What Is Consciousness? Integrated Information vs. Inference.

A successful naturalistic account of consciousness must define it in terms compatible with other naturalistic descriptions. Integrated Information Theory (IIT) attempts this by equating phenomenal experience with a system's intrinsic causal power, but fails to explain the qualitative character of consciousness and the intentional nature of conscious perception. An alternative group of theories equates consciousness with inference; the Living Mirror theory holds that all living systems perform inference, which is consciousness itself. This overcomes IIT's shortcomings, especially for perception. A synthesis is possible: conscious living systems are self-organizing, requiring high integration. Consciousness depends on nontrivial integrated information, while the inference process is the fact of consciousness.

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Abstract

Any successful naturalistic account of consciousness must state what consciousness is, in terms that are compatible with the rest of our naturalistic descriptions of the world. Integrated Information Theory represents a pioneering attempt to do just this. This theory accounts for the core features of consciousness by holding that there is an equivalence between the phenomenal experience associated with a system and its intrinsic causal power. The proposal, however, fails to provide insight into the qualitative character of consciousness and, as a result of its proposed equivalence between consciousness and purely internal dynamics, into the intentional character of conscious perception. In recent years, an alternate group of theories has been proposed that claims consciousness to be equivalent to certain forms of inference. One such theory is the Living Mirror theory, which holds consciousness to be a form of inference performed by all living systems. The proposal of consciousness as inference overcomes the shortcomings of Integrated Information Theory, particularly in the case of conscious perception. A synthesis of these two perspectives can be reached by appreciating that conscious living systems are self-organising in nature. This mode of organization requires them to have a high level of integration. From this perspective, we can understand consciousness as being dependent on a system possessing non-trivial amounts of integrated information while holding that the process of inference performed by the system is the fact of consciousness itself.