Proposed survey, as a prelude to the experiment on some of the respondents:

The survey is NOT meant to be about what physicists feel is an opinion or 'position' (as eg for philosophers in the philpapers survey) but rather about what they as scientists feel they can state as fact.

For the sake of brevity I will use the terms "dualist" (including also the idealist) and "materialist" (or perhaps "physicalist") positions as follows without attempting philosophical rigor. The survey would target those physicists who are quite certain of the scientific truth or factual status one of the following: "As a physicist I state factually that:

• "awareness exists, and it is qualitatively other than the material; only awareness can be known directly to exist without proof or possibility of being fooled" ["I know it to exist 'intrinsically, by the fact that I am aware"];

• "all is material, the idea of awareness is a chimera, "illusion" (Not: 'Awareness is a mystery but I think I can explain it in a way which maintains materialism'); in any case nothing can be directly known to exist intrinsically, as dualists claim is the case for their supposed "awareness" ".

I believe there are physicists who would make one of the above "assertions". In my opinion, their certitude, the insistence that they are stating fact rather than opinion, is unusual or unique for scientists when speaking about contested fundamental aspects of reality, and this will be tested as follows: These same physicists will be asked whether they readily admit there is some possibility they are wrong about some scientific dispute re string theory or dark energy or etc, ie that what they are expressing in those cases is at most strongly-held opinion, or an intuition.

In the sense that the survey could thereby establish a fact - the degree of uniqueness of the disagreement on this issue among scientists - it is a scientific fact-determining survey.

Underlying the motivation for this survey is the notion of a possible correlation between how a subject speaks about awareness and the type or degree of awareness they do or do not posses.

It could also be interesting to survey the response to the following:

When I look at grass and say "it is green" it is possible that I am not actually experiencing color at all, but am deluded into thinking I am. (Similarly re expeirencing emotions etc).

[One could also perhaps ask questions regarding music or art etc and correlate the answers to whether they categorize themselves as 'dualist' or 'materialist' in the sense outlined above.]

Proposed Neurophysiological Experiment: If indeed that scientists disagree fundamentally regarding "awareness", and ifindeed this disagreement is unique in the sense mentioned above, and given the general assumption among dualists that awareness correlates to some aspect of the brain structure of the aware being:

* it would be interesting to investigate whether there is a corresponding brain-distinction, between the dualist and materialist to determine whether there is something observably different about them.

* Possibly it will be interesting to have the participants during the brain-measurement enter into a discussion on the topic or attempt to think deeply about the issue, etc.

* Analysis of dna can be performed on volunteers, with investigation of any correlations (especially since we do know that we interbred with Denisovans and Neanderthals etc).

* It would be interesting to determine differences in how the result of the experiment is understood or interpreted by the two 'camps'.

Categorizing the survey: Psychology vs physics:

The disagreement between "dualists" and "materialists" is about the nature of our reality, and about what can or cannot be known etc, and so this disagreement is very fundamental, and I feel it is of interest from the scientific perspective.

However the characterization of this disagreement is itself in contention.

It will b eof interest to determine to what degree the two 'camps' would identify with the following characterizations of their position:

• The materialist:"it is a psychological phenomenon (with source perhaps in evolutionary sociobiology)"

• The dualist: "This phenomenon more correctly should be categorized as due to some type of physics".

• The dualist: "some people can know directly something about the universe, ie that awareness exists, and so this statement about the existence of awareness is more in the category of physics rather than psychology, and the fact that it can be known directly is sui generis and therefore of considerable importance to physics";

• The materialist: "The statement of the dualistis an indication of faulty wiring in their brain, so study of "the belief in Mind" belongs firmly in whatever category the study of other delusions belong, not physics".

• The dualist: A logically-possible explanation for why you are so sure awareness does not exist is that you do not possess it (and so I do not necessarily feel that I must modify my certainty in the face of your equal certianty of the opposite).

• The materialist: though I agree that if there existed a property or phenomenon which could be known to exist on its own (as you claim for awareness) and they didn't posses it, then yes indeed they would deny it existed, and v.v. But this of course does not imply that indeed such a phenomenon exists (and perhaps I hold that in principle it is impossible for phenomenon to be known to exist on its own).

If indeed there is among scientists such distinct certitudes about our reality and about what can be known, this to me is in itself an interesting scientific phenomenon.

I believe that the proposed survey and experiment can be interesting to all scientists irrespective of whether they are "dualist" or "materialist".

Dr Avi Rabinowitz (Phd physics NYU; not currently affiliated with NYU)

air1@nyu.edu