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9проелемы современного осрпзоопнип
O.A. Mayorova
CONCEPT IN THE ASPECT OF QUANTUM CONSCIOUSNESS
Keywords: emergence, interference, quantum, quantum system, coherent states, superposition state principle.
Abstract: The article tries to show the possibility and the necessity of a wider use of several statements of current quantum theory to interpret language phenomena in the framework of "state of system" paradigm. As applied to language in this aspect one can see a conjunction of mental and verbal levels of conceptualization, which allows one to avoid equation of a concept with a word, sense with meaning. It is shown that linear sweep of speech on a surface level separated from finite mental structures does not create states as such and does not reveal the process of conceptualization to the full extent.
Ключевые слова: emergence, интерференция, квант, квантовая система, когерентные состояния, принцип суперпозиции состояний.
Аннотация: В статье предпринимается попытка показать возможность и необходимость более широкого использования ряда положений современной квантовой теории для интерпретации языковых явлений в рамках парадигмы «состояние системы». Применительно к языку в этом ракурсе видится сопряжение ментального и вербального уровней концептуализации, что позволяет избежать отождествления концепта со словом, значения со смыслом. Показывается, что линейное развертывание речи на поверхностном уровне, оторванное от глубинных ментальных структур, не создает состояний как таковых и не отражает процесса концептуализации в полном объеме.
The object of investigation in the present article is the concept; the subject of the research is its quantum-cognitive characteristics. The objective of the study is to review the up-to-date literature and on this basis to reveal some aspects of concept in the aspect of quantum consciousness.
The theory of quantum physics is considered as a fundamental methodological basis for both natural and humanities' cycle in interpretation of different types of realities. Even Plato in relation to perception of nature developed the idea of projective character of reality. It is a question of not a common naïve primeval contemplation, but of incarnation of a physical world into higher substance - a world of ideas, what is thought to be "a great intellectual feat" of ancient Greek thinker [5, 12]. Plato is considered to be a founder of philosophic idealism, which later gave cause for inefficient differentiation of categories of material and ideal according to formal signs. Formulation of "the main question of philosophy" as "What is primary: spirit or matter?" causes eternal and undecidable problem of correlation of two realities: 1) the reality, which a person can percept with the help of sense organs ("visible world") and 2) the reality, which is fundamentally inaccessible to the outer experience of people ("supersensible, hidden world"). "Visible world" should be understood as any phenomena of nature (primeval or artificial), physical fleshliness, sign covering of our thoughts (a word, a gesture, a graph) and other forms of matter existence.
The objectives of our research do not include the review of vast majorities of philosophic trends and schools in line with search for the answer to the above-mentioned "main philosophic question". We will only note, that differentiation of two types of realities, from the point of view of innovative science, is considered to be rather relative and can be accepted as an heuristic method of investigation. In fact, the present-day level of technical facilities (first of all electronic) allows "to see the hidden worlds", overcoming provided by nature restriction of sense organs and to look not only into the depth of the Universe (compare, for instance, Hubble Space Telescope), but also to open the secrets of the human body (compare, for example, MRI and PET devices in medicine).
Modern stage of scientific knowledge development witnesses a transformation of views on both objective (physical, natural) reality and modes of subjective (conscious, virtual, designed, autopoietic) reality. In a more large-scaled context, one can see virtualization of human world and formation of a generalized construct of "augmented reality", defined also as "Mixed Reality" and Virtual Environments. Ronald T. Azuma [1, 48] writes in this connection: "Virtual Environments technologies completely immerse a user inside a synthetic environment. While immersed, the user cannot see the real world around him. In contrast, Augmented Reality allows the user to see the real world, with virtual objects superimposed upon or composited with the real world. Therefore, Augmented Reality supplements reality, rather than completely replacing it. Ideally, it would appear to the user that the virtual and real objects coexisted in the same space". [l4] writes about the same: "The definition and evolving meaning of MR formerly known as Mixed Reality address-
ing the reality continuum and essentially focusing on enabling technology, is expanding to Mixing Realities which in addition means an ongoing process of human collaboration where individuals experience and express realities, mediated by technology and their collaborators".
Constructive character of concept places it in close quarters with the notion of augmented reality. Due to the achievements in the sphere of computer equipment, it became possible to construct many virtual worlds, what causes radical changes in classical space-time ontological ideas of reality. Interaction of man with virtual worlds is becoming interactive by force, mental interpretation of these worlds gaining pseudoontological status. Spectator, reader and observer turn into "co-creators" of new-fashioned pseudospace, being there they experience effects of feedback.
In virtual spaces, overfull with interactive artefacts and automated simulacra (videogames, teleshopping, educational programs, electronic training simulators, virtual situational rooms, etc.) ontological referentiality is deconstructed, one gains the impression of the substitution of the signified for its hyperreal counterpart, deprived of objective basis.
Transformation of esthetic perception of reality is brought about by formation of "new fleshli-ness" by means of creation of a specific "computer body" (space suit, glasses, gloves, sensors, concussors, etc.) in the absence of outer natural stimuli and contacts. We meet such notions as morphing (transformation of one object into another by means of gradual continuous deformation), transformer, composing (combined shooting with the use of image new techniques - return, stop, cover flow view, freezing of the movement, creation and animation of a shadow, etc.). The impression of the reality of the virtual is supported by the newest scientific discoveries (plurality of worlds, dark matter, teleportation experiments, penetration into the brain secrets, disclosure of brain "magic", etc.).
Thus, virtual does not confront real, and the development of high techniques provides facilities for its permanent creation and interaction with the so-called objective reality and even its overrun. Some researchers (e.g., Jean Baudrillard) determine the overlap of these two realities as hyperreality. Hyperreality is characterized by homogeneity, "digital" character, which allows one to use its units (one of which may be a language concept) at the schematic, abstract level.
Even today, there is a set of techniques to use new technologies in practice: markers with augmented reality make advertisement recreative; movements recognition system for contactless control of interfaces make display stands interactive; layers with additional information are laid on the picture from cell-phone camera, widening its functionality. For instance, while travelling in Europe, you just need to point the cell-phone camera at any building or monument to get interesting information about it.
Methods for investigation of reality types also change, the leading role given to cognitive approach with its all-embracing potential (cognitive linguistics and neurolinguistics, cognitive psychology and neurolinguistic programming, research in the sphere of artificial intellect).
Most researchers consider concept to be the basic category of cognitive linguistics. The essence of this notion is interpreted rather ambiguously due to complexity and versatility of the phenomenon, in which the external and internal, emotional and rational, cognitively realized and intuitive, real and illusory, real and virtual, gestalt and discrete weirdly correlate. The invisible and directly observed in a concept are complexly bound and constantly change one into another, because "human language and speech are a permanent and directly observable product of an invisible cognitive system" [7, 19]. That is why one of the main difficulties of conceptologic investigations is in "eluding" of the object under study [6, 22]. This object can be caught only if apply the data of cognitive cycle sciences (differential and cognitive psychology, neurological sciences, and in contemporary history - quantum physics). Today such possibility is given within the scope of a potent polyparadigm trend cognitive science, marking "cognitive" and "epistemological" turns of science philosophy [10]. Cognitive science tends to converge its constituents on the basis of creation of a general framework of investigations and determination of relationships among various disciplines [7, 18], [15, 291].
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Cognitive science is one of booming interdisciplinary trends of scientific investigations, which comprises scientific areas studying human consciousness and its neuro-psycho-physiological basis - brain - in all its representations (cognitive, somatic, field mind). Cognitive science uses the data of evolutionary biology, neurophysiology, psychology, psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, philosophy, evolutionary epistemology, linguistics and neurolinguistics, information science, and robotic technology.
Now search of a general theory of cognitive science is in progress, the signs of which are revealed in the report of K. V. Anokhin [15, 27]. The author notes: "A popular view is that global cognitive integration is illusory and the cognitive field can be described only by a number of local rules, specific to each cognitive discipline and domain. I will adopt the opposite stance: the hidden reality, common to all disciplines of the cognitive science exists, and the general cognitive theory is possible" [15, 27]. It is suggested to consider cognitome as the basic unit for general cognitive theory: "To describe this hidden cognitive reality I will introduce a concept of cognitome (emphasis added. - O. M.). Provisionally we can define cognitome as a complete system of individual experience, formed during evolution, development and learning. According to this conceptual framework, structure and dynamics of cognitome embrace all aspects of mental events related to behavior, cognition and consciousness. "System" in this definition of cognitome will be our main target of analysis" [15, 27].
Within the frame of cognitive science, one can clearly trace a tendency for explication of ideas of reality, including observer position, his/hers reference system, due to this a radical renovation of the whole nomenclature of description occurs at the expense of such concepts as "lifeworld", "possible worlds", "mental spaces", "semantic spaces", and "notional worlds of an individual" [12, 59].
Gnostic (cognitive) processes are determined biologically, psychophysiologically, mentally and socially. A lot of works are devoted to the modelling of cognitive functions in the systems of artificial intellect, to the development of philosophical and methodological aspects of cognitive sciences. The sharpest discussions are caused by the problems of education, intellect, perception, consciousness, knowledge representation and obtainment, specificity of language as the means of cognition and communication, brain mechanisms of complex behavioral forms and psy-chotherapeutic impact on these structures. A large number of workshops and conferences are devoted to such urgent topics as correlation of language and thinking, cognitive computer modelling, memory and unconscious, neurophysiological mechanisms of behavior organization, philosophy and cognitive science. A characteristic sign of modern scientific interaction is adoptions of methodology and conceptual construct of natural sciences adjacent with humanities. These adoptions stimulate the development of new cross-disciplinary trends.
All this causes the occurrence of a set of parallel terms and term systems possessing a general content-related base, but being different in parameters of adaptation to this or that sphere. A class of such notions includes, for example, fractal, hologram, quantum, etc., which are now actively used in the sphere of cognitive linguistics, fixing new vectors of its development.
New approaches to the rendering of consciousness and neuronal brain structures in the aspect of quantum physics are of doubtless interest for lingual conceptology, which is proved by a number of investigations of concept in informational, holographic and emergent aspects (see the works of [11], [13], [2]). Up-to-date works on brain study reveal the appearance of terms, which a linguist-cognitologist is very familiar with, and which can open additional aspects of linguistic concepts consideration. In particular, we mean a terminological combination CONCEPT CELLS [15, 23].
Turning to the notion of quantum announced in the title of the article, it must be noted, that in philology this term is now being widely spread in the works on the theory of discourse. In particular, this term is used by A.A. Kibrik commenting the following definition of W. Chafe: "Within conversational consciousness, the intonation unit - identified by such criteria as variable pauses, changes in pitch, or terminal contours- is the smallest unit of analysis" [3, 76]: "The main notion of
the discourse structure, according to Chafe, is an intonational unit, i.e. discourse quantum (emphasis added. - O.M.), corresponding to a focus of consciousness. In every intonational unit there is one element of a new information" [8].
In domestic philology, as V.I. Zaika noted, the term quantum is used at least in two different meanings: 1) as a mental unit of thinking-speaking-language action; 2) as a verbalized (described, named) fragment of reality or item of reality, according to that the reader not only recognize this item, but also recreate the features of the item, as if it was described entirely [17, 58]. In this application, one can see the affinity of this term with the term of classical physics, where its intension contains the sign of "minimality".
In the treatment of nonclassical quantum physics the sign of minimality recedes into the background, and in the word combination quantum concept, adjective quantum does not mean something minute and insignificant, it means a certain method of lingual-cognitive description of "displayed" (local, dense, material, digital) and "non-displayed" (fine, spiritual, analogue) reality in the framework of "system's state" paradigm [4, 325]. In respect to language in this aspect, one can see an integration of mental and verbal levels of conceptualization, which, to our opinion, allows avoiding equation of a concept with a word, sense with meaning. It must be noted, that the analogues of local and nonlocal formations in quantum physics can be seen in the notions of "surface" and "deep structures" in neurolinguistic programming, in quantum consciousness [16].
Many states and physical processes revealed in the process of work under quantum computers do not have classical analogues what results in the formation of special terminology. One of the evident advantages of modern quantum theory is that it explains physical nature of nonlocal interactions and possesses a developed theoretical system to describe nonlocal and distributed phenomena. Thereby a broad class of states is revealed, which cannot be described and interpreted in terms of classical physics and which are assigned some irrational, mystical properties. Thus, the word magic is absolutely easily interpreted in such word combinations as "Magic of the brain", "Magic of language", "Structure of magic", "Quantum magic" [4], "magic of language", "magic of the word". Such terms as locality, nonlocality, distributed cognitia, distributed memory, distributed attention are frequently met also in the works of lingual cognitology. Some other terms [4, 156-158], the use of which seems to be appropriate in the description of conceptual processes, are given below.
As Zurek notes, a quantum theory of classical reality has developed since 1991. The results of this new interpretation are called existential interpretation. The essence of this approach Zurek describes as follows: "The basic difference between quantum and classical states is that the objective existence of the latter can be taken for granted. That is, a system's classical state can be simply "found out" by an observer originally ignorant of any of its characteristics. By contrast, quantum states are hopelessly "malleable"—it is impossible in principle for an observer to find out an unknown quantum state without perturbing it. The only exception to this rule occurs when an observer knows beforehand that the unknown state is one of the eigenstates of some definite observable. Then and only then can a nondemolition measurement of that observable be devised such that another observer who knew the original state would not notice any perturbations when making a confirmatory measurement" [18, 22].
The main difference between quantum and classical states is that objective existence of the last may be considered as proved. That is, classical state of any system can be just "set" by an observer, who is not familiar with any characteristic of this state. Vice versa, quantum states seem to be at least "vague" - for the observer it is impossible to reveal unfamiliar quantum state without destroying it. Exceptions from this rule occur only in cases when the observer knows beforehand, that unfamiliar state presents itself one of its own states of some particular observable. Then and only then a nondestroyable dimension (Caves et al. 1980) of this variable can be prescribed in such a way, that another observer, who had known the initial state, would not note any disturbance while making confirming measurement.
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Thus, the natural sciences were built upon silent assumption, that the information about the surrounding world can be received with no change of its state and the ideal of the state of "strict science" was objectivism and impartial description of reality. Information was considered as something unphysical, nonmaterial, as an ethereal fixation of reality, material world, as an insignificant reflection in human's brain. This point of view is no longer tenable. Observers of quantum phenomena are no longer just passive contemplators and spectators. Any correlation is registration; any quantum state is a record of some other quantum state.
To our mind, a set of specific states of quantum physics correspond to psychological and verbal-cogitative (conceptual) states. They include the following. Coherent states (coherent superposition) - superposition of pure states, i.e. "superimposition" of separate states, inside of which there can be a closed system. Coherence means behavioral conformity of separate constituents of the system by means of nonlocal correlation among them. Superposition of states principle is defined as follows: if a system can be in different states, it can be in the states, which are brought about by simultaneous "superposition" of two or more states from this set. Mixed state (open system) is such state of system, which cannot be described by only one vector of state, but may be formalized only by dense matrix. State of system is realization in given conditions of separate potential possibilities of the system. It is characterized by a set of values, which can be measured by an observer, among others as a result of self-observation (self-impact). It is defined by state vector or dense matrix. Pure state (closed system) is such state of system, which can be described by one vector state, etc. [4, 326-328].
With reference to the work of A.O. Prokhorov, S.I. Doronin notes a direct correspondence among quantum, psychic, mental and conceptual-lingual states [4, 137-140]. In up-to-date literature, we meet such notions as "special intellectual state", which allows one to orient oneself in the agglomerate of facts and phenomena [5, 12], "cognitive state of the speaker, making a referential choice" [7, 50].
The newest works on cognitive science show that the term quantum and its derivatives quantization, quantation, quantor rashly widen the sphere of application in areas close to cognitive linguistics. Let's give examples of the development of new notions, that can be efficiently used in cognitive linguistics: Vector-Quantized Temporal Associative Memory («VQTAM») [15, 110] "quantization of events" [15, 123]; "systemoquanta of behavior" [15, 167-186]; "quantum of energy" [15, 195]; "quantum mechanism of consciousness" [15, 250]; "quanta of knowledge" [15, 317]; "quantum mechanism" [15, 470]; "quantum world", "quantum objects", "quantum present", "quantum teleportation" [15, 486-489].
Comprehension of concept from the point of view of quantum theory is considered to be rather topical on the background of overcoming reductive ideas of that, that the sphere of investigation of quantum physics includes only microscopic systems, subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, which are remote from the reality. Overrun the study of microworld of elementary particles and switching attention to the phenomena of macroworld transform our common ideas of the surrounding reality. [4, 10].
Intentionally an attempt to apply some ideas of quantum theory to the phenomenon of concept is made in the work of R.A. Latypov and G.N. Komissarova [9]. The authors state the basic propositions of quantum-cognitive approach to the analysis of concepts as cognitive entities, and as the research task undertake the attempt to reveal the interference pattern of the concept basing on the formalism of quantum mechanics and to measure the semantic connection between some concepts on the basis of data from the Internet. It must be noted, that the above mentioned work fixes an important stage in the development of integral models of language theory, but, being laden with special terminology, it requires deciphering some terms (Hilbert space, orthogonal vectors, V quantum state, relative weight of concept, etc.), comments on mathematical formulas and professional education in the sphere of quantum mechanics. However, it does not detract from heuristic value of the approach, which opens new aspects in the problem of concept.
Here it will be appropriate to quote the point of view of a famous scientist B.M. Velichkovsky on the importance of the development of "cognitive technologies": "In fact, the fate of the whole cognitive endeavor may be dependent on our ability of developing something like 'cognitive technologies'. A typical mistake here is to treat applied research as a light (or even a second-hand) replica of basic investigation. At the same time, both branches of contemporary cognitive research massively interact with each other: after all, "there is nothing more practical than a good theory" [15, 29].
In conclusion it should be noted, that many states and physical processes, which are revealed during the process of work under quantum computers, do not have classical analogues and require the formation of a new metalanguage. An obvious advantage of today's quantum theory is that it explains physical nature of nonlocal interactions and possesses an advanced theoretical system for the description of nonlocal and distributed phenomena. Thereby a broad class of states is revealed, which cannot be described and interpreted in terms of classical physics and which are assigned some irrational, mystical properties.
To summarize it all, it is arguable, that quantum approach to the phenomena of concept contributes to the emergence and efficient use of cognitive resources of natural language, which play a great role not only in the development of general and communicative language competences, but in formation of cognitive skills, which we define as conceptual competence (similarly with the already formed terminological field language competence, communicative competence, cultural competence).
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