What Makes Experience Possible? A Comparative Architecture of Consciousness Across Philosophical Traditions
Mohammad Amir Khusru Akhtar
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes six universal functional conditions—difference, availability, orientation, integration, temporality, and answerability—as a common comparative architecture for analyzing theories of experience across philosophical, religious, and scientific traditions. Argues that these traditions can be compared through their explanatory structures without collapsing their historical or doctrinal differences. |
Abstract
What Makes Experience Possible? A Comparative Architecture of Consciousness Across Philosophical Traditions: From Plato to Predictive Processing, from Advaita to AI develops a comparative philosophical framework for understanding the conditions that make experience possible. Rather than defending a single metaphysical theory of consciousness, the book compares major philosophical, religious, and scientific traditions according to the explanatory work they perform. It proposes six universal functional conditions—difference, availability, orientation, integration, temporality, and answerability—as a common comparative architecture for analyzing theories of experience. The study examines Greek philosophy, Indian philosophical systems, Buddhist traditions, Chinese philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Jewish and Christian thought, modern philosophy, phenomenology, analytic philosophy, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, predictive processing, integrated information theory, and information theory. It argues that these traditions can be compared through their explanatory structures without collapsing their historical or doctrinal differences. The book concludes by presenting a formal comparative framework, addressing major philosophical objections, clarifying the scope and limits of the proposed architecture, and offering a general taxonomy for comparative consciousness studies.