Papers by Christopher Cochran
In this paper, we explore the possibility of using Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s theories o... more In this paper, we explore the possibility of using Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s theories of minor science and literature to examine the role of marginalized sciences, particularly in the United States. We suggest that by combining Deleuze and Guattari’s work on minor sciences and minor literatures that the framework for an anthropology of science which takes alternative and marginalized sciences seriously can be established. To elucidate this model of inquiry, we focus on three aspects defined by Deleuze and Guattari: the political relationship of minor to dominant sciences, the role of science in the state, and the ways that minor sciences reconfigure dominant sciences. As a case study, we examine the science of ‘quantum consciousness’ in the United States. Quantum consciousness research proposes to replace dominant metaphysics in Western science, and its minority status is perpetuated by the power structures that draw on dominant sciences’ relationships to the state and knowledge production.
The current research tested the concept of institutional agency (IA) and its implications for lay... more The current research tested the concept of institutional agency (IA) and its implications for laypeople's attribution patterns related to economic behaviors and organizational responsibilities. The term "institutional agency" refers to a set of lay theories about whether or not an organization can have personhood and related mental properties, such as wishes, desires, intents, and responsibility. Through three cross-cultural studies, we found that people do form certain beliefs about IA which are similar to the legal discourse of institutional responsibility. However, there are significant cultural differences in views of IA, and the concept is more mentally salient for Americans than for Chinese. In Study 1, we distinguished institutional from group agency by showing the cultural differences on attributions in the scenario with "individual vs. group agency" and the scenario with "individual vs. institutional agency." In Study 2, we again demonstrated the stronger salience of IA for Americans than for Chinese by including the individual, group, and institutional agencies together in one scenario. In Study 3, we further demonstrated that the concept of IA is more salient for Americans by presenting three different agents in separate scenarios. The practical implications of these cultural differences for crosscultural understanding and the psychological effects of economic globalization are discussed.
Thesis Chapters by Christopher Cochran
This dissertation examines how a network of “quantum consciousness” scientists have sought to cha... more This dissertation examines how a network of “quantum consciousness” scientists have sought to change the epistemological and ethical boundaries of scientific research in hopes of creating knowledge that can adequately address contemporary problems in both science and society more generally. Quantum consciousness (QC) is defined as both scientific research and spiritual practice that seeks to understand consciousness in light of foundational questions that emerge from quantum physics. QC scientists believe neuroscience alone cannot provide a scientific explanation of consciousness because neuroscience is premised on “materialism” of Newtonian physics. QC scientists draw on the authority of physics to argue the correct scientific account of the mind-matter relationship will have to incorporate quantum physics, understood as the correct theory of matter since the quantum revolution of the 1920’s. Insofar as the physical delimits and shapes the mental, QC makes good on the potential quantum physics holds for redefining what mind is and can be.
By examining the practices and discourses of QC scientists, I demonstrate that conceptual transference between science, philosophy and New Age spirituality is part of the formation of scientific disciplines and the bounds of scientific debate. QC’s cultural contestations with mainstream science show how the demarcation problem in science becomes intertwined with the mind-matter problem of philosophy. My ethnography follows QC scientists’ movements between conferences, research settings, classrooms, and dinner parties to show how technical philosophical disagreements in quantum foundations, such as the measurement problem and the theory of decoherence, are the fulcrum of a cultural, de facto demarcation between QC scientists and mainstream scientists.
Max Weber postulated “disenchantment” as the result of a world rendered knowable in principle, yet the doctrine of intrinsic probability in quantum mechanics denies the possibility of such a world, and thereby troubles the assumption of a necessarily disenchanted science. I show how QC science is motivated by an expectation of a future “spiritual” discovery, called the New Paradigm, that redeems QC’s hypothesis that “universal consciousness is the ground of physics.” This expectation encourages QC scientists to incorporate and proliferate non-science within science, in ways that make hybrids, rather than clear boundaries. My dissertation shows how QC’s expectation of a “New Paradigm” guides what may be called a spiritual revivalism to redefine the secular norms of science.
Conference Presentations by Christopher Cochran
What I call " quantum consciousness " is the total sum of social phenomena that is inspired by th... more What I call " quantum consciousness " is the total sum of social phenomena that is inspired by the hypothesis that consciousness is a quantum level phenomenon. Quantum consciousness scientists do research on the theoretical foundations of quantum mechanics as well as laboratory research to find quantum processes in the brain. Quantum consciousness is a unique science because its practitioners see subjectivity and spirituality as an integral part of their science. Although quantum consciousness scientists would not use the word, some outsiders might call quantum consciousness a " New Age " science. Since quantum consciousness scientist is a mouth full, I will speak of " QC scientists " for short, and I will sometimes say QC instead of quantum consciousness. Quantum consciousness builds what we might call its para-university as an extension of its university research programs, giving rise to social and institutional connections that accommodate an amalgamation of spirituality and science. Quantum consciousness makes traffic between university professors, entrepreneurs, mystics, gurus, medical doctors, and computer engineers. QC scientists attend what I call hybrid conferences, which are part academic conferences, part advertisement venues, and part for the purpose of public entertainment – a form of entertainment that combines self-cultivation and science education. People go to these conferences to advocate for political and social causes, to discuss science, or to figure out a way to escape depression and anxiety. They go to these venues to be part of an emerging world, to be something other
Uploads
Papers by Christopher Cochran
Thesis Chapters by Christopher Cochran
By examining the practices and discourses of QC scientists, I demonstrate that conceptual transference between science, philosophy and New Age spirituality is part of the formation of scientific disciplines and the bounds of scientific debate. QC’s cultural contestations with mainstream science show how the demarcation problem in science becomes intertwined with the mind-matter problem of philosophy. My ethnography follows QC scientists’ movements between conferences, research settings, classrooms, and dinner parties to show how technical philosophical disagreements in quantum foundations, such as the measurement problem and the theory of decoherence, are the fulcrum of a cultural, de facto demarcation between QC scientists and mainstream scientists.
Max Weber postulated “disenchantment” as the result of a world rendered knowable in principle, yet the doctrine of intrinsic probability in quantum mechanics denies the possibility of such a world, and thereby troubles the assumption of a necessarily disenchanted science. I show how QC science is motivated by an expectation of a future “spiritual” discovery, called the New Paradigm, that redeems QC’s hypothesis that “universal consciousness is the ground of physics.” This expectation encourages QC scientists to incorporate and proliferate non-science within science, in ways that make hybrids, rather than clear boundaries. My dissertation shows how QC’s expectation of a “New Paradigm” guides what may be called a spiritual revivalism to redefine the secular norms of science.
Conference Presentations by Christopher Cochran
By examining the practices and discourses of QC scientists, I demonstrate that conceptual transference between science, philosophy and New Age spirituality is part of the formation of scientific disciplines and the bounds of scientific debate. QC’s cultural contestations with mainstream science show how the demarcation problem in science becomes intertwined with the mind-matter problem of philosophy. My ethnography follows QC scientists’ movements between conferences, research settings, classrooms, and dinner parties to show how technical philosophical disagreements in quantum foundations, such as the measurement problem and the theory of decoherence, are the fulcrum of a cultural, de facto demarcation between QC scientists and mainstream scientists.
Max Weber postulated “disenchantment” as the result of a world rendered knowable in principle, yet the doctrine of intrinsic probability in quantum mechanics denies the possibility of such a world, and thereby troubles the assumption of a necessarily disenchanted science. I show how QC science is motivated by an expectation of a future “spiritual” discovery, called the New Paradigm, that redeems QC’s hypothesis that “universal consciousness is the ground of physics.” This expectation encourages QC scientists to incorporate and proliferate non-science within science, in ways that make hybrids, rather than clear boundaries. My dissertation shows how QC’s expectation of a “New Paradigm” guides what may be called a spiritual revivalism to redefine the secular norms of science.