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Perspectives on Neuroscience
26:41

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Consciousness, complexity, and evolution.

Walter Veit1

  • 1School of History and Philosophy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW2006, Australia. wrwveit@gmail.comhttps://walterveit.com/.

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|March 23, 2022
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Integrated Information Theory (IIT) links consciousness and complexity but has flaws. This study proposes "pathological complexity," an evolutionary concept, to better explain this relationship in consciousness research.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Integrated Information Theory (IIT) posits a link between consciousness and complexity.
  • IIT faces significant formal, phenomenological, and neuroscientific challenges.
  • The biological neutrality of IIT's complexity measure is a key limitation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-evaluate the relationship between consciousness and complexity.
  • To address the shortcomings of Integrated Information Theory (IIT).
  • To introduce a novel evolutionary concept of complexity for consciousness studies.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of Integrated Information Theory (IIT).
  • Development of an evolutionary framework for complexity.
  • Introduction of the concept of "pathological complexity".

Main Results:

  • Identified formal, phenomenological, and neuroscientific limitations in IIT.
  • Proposed "pathological complexity" as an alternative to biologically neutral complexity.
  • Suggested an evolutionary perspective can salvage the intuition linking consciousness and complexity.

Conclusions:

  • The intuition linking consciousness and complexity can be preserved.
  • "Pathological complexity" offers a more biologically relevant framework than IIT's current measure.
  • An evolutionary approach is crucial for advancing the scientific study of consciousness.