Considering a generative mechanism of consciousness from the perspective of inter-level causation

TL;DR

This paper explores a causal framework for understanding consciousness, emphasizing internal inter-level causal mechanisms and proposing a Dual-Laws Model to describe how higher-level causes influence lower-level processes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel causal model incorporating inter-level causality and the Dual-Laws Model to explain the generation of functional consciousness.

Findings

Proposes a method to explicitly implement inter-level causal mechanisms.

Introduces the Dual-Laws Model with distinct dynamics at different levels.

Discusses how higher-level causes transmit influence to lower levels in consciousness.

Abstract

Why do some physical systems possess consciousness, while others do not? Is this a question of physics? Or is it a question of the theory of causation? Physics and the theory of causation serve different descriptive purposes, and in this study we refer to them respectively as the Physical Stance and the Causal Stance. We propose that the generation of consciousness is determined by its internal causal mechanisms in the Causal Stance. To describe a causal model, we will introduce an asymmetric relation between cause and effect into the formulation that is necessary for describing causality, though not physical laws. We argue that the causal conditions for the generation of consciousness are constituted by internal causal mechanisms of the system, rather than by external interventions. To explain such intrinsic causes, this study focuses on inter-level causality. Traditionally, inter-level causality has been considered an emergent phenomenon rather than a mechanism. We devise a method to implement these mechanisms explicitly in a causal model by examining how causes originating at higher levels are transmitted to lower levels within the system. We then propose a Dual-Laws Model (DLM), which features distinct dynamical laws at higher and lower levels. Finally, we discuss the generation of functional consciousness and its causality based on the DLM. Note that this study does not address the causal efficacy of the phenomenological aspect.