IIT's Scientific Counter-Revolution: A Neuroscientific Theory's Physical and Metaphysical Implications.

Integrated Information Theory (IIT) makes commitments about the nature of physical reality that are intimately tied to the theory, not incidental. This paper demonstrates this by raising objections in a naive way and showing how principled IIT responses rely on metaphysical positions. The paper applies the Placement Argument to generate a problem involving zombies, frames this as an apparent dilemma, and addresses it by drawing on IIT literature concerning physical reality. A related dilemma is treated in a way that dovetails with the earlier treatment. The analysis underscores the breadth of IIT and the relevance of this breadth to evaluating its merits.

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Abstract

IIT includes commitments about the very nature of physical reality, a fact both highly unusual for an empirical theory within neuroscience, and surprisingly underappreciated within the literature. These commitments are intimately tied to the theory; they are not incidental. This paper demonstrates as much by raising certain objections in a "naive" way, and then exposing how the principled IIT responses would rely upon metaphysical positions. Along the way we draw on the IIT literature for support for these interpretations, but also point to a need for elaboration and clarification. Section 1 applies the Placement Argument in a way that leads to problem involving zombies, treated in Section 2. Section 3 frames the zombie problem as an apparent dilemma, and addresses that dilemma by drawing on claims in the IIT literature concerning physical reality. Section 4 raises a related dilemma and treats it in a way that dovetails with the treatment in Section 3 of physical reality. All of this underscores not just the breadth of IIT, but the relevance of this breadth to a full consideration of IIT's merits.