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The Unconscious Quantum: Metaphysics in Modern Physics and Cosmology
In this fascinating and accessible book, physicist Victor J. Stenger guides the lay reader through the key developments of quantum mechanics and the debate over its apparent paradoxes. In the process, he critically appraises recent metaphysical fads. Dr. Stenger's knack for elucidating scientific ideas and controversies in language that the nonspecialist can comprehend opens up to the widest possible audience a wealth of information on the most important findings of contemporary physics.
- GenresSciencePhysicsNonfiction
322 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 1995
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246 people want to read
About the author
Victor J. Stenger
27 books214 followersVictor John Stenger was an American particle physicist, outspoken atheist and author, active in philosophy and popular religious skepticism.
He published 13 books for general audiences on physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, philosophy, religion, atheism, and pseudoscience. He popularized the phrase "Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings".
He published 13 books for general audiences on physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, philosophy, religion, atheism, and pseudoscience. He popularized the phrase "Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 24, 2024
IS “MATTER SUFFICIENT TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING”? STENGER SAYS “YES”
Victor John Stenger (1935-2014) was an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado and emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii; he was also a regular featured science columnist for the Huffington Post, and a prominent religious skeptic. He has written many other books, such as 'God and the Multiverse: Humanity's Expanding View of the Cosmos,' 'The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us,' 'The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason,' 'Not by Design,' 'Has Science Found God? The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe,' 'God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1995 book, “Although the metaphysical elements of the various interpretations of quantum mechanics imply quite different conclusions about the nature of physical reality, they have been muddled together in a new genre of popular literature I call ‘quantum metaphysics.’ This book takes a detailed look at both quantum mechanics and quantum metaphysics in an attempt to find a parsimonious explanation for their apparent paradoxes and cosmic implications. We will also review some of the other discoveries in modern physics and cosmology claimed to have metaphysical consequences… Much of the literature of modern metaphysics… is written in a ‘gee whiz’ fashion for a popular audience… My task is much more difficult, if not impossible, since I am telling people things that many do not want to hear; that according to our best knowledge, the world of matter is all that exists.” (Pg. 11)
He asserts, “the most economical conclusions to be drawn from the complete library of scientific data is that we are material beings composed of atoms and molecules, ordered by the largely chance processes of self-organization and evolution to become capable of the complex behavior associated with the notions of life and mind. The data provide us with no reason to postulate undetectable vital or spiritual, transcendent forces. Matter is sufficient to explain everything discovered thus far by the most powerful scientific instruments.” (Pg. 18)
He recounts, “The idea of a cosmic field of mind merging physics with Hindu mysticism has also been promoted by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation movement… the Maharishi very specifically associated his version of cosmic consciousness with the Grand Unified Theory (GUT)… Unfortunately, reality intervened… As a result of … precision tests, Grand Unified Theories have fallen out of fashion… As of this writing, GUT has been replaced as the Maharishi’s cosmic field by the currently more trendy ‘superstrings.’ If superstring theory is found wanting, as I suspect it will be, I am sure the yogi will find some other physics fashion to exploit.” (Pg. 25) But he adds, “I caution the reader against making the connection between reductionism and Newtonian determinism that is found in so much New Age literature. A nondeterministic but still reductionistic universe is perfectly possible.” (Pg. 26)
He states, “Most parapsychologists believe the evidence for psi is strong enough to conclude that the phenomena are real. I think they are dead wrong. In my mind, all these years of searching with no convincing evidence should be taken as a clear indication that psi does not exist. Parapsychologists and I disagree on this, but conscientious psi researchers cannot deny that a board scientific consensus has yet to be assembled in support of their position.” (Pg. 31-32)
He says, “I ask myself: Do I really want to be one with the universe, so intimately intertwined with all of existence that my individual existence is meaningless? I find I much prefer the notion that I am a temporary bit of organized matter. At least I am my own bit of matter. Every thought and action that results from the remarkable interactions of my personal bag of atoms belongs to me alone. And so these thoughts and actions carry far greater value than it they belonged to some cosmic mind that I cannot even dimly perceive.” (Pg. 41)
He notes, “When performing experiments, we insert our detectors at particular points where they scramble the particle’s phase. This explains why reality appears different for different experimental arrangements. Placing a detector at a certain point where previously no material object was present allows that point to become part of an allowed history---a part of reality… measurements interact with the system being measured in a granular universe. In the Copenhagen interpretation, this leads to a dual universe of quantum system and classical observer. However, now we see that the classical observer is simply an agent of docoherence, and its role can be performed by the environment that is part of the overall quantum system. After all, a detector is part of the environment too. Clearly a conscious observer is not necessary. The falls in the forest, even when no one is looking.” (Pg. 189-190)
He comments, “I feel compelled to comment on what strikes me … as an obvious flaw in an oft-heard assertion that goes something like this: Nothing can exist without being created; thus a creator exists. Who created the creator? Presumably it is uncreated. We can see that introducing a creator dos not solve the problem of creation; it just pushes it back one more level. Why make things more complicated than they have to be? This violates the law of parsimony. If it is logically possible that something can exist that was not created, then why can’t that something be the universe itself?” (Pg. 223)
He argues, “the probability for the universe we life in existing as it does, having the values of the fundamental constants that it has… is 100 percent! Some universe happened, and it happened to be the one we have. Still, it is argued that if a universe were created with random values for its physical constants, a universe with no life would have almost certainly been the result. Of course, no one would then be around to talk about it and the fact is we are here and talking about it. Unfortunately, we have no way of talking about it with strict rationality. We do not have enough information, examples of other universes, to use as data for drawing reasonable conclusions.” (Pg. 235-236)
He suggests that we “view our universe as just one of a very large number of mini-universes in an infinite super-universe. Each mini-universe has a different set of constants and physical laws… Obviously we are in one of those universes with life… Several commentators have argued that a cosmology of many universes violates Occam’s razor. I beg to differ. The entities that the law of parsimony forbids us from multiplying beyond necessary are theoretical hypotheses, not universes.” (Pg. 235-236)
He contends, “The notion of a holistic universe, with everything instantly connected to everything else, occurs in a number of interpretations of quantum mechanics. If still0undetected forces operate on particles to determine their quantum mechanical motion, these forces must necessarily be nonlocal, according to the implications of Bell’s theorem. It would appear inescapable---the universe is one and we are one with it. But … no empirical or theoretical basis can be found to support this assertion. Nonlocality is not required by the data; superluminal motion has never been observed… Nonlocality only enters via interpretations that assign ontological meaning to mathematical objects like the wave function, which play only an epistemological role in the physical theory of quantum mechanics, or demand the existence of deterministic subquantum forces.” (Pg. 270)
He concludes, “It seems to be nothing more than primitive, wishful thinking to view consciousness as some supernatural, or at least supermaterial, psychic force that provides basic control over the choices the universe makes between alternative paths, either inside or outside the brain. Such a theory is verifiable. It should lead to phenomena such as ESP and psychokinesis that violate the laws that constrain matter. But… psychic phenomena have failed to be verified after 150 years of attempts… we can safely assume they do not exist.” (Pg. 288-289)
This book will be of great interest to those seeking materialistic, non-supernatural interpretations of quantum theory, as well as critiques of “New Age” ideas.
Victor John Stenger (1935-2014) was an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado and emeritus professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Hawaii; he was also a regular featured science columnist for the Huffington Post, and a prominent religious skeptic. He has written many other books, such as 'God and the Multiverse: Humanity's Expanding View of the Cosmos,' 'The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us,' 'The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason,' 'Not by Design,' 'Has Science Found God? The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe,' 'God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1995 book, “Although the metaphysical elements of the various interpretations of quantum mechanics imply quite different conclusions about the nature of physical reality, they have been muddled together in a new genre of popular literature I call ‘quantum metaphysics.’ This book takes a detailed look at both quantum mechanics and quantum metaphysics in an attempt to find a parsimonious explanation for their apparent paradoxes and cosmic implications. We will also review some of the other discoveries in modern physics and cosmology claimed to have metaphysical consequences… Much of the literature of modern metaphysics… is written in a ‘gee whiz’ fashion for a popular audience… My task is much more difficult, if not impossible, since I am telling people things that many do not want to hear; that according to our best knowledge, the world of matter is all that exists.” (Pg. 11)
He asserts, “the most economical conclusions to be drawn from the complete library of scientific data is that we are material beings composed of atoms and molecules, ordered by the largely chance processes of self-organization and evolution to become capable of the complex behavior associated with the notions of life and mind. The data provide us with no reason to postulate undetectable vital or spiritual, transcendent forces. Matter is sufficient to explain everything discovered thus far by the most powerful scientific instruments.” (Pg. 18)
He recounts, “The idea of a cosmic field of mind merging physics with Hindu mysticism has also been promoted by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation movement… the Maharishi very specifically associated his version of cosmic consciousness with the Grand Unified Theory (GUT)… Unfortunately, reality intervened… As a result of … precision tests, Grand Unified Theories have fallen out of fashion… As of this writing, GUT has been replaced as the Maharishi’s cosmic field by the currently more trendy ‘superstrings.’ If superstring theory is found wanting, as I suspect it will be, I am sure the yogi will find some other physics fashion to exploit.” (Pg. 25) But he adds, “I caution the reader against making the connection between reductionism and Newtonian determinism that is found in so much New Age literature. A nondeterministic but still reductionistic universe is perfectly possible.” (Pg. 26)
He states, “Most parapsychologists believe the evidence for psi is strong enough to conclude that the phenomena are real. I think they are dead wrong. In my mind, all these years of searching with no convincing evidence should be taken as a clear indication that psi does not exist. Parapsychologists and I disagree on this, but conscientious psi researchers cannot deny that a board scientific consensus has yet to be assembled in support of their position.” (Pg. 31-32)
He says, “I ask myself: Do I really want to be one with the universe, so intimately intertwined with all of existence that my individual existence is meaningless? I find I much prefer the notion that I am a temporary bit of organized matter. At least I am my own bit of matter. Every thought and action that results from the remarkable interactions of my personal bag of atoms belongs to me alone. And so these thoughts and actions carry far greater value than it they belonged to some cosmic mind that I cannot even dimly perceive.” (Pg. 41)
He notes, “When performing experiments, we insert our detectors at particular points where they scramble the particle’s phase. This explains why reality appears different for different experimental arrangements. Placing a detector at a certain point where previously no material object was present allows that point to become part of an allowed history---a part of reality… measurements interact with the system being measured in a granular universe. In the Copenhagen interpretation, this leads to a dual universe of quantum system and classical observer. However, now we see that the classical observer is simply an agent of docoherence, and its role can be performed by the environment that is part of the overall quantum system. After all, a detector is part of the environment too. Clearly a conscious observer is not necessary. The falls in the forest, even when no one is looking.” (Pg. 189-190)
He comments, “I feel compelled to comment on what strikes me … as an obvious flaw in an oft-heard assertion that goes something like this: Nothing can exist without being created; thus a creator exists. Who created the creator? Presumably it is uncreated. We can see that introducing a creator dos not solve the problem of creation; it just pushes it back one more level. Why make things more complicated than they have to be? This violates the law of parsimony. If it is logically possible that something can exist that was not created, then why can’t that something be the universe itself?” (Pg. 223)
He argues, “the probability for the universe we life in existing as it does, having the values of the fundamental constants that it has… is 100 percent! Some universe happened, and it happened to be the one we have. Still, it is argued that if a universe were created with random values for its physical constants, a universe with no life would have almost certainly been the result. Of course, no one would then be around to talk about it and the fact is we are here and talking about it. Unfortunately, we have no way of talking about it with strict rationality. We do not have enough information, examples of other universes, to use as data for drawing reasonable conclusions.” (Pg. 235-236)
He suggests that we “view our universe as just one of a very large number of mini-universes in an infinite super-universe. Each mini-universe has a different set of constants and physical laws… Obviously we are in one of those universes with life… Several commentators have argued that a cosmology of many universes violates Occam’s razor. I beg to differ. The entities that the law of parsimony forbids us from multiplying beyond necessary are theoretical hypotheses, not universes.” (Pg. 235-236)
He contends, “The notion of a holistic universe, with everything instantly connected to everything else, occurs in a number of interpretations of quantum mechanics. If still0undetected forces operate on particles to determine their quantum mechanical motion, these forces must necessarily be nonlocal, according to the implications of Bell’s theorem. It would appear inescapable---the universe is one and we are one with it. But … no empirical or theoretical basis can be found to support this assertion. Nonlocality is not required by the data; superluminal motion has never been observed… Nonlocality only enters via interpretations that assign ontological meaning to mathematical objects like the wave function, which play only an epistemological role in the physical theory of quantum mechanics, or demand the existence of deterministic subquantum forces.” (Pg. 270)
He concludes, “It seems to be nothing more than primitive, wishful thinking to view consciousness as some supernatural, or at least supermaterial, psychic force that provides basic control over the choices the universe makes between alternative paths, either inside or outside the brain. Such a theory is verifiable. It should lead to phenomena such as ESP and psychokinesis that violate the laws that constrain matter. But… psychic phenomena have failed to be verified after 150 years of attempts… we can safely assume they do not exist.” (Pg. 288-289)
This book will be of great interest to those seeking materialistic, non-supernatural interpretations of quantum theory, as well as critiques of “New Age” ideas.
August 3, 2023
Amazone
an unsophisticated diatribe
Stenger sets himself up against almost all of the major figures of 20th century quantum mechanics in denying the existence of nonlocality (action at a distance). Many experiments have demonstrated nonlocality, with one of the best performed by a French team headed by Alain Aspect of the Institut d' Optique Theorique et Appliquee.
Stenger admits that the team "is probably right" and then goes on to present his own dubious theory that tries to salvage every assumption of classical physics except determinisim.
Stenger holds the opinion that leading theorists such as Bohm, Schrodinger, Stapp, Josephson, De Beauregard and many others are all wrong.
Why doesn't he include in his book comments on his views from some of these theorists who disagree with him?
His motivation for attempting to remove nonlocality from QM is clear:
"At least this would put an end to mystical speculations about quantum mechanics demanding a holistic universe" (page 197).
When he writes on subjects other than physics, his arguments are crude, unsophisticated, and display his ignorance.
For instance, "psychic phenomena have failed to be verified after 150 years of attempts involving thousands of independent experiments."
In the first place , the first sophisticated and systematic research only goes back to 1882 with the founding of the Society for Psychical Research, not 1845 .
The only evidence Stenger offers for his narrow opinion is one-sentence reference to a highly-controversial 1987 report written by two arch-skeptics, psychologists Ray Hyman and James Alcock.
For a balanced discussion of the Hyman-Alcock report, see Radin's book, pages 215-218.
If the new age goop in the bookstores needs to be balanced by Stenger's book, then Stenger's book needs to be balanced with far more sophisticated works like Radin's.
For more balanced discussions of QM, see The Mystery of the Quantum World by Euan Squires, and The Quantum World by JC Polkinghorne.
Christopher Carter
---
Filled with false assumptions
Boy you know, just reading one paragraph of Victor Stenger's writing makes it apparent that he's closed minded and filled with tons of a priori assumptions that he doesn't even understand.
All Stenger does is brag about how rational he is and how deluded everyone else is. What good does that do for humanity? What a trip.
People like him project a certain tone that makes you feel he needs a dose of his own medicine. Know what I mean?
Winston
---
Philosophically unsophisticated and prejudiced
Stenger is quite right that there is a lot of sloppy thought and unjustified claims in the popular New Age, New Paradigm movement. He is also correct to say that it is misguided to use quantum theory to justify or prove mysticism. (Not because quantum theory is incompatible with mysticism, as Stenger argues, but because science cannot and need not prove mysticism in the first place).
Unfortunately, his criticisms are tainted by prejudice and his own sloppiness.
For example, Stenger seems to lump all the fluffy New Age ideas together with the classical mystical teachings, and then indiscriminantly calls it all mysticism.
For those people who really know what true mysticism is (and how to tell it apart from New Age fluff), Stenger's use of the word "mysticism" as a mere derogatory catch-all term only shows his prejudice and apparent ignorance of real mysticism.
Unfortunately, this and other similar problems only serve to confuse and seriously detract from those parts of his argument that may be valid and worthy of consideration.
For more unbiased and insightful books on the philosophical implications of quantum theory, I recommend:
Physics and Philosophy - Werner Heisenberg
The Philosophical Writings of Niels Bohr - Niels Bohr
The Ghost in the Atom - P.C.W. Davies
Quantum Reality - Nick Herbert
- Synchronicity, Science and Soul-Making - Victor Mansfield
Choosing Reality - B. Alan Wallace
T. J. McFarlane
an unsophisticated diatribe
Stenger sets himself up against almost all of the major figures of 20th century quantum mechanics in denying the existence of nonlocality (action at a distance). Many experiments have demonstrated nonlocality, with one of the best performed by a French team headed by Alain Aspect of the Institut d' Optique Theorique et Appliquee.
Stenger admits that the team "is probably right" and then goes on to present his own dubious theory that tries to salvage every assumption of classical physics except determinisim.
Stenger holds the opinion that leading theorists such as Bohm, Schrodinger, Stapp, Josephson, De Beauregard and many others are all wrong.
Why doesn't he include in his book comments on his views from some of these theorists who disagree with him?
His motivation for attempting to remove nonlocality from QM is clear:
"At least this would put an end to mystical speculations about quantum mechanics demanding a holistic universe" (page 197).
When he writes on subjects other than physics, his arguments are crude, unsophisticated, and display his ignorance.
For instance, "psychic phenomena have failed to be verified after 150 years of attempts involving thousands of independent experiments."
In the first place , the first sophisticated and systematic research only goes back to 1882 with the founding of the Society for Psychical Research, not 1845 .
The only evidence Stenger offers for his narrow opinion is one-sentence reference to a highly-controversial 1987 report written by two arch-skeptics, psychologists Ray Hyman and James Alcock.
For a balanced discussion of the Hyman-Alcock report, see Radin's book, pages 215-218.
If the new age goop in the bookstores needs to be balanced by Stenger's book, then Stenger's book needs to be balanced with far more sophisticated works like Radin's.
For more balanced discussions of QM, see The Mystery of the Quantum World by Euan Squires, and The Quantum World by JC Polkinghorne.
Christopher Carter
---
Filled with false assumptions
Boy you know, just reading one paragraph of Victor Stenger's writing makes it apparent that he's closed minded and filled with tons of a priori assumptions that he doesn't even understand.
All Stenger does is brag about how rational he is and how deluded everyone else is. What good does that do for humanity? What a trip.
People like him project a certain tone that makes you feel he needs a dose of his own medicine. Know what I mean?
Winston
---
Philosophically unsophisticated and prejudiced
Stenger is quite right that there is a lot of sloppy thought and unjustified claims in the popular New Age, New Paradigm movement. He is also correct to say that it is misguided to use quantum theory to justify or prove mysticism. (Not because quantum theory is incompatible with mysticism, as Stenger argues, but because science cannot and need not prove mysticism in the first place).
Unfortunately, his criticisms are tainted by prejudice and his own sloppiness.
For example, Stenger seems to lump all the fluffy New Age ideas together with the classical mystical teachings, and then indiscriminantly calls it all mysticism.
For those people who really know what true mysticism is (and how to tell it apart from New Age fluff), Stenger's use of the word "mysticism" as a mere derogatory catch-all term only shows his prejudice and apparent ignorance of real mysticism.
Unfortunately, this and other similar problems only serve to confuse and seriously detract from those parts of his argument that may be valid and worthy of consideration.
For more unbiased and insightful books on the philosophical implications of quantum theory, I recommend:
Physics and Philosophy - Werner Heisenberg
The Philosophical Writings of Niels Bohr - Niels Bohr
The Ghost in the Atom - P.C.W. Davies
Quantum Reality - Nick Herbert
- Synchronicity, Science and Soul-Making - Victor Mansfield
Choosing Reality - B. Alan Wallace
T. J. McFarlane
September 6, 2012
Basically gives the history of Quantum Mechanics and explains the theory and application and developmental phases, while also disproving many bizarre theory implemented by new age religions using logic and science. Not to mention it covers a wide variety of subjects not just those alone dealing with Quantum Mechanics. Very tough read but great none the less.
March 12, 2015
Extremely dense, difficult reading, but well worth the effort. A refreshing antidote to the all the new age mystics who try to claim the weirdness of quantum physics as support for their viewpoints.
considering-reading-these
November 16, 2011I'm curious to read this. Sounds like the opposition's view that nothing in quantum mechanics relates to human spirituality and meaning.
Read
May 17, 2013113 S8257 1995
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews