A German physicist has claimed: consciousness does not originate in the brain

A German physicist has put forward a bold hypothesis: human consciousness may not originate in the brain but rather come from the outside — from a fundamental energy field permeating the entire Universe. The study has been published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Behind the bold theory is physicist Joachim Keppler from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIWISS). He turns the conventional understanding of the brain on its head: in his view, the brain is not a factory of consciousness but rather a kind of receiver that tunes into it through quantum processes.

A key role in Keppler's model is played by the so-called zero-point fluctuation field — a quantum background field that, according to the laws of physics, fills all of space, even an absolute vacuum. The scientist believes that certain molecules in the cerebral cortex, associated with the neurotransmitter glutamate, are capable of entering into resonance with this ubiquitous field.

It is precisely this resonance, it is suggested, that triggers a cascade of processes affecting neuronal activity and the synchronization of their firing. The coordinated operation of neural networks, according to the author, is what gives rise to subjective experience — what each of us perceives as consciousness.

"Consciousness resides in the field. We merely tap into it," Keppler states.

However, the scientific community has met the hypothesis with cautious skepticism. Experts point out that no direct experimental evidence for the existence of such a mechanism has been obtained so far. The problem of the origin of consciousness remains one of the most intractable mysteries of modern science — there is still no universally accepted theory on the matter.

At the same time, the idea of an "external" source of consciousness did not emerge out of nowhere. Similar concepts have appeared in philosophy as well. For instance, Vladimir Vernadsky proposed the concept of the noosphere back in the early 20th century — a special sphere of reason encompassing the Earth, from which humanity is capable of drawing knowledge and ideas.