Quantum Mechanics Of Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive July 28, 2009 via arXiv
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA phenomenological model treats consciousness as a spin-one entity whose three eigenstates correspond to waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. These states arise from treating subject and object as interacting two-state spin-half systems with external and internal projections. Deep sleep is analyzed, yielding a new understanding of individual consciousness in that state. A fourth state, the singlet state, is interpreted as the superconscious state of intuitive experience, justified by invoking universal consciousness as the underlying source of all individual states. Individual experiences result from four individualizing observables that project the individual from the universal. The one-to-one correspondence between individual and universal states is shown, and their identity in the fourth state is established because all individualizing quantum numbers become zero, leaving no trace of individuality.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Physics.gen-ph Quantum physics Neuroscience Metaphysics |
| Key finding | Consciousness can be modeled as a spin-one entity, with a fourth singlet state representing a superconscious state where individual and universal consciousness are identical. |
Abstract
A phenomenological approach using the states of spin-like observables is developed to understand the nature of consciousness and the totality of experience. The three states of consciousness are taken to form the triplet of eigenstates of a spin-one entity and are derived as the triplet resulting from the composition of two spins by treating the subject and the object as interacting two-state, spin-half systems with external and internal projections. The state of deep sleep is analysed in the light of this phenomenological approach and a novel understanding of the status of the individual consciousness in this state is obtained. The resulting fourth state i.e. the singlet state is interpreted to correspond to the superconscious state of intuitive experience and is justified by invoking the concept of the universal consciousness as the underlying source of all individual states of experience. It is proposed that the individual experiences result from the operations of four individualizing observables which project out the individual from the universal. The one-to-one correspondence between the individual and the universal states of experience is brought out and their identity in the fourth state is established by showing that all individualizing quantum numbers become zero in this state leaving no trace of any individuality.