Buddhism, set theory and entanglement
One of the principles of Soka Gakkai Buddhism is the mutual inclusion of a single moment of life with all phenomena. This principle is also found in other forms of Buddhism and in other typically Eastern schools of thought. It means that our phenomenal world is deeply interconnected, both in space and in time.
The term “mutual inclusion” reminded me of set theory, which I learned in primary school. A set A is said to include a set B when all the elements of B are contained within set A. From this definition, it follows that:
If A includes B
and
B includes A
then
A coincides with B.
Thus, the principle of mutual inclusion asserts that there is no distinction between a single moment of our life and all the phenomena of the universe. Of course, the idea that a single moment of life is equal to the entire reality of phenomena, in time and space, is difficult for us not only to accept but also to comprehend. A moment of our life is something infinitely small; how can it possibly be equal to all phenomena, which instead represent something infinitely large?
However, certain concepts in quantum physics help us overcome this apparent paradox. I will quote a couple of sentences already mentioned1 in my article Science and spirituality: the Tao of physics.
The deeper we penetrate into the submicroscopic world, the more we realize that the modern physicist, equal to the Eastern mystic, has come to regard the world as a set of inseparable, interacting and continuously moving components, and that man is an integral part of this system.
No matter how deep we delve into matter, nature does not reveal to us the presence of any isolated “fundamental brick,” but rather appears to us as a complex web of relationships between the various parts of the whole.
But quantum physics offers us more in this regard. Entanglement is a quantum phenomenon whereby two or more systems must be described as a single system, because their properties are not independent. In practice, at the quantum level, certain aspects of reality cannot be described as separate entities: they form a single system, even when they are distant from one another. Under these conditions, measuring one quantity in a system simultaneously determines the values of the others as well.
Since the state of quantum superposition is independent of the spatial separation of the systems involved, entanglement counterintuitively implies the presence of long-range correlations between them and, consequently, the non-local nature of physical reality.
Non-locality does not concern interactions, but the very structure of the physical information associated with the system.
The physical theory of entanglement is a relatively recent achievement, but some ancient Eastern traditions, particularly the Buddhist tradition, propose a vision of reality based precisely on entanglement. I quote a passage from https://buddismoesocieta.org/a/interdipendenza.
“According to Buddhist thought, universality is a symbiotic order in which humanity, nature, and the cosmos coexist, and the microcosm and the macrocosm are fused into a single living entity. […] In both human society and the natural world, nothing exists in isolation; all phenomena are interdependent and interconnected, and in this way, they create a living universe.”2.
One might think that interdependence in Buddhism simply describes an interaction between different elements, as ecology—the so-called “science of relationships”—does in the environmental field. In reality, in Buddhist thought, it is considered more than just a connection; it concerns the very concept of existence. It is in fact defined as “dependent origination,” the principle according to which no element arises and exists on its own but only because others exist. If you are not there, I cannot be there.
Broadening our perspective, since according to dependent origination (Sanskrit: pratitya-samutpada; Japanese: engi), phenomena arise solely by virtue of their relationship with other phenomena, they possess neither a distinct nature nor an existence in and of themselves. This means that there is no independent entity in and of itself, separate from other phenomena. In ancient Buddhist scriptures, the principle of “dependent origination,” also known as “conditioned co-production,” is expressed as follows: “If this exists, that exists. If this arises, that arises. If this does not exist, that does not exist. If this ceases, that also ceases.”
This view essentially asserts that reality is intrinsically entangled. I conclude by reiterating my amazement at the realization that certain particularly complex scientific theories were, in a sense, anticipated a couple of millennia ago.
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Translated with DeepL.com (free version)