Why Can the Brain (and Not a Computer) Make Sense of the Liar Paradox?

The human mind can handle self-referential statements without logical breakdown, unlike ordinary computers. A new model called the Strange Loop Model explains this by proposing causal feedback between two brain modules that resolves paradoxes of self-reference by unfolding them over time. The brain's metastable dynamics stop unending inferences, preventing logical inconsistencies from persisting. When logical inconsistencies are represented in this model, Integrated Information Theory reveals causal incongruence between brain subsystems, suggesting a link between self-reference and consciousness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Ordinary computing machines prohibit self-reference because it leads to logical inconsistencies and undecidability. In contrast, the human mind can understand self-referential statements without necessitating physically impossible brain states. Why can the brain make sense of self-reference? Here, we address this question by defining the Strange Loop Model, which features causal feedback between two brain modules, and circumvents the paradoxes of self-reference and negation by unfolding the inconsistency in time. We also argue that the metastable dynamics of the brain inhibit and terminate unhalting inferences. Finally, we show that the representation of logical inconsistencies in the Strange Loop Model leads to causal incongruence between brain subsystems in Integrated Information Theory.