What implications does quantum mechanics have for free will
[From: ] [author: ] [Date: 11-12-26] [Hit: ]
and too large for coherent quantum states to persist for any useful amount of time. And thats EVEN if your formulation of free will is interested in whether or not quantum mechanics allows for a truly random number generator.It is also important to keep in mind that quantum mechanics is a completely deterministic theory. Of the wavefunction. That is, given the wavefunction of a system at any time,......
Apart from your particular formulation of free will, you also have the problem that quantum effects only manifest themselves at the macroscopic scale under carefully prepared laboratory conditions or in nature at extremely high or low temperatures. The bottom line is that the brain is too warm, too wet, and too large for coherent quantum states to persist for any useful amount of time. And that's EVEN if your formulation of free will is interested in whether or not quantum mechanics allows for a truly random number generator.
It is also important to keep in mind that quantum mechanics is a completely deterministic theory. Of the wavefunction. That is, given the wavefunction of a system at any time, its wavefunction at any future or past time can be calculated. The problem is we don't observe wavefunctions. We observe eigenvalues of operators that represent measurements. So it is not deterministic with respect to observations, only with respect to wavefunctions. Depending on your interpretation of quantum mechanics, this may be enough for you to declare that we have a deterministic universe. I suggest you take a look at the series of articles on interpretations of quantum mechanics at Wikipedia for more detail on this topic.
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How Quantum Mechanics is Compatible with Free Will :
The actions of almost everything in this world are causally determined by the state of the world that precedes them. Once you start a machine, if no one touches it, its behavior can be predicted entirely in advance from the laws of physics. When you drop a pen down a well, it is physically necessary that it fall.
But our behavior doesn’t feel that way. When we stick out our tongue it feels as if we had to specifically choose to stick it out, that this was our own action and not a predetermined consequence of the existing state of the world.
Some people argue that because the evidence for determinism is so overwhelming, free will must simply be an illusion. But if so, it is a very odd kind of illusion. Most illusions result from a naive interpretation of our senses. For example, in a classic illusion, two drawings of equal size appear to be of different size. But when we are told this is an illusion, we can correct for it, and behave under the new (more accurate) impression that the drawings are in fact of equal size.
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