The Problem with Phi: A Critique of Integrated Information Theory
PLoS Comput. Biol. September 1, 2015 Michael A. Cerullo
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) claims consciousness equals integrated information (Φ). This paper argues IIT fails to quantify consciousness. The main theoretical support for IIT, the principle of information exclusion, lacks justification. Empirical claims for IIT are challenged by constructing a trivial theory with equal explanatory power. Philosophical arguments from mind and epistemology show IIT, not being computational functionalism, is vulnerable to fading and dancing qualia arguments. The phenomenological approach underlying IIT has limitations, making IIT a theory of protoconsciousness rather than consciousness.