Nobel prize in physics winner, Roger Penrose, theorizes that a huge gap in quantum mechanics can be used to explain consciousness, or something existing “outside a computational system”. He wrote the book, “The Emperor’s New Mind”. Working with a biologist led him to wonder if microtubules in the brain might hold the “soul” of the body.
Penrose is an odd mix of atheist, philosopher, and believer in consciousness outside the body. He appears to see this as a nonspiritual condition, simply an explanation to explain laws of physics which may live inside and outside the brain.
But, this statement is interesting from a Nautilus Magazine interview:
As I wondered why Penrose keeps hammering away at his theory on consciousness after all these years, I asked him if he thinks there’s any inherent meaning in the universe. His answer surprised me. “Somehow, our consciousness is the reason the universe is here.”
For more on this subject, also see this very recent article from Quanta Magazine:
(I)f a new hypothesis proves to be correct, quantum effects might indeed play some role in human cognition. Matthew Fisher, a physicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, raised eyebrows late last year when he published a paper in Annals of Physics proposing that the nuclear spins of phosphorus atoms could serve as rudimentary “qubits” in the brain — which would essentially enable the brain to function like a quantum computer. (Read More>)
One Seeker's Story 