Title: A Mathematical Perspective on How Qualia Arise from Their Physical Correlates
Abstract:Central to the hard problem of consciousness (Chalmers 1995) is the enigma of how qualia arise from their physical correlates. It is argued that much of the explanatory difficulty regarding this dynam...Central to the hard problem of consciousness (Chalmers 1995) is the enigma of how qualia arise from their physical correlates. It is argued that much of the explanatory difficulty regarding this dynamic stems from a fundamental dichotomy between the nature of the physical systems that give rise to qualia (the neural correlates of consciousness) and other physical systems. Specifically, unlike other physical systems, the neural correlates of consciousness have, in certain states, both quantifiable (physical) aspects and unquantifiable aspects (qualia). Although these two types of aspects seem fundamentally irreconcilable, it is argued that systems of such mixed quantifiability can be described (and to that extent explained) by a particular class of equations – those featuring singularities. In that respect, it is hypothesized that qualia correspond to singularities in the mathematical descriptions of certain aspects of the neural correlates of consciousness. This proposal may have been foreshadowed by Srinivasa Ramanujan. If correct, it would thread a particularly difficult needle in that it would manage to preserve and account for the non-quantitative aspects of experience within the quantitative framework of the natural sciences.Read More
Publication Year: 2021
Publication Date: 2021-08-17
Language: en
Type: article
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