Orch-OR theory of consciousness
E340265
The Orch-OR theory of consciousness is a controversial proposal suggesting that conscious experience arises from quantum processes within neuronal microtubules in the brain.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Orch-OR theory of consciousness canonical | 1 |
| Penrose–Hameroff theory | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3236606 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Orch-OR theory of consciousness Context triple: [Roger Penrose, knownFor, Orch-OR theory of consciousness]
-
A.
Consciousness: An Introduction
Consciousness: An Introduction is a widely used textbook by Susan Blackmore that surveys scientific, philosophical, and psychological approaches to understanding conscious experience.
-
B.
multiple drafts model of consciousness
The multiple drafts model of consciousness is Daniel Dennett’s theory that conscious experience consists of parallel, continuously edited interpretive processes in the brain rather than a single, unified stream observed by an inner self.
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C.
Conversations on Consciousness
Conversations on Consciousness is a philosophical book by Susan Blackmore that presents a series of interviews with leading scientists and philosophers exploring the nature of consciousness and the mind.
-
D.
Consciousness Explained
Consciousness Explained is a 1991 book by philosopher Daniel Dennett that presents a influential cognitive and philosophical theory of consciousness grounded in neuroscience and computational models.
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E.
The Concept of Mind
The Concept of Mind is a 1949 philosophical work by Gilbert Ryle that critiques Cartesian dualism and introduces the idea of mental concepts as dispositions rather than inner ghostly states.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Orch-OR theory of consciousness Target entity description: The Orch-OR theory of consciousness is a controversial proposal suggesting that conscious experience arises from quantum processes within neuronal microtubules in the brain.
-
A.
Consciousness: An Introduction
Consciousness: An Introduction is a widely used textbook by Susan Blackmore that surveys scientific, philosophical, and psychological approaches to understanding conscious experience.
-
B.
multiple drafts model of consciousness
The multiple drafts model of consciousness is Daniel Dennett’s theory that conscious experience consists of parallel, continuously edited interpretive processes in the brain rather than a single, unified stream observed by an inner self.
-
C.
Conversations on Consciousness
Conversations on Consciousness is a philosophical book by Susan Blackmore that presents a series of interviews with leading scientists and philosophers exploring the nature of consciousness and the mind.
-
D.
Consciousness Explained
Consciousness Explained is a 1991 book by philosopher Daniel Dennett that presents a influential cognitive and philosophical theory of consciousness grounded in neuroscience and computational models.
-
E.
The Concept of Mind
The Concept of Mind is a 1949 philosophical work by Gilbert Ryle that critiques Cartesian dualism and introduces the idea of mental concepts as dispositions rather than inner ghostly states.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
quantum mind theory
ⓘ
scientific hypothesis ⓘ theory of consciousness ⓘ |
| aimsToExplain |
the apparent non-algorithmic aspects of human understanding
ⓘ
the hard problem of consciousness ⓘ the unity of conscious experience ⓘ |
| associatedWithPerson |
Roger Penrose
ⓘ
Stuart Hameroff ⓘ |
| basedOnConcept |
microtubule quantum states
ⓘ
objective reduction ⓘ quantum computation ⓘ quantum superposition ⓘ |
| claims |
gravitational effects play a role in quantum state reduction in the brain
ⓘ
microtubules support coherent quantum states in the brain ⓘ orchestrated objective reduction events correspond to discrete conscious moments ⓘ |
| contrastsWith |
classical computational theories of mind
ⓘ
global workspace theory ⓘ integrated information theory ⓘ |
| controversial | true ⓘ |
| coreClaim |
conscious experience arises from quantum processes in the brain
ⓘ
consciousness is linked to quantum computations in neuronal microtubules ⓘ objective reduction of quantum states is fundamental to conscious moments ⓘ |
| criticizedFor |
difficulty of experimental falsification
ⓘ
lack of empirical evidence for long-lived quantum coherence in the warm brain ⓘ speculative use of quantum gravity in neuroscience ⓘ |
| debatedIn |
neuroscience literature
ⓘ
philosophy of mind literature ⓘ quantum foundations literature ⓘ |
| field |
consciousness studies
ⓘ
neuroscience ⓘ philosophy of mind ⓘ quantum physics ⓘ |
| hasAbbreviation | Orch-OR ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
orchestrated objective reduction
ⓘ
surface form:
Orchestrated Objective Reduction
|
| influencedBy |
Gödel's incompleteness theorems
ⓘ
Penrose interpretation of quantum mechanics ⓘ quantum gravity ideas ⓘ |
| opposedBy |
many neuroscientists
ⓘ
many philosophers of mind ⓘ |
| positsLocationOfQuantumProcesses |
cytoskeleton of neurons
ⓘ
neuronal microtubules ⓘ |
| proposedBy |
Roger Penrose
ⓘ
Stuart Hameroff ⓘ |
| publicationContext | peer-reviewed scientific journals ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
microtubule cytoskeleton research
ⓘ
quantum brain hypotheses ⓘ |
| supportsView | consciousness is non-computable in a classical sense ⓘ |
| timePeriodProposed | 1990s ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Orch-OR theory of consciousness Description of subject: The Orch-OR theory of consciousness is a controversial proposal suggesting that conscious experience arises from quantum processes within neuronal microtubules in the brain.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Orchestrated objective reduction
this entity surface form:
Penrose–Hameroff theory