Do all mental states really exist in some universe in Many-Minds?

[Suekdccia]

TL;DR Summary

Do really all mental states exist in some universe according to Many-Minds Interpretation?

According to the Many Minds interpretation of quantum mechanics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-minds_interpretation), the distinction between worlds in the Many Worlds interpretation should be made at the level of the mind of an individual observer. I have read that, in this case, each observer's mental states would be realized in at least one universe. According to the Many Minds interpretation all that matters is the mind and its mental states

When I found about this interpretation I though it was interesting, although I know it has no empirical support yet. But then I thought of something strange that I think would happen if this interpretation was true and I do not know if my idea is correct.

The thing is: When we observe something (e.g. an apple), a set of neurons are activated and they form a mental state representing the observation of that apple. People with mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia) tend to visualize things that do not really exist (for example, if a patient visualizes a monster, the mental states that would correspond to the observation of that monster are activated. Even if the monster does not exist, the mental states corresponding to that observation are activated, and therefore, the patient would really believe that there is a monster in front of it, since that "observation" would be indistinguishable from an observation of an actual thing)

Therefore, if Many-Minds considers that the observer is fundamental and that mental states corresponding to different observations are realized in different universes, then, would a schizophrenic patient's hallucinations actually exist in different universes? I mean, if this interpretation considers that the different mental states corresponding to what we observe actually indicates what is real, then, if a person suffers hallucinations, wouldn't it meant that these "observations" of those illusions could exist in different universes? That when a schizophrenic patient "sees" a monster, that monster could actually exist in some universe (since it corresponds to a mental state of an "observation")?

 

[phinds]

No. It's easy to imagine something that is not physically possible and that could not exist. Even in the loosest interpretation of QM theories, there is no statement that everything will happen, only that everything that CAN happen will happen.

 

[kered rettop]

TL;DR Summary: Do really all mental states exist in some universe according to Many-Minds Interpretation?

According to the Many Minds interpretation of quantum mechanics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-minds_interpretation), the distinction between worlds in the Many Worlds interpretation should be made at the level of the mind of an individual observer. I have read that, in this case, each observer's mental states would be realized in at least one universe. According to the Many Minds interpretation all that matters is the mind and its mental states

When I found about this interpretation I though it was interesting, although I know it has no empirical support yet. But then I thought of something strange that I think would happen if this interpretation was true and I do not know if my idea is correct.

The thing is: When we observe something (e.g. an apple), a set of neurons are activated and they form a mental state representing the observation of that apple. People with mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia) tend to visualize things that do not really exist (for example, if a patient visualizes a monster, the mental states that would correspond to the observation of that monster are activated. Even if the monster does not exist, the mental states corresponding to that observation are activated, and therefore, the patient would really believe that there is a monster in front of it, since that "observation" would be indistinguishable from an observation of an actual thing)

Therefore, if Many-Minds considers that the observer is fundamental and that mental states corresponding to different observations are realized in different universes, then, would a schizophrenic patient's hallucinations actually exist in different universes? I mean, if this interpretation considers that the different mental states corresponding to what we observe actually indicates what is real, then, if a person suffers hallucinations, wouldn't it meant that these "observations" of those illusions could exist in different universes? That when a schizophrenic patient "sees" a monster, that monster could actually exist in some universe (since it corresponds to a mental state of an "observation")?

Well under MWI, the monster will exist in some worlds anyway.

However you seem to think that under MM, there will be a lot more worlds with the monster just because someone hallucinates it. MM doesn't say that. It's more like some barmy New Age spin-off.

MM simply solves the "problem" of having a mind spread over many worlds. MWI already has the brain in a superposed state, experiencing different things in different branches. So MM postulates separate minds in every branch. That would appear to be pretty logical, though there is zero physics involved so I would suggest it's more like a comment on the nature of mind than an interpretation of quantum mechanics.

 

[PeterDonis]

if Many-Minds considers that the observer is fundamental and that mental states corresponding to different observations are realized in different universes, then, would a schizophrenic patient's hallucinations actually exist in different universes?

No. Hallucinations, by definition, are not perceptions of things that actually exist in the world external to the person having them. The Many-Minds version of the MWI does not claim that hallucinating something can magically bring it into existence, any more than any other physical theory does.