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Spring 2007
A New Theory
of the Universe
Biocent rism buil ds on q uant um physics
by putt ing life into th e eq uation
By Robert Lanza
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Our sci enc e fa ils to rec og nize th os e spe ci al prop ert ie s of li fe th at make i t fun da men ta l
to m ate rial rea li ty . This v iew of the world— bi oc ent rism—revolves aroun d th e wa y a
sub je ct ive ex per ie nce, w hich we cal l co nsci ou sne ss , re la te s to a p hy sic al p roce ss . It i s a
vast m ys te ry and one that I h ave p ursu ed m y e nt ire li fe . The co ncl us io ns I h ave draw n
pla ce bi olo gy above th e ot he r scie nces in the att em pt to sol ve one of natur e’s b igg es t
puz zles , the th eo ry of ever yt hing th at ot her d isc ip li ne s h ave b ee n p ursu ing for th e l as t
cen tu ry. S uc h a th eo ry wo ul d u nite al l known ph en omena u nde r one u mbrel la ,
fur nish ing sci en ce w ith a n al l- enc ompa ss ing e xp la natio n of n atu re o r re ali ty .
Mos t of the se co mp re he nsive the orie s are n o more th an sto ries th at fai l to take i nt o
acc ou nt o ne cruc ia l fac to r: w e are c re at ing t he m. It i s th e bi olo gica l creat ure th at make s
obs er vati ons, n ame s wh at i t ob se rves , and creat es s to ries . Sc ie nce has not su cce ed ed i n
confronti ng the ele me nt of e xi st enc e that is at once most fa milia r and m os t
mys te riou s— consc io us ex pe rienc e. A s E me rson wrot e i n “Ex pe rien ce, ” an es sa y that
confronte d the f ac il e p os it ivis m o f his age : “We have le arne d t hat we d o not s ee d irect ly ,
but me di at ely , and that we h ave no me ans of co rrect ing the se c ol ored and di st orting
len se s which we are or of co mp uti ng th e amoun t of th ei r e rrors. Pe rha ps th es e
sub je ct le nses have a crea ti ve p owe r; p er hap s th er e are n o ob jec ts .”
Biolo gy i s at first gla nce an u nlikel y so urce for a n ew the ory of the u niverse. B ut at a
tim e whe n bi ol og is ts b el ie ve the y h ave d isc over ed the “u niversal c el l” i n the fo rm of
emb ryonic st em c el ls , and whe n c os molog is ts li ke S te ph en Hawking pred ict th at a
unify ing th eo ry of th e un ivers e may be dis co vere d in the n ex t tw o de ca de s, sho uld n’t
bio lo gy se ek to u nify e xi st ing th eo ries of the ph ys ical world a nd th e l iving wo rl d? W hat
oth er d is ci pli ne c an a pp roach i t? B iol og y sh ou ld be t he f irst and la st s tud y of s ci en ce. It
is ou r ow n natu re that is u nlocked b y me ans of the h um anly c rea te d natu ral sc ien ce s
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use d to un de rsta nd the un iverse. Ever since the re motes t of ti me s p hilos op he rs h ave
acknowl ed ge d the p rimacy of consc io us ne ss— th at all truths and p rincip les of be ing
mus t beg in wi th th e ind ivid ua l m ind and se lf . Thu s Des ca rtes ’s ad age : “C ogi to , e rgo
sum .” (I think, the re fore I am.) I n ad dit io n to De sc artes , who b rough t ph ilo so ph y i nt o
its m od er n era , th er e w er e many ot he r ph ilo so ph er s who a rgue d a lo ng t he se li ne s: Ka nt ,
Leibniz, Bisho p Be rkele y, Sch op enh au er , and H en ri B ergso n, t o n ame a fe w.
We have fai led to prote ct sci en ce ag ai nst spe cu la ti ve ex te nsions of n at ure , co nt inuing
to ass ign p hy si ca l and math ema ti ca l p rope rties to h ypoth et ic al en tit ie s b ey ond what i s
obs er vabl e in n at ure. The e th er of th e 19 th c en tu ry, th e “s pa cet ime” of E inste in, and
the st ring the ory of rec en t de ca de s, which pos it s n ew d imen sio ns sh owi ng up i n
dif fe re nt rea lms , and not only i n st rings but i n bu bb le s sh immer ing do wn t he b ywa ys o f
the un iver se —all the se are ex ampl es of thi s spe cu la tio n. Inde ed , un se en di me nsions
(up t o a hu ndred i n som e th eo ries) a re n ow e nvisi oned e veryw he re , som e cu rl ed u p l ike
sod a st raws at e very po int in s pac e.
Today ’s preoc cu pa ti on w it h p hy sic al th eo rie s of e veryt hing ta kes a wrong turn from th e
pur po se o f sc ie nce—t o ques ti on a ll things rel en tl es sly . Mo de rn p hy si cs h as b eco me l ike
Swi ft ’s kingd om of Lap ut a, fly ing absu rdly on an is la nd above th e ea rth and i nd if fer en t
to wh at i s be ne at h. Whe n sc ien ce t ries t o re so lve it s co nf lic ts by ad di ng a nd s ub tracting
dim en si ons to th e u niverse li ke ho us es on a Mo nopo ly bo ard, we n ee d to l ook at ou r
dog mas and re co gni ze th at th e c racks in th e sys tem are j us t the point s that l et the li gh t
shi ne m ore direc tl y on th e my st ery o f li fe.
The urge nt and p rimary q ue st ions of the un iver se have bee n u nd er ta ken by th os e
phy si ci st s wh o are trying to ex pl ain th e origins of ever yt hing wit h grand u nifie d
the orie s. B ut a s ex ci ti ng a nd g la morous as th es e th eo rie s are, th ey are a n evas io n, i f not
a rever sa l, o f th e cen tral m ys te ry of knowl ed ge : th at the la ws o f th e wo rl d we re s omeho w
cre at ed to p roduc e th e obs er ver. And m ore impor ta nt th an this, th at th e ob ser ver in a
sig nifi ca nt se nse crea te s rea li ty and n ot th e othe r way arou nd . Rec og nit io n of this
insight l ea ds to a s ing le t he ory t hat un ifi es o ur u nde rsta nd ing o f th e wor ld .
Mod er n sc ie nce ca nnot e xp lai n why the l aw s of p hy si cs are e xactl y b alanced f or animal
life to e xi st . Fo r exa mp le , if t he bi g bang h ad bee n one-p art- in-a b ill io n more p ow erf ul ,
it wou ld have rus he d ou t too fa st for th e ga la xi es to form and for li fe to b eg in. If th e
str ong nu cl ea r force wer e de cre as ed b y tw o pe rce nt , at omic nu cl ei wou ld n’t h ol d
tog et he r. Hyd roge n wo ul d be the only ato m in the un iverse. If the gravita tio nal fo rce
wer e de crea se d, s ta rs ( inclu di ng t he s un ) wo uld not ign it e. The se a re j us t th re e of m ore
tha n 200 ph ys ic al p arame te rs wit hin the sol ar sys te m and universe so e xact that the y
cannot be random. Inde ed, t he l ac k of a sc ie nt if ic ex pl anat ion h as a ll owe d th es e fa cts t o
be hija cked as a d ef ens e of i nt ell igen t des ign.
This p arad ox li es at the he art of one of th e gre at revol ut io ns of 20th-ce nt ury p hys ic s, a
revol ut io n tha t has ye t to ta ke h ol d of ou r un de rstandi ng o f th e wo rld a nd o f th e de cis ive
role that co nsci ou sne ss pl ay s in de te rmining th e natu re of rea li ty . The u ncer tai nt y
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Spa ce and time are the tw o co ncep ts we take m os t for grant ed in our li ves. We h ave
bee n tau gh t that the y are me as urable . The y e xi st. They ’re rea l. And that rea li ty has
bee n re info rce d ever y d ay o f ou r l ives .
Mos t of u s li ve wi th ou t th inking abst ractl y abou t time and space . They are su ch an
int eg ral p art of ou r l ives th at exa minati on of the m i s as u nnat ural as an e xaminatio n of
wal king or b re at hing. In f ac t, many p eo ple fe el s il ly t al king a bo ut tim e and s pa ce in an
abs trac t, analy ti cal wa y. The q ue st io n “D oe s ti me e xi st ?” c an see m l ike so m uc h
phi lo so ph ic al bab bl e. Af te r all, th e c lo ck ti cks, th e y ea rs pa ss, we age and d ie. Isn’t
tim e the only thing we ca n be ce rtai n of? Equa ll y i nconso nant is th e q ue st io n of
wheth er or not spac e e xi st s. “O bviou sl y spa ce e xi st s,” we m igh t answe r, “b eca us e we
live in i t. We m ove throu gh i t, dr ive th rough i t, buil d in i t, me as ure it.”
Time and spa ce are e as y to tal k and think about . Fi nd yo urself sh ort of e it he r or
bot h—la te fo r work, st anding i n a stal le d sub wa y c ar pa cked wi th ride rs— and i ss ue s of
tim e and spac e are obvio us: “It’s c rowde d and I’m un co mf orta ble and m y b os s i s go ing
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Yet we a ll know that spac e and ti me are not th ings —ob je ct s th at you ca n se e, f ee l, tas te ,
tou ch , or sme ll. The y are int angibl e, li ke gravity . In fa ct the y are mod es of
int er pret at ion and un de rsta ndi ng, p art of the animal l og ic that mold s sens at io ns i nt o
mul ti di me nsional o bj ect s.
We l ive on the e dge of time , wh er e to morrow h as n’t hap pe ne d ye t. E veryth ing bef ore
thi s mome nt is p art of th e hist ory o f th e u niverse, go ne f oreve r. O r so we bel ie ve.
Think fo r a minut e abo ut tim e flo wi ng forwa rd into the futu re and h ow e xt raordi nary i t
is th at we are h ere , al ive on the e dg e of all time. I magine all the d ays and hou rs that
have pas se d since th e b eg inning of ti me . N ow st ac k the m like ch airs on to p of e ac h
oth er , and se at yo urse lf on th e v er y top . S ci en ce has n o rea l ex pla nati on fo r why we ’re
her e, for wh y we ex ist n ow . A cc ordi ng to the cu rrent p hy si oce nt ric world view , i t’s j us t
an acc id en t, a one -in-a-g azil li on ch ance th at I am h er e and th at yo u are th er e. The
sta ti st ic al p robabil it y of bei ng on top o f ti me o r infi nity i s so s mall a s to be me aningle ss .
Yet t his is ge ne rall y h ow t he h uman mind co ncei ves tim e.
In c las si ca l sc ie nce, h umans p la ce all things in time and spac e on a co nt inuum . The
universe i s 15 to 20 bi lli on ye ars ol d; th e e arth five or six. Ho mo er ec tus ap pe ared fou r
milli on ye ars ago , b ut he to ok th ree -and -a-h alf mill io n y ea rs to di sc ove r fire, and
anoth er 4 90,000 to i nvent ag ricul tu re . And so fo rth. Time in a me ch anist ic un iverse
(as d esc ribe d b y N ew to n and Ei nste in and Darwi n) is an arrow u po n which even ts are
not ch ed . Bu t imag ine , inst ea d, t hat rea li ty i s li ke a s ou nd reco rding. Lis ten ing to a n ol d
pho nograp h d oe sn’t al te r the re co rd it se lf, and de pe ndi ng on whe re th e n ee dl e i s
pla ce d, yo u hea r a c er ta in pi ec e of m us ic . This i s wha t we ca ll th e p re se nt . The mu si c
bef ore and aft er the so ng y ou are he aring is what we ca ll th e pa st and th e futu re .
Imagine , i n l ike manner , that ever y m omen t and d ay en du re s in natu re al wa ys. The
rec ord do es not go awa y. Al l nows (al l the songs on the rec ord) e xi st simul ta ne ous ly ,
alt ho ug h we c an only ex pe rien ce th e world (o r the re co rd) p ie ce by pi ec e. If we co ul d
acc es s al l li fe —the who le rec ord—w e c ould e xpe rien ce i t non-se quent ia ll y. W e co ul d
know our c hildr en as tod dl ers , as te en ag ers , as se nior ci ti ze ns—al l now . In th e e nd ,
eve n E inste in admit te d, “ No w [Bes so —o ne o f his old est frie nds ] h as d ep arte d from t his
str ange w orld a l it tl e ahea d of m e. That me ans nothi ng. Pe op le l ike us . . . know t hat th e
dis ti ncti on be tw ee n pas t, p re se nt, and futu re i s only a st ub bornly pe rsist en t il lu sio n.”
That th ere i s an irre versibl e, on-f lo wi ng co nt inuum of eve nt s linke d to ga la xi es and
sun s and th e e arth i s a f anta sy .
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com pa riso n of even ts. Sp ec if icall y, ove r the age s, hu mans h ave obse rved rhyth mic
eve nt s i n natu re : th e p eri od ic it ies of the moon, th e su n, th e fl oo di ng of the N il e. W e
the n c re at ed oth er rhy th mic th ings to m ea su re n at ure’s rhyt hms: a pe nd ul um, a
mec hanica l spring, an e le ctronic de vice . We ca ll ed th es e manmade rhyt hmic d evice s
“cl oc ks.” We use th e rhy thm s of spe ci fic even ts to ti me oth er spec ifi c e vent s. Bu t th es e
are j us t events, n ot to be co nf use d wi th ti me .
Qua nt um mec hanics d es crib es the tiny world of th e ato m and it s c onsti tu en ts wit h
stu nning ac cu racy . It is u se d to des ign and b ui ld m uc h of the te chnol og y th at drives
mod er n soc ie ty —transi st ors, la se rs, and even wi re le ss co mmun icati on. B ut q uantu m
mec hanics in m any ways th re at ens not only ou r e ss ent ia l and abs ol ut e n oti ons of spac e
and ti me , b ut indee d, al l N ew to nian-Darwinian co ncep tio ns of orde r and sec ure
pre di ct io n.
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in, w he th er on m ot io n o r po si ti on.
All of this m akes sen se from a b io ce nt ric p ers pe ct ive: ti me is th e i nner form of animal
sen se that animat es e vents —the sti ll frame s—o f th e spat ia l wo rl d. The m ind animate s
the world like the m ot or and gea rs of a proje ct or. E ac h wea ves a seri es of sti ll pi ctu re s
int o an order , into t he “ cu rren t” of li fe. Mot io n is c re at ed i n ou r mind s by run ning “f il m
cel ls ” to ge th er. Remem be r th at e veryt hing y ou p er cei ve, even this pa ge, i s be ing
rec onst ruct ed i nside you r h ead . I t’s happe ning t o y ou right n ow . Al l of e xp er ie nce is a n
org anized w hirl of i nfo rmat io n in yo ur brain.
Hei se nber g’s u nce rtai nt y p rinci pl e h as it s roo t h er e: pos it io n ( lo ca tio n in spa ce )
bel ongs to the out er world , and m oment um ( wh ic h involves the tem po ral) b el ongs to
the inne r world . B y p en etr at ing to the bo tt om of matt er, sc ie nt is ts have re duc ed th e
universe to i ts m ost b as ic l og ic. Time is n ot a fea tu re of th e ex ter nal spat ia l wor ld .
“Co nt em po rary sc ie nce ,” sai d Hei se nberg, “t od ay more th an at any p re vious time, has
bee n fo rced by n at ure h er se lf to p os e aga in the ol d ques tio n of the po ss ib il ity of
com preh en di ng re al it y by m en ta l proc ess es , and to answe r it i n a sl ight ly d if fer en t
way .”
Twe nt y- fi ve h un dred yea rs la te r, the Zeno arrow pa radox fi nall y make s sen se. The
Ele at ic sch oo l of ph il os oph y, wh ich Zeno b rill ia nt ly d ef en ded , was right . S o wa s
Hei se nber g wh en he sai d, “A pa th c omes into e xi st enc e only whe n yo u ob se rve i t.”
The re i s ne ith er time n or m ot io n wit ho ut l ife. Re al it y i s not “t he re” wit h de finit e
pro pe rtie s wai tin g to be di sc ove re d b ut ac tu al ly co me s i nt o b ei ng de pen di ng up on th e
actio ns o f t he o bs er ver.
Dub be d q uantu m we irdn es s, this wa ve-p artic le dua li ty has be fud dl ed sci en ti st s fo r
dec ad es . Some of th e great es t ph ys ic ist s have d es cribe d it as impo ss ib le to int ui t and
imp os si bl e to formu la te into wo rds , and as i nvali da ti ng co mmon se nse and ordin ary
per ce pt io n. Sci en ce has e ss ent ia ll y c once ded th at quantu m p hys ic s i s
incompreh en sib le ou ts ide of co mp le x math em at ics . How ca n q uantu m p hy sic s b e so
imp er viou s to me ta ph or, vis ua li zatio n, a nd la ngua ge ?
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Sci en ce h as be en grappl ing with th e impl ic ati ons of th e wa ve-p artic le dua li ty e ver
since i ts d is co very i n th e fi rst half of th e 20th c en tu ry. But fe w pe opl e acce pt this
princip le at fac e v al ue . The Cop en hagen inte rpre tat io n, pu t i n p lac e b y Hei se nbe rg,
Nie ls B oh r, and Born i n the 1920s, set o ut t o do j ust t hat. B ut it w as t oo u nse tt li ng a sh if t
in wor ld view to ac ce pt in full . A t p re se nt, the impli ca ti ons of the se ex pe rimen ts are
convenien tl y ignore d b y l imiti ng th e n ot ion of quantu m b eh avior to th e m ic rosco pi c
wor ld . B ut do ing this h as no basi s i n rea so n, and i t is be ing c hal le nged in la bo ratorie s
aroun d th e world . Ne w ex pe rime nt s ca rrie d ou t wi th hu ge m ol ec ule s c al led bu ckyba ll s
sho w tha t quantum real it y ext en ds into the macrosc op ic wo rl d as we ll . E xp er ime nt s
make i t cl ea r that anot her we ird quantu m ph en omen on known a s e nt angle me nt , wh ic h
is u su all y asso ci at ed w it h th e micro world, is als o re le vant on macro sc al es . An ex cit ing
exp er imen t, re ce nt ly prop ose d (s o-c al le d sca le d- up su pe rpo si ti on), wo ul d furnish th e
mos t p ow erf ul evide nce to da te tha t the b io ce nt ric view of the world i s c orrec t at th e
lev el o f living orga nisms.
What I w ou ld quest io n, wit h res pec t to so li psis m, i s the a ss um pt ion th at our indi vidua l
sep arat en es s i s an abs ol ut e rea li ty . B el l’s e xp eri me nt impl ie s the e xiste nce of li nkage s
tha t transc en d ou r ordinary wa y of thi nking. A n old H indu poe m say s, “Kn ow i n thys el f
and all one self- sa me so ul ; b anis h the d rea m th at su nd ers p art from who le .” If time i s
onl y a st ub bornly p er sis te nt il lus io n, as w e h ave seen , the n th e same c an b e sai d abou t
spa ce . The dis ti ncti on be tw ee n her e and the re i s al so not an abso lu te real it y. W ith ou t
consc io us ne ss, we c an take any per so n as our n ew frame of re fe re nce. I t is n ot m y
consc io us ne ss or y ou rs alon e, b ut our s. That ’s the ne w so li psism the e xp er ime nt s
manda te . The the oris t B er nard d ’Es pa gnat , a c ol la bo rator of Ni els B oh r and Enric o
Fer mi, h as sai d that “non-se parabil it y i s now one of th e most ce rtain gen era l co nce pt s
in p hys ic s.” This i s not to s ay t hat ou r mind s, l ike th e pa rticl es i n Be ll ’s e xp er ime nt , are
linke d in any way that ca n viola te the l aw s of c au sa li ty. In this same se nse, the re i s a
part of us co nnec ted to th e gl ow wo rm by the po nd n ea r m y h ous e. It is the pa rt that
exp er ie nces c onsc io us nes s, not in ou r e xt ernal em bo dim en ts bu t i n ou r i nner bei ng.
We c an only imagine and rec ol le ct things while i n th e b ody ; th is is for sure, b eca us e
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sen sa ti ons and me mories are mol de d int o th oug ht and know led ge i n the brai n. And
alt ho ug h we id en ti fy ou rsel ves wit h ou r th oug ht s and aff ec ti ons, it i s an e ss ent ia l
fea tu re o f r ea li ty t hat w e ex pe rie nce th e w orld p ie ce by p ie ce.
Eug en e Wigner , one of the 20th ce nt ury’s grea tes t p hys ic is ts , ca ll ed i t impo ssi bl e “t o
formu la te the la ws of [p hys ic s] i n a ful ly c onsi ste nt way wit hou t re fe re nce to th e
consc io us ne ss [ of the obs erver ].” Inde ed , quantum the ory impl ie s th at c onsc io usn es s
mus t ex is t and th at t he c ont en t of t he m ind is t he u lt imate rea li ty . If we do n ot lo ok a t it ,
the moon do es n ot ex is t in a d ef inite st at e. In thi s world , only an ac t of ob se rvat ion ca n
confe r sh ap e a nd f orm t o re al it y—t o a da nde li on i n a mea do w or a se ed p od.
As we h ave se en, the world ap pe ars to b e d es igne d for l if e not ju st at the m ic rosco pi c
sca le of th e atom , bu t at th e le vel of the u niverse it self. I n c osm ol og y, sci en tis ts h ave
dis co vere d th at th e un iver se h as a l ong li st of trait s that make it app ea r as if ever yth ing
it c onta ins—f rom atom s to stars— wa s ta il or-mad e fo r u s. Many are c al li ng this
revel at io n the Gol di lo cks p rincip le, b ec au se the co smos i s not too this or too that , bu t
jus t right for li fe . Oth ers are c al ling i t the anthrop ic princip le , b ec aus e the un iverse
app ea rs t o be hu man ce nt ere d. A nd s ti ll ot he rs a re ca ll ing it inte ll igen t d es ign, beca us e
the y b el ieve i t’s no ac ci de nt that th e h ea vens are so ide al ly su ite d for us. By any name ,
the d is co very i s ca us ing a hu ge c ommot io n wi th in the ast rop hy si cs c ommunit y and
bey ond.
At th e momen t, the only atte mp t at an e xp la natio n ho lds that God m ad e the u niverse .
But t he re i s anot he r ex pla nati on bas ed o n sc ie nce . To und er st and th e my ste ry, we n ee d
to ree xamine th e e veryd ay wo rl d we l ive i n. As unimaginabl e as i t m ay see m to u s, th e
log ic o f quantum p hy si cs is i ne sc ap abl e. E very m orning we o pe n our f ront d oo r to bring
in th e pa pe r or to go to wo rk. We ope n th e doo r to rai n, snow, or trees swa yi ng i n th e
bre ez e. W e th ink the world c hu rns alo ng whe th er we h ap pe n to ope n th e doo r or n ot .
Qua nt um m ec hanic s te lls u s it d oes n’t.
The tree s and snow e vaporat e when we ’re sle epi ng. The kitch en di sa ppe ars whe n we ’re
in th e bath room. Whe n yo u tur n from o ne room t o th e nex t, w he n you r animal s ens es n o
lon ge r p er ce ive the so un ds of th e d is hw as her , the ticking c lo ck, the smel l of a c hic ke n
roast ing— th e kitc hen and al l it s seem ingl y di sc re te b it s di ss ol ve i nt o noth ingness —o r
int o wa ves of p robabil it y. The u niverse burst s into e xi ste nce from l if e, n ot th e ot he r wa y
aroun d as we have be en ta ugh t. Fo r eac h life the re is a un ivers e, it s own u niver se . W e
gen er at e sphe re s of rea li ty , indi vidu al b ub ble s of ex is te nce . Our p la ne t is com pris ed o f
bil li ons of s ph er es of rea li ty , ge ne rated by ea ch i nd ividu al h um an a nd p er hap s even by
eac h animal .
Imagine ag ai n y ou ’re on the sta lle d sub wa y car worrie d about b ein g la te fo r work. The
eng inee rs ge t the th ing run ning aga in and m os t of the ot he r c ommu ter s soo n
dis em bark. W hat i s y ou r u niverse at the mome nt ? The sc re ech ing sou nd of me ta l
wheel s aga inst m et al tracks. Yo ur fel lo w pa ss en ge rs. The ads fo r Roga ine and tec h
sch oo ls . What is n ot y ou r universe? E veryt hing outs id e yo ur range of p er ce pt ion d oe s
not e xi st . No w sup po se that I ’m wit h you on th e train. My i nd ivid ual sph er e of real it y
int er se ct s wit h y ou rs. W e tw o h um an be ings wi th ne arly i den ti ca l p er ce pt io n too ls are
exp er ie ncing t he s ame h arsh l ighti ng a nd un co mf orta ble s ou nd s.
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Phy si ca l rea li ty be gins and e nd s wit h the animal ob ser ver. Al l oth er ti me s and p lac es ,
all ot he r obj ec ts and even ts are prod uc ts of th e imag inat io n, and se rve only to un it e
knowl ed ge i nt o a l og ic al w ho le . We are pl ea se d wi th su ch b oo ks a s N ew to n’s Pr in cip ia ,
or Darwin’s Ori gi n of Sp ecies. B ut they i nst il l a c ompla ce ncy i n the rea der . Darwi n
spo ke of th e p oss ib il it y th at li fe em erged from inorg anic matt er i n some “wa rm lit tl e
pond.” Tryi ng to trace l if e do wn th rough si mpl er st age s i s one thing, bu t as su ming i t
arose sponta neo us ly from n onli ving matte r wants for th e rigor and at te nt ion of th e
quant um t he orist .
Neu rosc ie nt ist s b el ie ve that the p robl em of consc io us nes s c an so me day be so lved once
we u nde rsta nd all the syn ap tic conne ct io ns i n th e brain. “The too ls of ne uros ci enc e,”
wro te p hilos op he r and aut ho r David Chal me rs ( Scienti fic Ameri can, De ce mber 19 95 )
“ca nnot provid e a full acc ou nt of co nscio us ex pe rien ce, al th ou gh th ey have m uc h to
off er . . . . Co nscio us ne ss m ight be e xp la ined by a n ew kind of t he ory.” Ind ee d, in a 198 3
Nat io nal Acad em y Re por t, the Res ea rch Briefing Pane l on Cog niti ve S cie nce and
Artif ic ia l I nte ll igen ce sta te d that th e q ue st ions to which it c once rned i ts el f “re fle ct a
singl e un de rlying great sci en ti fic m ys te ry, on pa r wit h un de rst andi ng the evol ut ion of
the u niverse, th e origi n of l if e, or t he natu re o f ele me nt ary parti cl es .”
Phy si ci st s be li eve tha t th e th eo ry o f ever yt hing is hover ing righ t arou nd the c orner , and
yet c ons ci ou snes s i s sti ll la rgel y a my st er y, and p hy si ci sts h ave n o i de a h ow to e xpl ai n
its e xi st enc e from ph ys ic al la ws . The q ue st io ns ph ys ic ist s lo ng to ask abou t natu re are
bou nd up wit h the p robl em of c onsc iou snes s. Phy si cs can furnis h no answe rs fo r th em .
“Le t man,” de cl ared Em er so n, “ th en l ear n th e re vela tio n of a ll n at ure and al l th oug ht t o
his he art; thi s, name ly; th at the High es t dw el ls wi th h im; that th e sou rce s of n at ure are
in his ow n mind.”
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