A physical approach to qualia and the emergence of conscious observers in qualia space
This addresses the foundational problem of consciousness for philosophers and physicists, but it is a new paradigm rather than incremental.
The paper tackles the problem of linking consciousness to physics by proposing that qualia are physical and equating the quantum measurement problem with the hard problem of consciousness, resulting in a panpsychist framework that offers potential solutions to the combination problem.
I propose that qualia are physical because they are directly observable, and revisit the contentious link between consciousness and quantum measurements from a new perspective -- one that does not rely on observers or wave function collapse but instead treats physical measurements as fundamental in a sense resonant with Wheeler's it-from-bit. Building on a mathematical definition of measurement space in physics, I reinterpret it as a model of qualia, effectively equating the measurement problem of quantum mechanics with the hard problem of consciousness. The resulting framework falls within panpsychism, and offers potential solutions to the combination problem. Moreover, some of the mathematical structure of measurement spaces, taken for granted in physics, needs justification for qualia, suggesting that the apparent solidity of physical reality is deeply rooted in how humans process information.