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Entropy
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Integrated Information Theory and Consciousness II
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Integrated Information Theory and Consciousness II

A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Information Theory, Probability and Statistics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2024 | Viewed by 4155

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Kyumin Moon

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Guest Editor
Humanities Research Institutes, Chung-Ang University, 06974 Seoul, Korea
Interests: consciousness; mind–body problem; theory of time and space; phenomenology; causation; intentionality; subjectivity; concepts; perception; introspection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Maybe we are facing ‘the rise of the science of consciousness’ now. Among the variety of working hypotheses, integrated information theory of consciousness (IIT) would be one of the most ambitious and controversial scientific programs in the field. Since it was suggested by Giulio Tononi, IIT has evolved and been upgraded over and over. However, the current version, IIT 4.0, still needs some clarifications and developments.

IIT is unique in its methodology, mathematical model, theoretical framework, and philosophical perspective. For instance, methodologically, IIT starts from ‘axioms’ of consciousness and draws ‘postulates’ about physical substrates of consciousness. From these postulates, it suggests that a maximally integrated conceptual structure (MICS) generated by a system is a conscious experience. The Φ value of MICS, which measures the irreducible causal power of a system as a whole, captures the levels of consciousness, and the ‘shape’ of MICS represented in multidimensional space specifies the qualities of consciousness. Since IIT directly identifies MICS with consciousness, everything that generates MICS is conscious. All these features raise some questions: Is such ‘phenomenology first’ well grounded? Is there any precise and efficient way to get around the computational burden in applying IIT to real biological systems? Further, is Φ well defined enough to be generally applied to all physical systems? Is MICS-experience identification justifiable? Is there any problematic consequence of such an identification? If there is, what is it and how can IIT avoid it?

These questions naturally require wide, productive interdisciplinary research. In this Special Issue, we invite researchers from all disciplines concerned with the intellectual fever toward the science of consciousness.

Prof. Kyumin Moon
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • consciousness
  • information
  • causation
  • phenomenology
  • emergence
  • neural correlates of consciousness
  • qualia
  • defining phi
  • computing integrated information
  • animal consciousness
  • artificial consciousness
  • mathematics and consciousness

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 317 KiB  
Article
The Fundamental Tension in Integrated Information Theory 4.0’s Realist Idealism
by Ignacio Cea, Niccolo Negro and Camilo Miguel Signorelli
Entropy 2023, 25(10), 1453; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25101453 - 16 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1539
Abstract
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) is currently one of the most influential scientific theories of consciousness. Here, we focus specifically on a metaphysical aspect of the theory’s most recent version (IIT 4.0), what we may call its idealistic ontology, and its tension with [...] Read more.
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) is currently one of the most influential scientific theories of consciousness. Here, we focus specifically on a metaphysical aspect of the theory’s most recent version (IIT 4.0), what we may call its idealistic ontology, and its tension with a kind of realism about the external world that IIT also endorses. IIT 4.0 openly rejects the mainstream view that consciousness is generated by the brain, positing instead that consciousness is ontologically primary while the physical domain is just “operational”. However, this philosophical position is presently underdeveloped and is not rigorously formulated in IIT, potentially leading to many misinterpretations and undermining its overall explanatory power. In the present paper we aim to address this issue. We argue that IIT’s idealistic ontology should be understood as a specific combination of phenomenal primitivism, reductionism regarding Φ-structures and complexes, and eliminativism about non-conscious physical entities. Having clarified this, we then focus on the problematic tension between IIT’s idealistic ontology and its simultaneous endorsement of realism, according to which there is some kind of external reality independent of our minds. After refuting three potential solutions to this theoretical tension, we propose the most plausible alternative: understanding IIT’s realism as an assertion of the existence of other experiences beyond one’s own, what we call a non-solipsistic idealist realism. We end with concluding remarks and future research avenues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Information Theory and Consciousness II)
9 pages, 236 KiB  
Communication
What Is It like to Be a Brain Organoid? Phenomenal Consciousness in a Biological Neural Network
by Ivanna Montoya and Daniel Montoya
Entropy 2023, 25(9), 1328; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25091328 - 13 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1108
Abstract
It has been shown that three-dimensional self-assembled multicellular structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells show electrical activity similar to EEG. More recently, neurons were successfully embedded in digital game worlds. The biologically inspired neural network (BNN), expressing human cortical cells, was able [...] Read more.
It has been shown that three-dimensional self-assembled multicellular structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells show electrical activity similar to EEG. More recently, neurons were successfully embedded in digital game worlds. The biologically inspired neural network (BNN), expressing human cortical cells, was able to show internal modification and learn the task at hand (predicting the trajectory of a digital ball while moving a digital paddle). In other words, the system allowed to read motor information and write sensory data into cell cultures. In this article, we discuss Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) theories, and their capacity to predict or even allow for consciousness in a BNN. We found that Information Integration Theory (IIT) is the only NCC that offers the possibility for a BNN to show consciousness, since the Φ value in the BNN is >0. In other words, the recording of real-time neural activity responding to environmental stimuli. IIT argues that any system capable of integrating information will have some degree of phenomenal consciousness. We argue that the pattern of activity appearing in the BNN, with increased density of sensory information leading to better performance, implies that the BNN could be conscious. This may have profound implications from a psychological, philosophical, and ethical perspective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Information Theory and Consciousness II)

Other

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17 pages, 321 KiB  
Opinion
Carving Nature at Its Joints: A Comparison of CEMI Field Theory with Integrated Information Theory and Global Workspace Theory
by Johnjoe McFadden
Entropy 2023, 25(12), 1635; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25121635 - 08 Dec 2023
Viewed by 815
Abstract
The quest to comprehend the nature of consciousness has spurred the development of many theories that seek to explain its underlying mechanisms and account for its neural correlates. In this paper, I compare my own conscious electromagnetic information field (cemi field) theory with [...] Read more.
The quest to comprehend the nature of consciousness has spurred the development of many theories that seek to explain its underlying mechanisms and account for its neural correlates. In this paper, I compare my own conscious electromagnetic information field (cemi field) theory with integrated information theory (IIT) and global workspace theory (GWT) for their ability to ‘carve nature at its joints’ in the sense of predicting the entities, structures, states and dynamics that are conventionally recognized as being conscious or nonconscious. I go on to argue that, though the cemi field theory shares features of both integrated information theory and global workspace theory, it is more successful at carving nature at its conventionally accepted joints between conscious and nonconscious systems, and is thereby a more successful theory of consciousness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Information Theory and Consciousness II)
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