Abstract

Trilogy: A New Paradigm of Consciousness

Author(s): Ashkan Farhadi

Consciousness is usually interpreted as a state of being aware of one’s environment as well as one’s self, while awareness is understood as knowledge of something. Despite their semantic differences, in philosophy, these terms are often used interchangeably, as is the case of the hard problem of consciousness proposed by Chalmers, which in fact is the hard problem of awareness. Trilogy paradigm of consciousness (or simply “trilogy”) offers a new paradigm where consciousness is the result of a unique interaction between awareness and the decision-making process. By conferring the input of awareness to the decision-making process, a new mental function of Awareness-Based Choice Selection (ABCS) or true free will emerges. Likewise, application of the power of decision-making to the process of awareness gives rise to Discretionary Selection of Information for Awareness (DSIA) or intentional attention. The intertwined actions of ABCS and DSIA comprise “I” which is the faculty of our consciousness and is what sets Natural Intelligence (NI) apart from Artificial Intelligence (AI). Based on trilogy, mind is an unconscious compilation of all mental function excluding ABCS and DSIA that are the essence of consciousness. As humans, we are a union of “I,” our minds, and our bodies.