The Relativistic Theory of Consciousness

A new testable solution for the hard problem

Speaker: Dr Nir Lahav, Cambridge University, UK

Abstract

Consciousness poses one of the biggest puzzles in science.

Despite critical development in our understanding of the functional side of consciousness, we still lack a fundamental theory regarding its phenomenal aspect.

There is an explanatory gap between our scientific knowledge of functional consciousness and its essential part - the subjective, phenomenal aspects, referred to as the hard problem of consciousness.

To date there is no theory of consciousness that solves the hard problem in a satisfactory manner.

Recently, however, a new physical approach, named the Relativistic Theory of Consciousness, offers to dissolve the hard problem using the principle of relativity (the principle that guided Galileo and Einstein developing their theories).

A common thread connecting most theories of consciousness is that consciousness is an absolute phenomenon.

In contrast, the relativistic theory of consciousness proposes a novel relativistic approach in which consciousness is not an absolute property but a relative one, in which a system can either have phenomenal consciousness with respect to some observer or not.

By changing this assumption, the theory shows how the explanatory gap can be bridged in a natural way using different cognitive frames of reference. The theory has a couple of interesting results and testable predictions.

One result is that emergence phenomena can be understood in the light of the principle of relativity as well.

The theory suggests a mechanism for how properties can emerge in a frame of reference.

One of its intriguing predictions is that cognitive maps should serve as neural correlates of consciousness.

Another one is that consciousness is not private and in principle, with the right technology, we can change one cognitive frame of reference to another and experience what it is like to be someone else.