Mindful Universe

This book offers an accessible treatment of mind versus matter. It discusses the ethical consequences of the mind versus matter debate, and describes how quantum mechanics can radically change our understanding of the connection between mind and brain.

The classical mechanistic idea of nature that prevailed in science during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was an essentially mindless conception: the physically described aspects of nature were asserted to be completely determined by prior physically described aspects alone, with our conscious experiences entering only passively. During the twentieth century the classical concepts were found to be inadequate. In the new theory, quantum mechanics, our conscious experiences enter into the dynamics in specified ways not fixed by the physically described aspects alone. Consequences of this radical change in our understanding of the connection between mind and brain are described. This second edition contains two new chapters investigating the role of quantum phenomena in the problem of free will and in the placebo effect.

Accessible treatment of mind versus matter Discusses the ethical consequences of the mind-versus-matter debate Describes how quantum mechanics can radically change our understanding of the connection between mind and brain New edition discusses the possible role of Quantum Mechanics in Free Will and in the Placebo Effect Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Auteur
Author of over three hundred research papers on the mathematical, physical, and philosophical foundations of quantum mechanics, and a Springer book 'Mind, matter, and quantum mechanics'. Worked personally with W. Heisenberg, W. Pauli, and J.A. Wheeler on these issues. Invited author of entries about quantum theories consciousness in several currently about to appear encyclopedias. Invited plenary speaker at numerous international conferences. For book cover: Henry Stapp has spent his entire career working in frontier areas of theoretical physics. After completing his thesis work under Nobel Laureates Emilio Segré and Owen Chamberlain, he joined Wolfgang Pauli to tackle foundational issues. After Pauli's early death, he turned to von Neumann's ideas about the mathematical foundations of quantum theory. The essay 'Mind, Matter and Quantum Mechanics', that developed out of this work eventually evolved into Stapp's classic book bearing the same title. His deep interest in the quantum measurement problem led him to pursue extensive work pertaining to the influence of our conscious thoughts on physical processes occurring in our brains. The understandings achieved in this work have been described in many technical articles and now, in more accessible prose, in the present book.

Contenu
Preface to the First Edition.- Preface to the Second edition.- Science Consciousness and Human Values.- Human Knowledge as the Foundation Science.- Actions, Knowledge, and Information.- Nerve Terminals and the Need to Use Quantum Theory.- Templates for Action.- The Physical Effectiveness of Conscious Will and the Quantum Zeno Effect.- Support from Contemporary Psychology.- Application to Neuropsychology.- Roger Penrose's Theory and Quantum Decoherence.- Non-Orthodox Versions of Quantum Theory.- The Basis Problem in Many-Worlds Theories.- Despised Dualism.- Whiteheadian Quantum Ontology.- Interview.- Consciousness and the Anthropic Questions.- Impact of Quantum Mechanics on Human Values.- Placebo: A Clinically Significant Quantum Effect.- Science-Based Discussion of Free Will.- A.Gazzaniga's The Ethical Brain.- B.Von Neumann: Knowledge, Information, and Entropy.- C. Wigner's Friend and Consdciousness in Quantum Theory.- D. Orthodox Interpretation and the Mind-Brain Connection.- E. Locality in Physics.- F. Einstein Locality and Spooky Action at a Distance.- G. Nonlocality in the Quantum World.- References.- Index.