A logical and topological proof of the irreducibility of consciousness to physical data

The space of visual consciousness—what people see—has geometric and topological properties that differ from physical space. Using logical, mathematical, and physical arguments, the authors demonstrate that these properties cannot be derived from or reduced to physical laws alone. Because a part of consciousness (visual space) is irreducible to physics, the same holds for consciousness as a whole. The paper provides a formal logical proof of this irreducibility without relying on philosophical definitions, focusing instead on observable properties of visual experience.

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Abstract

We show here that what we call visual space of consciousness, the space of what we see, is a specific space different from the purely physical one and that its properties imply that it cannot be reduced to or deduced from physical laws. Some biological points are also briefly considered. The arguments are of logical, mathematical and physical character, and although elementary they require a careful reading. A first shorter version of this paper appeared in a hardly accessible Journal [1], and presented at the International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Sciences, in Beijing, August 2007. There is no need to define consciousness; we only observe some of its properties, namely geometric and topological properties of visual consciousness, and show that these properties cannot be based on physics only. Now, if a part of consciousness cannot be grounded on physics only, it is the same for consciousness as a whole and we speak of the irreducibility of consciousness to physical data. We do not consider philosophical questions or issues; in a simple physical and mathematical frame we give a logical proof of this irreducibility. Elements for a formal mathematical, logical proof are mentioned at the end of the paper.