How Does Consciousness Work? Duelling Scientists Tested Two Big Theories But Found No Winner

The Conversation

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"Theories are like toothbrushes," it's sometimes said. "Everybody has their own and nobody wants to use anybody else's."

It's a joke, but when it comes to the study of consciousness the question of how we have a subjective experience of anything at all it's not too far from the truth.

In 2022, British neuroscientist Anil Seth and I published a review listing 22 theories based in the biology of the brain. In 2024, operating with a less restrictive scope, US public intellectual Robert Kuhn counted more than 200.

It's against this background that Nature has just published the results of an "adversarial collaboration" from a group called the Cogitate Consortium focused on two prominent theories: global neuronal workspace theory and integrated information theory.

Two big theories go head to head

With so many ideas floating around and inherently elusive subject matter, testing theories has been no easy task. Indeed, debate between proponents of different theories has been vigorous and, at times, acrimonious.