Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The Study of Consciousness, Accusations of Pseudoscience, and Bad Publicity

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

The Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of consciousness "consciousness is identical to a certain kind of information, the realization of which requires physical, not merely functional, integration, and which can be measured mathematically according to the phi metric." It is not without controversy. "Earlier this week, a letter signed by over 100 researchers, including several philosophers, was published online, calling a popular theory of consciousness, integrated information theory (IIT), 'pseudoscience.'" The criticisms are not without critics themselves; David Chalmers writes: "IIT has many problems, but "pseudoscience" is like dropping a nuclear bomb over a regional dispute." Personally, I classify IIT as a type of cognitivism, and therefore, wrong. I'll leave others to decide whether it's pseudoscience.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Dec 09, 2024 8:01 p.m.

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