Head to head
Christian Soul Theory vs Higher-Order Thought Theory
Christian Soul Theory and Rosenthal’s Higher-Order Thought, compared field by field from their entries in the Atlas.
At a glance
- Christian Soul Theory belongs to the Dualism family in Kuhn's Landscape of Consciousness, Higher-Order Thought Theory to Materialism.
- Christian Soul Theory treats consciousness as fundamental; Higher-Order Thought Theory treats it as emergent.
- On AI consciousness, Christian Soul Theory says “Unlikely” and Higher-Order Thought Theory says “Possible”.
- On life after death, Christian Soul Theory says “Yes” and Higher-Order Thought Theory says “No”.
- On mind uploading, Christian Soul Theory says “No” and Higher-Order Thought Theory says “Possible”.
- On meaning and purpose, Christian Soul Theory says “Cosmic/Ultimate” and Higher-Order Thought Theory says “Humanistic only”.
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The claim
In brief
Christian Soul TheoryThis theory posits that the human person is composed of two fundamentally distinct substances: a wholly immaterial, substantial soul (the self) and a physical body or brain. The soul is the locus of consciousness, provides personal identity, and interacts with the body in a cause-and-effect manner.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryDavid Rosenthal holds that a mental state is conscious when its subject has a higher-order thought that he or she is in that state, a thought that need not itself be conscious and does not seem to rest on inference. Mental qualities such as the redness of a sensation exist whether or not they are conscious; Rosenthal explains them separately, by how they map the perceptible properties we can discriminate.
What consciousness is
Christian Soul TheoryConsciousness and the mind are grounded in the substantial, unified, wholly immaterial soul, which is the entity that has experiences and grounds personal identity.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryA state’s being conscious consists in the subject being aware of it by way of a suitable higher-order thought that one is in that state.
Big questions
Can AI be conscious?Differ
Christian Soul TheoryUnlikelyIf consciousness requires a radically separate, nonphysical substance (soul) that is divinely created or allocated, non-biological intelligences could not generate this necessary component, making AI consciousness impossible.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryPossibleSince consciousness depends on having suitable higher-order thoughts about one’s own states, a system able to form such thoughts would meet the condition in principle.
Christian Soul TheoryYesThe soul is the ‘real you,’ existing independently of the body and providing the clearest mechanism for the persistence of individual consciousness post-mortem, fulfilling the core tenet of Abrahamic religions.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryNoConscious states are natural states of an organism, so nothing remains conscious once those states stop occurring.
Christian Soul TheoryNoUploading neural patterns and pathways would only duplicate the physical basis of consciousness. Since the necessary nonphysical substance (the soul) would be absent from the duplicate, first-person mental self-preservation would be impossible.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryPossibleIf the relevant first-order states and higher-order thoughts were reproduced, the view gives no principled reason the copy would lack consciousness.
Christian Soul TheoryCosmic/UltimateAs a theological theory, it provides ultimate meaning, purpose, and value tied to divine creation, destiny, and the spiritual nature of human existence.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryHumanistic onlyThe theory is a naturalistic account of mental states and carries no cosmic purpose.
Nature of mind
Ontology
Christian Soul TheorySubstance Dualism. Reality consists of at least two ontological categories: physical (brain/body) and nonphysical (soul).
Higher-Order Thought TheoryPhysicalism (naturalistic functionalism)
Mind and body
Christian Soul TheoryInteractionist: The immaterial soul relates to the physical body/brain in an informing and cause-effect way, meaning physical states cause phenomenal states, and phenomenal states cause physical states.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryMental states, their qualities, and the higher-order thoughts that make them conscious are all natural states of the organism; Rosenthal expects neural correlates of consciousness to be whatever mechanism produces the higher-order awareness.
Fundamental or emergent
Christian Soul TheoryPrimitive. The soul is a substantial, nonphysical substance, often held to be created and allocated by God (Creationism) rather than arising from material processes.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryEmergent
Qualia
Christian Soul TheoryQualia (qualitative feel) are phenomenal properties borne by the immaterial soul, which provides the single, unitary awareness of complex experiences.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryMental qualities are fixed by their role in perceptual discrimination and occupy a ‘quality space’ that mirrors the similarities among perceptible properties. Because these qualities do not depend on consciousness, a sensation can have qualitative character without being conscious, as in subliminal perception.
How it works
Mechanism
Christian Soul TheoryInteractionism, which requires that the physical world is not causally closed, allowing the nonphysical soul to exert causal power over the physical brain and vice versa.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryA non-inferential higher-order thought that one is in a given state, which makes that first-order state conscious even when the thought itself is unconscious.
Where it is
Christian Soul TheoryThe non-extended soul is associated with the body, being fully 'present' at each point within it.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryNot stated
What it does
Christian Soul TheoryThe soul's main functional role is providing causal efficacy for mental states (especially in relation to libertarian free will) and grounding personal identity. It also gives form to and animates the body.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryNot stated
Evidence and criticism
Testability
Christian Soul TheorySpeculative/Philosophical. Direct empirical testing is impossible due to the soul’s nonphysical nature. It is argued that empirical evidence for survival beyond death (like NDEs/OBEs) would instantaneously falsify materialism and support dualism.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryConceptually testable
Tests so far
Christian Soul TheoryReported observations such as near-death experiences (NDEs) and out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are cited by adherents as phenomena requiring a nonphysical explanation, which the soul provides.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryNot stated
Criticisms
Christian Soul TheoryThe primary tension is the problem of mental causation (how an immaterial soul can causally interact with the physical body/brain) and the conflict with the widely accepted scientific principle of the causal closure of the physical world. Critics often attribute persistence in this view to 'folk myths' or persistent traditions.
Higher-Order Thought TheoryFirst-order theorists argue that higher-order awareness is an unneeded extra ingredient, and deflationists say being aware of a conscious state is like ‘smiling a smile’. Rosenthal replies that a deflated awareness cannot explain the contrast between conscious and unconscious states.
Sources
Key sources
Christian Soul Theory
- The Substance of Consciousness: A Comprehensive Defense of Contemporary Substance Dualism (2023)
- The Soul: How We Know It’s Real and Why it Matters, J.P. Moreland (2014)
- Mind, Brain, and Free Will, Richard Swinburne (2013)
Higher-Order Thought Theory
- Rosenthal’s Higher-Order Thought, Landscape of Consciousness, David Rosenthal (2005)
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