Mind clearly exists in our universe and since science has thus far failed to explain mind as an emergent phenomenon in brains, let’s consider the possibility that mind exists at the quantum scale and see what existing science has to say about this.  The vast majority of the 61 particles in the standard model cannot exist for more than a fraction of a second before decaying or combining into a more stable form of matter and energy.  This allows us to focus only on the subset of elementary particles that form stable matter, specifically up quarks, down quarks, gluons, electrons and photons.

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     The most fundamental matter interaction in the universe occurs when the gluons of the strong nuclear force combine one red color charge quark, one green color charge quark, and one blue color charge quark, to form a neutral white color charge proton or neutron, the subatomic particles that form atoms.*  Whether three quarks combine to form a proton or neutron depends on the mix of up and down quarks being combined.  The main takeaway here is that the strong nuclear force combines elementary particles to form subatomic particles.  This is the smallest matter combination event known to science.

 

     As elementary particles are forged into subatomic particles, each of their 4 known properties are “conserved” throughout the process.  This means the mass/energy**, spin, charge, and color charge of the incoming quarks and gluon binding energy can be combined and the result will match the properties of the resulting proton or neutron.  Each of the properties being combined has a conservation law associated with it, specifically the conservation of mass/energy, the conservation of spin, the conservation of charge, and the conservation of color charge.  That the properties of quarks and gluons are universally combined and conserved in strong nuclear force interactions is a foundational principle in quantum physics.  This foundational principle also applies to all scales of the universe where the forces of nature (the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, and gravity) all universally combine and conserve every known property of matter and energy, in every type of interaction, at every scale of the universe.  This is true whether three quarks are combined to form a subatomic particle, or whether two galaxies collide to form a larger galaxy.  It is now time to bring mind into this discussion via two thought experiments.

 

Thought Experiment #1: Mind as a Property of Quarks

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     Consider a thought experiment where tomorrow morning scientists announce a discovery that quarks have a 5th property.  Logic dictates that this 5th property would also be combined and conserved by the strong nuclear force along with the 4 previously known properties of quarks when forging protons and neutrons.  The scientists would no doubt propose a new universal conservation law associated with this new quark property since everything in the known universe is subject to conservation laws.

 

     Now imagine this newly discovered property somehow relates to mind existing at the quantum scale, let's call it the "mind property" of quarks.  This new mind property would be combined by the strong nuclear force and conserved by a new “conservation of mind” law.  The resulting subatomic particle would have the combined mind of its constituent quarks along with the combined mass/energy, charge, spin, and color charge of its constituent quarks and gluons.  

 

     Moving up to the atomic scale, the electromagnetic force replaces the strong nuclear force as the primary force driving matter combination events, where photons replace gluons as the carriers of the fundamental force of nature facilitating the combination.  Various combinations of subatomic particles are electromagnetically combined to form the 100+ atoms of the periodic table.  Atoms are literally forged and held together by the electromagnetic attraction between their constituent electrons and protons, which attract each other and stick together like magnets on your refrigerator.  The mass/energy, charge, spin, and mind properties of subatomic particles and photon binding energy would be combined and conserved as the electromagnetic force combines them to form atoms with atomic scale minds.

 

     Moving up to the molecular scale, the 100+ atoms of the periodic table electromagnetically combine in various combinations to form hundreds of millions of molecules.  Every molecule is literally held together by the electromagnetic attraction between the protons and electrons in their constituent atoms.  The mass/energy, charge, spin, and mind property of atoms would be combined and conserved by the electromagnetic force when forming molecules with molecular scale minds.

 

     The same logic holds as we move up to the cellular scale.  Every cell is literally held together by the electromagnetic attraction between protons and electrons in the molecules that form cell membranes and internal cell structures.  The mass/energy, charge, spin, and mind properties of subcellular molecules are combined and conserved by the electromagnetic force when forming cells with cellular scale minds.  Finally, multicellular organisms are held together by the electromagnetic attraction between the protons and the electrons in the membranes of adjacent cells and interstitial molecules.  The mass/energy, charge, spin, and mind properties of cells are combined and conserved by the electromagnetic force when forming the more complex bodies and minds of multicellular organisms, including humans.  

 

     This thought experiment chose to only consider quarks as having a mind property for simplicity reasons, but the same logic would apply if all elementary particles were assumed to have a mind property.  The thought experiment resolved the combination problem using the simple assumption that scientific laws should apply equally to a hypothetical mind property of matter as they do to the other properties of matter.  Rejecting this hypothesis requires taking the position that the fundamental forces of nature and the universal conservation laws of science that apply to every known property of matter would not apply to a hypothetical mind property of matter, an illogical and unscientific position to take.

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Thought Experiment #2: Mind as an Elementary Particle

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     Physicists have long speculated the possible existence of new particles to explain currently unexplained phenomena.  This has been going on for more than a century since quantum theory was first formulated in the 1920’s.  Scientists make predictions based on the assumed properties of hypothetical particles, then conduct experiments that attempt to confirm or refute the particle’s existence.  The most recently discovered particle is the Higgs Boson which was hypothesized in 1964 and experimentally confirmed in 2012, after which it was added to the Standard Model.  The Standard Model, and quantum physics more broadly, remain incomplete as physicists continue to search for new particles to explain mysteries such as gravity, dark energy, dark matter, the matter-antimatter imbalance, supersymmetry, the hierarchy problem, and other unexplained phenomena.
 
     Since the mind is also a mystery to science, let’s consider a second thought experiment where tomorrow scientists announce the discovery of a “mind particle" that provides evidence of mind operating at the quantum scale.  Each of the 61 elementary particles in the Standard Model has a quantum field associated with it that spans the entire universe.  This means the newly discovered mind particle would also have a universal “mind field” associated with it.  Let’s assume the mind particle is a boson which would enable it to behave more like a force carrier than as a building block of matter.  In essence, the mind boson would be the carrier of a 5th force of nature, a “mind force.”   Many scientists have speculated on the possible existence of a 5th force of nature to explain a variety of mysteries.  They typically assume the hypothetical 5th force operates at energies undetectable by modern scientific instruments, providing an explanation for why the 5th force does not create anomalies in atomic spectroscopy and particle accelerators.  We will make the same assumption, that the mind boson operates below the level detectable by existing scientific instruments, hence new technology needed to be invented before it could be discovered.  Since modern science can already account for the mass of subatomic particles via the Higgs boson, there is no “missing” mass to be accounted for by our mind boson, hence we will assume it will be a “massless” boson like the photon. 

 

     It is useful to consider the behaviors of photons to shed light on the behaviors of mind bosons.   Bosons are not subject to the Pauli exclusion principle, meaning multiple bosons can occupy the same place at the same time.  This allows photons to seamlessly combine their energy to produce a higher power electromagnetic fields that is integrated and unified.  This is a foundational principle in Quantum Electrodynamics theory (QED) and in Maxwell’s classical theory of electromagnetism.  Positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons naturally attract each other, generating tiny electromagnetic fields between them facilitated by photon exchange.  When atoms, molecules, and cells combine to form more complex matter structures, these tiny electromagnetic fields seamlessly combine to form higher power, unified, and integrated electromagnetic fields that surround and pervade the matter structure.  Mind bosons would similarly combine their energy to form higher power, unified, and integrated mind fields that surround and pervade combined matter structures.  Mind as a massless boson would therefore not face a combination problem, provided that the laws and principles of science apply equally to the fundamental constituents of matter and mind.

 

The Mind Division Problem

 

     Both thought experiments illustrate how matter and mind can combine from elementary particles to cells.  Beginning at cellular scale a "Mind Division Problem" appears because growth at the cellular scale is primarily based on cell division rather than cell combination.  Dividing cells replicate their entire internal structures, after which their cell membranes fold down the middle to split the duplicated internal structures into two separate cells with independent minds and bodies.  Since mind is embedded in the subatomic particles of the divided cells in both thought experiments, the dividing cells would have independent minds once they move far enough apart to cause their electromagnetic and mind fields to bifurcate.  This would be the case in single cell life such as a bacterium that divides into two independent bacteria which subsequently move away from one another.

 

     In multicellular life, the combination problem applies only to egg fertilization.  Sperm and egg cells combine their entire physical structures during fertilization. This is an indisputable scientific fact.  When a sperm enters an egg, their electromagnetic fields naturally combine to produce a unified and integrated fertilized-egg electromagnetic field.  This is also an indisputable scientific fact.  Regardless of whether mind is an undiscovered property of matter or an undiscovered boson field, the sperm and egg will combine their molecular structures, electromagnetic fields, and mind fields, consistent with both proposed solutions to the combination problem.  After fertilization occurs, all subsequent growth is driven by cell division as opposed to cell combination.  But unlike single cell life, the dividing cells in multicellular organisms never move far enough away from one another to cause their electromagnetic fields to bifurcate.  Multicellular organisms remain inside a single, expanding, unified, and integrated electromagnetic field that surrounds and pervades the fertilized egg throughout development, birth, life, and death.  Similarly, the collective mind of the dividing cells would remain inside a single, expanding, unified, and integrated mind field that surrounds and pervades the fertilized egg throughout development, birth, life, and death  This would provide an explanation for the unity of human conscious experience, our sense of self that persists over time, a phenomenon that is considered a mystery in philosophy of mind circles.

 

Evidence That Minds Combine

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     There is direct electromagnetic evidence that minds can combine at the scale of the human brain.  A procedure for treating epilepsy involves severing the nerve fibers that connect the two hemispheres of a patient’s brain, which greatly reduces the severity of seizures by preventing them from electromagnetically oscillating between brain hemispheres.  Neuroscientists have been studying these “split-brain” patients since 1962 when it was discovered that each hemisphere acts as if it has a separate mind.  The left hemisphere controls and receives sensory input from the right side of the body while the right hemisphere controls and receives sensory input from the left side of the body.  This is known as the contralateral organization of the brain and body, an organization structure that has allowed scientists to perform isolated hemispheric testing on these split-brain patients. 

 

     Experiments on split-brain patients involve presenting isolated sensory stimuli to one hemisphere and soliciting isolated responses to questions from one or the other hemisphere.  Split-brain patients give different answers based on whether the isolated stimuli and question are presented to the same hemisphere or opposite hemispheres.  Researchers have even “interviewed” each hemisphere of split-brain patients and found they hold differing views on subjects ranging from career goals to a belief in God, strong evidence that each hemisphere hosts a separate mind.  This view fits with a large body of brain research on patients with normal brains where each hemisphere has been found to have a unique learning style, operates with its own working memory, is responsible for different tasks, and contributes unique aspects to a person’s blended personality.  
 
     When the nerve bundles connecting the hemispheres are intact, high bandwidth sensory information is shared across the hemispheres electromagnetically via synapses, resulting in the single unified mind that we all experience in our daily lives.  But when these nerve bundles are severed, sensory information is no longer shared between the hemispheres via high bandwidth nerve fibers, resulting in each hemisphere experiencing the world exclusively through its half of the body’s sensory systems.  The hemisphere thus responds to isolated queries based on the isolated information it received, causing it to behave as if it has a separate mind.  This can be seen as evidence that minds electromagnetically combine at the scale of human brain hemispheres.

 

Conclusion

 

     This solution does not seek to explain how an undiscovered fundamental mind property or particle can produce subjective experience, it only seeks to illustrate that if mind were indeed a fundamental property or elementary particle, it would not face a combination problem.  William James' challenge was that rudimentary mental states cannot combine to form more complex mental states.  We agree.  This solution argues that whatever phenomenon creates the capacity to have mental states is what combines, as opposed to combining individual mental states which would essentially create another variation of the hard problem.  If mind is fundamental and subject to the same scientific laws and principles that matter is subject to, then minds can progressively combine to form more complex minds as matter scales up from quantum particles to atoms, to molecules, to cells, to humans.

 

     The foundational principles of the universal conservation laws and the combinatorial power of the forces of nature underpin the entirety of physics at every scale of the universe.   Extending these foundational principles to include mind resolves the combination problem.  The reader is not asked to accept the hypothesis that mind is fundamental, only to recognize that if mind were fundamental, it would not face a combination problem.  Rejecting this view requires taking the position that mind is not subject to the same universal scientific laws and principles that apply to everything else in the known universe, effectively placing mind beyond scientific explanation.  The mind combination problem is therefore a red herring, a problem that does not exist for any theory asserting that minds can combine.
 

* Quarks and gluons do not literally have colors as we know them at the human scale.  Color charge is a property of quarks discovered in the 1960's which behaves similar to electric charge but comes in three charge types (red, green, and blue) instead of two types (positive and negative for electric charge).  This strange charge-like property was called "Color Charge" as an analogy to the human scale colors red, green, and blue which combine to form a neutral white color.  Color charge can be ignored for all matter larger than quarks, which only involve neutral white color charged matter interacting with other neutral white color charged matter resulting in more neutral white color charged matter.

** Mass and energy are interchangeable properties per Einstein’s E= mc2 equation, thus are treated as a single property for purposes of this discussion.