Separating weak integrated information theory into inspired and aspirational approaches.
Angus Leung, Naotsugu Tsuchiya
Neuroscience of Consciousness 2023 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niad012 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Iit-inspired Aspirational-iit Consciousness Integrated information theory Weak-iit |
| Key points | Proposes that the category of 'weak IIT' should be split into 'aspirational-IIT' and 'IIT-inspired' approaches to better capture different relationships to integrated information theory. |
Abstract
Mediano et al. (The strength of weak integrated information theory. Trends Cogn Sci 2022;26: 646-55.) separate out strong and weak flavours of the integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness. They describe 'strong IIT' as attempting to derive a universal formula for consciousness and 'weak IIT' as searching for empirically measurable correlates of aspects of consciousness. We put forward that their overall notion of 'weak IIT' may be too weak. Rather, it should be separated out to distinguish 'aspirational-IIT', which aims to empirically test IIT by making trade-offs to its proposed measures, and 'IIT-inspired' approaches, which adopt high-level ideas of IIT while dropping the mathematical framework it reaches through its introspective, first-principles approach to consciousness.
Citations in the library
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- Psychedelics and disorders of consciousness: the current landscape and the path forward. Neuroscience of Consciousness June 15, 2024
- Explanation, scope, and perspective: sources of schismogenesis in consciousness science. Trends in Cognitive Sciences April 7, 2026
- Quantum Superpositions of Conscious States in a Minimal Integrated Information Model. Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) April 1, 2026
- Meta-representations as representations of processes. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2025
- What does it mean for consciousness to be multidimensional? A narrative review. Frontiers in Psychology June 20, 2024
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Cites 9
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- The strength of weak integrated information theory Trends in Cognitive Sciences June 1, 2022
- Integrated information theory (IIT) 4.0: Formulating the properties of phenomenal existence in physical terms. PLoS Computational Biology October 17, 2023
- Emergence of Integrated Information at Macro Timescales in Real Neural Recordings. Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) April 29, 2022
- A structural constraint on neural correlates of consciousness Philosophy and the Mind Sciences July 19, 2021
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