

A “Complex” Theory of Consciousness - akbarnama
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-theory-of-consciousness/?page=1

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gone35
(Please add (2009) to the title)

See [1] for a much more recent discussion. Basically, Scott Aaronson showed
that some rather mundane-seeming systems (like, say, an ASIC implementing some
LDPC code, or even just a square grid of XOR gates) exhibit very high
"information integration" \Phi under this definition, and so would have to be
highly conscious according to the theory. Tononi agrees, and argues we have to
change our preconceived notions because that Reed-Solomon hardware in your DVD
player _is indeed highly conscious_. Apparently.

You be the judge. And keep that in mind before throwing away your old DVD
player.

[1] [http://sciencehouse.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/integrated-
info...](http://sciencehouse.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/integrated-information-
theory/)

~~~
wslh
It feels like the old theory that all the elements are composed by water,
fire, air, and earth.

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tjbrennan
This sounds like Functionalism to me. Until we can actually map out the
complexity being described in the article, consciousness is still a
philosophical problem. I appreciate the scientific approach, but I think
Tononi's definition of consciousness is flawed (or just nonexistent). I've
seen other attempts to apply science to the mind-body problem, and it yielded
flat-out pseudoscience. This was not convincing either.

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sewercake
Just computational functionalism disguised under more complex
analysis/definition. Information does not have meaning in and of itself; it
requires an external, subjective observer to make it meaningful. Without
meaning (or intentionality), then something sure as hell can't be conscious.
If any of y'all are interested in a fresh take on the mind-body problem and
the study of consciousness as a whole, check out Varela, Thompson and Rosch's
The Embodied Mind ([http://www.amazon.ca/The-Embodied-Mind-Cognitive-
Experience/...](http://www.amazon.ca/The-Embodied-Mind-Cognitive-
Experience/dp/0262720213)). It presents an interesting alternative to the
computational paradigm that has provided little insight into understanding
consciousness, and as many would argue, has been debunked entirely by Searle's
Chinese room thought-experiment. it is also a FANTASTIC introduction to the
limitations and problems with our current scientific model.

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TheSpiceIsLife
It has been suggested that consciousness is an emergent property of complex
systems. Maybe that should be written as: consciousness is an emergent
property of integrated complex systems.

Anyone around these parts familiar with the work of Ken Wilber?[1] He wrote a
lot about 'Integral Psychology' and the like. At a glance IIT appears to fit
nicely in the framework Wilber et al. expound.

1\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber)

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andybak
It seems to me that at least a weak form of panpsychism seems hard to avoid
without giving yourself much bigger metaphysical problems elsewhere.

