Theories of Consciousness
Theories of consciousness aim to say what makes a mental state conscious and which systems are conscious.
Definition
A theory of consciousness is a systematic account of the conditions under which a state is conscious, typically specifying what distinguishes conscious from unconscious mental states and what the function or substrate of consciousness is.
Scope
This topic surveys the leading philosophical and scientific theories of consciousness: higher-order theories, global workspace theory, integrated information theory, and first-order representational theories, along with the criteria by which such theories are assessed.
Core questions
- What makes a mental state conscious rather than unconscious?
- Is consciousness a matter of higher-order awareness, global availability, or integrated information?
- Can a theory of consciousness explain the phenomenal as well as the functional aspects?
- How can competing theories be tested against each other?
Key concepts
- higher-order representation
- global workspace
- integrated information
- phi
- first-order representationalism
- neural correlates of consciousness
Key theories
- Higher-order theory
- A mental state is conscious in virtue of being the object of a suitable higher-order representation, typically a thought or perception about that state.
- Global workspace theory
- A state is conscious when its content is broadcast to a global workspace, making it widely available to systems for memory, report, and control.
- Integrated information theory
- Consciousness corresponds to the degree of integrated information in a system, quantified as phi, with the structure of experience mirroring the structure of that information.
History
Representational and higher-order approaches developed in the 1990s as physicalist explanations of consciousness, with Rosenthal's higher-order thought theory and Tye's first-order representationalism. In parallel, cognitive and neuroscientific theories such as Baars's global workspace and Tononi's integrated information theory offered frameworks bridging philosophy and empirical research.
Debates
- Higher-order versus first-order
- Whether consciousness requires a higher-order representation of a state or whether suitable first-order representation suffices.
- Functional versus intrinsic accounts
- Whether consciousness is fixed by global availability or instead by an intrinsic property such as integrated information.
Key figures
- David Rosenthal
- Bernard Baars
- Giulio Tononi
- Michael Tye
Related topics
Seminal works
- baars1988
- tye1995
- rosenthal2005
- tononi2008
Frequently asked questions
- Are theories of consciousness philosophical or scientific?
- Both. Some, like higher-order theory, are primarily philosophical analyses, while others, like global workspace and integrated information theory, are empirically oriented frameworks studied across philosophy and neuroscience.