The Mind Signature

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If you arrived here directly from a Google Search, this website accepts free will as real and then integrates free will into physics. You may wish to read this brief overview for additional details.

The Massless, Momentum-Free Mind

In Chapter 1, we found that we must accept free will as real. We also found that our choices cannot be directed by the physical laws at any level. If our choices are independent of the physical laws, then our thoughts which are continuously turning into choices must also be independent of the physical laws.

That is, free will can only be real if consciousness itself is fully independent of the physical laws. Because either mass or momentum would bind consciousness to the physical laws, we find that free will can only be real if consciousness is massless and momentum free.

Because consciousness must be massless and momentum free, consciousness cannot be directly detected or observed by scientific instruments.

Free Will Makes Matter Unpredictable

If free will is real, then the mind can make choices independently of the physical laws. These choices then control the actions of the mind’s body. So if free will is real, then some material bodies will take actions that were not caused by the physical laws.

For this free will paradigm to succeed, we must find a way for the universe to remain knowable even with matter that acts independently of the physical laws. This is a serious physics problem that we will now begin to work on.

Choices Cause Incompatible Observations

Because a mind is massless and momentum free, minds are beyond the observational capabilities of scientific instruments. However, the physical body that is governed by a mind can be observed by scientific instruments. This means we have non-observable minds causing observable matter to take actions that do not follow the physical laws. If a scientist is observing mind governed matter at the exact time and point where a decision is imposed on matter by the mind, the scientist will observe an event that is incompatible with the physical laws.

We now go back to the section “A Hiccup in the Physical Laws,” where we were discussing another observation that was incompatible with the physical laws. That observation resulted from a one-time hiccup in the physical laws which incapacitated science for all time. Here, we are discussing an observation that is incompatible with the physical laws caused by a mind making decisions. In both cases, we end up with observations that are incompatible with the physical laws.

So if the earlier uncaused hiccup event had incapacitated science for all time, then will the scientific observation of a mind imposing a choice on matter also incapacitate science for all time?

The earlier hiccup in the physical laws was brought about by an unknown and unknowable cause, for it was an uncaused aberration. But this is not the case when physical outcomes are changed by the decisions of a mind. When a mind makes a decision to change an outcome, we have a causing agent, the mind making the decision. This means we are discussing two different types of incompatibilities, one with a cause and the other without a cause.

The Mind Is a Free Agent

In Chapter 2, we covered free agents that are capable of causing changes in the universe independently of the physical laws. The mind is just such an agent. Recall that four conditions must be met to have a knowable universe with matter-bound free agents: The mind must be discoverable. The conscious mind must be knowable. We must be able to identify exactly the atoms that give the mind its presence. And lastly, we must be able to identify exactly the atoms the mind can act on with forces.

In this chapter, we will lay the groundwork for meeting these four conditions.

Living Matter and Natural Matter

We will consider any matter under the governing control of a mind to be living matter, so if a conscious mind can exert forces on an atom, that atom is living matter. Natural matter, on the other hand, is fully governed by the physical laws. For there to be no limitations on the ability of science to fulfill its mission, science must be able to positively distinguish between living matter and natural matter throughout the universe.

If there exists even a single atom in the universe that science cannot positively identify as either natural matter or as living matter, then science would be unable to fully understand the interactions of that single atom. This means that science would be limited by the existence of free will, and we cannot accept any limitations on science in this free will paradigm.

Living Matter and Science

If we could find a way to positively identify all matter under the governing control of a mind, then we could separate out living matter from natural matter for scientific purposes. If we are trying to learn about the physical laws, then we could collect data on purely natural matter, and this data would be fully compatible with all other data also collected on natural matter. This would make it possible to collect reproducible data from which science could work out the physical laws, and the physical laws would now become knowable in a universe with free will.

When we are studying living matter, we would know to expect results that are incompatible with those based solely on the physical laws, for we would know that the matter being studied is subject to the governing control of a mind. However, for the universe to remain knowable, science must still be able to work out the allowable actions that a mind could impose on the matter it governs. We will work out these allowable actions before the end of Chapter 5.

Testing Matter for Consciousness

According to the free agent rules, for any given body of matter, we must be able to discover if a mind has governing control over that matter. But how could scientists positively determine if a mind has governing control over any given body of matter? For example, could scientists positively determine whether matter has consciousness by analyzing how the matter responds to tests or stimuli?

Because minds have free will, each mind will respond to stimuli and other testing in its own unpredictable way, and some minds may choose to not respond at all. The possibility that a mind could choose to not respond at all makes this method for positively discovering the presence of a mind unacceptable. We will have to find another method for positively identifying mind governed matter.

The Matter Reveals the Mind

How can we discover if any given body of matter is governed by a mind?

We cannot discover the presence of a mind by direct observation because massless and momentum-free minds cannot be detected or observed by scientific instruments.

We cannot unveil a mind’s presence by analyzing how the body responds to testing or stimuli because some minds may choose not to respond.

We cannot use reason alone to unveil the presence of a non-observable mind because existence is not a rationally deducible state.

Therefore, we are left with only one possibility for positively revealing the presence of a mind, the mind must be discoverable by examining the material body. That is, all conscious matter must have a discoverable signature within the matter itself that positively reveals the mind’s presence.

Minds Revealed by a Molecular Structure

If minds must be discoverable solely by examining the matter, then we can exclude gases, mixtures, liquids, and plasmas from being contenders for conscious bodies of matter, for the atomic arrangement, composition, and boundaries of these material bodies can be varied continuously. There can be no signature where there is no positively identifiable structure.

Now consider the molecule. Molecules include two or more atoms held together by covalent (for organic matter) bonds. A molecule is the smallest unit of a substance that still retains the identity of that substance. In our case, the substance is conscious life.

The molecule is exactly what we are looking for. A molecular structure meets all the requirements for acting as a signature that will positively reveal a mind’s presence, just as molecules act as signatures to reveal the identity of other substances. Molecules are positively identifiable, and they can have whatever complexity is needed to carry out all the functions needed for life at all levels, as we will see. They are also commonplace in conditions where we find conscious life.

This free will paradigm now accepts that every mind in the universe must be associated with a molecular structure.

The Mind Signature

We are now looking to identify molecular structures that will always and everywhere reveal the presence of a mind. We will call these conscious molecular structures, “mind signatures.” The mind signature will include exactly the atoms that give the mind its presence in the universe. These atoms make up the elementary body of conscious matter. If this elementary body loses even a single atom from the molecule, the life will be lost.

Mind Signature:

An elementary molecular structure that always and everywhere reveals the presence of a mind.

If a first molecular structure is already known to be a mind signature, then a second molecular structure identical to the first must also be a mind signature. We know this by the universality of like entities from Chapter 2, all like bodies must function alike.

All Mind Signatures Must Be Identical

If one molecular structure is a mind signature, all like structures must also be mind signatures. However, the universality of like entities does not exclude a third body of matter with a different molecular structure from also being a mind signature. So can mind signatures be different for different minds, or do the mind signatures of all conscious minds throughout the universe have to be the same?

To answer this, let us assume that mind A has mind signature A, mind B has mind signature B, and that the molecular structures of the two mind signatures are different.

Recall that for the universe to be knowable, it must be possible to positively distinguish between living matter and natural matter. This means that for the universe to be knowable, mind A must be able to positively identify mind signature B as a living body of matter. So can mind A positively identify mind signature B as a living body of matter?

Mind A cannot determine that mind signature B is alive by observing mind B directly because minds are beyond the observational capabilities of scientific instruments.

Mind A cannot determine that mind signature B has a mind by reason alone because existence is not a rationally deducible state.

Mind A cannot determine that mind signature B is conscious by empirical testing because mind B may choose not to respond.

And neither can mind A determine that mind signature B is alive by the universality of like entities, because we were given that mind signature B is not the same as mind signature A.

In other words, mind A cannot determine that mind signature B is alive observationally, rationally, experimentally, or by universality. Thus, there is no method by which mind A could positively determine that mind signature B is alive, and this would mean an unknowable universe.

Therefore, we conclude that all mind signatures throughout the universe must have exactly the same molecular structure. Once we identify the exact molecular structure of this universal mind signature, we will be able to positively determine if any body of matter in the universe is alive and conscious. We will work out the exact molecular structure of the universal mind signature in Chapters 8 and 9.

Free Will Requires Mind Forces

I think, I decide, and then my human body takes action. We have accepted that we can make choices that change physical outcomes to something other than what they would have been if we had made different choices. This means that massless, momentum-free minds must be able to change the motion of real matter.

From physics, we know that the motion of all matter is fully determined by the forces acting on that matter. So if our thoughts can change the motion of matter, then our thoughts must be exerting real forces on that matter. However, momentum-free thoughts exerting real forces on real matter will create real problems in physics. Because we have accepted that free will is real, we will have to work through the physics problems created by these mind forces one by one.

The Conservation Laws

We have found that for free will to be real, our thoughts must exert forces to change the motion of real matter. However, forces being created by momentum-free minds could lead to a violation of the conservation laws.

Specifically, the conservation laws we are concerned with here are the conservation of energy, the conservation of momentum, and the conservation of angular momentum. These three conservation laws are part of the bedrock of physics and any violation of these conservation laws would be wholly unacceptable to physicists and to all scientifically informed readers.

To prevent any violation of the conservation laws, we will have to find a way for thinking minds to generate real forces that act on real matter in a way that changes real outcomes, but without doing any work (per the physics definition of work). For now, we will simply state that compliance with the conservation laws is a necessary condition for this free will paradigm to succeed.

Conservation Requirement:

The conservation laws of energy, momentum, and angular momentum must not be violated in this free will paradigm.

We will dedicate ourselves to finding a scientifically acceptable way for minds to exert real forces that change real outcomes without doing any work in Chapters 4 and 5, after we have completed all the foundational details needed for this effort.

The Minderelle

We found that if a mind can change physical outcomes, the mind must be able to exert real forces on real matter. This brings us back to the mind as a free agent, an agent capable of causing changes in the universe independently of the physical laws.

Recall that to make the universe knowable when a free agent exists, we must be able to identify exactly the atoms that give the mind its existence, the material body we defined earlier as the mind signature. But the free agent rules also require that we identify exactly the atoms the mind can act on with forces.

Logically, we would think that a mind could exert forces on exactly the atoms of its mind signature, for these are the atoms that give the mind its presence. However, in Chapter 9 we will find that a mind is able to exert forces not only on its mind signature atoms, but also on additional atoms surrounding the mind signature.

This larger body of matter that a mind can govern with forces will become central to all the work that lies ahead. Therefore, we need a term for this larger body of matter that includes the mind signature within. We now define “minderelle” (mĭn՛-de-rel՛) to be the combination of the mind itself and all the atoms the mind can govern with forces. “Minderelle” is short for mind/matter organelle.

The Minderelle:

A mind and all the atoms the mind can govern with forces.

For this free will paradigm to be successful, we will have to identify exactly the atoms of the mind signature and exactly the atoms of the larger minderelle. We will complete this task by the end of Chapter 9.

Usage of Minderelle and Mind Signature

We will use “minderelle” when referring to the interactions between the mind and its surroundings because the minderelle is the body of matter through which the mind interacts with its surroundings by way of forces. We will use the term “mind signature” in the limited situations where we are referring to the smaller body of matter that binds a mind to the universe.

The Brain’s Command Center

According to our findings so far, each conscious mind in the universe can only belong to a single molecule. As humans, we have conscious minds, and if all conscious minds can only be the consciousness of a single molecule, then our consciousness must also be the consciousness of a single molecule.

If this is true, then all the sensory data from our human body must be processed by the brain and then directed towards the one molecule in the brain that gives us our consciousness. Furthermore, this same molecule must be sending out all the commands that direct the actions of our entire human body.

This means there must be a command center within the human brain, and the one minderelle that gives us consciousness must be located at this command center. This one molecule must be located where it has access to memory data, where it can receive data from all the senses once processed, where it can exercise control over the both the nervous and endocrine systems, and where it can take full advantage of all the brain’s resources.

We will refer to the single conscious molecule at the command center of the brain as the primary. The author believes that in humans, the primary will likely be found within the hypothalamus, but the exact location will ultimately be determined by neuroscientists.

The conscious mind of this one molecule at the command center will make all the decisions, feel all the emotions, see all the sights and hear all the sounds; it will experience hunger and thirst, it will taste, smell, and feel the effects of drugs and alcohol, and in every other way, this one molecule will experience the full life of its human body. We will cover how this one molecule interfaces with the brain, and how so few atoms can do so much, in Chapter 12.