Towards a (meta-)mathematical theory of consciousness: universal (mapping) properties of experience

TL;DR

This paper proposes a categorical, meta-mathematical framework for understanding consciousness by linking universal properties in category theory to the axioms of Information Integration Theory, aiming to formalize consciousness as a universal property.

Contribution

It introduces a novel categorical approach that formalizes the axioms of IIT as universal mapping properties, providing a new formal basis for a theory of consciousness.

Findings

IIT axioms follow from categorical universal properties.

Category theory offers a formal, axiomatic framework for consciousness.

The approach suggests consciousness as a universal property in a formal mathematical sense.

Abstract

Conscious experience permeates our daily lives, yet general consensus on a theory of consciousness remains elusive. In the face of such difficulty, an alternative strategy is to address a more general (meta-level) version of the problem for insights into the original problem at hand. Category theory was developed for this purpose, i.e. as an axiomatic (meta-)mathematical theory for comparison of mathematical structures, and so affords a (formally) formal approach towards a theory of consciousness. In this way, category theory is used for comparison with Information Integration Theory (IIT) as a supposed axiomatic theory of consciousness, which says that every conscious state involves six axiomatic properties: the IIT axioms for consciousness. All six axioms are shown to follow from the categorical notion of a universal mapping property: a unique-existence condition for all instances in the domain of interest. Accordingly, this categorical approach affords a formal basis for further development of a (meta-)mathematical theory of consciousness, whence the slogan, ``Consciousness is a universal property.''