Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T00:37:54.589Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 31 - Quantum approaches to consciousness

from Part III - Quantum approaches to consciousness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Philip David Zelazo
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Morris Moscovitch
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Evan Thompson
Affiliation:
University of York
Get access

Summary

Quantum approaches to consciousness are sometimes said to be motivated simply by the idea that quantum theory is a mystery and consciousness is a mystery, so perhaps the two are related. The magnitude of the difference between the quantum and classical conceptions of the connection between mind and brain can scarcely be exaggerated. This chapter sketches out the transition from the classical physics conception of reality to von Neumann's application of the principles of quantum physics to our conscious brains. Classical physics arose from the theoretical effort of Isaac Newton to account for the findings of Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei. The core idea of the quantum approach is the seminal discovery by Werner Heisenberg that the classical model of a physical system can be considered to be an approximation to a quantum version of that model.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×