Talk by Peter beim Graben on September 25

[Seminar Mind-Matter Relation 2018]

Dear participants and speakers,

We hope this email finds you well!

After Larissa Albantakis' talk later today (cf. last email), we will have Peter beim Graben speaking on Tuesday, September 25:

Peter beim Graben (Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Science, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg)
"Epistemic Quantization of Neural Systems and Mind-Matter Complementarity"
Tuesday, 25 September 2018
17:30-19:00 CEST, Login from 17:00 CEST.
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Abstract: Quantum theory emerged as the result of a successful resolution of
stringent empirical and profound conceptual conflicts within the
development of atomic physics at the beginning of the 20th century.
At a first glance, it seems to be bizarre to apply quantum physical
ideas to the philosophy of mind. However, a closer look shows that
there are indeed some parallels in the development of quantum
physics and consciousness studies. These parallels become obvious
when one of the key features of quantum theory is considered: the
concept of complementarity.

In quantum theory, two observables are called complementary when a
pure state cannot be a common eigenstate of both observables, which
is not possible in classical physics where pure states are
identified with points in a phase space that are common eigenstates
of any observable. The situation becomes different, however, if one
also takes statistical states, namely dispersive probability
measures upon phase space, into account. Then, the concept of a
quantum mechanical eigenstate applies straightforwardly to an
operationally restricted state space resulting from a phase space
"coarse-graining" into epistemic equivalence classes. This
"epistemic quantization" of classical dynamical systems introduced
by beim Graben and colleagues (2006, 2009, 2013) can nicely be
illustrated by means of Foulis' "firefly box" (1999) where an
observer is only able to tell the glowing firefly's position either
as to the right or to the left with respect to the front window, or
as to the top or to the bottom with respect to the side window.

In my lecture, I present an interpretation of this operational
constraint, preventing the simultaneous assessment of two
complementary perspectives that are caused by limited resources in
terms of bounded rationality (Blutner & beim Graben 2016). Hence,
one could state that the origin of complementary in philosophy of
mind is a kind of bounded rationality which gives rise to a
description in terms of orthomodular lattices by pasting together
two (or more) partial Boolean algebras as demonstrated with Foulis'
firefly box (1999).

In the second part of my lecture, I apply this argument to
Chalmers' definition of "neural correlates of consciousness"
(2000), where contextually given "phenomenal families" of mental
observables partition the state space of the underlying neural
system into classes of "epistemically equivalent" states. I argue
that compatible mental descriptions, which are also topologically
equivalent with the neurodynamical description, emerge if the
partition of the neural phase space is generating. If this is not
the case, mental descriptions could be incompatible or
complementary to each other. 

We are very much looking forward to the talk and to seeing many of you again!

With best wishes,
Robin & Johannes

References

Atmanspacher, H. & beim Graben, P. (2007). Contextual emergence of
mental states from neurodynamics. Chaos and Complexity Letters 2,
151 - 168.

Blutner, R. & beim Graben, P. (2016). Quantum cognition and bounded
rationality. Synthese, 193, 3239 - 3291.

D. Chalmers. (2000). What is a neural correlate of consciousness?
In T. Metzinger (ed.): Neural Correlates of Consciousness.
Cambridge: MIT Press, pp.17 - 39.

Foulis, D. J. (1999). A half-century of quantum logic. What have we
learned? In Aerts, D. (Ed.): Quantum Structures and the Nature of
Reality, Kluwer, 7, 1 - 36.

beim Graben, P. & Atmanspacher, H. (2006). Complementarity in
classical dynamical systems. Foundations of Physics, 36, 291 - 306.

beim Graben, P. & Atmanspacher, H. (2009). Extending the
philosophical significance of the idea of complementarity. In:
Atmanspacher, H. & Primas, H. (Eds.) Recasting Reality. Wolfgang
Pauli's Philosophical Ideas and Contemporay Science. Springer, 99 -
113.

beim Graben, P.; Filk, T. & Atmanspacher, H. (2013). Epistemic
entanglement due to non-generating partitions of classical
dynamical systems. International Journal of Theoretical Physics,
52, 723 - 734.