Vasileios Basios

The idea that mind and body are distinct entities that interact is often claimed to be incompatible with physics. The aim of this paper is to disprove this claim. To this end, we construct a broad mathematical framework that describes theories with mind–body interaction (MBI) as an extension of current physical theories. We employ histories theory, i.e., a formulation of physical theories in which a physical system is described in terms of (i) a set of propositions about possible evolutions of the system and (ii) a probability assignment to such propositions. The notion of dynamics is incorporated into the probability rule. As this formulation emphasises logical and probabilistic concepts, it is ontologically neutral. It can be used to describe mental ‘degrees of freedom’ in addition to physical ones. This results into a mathematical framework for psycho-physical interaction (ΨΦ\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\Psi \Phi$$\end{document}I formalism). Interestingly, a class of ΨΦ\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\Psi \Phi$$\end{document}I theories turns out to be compatible with energy conservation.

Time and space are conflated in time-warps when asleep we dream. Our wakeful cognitive ability to keep them separate indicates different ways of envisaging self-hood. Awareness that dream-time and life-time are separate is itself a propensity of human minds that has evolved by natural selection with adaptive developments in cerebral neuronal circuitry that underpin human behavioural complexity. The contrast is highlighted between how memory of our spatio-temporal experiences appears to be treated by our brain one way when we are wide-awake and thus well aware of our unfolding personal life-history, and in a different way when, fast asleep, our dreaming dissolves any such awareness and our oneiric self-hood seems different from our real-life self-hood. The difference is considered from two angles. Regarding simultaneous memory-storage for an experience recalled from alternative perspectives, a theoretical possibility is proposed of a pro-system comparable to Cantor Ternary Set topology. Regarding the brain, the difference is considered in relation to the temporo-spatial theory of consciousness and the compatible concept of active inference forestalling surprisal by minimising variational free energy according to the free energy principle.