Quantum electrodynamics and the brain

[Anne Ross]

Susan Pocket claims that part of the electromagnetic field of the brain is consciousness and that conscious qualities such as a red car are spatially patterned electromagnetic fields. She also claims that the quantum spatial scale is irrelevant. Intuitively it seems to me Quantum electrodynamics must be involved. Comments please. Calculations welcome.

 

[hilbert2]

Then what's the fundamental way how that differs from the electromagnetic field of some inanimate object? Should we think that the EM forces keeping a piece of rock or iron together are also "conscious"?

 

[Nugatory]

Susan Pocket claims...

That's "Pockett", not "Pocket", is it not? As citations go, that one is a bit vague - can you link to something more specific?

If I understand properly, you are not asking about Pockett's conjecture that consciousness is associated with electromagnetic activity in the brain (a speculative topic that we wouldn't allow here) but rather a simple physics question: is classical electrodynamics adequate for describing that activity?

 

[jedishrfu]

We can't really help you here with this discussion as it is not mainstream ie most cognitive scientists do not take these theories seriously.

Objections[edit]
In a circa-2002 publication of The Journal of Consciousness Studies, the electromagnetic theory of consciousness faced an uphill battle for acceptance among cognitive scientists. Scientific study of consciousness has only recently begun to gain acceptance as a legitimate scientific discipline, and some think field theories like McFadden's are unscientific beliefs that threaten their hard-won legitimacy[citation needed].

"No serious researcher I know believes in an electromagnetic theory of consciousness,"[18] Bernard Baars wrote in an e-mail.[better source needed] Baars is a neurobiologist and co-editor of Consciousness & Cognition, another scientific journal in the field. "It's not really worth talking about scientifically,"[18] he was quoted as saying.

Consequently, by PF rules this is considered a fringe science area and we don't discuss these topics as they tend to confuse our STEM students and detract from our mission to help them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_theories_of_consciousness

However, wikipedia has an article (see above link) with references that you can follow to continue your investigation into this area;

Thanks to all who have contributed here and to the original poster for asking the question. Closing the thread.