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Consciousness can be defined as the state of being aware of and able to think about one's existence, sensations, and surroundings. It encompasses two major components: awareness and arousal. Awareness pertains to the recognition of environmental stimuli and internal states. At the same time, arousal refers to the physiological readiness to engage with these stimuli, which varies significantly between states like sleep and wakefulness.
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Consciousness generates agent action.

Jonathan Delafield-Butt1, Colwyn Trevarthen2

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Consciousness enables agents to act creatively for future gains, moving beyond simple stimulus-response. This prospective evaluation offers control insights not explained by current deterministic models like integrated information theory (IIT).

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Philosophy of Mind

Background:

  • Current models of consciousness, such as integrated information theory (IIT), often rely on linear, deterministic cause-effect relationships.
  • These models struggle to explain the generative and creative aspects of agent action.
  • There is a need to bridge the gap between abstract theories of consciousness and the psychobiology of living organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose an alternative framework for understanding consciousness that accounts for agent agency and prospective evaluation.
  • To highlight the limitations of integrated information theory (IIT) in explaining the dynamic and creative nature of consciousness.
  • To explore how consciousness facilitates purposive action and control.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of consciousness and agency.
  • Critique of existing theoretical frameworks, including integrated information theory (IIT).
  • Exploration of the concept of "inversion of causality" in agent action.

Main Results:

  • Consciousness re-organizes linear stimulus-response causality into generative, creative agent action.
  • Agent action prospectively evaluates subsequent experience, enabling purposive gains.
  • This prospective evaluation provides a form of control not captured by deterministic models.

Conclusions:

  • Integrated information theory (IIT) is an incomplete model of consciousness due to its reliance on linear causality.
  • Consciousness provides organisms with vital agency through its ability to direct actions for future benefit.
  • A psychobiologically grounded understanding of consciousness is necessary to explain its role in organismal survival and adaptation.