Does Matter Create Consciousness? Or Vice Versa?

[Ben Davis]

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I believe matter creates consciousness but there are the mysticism-types who believe everything is energy and the brain is actually just translating all of that into the objects of our conscious mind, to which some extent is evidently true (those who have taken mushrooms or LSD or gotten very drunk/high can attest). I believe it goes back to the Neils Bohr model for quantum physics. Anyway, does our conscious mind create matter through different energy patterns entering our neural preceptors? Or is the model of reality you conceive actually the by-product of external matter around you? I think this is kind of a philosophy of science question. Thoughts?

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Nope, it's an empirical question. And you're thinking of the 'Copenhagen Misinterpretations', commonly used by those who want to peddle particular brands of mystical nonsense. 'Consciousness' or 'force of will', if you prefer, has no control over the outcomes of quantum events. It's not even necessary for a 'consciousness' to be an observer: experimentally, we've demonstrated that other quantum events can cause reconciliation of quantum states (e.g entanglement).