Is Matter Made of ‘Objective’ Information? - De Broglie Phase Waves & Tanmatras of Sankhya

Abstract

Matter and mind differ in that the observation of the former requires senses and the latter cannot be observed by senses. One’s thoughts or experiences cannot be seen, heard, etc., by oneself or by others, nor can they be accessed by any material instruments; one’s thoughts are not known to others unless one conveys them verbally or by other physical means. If we call the content of all our conscious experience as information, we may say that matter is accessible to senses and that information is not. Interestingly, today’s quantum theory seems to assert that matter is made of information, because according to quantum mechanics, all matter is composed of quantum particles, which are packets of de Broglie’s phase waves each of which is essentially a mathematical concept; the phase wave is supposed to have a speed greater than that of light in vacuum and the phase wave is not observable although its wavelength can be measured in suitably designed experiments. Again interestingly, similar theme is found in the ancient Indian philosophy, Sankhya, which says that gross elements (equivalent to matter and space) are made of subtle potential abilities of sensory perception called tanmatras.