Abstract

A physics that fails to take account of minds, or account for them, cannot be quite right; a physics that accounts so beautifully and so powerfully for so much of what we observe cannot be quite wrong. This book had that conundrum as its starting point, and resolves it. The mindful physics we need is complementary to the compelling and successful but mind-ignoring physics of today. It is the physics that life, especially human life, has made and is making here on the planet Earth, where brains and minds, and what they do, are located. To accept mindful physics, a resolutely empirical way of thinking is required that differs radically from the classical thinking (often called “realism”) that has held us, like a theology. The book grapples with the difficulties of giving up that faith to reach a more complete understanding of what happens. By embracing each and every individual brain/mind as an empirical phenomenon, a new physics is obtained that accepts and includes the mind-independent physics of the 20th century, greatly extends its power, resolves its deepest issue and brings us closer to a complete coherent account of what happens. Mindful physics throws new light on phenomena, including time and entanglement, that have not been well understood. The author is a winner of the Lester R. Ford Award for mathematics writing of the Mathematical Association of America.