University of California Berkeley: Democratic Education at Cal

Faculty Sponsor: Professor David Presti, Senior Lecturer of Neurobiology

Course Schedule

Orch-OR Theory" (2011)

Consciousness" (2009)

You are assigned to read one primary source article/chapter per week. Please download all readings from bSpace. Read all the abstracts and look at the pictures. Pick one of the two or so papers to read and complete the online questionnaire every week found at: sites.google.com/site/quantumdecal/.

You are allowed to miss two days of class. The University’s DeCal policy is to fail with three absences. We will excuse an absence only if you have a credible reason and inform us via email BEFORE class. Furthermore, attendance will be taken near the end of the class. If you need to leave early please talk to us, or you will not get credit for that day’s participation.

Cite at least 3 sources and answer one of three prompts to be assigned mid-semester. 3 page minimum, double-spaced with appropriate citations (MLA or APA). You must turn in a paper topic by November 14th & the final draft is due on November 28th, the final class. Figures and diagrams are encouraged (do not count towards page length).

Our reality can be analytically divided into 3 aspects: General relativity describes the physical states of the universe in terms of information and local description; Quantum theory groups physical reality into the functional states of quantum observers, if taken seriously these quantum observers are at the level of conscious states, responsible for memory and executive computational control; Entanglement is the third and final aspect underlies the meaning and shared feelings of experience that are essential to the computational goals of every quantum observer, Plato’s world of forms, Carl Jung’s collective unconscious.