A Pure-Consciousness Model of the Universe

by Richard P. Dolan
dick.dolan@stanfordalumni.org
August 1, 2006
© Copyright 2005,6 Richard P. Dolan


Abstract

This paper presents a model of the universe that is based on a nonphysical independent reality: consciousness. The model is unique in that it not only provides a precise model of consciousness, but also connects consciousness with the rest of reality. The universe is shown to be a natural consequence of consciousness, beginning with a "big bang." Consciousness is identified with existence, and the relation between existence and the self is explored.

Left out part! See link http://home.earthlink.net/~dolascetta/MetaFrameSet.html

The Universe Is a Consciousness
I'll close this paper with a summary of its main conclusions in the form of answers to questions that have always puzzled philosophers. The physics of this model of reality is developed and related to current theoretical and experimental results in Dolan (2005), which is entitled Inflaton Spacetime: A Discrete Quantum Spacetime Model Underlying the Standard Models of Particle Physics and Cosmology. In that paper, concepts are called spacetime points.

1. What is ultimate reality? The ultimate reality and the source of the universe is the abstract concept we call existence. We often think that abstract concepts only exist in our minds. However, existence is unlike other abstract concepts in that it is capable of thinking itself. It is the essence of mind. Because it thinks itself, it creates itself and it exists necessarily, that is, existence always exists. Even to think about a state in which nothing exists we must use the concept existence. Existence and nothingness are just two ways of looking at the same concept. In mathematical terms, existence is true of itself, that is, it takes on the value true when applied to itself. The only other concept like it is one that each of us is familiar with: our self. My self is the dot of consciousness at the center of my being. It is an abstract concept that is the essence of what I am, and it is true of itself, because what I am includes a conscious self. Here, then, is a concept that is true of itself and it is conscious. In the concept model, we conclude that concepts that are true of themselves are conscious, so existence is also conscious. In the concept model, existence has a logical structure that allows it to be looked at in two ways, that is, it has two aspects. In its transcendent aspect, it is atemporal, unchanging, timeless. In its immanent aspect, it has multiple facets, most notably our selves. When we say that existence thinks itself, is true of itself, or creates itself, we mean that it is a self-referential concept. In logic, such concepts are known to result in logical paradoxes, and indeed, that is the nature of reality.

2. Is there a God? Yes. God is the name we give to the transcendent, atemporal, unchanging aspect of existence. Existence is an abstract concept, but it is a conscious being. In fact, existence and consciousness are the same concept. The transcendent aspect of existence (one of the two ways to look at existence) is outside of time and creates time and the temporal universe. We are existence observing itself inside of time. The former is God. We are not God. We do not create the universe. But God and our selves are different ways of looking at existence or consciousness. These two ways are related like particles and waves, which are two ways of looking at, say, electrons. They are views of the same thing, but they are incompatible. In physics, Bohr's principle of complementarity recognizes that this is the nature of reality. How you look at electrons determines whether you see particles or waves, and you can't have it both ways at the same time. God and our selves are like that.

3. Do we have free will? It is impossible to say either yes or no to this question. Our universe results from a single observation of itself by existence. This observation is outside of time and chooses one universe and its entire history from a population of potential universes. Is this choice random or an exercise of free will by existence (God)? The two possibilities are indistinguishable, so it is impossible to decide which is correct. Thus, it is impossible to say whether existence has free will. In our temporal universe, we observe a multitude of quantum events in which a single alternative is selected from two or more possible outcomes, a phenomenon called collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics. This takes place all the time everywhere, even at the lowest level of our brains, where it offers the only possibility for us to have free will, since everything at the higher levels of our brains is deterministic, if often chaotic. Jeffrey Satinover, in his book, The Quantum Brain (Satinover, 2001), presents evidence that the brain does amplify this quantum indeterminism at its lowest level up to the level of experience, making it possible that we might have free will. However, are the quantum choices occurring in our brains made by our selves, or are they simply the random, quantum-mechanical collapsing of wave functions? Again, these are indistinguishable. So we are free to think that we have free will or not. Science doesn't seem to be able to give us the answer. (Click here for an expanded discussion of free will.)

4. What is the origin of evil? The universe obeys the quantum mechanical principle that unless something is impossible, there is a nonzero probability that it will be observed, that is, that it will exist. This results in a universe that exhibits a high degree of diversity, not only in species, but in ideas, ways of thinking, temperaments, personalities, races, social groupings, nations, and so on. This allows the universe to approach some optimal state through natural selection. Species, ideas, and so on often oppose each other and compete with each other, the strongest winning out. Diversity is good because it prevents stagnation. However, if you are on the losing end of some encounter, you are likely to see the winner as evil. Thus, the source of evil is diversity, which is good. So unless we want everyone to think and act in rigidly controlled ways, a condition that many see as evil, we are stuck with diversity and we are stuck with evil.

5. Can everything be explained logically? Because reality (existence) is self-referential, logic is severely limited. There are almost always different ways to look at questions, so that two people can argue a point with perfect logic and come to different conclusions. Self-reference always leads to logical paradoxes.

6. What are the theological and philosophical implications of the concept model? In the concept model, paradoxes are inherent in reality because reality is self-referential. What philosophers may call paradoxes, logicians may call contradictions, theologians may call mysteries, and physicists may call dualities. The concept model says that it is impossible to resolve all of these ambiguities. In particular, science cannot resolve them. Science may gradually shrink their sphere of influence, but it can never get rid of them. Humans are extremely uncomfortable with paradoxes. While the concept model says that there is a God, it reveals virtually nothing about God. Humans want to know how to relate to God, but the concept model can't even say whether there is free will. The search for answers to our questions about our relations with God, other people, and nature is the work of theologians and philosophers. Although theology and philosophy can't resolve all of the mysteries any better than science can, they are there to guide us. Ultimately, each of us makes personal decisions in these matters.

7. What is consciousness? Consciousness is another name for existence. Existence is an abstract concept that is true of itself. This condition is necessary and sufficient for a concept to be a conscious being, a thought thinking itself. The only such concepts are existence and our selves, which are existence observing itself in time. Our selves are formed in our brains when we become conscious. They result from brain function, but unlike other concepts that our brains can form, these concepts are themselves conscious. This is why we feel that there is more to consciousness than just brain function.

8. Is consciousness prior to existence or vice versa? In the concept model, these two concepts are identical. They are the same concept with different names. Neither is prior to the other.

9. What happens to us when we die? The answer to this question is one of the paradoxes that comes from the self-referential nature of reality. What happens depends on whether your frame of reference is temporal or atemporal, and the answers are incompatible. If you look at death from the temporal frame of reference, which is our frame of reference, everything about us that is temporal ceases to exist when we die. This includes our memories and our personalities. Our physical bodies go to sleep and never wake up. On the other hand, consciousness, which is a nonphysical human characteristic, always exists. Existence always exists, atemporal and unchanging. Thus, from the atemporal reference frame, absolutely nothing happens when we die. Existence simply exists. Looked at in this way, when we die our selves become indistinguishable from existence and are not aware of ever having been otherwise.

10. What happened before the big bang? What happens after the universe ends? These are meaningless questions because existence has an atemporal, unchanging aspect. Seen from this unchanging reference frame, there is always a big bang. Every instant of time always exists. There is always an end of the universe. It is as if there were an infinite number of universes identical to ours but displaced in time. In this picture, there are an infinite number of Dick Dolans, all infused with conscious selves. But because consciousness has no memory, each of these selves thinks that this is the first and only time that our universe has unfolded. Thus, something that is timeless and unchanging looks to us like a changing, one-shot universe with a beginning and an end. Here we have yet another paradox that has its roots in the self-referential nature of reality. By the way, the lack of memory is what makes it possible for consciousness to exist in all living humans at the same time while seeing itself as separate and unique in each case. There is only one consciousness and it is in all of us, but its temporal memory and knowledge are different in each of us. Its view of itself in time is absolutely limited in each of us by our individual brains.

11. What is time? In the concept model the concept existence has a logical nature by which new concepts can be defined in terms of others. The total number of concepts gets larger as you advance through this logical structure. There are two ways to look at this progression. Either all possible concepts exist at once, or the number of concepts expands in stages that resemble time steps. The universe obeys the quantum mechanical rule that says that both of these possibilities are likely to be observed. We are existence observing its temporal self, so we see the universe expanding in time.

12. How does existence create the physical, temporal universe? The physics of the creation of the universe by existence is the subject of my physics paper (Dolan, 2005). The concepts of the concept model become spacetime points in my quantum spacetime model. The logical expansion in the number of concepts, seen as an expansion in time, is the big bang. The particles of which we are made are processes involving spacetime points. Thus, we are made of time and this is why we can experience time. Our universe results from a single self observation by existence that chooses one universe from an infinite population of potential universes. By a process of natural selection that takes place outside of time, the population of potential universes is dominated by universes that support living beings with conscious selves. This process is described earlier in this paper.

Historical Note
The ideas in the first half of this paper date from 1964. There have been many revisions over the years. The first Internet version appeared in August 1999.
References
Barbour, Julian (2000), The End of Time (New York: Oxford University Press).
Dolan, Richard (2005), Inflaton Spacetime: A Discrete Quantum Spacetime Model Underlying the Standard Models of Particle Physics and Cosmology, http://home.earthlink.net/~dolascetta/PhysicsFrameSet.html
Griffiths, Robert B. and Omnès, Roland (1999), "Consistent Histories and Quantum Measurements," Physics Today, August 1999, pp.26-31.
Greene, Brian (2004), The Fabric of the Cosmos (New York: Alfred A. Knopf).
Satinover, Jeffrey (2001), The Quantum Brain (New York: John Wiley and Sons).
Smolin, Lee (1997), The Life of the Cosmos (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press).