This paper examines and ultimately rejects a proposed solution to a problem arising from the ontological commitments of Integrated Information Theory (IIT) 4.0, particularly its claim that only conscious entities truly exist. This commitment generates the “origin of consciousness problem”: if non-conscious entities are denied genuine existence, how could consciousness evolve from non-conscious...
The pre-reflective experience of being a body is a fundamental component of consciousness and selfhood. A leading account from the perspective of active inference is Seth and Tsakiris’ (2018, see also Seth, 2021, 2024) proposal that this experience arises from instrumental interoceptive inference (III), namely the nervous system’s interoceptive predictions about the sensory consequences of...
This paper addresses a problem that arises from the ontological commitments of Integrated Information Theory (IIT) 4.0, particularly its stance that only conscious entities truly exist. This position leads to the "origin of consciousness problem": if non-conscious entities do not truly exist, how could consciousness have evolved from non-conscious ancestors? We explore several responses IIT...
In this article we present two ontological problems for the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness 4.0: what we call the (i) the intrinsicality 2.0 problem, and (ii) the engineering problem. These problems entail that truly existing, conscious entities can depend on, and be engineered from, entities that do not objectively exist, which is problematic: if something does not exist in...
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) is currently one of the most influential scientific theories of consciousness. Here, we focus specifically on a metaphysical aspect of the theory's most recent version (IIT 4.0), what we may call its idealistic ontology, and its tension with a kind of realism about the external world that IIT also endorses. IIT 4.0 openly rejects the mainstream view that...
Commentary on: Meling D and Scheidegger M (2023) Not in the drug, not in the brain: Causality in psychedelic experiences from an enactive perspective. Front. Psychol. 14:1100058. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1100058 Word Count: 992 Figures and Tables: none We welcome with great enthusiasm Meling & Scheidegger (2023) (henceforth "M&S") timely contribution to advance an enactive approach to...
In consciousness studies there is a growing tendency to consider experience as (i) fundamentally affective and (ii) deeply interlinked with interoceptive and homeostatic bodily processes. However, this view still needs further development to be part of any rigorous theory of consciousness. To advance in this direction, we ask: (1) is there any affective type that is always present in...
Models of consciousness need to explain both the objective correlates of conscious experience as well as its subjective structure. However, such an explanation would not need to entail a reduction exclusively in terms of physical or neural systems. A model that intends to avoid such reduction is integrated information theory (IIT). In this article, we discuss the explanatory rationale of IIT,...
Traditionally, empathy has been studied from two main perspectives: the theory-theory approach and the simulation theory approach. These theories claim that social emotions are fundamentally constituted by mind states in the brain. In contrast, classical phenomenology and recent research based on the enactive theories consider empathy as the basic process of contacting others' emotional...
Consciousness science is at a crossroads, with competing theories, fragmented methodologies, and unresolved foundational questions. In response, we argue for a transdisciplinary approach that moves beyond traditional academic boundaries and integrates perspectives within and beyond the scientific community. By involving diverse stakeholders, such as policymakers, practitioners, and community...
The Integrated Information Theory (IIT) 4.0 is an influential framework aiming to explain consciousness mathematically in terms of intrinsic existence, namely what exists for itself in a specific, maximally irreducible, structured form. IIT thus posits that the minimal substrates of consciousness are also the ultimate building blocks of what exists. These are called ‘monads’, and are defined as...