The Physics of Mind and Thought

TL;DR

This paper explores integrating physics with mind and meaning by examining how mental functions can develop through language and physical phenomena, aiming to bridge the gap between physical laws and mental processes.

Contribution

It proposes a synthesis of physics and mental phenomena using scaffolding mechanisms and language, extending the scope of physics to include mentality.

Findings

Language-based development of mental functions

Physical phenomena like cymatics illustrate mental aspects

Potential for a new physics incorporating mind and matter

Abstract

Regular physics is unsatisfactory in that it fails to take into consideration phenomena relating to mind and meaning, whereas on the other side of the cultural divide such constructs have been studied in detail. This paper discusses a possible synthesis of the two perspectives. Crucial is the way systems realising mental function can develop step by step on the basis of the scaffolding mechanisms of Hoffmeyer, in a way that can be clarified by consideration of the phenomenon of language. Taking into account such constructs, aspects of which are apparent even with simple systems such as acoustically excited water (as with cymatics), potentially opens up a window into a world of mentality excluded from conventional physics as a result of the primary focus of the latter on the matter-like aspect of reality.