Emergence ex Machina: Correlates of Consciousness
Qeios December 24, 2024 David Josef Herzog, Nitsa Herzog 2 citations
Consciousness remains poorly defined despite centuries of study. The hard problem is the explanatory gap between phenomenal experience and neurobiological functions, while the easy problem—evolutionary emergence from biological substrate—also resists explanation. Debates extend into quantum mechanics and information theory, reviving panpsychism and the idea that information precedes material substrate. Neopanpsychism proposes consciousness in physical elements and astrophysical networks. Information theories allow non-biological objects to have proto-mental abilities if they meet architectural and informational criteria. The author argues for refocusing empirical research on consciousness using established metrics rather than scholastic debates about non-physical nature.