Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society
Volume 2004 (2004), Issue 1, Pages 51-73
doi:10.1155/S102602260440106X
Quantum theory and consciousness: an overview with selected
examples
1Department of Theory and Data Analysis, Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, Freiburg 79098, Germany
2Center for Interdisciplinary Plasma Science, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching 85740, Germany
Received 27 January 2004; Revised 9 February 2004
Copyright © 2004 Harald Atmanspacher. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
It is widely accepted that consciousness or, in other words,
mental activity is in some way correlated to the behavior of the
brain or, in other words, material brain activity. Since quantum
theory is the most fundamental theory of matter that is currently
available, it is a legitimate question to ask whether quantum
theory can help us to understand consciousness. Several
approaches answering this question affirmatively, proposed in
recent decades, will be surveyed. It will be pointed out that
they make different epistemological assumptions, refer to
different neurophysiological levels of description, and adopt
quantum theory in different ways. For each of the approaches
discussed, these imply both problematic and promising features
which will be indicated.