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- Almberg, Wah-Sui
(author)
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Modelling Epidemic Influenza : A Novel Approach
- 2012
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Modellering av dynamiska förlopp i socio-biologiska komplexa system är långt ifrån trivialt. Behovet av fördjupad förståelse av sådana förlopp är många gånger stort. Vi har presenterat ett oortodoxt förslag på hur spridning av influensa i mänsklig population kan beskrivas och simuleras. Traditionellt använder man sig i huvudsak av två typer av modeller. Den ena bygger på matematiska strukturer där dynamiken beskrivs av kontinuerliga differentialförlopp mellan ett fåtal grovt uppdelade sektioner av populationen. Den andra bygger på diskreta förlopp inom visualiserade kontaktnätverk där varje enskild individ i populationen är representerad. Båda dessa metoder har styrkor såväl som svagheter. Bland svagheterna kan man framförallt lyfta fram svårigheterna med att förklara de flesta av influensans observerade epidemiologiska karaktärsdrag. Ett flertal idéer har framlagts för att förklara dessa anomalier. Bland dessa finns en hypotes som trots sin enkelhet skulle kunna förklara en majoritet av de epidemiologiska karaktärsdragen. Problemet med denna hypotes är dock att man inte kunnat hitta empiriska belägg för den. Vi tror att man kan nå närmare en lösning genom att omtolka signifikansen hos denna hypotes och den epidemiologiska karaktäristikan inom ramen för en annorlunda naturvetenskaplig ontologi. Denna omtolkning visar på en informationsbaserad såväl som fysiskt baserad verklighet. Vi menar då inte det traditionella informationsbegreppet som Claude Shannons teoretiserande bygger på, utan David Bohms `aktiva information', där informationen utgör en objektiv aktiv del av naturen, något som existerar oberoende av ett vetande medvetande eller en observatör. Bohm har gett den aktiva informationen en formell struktur i hans teori om det han kallar för `the implicate order'. Tillsammans med Basil Hiley visade han även att kvantmekaniken kan tolkas på ett sådant sätt att aktiv information utgör en fundamental aspekt av teorin, och att den därigenom även förenklas. Baserat på observationer som gjorts och våra resonemang har vi pekat på att en förståelse av epidemiologiska förlopp kanske kan nås genom att använda ett teoretiskt ramverk grundat på aktiv information. I en planerad kommande doktorsavhandling avser vi att presentera en matematisk modell som ytterligare kan underbygga vår hypotes.
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| 3. |
- Dewdney, Chris, et al.
(author)
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Basil Hiley Festschrift Introduction
- 2013
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In: Foundations of physics. - : Springer. - 0015-9018 .- 1572-9516. ; 43:4, s. 409-411
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 5. |
- Hiley, Basil J., et al.
(author)
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Can Mind Act on Matter via Active Information?
- 2005
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In: Mind and Matter. - : Imprint Academic. - 1611-8812 .- 2051-3003. ; 3:2, s. 7-27
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mainstream cognitive neuroscience typically ignores the role of quantum physical effects in the neural processes underlying cognition and consciousness. However, many unsolved problems remain, suggesting the need to consider new approaches. We propose that quantum theory, especially through an ontological interpretation due to Bohm and Hiley, provides a fruitful framework for addressing the neural correlates of cognition and consciousness. In particular, the ontological interpretation suggests that a novel type of “active information”, connected with a novel type of “quantum potential energy”, plays a key role in quantum physical processes. After introducing the ontological interpretation we illustrate its value for cognitive neuroscience bydiscussing it in the light of a proposal by Beck and Eccles about how quantum tunneling could play a role in controlling the frequency of synaptic exocytosis. In this proposal, quantum tunneling would enable the “self” to control its brain without violating the energyconserv ation law. We argue that the ontological interpretation provides a sharper picture of what actuallycould be taking place in quantum tunneling in general and in synaptic exocytosis in particular. Based on the notions of active information and quantum potential energy, we propose a coherent way of understanding how mental processes (understood as involving non-classical physical processes) can act on traditional, classicallydescribable neural processes without violating the energy conservation law.
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| 6. |
- Hiley, Basil J., et al.
(author)
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Can quantum mechanics solve the hard problem of consciousness?
- 2022
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In: Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics. - Oxford : Oxford University Press. - 9780197501665 - 0197501664 ; , s. 415-459
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The hard problem of consciousness is the problem of explaining how and why physical processes give rise to consciousness (Chalmers 1995). Regardless of many attempts to solve the problem, there is still no commonly agreed solution. It is thus very likely that some radically new ideas are required if we are to make any progress. In this paper we turn to quantum theory to find out whether it has anything to offer in our attempts to understand the place of mind and conscious experience in nature. In particular we will be focusing on the ontological interpretation of quantum theory proposed by Bohm and Hiley (1987, 1993), its further development by Hiley (Hiley and Callaghan 2012; Hiley, Dennis and de Gosson 2021), and its philosophical interpretation by Pylkkänen (2007, 2020). The ontological interpretation makes the radical proposal that quantum reality includes a new type of potential energy which contains active information. This proposal, if correct, constitutes a major change in our notion of matter. We are used to having in physics only mechanical concepts, such as position, momentum and force. Our intuition that it is not possible to understand how and why physical processes can give rise to consciousness is partly the result of our assuming that physical processes (including neurophysiological processes) are always mechanical. If, however, we are willing to change our view of physical reality by allowing non-mechanical, organic and holistic concepts such as active information to play a fundamental role, this, we argue, makes it possible to understand the relationship between physical and mental processes in a new way. It might even be a step toward solving the hard problem.
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| 7. |
- Pylkkänen, Paavo
(author)
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A quantum cure for panphobia
- 2020. - 1
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In: The Routledge Handbook of Panpsychism. - New York : Routledge. - 9781138817135 - 9781315717708 ; , s. 285-302
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Panpsychism is often thought to be an obviously mistaken doctrine, because it is considered to be completely inconceivable how the elementary particles of physics could possibly have proto-mental properties. This paper points out that quantum theory implies that elementary particles are far more subtle and strange than most contemporary physicalist philosophers assume. The paper discusses Louis de Broglie’s and David Bohm’s famous “pilot wave” theory which under Bohm’s later interpretation suggests that, say, an electron is a particle guided by a field carrying active information, the latter of which can be seen as a primitive mind-like quality.
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| 8. |
- Pylkkänen, Paavo, et al.
(author)
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Bohm's approach and individuality
- 2015
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In: Individuals Across the Sciences. - : Oxford University Press. - 9780199382514 ; , s. 226-249
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ladyman and Ross (LR) argue that quantum objects are not individuals (or are at most weakly discernible individuals) and use this idea to ground their metaphysical view, ontic structural realism, according to which relational structures are primary to things. LR acknowledge that there is a version of quantum theory, namely the Bohm theory (BT), according to which particles do have denite trajectories at all times. However, LR interpret the research by Brown et al. as implying that "raw stuff" or haecceities are needed for the individuality of particles of BT, and LR dismiss this as idle metaphysics. In this paper we note that Brown et al.'s research does not imply that haecceities are needed. Thus BT remains as a genuine option for those who seek to understand quantum particles as individuals. However, we go on to discuss some problems with BT which led Bohm and Hiley to modify it. This modified version underlines that, due to features such as context-dependence and non-locality, Bohmian particles have a very limited autonomy in situations where quantum effects are non-negligible. So while BT restores the possibility of quantum individuals, it also underlines the primacy of the whole over the autonomy of the parts. The later sections of the paper also examine the Bohm theory in the general mathematical context of symplectic geometry. This provides yet another way of understanding the subtle, holistic and dynamic nature of Bohmian individuals. We finally briefly consider Bohm's other main line of research, the "implicate order", which is in some ways similar to LR's structural realism.
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| 9. |
- Pylkkänen, Paavo
(author)
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Can Bohmian Quantum Information Help us to Understand Consciousness?
- 2016
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In: Quantum Interaction. - Cham : Springer Publishing Company. - 9783319286747 - 9783319286754 ; , s. 76-87
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The paper explores whether David Bohm’ s proposal about quantum theoretical active information, and the mind-matter scheme he developed on the basis of it, can help us to explain consciousness (Bohm and Hiley 1987, 1993; Bohm 1989, 1990 ; Pylkkänen 2007 ). Here it is important to acknowledge that other researchers in philosophy of mind and consciousness studies have also made use of the concept of information in their theories of mind and consciousness. For example, Dretske (1981 ) and Barwise and Seligman (1997 ) have explored the possibility that information in the sense of factual semantic contents (i.e. information as meaningful data that represents facts correctly or incorrectly) can be grounded in environmental information (i.e.information as mere correlation, e.g. the way tree rings carry information about age). For Dretske this was an important part of his attempts to give a naturalistic account of sensory experiences, qualia and consciousness. During recent years the notion of information has been used to explain consciousness most notably by David Chalmers (1996 ), as well as by Giulio Tononi and his co-workers (Tononi and Koch 2014 ; Oizumi, Albantakis and Tononi 2014 ). The strategy of this paper will be to first describe Bohm’ s mind-matter scheme, and then to briefl y consider Chalmers’ and Tononi et al.’ s ideas in the light of this scheme.
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