Is Brain-Mind Quantum? A theory and supporting evidence

Is Brain-Mind Quantum? A theory and supporting evidence

Kauffman, Radin

If all aspects of the mind-brain relationship were adequately explained by classical physics, then there would be no need to propose alternative views. But faced with possibly unresolvable puzzles like qualia and free will, other approaches are required. We propose a non-substance dualism theory, following a suggestion by Heisenberg, whereby the world consists of both ontologically real Possibles that do not obey Aristotle’s law of the excluded middle, and ontologically real Actuals, that do obey the law of the excluded middle. Measurement converts Possibles into Actuals. This quantum-oriented approach solves numerous puzzles about the mind-brain relationship, but it also raises the intriguing possibility that some aspects of mind are nonlocal, and that mind plays an active role in the physical world. We suggest that the mind-brain relationship is partially quantum, and we present evidence supporting that proposition.

Really interesting to see Kauffman's progression on these matters, going from arguing for materialism and against ID...and then now he's writing about Cosmic Mind, the possibility of souls, and publishing this paper with Radin in Jan 2021.


It will be interesting to see if Kauffman's patent on Trans-Turing systems yields big fortunes in the future, having rich proponents is always good...