# Mind before matter: reversing the arrow of fundamentality

## TL;DR

This paper proposes reversing traditional notions of fundamentality in physics by considering the observer's mind as more fundamental than matter, motivated by conceptual issues and information theory insights.

## Contribution

It introduces a perspective where the observer's mind is prioritized over matter as fundamental, offering a novel conceptual approach to foundational physics.

## Key findings

- Reversing fundamentality can address conceptual problems in physics.
- Information-theoretic observer models may be more fundamental than physical matter.
- The approach complements traditional materialist views without contradicting them.

## Abstract

In this contribution to FQXi's essay contest 2018, I suggest that it is sometimes a step forward to reverse our intuition on "what is fundamental", a move that is somewhat reminiscent of the idea of noncommutative geometry. I argue that some foundational conceptual problems in physics and related fields motivate us to attempt such a reversal of perspective, and to take seriously the idea that an information-theoretic notion of observer ("mind") could in some sense be more fundamental than our intuitive idea of a physical world ("matter"). I sketch what such an approach could look like, and why it would complement but not contradict the view that the material world is the cause of our experience.