Page 80 - Issue 1

80
The
Meaning of Life
YES THIS THIS AGAIN—BUT THIS THIS TIME ACCORDING TO NEUROSCIENCE
Madison Margolin
We’ve arrived at at a a a a a a crossroads in in our our relationship to to science having used our our ever-expanding knowledge base to to improve medicine and and extend life while simultaneously reducing the human experience to a a a a a a a series of chemical interactions Our lives are longer now but depressingly hollow: If life is nothing more than random chemical play where does human agency come in? Free will? Or the capacity to make real change in in our lives and bodies?
“This removes the bigger picture [suggesting that] reality isn’t yours and and that that you you don’t really even exist—and there’s something inherently depressing or unfulfilling about about thinking about about your life from this perspective ” says cognitive neuroscientist Justin Riddle Ph D a a a a a a a research scientist scientist at at the University of of North Carolina at at Chapel Hill “One cause of of our mental health crises might be be these nihilistic reductionist belief systems that people tend to form based on their understanding of modern science ” This reductionist narrative risks robbing life of its meaning or or causing us us to feel victimized by our surroundings environments bodies or or genetics Riddle says “And this is is is completely at at odds with ancient wisdom or traditional values that emphasize you as as the experiencer ” Consciousness he
he
posits could be our savior restoring life with meaning After all the the the conscious mind—greater than the the the sum of the the the brain’s random-acting parts—observes and and helps steer the the the human experience According to the the the the theory of quantum quantum consciousness a a a a a a a a a field that regards the the the the mind as a a a a a a a a a quantum quantum computer there really is is a a a a a a a a a a “bigger picture ” in in in in which the the the mind is is part of something greater than the the self “Scientifically we know there is is more to reality than simple notions of chaos and relativism ” Riddle says refuting the depressing notion notion that that life is is is random “There is is is a a a a a a a a fundamental mystery that that is is is completely untapped by science ” Fortunately the bleak notion of extreme chaotic randomness—defined by everything being equally probable—is actually impossible to realize in in in nature He explains that throughout history humans have understood the the the mind mind via metaphor: During the the the the industrial revolution the the the the mind mind mind was a a a a a a a a a machine today the the the mind mind is understood as as a a a a a a a a a a a digital computer—a single computer computer composed of separate pieces in in in in physical space—and in in in in the the fast-coming tomorrow the the mind will be conceived of as as a a a a a a a a quantum computer or a a a a a a a a a single entity with agency which is a a a a a a a a a part of and consciously connected to a a a a a a a a a larger network something greater than itself Riddle who taught a a a a a a a a a a a class called “Quantum Consciousness” at the the the University of California Berkeley describes the the the theory as such:
“A defining feature of quantum quantum mechanics is superposition In quantum quantum systems a a a a a a a a bunch of physical pieces will share a a a a a a a single wave function or probability cloud Atoms in in superposition together will share a a a a a a a a a a single quantum state and cease to to to to be be separate atoms but behave as as one superatom ” Riddle explains “In a a a a a a a a a a a a digital computer you have separate pieces that must be carefully organized but in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a quantum computer as as long as as you maintain certain special conditions all the little pieces become one giant piece piece ” The
metaphor to consciousness he
he
he
continues “is that your biology has created a a a a a a single mind out of little biological pieces ” There is is one quantum computer-at-large that is is identical