|
Initially this quantum approach received a boost when it was put forward to help explain what was being called the "hard problem," meaning the difficult task of accounting for the existence of consciousness and self-consciousness in the material world. Those convicted of materialist philosophy dismiss consciousness as a figment of the imagination and seek to explain all mental phenomena in terms of cause-effect relationships. Logically, this approach must culminate in the dismissal of choice and free will, and make all events the linear consequence of preceding events. Thus nobody is really responsible for their actions--we all do what we do because we cannot do otherwise. So what is justice or righteousness?
Those who take the "hard problem" seriously include many of our ablest physicists as well as those trained in the neurosciences. In fact it is now becoming essential to have substantial comprehension of quantum physics and its basic mathematics in order to work in the field of neurophysiology.
Among some in this field, the so-called "hard problem" has taken a quantum leap plus a reversal in that the "I" at the heart of the problem is taken for granted and the explanation of how "I" can know anything about the "world out there" takes up the honor of being the "hard problem." Some in this group break consciousness down into self or subject denoted by "I"; cognition; awareness of the world; and qualia (subjective experience accompanying, say--the smell of coffee; the fear of heights; etc.)
"I" is all important, it is not local in the sense that it can be found anywhere, it is not a thing that has extension, but at the same time it is "infinitely near." This infinitely near yet unlocatable "self" has agency. Its function is control. But though unlocatable it has an address, being somehow associated with our bodies and brains.
Coupled with this view there are proposed mechanisms in which the brain has a system of neural units about 50 microns in diameter which exhibit behavior somewhat like a Bose-Einstein condensate operating as a superposed unit in a non-local manner (instantaneous). Normally in a kind of ground state, these units may undergo symmetry breaking which signals some kind of event. A quasi-crystalline form of water that forms dipolar units, along with the microtubules that form a continuous system to link together the cells of living organisms, are envisaged as forming a quantum electro-chemical mechanism that takes control instructions from "I" to the "not-I" components of self. All this is speculation designed to provide some physical support mechanism allowing "I" to do his/her thing in the world.
Whereas the logical path for the materialist view of self led to a body and brain that does what it does because it cannot do otherwise, the view that gives this central role to "I" makes it into a non-local control center for which "I's" meanings and values become its control variables.
How does "I" function in the world. Pushed to the limits, "I" am a monad surrounded by a quantum domain that is unseeable and unfathomable. My world is my own; your world is your own. Yet I somehow make sense out of it and do connect with the outside world--your world when appropriate. How "I" does this is now the hard problem. One suggestion is that the brain generates quantum fields that represent a library of superposed possibilities. Sensory inputs, rather than undergoing some kind of information processing, simply interact with a page in the library composed of appropriate superposed possibilities. "I's" meanings and values are then the control variables that operate to select among the pages of possibilities to provide a match by which the world is perceived. This is a non-linear system with a high degree of spontaneity. As such it corresponds much more closely to what most of us believe is reality than the dismal view taken by the materialist-mechanists.
What do the Urantia Papers say about mind and consciousness? In actuality there is so much that we can only hope to cover a few of the salient features. What neurophysiologists are calling "I" appears to roughly correspond to a combined personality, mind, and soul as used in the Papers. Personality is a gift from the Universal Father, mind is directly from the Universe Mother Spirit and indirectly from the Infinite Spirit and the Seven Master Spirits. Soul is in the hands of the indwelling Father-Spirit who preserves all that is of spiritual value to be taken forward into our morontia life.
Personality is distinguished by two self-manifesting phenomena, self-consciousness and relative free will, both of which are properties of the "I" of the neurophysiologist. It is our personality that gives us the prerogative of choice.
We need to be aware that the Urantia Papers use the term, personality, in a markedly different way to its common usage. In common usage, personality is something that develops, changes, evolves, and grows. Personality, as used in the Urantia Papers, is a pattern of potentials that can be called into action. However that pattern is individual, unique, and unchanging. It is unifying and confers identity but is not in itself our identity. Personality enables us to respond to three basic mind realities, the mathematical or logical recognition of physical causation, the reasoned recognition of the obligation of moral conduct, and the faith-grasp of fellowship worship of Deity associated with the loving service of humanity.
Importantly, it is our personality that responds to other-personality presence.
Mind is complementary to personality and comes tailored to the specific needs of the creature. Unlike our personality which is permanently ours, our mind is not permanent. We
|
|
