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Here's the most interesting current research into Consciousness, put forth by Tononi and known as Integrated Information Theory.

[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.biolbull.org/content/215/3/216.full[/URL]

Long story short, this hypothesizes that consciousness is an emergent property of information processing, and that any system that processes information has some 'quantity' of consciousness, that can be calculated (call it 'phi'). The nice thing about this is that it can, in theory, be studied by altering the amount of integrated information in an individuals brain and then seeing how their phenomenological experience of consciousness changes.

I won't comment on whether it's 'primary' or anything like that, as I don't really know what those terms mean, but it does suggest that consciousness is like gravity, and it comes hard-wired into the universe and is present anywhere there is information processing, be it in a human, computer, plant, or solar system.

It also suggests that the structure of a system's consciousness experience is a function of how matter is organized.

Blessings
~ND

<blockquote data-quote="Nathanial.Dread" data-source="post: 3768885" data-attributes="member: 18677">Here&#039;s the most interesting current research into Consciousness, put forth by Tononi and known as Integrated Information Theory. [URL unfurl=&quot;true&quot;]http://www.biolbull.org/content/215/3/216.full[/URL]Long story short, this hypothesizes that consciousness is an emergent property of information processing, and that any system that processes information has some &#039;quantity&#039; of consciousness, that can be calculated (call it &#039;phi&#039;). The nice thing about this is that it can, in theory, be studied by altering the amount of integrated information in an individuals brain and then seeing how their phenomenological experience of consciousness changes. I won&#039;t comment on whether it&#039;s &#039;primary&#039; or anything like that, as I don&#039;t really know what those terms mean, but it does suggest that consciousness is like gravity, and it comes hard-wired into the universe and is present anywhere there is information processing, be it in a human, computer, plant, or solar system. It also suggests that the structure of a system&#039;s consciousness experience is a function of how matter is organized. Blessings~ND</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Nathanial.Dread, post: 3768885, member: 18677"] Here's the most interesting current research into Consciousness, put forth by Tononi and known as Integrated Information Theory. [URL unfurl="true"]http://www.biolbull.org/content/215/3/216.full[/URL] Long story short, this hypothesizes that consciousness is an emergent property of information processing, and that any system that processes information has some 'quantity' of consciousness, that can be calculated (call it 'phi'). The nice thing about this is that it can, in theory, be studied by altering the amount of integrated information in an individuals brain and then seeing how their phenomenological experience of consciousness changes. I won't comment on whether it's 'primary' or anything like that, as I don't really know what those terms mean, but it does suggest that consciousness is like gravity, and it comes hard-wired into the universe and is present anywhere there is information processing, be it in a human, computer, plant, or solar system. It also suggests that the structure of a system's consciousness experience is a function of how matter is organized. Blessings ~ND [/QUOTE]