Can Quantum theory help us resolve the mind-body problem?

In this essay, the possibility of using quantum theory to understand the relationship between
mental and physical states will be explored. This has been motivated by the appearance of
dualism in Physics, where the quantum and classical descriptions of the world propose two
different pictures that seem difficult to reconcile. This dualism in Physics, will be compared
with substance dualism, as proposed by Rene Descartes, and by exploring this correspondence,
the prospect of quantum theory resolving the ontological mind-body problem will be assessed.
The mind-body problem arises from the conceptual challenge of having a physical mind or a
mental body. In other words, it seems difficult to picture how two apparently distinct
substances, which exist in conceptually different spaces, the mind and the body, interact. There
have been many philosophical theories, which attempt to solve the problem by either rejecting
substance dualism and proposing a more holistic idea, which incorporates mind and body as
one, or by supporting the dualistic viewpoint and trying to justify their arguments. [1,2] As
discussed in an essay prior to this one, it is hard to reach a solution, as in all of the proposed
theories bigger issues remain unsolved, such as what compromises reality. In this essay, a
different attempt will be proposed, which explores the dualistic parallel between quantum and
classical Physics and the mind and body. The appearance of two dualistic descriptions of the
world in both Physics and Philosophy seems to point out that there must be a way of
understanding Philosophy through Physics or vice versa. As a result, by considering the EPR
paradox, which arises in quantum theory, relating it to the classical world and comparing it to
the relationship between mental and physical states, the possibility of quantum theory helping
resolving the mind-body problem will be assessed.