General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Quantum Physicists and their take on Consciousness [View all]DetlefK
(16,423 posts)What is the difference between you and a piece of rock in quantum-mechanical terms?
There is none. The rock is just as capable of reacting to quantum-mechanical incidents as you are.
The rock observes a photon by electronic excitation. Just as your eye does.
The rock observes the solidity of the ground by the Pauli-principle. Just as your body does.
This rock has as much "consciousness" as you have.
"Consciousness" as some mystical attribute that makes you special, and the rest of the world mundane, does no exist.
And please stay away from that "appeal-to-authority"-bullshit. Believing a scientist simply because that scientist was famous is deeply unscientific. (You wouldn't believe how many philosophical biases the scientific community secretly harbors from the ages before research was streamlind into the scientific method.) If an idea can't stand on its own merits, it's a bad idea. Simple as that.