Mind, Brain and the Quantum: The Compound ‘I’
Mind, Brain and the Quantum: The Compound 'I'
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Product Description
This work presents a radically new approach to the mind-body problem, drawing together consideratons from such fields as the philosophy of mind, cognitive science, neurophysiology, relativity and quantum mechanics. The very existence of consciousness, the author argues, poses a challenge to the traditional view of matter, as do the paradoxes of quantum theory. If mind as revealed in introspection, matter as manifested in observation and experiment, are to be seen as dual aspects of a unitary underlying reality, then a fundamental adjustment is called for in our understanding of mental and physical phenomena alike. The book demonstrates the need for a conception that is rooted both in the latest thinking about the foundations of quantum mechanics and in some previously neglected ideas of Bertrand Russell. Its implications are far-reaching and startlingly at odds with the conventional way of looking at the world and at the place of mind within it.
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Rating
This is a far ranging book with a very original point of view. No one can doubt Michael Lockwood’s extensive command of a variety of scientific and philosophical disciplines and he protrays his subject matter in a clear and compelling manner. He attempts a bold answer to the traditional philosophical problem of the nature of mind. Although speculative its ingenuity makes it a leading theory which deserves close attention.
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this is the best book written on the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. in 100 years, these ideas will have made it into the popular culture. it’s a difficult read, and while it does not assume that much pre-knowledge, it is quite heady. but if that’s what you want, this is the best one out there.
Rating
This is not an easy book, although the author says that it was written for the layman.
It treats very interesting scientific problems, like the body/mind duality, Schrödinger’s cat, self-consciousness, freedom and space/time.
But the author didn’t give me any solution. On the contrary, he tends to make the problems more complicated.
I cannot recommend this book. Readers interested in the above mentioned items should turn to other authors like Brian Greene, Daniel C. Dennett, Paul Davies or John Gribbin, to name a few.
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This is a superb work by one of the exceedingly rare individuals who has one foot firmly planted in quantum theory and the other in the broader philosophical tradition.
This book preceded the various works by Penrose on the subject and remains of greater intellectual merit if only because Lockwood actually understands what the mind/body problem is about. He also writes well.