Andrés Gómez Emilsson | Electromagnetic Field Topology as a Solution to the Boundary Problem of Consciousness @/Andr%C3%A9sG%C3%B3mezEmilsson | Uploaded August 2023 | Updated October 2024, 2 hours ago.
Our paper about our solution to the boundary problem has just been published in Frontiers!
Find the (open access) paper here: frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1233119/full
Title: Don’t forget the boundary problem! How EM field topology can address the overlooked cousin to the binding problem for consciousness
Authors (both are first-authors): Andrés Gómez-Emilsson, Chris Percy
Abstract: The boundary problem is related to the binding problem, part of a family of puzzles and phenomenal experiences that theories of consciousness (ToC) must either explain or eliminate. By comparison with the phenomenal binding problem, the boundary problem has received very little scholarly attention since first framed in detail by Rosengard in 1998, despite discussion by Chalmers in his widely cited 2016 work on the combination problem. However, any ToC that addresses the binding problem must also address the boundary problem. The binding problem asks how a unified first person perspective (1PP) can bind experiences across multiple physically distinct activities, whether billions of individual neurons firing or some other underlying phenomenon. To a first approximation, the boundary problem asks why we experience hard boundaries around those unified 1PPs and why the boundaries operate at their apparent spatiotemporal scale. We review recent discussion of the boundary problem, identifying several promising avenues but none that yet address all aspects of the problem. We set out five specific boundary problems to aid precision in future efforts. We also examine electromagnetic (EM) field theories in detail, given their previous success with the binding problem, and introduce a feature with the necessary characteristics to address the boundary problem at a conceptual level. Topological segmentation can, in principle, create exactly the hard boundaries desired, enclosing holistic, frame-invariant units capable of effecting downward causality. The conclusion outlines a programme for testing this concept, describing how it might also differentiate between competing EM ToCs.
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In this video I walk you through (a) the personal trajectory that led me to the insight that topology might solve the boundary problem of consciousness, and (b) the outline of the paper and the key arguments we present.
(a) I credit David Pearce for disabusing me of the notion that consciousness is a "substrate neutral" information-processing phenomenon (functionalism, computational theories of consciousness, causal integration theories, etc.). I credit Michael E. Johnson for introducing Qualia Formalism, the need for frame invariance in theories of consciousness, and making me think about the boundary (rather than binding) problem. And Steven Lehar for giving me the clue that resonance might be a key "glue" that ties together in a causal way different features of our experience.
I was finally able to put these pieces of the puzzle together in a sudden realization around 2018 where, staring into the space while having dinner at a restaurant, a vision of looping structures in the electromagnetic field coalesced into a topological boundary that could "trap energy" and thus reveal a causal role for "ontological unity". Later on I incorporated more specific constraints that the solution satisfies "all at once": non-epiphenomenalism, frame invariance, weak emergence, and no strong emergence. Submitted a first draft for The Science of Consciousness 2020.
(b) The paper does a deep dive into the (rather scant) literature about the boundary problem, introduces a new carving of the problem into 5 subproblems, and explains how EM topology satisfies them all.
~Qualia of the Day: Vibe Camp Recorder (VCR)~ with notes of Rose, Smoke, Fenugreek, Peony, Key Lime, and Vanilla, plus a ton of galaxolide to solve the olfactory binding problem ;-)
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See also:
Solving the Phenomenal Binding Problem: Topological Segmentation as the Correct Explanation Space - youtu.be/g0YID6XV-PQ
Andres Gomez Emilsson on Digital Sentience, the Binding Problem, and Fields of Consciousness (in Lucas Perry's channel Mu) - youtu.be/xJzBjBo24g8
Digital Sentience Requires Solving the Boundary Problem
- qri.org/blog/digital-sentience
Hunt, T. (2020). Calculating the boundaries of consciousness in general resonance theory. J. Consc. Stud. 27, 55–80. - ingentaconnect.com/content/imp/jcs/2020/00000027/f0020011/art00003
Wang, J., Valligatla, S., Yin, Y., Schwarz, L., Medina-Sánchez, M., Baunack, S., et al. (2023). Experimental observation of Berry phases in optical Möbius-strip microcavities. Nat. Photonics 17, 120–125. doi: 10.1038/s41566-022-01107-7 - nature.com/articles/s41566-022-01107-7
Galaxolide - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxolide
Image from: Knots in electromagnetism by Arrayás et al. (2017) - sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0370157316303908
Our paper about our solution to the boundary problem has just been published in Frontiers!
Find the (open access) paper here: frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1233119/full
Title: Don’t forget the boundary problem! How EM field topology can address the overlooked cousin to the binding problem for consciousness
Authors (both are first-authors): Andrés Gómez-Emilsson, Chris Percy
Abstract: The boundary problem is related to the binding problem, part of a family of puzzles and phenomenal experiences that theories of consciousness (ToC) must either explain or eliminate. By comparison with the phenomenal binding problem, the boundary problem has received very little scholarly attention since first framed in detail by Rosengard in 1998, despite discussion by Chalmers in his widely cited 2016 work on the combination problem. However, any ToC that addresses the binding problem must also address the boundary problem. The binding problem asks how a unified first person perspective (1PP) can bind experiences across multiple physically distinct activities, whether billions of individual neurons firing or some other underlying phenomenon. To a first approximation, the boundary problem asks why we experience hard boundaries around those unified 1PPs and why the boundaries operate at their apparent spatiotemporal scale. We review recent discussion of the boundary problem, identifying several promising avenues but none that yet address all aspects of the problem. We set out five specific boundary problems to aid precision in future efforts. We also examine electromagnetic (EM) field theories in detail, given their previous success with the binding problem, and introduce a feature with the necessary characteristics to address the boundary problem at a conceptual level. Topological segmentation can, in principle, create exactly the hard boundaries desired, enclosing holistic, frame-invariant units capable of effecting downward causality. The conclusion outlines a programme for testing this concept, describing how it might also differentiate between competing EM ToCs.
------------------
In this video I walk you through (a) the personal trajectory that led me to the insight that topology might solve the boundary problem of consciousness, and (b) the outline of the paper and the key arguments we present.
(a) I credit David Pearce for disabusing me of the notion that consciousness is a "substrate neutral" information-processing phenomenon (functionalism, computational theories of consciousness, causal integration theories, etc.). I credit Michael E. Johnson for introducing Qualia Formalism, the need for frame invariance in theories of consciousness, and making me think about the boundary (rather than binding) problem. And Steven Lehar for giving me the clue that resonance might be a key "glue" that ties together in a causal way different features of our experience.
I was finally able to put these pieces of the puzzle together in a sudden realization around 2018 where, staring into the space while having dinner at a restaurant, a vision of looping structures in the electromagnetic field coalesced into a topological boundary that could "trap energy" and thus reveal a causal role for "ontological unity". Later on I incorporated more specific constraints that the solution satisfies "all at once": non-epiphenomenalism, frame invariance, weak emergence, and no strong emergence. Submitted a first draft for The Science of Consciousness 2020.
(b) The paper does a deep dive into the (rather scant) literature about the boundary problem, introduces a new carving of the problem into 5 subproblems, and explains how EM topology satisfies them all.
~Qualia of the Day: Vibe Camp Recorder (VCR)~ with notes of Rose, Smoke, Fenugreek, Peony, Key Lime, and Vanilla, plus a ton of galaxolide to solve the olfactory binding problem ;-)
------------------
See also:
Solving the Phenomenal Binding Problem: Topological Segmentation as the Correct Explanation Space - youtu.be/g0YID6XV-PQ
Andres Gomez Emilsson on Digital Sentience, the Binding Problem, and Fields of Consciousness (in Lucas Perry's channel Mu) - youtu.be/xJzBjBo24g8
Digital Sentience Requires Solving the Boundary Problem
- qri.org/blog/digital-sentience
Hunt, T. (2020). Calculating the boundaries of consciousness in general resonance theory. J. Consc. Stud. 27, 55–80. - ingentaconnect.com/content/imp/jcs/2020/00000027/f0020011/art00003
Wang, J., Valligatla, S., Yin, Y., Schwarz, L., Medina-Sánchez, M., Baunack, S., et al. (2023). Experimental observation of Berry phases in optical Möbius-strip microcavities. Nat. Photonics 17, 120–125. doi: 10.1038/s41566-022-01107-7 - nature.com/articles/s41566-022-01107-7
Galaxolide - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxolide
Image from: Knots in electromagnetism by Arrayás et al. (2017) - sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0370157316303908
