What is consciousness? Scientists disagree, with rival theories pointing in very different directions. In a new paper, “Building blocks for theories of consciousness,” co-author Azenet Lopez, a philosopher at Mi3, suggests a fresh way forward: instead of defending big, clashing theories, focus on the simpler “building blocks” they’re made of. Here, Azenet explains why this shift could change how we study minds, both human and artificial.
Mi3: Let’s start simple. Consciousness—it’s one of those words everyone uses, but nobody seems to agree on. Why do scientists still struggle to pin down what it actually is?
Azenet: That’s exactly the problem! Consciousness is our most familiar experience—being awake, aware, feeling pain or joy—but when scientists try to explain it, the theories clash. Some say it’s about how the brain broadcasts information widely, others that it’s about self-awareness, others about how brain regions talk to each other. The roadmaps are different and sometimes contradictory. That’s why it feels like chasing smoke.
Mi3: In your paper, you suggest focusing not on whole theories but on what you call “building blocks.” What does that mean in everyday terms?
Azenet: Think of theories of consciousness like massive Lego castles. They’re impressive, but they often fall apart because people argue over the design. Our idea is: instead of debating castles, let’s look at the Lego bricks. These are the smaller, simpler pieces—ideas like attention or information generation. By studying those bricks, we might understand what’s essential for building any good castle, and we avoid committing too early to one grand design that may turn out wrong.
Mi3: One of the “bricks” you highlight is attention. We all know what it means to “pay attention,” but why is it so important for understanding consciousness?
Azenet: Attention is basically the brain’s way of spotlighting some things and dimming others. If you’re at a party and suddenly tune in to your name being spoken across the room—that’s attention at work. Some theories say consciousness and attention are inseparable, others say they’re different. But when you dig deeper, you find that even the theories that claim to work without attention actually rely on it in some hidden way. So we argue attention is probably a foundational building block—you can’t leave it out of a serious theory of consciousness.
Mi3: The other “brick” you focus on is something called “information generation.” That sounds a bit abstract. What’s that about?
Azenet: Right—it’s less intuitive than attention. It’s the idea that consciousness allows us to create mental pictures or scenarios that aren’t just copies of what’s in front of us. For example, remembering the taste of coffee, imagining what might happen tomorrow, or filling in the gaps of something you only half-saw. Your brain takes compressed information—like a sketch—and “fills it out” into something richer and more detailed. That capacity to generate, not just passively receive, information might be key to why conscious experiences feel so vivid and flexible.
Mi3: Big question then: do these building blocks help us figure out if animals—or even machines—are conscious?
Azenet: That’s the hope. If attention and information generation are indeed core ingredients, then we can ask: do octopuses or AI systems show signs of them? For instance, birds already show complex attention patterns, and some AI systems generate new representations in ways that resemble imagination. If those bricks are in place, maybe consciousness—at least in some form—is too. It won’t solve the puzzle overnight, but it gives us a clearer checklist than debating castles.
Mi3: Last one—what excites you most about this approach?
Azenet: That it’s practical. Consciousness debates often feel endless, but building blocks give us a way to make progress step by step. Even if we don’t yet have the full castle, we can at least agree on some bricks. And that might be how we eventually get there—together, one block at a time.
Check out the original article and Azenet Lopez’s profile.
Link for free access until October 2025: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810025001126?dgcid=author
Reference:
Lopez, A., Wiese, W. (2025). Building blocks for theories of consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition, 134: 103919.