"unity of consciousness" & quantum mechanics

Two meanings of "unity of consciousness" in relation to quantum mechanics.

The term "unity of consciousness" may be used for (1) the inner experience that we all have, of being one single entity, one person, one "I". But it may also be used for (2) the idea that all consciousness of all beings is in reality one and the same consciousness, one "World-soul". In order to explain the "unity of consciousness" in its first meaning (1) in scientific terms, we have to search in our understanding of nature for a unifying principle that is so tight that it binds parts of a system into a real unity. The Quantum Mechanical (QM) entanglement principle joins parts of a system together in such a way that a change in one part of the system directly effects the other parts, without transmission of signals, particles, waves or whatever. If this QM entanglement principle is responsible for the "unity of consciousness", it means that the signal processing in (the brain of) the organism must be able to work toward a single complex entangled wave function, the reduction of which is identical to all the experiencing and choosing that the "I" does at that moment. ("I" or "I-ness" is that which experiences in an organism.) Just before its reduction this wave function contains in a vast QM superposition all the different possibilities of perception and choice that the "I" has at that moment. This gives a model of reality in which causality is back in quantum mechanics, in which there is free will and in which there is transfer of (experiential) information to the "I" ("I-ness") and transfer of causes from it, all without energy transfer! Quantum mechanical entanglement then binds the separate parts of the total of experiences and causes together to one complete phenomenal perspective of experiences and causes.
But how then about the second "unity of consciousness" (2) in the meaning of one "World-soul"? Could that unity also originate from a big all-encompassing entangled wave function? And do we need another principle or concept to account for the sense of separation that we feel with respect to other beings, instead of experiencing and acting in the awareness that all consciousness in reality is this one "World-soul"? The so-called Heisenberg picture of QM shows a strong resemblance with this view: the fixed state vector (corresponding to the unchanging "World-soul" or central "I-ness") is seen by "the illusion" (the "veils") of the variable operators. These operators represent observables as well as "actables/choosables". The total of measured quantities is then the grand total of all experiences and choices of all beings through which the "World-soul" experiences and chooses. In the depth of the entanglement between the different beings there may be effects of the unity of their "consciousnesses", for instance: in this picture the joint origin of all beings reflects itself in the creation of entanglements that have to do with the deep unity-feeling that we can have with fellow-beings. I would like to discuss the above issues with the audience.

Gerard, 15 november 2007

Dit 'Abstract' voor een presentatie heb ik ingestuurd voor de conferentie 'Toward a Science of Consciousness 2008' die volgend jaar in april in Tucson Arizona gehouden zal worden. Ik dacht dat (sommigen van) jullie het misschien leuk zouden vinden om dit te lezen. Het is de eerste keer dat ik op een dergelijke conferentie zo expliciet het idee van een grote eenheid van bewustzijn naar voren ga brengen. (De inspiratie van kunstenaars (m.n. in WitterdanWit en Arps&Co) heeft bijgedragen tot deze doorbraak.)