Tag Archives: Hameroff

A different kind of panpsychism

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“Panpsychism is the view that mentality is fundamental and ubiquitous in the natural world.”[1]

The panpsychism of physical entities

Panpsychism asserts that mind, i.e., mentality and consciousness, is a fundamental property of all physical existence. It holds that all physical entities, even rocks and atoms, have some level of micro-mentality. It does not hold that all physical entities have human-like consciousness, but it “entails that at least some kinds of micro-level entities have mentality, and that instances of those kinds are found in all things throughout the material universe.”[2]

Panpsychism does not explain how physical entities acquire consciousness, but rather posits that mentality is an inherent quality of matter itself. At its essence, panpsychism overcomes the problem of mind-body dualism by unifying mind and body in one physical substance and asserting that some level of mentality is a fundamental property of physical existence. Consequently, rather than a rare occurrence among advanced species, consciousness is ubiquitous and exists everywhere in the universe where matter exists.

The panpsychism of quantum state reduction

We have hypothesized that consciousness is associated with quantum state reduction rather than with matter itself. If that is so, then consciousness is associated with a physical process, not directly with physical entities themselves. It is not an inherent quality of all matter, but instead arises when matter undergoes a specific physical process. That physical process is the common constituent element and foundation of consciousness.

Quantum state reduction (aka wave function collapse or state vector reduction) is the process of transforming the complex-number-weighted amplitudes of quantum wave functions at the micro level into real-number probabilities and unique outcomes in the macro level classical world. The process occurs in response to interaction between the macrocosmic classical world and the microcosmic quantum world, resulting in the multiple superposed possibilities of the quantum state resolving into one outcome from a range of alternatives with different probabilities.

Quantum reduction occurs constantly—in every nanosecond of existence—everywhere in the material universe. As a process for resolving probabilities into unique outcomes in the macrocosmic world, it is fundamental and ubiquitous and has been going on since at least the Big Bang. Without quantum reduction, there is no macrocosm; there is only the microcosm of quantum superposition where all possibilities remain open and where there are no unique outcomes, no unique moments in history, and therefore no time as we experience it.

We have hypothesized that the quantum process of resolving probabilities into outcomes is the physical origin of consciousness in the universe. That suggests a form of panpsychism in which consciousness and mentality remain fundamental and ubiquitous, but not in the sense of being an attribute of all matter. Instead, consciousness arises from a process that is fundamental and ubiquitous, a process underlying all macrocosmic reality.

Implications of panpsychism based on quantum reduction

First, this variation on panpsychism explains “how” consciousness is associated with micro-level events and entities. As usually presented, panpsychism asserts that mentality is associated with all matter, but does not assert a mechanism for explaining the association. By contrast, quantum state reduction explains how consciousness arises in macrocosmic entities based on fundamental quantum dynamics. In other words, it provides not only a theory of consciousness as an intrinsic quality of matter, but also a specific mechanism for how matter acquires consciousness.

Second, quantum state reduction gives panpsychism a physical foundation with profound philosophical meaning. At a purely physical level quantum reduction is the process of resolving quantum probabilities into unique outcomes. It is a physical mechanism enabling a single choice among a range of quantum alternatives. It transforms reality from an abstract calculation of all possibilities into a tangible world in which only one possibility occurs. The resulting string of selected alternatives becomes time and reality as we know it. It is difficult to imagine a physically richer soil for cultivation of philosophies of time, free will, and consciousness.

Third, the theory matches our intuitive understanding of consciousness as an abstraction, not a thing. Life is temporary, a phenomenon which we experience for a while before we die. Consciousness is how we experience it. We do not think of consciousness as a material thing. Even when we believe that consciousness is eternal, as in spirit or soul, we conceive of that eternal “thing” as separate from our physical existence, something spiritual or intangible. Thinking of consciousness as founded on a process is closer to that intuitive conception. Even if we recognize that all substance is built on process and interaction, consciousness still seems more process than substance, not permanent even in the way that matter is seemingly permanent.

Finally, panpsychism based on quantum reduction aligns with current theories on quantum consciousness and the search for quantum interaction in the brain. There is a developing body of research around the possibility of quantum interactions in biological structures such as neurons and brain cells. The Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR) theory of Penrose and Hameroff suggests that the process of quantum state reduction results in events of proto-consciousness that are the rudimentary components of more advanced forms of consciousness ultimately orchestrated through the evolution of complex brain function.[3] These events of proto-consciousness are both fundamental and ubiquitous in the macrocosmic world. The theory is consistent with a form of panpsychism based on quantum state reduction. It is also consistent with the view that we should not expect to find consciousness based on quantum interaction only in neurons or brain cells. Consciousness is more basic than that. In at least a rudimentary form, it is fundamental to the core process of quantum state reduction that occurs constantly in the macrocosmic universe; it is everything everywhere all at once.[4] It may be true that complex neural interactions occur as a result of additional quantum interactions in the brain, which may explain the level of orchestrated complexity found in human consciousness. But quantum interactions in brain cells are not a requirement for the existence of raw consciousness in the universe.

The one and the many

Since at least the Greeks and likely long before, humans have sought to reconcile the extreme diversity of existence with the concept of unity in the universe. We look for the one reality that underlies the divergent world. We search for the single theory, the single entity, the universal consciousness. Is it possible that this search finds its roots in the reality of quantum existence?

We and all other physical things exist in a reality founded on a quantum world of superpositioned possibilities, a world that somehow transforms into a macrocosm of unique moments in time. It is a macrocosm of one outcome founded on a microcosm of many, one possibility arising from all possibilities in superposition. Beneath the surface of the world of one lies the world of the many, where all possibilities still exist.

Or is reality just the opposite? Is the entangled world of superpositioned possibilities the true world of universal unity, the single world without distinction and differentiation? Is our world of infinite unique outcomes the world of diversity, where the many overwhelms and obscures the one, the divided world from which we search for the ultimate unity, the ultimate theory, the ultimate single universal consciousness?

[1] Goff, Seager, and Allen-Hermanson (2022), Introduction.

[2] Goff, Seager, and Allen-Hermanson (2022), Section 2.1.

[3] See Hameroff and Penrose (2014).

[4] With apologies and attribution to the 2023 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Process is all!

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“Men must endure their going hence, even as their coming hither: Ripeness is all.” William Shakespeare, King Lear (Act 5, Scene 2)

“Life is not a substance, like water or rock; it’s a process, like fire or a wave crashing on the shore. It’s a process that begins, lasts for a while, and ultimately ends.” Carroll (2016), p. 2.

Existence is process

A foundational premise of this blog is that we humans have learned an important thing or two about our universe. One of those important things is that the universe is about process, not substance.

We often think of physical reality as founded on fundamental particles and laws that govern the motion of those particles. Process, on the other hand, is something intangible that occurs in time. It begins and then ends, which is different from concrete stuff like water or rock. But we have learned that beneath the surface of that supposed tangible reality of substance, is a deeper reality in which all existence is intangible, consisting of process, not substance.

The underlying truth is that we live in a universe of events and interactions, more than a universe of irreducible things and particles.[1] Water and rock, not to mention mountains and planets, are more accurately described as slow processes rather than permanent substances. All substances and particles exist in a state of constant change. They represent knots of energy in fields of process and interaction. Everything we know is process. It is what the universe is.

So yes, life is not a substance. Nor is anything else in the universe. Process, not substance, is the constituent element of the universe. It is the core of reality.

The most fundamental “thing” in the universe is process

Beneath all the processes familiar to us is one process that is the foundation of all others—the quantum wave function. To the best of our knowledge, the quantum wave function is the most fundamental “thing” in the universe. And that fundamental thing is a process, not a thing at all.[2]  

It is the process that defines the quantum universe, a world of infinite possibilities existing simultaneously across the plane of quantum reality, a world where all things are possible because all outcomes and experiences exist in superposition with each other.

That one process also creates the great illusion in which we live. The wave function both generates a world of all possibilities and provides a mechanism for transforming those possibilities into the unique events that we experience in the macrocosmic world.

Process drives the engine of time

Quantum state reduction—the process of reducing all those possibilities into actual results—produces the stream of outcomes that we know as history. Somehow the wave function transforms a set of complex-number-weighted alternatives into real-number probabilities, enabling those probabilities to play out in the macrocosm and resolve into a stream of unique outcomes. It makes each successive moment uniquely different from the last. It is how the universe rolls the dice, creating time and history as each roll brings one unique moment after another.

Process may be the origin of consciousness

This process of resolving probabilities into outcomes underlies the entire macrocosmic universe. It is also the most fundamental characteristic of consciousness. Whether we call it “free will” or simply engineered decision-making, humans and other conscious entities have the apparent ability to make choices among a range of possibilities. The choices are not unconstrained; they are limited by the physical probabilities attached to each possible outcome, the decision-making capabilities of each entity, and the laws of physics. The probabilities are defined by the wave function for the moment and context in which the choice is made. Each choice then helps define the probabilities inherent in the wave function of the next moment, which results in another choice. The process of consciousness is a living dramatization of quantum state reduction.

We don’t know yet how the physics of quantum state reduction enables consciousness. There may be quantum interaction in the brains or nervous systems of conscious entities.[3] Biological processes may be constrained by deterministic necessity to advance the universe from one nanosecond to the next with quantum state reduction. The whole macrocosm, including consciousness, may be the result of a constant process of subatomic state reduction that materializes the stage on which history plays out.

Quantum state reduction and its connection to consciousness are not fully explained by today’s physics. When the physics is known, however, it may be that the process of quantum state reduction is the origin of the process of consciousness in the universe.

All conscious entities are connected to that fundamental process

Human consciousness, like human life, is not permanent in the form in which we experience it. Our individual consciousness is time-based and time-limited; as far as we know, we experience unique consciousness only while the components of consciousness that comprise our existence are part of a living person. We are process, not substance.

As process, however, we are intimately connected to the process at the core of history and time, the process that creates the macrocosmic illusion in which we live. We are participants in that process. We help define the universe through the process of resolving probabilities into unique outcomes. It is what we do and what we are.

Is that one process also the root of connected consciousness?

If conscious entities inherit consciousness from the primary process of quantum state reduction, does that physical process also connect forms of consciousness? Is the physical foundation for connected consciousness located in quantum interaction that both germinates the process of consciousness and connects all conscious entities across the universe? Is quantum state reduction the raw material of connected consciousness?

[1] See e.g., Rovelli (2017), pp. 97-99, “The world is not a collection of things, it is a collection of events.”

[2] See Professor Carroll again. “Not only does the deepest layer of reality not consist of things like ‘oceans’ and ‘mountains’; it doesn’t even consist of things like ‘electrons’ and ‘photons’. It’s just the quantum wave function. Everything else is a convenient way of talking.” Carroll (2016), p. 171

[3] Roger Penrose argues that human understanding includes a fundamental non-computable component. In his view, the source of that non-computability is likely to be found in quantum state reduction, which he believes must occur in the subatomic workings of the human brain. Penrose (1994), pp. 348-388. For a full review of the fascinating Orch OR theory of quantum consciousness developed by Penrose and Stuart Hameroff, see Hameroff and Penrose (2014).

Consciousness and the quantum wave function

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There is a longstanding interpretation of quantum physics in which a measurement conducted by an observer has the mysterious ability to “collapse” a probability wave function into a single measurement result. Whether this is a correct interpretation of quantum physics or whether the consciousness of the observer plays a role here is not a matter of agreement among physicists and philosophers. However, what does seem clear is that some form of interaction between the subatomic quantum world and the macroscopic classical world results in the probability distribution of a quantum wave function resolving into one unique, observable result. What is also clear is that a conscious observer, e.g., a scientist running an experiment in a lab, has the ability to produce an interaction that will resolve a quantum wave function into a unique measurement outcome.

Can a conscious observer collapse the wave function? Yes.

The result has been observed empirically, and it can be reproduced in a lab. Wave function collapse (also called state-vector reduction or quantum state reduction) is an established behavior of the quantum wave function when interacting with the macroscopic world through a conscious observer.

Is human consciousness required to collapse the wave function? Probably not.

The macroscopic universe and quantum state reduction have been around for 13.8 billion years; our earliest human ancestors arrived a mere 7 million years ago. Given these timeframes, it is unlikely that a human observer is required to collapse the wave function.

Quantum state reduction resolves quantum probabilities into unique outcomes. It transforms an array of co-existing possibilities with different probability amplitudes into a unique outcome, a distinct moment in time. The universe has managed this process without us for billions of years.

The macroscopic universe is manifestly not a place of co-existing possibilities in superposition. It is a place of actualities and events comprising macrocosmic history—the universe exploded; galaxies were born; stars and star systems evolved; we and perhaps others like us came into existence. All of these events occurred in a particular way because of a constant process of wave function collapse and transformation.

What does that tell us? It tells us that, in addition to physicists in a lab, there are other things or processes in the universe with the capacity to perform the magic.

The wave function has been performing the magic for billions of years

It is an empirical reality that some form of interaction between the macroscopic classical world and the microscopic quantum world results in quantum state reduction. This process has been going on since at least the Big Bang, and we have hypothesized that it serves as the underlying engine of time. Somehow the transformation from microcosmic quantum superposition into macrocosmic unique reality takes place.

We don’t have a full understanding of how this process happens. We don’t know if macroscopic interaction truly “collapses” the wave function or if what we describe as “collapse” is the result of some other process in the universe, such as the splitting of reality into “many worlds” in which all possibilities play out. We know only that there exists a process in the universe whereby interaction between the macrocosmic and quantum worlds causes probabilities to become outcomes, producing a stream of moments that we know as time and history. This process is at the core of macrocosmic existence. It is what the universe does.

The ability of the universe to perform this process without the interference of humans is not a matter of reasonable scientific doubt. The open question is not whether human consciousness is required for quantum state reduction. Clearly it is not. The real question is whether this universal process is required for consciousness.

Is quantum state reduction required for consciousness?

In the broad sense, the answer to this question must be yes. The macrocosmic universe as we know it would not exist without quantum state reduction, so we humans and human consciousness also would not exist.

However, does consciousness require quantum state reduction in a more functional sense as well? Does the process of consciousness require quantum interaction either at the neuron or subatomic level inside our brains? Could there be a continuing process of quantum state reduction occurring in the brain that enables the distinctive, noncomputable qualities of consciousness?[1]

Is the wave function the origin of consciousness?

The jury is still out on whether quantum interaction plays a role in the physical functioning of the human brain. But perhaps the answer is simpler than that. Could there be a more ontological connection between the universal process of quantum state reduction and the process of consciousness? Does the ability of a conscious observer to perform quantum state reduction in a lab suggest a taxonomical connection?

The process of resolving probabilities into outcomes is perhaps the most fundamental process in the universe. Is it also the most essential attribute of consciousness? At a physical level, is human consciousness a species or instantiation of the universal process of resolving probabilities into outcomes?[2]

Is process consciousness?

Quantum state reduction occurs every nanosecond in the macrocosmic universe. We exist because of it. We are also part of it. Our human consciousness is one of many processes in the universe that resolve probabilities into outcomes. We are built as decision-making entities to survive through the choices we make and the actions we take. Does the process of making choices perform the equivalent of quantum state reduction? Do our choices resolve probabilities into outcomes that then shape more probabilities and more outcomes? Is the process of consciousness part of a more universal process of becoming that has its roots in the microscopic quantum world?

If that is so, can consciousness be generalized to comprise any process that constitutes a resolution of the wave function into an outcome? Is that the abstract, most generalized definition of consciousness?

Is the process of quantum state reduction itself the functional and ontological equivalent of consciousness?

[1] Physicist and mathematician Roger Penrose and neuroscientist Stuart Hameroff have developed an ingenious theory called Orchestrated Objective Reduction (or Orch OR), which builds on Penrose’s theories around the objective nature of quantum state reduction to construct a model of brain behavior and the development of consciousness based on quantum interactions. For a review of the current status of the theory and related empirical research, see Hameroff and Penrose (2014). For a detailed discussion of possible quantum interaction in the brain and non-algorithmic, noncomputable ingredients in thought and consciousness, see Penrose (1989), pp. 516-581, and Penrose (1994).

[2] Penrose and Hameroff argue that the objective process of quantum state reduction (Objective Reduction or OR) results in moments of proto-consciousness in the universe. These events are hypothesized to have “rudimentary subjective experience, which is undifferentiated and lacking in cognition”, but which serve as raw materials that can be orchestrated through evolution of more complex brain interactions to create full-blown consciousness. Hameroff and Penrose (2014), p. 72.