Ben Irvine states that consciousness is impossible to explain without paradoxicality. While other sources have tried to explain it with theories that they claim to be non-paradoxical, but actually are, this source suggests that it is possible to explain consciousness non-paradoxically itself, claiming it only arises from a paradoxical process. The author proposes a theory called contraspectivism, saying that the brain converts the structure of the world into categories of perfect things (like the theory of forms), which exist beyond the physical reality. These items are the things which we can experience on the “transcendental structure of the self”, or consciousness.

For example, if someone were to eat a donut, the brain would recognize a donut and sort that into the category of "donut". From there, it would access the perfect form of donut. The perfect form of donut has an experience as a part of it, which is what we feel, in addition to some uniqueness provided by our particular donut. Every experience, therefore, is from this perfect realm. Contraspectivism is, then, a mostly dualist theory.

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Critique of this theory

This theory is incomplete, as the author repeatedly states. Additionally, the author continually implies a dualist ideology and asserts that a set of perfect forms does exist, without providing any reason to believe that is so, other than for the sake of this theory. By definition it lacks evidence as it is unexplainable through evidence. It instantly dismisses the physical and pure dualist theories of consciousness, yet then provides no real explanation for how the human brain is somehow capable of creating consciousness as opposed to other matter.

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Citation

Irvine, Ben. "The Paradoxicality Of Consciousness: A Sketch Of A Theory." Journal Of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence 25.3 (2013): 389-405.Computer Source. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.