Abstract
Epistemological consequences of quantum nonlocality (entanglement) are discussed under the assumption of a universally valid Schrödinger equation and the absence of hidden variables. This leads inevitably to a many-minds interpretation. The recent foundation of quasi-classical neuronal states in the brain (based on environmental decoherence) permits in principle a formal description of the whole chain of measurement interactions, including the behavior of a conscious observer, without introducing any intermediate classical concepts (for macroscopic “pointer states”) or “observables” (for microscopic particle positions and the like)—thus consistently formalizing Einstein's ganzer langer Weg from the observed to the observer in quantum mechanical terms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
J. von Neumann, Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantentheorie (Berlin, 1932).
H. D. Zeh, Found. Phys. 1, 69 (1970).
J. S. Bell, Physics 1, 195 (1964).
Scient. Amer. 242,Nos. 5 and 8 (1980).
H. D. Zeh, Found. Phys. 9, 803 (1979).
See, e.g., J. M. Davidson and R. J. Davidson, eds., The Psychobiology of Consciousness (Plenum, New York, 1980).
K. Pribram, Ref. [6], p. 61.
H. Vaihinger, Die Philosophie des Als Ob (Berlin, 1911).
W. Pauli's letters to M. Born, in M. Born, Briefwechsel zwischen A. Einstein und M. Born (Nymphenburger, München, 1969).
H. D. Zeh, Epist. Lett. No. 49.0 (1980).
H. Everett, Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 454 (1957).
Ph. Pearle, Phys. Rev. D 13, 857 (1976).
E. Wigner, in L. J. Good, ed., The Scientist Speculates (Heinemann, London, 1962).
D. Bohm, Phys. Rev. 85, 166 (1952). J. S. Bell, Epist. Lett. No. 37.0 (1978); also published in C. Isham, R. Penrose, and D. Sciama, eds., Quantum Gravity 2 (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1981). H. D. Zeh, Found. Phys. Lett. 12, 197 (1999).
H. D. Zeh, in B. d'Espagnat, ed., Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (Enrico Fermi School of Physics IL) (Academic, New York 1972).
H. D. Zeh, Found. Phys. 3, 109 (1973).
D. Giulini, E. Joos, C. Kiefer, J. Kupsch, I.-O. Stamatescu, and H. D. Zeh, Decoherence and the Appearance of a Classical World in Quantum Theory (Springer, Berlin, 1996).
D. Albert and B. Loewer, Synthese 77, 195 (1988).
M. Lockwood, Mind, Brain and the Quantum: The Compound 'I' (Blackwell, Oxford, 1989); Brit. J. Phil. Sci. 47, 159 (1996).
M. J. Donald, Found. Phys. 22, 1111 (1992); 25, 529 (1995).
H. Stapp, in P. Lahti and P. Mittelstaedt, eds., Symposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics (World Scientific, Singapore, 1991); Mind, Matter, and Quantum Mechanics (Springer, Berlin, 1993).
D. J. Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (Oxford University Press, New York, 1996); see also L. Vaidman, e-print quant-ph/0001057.
A. Whitaker, in Ph. Blanchard, D. Giulini, E. Joos, C. Kiefer, I. O. Stamatescu, eds., Decoherence: Theoretical, Experimental, and Conceptual Problems (Springer, Berlin, 2000).
E. Squires, Eur. J. Phys. 8, 171 (1987); Conscious Mind in the Physical World (Hilger, Bristol, 1990).
D. N. Page, e-print quant-ph/9506010.
M. Tegmark, Phys. Rev. E 61, 4194 (2000).
M. Beller, Quantum Dialogue (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1999).
H. D. Zeh, The Physical Basis of the Direction of Time, 3rd edn. (Springer, Berlin, 1999); see also www.time-direction.de
F. London and E. Bauer, La théorie d'observation en mécanique quantique (Hermann, Paris, 1939).
R. Penrose, Shadows of the Mind (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994).
W. Heisenberg, Der Teil und das Canze (Piper, München, 1971).
G. C. Ghirardi, Phys. Lett. A 262, 1 (1999).
M. Arndt et al., Nature 401, 680 (1999).
A. R. Damasio, The Feeling of What Happens (Harcourt & Brace, New York, 1999).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zeh, H.D. THE PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUS OBSERVATION IN QUANTUM MECHANICAL DESCRIPTION. Found Phys Lett 13, 221–233 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007895803485
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007895803485