The Physics of Consciousness: The Quantum Mind and the Meaning of Life

by Evan Harris Walker

Book Overview

For decades, neuroscientists, psychologists, and an army of brain researchers have been struggling, in vain, to explain the phenomenon of consciousness. Now there is a clear trail to the answer, and it leads through the dense jungle of quantum physics, Zen, and subjective experience, and arrives at an unexpected destination. In this tour-de-force of scientific investigation, Evan Harris Walker shows how the operation of bizarre yet actual properties...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738204366
• ISBN13: 9780738204369
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Support for the Physics of Consciousness

Walker has made an important contribution to our scientific understanding of reality. There is much evidence for consciousness being the fundamental reality. I want to rebut some of the negative comments by Tucker and reviewer 13, and provide some linguistic clarification.Roy Frieden ("Physics from Fisher Information", Cambridge U. Press,1998) shows that all physical theory is statistically based, resulting from observation that contains noise or fluctuations. He derives the physical laws from the principle of minimum (Fisher) information transfer during the observation process. I have pointed out that the combination of predictability and uncertainty, required for (non-statistical) willed actions, is enabled (via minimum constraint) by the minimum Fisher information requirement. See my APS E-Print (aps1999aug02_001) for a detailed discussion. However, observation is just a euphamism for consciousness. The observation of a physical phenomenon, or measurement of a physical variable, depends on both passive and active aspects of human consciousness. The passive aspect is an awareness and (Platonic) understanding of possible actions. The active aspect is the free will to take willed actions which achieve the observation or measurement. The necessity of having a statistical basis for the physical laws and of interpreting dynamic behavior in the mathematical symbols of the description are, separately, strong evidence for consciousness being the fundamental reality. We perceive a dynamic, or temporarily-changing, world of 3 extended spatial dimensions. We do not perceive a space-time world of 4 extended dimensions. Roger Penrose ("Shadows of the Mind") has pointed out that the 4-dimensional space-time world of our mathematical descriptions can only be understood as dynamic because, through our conscious experience, we can associate a dynamic behavior with the mathematical symbols. The necessity of inserting that interpretation into the descriptions is strong evidence for consciousness being the fundamental reality. A one-world view, with consciousness as the fundamental (shared) reality, implies that there is a Universal Mind or Consciousness whose manifestations include the objective world. That is what (in his 10/2/00 comments)creates Tucker's "quantum mechanical universe". See Walker's final chapter. A careful evaluation of this one-world view depends on considering the different classes of manifestations (thoughts)of individual (human) minds. This is done in my APS E-Print(aps1998jun09_001),entitled "Consciousness and Dynamic Reality". Tucker also concludes (in his 8/21/00 comments) that Walker is rejecting "objectivity". This depends on what we mean by objective. Scientists (including me)have sometimes defined an objective description as one that is self-independent. This definition can be ambigious, particularly for those of who accept consciousness as a fundamental, shared reality. A dictionary definition of objective is

Beautiful, Ingenious Book

This is incredibly nice work of one of the most prominent philosophers of our time. Evan Harris Walker writes about the connection between such complex subjects as Consciousness, Meaning of Life, God and Quantum Physics but he does it in simple and understandable manner. This is truly a new religion of 21st Century - a religion of common sense. This is a religion for most of modern nonbelievers, who cannot accept God in traditional sense because of their rational scientific minds, but who constantly think about meaning of life. If we want to advance on our eternal journey of progress with the same speed as before then there is no other way than investigating the phenomenon of God from scientific point of view. Unless we understand the physics of what people for centuries meant by word God we just cannot proceed further. The meaning of this book is difficult to overestimate. Evan Harris Walker using his powerful emotional attitude and strict scientific approach created an invaluable information source, which through the minds of the individual readers makes our Global Consciousness - Our Global Collective Mind think about these issues more effectively, analyze them and find long-awaited answers to such eternal questions as What is God?, How to Connect to God?, etc. A Must Read!