[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.We will thenin the following chapters examine possible objections to his scheme.Some might claim that there areprima facie reasons for thinking that quantum theory is not relevant to the mind-body problem, reasonswhich have to be taken into account by anyone proposing otherwise, including Bohm.We will thusexamine some such prima facie reasons and examine whether Bohm's approach is touched by them(Chapter 3).We will also discuss the nature and plausibility of the ontological interpretation itself; itsadvantages and disadvantages and some criticisms levelled against it (Chapters 4 and 5).For if thisinterpretation should turn out to be incorrect, it is not clear whether active information can be extended tothe quantum level, and thus the current form of Bohm's mind-matter theory cannot be sustained.In discussing the ontological interpretation we will give specific attention to the question of whether it isjustified and reasonable to make the radical hypothesis that active information applies at the quantum level.What are the reasons for postulating this? What does this concept explain? Could we do without it just aswell? Is it just a matter of taste, or do the experiments imply the need for its postulation? We will then tryto understand the nature of active information more deeply.Does it imply a new concept of causality? Inwhat sense is it information? Does it have representational or intentional properties? But we are runningahead of ourselves.Let us first have a look at Bohm's views on the relation of mind and matter, theontological interpretation of quantum theory and the notion of active information.2.2 Bohm's 1990 paper on mind and matter(Added in 1999 for the web course): this chapter discusses Bohm's 1990 paper in detail and also makesmany quotations of it.It is, however, recommended that you read the original paper in the web address first& can in that way compare your own reading of it with the remarks below.(end of 1999 insert)Bohm has discussed the problem of the relation of mind and matter throughout his recent work andespecially in his 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987 (with David Peat), 1989 and 1990.I will here concentrate on hislatest formulation on this topic, the 1990 paper "A New Theory of the Relation of Mind and Matter" whichwas published in the journal Philosophical Psychology.Let us first consider what he says in the abstract:The relationship of mind and matter is approached in a new way in this article.This approach isbased on the causal interpretation of the quantum theory, in which an electron, for example, isregarded as an inseparable union of a particle and a field.This field has, however, some newproperties that can be seen to be the main sources of the differences between the quantum theoryand the classical (Newtonian) theory.These new properties suggest that the field may be regardedas containing objective and active information, and that the activity of this information is similarin certain key ways to the activity of information in our ordinary subjective experience.Theanalogy between mind and matter is thus fairly close.This analogy leads to the proposal of thegeneral outlines of a new theory of mind, matter, and their relationship, in which the basic notionis participation rather than interaction.Although the theory can be developed mathematically inmore detail, the main emphasis here is to show qualitatively how it provides a way of thinking thatdoes not divide mind from matter, and thus leads to a more coherent understanding of suchquestions than is possible in the common dualistic and reductionistic approaches.These ideas maybe relevant to connectionist theories and might perhaps suggest new directions for theirdevelopment.(1990: 271)This summary brings succinctly together the issues with which we will be concerned throughout this study.Bohm emphasizes that his new approach is based on his causal (or as he later preferred to call it,ontological) interpretation of the quantum theory.We are told the basics of Bohm's quantum ontology:each individual system is simultaneously both a particle and a field (as opposed to the wave-particle dualityof the "conventional" interpretation of quantum theory according to which an individual quantum system isto be described either as a wave or a particle at any one moment (but not as both simultaneously),depending on the experimental situation).We are also told that the new properties of the quantum field ?are the essential difference between the quantum theory and Newtonian theory [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]