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Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness

Giulio Tononi

March 17, 2017 DOI: 10.1002/9781119132363.ch44 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper
Citations 57
Key points Argues that integrated information theory's postulates imply a fundamental divide between intrinsic and extrinsic entities, the incoherence of ontological reductionism, and the intrinsic nature of meaning.

Abstract

Integrated information theory (IIT) starts from the essential properties of experience (axioms) and translates them into requirements that any physical system must satisfy to be conscious (postulates; see Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness: An Outline, this volume). The postulates of IIT can be seen as a list of requirements for something to exist ‘for itself’, as an intrinsic entity, and thus have relevance for ontology and metaphysics. Some implications of the theory include the divide between intrinsic and extrinsic entities, the incoherence of ontological reductionism, and the intrinsic nature of meaning.