A Physically Grounded Theory of Mind-Body Interaction

Abstract

The classical materialist worldview of mainstream cognitive science leads to a conception of our minds as passive spectators watching our bodies execute their built-in programs. Yet this view seems to conflict with our experience of free will. Henry Stapp has long argued that quantum theory provides the basis for a theory of conscious agents possessing free will. This paper presents an account of how quantum theory may be employed by the brain to effect conscious volitional behavior. A path to empirically evaluating the theory is discussed.