Knowledge Tree
macroconsciousness
Also known as: macro consciousness, macro-consciousness, macro-level consciousness, macroconscious state
Facts (17)
Sources
Non-physicalist Theories of Consciousness cambridge.org Dec 20, 2023 12 facts
claimIntegrated Information Theory can be combined with the fusion view of consciousness because the theory claims that consciousness corresponds to maximal Φ, implying that the macroconsciousness of a system with maximal Φ would replace the micro-consciousness of its constituents.
claimEmergent panpsychism posits that microconsciousness causally produces macroconsciousness.
claimConstitutive panpsychism posits that macroconsciousness is constituted by microconsciousness or micro-entities possessing microconsciousness that are related in specific ways.
claimThe implication that all spatially related entities form a unified macroconsciousness leads to the conclusion that arbitrary collections of particles, such as a human and a cat or half a rock and surrounding air, would be conscious.
claimThe view that all spatially related entities form a unified macroconsciousness is known as 'universalism about mental combination' and is generally considered implausible by panpsychists, though Luke Roelofs (2019) has defended it.
claimThe decombination problem is the version of the combination problem in cosmopsychism, which asks how less complex macroconsciousness arises from more complex cosmic consciousness or protoconsciousness.
claimEmergent panpsychism faces a problem regarding the explanatory role of macroconsciousness because the microphysical structure of the brain or other systems would already be realized by microconsciousness, leaving no extra physical structure to be produced by macroconsciousness.
claimEmergent panpsychism is compatible with the existence of an epistemic gap because it treats microconsciousness and macroconsciousness as distinct cause and effect, which implies an ontological gap.
claimThe combination problem is the challenge of explaining how complex macroconsciousness (found in humans and animals) arises from the combination of simple microconsciousness (found in particles or other microphysical entities) or protoconsciousness.
claimThere is an epistemic gap between microconsciousness and macroconsciousness, meaning it is difficult to conceive how micro-entities combine to form a unified macroconsciousness.
claimIf the phenomenal bonding relation is identified as the spatial relation, it implies that all spatially related entities form a unified macroconsciousness.
referencePhilip Goff (2017) argues that cosmopsychism provides a better explanation for how macroconsciousness is constituted by parts of a larger cosmic mind than constitutive panpsychism does for how it is constituted by simpler minds.
Global Versus Local Theories of Consciousness and the ... link.springer.com 2 facts
claimIn Semir Zeki's framework, multiple microconsciousnesses co-exist and are either interpenetrating and integrated or erased at a higher level when they are integrated into a macroconscious state.
referenceZeki introduces a hierarchy between micro-consciousnesses and unified consciousness, where a macro-consciousness (unified consciousness) emerges at a higher level when attributes from different processing subsystems are merged.
Theories and Methods of Consciousness biomedres.us Jan 29, 2024 1 fact
claimCosmopsychism posits that consciousness is a macro consciousness out of which individual consciousness emerged (Keppler, et al.).
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 18, 2017 1 fact
perspectivePhilip Goff (2006, 2017) argues that panpsychists may be unable to provide a wholly intelligible explanation for how macro-level consciousness emerges from micro-level consciousness, which challenges Galen Strawson's claim that panpsychism avoids radical emergence.
Critique of Panpsychism: Philosophical Coherence and Scientific ... thequran.love May 7, 2025 1 fact
perspectivePanpsychists argue that many micro-conscious events in a brain give rise to a unified macro-consciousness, despite the difficulty of explaining how conscious parts form a larger conscious whole compared to how physical parts form physical wholes.