18,021 research outputs found
A Blueprint for the Hard Problem of Consciousness
A Blueprint for the Hard Problem of Consciousness addresses the fundamental mechanism that allows physical events to transcend into subjective experiences, termed the Hard Problem of Consciousness.
Consciousness is made available as the abstract product of self-referent realization of information by strange loops through the levels of processing of the brain. Readers are introduced to the concept of the Hard Problem of Consciousness and related concepts followed by a critical discourse of different theories of consciousness.
Next, the author identifies the fundamental flaw of the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and proposes an alternative that avoids the cryptic intelligent design and panpsychism of the IIT. This author also demonstrates how something can be created out of nothing without resorting to quantum theory, while pointing out neurobiological alternatives to the bottom-up approach of quantum theories of consciousness.
The book then delves into the philosophy of qualia in different physiological knowledge networks (spatial, temporal and olfactory, cortical signals, for example) to explain an action-based model consistent with the generational principles of Predictive Coding, which maps prediction and predictive-error signals for perceptual representations supporting integrated goal-directed behaviors. Conscious experiences are considered the outcome of abstractions realized out of map overlays and provided by sustained oscillatory activity.
The key feature of this blueprint is that it offers a perspective of the Hard Problem of Consciousness from the point of view of the subject; the experience of âbeing the subjectâ is predicted to be the realization of inference inversely mapped out of hidden causes of global integrated actions.
The author explains the consistencies of his blueprint with ideas of the Global Neuronal Workspace and the Adaptive Resonance Theory of consciousness as well as with the empirical evidence supporting the Integrated Information Theory. A Blueprint for the Hard Problem of Consciousness offers a unique perspective to readers interested in the scientific philosophy and cognitive neuroscience theory in relation to models of the theory of consciousness
Reflection relations and fermionic basis
There are two approaches to computing the one-point functions for sine-Gordon
model in infinite volume. One is a bootstrap type procedure based on the
reflection relations. Another uses the fermionic basis which was originally
found for the lattice six-vertex model. In this paper we show that the two
approaches are deeply interrelated.Comment: 17 pages; several typos are correcte
Asymmetric shocks among U.S. states
This paper applies a factor model to the study of risk sharing among U.S. states. The factor model makes it possible to disentangle movements in output and consumption due to national, regional, or state-specific business cycles from those due to measurement error. The results of the paper suggest that some findings of the previous literature which indicate a substantial amount of interstate risk sharing may be due to the presence of measurement error in output. When measurement error is properly taken into account, the evidence points towards a lack of interstate smoothing.Consumption (Economics) ; Business cycles
Aggregate unemployment in Krusell and Smithâs economy: a note
Using data on workersâ flows into and out of employment, unemployment, and not-in-the-labor-force, I construct transition probabilities between âemploymentâ and âunemploymentâ that can be used in the calibration of economies such as Krusell and Smithâs (1998). I show that calibration in Krusell and Smith has some counterfactual features. Yet the gains from adopting alternative calibrations in terms of matching the data are not very large, unless one assumes that the duration of unemployment spells is well above what is usually assumed in the literature.
The Perlick system type I: from the algebra of symmetries to the geometry of the trajectories
In this paper, we investigate the main algebraic properties of the maximally
superintegrable system known as "Perlick system type I". All possible values of
the relevant parameters, and , are considered. In particular,
depending on the sign of the parameter entering in the metrics, the motion
will take place on compact or non compact Riemannian manifolds. To perform our
analysis we follow a classical variant of the so called factorization method.
Accordingly, we derive the full set of constants of motion and construct their
Poisson algebra. As it is expected for maximally superintegrable systems, the
algebraic structure will actually shed light also on the geometric features of
the trajectories, that will be depicted for different values of the initial
data and of the parameters. Especially, the crucial role played by the rational
parameter will be seen "in action".Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure
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