A response to the unfolding argument: a defense of Integrated Information Theory

Back in May,  I shared a paper that made a blistering attack on the integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness.  A major point of IIT is that a specific causal structure is necessary to generate phenomenal experience, namely a feedback or recurrent neural network, that is, a neural network with structural loops.  To be clear, … Continue reading A response to the unfolding argument: a defense of Integrated Information Theory

The issues with higher order theories of consciousness

After the global workspace theory (GWT) post, someone asked me if I'm now down on higher order theories (HOT).  It's fair to say I'm less enthusiastic about them than I used to be.  They still might describe important components of consciousness, but the stronger assertion that they provide the primary explanation now seems dubious. A … Continue reading The issues with higher order theories of consciousness