Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory Gap
The role of emergence in the creation of consciousness has been debated for over a century, but it remains unresolved. In particular there is controversy over the claim that a “strong” or radical form of emergence is required to explain phenomenal consciousness. In this paper we use some ideas of co...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01041/full |
| _version_ | 1818511195416559616 |
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| author | Todd E. Feinberg Jon Mallatt |
| author_facet | Todd E. Feinberg Jon Mallatt |
| author_sort | Todd E. Feinberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The role of emergence in the creation of consciousness has been debated for over a century, but it remains unresolved. In particular there is controversy over the claim that a “strong” or radical form of emergence is required to explain phenomenal consciousness. In this paper we use some ideas of complex system theory to trace the emergent features of life and then of complex brains through three progressive stages or levels: Level 1 (life), Level 2 (nervous systems), and Level 3 (special neurobiological features), each representing increasing biological and neurobiological complexity and ultimately leading to the emergence of phenomenal consciousness, all in physical systems. Along the way we show that consciousness fits the criteria of an emergent property—albeit one with extreme complexity. The formulation Life + Special neurobiological features → Phenomenal consciousness expresses these relationships. Then we consider the implications of our findings for some of the philosophical conundrums entailed by the apparent “explanatory gap” between the brain and phenomenal consciousness. We conclude that consciousness stems from the personal life of an organism with the addition of a complex nervous system that is ideally suited to maximize emergent neurobiological features and that it is an example of standard (“weak”) emergence without a scientific explanatory gap. An “experiential” or epistemic gap remains, although this is ontologically untroubling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:30:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ca2531d975bc4073989c30c88b37dde3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:30:07Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-ca2531d975bc4073989c30c88b37dde32022-12-22T01:29:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-06-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.01041537022Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory GapTodd E. Feinberg0Jon Mallatt1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Psychiatry and Neurology, New York, NY, United StatesThe University of Washington, WWAMI Medical Education Program, The University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United StatesThe role of emergence in the creation of consciousness has been debated for over a century, but it remains unresolved. In particular there is controversy over the claim that a “strong” or radical form of emergence is required to explain phenomenal consciousness. In this paper we use some ideas of complex system theory to trace the emergent features of life and then of complex brains through three progressive stages or levels: Level 1 (life), Level 2 (nervous systems), and Level 3 (special neurobiological features), each representing increasing biological and neurobiological complexity and ultimately leading to the emergence of phenomenal consciousness, all in physical systems. Along the way we show that consciousness fits the criteria of an emergent property—albeit one with extreme complexity. The formulation Life + Special neurobiological features → Phenomenal consciousness expresses these relationships. Then we consider the implications of our findings for some of the philosophical conundrums entailed by the apparent “explanatory gap” between the brain and phenomenal consciousness. We conclude that consciousness stems from the personal life of an organism with the addition of a complex nervous system that is ideally suited to maximize emergent neurobiological features and that it is an example of standard (“weak”) emergence without a scientific explanatory gap. An “experiential” or epistemic gap remains, although this is ontologically untroubling.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01041/fullanimal consciousnessexplanatory gapevolutioncomplex systemsphysicalismneurobiology |
| spellingShingle | Todd E. Feinberg Jon Mallatt Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory Gap Frontiers in Psychology animal consciousness explanatory gap evolution complex systems physicalism neurobiology |
| title | Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory Gap |
| title_full | Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory Gap |
| title_fullStr | Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory Gap |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory Gap |
| title_short | Phenomenal Consciousness and Emergence: Eliminating the Explanatory Gap |
| title_sort | phenomenal consciousness and emergence eliminating the explanatory gap |
| topic | animal consciousness explanatory gap evolution complex systems physicalism neurobiology |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01041/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT toddefeinberg phenomenalconsciousnessandemergenceeliminatingtheexplanatorygap AT jonmallatt phenomenalconsciousnessandemergenceeliminatingtheexplanatorygap |