Quantum Mind and Social ScienceThere is an underlying assumption in the social sciences that consciousness and social life are ultimately classical physical/material phenomena. In this ground-breaking book, Alexander Wendt challenges this assumption by proposing that consciousness is, in fact, a macroscopic quantum mechanical phenomenon. In the first half of the book, Wendt justifies the insertion of quantum theory into social scientific debates, introduces social scientists to quantum theory and the philosophical controversy about its interpretation, and then defends the quantum consciousness hypothesis against the orthodox, classical approach to the mind-body problem. In the second half, he develops the implications of this metaphysical perspective for the nature of language and the agent-structure problem in social ontology. Wendt's argument is a revolutionary development which raises fundamental questions about the nature of social life and the work of those who study it. |
Contents
Quantum theory and its interpretation | 39 |
Six challenges | 58 |
viii | 70 |
Quantum consciousness and life | 91 |
Panpsychism and neutral monism | 109 |
A quantum vitalism | 131 |
A quantum model of man | 149 |
Agency and quantum will | 174 |
Language light and other minds | 207 |
Direct perception and other minds | 222 |
The agentstructure problem redux | 243 |
Toward a quantum vitalist sociology | 267 |
Conclusion | 283 |
294 | |
345 | |
Nonlocal experience in time | 189 |
Other editions - View all
Quantum Mind and Social Science: Unifying Physical and Social Ontology Alexander Wendt Limited preview - 2015 |
Quantum Mind and Social Science: Unifying Physical and Social Ontology Alexander Wendt No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
actually Aerts approach argue argument assumed assumption Atmanspacher behavior Bitbol Busemeyer Chapter choice claim classical physics classical worldview cognition concept constituted context critique debate discussion downward causation effect emergence emergentism entangled epistemological Esfeld example experience explain consciousness Hameroff hard problem holistic human idea implications individuals intentional phenomena interaction interpretations of quantum interpretivists language literature macroscopic material materialist matter meaning measurement mental mind mind–body problem nature neurons neutral monism non-local objects observed ontology organisms overview panpsychism panpsychist past perception philosophical photon physicists potential properties quantum brain theory quantum coherence quantum computer quantum consciousness theory quantum decision theory quantum game quantum game theory quantum mechanics Quantum Mind quantum perspective quantum physics quantum systems quantum theory question realist reality role Schr¨odinger seems semantics sense social ontology social science social scientists social structures subjectivity suggests superposition supervenience temporal vitalism vitalist wave function collapse