If we place the human brain under a microscope, we will find that it is actually made up of countless cells. Each cell is composed of extremely tiny particles. In other words, our brain is essentially a complex system consisting of innumerable minuscule particles.
A single microscopic particle lacks consciousness, but why can so many particles combined into a human generate consciousness? This is a philosophical issue that has troubled humanity for many years.
We know that everything in the world is made up of countless microscopic particles, and when different types of particles combine in various ratios, they create entirely different substances.
Humans currently possess consciousness, but does this mean that these microscopic particles actually have self-awareness? This is indeed a highly complex question, and to find an answer, we may need to explore it from the perspective of quantum mechanics.
Consciousness reflects the objective material world in the human brain, with modification and creativity. (Image: Zhihu).
What is Consciousness?
In general, consciousness refers to the activities of a high-level neural network involving cognition, reasoning, understanding, and self-awareness. Although we currently cannot fully understand the causes of consciousness, many previous studies suggest that not only humans possess consciousness, but some animal species also exhibit self-awareness. Animals can demonstrate emotional memory and certain social skills, and in some aspects, they may even perform better than humans.
However, animal consciousness remains in a very primitive stage, far inferior to the advanced consciousness of humans. Neuroscientists once defined the transmission process of neural networks in the brain as consciousness, but later it was discovered that consciousness is not as simple as the functioning of neural networks.
For example, a jellyfish lacks a neural network or brain structure, yet it can still exhibit a certain level of wisdom to seek survival advantages. Therefore, the brain’s neural network is not a necessary condition for consciousness. So, what is the key factor that leads to our consciousness?
Consciousness refers to the activities of a high-level neural network involving cognition, reasoning, understanding, and self-awareness. (Image: Zhihu)
Some believe this may relate to our environment. We know that there are many different forms of life on Earth, all shaped by adaptation to the natural environment over a long evolutionary process.
As the highest level of life on Earth, humans gradually develop unique advantages when competing with other organisms. One of the most important advantages is our highly developed brain and complex language system.
This enables us to think about issues, communicate information, create culture, invent tools, etc. These abilities are what we call intelligence. There is a close link between intelligence and consciousness. Intelligence helps us to recognize ourselves and the outside world, while also making reasonable assessments and choices about them.
Consciousness allows us to feel that we exist in this world and create emotions and values for it. It can be said that intelligence is the foundation of consciousness, while consciousness is the elevation of intelligence. Therefore, we can speculate that the formation of consciousness is related to our level of intelligence.
Consciousness allows us to feel that we exist in this world and create emotions and values for it. (Image: Zhihu).
Why Do Individual Particles Lack Consciousness?
If we place the human brain under a microscope, we will find that it is actually made up of countless cells. Each cell is composed of extremely tiny particles. In other words, our brain is essentially a complex system consisting of innumerable minuscule particles. So, do these microscopic particles have consciousness?
Currently, the academic community does not have a clear answer to this question. However, based on current scientific knowledge, we can make a preliminary observation: a single microscopic particle lacks consciousness. Why is that? Because what a tiny particle can do is very limited; it will only obey certain basic physical laws, such as the law of universal gravitation, electromagnetic force laws, quantum mechanics laws, etc. These laws determine the state of motion and interaction of microscopic particles, and these states of motion and interaction are not related to any subjective judgment or choice.
In other words, individual microscopic particles do not possess any cognitive abilities or decision-making power; they merely passively receive external influences and react according to fixed laws. As mentioned earlier, consciousness is a type of advanced neural network activity that requires certain cognitive and decision-making abilities. Therefore, individual microscopic particles do not qualify to generate consciousness, and thus lack it.
Our brain is essentially a complex system consisting of innumerable minuscule particles. (Image: Zhihu).
How Can a Collection of Particles Create Consciousness?
A single microscopic particle lacks consciousness, but why can a collection of particles combine to form a human to generate consciousness? This indeed relates to a typical issue of the change of quantity leading to a change in quality.
We know that there are many complex systems in nature, such as galaxies, life, atmospheres, etc. These complex systems consist of countless simple elements, yet they exhibit characteristics and functions entirely different from those simple elements.
For example, water molecules consist of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, but water has properties such as wetness, flow, boiling, and freezing, while hydrogen and oxygen atoms do not possess these properties. This shows that when simple elements are combined in a certain way, they create new properties and functions. Similarly, when countless microscopic particles are combined in a certain way, various substances and forms of life will be formed.
Neurons. (Illustration: Zhihu)
When these substances and forms of life reach a certain level, new properties and functions will emerge, such as intelligence and consciousness. This indicates that intelligence and consciousness are not inherent properties of a single microscopic particle, but rather new properties and functions formed by the combination of countless microscopic particles. In other words, consciousness is an emergent phenomenon, a complexity arising from the interactions of myriad simple elements.
So, how do these tiny particles interact? We know that there is a law in quantum mechanics called the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. This principle tells us that it is impossible to simultaneously measure the position and momentum of any microscopic particle, which makes all microscopic particles exhibit a certain level of uncertainty, and this uncertainty (specifically quantum entanglement) seems to be the root of consciousness.
What is the Relationship Between Quantum Entanglement and Consciousness?
Some scientists believe that quantum entanglement may be the key mechanism in the emergence of consciousness. They believe that there are numerous tiny channels in the human brain, such as microtubules, neurons, synapses, etc. The particles in these tiny tubes can become entangled under certain conditions and form a massive quantum system in the brain.
Consciousness is a quantum phenomenon created by the interaction of countless entangled particles. (Illustration: Zhihu).
When we think or feel, we observe this quantum system, causing it to collapse into a specific state and creating subjective experiences. In other words, consciousness is a quantum phenomenon generated by the interaction of countless entangled particles.
This theory is known as the Quantum Consciousness Theory, which attempts to use quantum mechanics to explain the nature and mechanism of consciousness. It posits that consciousness is not a material asset but rather an informational asset. This means that consciousness is determined not by the material itself but by the interactions between materials.
Of course, the theory of quantum consciousness is not a perfect theory and still faces many issues and challenges. For example, how can we prove that quantum entanglement exists in the brain? How can we explain the quantum system in the brain against external interference and how does it increase thermodynamic entropy? How can we explain how the consciousness of different individuals communicates and influences one another? These issues require more experiments and theories for verification and improvement.
