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I have seen a few papers/articles which apparently show that dualism is supported by modern quantum mechanics:

  1. A Quantum-Mechanical Argument for Mind–Body Dualism
  2. QUANTUM MECHANICS AND DUALISM
  3. Quantum Dualism? — The Making of a Thriller, Part IV

However, there are some objections to dualism based on modern physics. Some of them, in no particular order, could be:

  1. Conservation of energy - Does dualism contradict thermodynamic conservation of energy?
  2. Emergent space - Adds a new dimension to the problem of interaction. If space is not fundamental, how can the mind interact with the "non-real" brain?
  3. Emergent time - If time is a purely physical phenomenon, how can a non-physical mind outside of the physical interact/have causal impact on a brain in a "separate" time system?

In general, does physics lend support to or help reject dualism?

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  • Anything that can be studied in physics is part of the physical realm. If a soul can be measured, it is not a soul anymore. Therefore look into physics to support any kind of dualism seems moot. All you can get is a "dualism of the gap" type of argument: "we can't explain that, so it must be dualism". Until the day it gets explained...
    – armand
    Jul 30, 2019 at 0:37
  • @armand "Therefore look into physics to support any kind of dualism seems moot." What about looking into physics against any sort of dualism?
    – user40443
    Jul 30, 2019 at 1:28
  • I would say it is the same. As a physicist, one can reduce the number of unexplained phenomenon, reducing the need for a spiritual explanation. But one can definitively rule out spirits/dualism only after having explained EVERYTHING through physics, which is not gonna happen any time soon, if ever.
    – armand
    Jul 30, 2019 at 1:44
  • For exemple in QM, AFAIK the consensus is that random the phenomenons observed are truly random (no hidden variables). If it is the case, we will never explain why such electron took the slit on the left and not on the right. But pretending this is an argument for some spiritual action is a fallacy, because their could be other reasons we don't know about, or no reason at all. To make a case for spirits, one has to show me an actual spirit acting on quantum phenomenons. But as soon as the so-called spirit acts on the physical world, it becomes part of physics and is not a spirit anymore...
    – armand
    Jul 30, 2019 at 1:52
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    In every Quantum Mechanics (and Physics by extension) related discussion, one must be aware of the many writers/quackers who hijack QM concepts and loanwords in order to, through vague and pseudointellectual language, persuade the readers of his/her superstitions. I'm not saying that your sources fit into that category, but 1 and 3 have the same author, while 2 is a huffpost text, and neither of the authors are physicists; thus, so far, there isn't authoritative endorsement on QM supporting mind-body dualism.
    – user31740
    Jul 30, 2019 at 13:02

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