A Non-equilibrium Thermodynamic Framework of Consciousness

Abstract

In this paper, we take a brief look at the advantages and disadvantages of dominant frameworks in consciousness studies -- functionalist and causal structure theories, and use it to motivate a new non-equilibrium thermodynamic framework of consciousness. The main hypothesis in this paper will be two thermodynamic conditions obtained from the non-equilibrium fluctuation theorems -- TCC 1 and 2, that the author proposes as necessary conditions that a system will have to satisfy in order to be 'conscious'. These descriptions will look to specify the functions achieved by a conscious system and restrict the physical structures that achieve them without presupposing either of the two. These represent an attempt to integrate consciousness into established physical law (without invoking untested novel frameworks in quantum mechanics and/or general relativity). We will also discuss it's implications on a wide range of existing questions, including a stance on the hard problem. The paper will also explore why this framework might offer a serious path forward to understanding consciousness (and perhaps even realizing it in artificial systems) as well as laying out some problems and challenges that lie ahead.

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