Customer Reviews

Mindful Universe: Quantum Mechanics and the Participating Observer (The Frontiers Collection)

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"Mindful Universe" by Henry Stapp begins with the sentences, "This book concerns your nature as a human being. It is about the connection of your mind to your body."

When I first read that I thought, "Oh, sure, what would a physicist know about that?" I read the book anyway, and I'm glad I did. It is without a doubt the best, most comprehensible, most useful book about modern physics I've ever read.

First Stapp lays out the basic discoveries and their ramifications that led to the overthrow of 'classical physics' in a way that is easily understood. He then goes into the 'orthodox interpretation' of modern physics as laid out by von Neumann and others. This has provided me with an understanding of modern physics that is both intuitive and actually useful to my everyday life.

Stapp has managed to do something amazing -- he teaches us what modern physics really says about the nature of the universe and our role in it, without dumbing it down and without the jargon and mathematics that make so many of the other books I've read so difficult. And what modern science really says is very different to what most books and mass-media articles present. Be ready for a reality shift.

In Chapter 6 "The Effectiveness of Conscious Will and the Quantum Zeno Effect" Stapp explains how this modern physics applies to the mind-brain connection in a way that fits well with experience. I've never understood modern physics like that.

The last sentence of the chapter "Conclusions" is, "The falseness of that deviation of science (the classical ideal of a mechanical universe) must be made known, and heralded, because human beings are not likely to endure in a society ruled by a conception of themselves that denies the essence of their being."

I would like to say this: Stapp makes good on the promise of the first sentence of the book and I understand and agree with the last. Fantastic book.

Review of "Mindful Universe: Quantum Mechanics and the Participating Observer" by Henry P. Stapp. Published by Springer as part of their Frontiers Collection. It is relatively short at 198 pages including a Preface, 13 main chapters making up part I, 4 chapters making up part II, 7 Appendices making up part III, References and Index.

In the Preface, Dr. Stapp summarizes his book thusly:

1. Mind matters/I matter. Mind<--->Body matters.
2. Classical view of reality is fundamentally incorrect.
3. Quantum view of reality encompasses classical physics in the limit where Planck's Constant goes to zero.
4. Actual hard science considers us natural phenomenon. Worst case scenario is we are considered "automaton". Quantum theory rejects this now falsified relic of classcial physics.
5. New physics does this by placing consciousness back on the table.
6. Why this is so important? Because classical physical theory still drives decisions of governments, schools, courts and medicine.
7. Aim of book is to explain the new science and its social consequences.

One thing I must say about Henry P. Stapp is that he has been at this from the beginning of his career. His doctoral thesis in particle physics working on proton-proton interactions led to his post-doctoral work under Wolfgang Pauli. During this time (c. 1958) he wrote an article entitled, "Mind, Matter and Quantum Mechanics." Thirty-five years latter his book of the same title was published under the same Foundational Series as the book here being reviewed. I would consider this work a smaller snapshot of his whole thrust toward showing how the mathematical and physical foundations of quantum theory bring the human being to the conscious center of our exploration of the reality we are intimately a part of.

Having paid him some due, I have to let the potential buyer know right away that reading this book without a background study in Quantum Mechanics (QM`s) and Quantum Reality (QR) will make the going somewhat difficult. Why? Because the conclusions of Dr. Stapp about the body-mind problem have an intricacy involved that an uninformed reading will not navigate easily. Having said that, this work isn't beyond the first time listener. There are enough interesting suggestions in this work that will appeal to the lay reader enough to peak the interest and make for an enjoyable read such that other works of a more general nature on QR and its implications and this purchase will be rewarding.

One of the main thrusts of Dr. Stapp's philosophical positions is that classical physics fails to provide a foundational basis for meaning in the human being and, given the more comprehensive science of reality being "quantum" in nature at is base, that classical Newtonian (clock-like) physics as a statement of human reality should be rejected. QM's should be invoked in the case of "us" when we ask, "Is our mind explained by brain processes alone?" Henry P. Stapp does another excellent job making plain why.

For instance, the Title alone is very suggestive. This is a book about the Universe, QM and You! Are you "the Participating Observer"? Well, according to Henry P. Stapp you sure are. What could that possibly mean? Well if you've read up on QM's over the years, you've come to the understanding that a particle, say an electron, exist in a wave-like probability state of pure potential *until it is observed*. This is known as the "collapse of the wave function" of the electron so that it shows up as a particle on a detector screen. The double-slit experiment informs us that this is so and Dr. Stapp touches on why the founders of quantum theory were forced to revise their understanding of the base of reality.

This leads us to the "Mindful" part of the Title. To convince you that you are participating in the collapse of the state vector of your reality, Henry P. Stapp will make the case that the brain has a quantum component (at the ionic level) and with mindful attention, the wave of you (your many thousands of potential acts each second) are being collapsed by that attention into a single, whole conscious percept by you and your brain to create your reality.

In the Appendices and throughout this work, Henry P. Stapp lays out some of the important history supporting the connection of QM's and consciousness.

Let me quote the book's aim:

"The aim of this book is to describe the development of this revised conceptualization of the connection between our minds and our brains, and the consequent revision of the role of human consciousness in the unfolding of reality."

Here are a couple of quotes that help us understand "this revised conceptualization":

"...the proper subject matter of science is not what may or may not be `out there,' unobserved and unknown to human beings. It is rather what we human beings can know, and can do to know more. Thus, they formulated their new theory, called quantum mechanics, or quantum theory, around the knowledge-acquiring actions of human beings, and the knowledge we acquire by performing these actions, rather than around a conjectured causally sufficient mechanical world..."

"...it is the revised understanding of the nature of human beings, and of the causal role of human consciousness in the unfolding of reality, that is, I believe, the most exciting thing about the new physics, and probably, in the final analysis, also the most important contribution of science to the well-being of our species."

He continues:

"The rational foundation for this revised conceptual structure emerged from the intense intellectual struggles that took place during the twenties, principally between Neils Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Wolfgang Pauli. Those struggles replaced the then-prevailing Newtonian idea of matter as `solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, moveable particles' with a new concept that allowed, and in fact required, an entry into the causal structure of the physical effects of conscious decision made by human subjects. This radical change swept away the meaningless billiard-ball universe, and replaced it with a universe in which we beings, by means of our value-based intentional efforts, can make a difference first in our own behaviors, thence in the social matrix we are embedded, and eventually in the entire physical reality that sustains our streams of conscious experience."

I think that pretty much sets the stage for the rest of the book. I hope I've peaked your interest.

If so, buy a copy today.

I have found this book to be very well written and thought provoking. I love a book that makes you think and that brings up points of view that perhaps you haven't considered before. This book certainly makes you ponder how your thoughts actually affect the Universe, excuse me, Multiverse. No longer are we just passive bystanders but rather hopeful co-creators. This is on a grand scale as well as a micro scale. So go ahead...stretch your brain a little...it might hurt at first to use muscles that you might not have used in a long while (trust me I know!) but you'll thank me later!(lol)

This book and the understanding of these topics are of vital importance to our current time. Drawing much from the work pioneered from other scientists such as Dr. Amit Goswami as well as other more well known theorititions this work adds clarity and insights all its own.

Stapp (page 20) writes on Heisenberg`s appreciation of actions at the level of Planck`s scale: "The aspects of nature represented by the theory are converted from elements of being to elements of doing. The effect of this change is profound: it replaces the world of material substances by a world populated by actions, and by potentialities for the occurrence of the various possible observed feedbacks from these actions. Thus the switch from being to action allows - and according to orthodox quantum theory demands - a draconian shift in the very subject matter of physical theory, from an imagined universe populated by allowed possible physical theory, from an imagined universe consisting of causally self-sufficient mindless matter, to a universe populated by allowed possible actions. A purported theory of matter alone is converted into a theory of the relationship between matter and mind."

Stapp (page 23) writes about the limitation of the classical physics approach, or approximation: "there is no need for, and indeed no room for, any effect of any probing action. The uncertainty -arising from the non-zero size of the quantum cloud - that in the unapproximated theory needs to be resolved by intervention of some particular probing action is already reduced to zero by replacement of Planck`s constant by zero. Thus all effects upon the physically/mathematically described aspects of nature`s process that are instigated by the actions freely chosen by agents are eliminated by the classical approximation. Consequently, any attempt to understand or explain within the framework of classical physics the physical effects of consciousness is irrational, because the classical approximation eliminates the effect one is trying to study."

It is quantum mechanics that Stapp (page 23-24) turns to in his investigation of the "purposeful action of a human agent." He writes: "One aspect is his conscious intention, which is described in psychological terms. The other aspect is the linked physical action, which is described in physical terms; i.e., in terms of mathematical entities assigned to spacetime points. For successful living the physical described action should be a functional counterpart of conscious intension; after sufficient empirical honing by effective learning processes the physically described aspect of the felt intentional act should have a tendency to produce the intended experiential feedback. John von Neumann, in his seminal book, Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, calls by the name process 1 the basic probing action that partitions a potential continuum of physically described possibilities into a (countable) set of empirically recognizable alternative possibilities."

Stapp (page 30) writes: "The channels through which the calcium ions enter the nerve terminal are called ion channels. At their narrowest points they are only about a nanometer in width, hence not much larger that calcium ions themselves. This extreme smallness of the opening in the ion channels has profound quantum mechanical imports."

It is the "quantum Zeno effect" that permits the Planck scale effects to impact the nerve terminals in the brain. Stapp (page 36) writes: "The quantum Zeno effect can, in principle, hold an intention and its template in place in the face of strong mechanical forces that would tend to disturb it. This means that agents whose mental efforts can sufficiently increase the rapidity of process 1 actions would enjoy a survival advantage over competitors that lack such features. They could sustain beneficial templates for action in place longer than competitors who lack this capacity. Thus the dynamical rules of quantum mechanics allow conscious effort to be endowed with the causal efficacy needed to permit its deployment and evolution via natural selection." I must correct Stapp here, because it is now consciousness that does the selection and this is far from Darwin`s natural selection (e.g., see Amit Goswami`s "Creative Evolution").

Stapp`s account is different from Penrose`s, and other accounts. He (page 52) stresses the importance of the quantum Zeno effect: "The only macroscopic quantum effect that appears to survive the decoherence effects [in warm brains] is the quantum Zeno effect. This permits neuro-scientist unfamiliar with quantum theory to have a very accurate, simple, intuitive idea of the quantum state of a brain. It can be imagined to be an evolving set of nearly classical brains." However, as Stapp indicates, some non-classical properties also remain.

Stapp gives a very deep and scientific account of his ideas, that must now be taken serious. He is far from a New Age quantum guru here, even as he ventures into philosophy. Stapp finds agreement with Whitehead`s ontology, and with this revelation Stapp`s theory is now found more far reaching than what even Stapp is willing to admit. For example, Stapp makes heavy reference to an agent that carries intention and causal efficacy, but I am afraid that even Stapp`s very mature quantum mechanics is unable to define this agent into existence. I need only follow Whitehead to the logical conclusion.

Stapp (page 105) writes: "I am merely proposing that Heisenberg's incomplete ontology be completed by accepting what I regard as Whitehead`s main ideas. ... I need to stress that the core idea that the events in our streams of consciousness are two-way causally linked to events in the physical world lies at the intuitive heart of daily dealings with reality." But a two-sided reality is not well described by a psychological window and a physical window. There are two windows all right, but what holds the two together is an emotive middle-term that can escape both windows leaving both scientist and theologian dumfounded! Did you think that the agent, or agents, were us little egos running around that must compete to win favor with Darwin? Think again!

Stapp (page 121) pretends not to have answers to these questions: "why are the laws of nature so well structured to sport biological structures? Are idea-like qualities primordial? Or do they emerge from a world completely devoid of all mind-like qualities?" And this pretense is maintained even after Edward (page 124) accuses Stapp of "creationism." Again, who exactly is this agent? I think Basil Hiley (page 135) came closest to an answer: "To use consciousness to formulate the laws of quantum mechanics seems circular, unless of course you assume some kind of universal consciousness lying at the centre of being as is proposed by certain forms of Hinduism."

The fact is that we are driven by our affections while being trapped in circular reasoning, until we one day realize that our emotions source the middle-term that holds our two sides together.

The action principles that make up the laws of nature are found two-sided, even the second law!

Stapp writes as if quantum definitely has something to do with consciousness, and then writes about his opinion on what its role is. However, he mentions nothing of other, perhaps more feasible, causes, such as Gerald Edelman's theory of neuronal group selection, or Cricks 50Hz signalling, which do not draw on quantum theory. He doesnt discuss philosophy well, and disregards the possibility that humans are intrinsically unable to answer the mysteries of existence (transcendental naturalism). However, 3 stars because he discusses HIS views well.

Prof. Stapp work is really a great work.

We may not live in the XXIst century as if we were in the end of the XIXth.

Obviously we know not now how mind/brain relations are in detail - but we know enough to know mind and matter are related - and mind and brain are related.

And their relation is clear in QM, as devekloped by Heisenberg, as perceived by Bohr, as perfected by von Neumann.

A great and fundamental book - to understand what will be ahead in physics and psychology.