This paper addresses the problem of integrating phenomenal consciousness with physical laws by seeking to identify and define its function. The central claim is that the hard problem is caused by the same epistemic paradox that makes quantum and classical physics mutually incompatible: the measure-theoretic limit. It is logically impossible to explain the mechanism by which state transitions...
Without proven causal power, consciousness cannot be integrated with physics except as an epiphenomenon, hence the term 'hard problem'. Integrated Information Theory (IIT) side-steps the issue by stating that subjective experience must be identical to informational physical structures whose cause-and-effect power is greater than the sum of their parts. But the focus on spatially oriented...
The problem of explaining the relationship between subjective experience and physical reality remains difficult and unresolved. In most explanations, consciousness is epiphenomenal, without causal power. The most notable exception is Integrated Information Theory (IIT), which provides a causal explanation for consciousness. However, IIT relies on an identity between subjectivity and a...
The problem of explaining the relationship between subjective experience and physical reality remains difficult and unresolved. In most explanations, consciousness is epiphenomenal, without causal power. The most notable exception is Integrated Information Theory (IIT), which provides a causal explanation for consciousness. However, IIT relies on an identity between subjectivity and a...