How Consciousness Becomes the Physical Universe
Idealism works well as an explanation of creature consciousness, provided, of course, that one accepts its foundational premise that consciousness, and consciousness alone, is fundamental reality.
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Menas Kafatos
Professor, Physicist & Author
Menas C. Kafatos is a Greek-born American physicist and author exploring science and spirituality. He co-authored The Nonlocal Universe and has held positions at Chapman University and NASA.
Key Takeaways
Core Claim
Consciousness is the ultimate reality; matter and energy are its complementary expressions.
How It Works
Observation in quantum theory links observer, observed, and observation, giving rise to the physical world.
Distinguishing Idea
Consciousness can govern causation, generating matter and energy through quantum-like interactions.
Speculative Implication
Consciousness may be subject to relativistic effects, dilating with motion like time itself.
How Consciousness Becomes the Physical Universe
Idealism works well as an explanation of creature consciousness, provided, of course, that one accepts its foundational premise that consciousness, and consciousness alone, is fundamental reality. One challenge for idealism is coming to consider what seems to be an odd, perhaps outlandish, idea so alien to our life experiences: If all is consciousness, how does the physical world come about?
Quantum Theory and Idealism
The claim is made that quantum theory, which, unlike classical physics, assigns (in some interpretations) a fundamental role to the act of observation, can bridge the explanatory gap between idealism as foundational reality and the physical world as empirically apparent. Can quantum theory, as its adherents believe, open the door “to a profoundly new vision of the cosmos, where observer, observed, and the act of observation are interlocked,” thus hinting “at a science of wholeness, going beyond the purely physical emphasis of current science?” Adherents look to developments in the intersection of quantum theory, biology, neuroscience, and the philosophy of mind. Non-local interactions of the quantum universe are cited as evidence of the interconnectedness of everything, supporting the idea that “consciousness and matter are not fundamentally distinct, but rather are two complementary aspects of one reality, embracing the micro and macro worlds,” ultimately founded on consciousness as the ultimate reality (Kafatos et al., 2011).
Consciousness, Matter, and Energy
There are elaborate theories that claim to explain how consciousness, once assumed to be fundamental in nature and reality, generates or interacts with matter, and energy and interfaces with the brain. In one version, developed by computer science professional Mahendra Samarawickrama, consciousness governs causation and creates energy and matter. The interplay of consciousness, matter and energy underpins what we experience and observe in reality (The Centre for Consciousness Studies, 2024).
Consciousness itself is “a high-speed sequential process that leads to awareness” (notwithstanding the brain's massive parallel-processing capability). “Like time, consciousness is also subjected to relativity. When the observer is moving, both time and consciousness dilate.” Further, “the electromagnetic energy of consciousness follows quantum principles and wave-particle duality …. This interplay of consciousness with matter and energy makes consciousness and reality interrelate and follows determinism, realism, and physicalism” (Samarawickrama, 2023).
No surprise that none of this is taken seriously by a large majority of quantum physicists (Rovelli, 2022; see “Rovelli’s Relational Physics”).
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