The Impossibly Hard Problem of Consciousness

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(2021-11-20, 12:44 PM)David001 Wrote: Here is a good description of Stapp's ideas:

http://quantum-mind.co.uk/theories/henry-stapp/

 Somewhere I have seen him speculate that the mind may be able to control the quantum probabilities more directly than this - essentially because the mind isn't itself part of the quantum mechanical system.

Stapp does not try to explain consciousness - he shows how it (very probably) couples with the physical universe.
Here are are quotes from Stapp I think are on the mark.  https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0101118  

Quote: The observed physical world is described rather by a mathematical structure that can best be characterized as representing information and propensities: the information is about certain events that have occurred in the past, and the propensities are objective tendencies pertaining to future events. ...

The Physical World as Information 
Von Neumann quantum theory is designed to yield all the predictions of Copenhagen quantum theory. It must therefore encompass the increments of knowledge that Copenhagen quantum theory makes predictions about. Von Neumann’s theory is, in fact, essentially a theory of the interaction of these subjective realities with an evolving objective physical universe. 

Von Neumann makes clear the fact that he is trying to tie together the subjective perceptual and objective physical aspects of nature: “it is inherently entirely correct that the measurement or related process of subjective perception is a new entity relative to the physical environment and is not reducible to the latter. Indeed, subjective perception leads to the intellectual inner life of the individual...”-- H. Stapp

Stapp is making a major contributions in popularizing von Neumann and in presenting a process model for mind/brain interaction.
(This post was last modified: 2021-11-22, 09:14 PM by stephenw.)
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RE: The Impossibly Hard Problem of Consciousness - by stephenw - 2021-11-22, 09:04 PM

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