Redefining Reality - The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

Aiding in the delivery of neurotransmitters are parts of the neuron
called , small, thin tubes made of a protein called
. Penrose has argued that the structure of the inside of the
microtubules may be such that it creates an entangled quantum
system within and between cells.
from the effects of the environment outside the body on the
brain to remain—at least for a while—in a superposed state.
This superposed state eventually is acted on by the chemical
particular constellation of neurons. Because this process occurs at
the quantum level, there will be in this fully material system an
element that is necessarily noncomputable.
In other words, the brain is nothing but a physical system, working
according to physical laws, but because the structure of the brain
actions not determinable. We are governed by the laws of physics
completely, but that does not mean that our actions or intentions are
uniquely determined by the environment and the absolute laws of
the universe.
Further, the fact that the quantum states of these microtubules are
entwined into a single system means that this sort of quantum
consciousness involves the structure of the entire brain. Thus, our
idea of free will is not that we have a rational agency that has no
dependence on the physical universe, but we are not robots acting at
the whim of absolute physical rules either.
Longhair, .
Penrose, The Emperor’s New Mind.
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