A Theoretical Solution of the Mind-Body Problem: An Operationalized Proof that no Purely Physical System Can Exhibit all the Properties of Human Consciousness
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2017
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| _version_ | 1866910252639715328 |
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| author | Reason, Catherine |
| author_facet | Reason, Catherine |
| contents | This article presents an operationalized solution to the mind-body problem which relies on rigorously defined theoretical reasoning rather than philosophical argument. We identify a specific operation which is a necessary property of all healthy human conscious individuals -- specifically the operation of self-certainty, or the capacity of healthy conscious humans to "know" with certainty that they are conscious. This operation is shown to be inconsistent with the properties possible in any meaningful definition of a physical system. This inconsistency is demonstrated by proving a "no-go" theorem for any physical system capable of human logical reasoning, if this reasoning is required to be both sound and consistent. The proof of this theorem is both general -- it applies to any function whereby evidence affects the state of some physical system -- and recursive, since any physical process subserving a function of this type is shown to imply another such function. Thus for at least one aspect of human consciousness, the mind-body problem is now conclusively resolved. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_1706_04192 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Theoretical Solution of the Mind-Body Problem: An Operationalized Proof that no Purely Physical System Can Exhibit all the Properties of Human Consciousness Reason, Catherine Neurons and Cognition This article presents an operationalized solution to the mind-body problem which relies on rigorously defined theoretical reasoning rather than philosophical argument. We identify a specific operation which is a necessary property of all healthy human conscious individuals -- specifically the operation of self-certainty, or the capacity of healthy conscious humans to "know" with certainty that they are conscious. This operation is shown to be inconsistent with the properties possible in any meaningful definition of a physical system. This inconsistency is demonstrated by proving a "no-go" theorem for any physical system capable of human logical reasoning, if this reasoning is required to be both sound and consistent. The proof of this theorem is both general -- it applies to any function whereby evidence affects the state of some physical system -- and recursive, since any physical process subserving a function of this type is shown to imply another such function. Thus for at least one aspect of human consciousness, the mind-body problem is now conclusively resolved. |
| title | A Theoretical Solution of the Mind-Body Problem: An Operationalized Proof that no Purely Physical System Can Exhibit all the Properties of Human Consciousness |
| topic | Neurons and Cognition |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.04192 |