What Truly Exists — Intrinsic Being, Integrated Information Theory, and the Nature of Reality | Chapter 5 of Then I Am Myself the World
What Truly Exists — Intrinsic Being, Integrated Information Theory, and the Nature of Reality | Chapter 5 of Then I Am Myself the World Chapter 5 of Then I Am Myself the World: What Consciousness Is and How to Expand It by Christof Koch presents one of the book’s most radical and consequential claims: that true existence begins with consciousness itself. Building on the foundations of Integrated Information Theory (IIT), Koch argues that what is real in the deepest sense is not matter, not computation, not function—but experience . This chapter establishes the philosophical and scientific core of the entire book. Below, you will find the full video summary to accompany this written breakdown. Here is the book cover associated with this chapter: The Heart of IIT: Consciousness as Intrinsic Existence Koch begins by distinguishing between two very different forms of existence: Intrinsic (absolute) existence: what something is for itself —the felt quality of conscious ex...