Tim Palmer – Free will and consciousness — a new perspective based on Invariant Set Theory

Motivated by chaos theory, Invariant Set Theory posits that the universe is a deterministic system which evolves precisely on a high- dimensional fractal invariant set in cosmological state space. As such, it is proposed that the laws of physics at their most primitive describe the geometry of this fractal invariant set. This postulate violates the so-called Statistical Independence assumption in Bell's Theorem and as such can account for quantum entanglement without the need for indeterminism or violation of local causality. We propose that as a consequence of the brain's extraordinary energy efficiency, it makes use of quantum processes which would otherwise be too energetically expensive (e.g. to ensure a rapid enough flow of ions across axon membranes). We interpret the brain as a hybrid quantum/classical system from the perspective of Invariant Set Theory. The key idea discussed in this presentation is based around the notion that we have a weak sense of neighbouring state-space trajectories on the invariant set. This provides novel explanations of why, despite determinism, we feel so deeply that we have free will, and indeed why perceive ourselves as conscious beings.

[frun]

Path is a fractal, because each particle is formed by collective motion of more fundamental particles 4:00
Or in other words every wave is a collective excitation of waves.

[maxwelldillon]

"Our behaviour tells the IS geometry how to shape itself" what does this mean?

[ャンティオカ]

For me, moral responsibility was always kinda irrelevant - responsible or not, criminals embody a problem that needs to be solved so we need to lock them up.