A thermodynamic approach to the problem of consciousness.
Medical Hypotheses April 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.02.003 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractQualia—the subjective, felt qualities of experience—are proposed to be self-organized structures built by exported entropy. Their subjectivity arises because entropy-decreasing phenomena cannot be observed physically. This speculative account draws on thermodynamics to address two central questions in philosophy of mind: what qualia are and why they are private.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Proposes that qualia are self-organized structures built by exported entropy and that qualia are subjective because entropy-decreasing phenomena cannot be observed physically. |
Abstract
What is the nature of qualia? Why qualia are subjective? This article is an attempt to provide speculative answers to these questions based on what we know about thermodynamics. The proposed answer to the first question is that qualia are self-organized structures built by exported entropy. The proposed answer to the second question is that qualia are subjective because entropy-decreasing phenomena cannot be observed physically.