Determine the necessary level of biological and computational complexity to explain consciousness

Ascertain the level or levels of biological and computational complexity that must be explicitly modeled to provide an adequate explanatory account of consciousness, specifying which scales (e.g., molecular, cellular, circuit, systems) are required for such an explanation.

Background

The author critiques current theories for operating at high levels of abstraction that may omit critical biological detail. The complexity of the biological processes underlying consciousness could exceed what present theories capture.

Because current models may gloss over multi-scale interactions and detailed cellular and molecular mechanisms, it remains uncertain how much complexity must be incorporated to achieve a satisfactory theory of consciousness.

References

Again, we do not know what level of complexity is needed to understand consciousness, but we should be aware that it might be more complex than our present theories suggest.

— The assumptions that restrain us from understanding consciousness  (2506.21485 - Aru, 26 Jun 2025) in Section 'Neural processes underlying consciousness do not have to be simple'