Workspace
Compare how theories answer the core consciousness questions
Review the questions under discussion, see where each theory provides answers, and move into the comparison table to prepare notes or share with collaborators.
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Featured questions
View all questionsWhat specific, falsifiable predictions does this theory make that could distinguish it from competing theories, and what evidence would falsify it?
15 theories have answered
What is the smallest or simplest system this theory predicts could be conscious, and how would that be tested?
15 theories have answered
How does this theory account for known dissociations between consciousness and neural processing — such as anesthesia abolishing consciousness while preserving neural activity, split-brain cases, and blindsight?
15 theories have answered
What specific mechanism distinguishes conscious processing from unconscious processing of equal complexity?
15 theories have answered
Theory coverage
IIT
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) proposes that consciousness is identical to integrated information, quantified as Φ (phi). Developed primarily by Giulio Tononi and collaborators including Christof...
5 answers
GWT
Global Workspace Theory (GWT) proposes that consciousness arises when information is broadcast widely throughout the brain via a "global workspace." Originally developed by Bernard Baars in the 1980s ...
5 answers
HOT
Higher-Order Thought (HOT) theory proposes that a mental state becomes conscious when it is represented by a suitable higher-order mental state—typically a thought about that first-order state. Develo...
5 answers
PP
Predictive Processing (PP), also known as the predictive brain or predictive coding framework, proposes that the brain is fundamentally a prediction machine that constantly generates models of the wor...
5 answers
PCT
Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) proposes that behavior is organized around the control of perception rather than the production of outputs or responses to stimuli. Developed originally by William T. P...
5 answers
ILLU
Illusionism proposes that phenomenal consciousness—the "what it's like" aspect of experience that seems so mysterious—is an illusion created by our introspective faculties. Developed most explicitly b...
5 answers
Research map
Research map by Max Noichl & Moritz Kriegleder showing how 38,651 consciousness papers cluster. Use it to locate related sources while comparing theories.
Research landscape map
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