Quantum Mechanics and the Consistency of Conscious Experience
Explore the profound implications of quantum mechanics on conscious experience in this thought-provoking 28-minute conference talk by Michael Silberstein from the Department of Philosophy at Elizabethtown College and the University of Maryland. Delve into two intriguing gedanken experiments: Wigner's friend and the delayed choice quantum eraser, examining how they challenge our understanding of the determinateness and intersubjective consistency of consciousness. Discover a 4D-global constraint-based approach to quantum mechanics that resolves concerns without resorting to metaphysical quietism, objective collapse mechanisms, or subjective collapse. Gain insights into a unified perspective of quantum mechanics that yields a single 4D block universe with determinate and intersubjectively consistent conscious experiences for all conscious agents. Uncover how the mystery in both experiments stems from a dynamical/causal view of quantum mechanics and learn how a spatiotemporal, constraint-based view can provide a resolution. Explore the fundamental connection between physics and psychology, revealing how the 4D adynamical global constraints fundamental to both classical and quantum physics also constrain conscious experience. Read more