Quantum panprotopsychism and a consciousness-centered universe

Abstract

In previous publications, we have argued that a form of panprotopsychism based on quantum states and events offers a solution to the combination problem. This framework explains the emergence of complex phenomenal qualities and conscious subjects. Furthermore, the inherent openness of quantum mechanics allows consciousness –—and, more generally, phenomenal properties —– to exert a causal influence. If the view proposed by quantum panprotopsychism is valid, it suggests that we inhabit a consciousness-centered universe. A world whose fundamental nature is phenomenal. This is at odds with the current view about the human condition that was strongly influenced by a science based on classical mechanicism, and led to nihilism and existentialism in late 19th-century Europe, and more recently to the rise of anti-foundationalists perspectives. The centrality of consciousness resulting from the incorporation of a quantum ontology into our worldview leads us to reconsider the nihilistic view and conclude that we live in a world in which a precise physical order leads to people capable of accessing a transcendent phenomenal realm.