Quantum mechanics conscious Cat Theory ! We are going to explain consciousness, including its mysterious features, on the basis of modern science, because they badly need a sort of scientific explanation. It turns out however that science also needs inclusion consciousness in its structure. The reason is that quantum mechanics is logically incomplete without inclusion the concept of consciousness. Quantum physicists do not often aware of this because the mathematical structure of quantum mechanics, including the probabilistic laws, is quite correct. This provides correctness of all calculations and solution of all practically arising problems.

            However, when deeply analyzed, quantum mechanics is met with conceptual problems (paradoxes) that cannot be solved without inclusion of subjective element, for example the concept of consciousness. The conceptual problems of quantum mechanics are revealed in description of measurements (observations) of quantum systems (shortly, in quantum measurements). They may be also illustrated in a transparent form as paradoxes.

Paradox of Schrodinger’s cat Theory Conscious 

             Paradox of Schrodinger’s cat To illustrate paradoxical character of quantum mechanics (existing conceptual problems in it), one of the creators of this branch of science, Erwin Schrodinger, suggested the following thought experiment. In fact this paradox illustrates the difference of the concept of reality in quantum mechanics from the reality as it is meant in classical physics and in our usual intuition. Take a black box and put into it a cat together with an unstable (gradually decaying) atom and an automatic device destroying an ampule with poison if the atom is decayed. Then at the beginning of the experiment the atom is not decayed and the cat is alive. If at some moment the atom is decayed, then the cat is dead. These two cases are clear and do not differ from what can exist according to classical physics. However, the atom, as microscopic object, obeys quantum mechanics, and this implies unusual conclusions. According to quantum mechanics, any state of any quantum system is a vector. This means that, just as in case of the usual vectors, the states of the quantum system may be summed up.5 The result of summing two or several state vectors are called in quantum mechanics superposition.

           The state of the atom at the initial moment is “non-decayed”, but with time it becomes the superposition (non-decayed atom + decayed atom), with the first term of this sum gradually decreasing and the second increasing.6 Let us recall now that the state of the cat is directly connected with the state of the atom. We have to conclude then that the state of the system atom+cat is (non-decayed atom and alive cat + decayed atom and dead cat),Schrodinger’s cat in quantum superposition. “Quantum reality” suggests coexisting the parallel worlds (alternative classical realities) such that the cat is alive in one of the worlds and it is dead in another world. Now what shall we see if opening the black box at this moment? Can we see the cat in the state describing as a superposition of the alive cat and the dead cat? Evidently not. We shall alternatively see either the alive cat (and yet non-decayed atom) or the dead cat (and already decayed atom).

     This is the paradox. Describing the state in the closed box according to quantum mechanics we have to present this state as the superposition. But for the open box the description, in accordance with our experience, should be one of the component of this superposition. We see that in this reasoning, leading to a paradox, essential role is played by our consciousness. Until the box is open, the information about the state of the system did not yet enter into our consciousness, after opening the box we are conscious of this state. The main conclusion from the paradox of Schrodinger’s cat (that is in fact a simplified model of a more general situation of a quantum measurement) is necessity (in the context of quantum mechanics) of superpositions even for macroscopic systems, such as a cat (or measuring device). This requires serious revision of the concept of reality, which finally lead to the theory of consciousness.

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