consciousness viewed in the framework of brain phase spacedynamics, criticality, and the...

7/29/2019 Consciousness Viewed in the Framework of Brain Phase SpaceDynamics, Criticality, And the Renormalization Group

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ConsciousnessViewedintheFrameworkofBrainPhaseSpaceDynamics,Criticality,and

the RenormalizationGroup.

GerhardWerner

DepartmentofBiomedicalEngineering

UniversityofTexasatAustin

Abstract

TosetthestageforviewingConsciousnessintermsofbrainphasespacedynamicsandcriticality,I willfirst

reviewcurrentlyprominenttheoreticalconceptualizationsand,whereappropriate,identify illadvisedandflawed

notionsinTheoreticalNeuroscience that mayimpedeviewingConsciousness asaphenomenonin Physics.I

willfurthermoreintroducerelevantfactsthattendnottoreceiveadequateattention inmuchofthecurrent

Consciousnessdiscourse.AsanewapproachtoconceptualizingConsciousness,Iproposeconsideringitasa

collectiveachievementofthebrain'scomplexneuraldynamicsthatisamenabletostudyintheframeworkof

statespacedynamicsandcriticality. InPhysics,conceptsofphasespacetransitionsandtheRenormalization

Grouparepowerfultoolsforinterpretingphenomenainvolvingmanyscalesoflengthandtimeincomplex

systems.Thesignificanceoftheseconceptsliesintheiraccountingfortheemergenceofdifferentlevelsofnew

collectivebehaviors

in

complex

systems,

each

level

with

its

distinct

ontology,

organization

and

laws,

as

anew

patternofreality.ThepresumptionofthisproposalisthatthesubjectivityofConsciousnessistheepistemic

interpretationofalevelofrealitythatoriginatesinphasetransitionsofthebrainbodyenvironmentsystem.

1. Introduction.

Themetaphysicaltradition,prevailingintheWestsincethe17thCentury,viewsrealityasobjectiveinthe

senseofbeingaccessibleand,inprinciple,knowabletoallobservers. Thestudyof mentalphenomenasuchas

beliefs,desires,thoughts,hopes,fearsandconsciousstatesofsubjectiveexperience,generally,conflictswiththis

position: itexcludestheregionofrealitytowhichthesesubjectivephenomenabelong.Yet,asweknowwellfrom

personalexperience,thesephenomenadoexist.Toaccommodatethisfact,Searl[122]proposedthatthe

phenomenaof

subjectivity

are

realized

in

the

brain

as

an

Ontology

to

which

we

have

epistemic

access

in

the

form

ofthefeaturesofoursubjectivity. Expandingonthisview,thesubjectivityoftheMentalisnotmerelyan

epistemologicalfact; rather theepistemicaccess points towardsa (physical)ontologywhoseintrinsicproperties

(onticstates) areepistemicallyaccessibleasthe featuresof subjectivity(foronticandepistemicstates,see

Section3.3).Thus,thecentralgoalofthisessayistointroduceapointofviewthattheOntologyoftheSubjective

isconstitutedwithintheframework,andundertheauspices,ofthelawsofPhysicsandBiology.Emphatically,this

isnottoadvocatea"naturalisticdualism"inthemannerenvisaged,forinstance,byChalmers[30]forclosingthe

gapbetweenconsciousnessandtheontologyofnaturalsciences.Rather,ittakes intoaccountthatbiological

systemsgenerally[105]andbrainsinparticular(forarecentreview[31])arecomplexdynamicalsystemspoisedat

criticality.Inthiscase,levelsofobservation(and,thus,reality)arerelatedbyphasetransitionswhicharethe

subjectofcriticalphenomenain complexsystemsof nonequilibriumstatisticalmechanics[61,140].Theyare

knowntoleadtothecollectiveemergenceofmultiplelevelsoforganization,eachwithitsownontology,and

epistemicdescriptorsastheknowledgethatisempiricallyavailableaboutaphysicalsystem'sintrinsicproperties.

Aspecificaspectofthispointofviewisthe ideaoftheRenormalizationgroup [67]which considersReality

composedofahierarchyoflevels,relatedtooneanotherbyphasetransition, witheachlevelrepresentinganew

ontology asa(qualitatively)newpatternofReality[112].IsuggestthattheOntologyoftheSubjectiveisoneof

theselevelsofReality,arisingintheRenormalizationGrouptransformationofthebrain'sphasespacedynamics;

andthattheepistemicaccesstoitconstitutes ourSubjectivity.Forearlierpublicationsdiscussingaspectsof this

lineofthought,see[165,166]. Thecontentionis thatthestructuralfeaturesoftheOntology ofSubjectivity

correspond tothestructureofconsciousness,ofwhichsomeofthephenomenologicalcharacteristicsareitsunity,

thevaryingdegreetowhichitcanbe associatedwithother mentalfaculties,itsassociationwithintentionality,


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andselfattributionandreportabilityofmentalstates, tolistbutafew.Tosidesteptheconstraintsof

Phenomenology,theproponentsofNeurosciencestudiesofconsciousnessproposedseverallists

ofobservationallytestableindicatorsforconsciousnessinhumans[52,121,126,129]. Contraveningthechargeof

anthropocentrismofconsciousnessstudies, G.M. Edelmanetal[51]and D.B.EdelmanandSeth[50]discusseda

programmaticframework fordeterminingnecessaryconditions thatwouldascertainfeaturesofconsciousnessin

nonmammalianspecies:avianspeciespassedthetest,butthecaseforCephalopodesremainsundecided. Seth

[124]asks

the

important

question:

"Does

Consciousness

have

afunction

?and

ifso,

what

might

it

be

?

Interest

in

thisquestionis,inpart,duetoseekingguidancefordesigningartificialconsciousness.Inviewofconsciousnessnot

beingaunitaryphenomenon,itisusefultodistinguishaprimaryconsciousnessforongoingperceptualmotor

adaptabilityinthepresentfromthehigherorderconsciousnessofselfreflectionandinterpretativefunctionality.

Inanycase,however,thecapacityforgloballymobilizingandintegratingseparateandindependentfunctions

seemstobeadistinctiveproperty[11].

Noticehowdecisivelytheproposedoutlookdiffersfromtheapproachestothe'MindBody'relationthatseeks

toground subjectivephenomena(inpartalsothoseofFolkPsychology)reductivelyinabiologicalphysical

ontology.Theinadequacyofthisattemptis,inpart,evidentfromthestrictlyinternaliststanceofthe "NewWave

Reductionism"[25,156]ofrisingpopularity. Internalismisalsoaliabilityinconsidering neuralandphysical

processesorstates ascorrelated [109]. Stillmoredamaging,however,istheconfoundingofcorrelationwith

causation. Thenotion

of

"Neural

Correlates

of

Consciousness"

proposed

by

Koch

[86,

148])

as

the

"minimal

neuronalmechanismsjointlysufficientforanyonespecificconsciouspercept" isatbestoflimitedvalue,atworst

misleadingsincecorrelationmustnotbetakenasevidenceofcausalityexceptinthecontextofanappropriate

theoreticalframework[5,57,58]. Butthisismissing.Indistinction,theExplanatoryCorrelatesofSeth[123]intendedtoaccountforessentialfeaturesofconsciousness,meetthisrequirementbybeinganchoredin

existingtheories.Byvirtueofthis,theycanalsosetthestageforsimulationmodelsandpossibilitiesfordesigning

consciousartifacts[35].Thediscussionoftheseissueswillbetakeninthefollowingsections.

3. Thebackground

3.1Oncurrentneurobiologicaltheoriesofconsciousness

Ingeneral terms, manycurrenttheoriesofbrainfunctionattributeasignificantroletoneuronalsynchrony at

ameso ormacroscopiclevel. Inthewakeof Varela'setal[158] publicationontheBrainWeb, the coordination

of activitybetweenneuronsandneuronassembliesbyphasesynchronyofneuronfiringpatterns becamean

intenselystudiedresearchtopic,motivatedinpartbyseekingto ascertainitspotentialrelevanceforperformance

inpsychophysicaltestsand,possibly,also forconsciousness:citingmerelyafewrecentreviews:Varelaand

Thompson[157], Mellonietal[98], Uhlhaasetal[155]. Acollectionofpapersin"DynamicCoordinationinthe

Brain:fromNeuronstoMind"[159]alsodiscussestheseandvariousrelatedaspects. Consequences

ofsynchronousactivityofneuronsintheformofneuronaldischargepatterns,membranepotentialsorasfield

potentials maybevariouslydescribed intermsof couplingor coordinating activity,implyingsomeformof

informationsharing.However,synchronydoesnotnecessarilycapturethetotalityofinformational sharingthat

mayobtain,nordoforvariousreasons,crosscorrelationsormutualinformation,asKlinkneretal[84]proved. A

newmeasureof 'InformationalCoherence'forestimating theneuralinformationsharingand coordinated

activity,designedbytheseauthors,isbasedonmutualinformationof dynamical states(constructed ascausal

statemodels),ratherthanmerelyobservables. TheanalysisbyKlinkeretal warrantssomereluctanceto

accepting phasesynchronyasmeaningful measure, andTononiandLaureys[147]raiseadditionalargumentsfor

skepticismregardingtheintuitivelyappealing,thoughconceptually missing linkbetweenneuronal synchrony(or

itsinformationalequivalent)ontheonehand, andthe "binding"ofelementsofneuralactivity to unified


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percepts.

Among neurobiologicaltheoriesofconsciousness,(see,forinstance[87][,Iturninthefollowingtothe

frameworkoftheNeuronalGroupSelectiontheory[52,53] becauseofitsdetailedformulation,andthemultiple

ramificationsitengenders.Itfeaturesprominentlythethedynamicinteractionamongwidelydistributedgroupsof

neurons

via

reentrant

and

reciprocal

mapping

[52],

Among

those

interactions,

the

thalamo

cortical

system

is

thoughttooccupyaprivilegedroleasthe'dynamiccore.Performanceincomputationalsimulationsare

interpretableintermsofgenerally recognizedpropertiesofconsciousness[129]. Thenotionofthereentrant

dynamicisalsoreadilycompatiblewiththeimaginativesynthesisofevidencefromPsychology,whichBaars

[14]introducedasthe'Globalworkspacetheory'ofconsciousexperience. Baarsdevelopeditsprinciples

subsequently toa'cognitivetheoryofconsciousness'[11,12,13]accordingtowhichmultipleprocessors

dynamically constitutecontextdependentcoalitionsforgainingaccesstoalimitedcapacityglobalworkspace.This

principlehasbecomeacentralcomponent intheNeuronalGroup framework aswellasrelatedconstellationof

ideas. Remarkably,arobotdesignedonthe informationflow principlesof thistheorydisplayed anticipationand

planningbasedoninternalsimulationofinteractionswiththeenvironment,aswellasactionselectionmediated

byanaffectlikevaluationfunction[132].IwillreturntothisissueinSection3.3.Inaseparateandextendedseries

ofstudies,

Dehaene,

Changeux

and

colleagues

[44,45]

implemented

global

workspace

architectures

as

"neuronal

globalworkspace" forcomparisonwithperformanceinpsychophysicaltests,andtodissectconscious,

preconsciousandsubliminalformsofprocessing[43,46].Foramoredetailedaccountofthisremarkable

convergenceof foundationalideasofvariedoriginandnature,Irefertomypreviousreview[168].Finally,Wallace

[161,162]contributedtwoelegantmathematicaltheoriesoftheglobalworkspaceideatowhichIwillreturnin

Sections4and5.

Thedynamiccoretheoryengenderedseminalideasdesignedtoprobemoredeeplysomeaspectsofits

functionalrepertoire: oneofthem isthedefinitionofacomplexitymeasure forthebrain[153,154]. The

approachrestsontheintuitionthatcognitionwouldrequireintegrationofmultipledisparatesources(subsystems)

inthebrain[52]. Complexity,inthepresentcontextmeansinterdependenceamongsubsystems.Itcanbe

estimatedas

the

statistical

measure

of

Mutual

Information

shared

by

subsystems:

accordingly,

their

independence

isreflectedinalow,and theirintegration inahighvalueofthismeasure. Computationalmodelsfeaturing

reciprocal andparallelconnectionsamongfunctionallysegregated groupsofneuronsexhibitspontaneouslyhigh

valuesoftheMutualInformationsharedbytheconstituentneurongroups,asdocorticalconnectionmatrices

basedonneuroanatomicaldatafrommacaquevisualcortex,implementedasdynamicalsystems[138,139]:these

corticalconnectionpattersdoindeedgeneratefunctionalconnectivityofhighcomplexity,basedonhighly

connectedandcoherentfunctionalclusters.Accordingly,theproposedcomplexitymeasuredoescapture the

degreeofsubsystemintegration whichcanbeattributedtocorrelatedpatternsofneuronalactivity among

differentgroupsofneurons. Moreover,thevalueofthecomplexitymeasurechangeswith stimulusinduced

alterationsoffunctionalconnectivity,wherebythemodel'sintrinsiccomplexitycomestomatchadaptivelythe

statisticalstructureoftheexternalinput. Subsystemintegration,reflectedinMutualInformation,isinthissetting

thoughtof

as

aform

of

Information

processing

[152].

However,

it

must

be

noted

that

the

proposed

complexity

measureisnotunique:itisjustoneofafamilyofinformationtheoreticmetricsbasedontheintuitionof

segregationintegrationbalance[18].Iwillresumethispointwhendiscussinganextendedframeworkoftheories

andmeasuresofconsciousness [128].

Proceedingfromtheforegoingbasis,Tononiandassociates[16,149,150,151] formalizedandrefinedin

successivestepsthe"InformationIntegrationTheoryofConsciousness.Atthefundamentallevel,consciousnessis

inthis theory viewedasintegratedinformation:'Integratedinformation"isunderstoodasinformationgenerated


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byasystemselecting onefromamongallpossiblestatesitcanassume.Theparticularstateselectedisafunction

oftwofactors:thesystem'srangeofapriori availablestates,andthosestatesthatthesystemaposteriori (i.e.afterreceivingsomeinputstimulus) intrinsically,onthebasisofitsintrinsicarchitectureanddynamics, identifies

as beingcausallyrelatedtoelementsofits apriorirepertoire.Thedifferencebetweenaprioriandaposterioriselection istheeffectiveinformationthatmatters:IntegratedInformationisthentheinformationgenerated(i.e.

reduction

of

uncertainty

facing

a

stimulus)

attributable

to

causal

interaction

among

system

elements,

in

excess

of

theinformationgeneratedbythesystem'sparts.Thetheorypostulatesthatthisquantityisequivalenttothelevel

ofconsciousness.Giventheseassumptions,itisthenpossibletoquantifyIntegratedInformationinmodelsas

functionofsystemarchitectureanddynamics:althoughforcomputationalreasonslimitedtosmallsystemsize.

Tononietalshowinsupportofthistheorythatneurobiologicallyplausiblesystemarchitecturesareassociated

withhighlevelsofIntegratedInformation.BalduzziandTononi [16] thengoontodevelopmathematical

proceduresforcharacterizing informationalrelationsfordynamical systemsofdiscreteelementswhichevolvein

statespaceby Markovian transitions.InformationIntegrationisinthismodelmeasuredastheinformation

generatedbythesystem'stransitiontooneparticularoutofthepossiblestates.Thereasoningisthusanalogous

totheearlierdescribed(static)measure,butbasedonevolvingshapesinthesystem'sstatespace,ratherthanon

staticvalues.BalduzziandTononi[16] thenarguethattheseshapesmeetcriteriaforcharacterizing qualitiesof

consciousexperiences.

An

initial

attempt

to

model

essential

aspects

of

the

theory

succeeded

in

generating

meaningfulbehaviorinavirtualrobot[66]. NathanandBarbos [107]applyanetworkalgorithimicproceduretoa

computationalmodelofthecortexfor obtainingameasureof informationintegration. Inductionofanesthesia

reducesthebrain's informationintegrationcapacity [93].

Theessentialpointisthethoughtthatasystem generatesmoreinformationthanthesumofitsparts,andthat

"integratedinformation"measurestheextenttowhichthesystem'scapacityallows thistooccur,beitunder

staticordynamicregimes,associatedwithlevelversusqualityof information (consciousness?),respectively.

BarrettandSeth[19]challengetheapproachchosenbyTononiandassociatesontwocounts:first,becauseofthe

practicallimitationsoftheproposedalgorithms;and,second,morefundamentally, becauseofitsrestrictionto

discreteMarkovsystemswhich limitsthetheory'sgenerality. BarrettandSeth(l.c.)frameinformationintegration

interms

of

process

(rather

than

capacity;

see

above)

and

present

an

approach

that

would

be

suitable

for

simulatingsensorymotorcoordinationininformationrichenvironments.

InessentialdifferencefromTononi'sinformationbasedapproach,SethandEdelman[127] andSeth[125]

considerpopulationactivitypatternsas causallyeffectiveratherthaninformationbearingrepresentations

underlyingcomputations.TheessentialelementsoftheirimplementationaregraphtheoryandGrangercausality

(fordetails:[47,69])intheserviceofaprincipledcausalconnectivityanalysisofnetworkdynamics[130]: Granger

causality,revealing recurrentstructuresofanetworkinwhichneuronsareembedded,canbeappliedto

represent interactionsbetweenvariablesasdirectededgesingraphs.Inthisform,thecausaldensityofnetwork

dynamicsiscapturedasthefractionofinteractionsamongthenodesthatarecausallyeffective.Causaldensityis

thusaprocessmeasureofnetworkdifferentiationintegration.TheSethEdelmanmodelheedstheadmonitions

fromthe

views

on

embedded

Cognition

(see

for

instance:

[34])

by

taking

into

account

the

continuous

causal

interactions amongbrain,bodyandenvironment. Behaviorallearningviasynapticplasticityisviewedasshaping

theselectionofcausalpathwaysinneuralpopulations,intheframeworkof Edelman'sDarwinianselectionist

theory.Thesegeneralnotionsareimplemented, andputtotest, in abrainbaseddevicethatallowsthetracking

of(simulated)neuronalactivityduringbehaviorinspatialnavigationtasksinrealenvironments(DarwinX:[89],

[90]). Theanalysiscentersondeterminingthemultiplepathsoffunctionalinteractionsthatleadintimetoa

selectedneuron'sactivationwithinfluenceonbehavior(theReferenceNeuron,RN). Thecausalsignificanceof

everyconnectioninthe networkofinteractingpathsleadingtoRN isestimatedasGrangerCausality, foreach


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connectionbasedontheactivitytimeseriesofthepre andpostsynapticneuron,respectively.Removingdeadend

connectionsfromtheGrangernetworkthatdonotparticipateinthecausalchainleadingtoRNfinallyidentifiesits

causalcore. Analyzingthemodel'spatternsofactivityrevealed severalmeaningfulinsights,ofwhichImention

buttwofortheprincipledinsightinto thenetworkdynamicstheyafford: variabilityofneuralactivityleadingtoa

giveneventistheexpressionofthediversityofdynamicrepertoiresfromamongwhichselectionoccursby

pathway

shifting

in

time;

and

behavioral

learning

manifests

itself

at

the

population

level

as

progressive

refinement

andeventualselectionof(metaphoricallyspeaking:bysculpting) specificcausalpathways(causalcores)from

amongtheavailablelargerepertoireavailableforneuronalinteractions.

Inassessingmeritsandliabilitiesoftheapproaches listedintheforgoing,Sethetal[128] concludethatnoneof

themfullycapturetherequiredmultidimensionalcomplexityofaneurobehavioralsystemthatcould accountfor

objectivelymeasurablefeaturesofconsciousness;andthatallofthemhavepracticallimitations.Aslandmarksfor

approachingsatisfactionoftheserequirements,theauthorscontinuetoinsistonadheringtothetheoretical

frameworkoftheNeuronalGroupSelectionTheoryandtheconceptofthedynamiccore,emphasizingits

participationinthetransactionalprocessesbetweenorganism(model)andtheenvironmentallyembeddedbody.

Thedecisiveissueliesinextendingthepreviouslyconsiderednotionsofcomplexity.Tothisend,thenotionof a

multidimensionalRelevant

Complexity

is

introduced,

requiring

at

least

three

dimensions

of

temporal,

spatial

and

recursivecomplexity:theformertwodimensions,each,coveringawiderangeof temporalandspatialscales; the

laterdesignatingtheintegrationdifferentiationbalanceacrossdifferentlevelsofsystemdescriptionwhichwould

ideallyextendfromthelevelofmolecularsynapticdynamicstothatofreentrantinteractionsamongsegregated

brainregions.Implementingthis ambitiousvisioninabrainbaseddevicewouldundoubtedlybealargestep

towardssimulatingbehaviorunderconsciousguidance.

Consideringtheideaof RelevantComplexityaspivotal requirespayingtributetothebodyhousingthebrain:

following,inpart, theseminalinsightsofDamasio [39] the globalWorkspace theoryacknowledges theroleof

emotionandvaluativejudgmentsofConsciousness [14] takenalreadyintoaccountinShanahan's[131]model,

citedearlier. However,itappearsthatthenotionofCoreConsciousnesswhichDamasioformulatesprimarilyon

thebasis

of

insights

from

Clinical

Neurology

warrants

still

much

more

detailed

attention.

The

extensive

studies

of

theReticularActivatingSystemoftheneurophysiologistofthe50sand60s,recentlyreviewedbySteriade[143]

and placedinthecontextofsleepandarousal([97], andtheelaboratemechanismsofregisteringthebody's

condition [37] assumerenewedsignificancefor thesomatosensingfunctions andstructures,necessaryfor

consciousness[110]. Evidently,an extendedinfrastructure subserves interoceptiveintegration,orchestrating

the corticothalamicdynamicswiththeinterestsandcapabilitiesofthebody,anditshomeostaticregulation,in

theserviceofconsciousness[38].

Thenextsectionwillbrieflysketchsomesnapshotsoftheprevailingconceptuallandscapeof Cognitive

Neuroscience,aspartoftheintellectualclimatewithpotentialinfluenceontheorientationin neurobiologyof

consciousnessstudies.

3.2:Consciousness"inthewild"

Paraphrasing thetitleofHutchins's[75] wellknownbookisintendedtoannouncethetargetofthissection

whichistoreview,howeverbrieflyandnotnecessarilyinanyorderofpriority,whatittakestobeconsciousunder

conditionsofordinary,dailylife.Youneednotbeafanofthecriticismofneurosciencediscourseleveledby

BennettandHacker[22],noranardentWittgensteinian, toacknowledgethattheoftenencountered locution

brainsthink"orbrainsareconsciousisdrasticallywrongandmisleading,even ifonlyusedas ashortcutor


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metaphorically.WhatIStobeconsideredconsciousarepersons,embeddedandimmersedina materialandsocial

worldinreciprocalinteraction bywhichtheyareinlargemeasureconstituted(forarecent lucidanalysis,see

[120]).Thisdoesnotofcourseprecludeanimalsfromhavingsomeformsofconsciousness,asmentionedearlier,

butforpresentpurposesitispersonsIamhavinginmind,whosecapabilityforintelligentactionincludesthe

purposefulutilizationofresourcestheenvironmentoffersintheformof sensorymotorinteractiononwhich

numerous

authors

agree

[34,

100,

118,

170].

The

extent

to

which

the

environment

itself

is

in

fact

an

'extended

mind"isatpresentcontroversial[32,33,99,163]

Tosomeextentreminiscentofthesubmarinenavigatorin MaturanaandVarela's "Treeofknowledge"[96]

Metzinger[101,102] developed inlargedetailaSelfModelTheoryofSubjectivity(SMT).Comparingthefunction

ofthehumanbrainwiththatofaflightsimulator,itreceivescontinuousinputfromsensoryorgansfor

constructinganinternalrepresentationoftheexternalreality.Experientially,oneisnotaware thatthisinternal

representationisbutamodeloftheexternalreality.Consciousexperienceand first personperspectiveofan

individualSelfofConsciousnessissaidtoconsistsinactivatingthis worldmodel,butleavesconditionsfor

activation unexplained. Inthisworldofvirtualrealityandembodiedsimulation,themotorsystemconstructs

goals,actionsandintendingselves [103], andentersintosocialtraffic [63,64],,thelatterthoughttoinvolve

specificallyaclassofneurons(appropriatelycalledMirroNeurons)intheforebrainforbidirectionalinteraction

withtheenvironment [116].Moregenerally,GalleseandLakoff [65] suggestthatthesensorymotorsystemhas

therightkindofstructureforcharacterizing some abstractconcepts:theirideaofneuralexploitation refersto

puttingtheinternalizedmodelofsensorymotorbrainmechanismintheserviceofnewrolesinCognition. One

shouldexpectsupportofSMTfromreportsofoutofbodyexperience. Theprincipleofthesestudiesisto

experimentallyinducemultisensoryconflictswhichwoulddisrupttheprereflectivebodilyfoundationsofthe

experientialselfmodel[27].Numerousobservationsdoindeedattestthatsuchconditionsdistortspatialunity,

createtheexperienceofavirtualbodyoutsidetheregularbodyboundaries,locatestimuli tobodypartsother

thanthosetowhichthestimuli were applied,tonamebutafewprominent manifestations.Thesephenomena

canalsobeassociatedwithcertainneurologicaldisorders,notablyofthetemporoparietaljunctionofthecortex.I

submit,however,thattherelationofexperimentalandnaturalbodyconceptaberrationstoSMTisambiguous

inasmuchasitisliabletoconfound basicperceptualcognitivefunctionswithconsciousness.

Inpassing,onemight provocativelysay:'Consciousstatescanbecontagious', referringtothe imitation

theoriesofculture[48] and the 'collectivestatesincoupledbrains'ofwhichBenzon([23],p.59)speaksasakind

ofgroupintentionality, specificallyhavingtheactivity the 'musicking'byensemblesinmind.Graspingthe

intentionsofotherswithone'smirrorneuronsystemseemstobequitegenerallyinvolved invariousformsof

interpersonalrelations[64,76,115].

Returningtobasics:the brain'sactivityresponsiblefortheformationSMT isassumedtoconsist of complex

informationprocessingandrepresentationalmechanisms.ItisthusindebtedtonotionsadoptedfromCognitive

Neuroscience[102]. Inthenextsection,IwillcriticallydiscusssomeaspectsoftheroleofNeuro andCognitive

scienceforconsciousnessstudies.

3.3QualitycontrolofadoptionsandimportsfromNeuro andCognitiveScience

ConsciousnessstudiescanbeexpectedtoselectivelydrawonconceptsthatarebasedintheNeuro and

CognitiveSciences.RepresentationalmechanismsandInformationprocessing,mentionedinthecontextofSMT,


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areexamplesofsuchimportswhosestandinginthesourcedisciplinesis farfrombeinguncontroversial.Inpat,

thetroubleliestherewithInformationalSemantics[49] andtheintuitionsithasinstilled: itassumesacausalco

variationinthesensethateventAcarriesinformationabouteventB,andBhasnowrepresentationalcontentof

A. Butlawgovernedprocessescanvirtuallybeadimeadozenwhichmakesinformationubiquitous,hencethe

needforsubjectingtherelationtoconstraintssuppliedbyanobserver. Grush[71,72]resolvesthisconundrumby

defining

representations

as

"entities

which

are

used

to

stand

for

something

else",

with

the

emphasis

on

the

word

'use, indicatingtherebythattheproperroleofRepresentationsisforofflineuse,ashesuggests,under

counterfactualconditions. Similarly,considerthepatternillustratedbythe relation"itisnomicallynecessarythat

litmus(s)turnsred(r)inacid": Theinformationalrelationobtains betweens'sbeinginacertainway,andr's

beinginacertainway;withthesourcesbeingF,andthereceptorrbeingG.ThenthefactthatrisGcarriesthe

informationthatsisFifandonlyifitisnomicallynecessarythatsisFgiventhatrisG, subjecttoceterisparibusconditionswhichneedtobeconstrained byanobserver [118]. BothcasessupportHaugeland's[74]

conclusionthatthereisnoprincipledwayforviewingbrainandenvironmentasseparatesystems,albeitamenable

tofunctionalseparabilitybycriteriathatneedtobesuppliedbyanobserverandarethusnotintrinsictothe

system.

Problemswith

Information

and

associated

notions

run

still

deeper:

in

Computational

and

System

Neuroscience,dataandconclusionsarefrequentlystatedintermsofsomemeasureofInformationbasedon

Shannon's MathematicalTheoryofCommunication(MTG), withtheoffshootsof InformationTheoryandthe

notionofInformationProcessing,thelatterlargelymodeledaftertheTheoryofComputation. Thevalidityof

reporteddatamust,thus,dependontheirsourcehavingmetthespecificassumptionsoftheparentTheories:for

instancethattheneuraldatafulfillthepremisesofMTGsuchasergodicityandnormalityof datadistribution.

However,arecentreviewandreappraisal of alargecollectionofdata intheNeuroscience literature showsthat

theydonotgenerallymeet criteriathataccordwiththeseassumptions [31,164]. Instead,thereissubstantial

evidenceforfractalityandselfsimilarityinspaceandtime,atalllevelsoforganization,extendingfromindividual

neuronsto fieldpotentials,EEGandfMRIrecords,andto perceptualpsychophysicalandcognitivefunctions.

AdditionalrecentobservationalandtheoreticalstudiesbyGrigolinietal[70] andAllegrinietal2,3]ofglobal

intermittentdynamics

of

collective

excitations

in

the

resting

state

Electroencephalogram

(EEG)

add

an

important

newdimension:theRapidTransitionProcesses(RTP),previouslyidentifiedbyKaplanetal[79] andexaminedin

greatdetailby Fingelkurtsetal[59,60] arenotonlyevidenceforrapidintermittenttransitionprocessesofglobal

metastabletransitions,buttheyalsodisplaymultichannelavalanchesintheformofsimultaneouslyoccurring

RTPsinseveralEEGrecordingsites. TheavalancheswereidentifiedbyapplyingthemethodwhichBeggsand

Plenz[21] hadused atthemesoscopiclevelofneuralorganization. Severalstatisticalmeasuresofmultichannel

avalanchesexhibitinversepowerlawstatistics.Thus,theavalanchesattesttoastateofselforganizedcriticalityat

thelevelofthewholecortex,anditscomplexity.Oncloseranalysis,however,itturnsoutthatdifferentcortical

areashavedifferentdegreesofcomplexity.Theundoubtedlysignificantconsequencesofthisobservation warrant

furtherinvestigation.

Taken

together,

these

various

strands

of

evidence

suggest

the

need

for

channeling

Theoretical

Neuroscience

intodirectionswhichareatvariancewithstillwidelyheldbeliefs,reflectedincurrentlyauthoritativesourcessuch

asforinstance:[40, 42].

Finally,recallthatInformationdoesnothaveanaturalOntologyandisaccordingly,notintrinsictothebrain:

Information,includingmeasureslikeEntropyetc,referstothestateofknowledgeofanobserver,andisnot

intrinsictothephysicsofasystem[85]. Norisprogrammablecomputationintrinsicallyanaturalprocess:rather,it

isputtingPhysicsintheserviceoftheuser'ssyntaxandsemantics[166].


8/19

AtmanspacherandRotter[5] directattentiontotheintricaciesofonticandepistemicstates,theformer

referringto aphysicalstateassuch,asitisindependentofanobserver;thelatter referringtotheusuallycontext

dependent knowledgethatcanbeobtainedaboutanonticstate.Relationsbetweenonticandepistemicstates

getintricateinhierarchicinterlevel relations:itisthenpossiblethatstatesandpropertiesofasystem,viewed

epistemicallyatonelevelofdescriptioncanbeconsidered onticintheperspectiveofahigherlevel(i.e.objects

constituted

from

descriptions);

also,

compositions

of

lower

level

objects

can

be

epistemically

described,

but

alternativelyalsoontically characterized as'buildingblocks'ofhigherlevelobjects[9]. Hence,onticitycanbe

relativetocontext. Whyarethesedistinctionsimportant?Becauseitdependsonthemwhetheragivenitemcan

beconsideredonthelevelofrealityandsubjecttolawsofnature,ortosubjectiveperspectivaldiscourse.In

complexsystems,thisdistinctionistheessentialfordifferentiating(computational)processesintrinsictoontic

statesfromtransactionsamongtheir(epistemic)descriptions.Thesedistinctionsarealsodecisiveforinterlevel

relations: forinstance,forderivingadescriptionofasystem'sfeatures fromalowerleveldescription,inwhich

caseBishopandAtmanspacher[26] andAtmanspacher[7]additionalcontingentcontextualconditionsare

required.Forillustrating theprincipleof 'contextualemergence'withanexamplefromPhysics,consider that

temperatureasanovelphenomenalproperty,byitselfalone, cannotbederived fromalowerlevelstatistical

mechanicaldescription.However,providingacontext intheform ofcertainstabilityconditions,temperature

emergesas

anovel

property

at

the

level

of

thermodynamics.

In

this

conceptual

framework,

coarse

grained

descriptionofneuralactivitycanprovidethenecessaryconditionsfortheemergenceof(phenomenal)mental

statedescriptions atthecognitivelevel, withstabilitycriteriafromSymbolicDynamicsasthecontext[6]. Note

thatthisprocessestablishesanepistemicrelationbetweenneuro andcognitivedynamics,andconcurrentlyalso

resolvesthenotorioussymbolgroundingproblem[73].

Thepointofallthisisthatconfoundingobserverrelativeandintrinsicfeaturesofobjectsoreventscanbecome

anotorioussourceofconfusionandfalseattributions,ofwhichcertainusesof'information','computing',

'complexity'[10] andconsciousnessarepotentiallysusceptiblevictims.

Takentogether,thesevariousintrinsicuncertaintiesinCognitiveNeuroscienceandthepotentialsourcesof

conceptualfallaciespointtothemeritoftheprincipledgenerativeconstructiveapproachtoconsciousnessstudies,

basedon brainbaseddevicesinrealisticenvironments,withembodiednervoussystemmodelsoftransparent

designwhoseparametersareundertheinvestigator'scontrol, asexamplesreviewedinSection3.1show.

SupplementingjudiciouslychosenintuitionsgleanedfromNeurobiologywithnoveldesignsandinventions,for

stepwiserefinementofmodelperformancecanbeexpectedtoeventuallyidentifyoptimaldesignprinciplesand

competenciesrequiredforapproximatingthecapabilitiesassociatedwithConsciousness.Taketheexampleof

Shanahan's[132]abductiveframeworkforactiveperceptionwhichisanothereffectivewayforbypassingthe

symbolgroundingproblem[73] atapracticallevel,thoughnottheprincipleofthemeasurementdependent

Heisenbergcut[10] separatingthephysicsofratedependentdynamicalstatesfromarbitrarysymbols[111]; an

issue commonly neglectedincurrentCognitiveNeuroscience,yetunderminingitatafundamentallevel.

Withthegeneraloutlookofthissectioninmind,Iturn next toproposingnewaspectsof the 'Relevant

Complexity'whoserequirementformultidimensionalitywasthesubstantiveinsightofthestudiesreviewedin

Section3.1

4.BrainStateSpaceDynamicsandComplexity

Studyingneuralactivityintermsofstatespacerepresentationshasprovenofimmenseheuristicvalue[160]


9/19

forcapturingthespatialandtemporaldynamicsofneuralsystemsatmicro,meso andmacroscopicgranularity.

Itsmeritliesinmakingconceptualtoolsofstatisticalmechanics[140] availableforneuraldatainterpretation.

Essentially,itentailsassociatingameasureofneuralactivitywithapoint(orregion)inausuallyhigher

dimensionalspacewithfollowingthepathtakenunderthecontrolofevolutionequations.Theevolutioncanbe

ontically characterized by Langevintypedifferentialequations,orepistemicallyas FokkerPlancktype

descriptions

of

point

clouds

or

trajectory

bundles

[5]

In

an

application

of

this

principle,

Allefeld

et

al

[1]

examined

conditionsandcriteriafor,whattheyconsider,theemergenceofmentalstatesfrombrainelectricaldynamics.The

StateSpaceapproachwasalsoappliedbyFell[58] inanattempttoidentifyneuralcorrelatedofconsciousness.

However,whatisofcrucialimportanceforthetopicofthisessayisthefactthatthedynamicsofneuralsystems

candisplay atalllevelsthepropertyofcriticality.Bythisismeantthatthepathtrajectory canundergo

bifurcationsduetosingularitiesincertainregionsofstatespace.AccordingtoCriticalTheoryofStatisticalPhysics,

asystem'scontrolparametercanbetunedtoundergosudden phasetransitionstonewmacroscopic

configurationswithdistinctlynovelproperties.Oneaspectofthesystemreconfigurationconsistsofachangeof

thecorrelationfunctionamongitselements,whichcharacterizeshowthevalueatonepointinstatespace

correlateswiththevalueatanotherpoint.Whileordinarilyextendingonlyovershortdistances,correlationlength

increaseswithapproachtothecriticalpointwhereitfinallybecomesinfinite,havingestablishedanewpatternof

collectiveinteractions

among

the

system's

components.

Theoccurrenceofsuchsingularitiesinneuraldynamicsandassociatedstatetransitionsisbynowamply

establishedforalllevelsofneuralsystemorganization,andisdocumentedinrecentreviews[31,164]. Brainphase

transitionsbetweenactiveconsciousandunconsciousstatesoccuratcriticalvaluesofanestheticconcentration

[144,145]. TheirrelevanceforhumancognitionisevaluatedbyRef.[137]. IntheframeworkoftheGlobal

WorkspaceModel,Dehaene[43] presentsevidencefornonconsciouslocalprocessingwithinspecializedmodules

priortoreachingathresholdfor"globalignition"underlying consciousreportability; theauthordoesnotdiscuss

thesefindingsintermsof phasetransitions,buthisdescriptionofobservationsishighlysuggestiveofacritical

transitioninphasespacedynamics.

Wallace[161]

applied

the

principle

of

phase

transition

to

the

Global

Workspace

Model

(GWM)

of

Baars

(see

Section3.1),viewingconsciousnessassociatedwithacoreoflimitedprocessingcapacitywhichreceivesinputfrom

acollectionofdistributed,specializedprocessorsand(unconscious)contexts.Selectingclassicalandsemiclassical

resultsfromnetworktheory[108], Wallaceconsidersnetworknodesasprocessorsoftheglobal workspace

model,andnetworklinksasmutualinformationbetweenthem.Hethenforexploresconditionsunderwhichthe

networkcoalescesbyphasetransitiontoa'giantcomponent':atermtakenfromPercolationTheory[142];see

alsoanillustrationin[166]tosignifythemergerofnetworknodestoonelargeassembly.Intuitively,onemay

interprettheformationoftheGiantcomplexasacognitiveevent.Themodelillustratesthatnetworktopologyand

clusteringoflinkagesaretunableparametersofnetworkconfigurationsthatareinterpretableasdescriptorsof

psychologicalconcepts.Thismodelofferstheadvantageofbeingintuitivelybetteraccessible,andbearingmore

directlyondatafrombiologicalnetwork andfMRIstudiesthandoesanearlierversionwhichwillbereferredtoin

Section5.

AlthoughnotbeingpartofWallace'sowndiscussionofthemodel,itdoesinviteonetospeculateonunderlying

neuralmechanismsofthekindstudiedinRef. [88] asphasetransitionsin neuropercolationmodels.Percolation

alsoturnedupinthetheoreticalworkofRef.[29] onentirelydifferentgroundsandinthecontextofdifferent

premises:applyingfieldtheoreticmethodstononequilibriumstatisticalprocessesinMarkovianneuralnetworks,

theauthorsshowedtheproclivityoftheircomputationalmodelsfordynamicalphasetransitionsofthe(directed)

percolationtype.


10/19

Thisdynamicsofstatephasetransitionsisconsidereduniversalinitsindependenceofdetailsatthemicroscopic

level[140,136] metaphoricallyspeaking,thesystem'forgets'itsoriginal microscopicstructureand propertiesby

coarsegraining, andlosesallcharacteristiclengthscalesforsystemspecificvariables:itbecomesscaleinvariant,

i.e.fractal[141]. Dissipativecomplexsystemscanattainthestateofcriticalitybyselforganizationwherethe

critical

state

is

an

attractor

for

the

dynamics

[15].

Applying

this

theoretical

framework,

Kitzbichler

et

al

[83]

comparedphasesynchronizationandscalingincriticalmodelswithglobalsynchronizationin fMRIandMEG

recordsfromhumansatrest,andfoundessentialcorrespondence,suggestingthatfunctionalsystemsinbrainexist

inastateofendogenouscriticality. Fraimanetal[62]determinedbraincorrelationnetworksfromfMRIvoxelto

voxelcorrelationsunderthesamecomputationalconditions.Contrastingtheirhumandatawithcorrelation

networksfromcomputationalsimulationofacomputationalmodelofmagneticspins(Isingmodel)showedclose

correspondenceinallrelevantrespects,thusalsosupportingtheconjectureofthehumanbrainatrestfunctioning

nearacriticalpoint.Inaddition,theinvestigatorsofthisandRef.[56]werestruckbytheemergenceofnontrivial

collectivestatesinthecriticalstate.Asnotedbefore,statetransitioninphysicalsystemsisreflectedbythe

correlationcoefficientattwodifferentpointsinspaceandatdifferenttimes.Intheiranalysesofhumandataat

successivespatialcoarsegrainingsteps,theyuncoveredselfsimilarityofcorrelations,whilethetemporalpattern

followedas

usual

1/f

frequency

(i.e.

power

law)

behavior

of

the

power

spectrum.

The

authors

of

this

study

suggestthatthedynamicalselfsimilarityaffordstheopportunityforbrainstatestoalternatebetweenmetastable

states(attractors)ofpredominantlyshort orlongdistancecorrelations. Phenomenologically,thissuggestionis

reminiscentofthebrain'sstateaccordingtothetheoryofExtendedCoordinationDynamicswhich,

however,interprets Metastability inadifferently:namelyasexpressionof the opposingtendenciesof

complementarypairsofbrainstates,yet functioningcollectivelyascoupled pairs,withouteverbecoming

attractorsfortakingcontrol[55,81,82].Althoughthisisnotsostatedbytheauthors,onecouldperhaps

attributethe'overlappingtendencies'tothesharingofanattractorbasin? Ineithercase,Metastabilityappearsto

subservelocalsegregation (specialization)andglobalintegrationofcorticalregions.

Thevirtualubiquityoffractalphenomenologyinthebrainandofmanycognitivefunctions[24,70,164],inpart

atleast

accounted

for

by

self

organizing

processes,

is

atelling

signature

of

their

complexity,

and

supports

viewing

thebrainpoisedtocriticalitywhereinverse powerlawcorrelationsobtaininspaceandtime.Tothis,Allegrinietal

[2] addedimportantnewevidence,basedonstudyingthe'rapidtransitionprocesses' (RTP)inthe

Electroencephalogram,originallyidentifiedbyKaplanetal[79]theseareabruptchangesinEEGamplltude,

interspersedbetweensegmentsofregularamplitudeandwaveshape. WhenrecordingfromseveralEEG

electrodesconcurrently,Figelkurtsetal[59,60] hadnotedsimultaneityofRTP'sinseveralrecordingchannelsata

frequencyabovetheexpectedstatisticalaverage,suggestingcollectiveactivityoffunctionalneuronassemblies.

Toisolateconcurrentspatiotemporalpatternsof RTP's. Allegrini (l.c.)thenapplied theprocedureofRef. [21]

hadsuccessfullyusedforavalanchedetectionatthemesoscopiclevel. Theresultsunequivocallyidentifieda

fractalavalanchingprocessofselforganizedcriticalityinvolvedinglobalmetastabletransitions.Moreover,

regionaldifferencesinscalingbehaviorshowedthatcorticalareasdifferinrespecttotheircomplexity.Weareleft

withthe

question:

do

these

data

characterize

the

status

of

the

default

mode

network

(the

subjects

were

at

rest),

ordotheyspeaktotheintegratedneuraldynamicssustainingconsciousness?

Asiswellknown,Complexity(togetherwithemergence,informationdynamics,andrelated notions)isa

bottomlessbarrelofdifferentopinions,idiosyncraticdefinitions,andperceptions:seeforinstance:Ref.[113].

However,thefocusofinteresthasshiftedtowardsthenascentfieldofComplexNetworks,situatedatthe

intersectionofgraphtheoryandstatisticalphysics[36].Theircommonfeaturesareinversepowerlawstatistical

distributions,multiplicityofscales,manifestationsofnonstationary,andnonergodicstatisticalprocesses. A


11/19

complexnetwork'scapacityforstoringinformationisdefinedbyitsstatisticalentropy[4,134].Realnetworks

occurringinNatureseemtoclusterinarelativelynarrowregionofentropynoisespace. Internaltoa

network,informationtransferbetweennetworknodesdependsonthenetworktopology:itisoptimalatornear

thenetwork's phasetransition [80].Atthiscriticalpoint,selforganizedneuralnetworksarealsooptimizedfor

cooperativelearning[41] andmemoryfunction[94;seealso[28],section5.3].

Althoughalsodealingwithinformationtransfer,Allegrini's (Il.c.)findingof corticalareasdifferingin

complexity(seeforegoing)introducesan entirelydifferentsituation,namelyinformationexchangebetween

complexnetworks.Aseriesoftheoreticalmathematicalstudies,summarizedbyWestetal[171]wereconcerned

withanalyzinghowonecomplexnetworkrespondstoperturbationbyasecondcomplexnetwork:thisisviewed

asaformofinformationtransportfromonenetworktoanother,inprinciplecomparabletostochasticresonance

(forinstance:Mossetal[106],exceptfor involvinginteractingcomplexnetworks.Inthiscase,theinteractionof

complexSystemSwithcomplexsystemPshowsthatPinheritsthecorrelationfunctionfromS; itdoesso

optimallyifSandPhavethesamepowerlawindex;hencethedesignationofthisphenomenonasComplexity

MatchingEffect.Allegrinietal(l.c.)andBianconietal(l.c.)validated thetheoreticalpredictionswithdatafrom

Electroencephalogramrecordings,statistically representinganonergodic,nonPoissonrenewalprocess,with

powerlaw

indices


12/19

the 'criticalexponents' areuniversalinthesensethattheyapplytoentireclassesofsystemswhichcanconsist of

materialsofverydifferentmicroscopicconstituents.Onethenspeaksofuniversalityclassesthat havesomevery

generalsystempropertiesincommon,suchasdimensionalityandthelengthofrangeofinteractions. (For

introductoryaccounts:[68,173]).

For

the

purposes

of

this

essay,

the

focus

is

on

the

"Renormalization

Group

View

of

the

World"

[133].

It

derives

fromthecomputationalapproachofRNGinasmuchasitelevatesitscomputationalachievementstoanepistemic

principle:thepunctuatedphasetransitionsalongconsecutivestepsonthetrajectoryofRNGdelimitlevelsof

qualitativelydifferentrealities,eachonitsownscaleandgrainofresolution,andgovernedbyitsownlaws.

AlthoughunrelatedtoRNG,considerforintuitiveappreciationofthis phenomenonthefollowinghistorically

notableillustration:whenAnthonyvonLeuwenhoekin1674increased themagnification ofhismicroscopetoa

certain(critical!)degree,hesawsuddenlyapopulatedworldofprotists,never previouslyexpectedtobepartof

thewaterdropheexamined.Inotherwords,heaccessedanewlevelofrealitywhichexhibiteditsownontology

andthelawsthatgovernit.InRNGterms,hischangingthemagnificationisequivalenttoastepalonga

transformationtrajectory associated withthechangeofthe grainofobservation;inthiscase toafinergrain.

Thismuchforastunningentryintoanew,previouslyunknownlevelofReality.MorecommonlyinPhysics,oneis

interestedin

the

opposite

direction,

which

is

the

case

of

collective

emergence,

associated

with

changing

to

acoarsergrainwithelementsatthemicrolevelcoalescingtolargerentities (asifbecomingmyopic).Butthebasic

issueisthis:likeadeckofcards,realityisconsideredahierarchyoflevelswhere,oneachlevel,elementsare

collectivelyorganizedtostructureswiththeirownlaws,properties,intrinsicscales,andarrangement(correlations)

amongitselements;inshort:eachlevelisanontology,assuchrequiring itsown,distinct description.Conversely,

twolevelsofdescriptionwillhaveradicallydifferentontologies. Twoconsecutivelevelsarerelatedtooneanother

bysharpphasetransitions.Ineffect,thetransitionfromalowertoahigherlevelorganizesthedistinctobjects

ofmacroscopiclevels [92].Thequalitativenoveltiesofconsecutivelevelsarise denovo invirtueofthesystemdynamics,anddonotstandinanylogicalrelationtooneanother,hencearenotlogicallydeduciblefromone

another.Forinstance, our(nonfundamental) ontologyofeverydayobjectsisinthisframeworkultimately an

intermediateasymptoticapproximation(seeabove)tothemorefundamentalontologyofquarksandelectrons.

Ananalogous

relation

obtains

between

Theories

in

Physics

[78]:

as

example,

the

ontology

of

Newtonian

mechanicsmaybeviewed asacoarsegrainedversionof themorefundamentalgeneralrelativisticontology

([133],p.40).

Inanapplicationofthisconceptualframeworktocognitionandbyimplicationtoconsciousness,Wallace[162]

outlinedthesketchofatheoreticalschemethatutilizessomecentralideasofinformationtheoryinthecontextof

arenormalizationpointofview.ReminiscentofthespiritoftheGlobalNeuronalWorkspace,cognitivemodules,

hereconstitutedbasicallyaslanguagelikestructures,wouldinteractbypunctuatedphasetransitionstogenerate

largecoherentstructures,lockingunderrenormalizationatacriticalpoint.

Theobjectiveofthisessay,outlinedintheIntroduction,istoconceivetherealmoftheSubjectiveasan

ontologywhose

epistemic

access

constitutes

the

features

of

experiential

subjectivity.

In

the

preceding

sections,

severalbenchmarksareidentifiedwhichsuchanapproachwillhavetopass: criticalityof Neurodynamicsofa

nervoussystembuiltbyenvironmentalspecification(inthespiritoftheDarwinian model), accommodationto

aspectsof bodymechanicsanddynamicsintheinteractionwithaboundedregionoftheenvironment, andan

adequateaccountofthebody'sinternalstateandhomeostaticregulations. Isuggestthatthesedifferent

ingredients,takentogether, constitute (atleastinpart)themultidimensionalityofwhatSethetal[128] seemto

haveinmindas 'relevantcomplexity'.


13/19

CircumnavigatingintheforegoingSectionswhatappearsomeconceptualhurdlesandflawedconclusionsfrom

experimentaldataandtheoreticalstudies,Iarriveatanalternativetopriorattemptsof rationalizingsubjectivity

in NaturalScienceterms:namely,thattheRenormalizationworldviewisusefulandplausibleconceptual

platform.Specifically,IenvisionanontologyofPersonhoodwhich,intheformatofacomplexnetwork,

encompassesa representationofthebody(somaticaswellasautonomic),inassociationwiththebrain,and

portions

of

the

(cognitive)

environment.

The

domain

of

the

Subjective

is

then

thought

to

arise

as

a

complex

networkalongatrajectoryofphasetransitionsalongapathtothefixedpointwhichmarksthefullyconscious

state.Thesequenceofconsecutivephasetransitions wouldconstitute distinct levelswhereby eachofthe

consecutivelevels oftheRenormalizationprocesspresentsacollectiveachievementwithdifferentgranularityof

resolutionindetailsanddifferentdegreesofcorrelation.Thedensityofcorrelationamongtheelementsofalevel

reachesamaximumattheFixedPointofRNGwhereitcoversthetotalrangeofselfsimilar(fractal)scales,

indicativeofoptimalintegrationof correlatedactivity.Notethedifferencetothemorecommonandmore

intuitiveviewthatConsciousness'emerges'fromneuralmechanismsas ahigherleveloforganization.The

oppositeisproposedhere: Thelevelsofsubjectivityariseasontologiesinthephasetransitionsfromthemore

encompassing(higherlevel) ontologyofthe worldbodybrainPhysicssosubordinatelevels;andcandoso

stepwiseatconsecutivelevels ofdifferentresolutionindetails.Thismaybeassociatedwiththetaxonomyof

conscious,preconscious

and

subliminal

processing

which

Dehaene

(l.c.

)describes.

As

an

added

bonus,

this

approacheliminatesthenotoriousproblemofmultiplerealizability ([20],Ch.5.2)sinceitisanintegralaspectof

RNGthatmanydifferentconfigurationsatonelevelcanbecomeidenticalatanotherlevel,onaccountofcoarse

graining.

Althoughdrawnincrudebrushstrokes,thissketchofapplyingtheRenormalizationviewoftheworldto

Consciousnessisinprinciple amenableto testingitsplausibility.Thiscanbepursuedbycapitalizinginmodelson

thecomputationalassetsofRNG.Refs.[135],[119]and[114] aresuitablestartingpointsforstudying RNG

transformationsofcomplexnetworksandoffer valuableclues.

AsafinalimplicationofRenormalizationGroupapplication,notethattheforgoingspeculationssituatethe

problemofconsciousnessintheparentdomainofCondenseMatterPhysics(seeforinstance:[95]). Thissuggests

aninterestingperspective:for,asstatedintheintroductoryparagraphofhissection,theprincipleofUniversality

wouldpermitidentifyingwhether,andtowhatdegree,othermaterialsinNaturemaypossessfeaturesindicative

ofaformofconsciousness,onceitwouldhavebeenpossibletodeterminetheUniversalityclassofwhichthe

ontologyofPersonhoodisamember.

Summary.

Thereviewoftheprincipalcurrentapproachestomodelingcognitionandconsciousnessleadsmetosuggest that

noneofthempossessesthedegreeofmultidimensionalityorRelevantComplexity(l.c.),requiredforemulating

morethan,atbest,oneoranotherfeatureofprimaryconsciousnesstoanelementarydegree. Moreover,I

identifyanddiscusswhatIperceivetobebasicconceptualflawsinsomeconventionalassumptionsthatCognitive

Neuroscienceand

Neurophysiology

bring

to

the

task.

Nor

are

the

basic

insights

of

phase

space

dynamics

and

criticalityadequatelytakenintoaccount. Inthelightofthissituation,Iproposeadifferentapproach:first,

considertherealmofSubjectivity(ashallmarkofconsciousness)asanontologyinitsownright(asSearle

suggestedin1992);and,second,thinkintermsoftheRenormalizationGroups viewofReality: thesubjectivityof

Consciousnessisthentheepistemicinterpretationoftheontologythatoriginatesinphasetransitionsofthebrain

bodyenvironmentsystem.


14/19

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