Integrated Information Theory: A Consciousness-First Approach to What Exists

Integrated information theory (IIT) takes a 'consciousness-first' approach, arguing that consciousness reveals the essential properties of existence. IIT formulates these properties operationally, yielding postulates of physical existence: to exist intrinsically, an entity must have cause-effect power upon itself in a specific, unitary, definite, and structured manner. The theory claims that an entity's cause-effect structure accounts for all properties of an experience, including spatial extendedness, temporal flow, and qualia such as colors and sounds, with no additional ingredients. IIT has implications for understanding meaning, perception, free will, and for assessing consciousness in patients, infants, other species, and artifacts.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This overview of integrated information theory (IIT) emphasizes IIT's "consciousness-first" approach to what exists. Consciousness demonstrates to each of us that something exists--experience--and reveals its essential properties--the axioms of phenomenal existence. IIT formulates these properties operationally, yielding the postulates of physical existence. To exist intrinsically or absolutely, an entity must have cause-effect power upon itself, in a specific, unitary, definite and structured manner. IIT's explanatory identity claims that an entity's cause-effect structure accounts for all properties of an experience--essential and accidental--with no additional ingredients. These include the feeling of spatial extendedness, temporal flow, of objects binding general concepts with particular configurations of features, and of qualia such as colors and sounds. IIT's intrinsic ontology has implications for understanding meaning, perception, and free will, for assessing consciousness in patients, infants, other species, and artifacts, and for reassessing our place in nature.