10 papers in the library · publishing 2019-2026
The Behavioral and brain sciences June 25, 2026 Michael H Herzog, Adrien Doerig
Fleming and Michel associate consciousness with sensory horizons, model-based computations, reality monitoring, and decision termination. However, these functions can be implemented without consciousness and may make consciousness epiphenomenal. As with other current theories of consciousness, too much explanatory weight rests on a small number of explanatory factors.
arXiv (Cornell University) June 1, 2026 Ulysse Klatzmann, Adrien Doerig
Progress in AI is turning machine consciousness from a philosophical curiosity into a societal issue, and has led to criticism of the widespread computational functionalism framework. Biological Naturalism (BN) claims that biology, not computation, is crucial for consciousness. We discuss which forms of BN are empirically testable. For Type-A-BN, biology intrinsically matters for consciousness,...
Cambridge University Press eBooks April 23, 2026 Michael H Herzog, Aaron Schurger, Adrien Doerig
All theories up to now relate consciousness to neural processes, circuits, etc. Quantum theories, such as orchestrated objective reduction (OrchOR), propose that proto-conscious events occur in the entire universe and full consciousness occurs only at the subcellular level in the microtubules of neurons. We outline challenges with this approach.
April 23, 2026 Michael H. Herzog, Aaron Schurger, Adrien Doerig
The scientific study of consciousness features a vast array of conflicting theories, but cross-disciplinary exchange between researchers from different camps is not always prevalent. This book seeks to address these complexities by providing a thorough introduction to the field while remaining accessible to those new to the topic. By exploring empirical methods, surveying a variety of competing...
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences December 22, 2025 M. Päßler, Adrien Doerig
Neurophenomenal structuralism posits that conscious experiences are defined relationally and that their phenomenal structures are mirrored by neural structures. While this approach offers a promising framework for identifying neural correlates of the contents of consciousness, we argue that merely establishing structural correspondences between neural and phenomenal structures is insufficient....
Consciousness and Cognition February 1, 2022 Michael H Herzog, Aaron Schurger, Adrien Doerig
We recently put forward an argument, the Unfolding Argument (UA), that integrated information theory (IIT) and other causal structure theories are either already falsified or unfalsifiable, which provoked significant criticism. It seems that we and the critics agree that the main question in this debate is whether first-person experience, independent of third-person data, is a sufficient...
Cognitive Neuroscience July 14, 2020 Adrien Doerig, Aaron Schurger, Michael H Herzog
ABSTRACT Consciousness is now a well-established field of empirical research. A large body of experimental results has been accumulated and is steadily growing. In parallel, many Theories of Consciousness (ToCs) have been proposed. These theories are diverse in nature, ranging from computational to neurophysiological and quantum theoretical approaches. This contrasts with other fields of...
Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2019 Adrien Doerig, Aaron Schurger, K. Hess et al.
How can we explain consciousness? This question has become a vibrant topic of neuroscience research in recent decades. A large body of empirical results has been accumulated, and many theories have been proposed. Certain theories suggest that consciousness should be explained in terms of brain functions, such as accessing information in a global workspace, applying higher order to lower order...
Neuroscience of Consciousness 2019 Adrien Doerig, Frank Scharnowski, Michael H Herzog
Is consciousness a continuous stream, or do percepts occur only at certain moments of time? This age-old question is still under debate. Both positions face difficult problems, which we proposed to overcome with a 2-stage model, where unconscious processing continuously integrates information before a discrete, conscious percept occurs. Recently, Fekete et al. criticized our model. Here, we...
Ulysse Klatzmann, Adrien Doerig preprint
Progress in AI is turning artificial consciousness into a societal issue. Biological Naturalism (BN), the view that only biological systems can be conscious, is gaining traction. To prevent unsolvable disputes, BN must generate empirically testable predictions.