What Must a Successful Theory of Consciousness Explain? Mapping the Requirements Across Philosophy, Neuroscience, Physics, and Psychology for a Truly Comprehensive Model of Mind
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) May 6, 2026 Erkan Tuna
The relationship between consciousness and the brain, framed as the psi-phi problem, remains unresolved because consciousness is inherently unobservable to third-person scientific methods, which can only obtain indirect correlates of experience. Historically debated as soul versus body, the modern challenge requires precision: the mind is a product of cerebral processes, yet no universally accepted theory exists. The core debate centers on two metaphysical frameworks: materialist monism, which reduces mental states to physical brain activity (consciousness as an emergent property of neurons), and panpsychism, which asserts mind is fundamental to all matter. This elusiveness leads to theories that are more akin to fantasies than robust explanations.