Psience Quest

The Primordial Psyche

Mario Beauregard

Quote:Abstract:Scientific materialism is still influential in certain academic spheres. In this article, I examine multiple lines of empirical evidence showing that this ideology, while partially true, is woefully incomplete and, therefore, obsolete. This evidence indicates that we humans can-not be reduced to powerless, biophysical machines since the psyche greatly influences the activity of the brain and the body, and can operate telosomatically. Based on this evidence, I introduce the Theory of Psychelementarity (TOP) and present a few predictions. This theory proposes that the psyche plays a role as primordial as that of matter,energy, and space-time. Another central premise of this theory is that the psyche cannot be reduced to physical processes. The TOP accounts for a number of well-studied psychophysical phenomena,which are reinterpreted in light of a post-materialist perspective. This theory also accounts for anomalous phenomena that are currently rejected by materialists.

Quote:In the present article, I shall review evidence that illustrates a number of serious limitations of the materialist framework. This corpus of evidence suggests that the psyche exerts a causal influence on the activity of the brain and the body. Other evidence indicates that the psyche can operate telosomatically, i.e. beyond the confines of the brain and body. To better account for these phenomena, I propose a Theory of Psychelementarity (TOP). This theory posits that the psyche plays a role as primordial as that of matter, energy, and space-time.Another central premise of the TOP is that the psyche cannot be reduced to physical processes. Contrary to other theories, the TOP has a fledgling yet solid base of empirical evidence to support it.

Found an old 2004 paper from Beauregard co-written with Jeffery Scwartz (psychiatrist whose OCD treatments have proven beneficial to many)  and Henry Stapp (physicist who has written a lot about mind/matter interaction)->

Quantum Physics in Neuroscience and Psychology: A New Theory With Respect to Mind/Brain Interaction

Quote:The cognitive frame in which most neuropsychological research on the neural basis of behavior is conducted contains the assumption that brain mechanisms per se fully suffice to explain all psychologically described phenomena. This assumption stems from the idea that the brain is made up entirely of material particles and fields, and that all causal mechanisms must therefore be formulated solely in terms of properties of these elements. One consequence of this stance is that psychological terms having intrinsic mentalistic and/or experiential content (terms such as "feeling," "knowing," and "effort") have not been included as primary causal factors in neuropsychological research: insofar as properties are not described in material terms they are deemed irrelevant to the causal mechanisms underlying brain function. However, the origin of this demand that experiential realities be excluded from the causal base is a theory of nature that has been known for more that three quarters of a century to be fundamentally incorrect. It is explained here why it is consequently scientifically unwarranted to assume that material factors alone can in principle explain all causal mechanisms relevant to neuroscience. More importantly, it is explained how a key quantum effect can be introduced into brain dynamics in a simple and practical way that provides a rationally coherent, causally formulated, physics-based way of understanding and using the psychological and physical data derived from the growing set of studies of the capacity of directed attention and mental effort to systematically alter brain function.