Volume 16 No 3 (2018)
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Matter and Information - Objectivity and Subjectivity
Syamala D. Hari
Abstract
Quantum phenomena seem to blur the distinction between matter and information, and objectivity and
subjectivity. A quantum particle cannot be observed directly and needs to be 'observed' in a suitably designed
measurement experiment. Even in such an experiment, what we actually observe (by means of senses) is the
measuring device, which is said to be ‘classical’. The position and other 'observable' properties of a quantum
particle (QP) are only inferred from the devices’ readings. Quantum Mechanics tells us that a QP is a packet of de
Broglie's phase waves, each of which carries no energy and goes faster than light. Clearly, the phase wave is a
mathematical abstraction, an idea in physicists' minds; it cannot be observed for example, like light, or heard like a
wave of an oscillating string. However, the phase wave’s wavelength can be measured in a suitably designed
experiment. So, one may call the de Broglie phase wave as a piece of ‘objective information’! Since classical matter,
i.e., matter which is observable directly by senses is supposed to be made of numerous QPs also, it seems that all
matter is made of ‘objective information’, i.e., information, which is not observable directly but some of whose
properties can be measured and verified in some way and agreed upon by a group of people. Considering the brain
to be a quantum system, we will explain why a sensory experience is both objective and subjective at the same time
whereas other conscious experiences such as those of emotions and judgments are subjective but not objective. For
this purpose, we note the neuroscience finding that it is necessary and sufficient that one’s brain (a quantum
system) builds a neural record which is a faithful representation of the sensory input it receives from the outside
world, for one to have the corresponding conscious sensory experience.
Keywords
Matter and Information, Subjectivity, Objectivity, Intersubjective agreement, De Broglie Phase Wave, ‘Objective’ information
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