Is Quantum Mechanics Relevant To strongUnderstandingstrong Consciousness.pdfVIP

Is Quantum Mechanics Relevant To Understanding Consciousness? A Review of Shadows of the Mind by Roger Penrose Stanley A. Klein Department of Vision Sciences University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 USA klein@ Copyright (c) Stanley Klein 1995 PSYCHE, 2(3), April 1995 .au/v2/psyche-2-03-klein.html KEYWORDS: consciousness, duality, Libet, metaphysics, Penrose, quantum mechanics, reductionism. REVIEW OF: Roger Penrose (1994) Shadows of the Mind. New York: Oxford University Press. 457 pp. Price: $US 25 hbk. ISBN 0-19-853978- 9. 1. Introduction 1.1 The present essay explores three issues raised by Penrose in Shadows of the Mind (abbreviated Shadows from here on): (1) is classical (non-quantum) science incapable of understanding brain operation?; (2) are long-range quantum effects able to produce measurable changes in neural activity?; (3) why have so many researchers proposed a strong connection between quantum mechanics and consciousness? In connection with this third topic, I will argue that although Penrose is probably wrong about the physics of quantum mechanics being relevant to the (third person) neural correlates of awareness, the metaphysics of quantum mechanics may be essential to understanding the (first person) subjective nature of consciousness. In Penroses approach these two aspects become inseparably intertwined, adding confusion to an already murky area. 2. The Presumed Deficiencies Of Classical Mechanics 2.1 The first half (Part I) of Shadows, titled Why We Need New Physics to Understand the Mind clarifies Penroses belief that classical, algorithmic neural dynamics is insufficient for understanding the operation of the brain. I will not examine his main argument, based on Gödels theorem, here, as it has been widely discussed elsewhere. In