The Participating Mind in the Quantum Universe

Authors

Menas Kafatos, Chapman UniversityFollow
Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

The Orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics, which followed the Copenhagen Interpretation but was enhanced by primarily Werner Heisenberg and John von Neumann into a fully developed theory, brought in, among others, the role of measurement, available choices and response of the quantum system. It is, more consistent and clear than other interpretations of quantum mechanics as it provides account of the interactions of observers with the external world. As such, the Orthodox interpretation does a lot more than just account for physical interactions in the atomic world, which was the original goal of quantum mechanics in the early part of the twentieth century. In this article we present several issues that may have been answered or need further development, such as measurement and observation, what is Nature and who the observer is. Extending Orthodox quantum mechanics, leading to universal non-dual Awareness may provide a consistent and integrated view of reality and is consistent with advances in mathematical theory. An issue of paramount importance is what are the philosophical underpinnings or ontological view of the quantum nature of the universe and the role of human minds, observations and choices.

Comments

This article was originally published in Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, volume 14, issue 1, in 2018.

Recommended Citation

Kafatos, M.C. (2018), “The Participating Mind in the Quantum Universe”, Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, vol. 14, no. 1: 40-55.

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.