The Metaphysics of Self-Causality
Chris Nelson
Journal of Consciousness Studies October 1, 2026 DOI: 10.53765/20512201.33.9.087 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that integrated information theory and Schopenhauer's metaphysics converge on a view of the universe as composed of conscious self-causation, or 'the Will', and proposes that causality is subjectively experienced as valence, the difference between satisfaction and frustration of self-causation, which the author claims resolves the 'is–ought problem'. |
Abstract
This article proposes an idealist/panpsychist metaphysics which connects the integrated information theory of consciousness (IIT) with the work of the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: both frameworks describe the whole universe as consisting of different forms of auto-causation — or, as Schopenhauer termed it, ‘the Will’. IIT proposes that consciousness is self-causality: the ‘information’ being measured in a system (e.g. a set of neurons in the brain) is causality (that is, any difference that makes a difference in the future), while ‘integrated’ means the system ultimately has causal power over itself. Schopenhauer, too, claimed that all matter and energy consists of this kind of conscious self-causality, which makes sense according to Charles Darwin’s idea that what is extant is always that which self-perpetuates. The ‘is–ought problem’ is resolved in this article by explaining causality as valence, or the subjectively-experienced difference between good and bad (understood within this theory as satisfaction vs. frustration of causality from its own perspective).