A higher level cannot be described from a lower level. — ArielAssante
Do you also have a short abstract of the article? — magritte
Unfortunately, your articles are way over my head. So, I'm not able to evaluate their validity. But I have seen a variety of attempts by physicists to show neuroscientists how Physics can explain Consciousness. For example, British physicist Johnjoe McFadden "posits that consciousness is in fact the brain's energy field". His theory seems to be a physicist's version of Tononi's Integrated Information theory. Could your "Coherence Field" be related to those other theories, in that the key feature is Holistic unification or integration (cooperation ; working together) of independent elements, such as neurons? :smile:my coherence field theory to neuroscience for your entertainment — Enrique
Yes, all professions create languages to attain “heights” or as you say create ‘segregation from the uninitiated’. Language, however, is not pertinent because ‘what is’ on the “higher” “level” is not translatable into language. — ArielAssante
For example, British physicist Johnjoe McFadden "posits that consciousness is in fact the brain's energy field". His theory seems to be a physicist's version of Tononi's Integrated Information theory. Could your "Coherence Field" be related to those other theories, in that the key feature is Holistic unification or integration (cooperation ; working together) of independent elements, such as neurons? — Gnomon
The people had never stopped talking. — ArielAssante
In my thesis, EnFormAction (generic information) is simply the causal-power-to-enform : to cause isolated unrelated things to cohere into a functional unity : a recognizable purposeful Form. One kind of "functional unity" is Consciousness, which is the functional (purposeful output) of integrated (coherent) neurons. Neurons themselves are merely channels (conduits) for energy*1. But, by working together as a goal-directed system, those neurons, and other supporting structures, become Sentient.I'm not an adherent of the "existence is fundamentally information" framework, but I think it might become possible to scientifically test your hypothesis that the universe is an integrated consciousness once we comprehend the physics of consciousness' basic building blocks. — Enrique
I can't speak for Enrique. but his Coherence Theory seems to be more Holistic than Reductive. Admittedly, that is more of a philosophical approach than scientific, but he proposes to explain his thesis in terms of physical processes, rather than spiritual. The problem with Holistic concepts is that you have to swallow it whole. But if you list the particular ingredients of the red pill, at least you can know that you are getting some nutrients, and not just a sugar pill. :joke:Every scientific explanation is an exercise in reductionism, are we to assume that consciousness can be reduced? what if it cannot be? — Sherlock Holmes
Can we claim to understand something that cannot be reduced? This is really a comment about the interplay of science and epistemology. But if consciousness cannot be reduced then it cannot be explained (in the scientific sense) and so perhaps we should consider this. — Sherlock Holmes
But if you list the particular ingredients of the red pill, at least you can know that you are getting some nutrients, and not just a sugar pill. — Gnomon
Some have expressed concern about using Reductive methods to study a Holistic phenomenon like Consciousness. But I notice that you refer to your CFT as a "coherent field" theory. Which indicates that you recognize that examining individual particles as Things will not reveal much about the Systems and Processes they contribute to. For example, an electron is sometimes treated as-if it's an isolated particle of solid Matter, when it is actually more like an integrated drop in the ocean of an electromagnetic field. Consequently, studying a drop of salty water will not tell you much about the ocean as a whole. That's why the original Reductive methods of empirical Science have lately made room for the Holistic methods of Systems Theory.A Coherence Field Theory of Physics and Consciousness . . . .
I think it's apparent that consciousness can be profoundly reduced to physical processes, but what these processes are at base, presuming a foundation even exists, is not known. — Enrique
a reductive microscopic view will not yield the secret to Sentient Matter. Hence, Consciousness must be studied in vivo, not in vitro. Neuroscientists have "profoundly reduced" Consciousness to physical neural processes (physiology, not psychology), but have not yet reached the foundation of a knowing Mind. — Gnomon
I don't have the technical qualifications to follow your argument for a "Coherence Field". But in my own layman's musings, I have developed a philosophical worldview that seems to be amenable to your more scientific theory. My own thesis is coming from a different direction, but arrived at a similar conclusion.It is perhaps more accurate to consider light and atoms as part of a larger energy field that is fundamentally nonelectromagnetic, through which coherent energy can in many cases flow without being restricted to electromagnetism's speed limits and characteristic shieldings of force. Phenomena of consciousness seem to necessitate that this is the case, but macroscopic coherence among electromagnetically homogeneous systems has not been effectively modeled to this point. — Enrique
Perhaps an even bolder proposal is the new information-based paradigm by physicist/complexity-theorist James Glattfelder — Gnomon
So, the Brain/Mind Paradox is a problem only because they are intimately connected at the root, while displaying different qualities at the crown. — Gnomon
Perhaps a "staunchly realistic" perspective would include both General (holistic) and Particular (reductive) facts. Shannon reduced Information theory to atoms of data called "bits" & "bytes". But other information theorists have broadened their scope to include "ideas" & "meanings". Reality consists of both Isolated Parts (holons) and Integrated Systems (wholes). One kind of undivided system is a Quantum Field of Superposition. Only when you pop the bubble with a measurement, does a detached particle appear, as-if from nowhere.Coherence field theory isn't holistic or reductionistic so much as staunchly realist. I think it should be possible to integrate with information theory as an emergent level of conceptualization, but at this stage that would deviate from an essential facet of my realist approach, which is to be firmly rooted in the "atomic facts" of material processes. — Enrique
One kind of undivided system is a Quantum Field of Superposition. Only when you pop the bubble with a measurement, does a detached particle appear, as-if from nowhere.
Are quantum fields real or merely a mathematical tool used to describe elementary particles? — Gnomon
Oh, it definitely involves a physical process, but it also seems to require a mental action, such as Intention*1 (goal-setting ; aiming ; direction ; purpose). In Beyond Weird, Philip Ball discusses the still unresolved "measurement problem". And he notes that "everything that seems strange about quantum mechanics comes down to measurement". Moreover, the non-physical aspect of an experimental setup*2 is the intention of the Experimenter/Observer. That's why I mentioned that the Latin root of "to measure" is mensura, and the root of mensura is mens-, meaning "mind" or "intention". That may be why physicists, such as John A. Wheeler, concluded that the Mind of the Observer "participates" in the experiment. So, a quantum measurement involves both physical apparatus, and a psychological act of intention.As for the way measurement collapses superpositions into a particulate state, I think this must involve some kind of physical process — Enrique
it definitely involves a physical process, but it also seems to require a mental action, such as Intention (goal-setting ; aiming ; direction ; purpose). — Gnomon
panprotopsychist perspective, — Enrique
In order for the information paradigm to work, we will have to redefine what a bit is on multiple occasions. Maybe I'm not grasping an important aspect of the paradigm at this point, but information theory almost seems to me like materialism reified, with empirical content abstracted away from the episteme's foundation — Enrique
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