The Nature of Consciousness: Quantum Origins

Is it possible that quantum structures in our minds give rise to consciousness? Sir Roger Penrose, one of the world’s most renowned scientists, believes that the nature of consciousness has a quantum origin and explains how he thinks it works.

Human consciousness remains one of the greatest mysteries on Earth. How does each person know that they are “themselves”? Does our self-awareness and perception come from the mind, or is it formed by bodily sensations? What really happens when a person is in an “altered” state of consciousness under the influence of certain chemicals or plants? Do animals possess consciousness? You might think that self-awareness, as humanity’s fundamental mystery, would be at the forefront of all research, but science still has no clear answers to these questions.

Current Scientific Theories of Consciousness

One approach to consciousness is to view it as a byproduct of the countless computations occurring in the brain. According to the Integrated Information Theory, developed by neuroscientist Giulio Tononi from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, conscious experience is the integration of a vast amount of information entering the brain, and this is an “irreducible” experience. The brain weaves a complex informational network from sensory and cognitive signals.

The Global Workspace Theory, created by neuroscientist Bernard Baars from the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California, suggests that consciousness is simply the act of transmitting information through the brain from a memory bank.

The Quantum Approach: Penrose and Hameroff

However, some predict that attempts to unravel the nature of consciousness using only neuroscience will fail unless quantum mechanics is involved. Sir Roger Penrose, a world-famous mathematical physicist from Oxford University, believes that consciousness has a quantum origin.

Together with renowned anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff from the University of Arizona, Penrose developed the Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) theory of the mind. This is a rather unusual theory, but it cannot be easily dismissed, considering Penrose’s significant contributions to cosmology and general relativity. He is also famous for his award-winning work on black holes with Stephen Hawking. Physicist Lee Smolin once said of Penrose, “He is one of the very few people I have met in my life whom I would unreservedly call a genius.”

Penrose believes that consciousness is not the result of computational operations and their accumulation. It is not just a mechanical byproduct, like something a computer could automatically produce. According to Penrose, understanding the phenomenon of consciousness requires a revolution in our approach to the physical world. In particular, he thinks the answer may lie in a deeper study of quantum mechanics.

Quantum Coherence and Microtubules

In an interview with Steve Paulson for Nautilus, Penrose uses an example from quantum computing to explain that qubits of information remain in multiple states until they combine in “quantum coherence,” where a large number of particles act together as a single quantum entity.

Here, Penrose’s theory relies on Hameroff’s work, claiming that this quantum coherence occurs in protein structures called “microtubules.” These are found inside brain neurons and can store and process information and memory. Penrose and Hameroff believe that microtubules are quantum devices that control our consciousness.

Scientific Debate and Criticism

This theory has not been widely accepted in the scientific community. Many critics argue that the brain is too “warm, wet, and noisy” to support quantum processes. Physicist Max Tegmark even calculated that the brain cannot function as quickly as required for this theory. Stephen Hawking also disagreed, suggesting that Penrose should stick to his area of expertise.

Nevertheless, a study conducted by Japanese scientists in 2013 provided some evidence for Penrose and Hameroff’s theory, as vibrations were discovered in microtubules. Penrose and Hameroff then suggested that focusing brain stimulation on these vibrations could “benefit a variety of mental, neurological, and cognitive states.” Still, this theory remains controversial in its field, which, incidentally, has not seen much progress recently.

Penrose Institute and the Future of Consciousness Research

In 2017, Sir Roger Penrose founded the Penrose Institute to study human consciousness through physics and to distinguish it from any potential artificial intelligence.

Penrose explains why he came to the idea of quantum structures in the brain as follows:

“Although consciousness is modified in various ways, it is not the result of computations. It is something else. There are many aspects to understanding the phenomenon of consciousness. People often equate consciousness with what we feel: it can be pain, or the appreciation of beauty, love, or color. In any case, it is an experience we have. However, I want to say that consciousness is something very, very specific. And if consciousness is something specific, not limited to just ‘computation,’ then questions arise about its other qualities. For example, can the perception of the color blue be explained as computation, or is it something specific? We can be aware of different things without understanding them. But I argue that understanding is something that clearly is not the result of computations alone. This is especially obvious in how we use computers. These are complex computations. But the understanding we have about which computations to do and what those computations ultimately mean—that is something entirely different. Here we encounter the distinction between pure computation and understanding.”