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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)
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)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Beshkar M. (2020) The QBIT theory of consciousness. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, DOI: 10.1007/s12124-020-09528-1 Beshkar M. (2020) The QBIT theory of consciousness. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, DOI: 10.1007/s12124-020-09528-1
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: (1) What is the nature of qualia? (2) How are qualia generated? (3) Why are qualia subjective? (4) Why does a quale have a particular quality or meaning?In sum, the QBIT theory proposes that (1) when a pack of quantum information is compressed beyond a certain threshold, a quale is generated; (2) a quale is a superdense pack of maximally entangled qubits in a pure state; (3) when information-theoretic certainty of a system about an external stimulus exceeds a particular level, the system becomes conscious of that stimulus; (4) subjectivity of consciousness is due to the fact that maximally entangled pure states are private and unshareable.
Keywords
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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