City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2019 Quantum Uncertainty Reduction (QUR) Theory of Attended Access and Phenomenal Consciousness Anatoly V. Nichvoloda The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3038 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] QUANTUM UNCERTAINTY REDUCTION (QUR) THEORY OF ATTENDED ACCESS AND PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS by ANATOLY NICHVOLODA A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2019 © 2019 ANATOLY NICHVOLODA All Rights Reserved ii Quantum Uncertainty Reduction (QUR) Theory of Attended Access and Phenomenal Consciousness by Anatoly Nichvoloda This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Philosophy in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Samir Chopra Date Chair of Examining Committee Nicholas Pappas Date Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Jesse Prinz Samir Chopra Angelica Nuzzo Dena Shottenkirk THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract Quantum Uncertainty Reduction (QUR) Theory of Attended Access and Phenomenal Consciousness by Anatoly Nichvoloda Advisor: Professor Jesse J. Prinz In this dissertation I defend a theory of perceptual consciousness titled “Quantum Uncertainty Reduction” (QUR1) Theory of Attended Access and Phenomenal Consciousness.” Consciousness is widely perceived as a phenomenon that poses a special explanatory problem for science. The problem arises in the apparent rift between an immediate first-person acquaintance with consciousness and our lack of ability to provide an objective/scientific third- person characterization of consciousness. I begin by reviewing philosophical ideas of Ned Block, David Chalmers and Jesse Prinz whose characterizations of consciousness provide a conceptual framework that the proposed theory aims to satisfy. Block and Chalmers argue that consciousness is a mongrel concept combining two distinct aspects: access and phenomenal consciousness, while Jesse Prinz’s argues for the central role of attention in engendering consciousness. Since the proposed solution is an aspect of quantum information processing in a mechanism, I discuss and adopt methodological approach of the use of mechanisms in scientific explanations developed by William Bechtel, Carl Craver and others. I outline a mechanism based on Shannon 1 Pronounced as “cure.” iv Communication System and enhanced with Bayesian predictive processing developed by Carl Friston, Jacob Hohwy, and Andy Clark as well as Control Theory by Rick Grush. Based on views of Marcin Miłkowski, Gualtiero Piccinini and others on information processing in physical systems, I argue that the suggested mechanism implements physical information processing or computation. After a brief overview of relevant aspects of quantum theory, I review recent developments that aim to reconstruct quantum theory by using epistemic approach to explain the nature of quantum states vs. the traditional ontic one. I adopt the epistemic approach and argue that by performing a functional analysis of physical computation in the suggested mechanism we can identify a certain process as involving processing/manipulation of quantum and classical information. I further suggest that the central aspect of the process, namely, quantum uncertainty reduction gives rise to qualitative properties of phenomenal and access consciousness. Further, I compare the suggested information processing formulation of Access and Phenomenal consciousness with those of Block and Chalmers, that are, correspondingly, non- functional and non-physical. I argue that my conceptualization is preferable since it gives a functional and physical account of phenomenal and access consciousness while accommodating thought experiments that Block and Chalmers use to argue for their views on consciousness. Finally, while largely agreeing with the where and when of consciousness of Prinz’s AIR (Attended Intermediate Representations) theory of consciousness, QUR theory offers new arguments for an extended where and more nuanced when of phenomenal consciousness. v Acknowledgements Portions of this dissertation were presented at the CUNY Graduate Center Cognitive Science Symposium and Discussion Group, Towards a Science of Consciousness, and The New Jersey Regional Philosophy Association. My sincere thanks to audiences at those venues for helpful feedback and comments. I would, first of all, like to thank the faculty, students, and support staff at the GC CUNY Philosophy Department for creating the positive academic environment I had the privilege of being a part of. I want to thank all my professors for the excellent philosophical education I received. I wish to specifically thank Prof. John Greenwood and my advisor, Prof. Jesse Prinz, for their patience and intellectual guidance in my pursuit of the philosophical muse. I thank Prof. Jesse Prinz for supervising my dissertation. I value your feedback on my work and appreciate the practical guidance, the advice, and the occasional nudge you gave me along the way. I thank Prof. Dena Shottenkirk for the feedback and suggestions that were instrumental in moving my dissertation forward. I thank Prof. Samir Chopra for reading my work and providing valuable feedback. And I’m very grateful to Prof. Angelica Nuzzo who supervised my qualifying paper that originated the project. Finally, I thank my family for their unwavering support and encouragement through the whole process of graduate school. vi Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1: Characterization of the Problems of Consciousness and Motivation of Thesis. ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Easy and Hard Problems of Consciousness. ............................................................... 1 1.2 David Chalmers’s Dual Aspect Analysis of Consciousness. ...................................... 3 1.3 Ned Block’s Concepts of Phenomenal and Access Consciousness. ............................ 8 1.4 Jesse Prinz’s Neurofunctionalist AIR Theory of Consciousness. .............................. 14 1.5 Thesis Motivation and the Plan ............................................................................... 19 Chapter 2: Information Representation and Processing in Mechanisms. Perceptual Information-Processing Mechanism based on Shannon Communication System that Combines Bayesian Predictive Processing and Modal Emulation. ........................... 25 2.1 Claude Shannon’s Mathematical Theory of Communication as statistical approach to information. Shannon Communication System with two sources of information. .......... 25 2.2 Information Representation and Processing in Mechanisms. Causal and Mechanical Accounts of Computation in Physical Systems. ............................................................................ 29 2.3 Computation as Information Processing within Mechanisms. Causal and Mechanical Accounts of Computation in Physical Systems. ............................................................. 32 vii 2.4 Predictive Approach to Perception Implemented in Information Processing Mechanism. ..................................................................................................................................... 36 2.4.1 Predictive Approach to Perception and Generative Models, an Overview. .... 37 2.4.2 Bayesian Hierarchical Predictive Processing. ................................................ 40 2.4.3 Modal Emulators in Control Framework. ...................................................... 43 2.4.4 Predictive Closed Loop Control Circuit with Negative Feedback is a Perceptual Information-Processing Mechanism based on Shannon Communication System that Combines Bayesian Predictive Processing and Modal Emulation. ......................... 46 2.4.5 Information Representation and Manipulation by Medium-Independent Vehicles. .............................................................................................................................. 48 2.4.6 Atomic Medium-Independent Vehicles of Concrete Digital Computation. .... 49 2.4.7 Digital Computation (Information Processing) as Manipulation of Digits. .... 52 2.5 Quantitative vs. Physical Representation of Information. ......................................... 54 Chapter 3: Access and Phenomenal Consciousness Are Aspects of Physical Information Processing in Bayes-Shannon System......................................................................... 58 3.1 Clark and Hohwy on Consciousness within Bayesian Hierarchical Predictive Processing framework. ..................................................................................................................