Saturday 30 April 2016

Objects of Consciousness

In the conclusion to his paper entitled Objects of Consciousness, Donald D. Hoffman (Professor of Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine) writes:

"If we assume that conscious subjects, rather than unconscious objects, are fundamental, then we must give a mathematically precise theory of such subjects, and show how objects, and indeed all physics, emerges from the theory of conscious subjects. This is, of course, a tall order. We have taken some first steps by (1) proposing the formalism of conscious agents, (2) using that formalism to find solutions to the combination problem of consciousness, and (3) sketching how the asymptotic dynamics of conscious agents might lead to particles and space-time itself. Much work remains to flesh out this account. But if it succeeds, H. sapiens might just replace object permanence with objects of consciousness."

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00577/full