The Self-Aware Universe
by Amit Goswami
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Book Summary Information
Author: Amit GoswamiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-03-21
ISBN: 0874777984
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Tarcher
Book Reviews of The Self-Aware Universe
Book Review: A journey through consciousness and physical reality
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a conscious effort by the author to provide a link between the physical reality and consciousness. The first half of the book presents conceptual part of quantum physics in which he discusses the uniqueness of quantum world and how it differs from classical reality. The introduction to quantum physics is very well presented. The second half of the book discusses as how consciousness figures in the depiction of reality, and in the process, he proposes a new and alternative interpretation of idealistic monism to explain quantum phenomenon. He is best known for his role as a commentator in the 2004 movie "What the bleep do we know?" starring Marlee Matlin (1).
It is well known that quantum reality does not reconcile with classical reality. Classical reality assumes matter (electrons, atoms, molecules, living species, planets, stars, and galaxies) are real and exist independent of observers or the method we employ to observe them; thus, classical physics is dominated by this objectivity. Secondly determinism; the idea that it is possible to predict completely the motion of all material objects if initial conditions such as position and velocity are known. Thirdly, the cause leading to the effect in the cause-effect relationship of classical reality is due to certainty that an action lead to certain effect. In quantum physics the behavior of quantum objects is probabilis¬tic and strict cause-effect description of the behavior of a single object is impossible. Fourthly, the principle of locality is that all material influences occurring in spacetime must be local, and the information can travel in space at a finite velocity, and not faster than the speed of light. The assumption of locality that all inter¬actions between material-objects are mediated via local signals is crucial to the materialistic view that objects exist independently and separately. Fifthly, materialism depicts that matter and energy are fundamental and all other phenomenon are secondary. The epiphenomenalism is a principle in which all mental phenomenons are explained as secondary to matter by suitable reduction to antecedent physical conditions. Thus consciousness is assumed by the objectivity of science to be a secondary, a part of living being, perhaps an advanced living species. The subject and objects in classical thought are two different things, and God and consciousness do not appear in any mathematical formula, but consciousness appears in physical interpretation of reality. In quantum physics the collapse of wave function upon observation by a conscious observer mixes subject and object, and there is no distinction between the two. Consciousness is without experiences and it is devoid of an object or a subject
The strangeness of quantum world may be summarized as follows; a quantum object can be at more than one place at the same time because of its wave property, and it cannot manifest in classical spacetime reality until we observe it as a matter (wave function collapse). A quantum object possesses both wave and particle (matter) nature but they are complementary properties. Quantum uncertainty prevents the momentum and the position to be determined precisely because of Heisenberg uncertainty principle. This is not measurement problem but a quantum physical problem since it is mathematically proved that the product of the position and the momentum is equal to or greater than Planck's constant. A quantum object ceases to exist here and simultaneously appears over there by quantum jumps and we cannot say it went through intervening space. A manifestation of one quantum object caused by our observation simultaneously influences its correlated twin object, no matter how far apart they are in the universe, by quantum entanglement. The behavior of quantum objects is probabilis¬tic and strict cause-effect description of the behavior of a single object is impossible. Instead, we have statistical cause and statistical effect when talking about a large group of particles. To understand quantum reality in the classical world physicists use a schema of interpretation; this depends on the philosophy or school of thought. Copenhagen interpretation postulated largely by Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and Max Born is commonly used.
The author claims that there is a monistic alternative to material realism where mind and matter are integral part of one reality, but reality is not based on matter alone. He observes that the existence of objective reality independent of consciousness is absurd and believes that the universe is "self-aware" and that it is consciousness itself that creates the physical world. It is outside of spacetime, non-local, all pervading and All-in-One unitary being. It is the consciousness that is the ultimate reality; the immanent and transcendent are within consciousness He attempts to convince the reader that monistic idealism provides a paradox-free interpretation of quantum physics that is logical, coherent, and offers explanation for mental phenomenon such as; self-consciousness, free-will, creativity and extrasensory perception, and finally provide a role for spiritual side of existence. In his discussion about artificial intelligence he questions how mind can be treated like a machine and free will as an illusion. Roger Penrose argues that computer like algorithmic reasoning is insufficient for the discovery of physical and mathematical (theorems) laws. Then where does mathematics come from if we operate like a computer? Mathematical truth is not ascertained by mere use of an algorithm (a systematic procedure which is strictly a logic based approach) for solving a problem. Consciousness is required to comprehend the mathematical argument to be convinced of its validity, and elucidate the emerging physical concepts. Therefore consciousness must exist prior to algorithm and mathematics.
To explain the role of consciousness quantum physics, he cites von Neumann's work; the state of a quantum system (here it is mind) undergoes change in two separate ways. The first is a continuous change in which it spreads as a wave, becoming a coherent superposition of all the potential states allowed by the situation. Each potential state has a certain statistical weight given by its probability wave ampli¬tude. A measurement introduces a second discontinuous change in the state, and the state of superposition that exists in multifaceted potentia is reduced to one actualized facet. Some physicists view the selection process is random, but according to the idealist interpretation, it is consciousness that chooses the outcome. The intervention of the nonlocal consciousness collapses the probability cloud of a quantum state. Since this outcome is a conscious experience, we choose our conscious experiences yet remain unconscious of the underlying process. It is this unconsciousness that leads to the illusory separateness, the identity with the separate "I" of self¬-reference (rather than the "we" of one consciousness). The book provides significant number of references to other works such as; Vedanta (Hindu philosophy), Buddhist and Western philosophical thoughts and how they are related to his monistic interpretation. This book is highly recommended.
1. What the Bleep Do We Know!?
2. What Is Life?: with "Mind and Matter" and "Autobiographical Sketches"
3. Schrödinger: Life and Thought
4. Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science
5. Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the Quantum Mysteries Tag: Author of In Search of Schrod. Cat
Summary of The Self-Aware Universe
Consciousness, not matter, is the ground of all existence, declares University of Oregon physicist Goswami, echoing the mystic sages of his native India. He holds that the universe is self-aware, and that consciousness creates the physical world.Parenting & Families Books
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