Elemental Mind addresses the mind/body problem. Until now the debate has been dominated by two major conjectures. One holds that the mind is the result of certain complex biological interactions; the other asserts that the mind is the “software” that controls the brain’s computer-like “hardware.” This book presents a third hypothesis–one that casts aside traditional explanations about inner mental states. And it does so by drawing on sources as diverse as Vonnegut and Heisenberg, not to mention imagined encounters with an entrancing, highly intelligent robot named Claire. Founding his argument on the basics of quantum theory (randomness, thinglessness, and interconnectedness), Nick Herbert explores the intriguing hypothesis that, far from being a derivative phenomenon, mind is a fundamental process in its own right, as widespread and deeply embedded in nature as light or electricity. Elemental Mind offers a new approach to the riddle of consciousness that has challenged philosophers and scientists for centuries.