Steps towards a minimal unifying model of consciousness: An integration of models of consciousness based on the free energy principle
Maxwell J D Ramstead, Mahault Albarracin, Alex Kiefer, Kenneth Williford, Adam Safron, Chris Fields, Mark Solms, Karl Friston
July 6, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/6eqxh (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Citations | 4 |
| Key points | Proposes that the "inner screen model" of consciousness, which follows from applying a quantum information theoretic version of the free-energy principle to the brain's sparse, nested, hierarchical neuroanatomy, may serve as a minimal unifying model for consciousness studies. The authors review FEP-based models, including Bayesian global workspace and attention schema theories, world-model and self-model theories, and models of time-consciousness, and discuss how these can be situated relative to the candidate unifying model. |
Abstract
This paper aims to assess whether the recently proposed "inner screen model" of consciousness that follows from the free-energy principle (FEP) can be regarded as a minimal unifying model (MUM) of consciousness, thereby providing a common foundational model for consciousness studies, and integrating approaches to consciousness based on the FEP. We first present the inner screen model, which follows from applying the quantum information theoretic version of the FEP to the known sparse (nested and hierarchical) neuroanatomy of the brain. We then review models of consciousness that are premised on the FEP. Specifically, we review Bayesian versions of the global workspace and attention schema theories, theories premised on world-models and self-models, and models formalizing the computational structure and properties of time-consciousness. We then discuss how extant FEP-theoretic models of consciousness can be situated with respect to the candidate MUM.