Nilesh Jasani's Reviews > Being You: A New Science of Consciousness

Anil Seth's "Being You" is a triumph of lucid scientific writing. He tackles the age-old question of consciousness with clarity and a refreshing directness. Unlike many academics, Seth doesn't shy away from providing conclusions, albeit tentative ones, which makes the book both thought-provoking and accessible to a wider audience.

The author’s central thesis - that our conscious experience is a kind of "controlled hallucination" constructed by our brains - is novel, even if not immediately intuitive. The framework rests on the theory of Predictive Processing, which posits that our brains are constantly generating predictions about the world based on prior experiences and incoming sensory data. Consciousness, as per this theory, arises from the brain's efforts to minimize "free energy," the discrepancy between its predictions and the actual sensory input. In essence, we are continuously striving to make sense of the world by refining our internal model of reality.

While this approach is more grounded in objective, measurable phenomena than, say, Integrated Information Theory, it ultimately falls prey to the same unfalsifiable claims. The very concept of "free energy" hinges on elusive notions of "predictions" and "expectations" that are inherently subjective and difficult to quantify. How do we accurately measure the gap between prediction and reality within the brain? Without a concrete means of measuring these variables, Predictive Processing, despite its elegance, risks becoming another subjective explanation with limited practical utility.

Furthermore, as our understanding of the brain advances, with increasingly sophisticated neural mapping techniques, any single-measure definition of consciousness is likely to fall short. We will inevitably face a future where machines surpass any predetermined threshold we set for consciousness, rendering our definitions unacceptable to everyone who would want to keep humanity as something unique. As we delve deeper into the intricate signal-processing mechanisms of the brain, theoretical frameworks like Predictive Processing will face mounting challenges, with each new discovery potentially exposing flaws in their assumptions.

Ultimately, our psychological need for a fixed definition of consciousness - something to cling to as machines outpace us in cognitive abilities, just as they did in physical prowess - may force us to keep shifting the definition to ensure we keep calling ourselves superior.