Consciousness: Integrated Information vs. Inference

These vocabulary flashcards cover the key concepts, theories, and problems discussed in James Cook's lecture on consciousness, specifically focusing on Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Inference-based theories.

Explanatory Gap

The gap between the first-personal aspects of consciousness and the third-personal description of the brain.

Integrated Information Theory (IIT)

A theory defining consciousness as the ability of a system to make use of information in a cause-and-effect manner to propel itself to action.

$\Phi$ (Phi)

The term for the measure of integrated information; according to IIT, more $\Phi$ corresponds to being more conscious.

Information (in IIT context)

The reduction of possibilities, or how many potential states or combinations a system rules out.

Integrated Information

A state where a system as a whole generates more information than its individual parts would have on their own, characterized by parts influencing one another.

Panpsychism

The philosophical view that consciousness is a fundamental feature of all things, implying that anything with integrated information (like thermostats or protons) is conscious to some degree.

Combination Problem

The challenge for panpsychism to explain why certain combinations of particles are more conscious than others, such as why a human is more conscious than Mount Everest.

Intentionality

The property of consciousness being "about" or representing something in the external world; its referential aspect.

Inference-based Theories

Theories proposing that consciousness is the ability of living systems to model the world beyond their own boundaries and make inferences based on that model.

Living Mirror Theory

An inferential theory suggesting that every living system holds a representation of how the world is, and consciousness is the embodied process of creating and working with those representations.

Biopsychism

The view that all living systems (e.g., cells, trees, animals) are conscious because they develop world models and respond to them, while non-living physical systems (e.g., protons) are not.

Hard Problem of Consciousness

The difficulty of explaining how physical conditions or processes (like integrated information or world modeling) specifically give rise to qualitative character or phenomenology.