The QBIT Theory of Consciousness

Majid Beshkar

doi:10.20944/preprints201905.0352.v4

Preprint Article Version 4 This version is not peer-reviewed

The QBIT Theory of Consciousness

Version 1 : Received: 26 May 2019 / Approved: 29 May 2019 / Online: 29 May 2019 (11:53:48 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 21 June 2019 / Approved: 21 June 2019 / Online: 21 June 2019 (11:22:39 CEST)
Version 3 : Received: 21 July 2019 / Approved: 23 July 2019 / Online: 23 July 2019 (10:32:33 CEST)
Version 4 : Received: 23 August 2019 / Approved: 15 October 2019 / Online: 15 October 2019 (08:14:14 CEST)
Version 5 : Received: 9 October 2019 / Approved: 14 October 2019 / Online: 14 October 2019 (09:53:26 CEST)

How to cite: Beshkar, M. The QBIT Theory of Consciousness. Preprints 2019, 2019050352 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201905.0352.v4). Beshkar, M. The QBIT Theory of Consciousness. Preprints 2019, 2019050352 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201905.0352.v4).

Abstract

The QBIT theory is an attempt toward solving the problem of consciousness based on empirical evidence provided by various scientific disciplines including quantum mechanics, biology, information theory, and thermodynamics. This theory formulates the problem of consciousness in the following four questions, and provides preliminary answers for each question: Question 1: What is the nature of qualia? Answer: A quale is a superdense pack of quantum information encoded in maximally entangled pure states. Question 2: How are qualia generated? Answer: When a pack of quantum information is compressed beyond a certain threshold, a quale is generated. Question 3: Why are qualia subjective? Answer: A quale is subjective because a pack of information encoded in maximally entangled pure states are essentially private and unshareable. Question 4: Why does a quale have a particular meaning? Answer: A pack of information within a cognitive system gradually obtains a particular meaning as it undergoes a progressive process of interpretation performed by an internal model installed in the system.This paper introduces the QBIT theory of consciousness, and explains its basic assumptions and conjectures.

Subject Areas

Coherence; Compression; Computation; Consciousness; Entanglement; Free-energy principle; Generative model; Information; Qualia; Quantum; Representation

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Comments (2)

Comment 1

Received: 26 August 2019
Commenter: Majid Beshkar
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author

Comment: This is a revised and more complete version of the QBIT theory of consciousness.

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Comment 2

Received: 15 October 2019
Commenter: Majid Beshkar
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author

Comment: This is a revised and more complete version of the QBIT theory of consciousness.

+ Respond to this comment

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