Agency and the theory of quantum vacuum interaction¹

I am grateful to Karl Pribram for his helpful comments and for allowing me to draw on our collaborative work (Bradley and Pribram, 1995, 1996; 1997a,b; Bradley, 1996), and I thank Michele Hardoin for her suggestions also. An earlier version was published in the Proceedings of the Fifth Appalachian Conference on Behavioral Neurodynamics (K. H. Pribram (Ed.), Brain and Values, copyright© 1998, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ), under the title “Values, Agency, and the Theory of Quantum Vacuum Interaction,” pp. 471–503. Its publication here is within the terms of the original copyright agreement with Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Abstract

Laszlo's theory of quantum vacuum interaction describes the evolution of all order in the universe as a result of the interaction between the holofield, a subquantum field of potential energy, and the multi‐level hierarchy of matter and living systems. A review of the scheme reveals two problems which question its application to psycho‐social interaction. One is the use of classical holography (image processing), which is inherently deterministic. The second is Laszlo's view of the brain as a passive processor of information. Both preclude human agency in the generation of psycho‐social organization. An alternative approach is developed here that aims to solve both of these problems. First, I draw on Piaget's work to show how thought and reason, and thus agency, is produced by the logic of cooperative interaction. And second, I use both classical holography and quantum holography (information processing) to develop a nondeterminist account of communication in social collectives. The principles of classical holography are used to describe how purposeful action is imaged and processed; and the principles of quantum holography are used to describe how a stable order of endogenous organization is generated by the processing of information about the interactions among members. By describing how the collective's normative order (the system of shared values, beliefs, and norms) operates to effect the construction and regulation of the collective's communicative structure, I show how indeterminacy is introduced and, hence, the potential for an active human agent in social life.

Notes

I am grateful to Karl Pribram for his helpful comments and for allowing me to draw on our collaborative work (Bradley and Pribram, 1995, 1996; 1997a,b; Bradley, 1996), and I thank Michele Hardoin for her suggestions also. An earlier version was published in the Proceedings of the Fifth Appalachian Conference on Behavioral Neurodynamics (K. H. Pribram (Ed.), Brain and Values, copyright© 1998, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ), under the title “Values, Agency, and the Theory of Quantum Vacuum Interaction,” pp. 471–503. Its publication here is within the terms of the original copyright agreement with Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.