Relative Reality

Abstract

The ``Hard Problem" of consciousness refers to a long-standing enigma about how qualia emerge from physical processes in the brain. Building on insights from the development of non-Euclidean geometry, this paper seeks to present a structured and logically coherent theory of qualia to address this problem. The proposed theory starts with a definition on what it means for an entity to be non-physical. A postulate about awareness is posed and utilized to rigorously prove that qualia are non-physical and thoughts are qualia. Then the paper introduces a key concept: relative reality, meaning that perceptions of reality are relative to the observer and time. The concept is analyzed through a mathematical model grounded in Hilbert space theory. The model also sheds new light on cognitive science and physics. In particular, the Schr\"{o}dinger equation can be derived easily through this model. Moreover, this model shows that eigenstates also exist for classical energy-conserving systems. Analyses on the G. P. Thomson experiment and the classical harmonic oscillator are made to illustrate this finding. The insight gained sheds new light on the Bohr-Einstein debate concerning the interpretation of quantum mechanics. At last, the paper proposes a postulate about qualia force and demonstrates that it constitutes a fundamental part of absolute reality, much like the four fundamental forces in nature.