This is the first in a series of papers developing a theory of quantum gravity that is consistent with the PF interpretation of quantum mechanics. "Key Features: Reconciles quantum theory, general relativity, and the PF interpretation in a common framework...".

The line that reads “But this leaves open the question of why the Big Bang did not happen a billion years before now, such that we are also a billion years before now.5” should instead read “But this leaves open the question of why the Big Bang did not happen a billion years before it did, such that we are also a billion years before now.5” -/- Merriam, P. A Theory of the Big Bang in McTaggart’s Time. Axiomathes 32 (...) (Suppl 3), 685–696 (2022). doi 10.1007/s10516-022-09623-5. (shrink)

The idea of this paper is to put actual qualia into equations (broadly understood) to get what might be called qualations. Qualations arguably have different meanings and truth behaviors than the analogous equations. For example, the term ‘ black ’ arguably has a different meaning and behavior than the term ‘ █ ’. This is a step in the direction of a ‘calculus of qualia’ and of expanding science to include 1st-person phenomena.

1. First section notes: subtraction -/- Evidently -/- (1) black – black = empty-set -/- because anything minus itself is the empty set, but -/- (2) █ – █ = █ + █ -/- because there are two instances of black on the left and two instances of black on the right...

I give a reason we are almost certainly *not* in a simulation. I also consider what happens if two simulators simulate each other.

Many researchers suppose that the forward direction of time as a consequence of increasing entropy. But the human brain, including the human brain with memories, and life in general, are regarded as pockets of decreasing entropy, so as to accommodate the continual addition of memories and abilities. But then humans and life in general should see time going ‘backward’ in some sense. But we do not. Therefore, time is not entropic in origin. -/- The purpose of this note is to (...) bring attention to this idea. (shrink)

On being released from her black-and-white room into a colorful world it would seem Mary learns something new (the Knowledge Argument). On being released from his B-theory room into an A-theory world it would seem Mark learns something new (the Temporal Knowledge Argument). These thought experiments are parallel to each other and can inform each other.

Dinner tonight may be 6 hours later than lunch today. Also, lunch and dinner go from being in our future to being in our present (consecutively) and then our past (consecutively). How do quantum mechanics and relativity account for this?

This paper proposes a novel theoretical framework for reconciling quantum mechanics with relativity that leads to a theory of quantum gravity by examining the fundamental nature of time. In the first section we argue that it is possible to perform an experiment for oneself in which, with enough ‘internal technology’ it is possible to distinguish between one’s experience of time on the one hand, and one’s thoughts about one’s experience of time on the other hand. The former gives McTaggart's A-series (...) (future/present/past) and the latter gives McTaggart’s B-series (earlier/simultaneous/later). Several arguments are then given for why this should work, and several Gedankenexperiments, including Einstein’s Train, are explored and it is shown how they can be solved using this notion of time. These series lead directly to the Presentist Fragmentalist interpretation of quantum mechanics [Merriam 2022a]. To a first approximation, quantum mechanics primarily operates in the A-series and relativity operates in the B-series. The interpretation is used to propose a theory of quantum gravity, where the A-series and the B-series become mixed. It is then shown how this theory leads to the Schrodinger equation in one limit and General Relativity in another limit. (shrink)

There are extensive discussions of the 5D AdS metric that arises naturally from a metric that accounts for the A-series, the B-series, and x^a; black holes, including their information, entropy, temperature, energy, and energy density; the Big Bang; the finitude of singularities here; inflation; AdS/CFT and dS; symmetry groups of this theory of gravity not including and including those of the standard model, with evaluations of how integrated and how plausible they are; how the theory of quantum gravity here gives (...) general relativity in one limit and quantum mechanics in another limit; and much more. -/- Of particular interest is the physics based argument for the continuation of awareness after death, which starts on about page 196 and spans several pages. (shrink)

The basic idea is to put qualia into equations (broadly understood) to get what might as well be called qualations. Qualations arguably have different truth behaviors than the analogous equations. Thus ‘black’ has a different behavior than ‘ █ ’. This is a step in the direction of a ‘calculus of qualia’. It might help clarify some issues.

The first purpose of this series of articles is to introduce case studies on how current AI models can be used in the development of a possible theory of quantum gravity, their limitations, and the role the researcher has in steering the development in the right direction, even highlighting the errors, weaknesses and strengths of the whole process. The second is to introduce the new Presentist Fragmentalist ontology as a framework and use it for developing theories of quantum gravity and (...) speculate on achieving a TOE. We emphasize it is necessary for the researcher to check everything in these articles for themselves. While there are many good ideas in this series of papers, the AI is known to make even arithmetic and algebraic mistakes. To select just five apparently good ideas, there is a causal interaction tensor Cαβγδ(F1, F2) that encodes the causal relationship and the strength of the (possibly non-local) interaction between two fragments of reality (formed by each quantum system). There is a quantitative prediction for a testable table-top experiment. There is an explanation of how spacetime emerges from the fragments and their interactions. There is an explicit account of the double-slit experiment. And there is an explanation how this theory accommodates dark matter and dark energy simultaneously. We explore ideas, equations they lead to, concrete calculations, and give corrections along the way. While these are generally morally right within this framework they must be checked by the researcher. Given this caveat, we believe we have made significant progress with the PF interpretation in developing a theory of quantum gravity and pointing out a possible path to a TOE. (shrink)

General Introduction: In [1] a Calculus of Qualia (CQ) was proposed. The key idea is that, for example, blackness is radically different than █. The former term, “blackness” refers to or is about a quale, whereas the latter term, “█” instantiates a quale in the reader’s mind and is non-referential; it does not even refer to itself. The meaning and behavior of these terms is radically different. All of philosophy, from Plato through Descartes through Chalmers, including hieroglyphics and emojis, used (...) referential terms up until CQ. This paper in this series of papers includes a relatively short but comprehensive discussion with the AI Claude 3.5 Sonnet on how the CQ impacts various theories of consciousness, including Materialism, Dualism, Idealism, and 14 others. (shrink)

General Introduction: In [1] a Calculus of Qualia (CQ) was proposed. The key idea is that, for example, blackness is radically different than █. The former term, “blackness” refers to or is about a quale, whereas the latter term, “█” instantiates a quale in the reader’s mind and is non-referential; it does not even refer to itself. The meaning and behavior of these terms is radically different. All of philosophy, from Plato through Descartes through Chalmers, including hieroglyphics and emojis, used (...) referential terms up until CQ. This paper in this series of papers addresses the question of why is there something rather than nothing, at length, and gives a radical new answer. It has to do with the fact in CQ that, while blackness is contingently possible, █ is necessarily actual, as it was in this sentence. (shrink)

This paper gives a radical answer to why there is something rather than nothing based on the Calculus of Qualia and its non-referential terms. The answer turns out to be: because what exists exists necessarily because of its nature. To sum up and oversimplify the extensive argument in two sentences, skipping many steps: 1. By the question “why is there something rather than nothing” we actually mean to be asking “why is there something rather than the weakest assumption?” 2. The (...) non-referential term █ (which does not even refer to itself) in the Calculus of Qualia possibly exists, and, as it has no counterfactuals, that implies its necessary actuality. The upshot is that the existence of the non-referential term █ is a weaker assumption (i.e. assumes less) than the assumption that there could have been nothing. The extensive argument in the paper gives the first compelling secular answer to the ultimate question. (shrink)

This is a pdf of a Mathematica calculation that supplements the paper "Presentist Fragmentalism and Quantum Mechanics" forthcoming in Foundations of Physics. In that paper the Born rule (or at least a progenitor) is derived from experimental conditions on the mutual observations of two fragments. In this pdf the experimental conditions are applied to Hilbert space dimensions 3, 4, and 5. It turns out each of these have a 1-dimensional solution space which, it is hoped, can be interpretated as the (...) phase. (shrink)

What's wrong with Copenhagen, GRW, Superdeterminism, QBism, Many-worlds, Bohmianism, and Retrocausality, and how theses differ from Presentist Fragmentalism.

We can ask, (1) given the state of the universe at the big bang, what is the probability that the universe would have ended up in its current actual state? What is the probability distribution for the possible states the universe could have evolved into? We can ask, (2) given the current actual state of the universe, what is the probability the big bang would have been in the state it was? What is the probability distribution over different possible states (...) at the big bang? Both the Fine-Tuning argument and the Anthropic argument are confused versions of (2). This settles the issues once and for all. (shrink)

If the sun were to suddenly go out we wouldn't know it for 8 minutes. But if Alice is sitting in the middle of the sun and measures one of a pair of entangled particles and we measure the other one, what direction she measures her particle in has instantaneous effects on the one we measure. This is resolved in the Presentist Fragmentalist interpretation of QM.

Dinner today is 6 hours later than lunch. Also they are in our future and then (consecutively) in our present and then (consecutively) in our past. How do both quantum mechanics and relativity account for this?

This paper introduces non-referential terms into language as used in the Calculus of Qualia (CQ). It is possible to write “blackness” to refer to the experience of the subjective, internal quale of blackness. It is possible to write █ as another word for “blackness,” another referential term. But that is not its meaning in CQ. In CQ the word “blackness” is used as usual, as a symbol that refers to something other than itself. But █ is the immediate subjective experience (...) (quale) that arises in the reader’s mind. “Blackness” refers to the color or quale. But █ in no way refers, _not even to itself_, it is strictly non-referential. It’s presentation instantiates it. This is no some trivial definitional trick but is a paradigm shift. Examples, traps, and concequences for theories of truth and meaning are briefly explored. (shrink)

Dinner today is 6 hours after lunch today. Also, these are in our future, then in our present (consecutively), and then in our past (consecutively). How do both quantum mechanics and relativity account for these?

The word "green" refers to the color green, which could more precisely refer to the wavelength of green photons, green paint, green light, or green qualia. But in this 12-page paper, as in this abstract, it is written in black. Thus its referential meaning(s) is different than its non-referential or presentational meaning, which is the actual quale of blackness arising in the actual reader's mind. Philosophy has discussed--but never employed--non-referential terms before. That is like discussing swimming but never employing a (...) swimming ability. It can be done, but it misses the whole point. This paper discusses non-referential terms, poetry, painting, music, swimming, counterfactuals, and how this distinction is deeper than the 1st-person / 3rd-person divide. (shrink)

Jackson (1982) introduced the Knowledge Argument to elucidate the phenomenal, interior aspects of experience. In 1908 McTaggart defined two series that characterize one dimension of time, the A-series and the B-series. The A-series is usually thought to be phenomenal Farr (2019), SEP (2018). Thus there is the possibility of giving a Knowledge Argument for time. One (informal) statement of the classical Knowledge Argument might be “Mary knows all the facts about color qualia but lives in a black-and-white room. Upon being (...) released into a colorful world, it would seem she learns something new.” The analogous Knowledge Argument for Time (KAT) would be “Nathan knows all the facts about time but lives in a B-series room. Upon being released into a world with both an A-series and a B-series it would seem he learns something new.” I give variations of the KAT based on various distinctions. I don’t give any particular proposed solutions to the Knowledge Arguments for Time. Rather, the point is to state the Arguments (or indicate how they may be stated). It may be hoped that these will help clarify some issues in the philosophy of time and lead to a cross-fertilization between the philosophy of time and the philosophy of mind. (shrink)

The only processes that could correlate to awareness thatgo on after brain-death are quantum processes. These processes contain information. But in quantum mechanics information is never lost. Therefore this information goes on after death and the awareness will still be correlated to it. Therefore awareness goes on after death.

"This self-consistent evolution of the fragments, their causal relationships, and their quantum properties is at the heart of the FCQG-SM framework, providing a unified description of quantum mechanics, general relativity, and the Standard Model.".

We give an argument for temporal A-theories based on the calculus of qualia.

In this short informal note we consider four Gedankenexperiments that show A-theories of time are compelling and can be leveraged to give a Presentist Fragmentalist realist interpretation of quantum mechanics. Each of these four involve roles for manifest time, relativistic time, and quantum mechanical time. The point is to give simple everyday situations where a new point of view leads to the consistency of all three. This is the MO of the early Einstein. Einstein's Train is one of the Gedankenexperiments (...) considered. (shrink)

This paper presents a falsifiable prediction based on A-theories of time, which require both an A-series (future/present/past) and B-series (earlier/simultaneous/later) of time. We make an unusual argument based on the temporal search parameters of YouTube videos, which requires *two* parameters. We make the falsifiable prediction that no interface with just *one* parameter can be made that has the same functionality (as would be asserted in B-theories). This circumstance applies to many areas of human endeavor. We extend this analysis to clocks, (...) showing how sundials, analog clocks, digital clocks, and atomic clocks all fundamentally operate using both temporal series. The progression from hardware to software clocks in computers reveals how both series persist through increasing levels of abstraction. These findings suggest that physics, being fundamentally based on clock measurements, must incorporate both temporal series rather than attempting to reduce one to the other. This approach offers new insights into the relationship between quantum mechanics and relativity, suggesting that quantum mechanics primarily operates in A-series time while relativity operates in B-series time, potentially illuminating why their unification has proven challenging. (shrink)

Presentist Fragmentalism is a novel interpretation of quantum mechanics. This paper develops the resulting theory of Quantum Gravity.

This paper continues and extensive exploration of the QG and TOE resulting from the PF interpretation of QM. Some highlights are an exploration of symmetries of the Standard Model, outlines of testable predictions of implications for QG, that this theory can simultaneously give an account of dark matter and dark energy, probabilities and statevector collapse vs. gravity, applications of the causal interaction tensor Cαβγδ(Fi, Fj). Note the first section mentions qualia but this is not a psychological theory this is an (...) ontic theory. (shrink)

This paper develops a Fragmentalist theory of Presentism and shows how it can help to develop a interpretation of quantum mechanics. There are several fragmental interpretations of physics. In the interpretation of this paper, each quantum system forms a fragment, and fragment f1 makes a measurement on fragment f2 if and only if f2 makes a corresponding measurement on f1. The main idea is then that each fragment has its own present (or ‘now’) until a mutual quantum measurement—at which time (...) they come (‘become’) to share the same ‘now’. The theory of time developed here will make use of both McTaggart’s A-series (in the form of future-present-past) and B-series (earlier-times to later-times). An example of an application is that a Bell pair of electrons does not take on definite spin values until measurement because the measuring system and the Bell pair do not share the same present (‘now’) until mutual quantum measurement, i.e. until they ‘become’ to share the same A-series. Before that point the ‘now’ of the opposing system is not in the reference system’s fragment. Relativistic no-signaling is preserved within each fragment, which will turn out to be sufficient for the general case. Several issues in the foundations of quantum mechanics are canvassed, including Schrodinger’s cat, the Born rule, modifications to Minkowski space that accommodate both the A-series and the B-series, and entropy. (shrink)

Einstein's relativity emerged from his resolution of three key thought experiments. We show that Presentist Fragmentalism can systematically resolve eight fundamental paradoxes, including Einstein's classic train scenario and Schrodinger’s Cat.

The logic of qualia is different than classical logic. We take the first steps in defining it and applying it to the Hard Problem.

This paper appears to give a Theory of Everything.

This note gives 9 Temporal Knowledge Arguments and, also, makes a few observations about presentism.

We motivate and develop a new theory of time and apply it to a few thought experiments in physics.

Some not quite random thoughts on the logic of qualia.

We indicate how to construct a logic of qualia.

In this short paper I suggest a few properties a good realist interpretation of quantum mechanics ought to have. Then I canvass several interpretations, most of which do not have these properties, and further suggest problems specific to each one. Then I give a reference to a novel interpretation that solves all of these problems.

This note effectively presents several arguments for the soundness of A-theories, and that their two series are required for a complete description of time in physics. -/- The paper makes several key contributions: First, it establishes an empirical basis for distinguishing A-series and B-series time through direct experience and observation. Second, it presents an important check on this result in giving five mini-arguments that A-theories should indeed be right. Third, it gives a novel kind of argument leading to falsifiable predictions. (...) Fourth it gives a detailed account of clocks in this theory: sundials, analogue, digital, and atomic. Fifth it connects the clocks of a computer to the clocks of its software. (shrink)

We motivate and develop a perspectival A-theory of time (future/present/past) and probe its implied interpretation of quantum mechanics. It will emerge that, as a first take, the time of relativity is a B-series (earlier-times to later-times) and the time of quantum mechanics is an A-series. There is philosophical motivation for the idea that mutual quantum measurement happens when and only when the systems’ A-series become one mutual A-series, as in the way qualia work in the Inverted Spectrum. This seems to (...) account for certain quantum phenomena, including that the electrons of a Bell pair do not have definite spins until measurement, as ‘until’ here is a (perspectival) A-series notion. Various issues in the foundations of quantum mechanics are canvassed. (shrink)

There is a profound difference between asking a 'hard problem' and asking a 'hard problem' that has qualia in the question. There are plausible answers to the former that are nevertheless clearly not answers to the latter. I give a method by which hard problems will be able to be solved, if possible. I speculate on the (possible) causal efficaciousness of consciousness in evolution and in quantum mechanics.

A mechanism for life after death is given.

This paper proposes an interpretation of time that incorporates both McTaggart's A-series and his B-series, and attempts to cast it in a way that might be usable by physicists. This interpretation allows one to reconcile special relativity with temporal becoming as the latter is understood as 'ontologically private', which is given a mathematical definition. This allows one to define a unit of becoming, as well as the rates of becoming. This paper gives a picture of this interpretation and applies a (...) rough outline of the concepts to several test cases. (shrink)

Abstract to Equations, Qualia, and Qualations -/- With regard to consciousness, we could write an equation B = black. But it is possible to rewrite this using a quale, namely, B = █. This latter equation might be called a ‘qualation’. It has the same meaning regardless of the physiology that apprehends it. This article argues a whole theory of qualations could be developed. Further, to a Dualist, it could be that a materialist is convinced by materialist arguments involving the (...) first equation, but it is unimaginable how this could ever be for a qualation. In view of the strong association of qualia with McTaggart’s A-series (future/present/past) a few notes on time are included. (shrink)

This brief note gives a modest argument that there may be states-of-affairs that require fewer (weaker) assumptions than the assumption or 'default state' of Nothingness. It is meant as an add-on to the paper "Existence and the Big Bang" and to work in concert with several other papers on PhilPapers. This is meant to modestly help the idea that the Big Bang could have happened in the first place.

Non-locality is one of the great mysteries of quantum mechanics (qm). There is a new realist interpretation of qm on the table whose notion of time incorporates both of McTaggart's A-series and B-series. In this philosophically motivated interpretation there is no fact of the matter as to whether the 'now' of one system is the 'now' of another system, until measurement. But this reproduces the idea that the spins of a Bell pair of electrons do not become definite 'until' measurement. (...) And this almost trivially allows for non-locality. (shrink)

This note (it is not a full-fledged academic paper) introduces a novel approach to classic thought experiments in consciousness studies through the incorporation of non-referential terms—symbols that present experiences directly rather than referring to them. By analyzing the Hard Problem, Knowledge Argument, Philosophical Zombies, and Spectrum Inversion thought experiments using both referential terms (like "blackness") and non-referential terms (like █), the paper reveals that many apparent philosophical puzzles arise from conflating referential descriptions with direct presentational experiences. The analysis shows that (...) attempting to formulate these thought experiments using non-referential terms often requires instantiating the very experiences in question, creating self-referential paradoxes that solve or dissolve the original problems. (shrink)

The modest ambition of this short note is to point out a plausible route from a *perspectival ontology* and McTaggart’s *AB-spacetime* to an AdS/CFT correspondence. There are several minor arguments that would need to be filled in for this route to succeed.