Will to Wonder

Written by Jules, USA (x4444981@gmail.com)

Multipotentialite, polyhistor, and hybrid athlete

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” -Sir Isaac Newton, 1675.

Nearly 2500 years ago, in ancient Greece, a philosophy known as Atomism took root among some philosophers, such as Leupiccus, Democritus, and Epicurus. Leupiccus argued that reality consists of two things: irreducible units of matter (“atoms”), and the “void” (empty space). Leupiccus and his student Democritus described these “atoms” as completely solid, unchangeable, impenetrable, and infinite mini-particles from which all matter was derived. They believed that all things, even the human soul, consisted of these solid matter units colliding, hooking onto each other, and separating in the empty backdrop of space. This worldview was revived in the 16th century during the Scientific Revolution, with Pierre Gassindi, René Descartes (you may remember him for the statement “I think therefore I am,” as well as coordinate Cartesian geometry), Robert Boyle, and Sir Isaac Newton championing “mechanical philosophy,” which posited that nature consists of no spiritus mundi, or holistic intelligence. The universe was thus considered to be a gigantic, dead clockwork machine. Change was thus thought to be the result of impenetrable corpuscles of matter striking one another like plastic balls on a billiard table.

However, this perspective has been called into question by legitimate scientists and philosophers, notably the theoretical physicist Heinrich Päs, who connects Western monistic mysticism with the mathematical legitimacy necessary for physics. While ancient Neoplatonism relied on mystical intuition to posit that the multiplicity of the material universe is an emanation of a singular, absolute ‘One,’ the modern physics of wavefunction monism – as defended by the aforementioned theoretical physicist Heinrich Päs – demonstrates that quantum entanglement and decoherence provide a concrete, mathematical vindication of this top-down metaphysics. In philosophy, monism refers to the notion of one single substance from which all reality, “physics/body” and “soul/metaphysics”,” is composed of. This directly contrasts Cartesian dualism, which states that Soul and Matter are different and separate substances entirely. In quantum physics, a wavefunction is a mathematical description that contains every measurable piece of information pertaining to a quantum system. It is represented by the Greek letter Psi. Wavefunction monism is the position that the fundamental reality of the universe is a single, high dimensional wave function (symbolized by the Greek letter psi) evolving deterministically in Hilbert space (an abstract mathematical vector that extends the geometry of ordinary 2D and 3D space into an infinite number of geometric spatial dimensions while retaining the mathematical notions of length, angle, completeness, etc.) according to the Schrödinger equation (thus implying that the Time-Dependent Schrödinger Equation is not only the supreme physical law of the cosmos, but its supreme metaphysical law). In short, the Schrödinger equation describes how the quantum state of a physical system changes over time. The Hamiltonian operator represents the total energy and interactions of the system. In wavefunction monism, the specific structure of the Hamiltonian is what mathematically carves out the illusion of 3D space. It dictates how different dimensions in the (3N)-space interact, making it look and feel to us like we live in a world of separate, localized particles moving in three dimensions. Because the Schrödinger equation naturally preserves and spreads quantum entanglement, everything in the universe remains fundamentally bound together – ultimately ensconced within a single, holistic system. If you are thinking that wavefunction monism bears remarkable similarity to Plotinus’ Monad, then you understand the very argument I am attempting to set forth. The wavefunction (and Plotinus’ Monad) are entirely simple, indivisible, and beyond any true ontological multiplicity, division, and distinction. It transcends even “being” and “intellect” because giving it attributes limits its infinite nature. It is the very source from which the spring of being flows, causing galaxies, stars, planets, atoms, and creatures to emanate.

If you are not particularly familiar with Hilbert Space, the Hamiltonian, or Schrodinger’s Time Dependent Equation, perhaps an allegory would be sufficient in order to better envisage these groundbreaking ontological notions. Imagine a massive, single sheet of fabric stretching out infinitely. If you push your fingers up through the bottom of the fabric in five different places, an observer looking from above sees five separate bumps. They might name them “Particle A,” “Particle B,” etc., and try to write laws about how those bumps interact. Wavefunction Monism says: The “bumps” aren’t real, independent things. Only the fabric is real. The Schrödinger Equation is the law that describes exactly how ripples wave, flow, and travel through that fabric over time. Thus, all consists of one, single substance. In Hilbert space, separate physical objects do not exist. They are merely relational coordinates within a single unified vector. Just as wavefunction monism reduces individual particles to mere ripples in a single cosmic fabric, Neoplatonism posits that the diverse objects of the physical universe are emanations or “bumps” projecting outward from the ultimate unity. What the observer empirically perceives as distinct material things are, in actuality, varying degrees of expression within a continuous oneness. The laws of nature that we observe are not strict rules binding separate objects together, but rather the emergent internal harmony of the Monad’s spatiotemporal unfolding. Both the modern physicist analyzing the universal wavefunction and the ancient philosopher contemplating the cosmos arrive at the same ontological conclusion that multiplicity is an illusion, and existence is a single, unbroken whole.

Several oppositions may naturally arise when encountering this radically counterintuitive perspective. For instance, if reality is a singular, unbroken whole, why do we see a world of separate tables, chairs, planets, and people? Neoplatonism answers that the One overflows into the Nous, or Intellect, and the Psyche, or Soul, to create the illusion of multiplicity by stepping down in unity. This phenomenon can be explained by both modern physics and biology, not mere supernatural hand-waving. Quantum entanglement and decoherence cause the high-dimensional wavefunction to structurally differentiate itself, projecting into the low dimension, 3d world we experience. Furthermore, Darwinian evolution necessitates that creatures must perceptively differentiate between objects in space and time in order to avoid predators, consume nutrients, and survive to pass down their genes into offspring. Strikingly similar to Plato’s teaching the prisoners’ inability to empirically comprehend the Forms of objects from shadows as a relic of their limited perception, our limited perception (Kant’s phenomenon) slices the incomprehensible world (Kant’s Noumenon) into pieces for the convenience of survival. Other critics raise the concern that a theory which denies the very space we stand in is too radical to take seriously. However, 3D space can be viewed as an emergent phenomenon, in the same way that “wetness” is an emergent phenomenon from water molecules interacting with one another, and how “temperature” is an emergent property resulting from the motions of atoms. The universal Hamilton contains specific interactions that naturally group the high-dimensional coordinates into sets of three. Thus, macro-reality emerges from the underlying high-dimensional mathematics. Furthermore, to make a singular wavefunction match our complex reality, monists must introduce complex mathematical rules, coordinate-grouping frameworks, and dynamic laws. Critics would contend that while wavefunction monism claims to be simple because it postulates a “monad,” it forces an artificial burden onto the mathematical laws to explain our world, violating the spirit of Occam’s Razor. However, the wavefunction monist view is actually the cleanest application of Occam’s Razor. Alternative interpretations of quantum mechanics must explicitly add extra physical architecture (e.g. hidden localized particles [Bohmian Mechanics] or physical collapse mechanisms [GRW theory]). Wavefunction monism accepts the mathematical equations of quantum physics exactly as written, without inventing unproven physical entities.

Far from being a dead relic of Neoplatonic thought; henology is the mathematical destiny of modern physics. The “giant, dead clockwork machine” of the Enlightenment was a mere localized misunderstanding of a deeply unified fabric. By stripping away the arbitrary partitions of classical atomism, wavefunction monism restores the ancient intuition of the absolute Monad of Neoplatonism. It suggests that the multiplicity we see is not a fracturing of existence, but the internal harmony of a singular eternal wave, thus vindicating Plotinus not with mystical prose, but with the unyielding hard rigor of the Schrödinger equation.