Description

Orthodox Copenhagen quantum theory renounces the quest to understand
the reality in which we are imbedded, and settles for practical rules describing
connections between our observations. Many physicist have regarded this
renunciation of our effort to describe nature herself as premature, and John
von Neumann reformulated quantum theory as a theory of an evolving objective
universe interacting with human consciousness. This interaction is
associated both in Copenhagen quantum theory and in von Neumann quantum
theory with a sudden change that brings the objective physical state of
a system in line with a subjectively felt psychical reality. The objective physical
state is thereby converted from a material substrate to an informational
and dispositional substrate that carries both the information incorporated
into it by the psychical realities, and certain dispositions for the occurrence
of future psychical realities. The present work examines and proposes solutions to two problems that have appeared to block the development of this
conception of nature. The first problem is how to reconcile this theory with
the principles of relativistic quantum field theory; the second problem is to
understand whether, strictly within quantum theory, a person’s mind can
affect the activities of his brain, and if so how. Solving the first problem
involves resolving a certain nonlocality question. The proposed solution to
the second problem is based on a postulated connection between effort, attention,
and the quantum Zeno effect. This solution explains on the basis of
quantum physics a large amount of heretofore unexplained data amassed by
psychologists.