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The physicists' interest in consciousness is naturally biased towards that which can be observed and measured, whereas the emphasis in The Urantia Book leans heavily towards relatedness to cosmic meanings and values. Also the physicist sees many aspects of mind as belonging to the material world described by classical physics and looks to 'consciousness' to find a link with the quantum world. The Urantia Book is in partial agreement:
"Mind, in functioning beings, is not separated from energy or spirit, or both. Mind is not inherent in energy; energy is receptive and responsive to mind; mind can be superimposed on energy, but consciousness is not inherent in the purely material level." (102)
The Urantia Book also expresses views that have affinity with those of Arthur J. Deikman referred to earlier:
"Self-consciousness implies the recognition of the reality of selves other than the conscious self and further implies that such awareness is mutual; that the self is known as it knows." (195)
From the point of view of religionists, the swing away from materialism and determinism that has been catalyzed by the mysteries of quantum physics is a welcome change, particularly as, at its forefront, are some of the outstanding intellects of the academic world.
A new day is dawning
More than sixty years ago the revelators of The Urantia Book wrote, "At the time of writing the worst of the materialistic age is over; the day of a better understanding is beginning to dawn. The higher minds of the scientific world are no longer wholly materialistic in their philosophy, but the rank and file of the people still lean in that direction as a result of former teaching. (2076)
Today it is not only quantum physicists who have forsaken materialism and determinism. They have now been joined by philosophers, psychologists, neurophysiologists, biochemists, and many others. Surely a new day really has dawned.
References
1. Pritchard et al. in Scientific American 267 (1) 72 (1992)
2. Chiao et al in Scientific American 267 (1) 72 (1992)
3. Heisenberg, W. Positivism, Metaphysics and Religion in The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy & Mathematics (Ed. T. Ferris) (Little, Brown & Co., N.Y. (1991)
4. Goswami, A. The Self-Aware Universe (Simon and Schuster, NY) 1993
5. Zurek, W. Physics Today 44 (10) 36 (1991)
6. Aspect, A. et al. Physical Review Letters 49, 1804 (1982)
7, Deikman, A. J. Journal of Consciousness Studies 3 (4) 350 (1996)
8. Hameroff, S. and Penrose, R. Journal of Consciousness Studies 3 (1) 36. 1996
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