You don’t have to look far to find outlandish theories on
the nature of the cosmos and human consciousness. These days, notions once
relegated to science fiction are finding their way into esoteric academic
journals, and from there, into mainstream discourse. One example of this is the
Simulation Argument, recently championed by Elon Musk; another is ‘time crystals,’ a tantalizing non-linear phase of matter. The newest symphony of
mind jazz being broadcast across the Internet posits new ideas about the
embattled theory of “panpsychism,” or the belief that mind is a fundamental
property of the physical universe and is imbued into all states of matter.
A new paper, published by physicist Gregory Matloff, has
brought the idea back into scientific discussions, promising experimental tests
that could “validate or falsify” the concept of a ubiquitous
“proto-consciousness field.” Matloff also pushes the controversial idea of
volitional stars, suggesting there is actually evidence that stars control
their own galactic paths.
As absurd as the theory sounds, it has several prominent
adherents, including British theoretical physicist Sir Roger Penrose, who
introduced panpsychism three decades ago. Penrose believed consciousness arises
from the properties of quantum entanglement. He and anesthesiologist Stuart
Hameroff authored the Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) hypothesis,
which asserts, among other things, that consciousness results from quantum
vibrations inside microtubules.
In 2006, German physicist Bernard Haisch took the idea
further and proposed that consciousness arises within a “quantum vacuum” any
time there is a significantly advanced system through which energy flows.
Neuroscientist Christof Koch, another proponent of
panpsychism, approaches it from a different angle, using integrated information
theory to argue that consciousness is not unique to biological organisms.
“The only dominant theory we have of consciousness says that
it is associated with complexity — with a system’s ability to act upon its own
state and determine its own fate,” Koch argues. “Theory states that it could go
down to very simple systems. In principle, some purely physical systems that
are not biological or organic may also be conscious.”
Matloff and other scientists are moving the argument into a
new phase: experimentation. Matloff intends to study the behavior of stars,
specifically analyzing an anomaly in stellar motion known as Paranego’s
Discontinuity. Matloff wants to know why certain cooler stars appear to emit
jets of energy pointed in one direction, a characteristic that seems oddly and
inexplicably ubiquitous in the galaxy. In 2018, he plans to use results from
the Gaia star-mapping space telescope to show that the anomaly may be a willful
stellar action.
Meanwhile, as Matloff studies cosmic activity on the
grandest scale, Koch approaches the experimental phase of the theory using
brain-impaired patients. He wants to know if their information responses match
underlying neurochemical foundations of consciousness. He plans to test this by
wiring the brains of mice together to see if their minds merge into a larger
information system.
Panpsychism certainly has critics, as well. In an article
for The Atlantic entitled “Why Panpsychism Is Probably Wrong,” Keith Frankish
writes:
“Panpsychism gives consciousness a curious status. It places
it at the very heart of every physical entity yet threatens to render it
explanatorily idle. For the behavior of subatomic particles and the systems
they constitute promises to be fully explained by physics and the other physical
sciences. Panpsychism offers no distinctive predictions or explanations. It
finds a place for consciousness in the physical world, but that place is a sort
of limbo.”
The quote expresses a general sense that panpsychism
oversimplifies the hard problem of consciousness in the universe, an opinion
many scientists share. However, Matloff, Penrose, and other proponents continue
undertaking the job of venturing outside the margins of accepted science to try
reconciling intractable contradictions and anomalies exposed by quantum theory.
What if Consciousness in the reality is a field? And our brains are just machines supposed to interact with it? I mean ... like Higgs Boson (perhaps the same thing) and particles, so the Consciousness filed an our brains ... it will be cool :)
ReplyDeleteWhat if consciousness comes from the quantum vacuum from which everything emanates... one singular wave that multiplies AD INFINITUM creating all sorts of vibrational levels and point of views, permeating everything with itself, with awareness.
DeleteI kind of figure that it is all one vast mind and we are only one almost infinitesimal expression of it, like a fleeting dream of the universe. We'll all wake up someday.
ReplyDelete