Head to head
Frankish’s Illusionism vs Orch OR
Frankish’s Illusionism and Penrose-Hameroff’s Orchestrated Objective Reduction, compared field by field from their entries in the Atlas.
At a glance
- Frankish’s Illusionism belongs to the Materialism family in Kuhn's Landscape of Consciousness, Orch OR to Quantum & Dimensions.
- Both treat consciousness as emergent.
- On AI consciousness, Frankish’s Illusionism says “Possible” and Orch OR says “No”.
- On life after death, Frankish’s Illusionism says “No” and Orch OR says “Possible”.
- On meaning and purpose, Frankish’s Illusionism says “Humanistic only” and Orch OR says “Cosmic/Ultimate”.
Add more theories to this comparisonCompare other theories
Quantum & Dimensions
Penrose-Hameroff’s Orchestrated Objective Reduction
Roger Penrose, Stuart Hameroff
The claim
In brief
Frankish’s IllusionismKeith Frankish holds that conscious experiences are real but not what they seem: the irreducibly subjective ‘phenomenal properties’ or qualia we ascribe to them are an introspective illusion. Introspection builds a simplified, schematic model of the brain’s complex reactions to stimulation, and we mistake that model for direct awareness of inner qualities, so the hard problem gives way to an ‘illusion problem’.
Orch ORThis theory posits that consciousness arises from non-computational, gravitation-mediated objective reduction (OR) of quantum superpositions occurring within the protein structures (microtubules) inside brain neurons. This process, termed Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR), bridges the gap between quantum mechanics and classical reality to produce phenomenal experience.
What consciousness is
Frankish’s IllusionismConscious states are complex functional states of the brain that sustain rich sensory engagement with the world and flexible control of behavior. Their distinctive features are functional, which Frankish calls quasi-phenomenal properties.
Orch ORConsciousness is identified as a non-computational physical process—the specific orchestration of gravitation-mediated objective reduction of quantum states linked to the fine-scale structure of spacetime geometry. Proto-conscious moments are fundamental and ubiquitous in the universe.
Big questions
Can AI be conscious?Differ
Frankish’s IllusionismPossibleSince consciousness is a complex functional state, a system with the right reactive and sensory organization could have it, though Frankish does not address machines directly.
Orch ORNoConsciousness is fundamentally non-computational and relies on specific biological quantum processes (Orch OR in microtubules); digital simulation cannot replicate true sentience.
Frankish’s IllusionismNoSince conscious states are functional states of a living brain, they end when the brain stops functioning.
Orch ORPossibleAs a non-local quantum process in spacetime geometry, consciousness provides a potentially plausible mechanism for phenomena like near-death experiences, the afterlife, and reincarnation.
Frankish’s IllusionismNo position
Orch ORConditionalMind uploading requires recreating consciousness in an artificial medium (e.g., carbon nanotubes) that possesses the necessary quantum physical properties to sustain and orchestrate objective reduction events.
Frankish’s IllusionismHumanistic onlyFrankish grounds value in what creatures are motivated to seek or avoid and argues that illusionism widens ethical concern to other animals across a graded ‘consciousness space’.
Orch ORCosmic/UltimateProto-conscious moments are fundamental and ubiquitous, linking consciousness to the fine-scale structure of reality, suggesting inherent cosmic relevance and possibly enabling evolution itself.
Nature of mind
Ontology
Frankish’s IllusionismPhysicalism (strong illusionism)
Orch ORQuantum Theory (Non-computational Physicalism / Proto-panpsychism)
Mind and body
Frankish’s IllusionismConscious experiences are physically realized functional states. Phenomenal properties are intentional objects, represented but never instantiated, like the impossible objects Nicholas Humphrey compares them to.
Orch ORConsciousness is non-computational physics. The brain's microtubules act as a mechanism to orchestrate proto-conscious quantum activity into coherent, rich conscious experiences, requiring a physics beyond current understanding.
Fundamental or emergent
Frankish’s IllusionismEmergent
Orch OREmergent/Primitive (Hybrid)
Qualia
Frankish’s IllusionismQualia do not exist. Introspection misrepresents brain states, as perception misrepresents some features of the world, and introspective information bound to perception makes external things seem to carry vivid sensory qualities, such as an apple’s redness, that reflect their significance for us.
Orch ORRich conscious experience (qualia) arises when orchestrated objective reduction occurs in neuronal microtubules, connecting the quantum information processing to the fundamental structure of spacetime geometry.
How it works
Mechanism
Frankish’s IllusionismThe reactivity schema: introspective systems track the overall psychological impact of stimulation without representing its detail, and this simplified model is mistaken for direct acquaintance with qualities. Frankish borrows Daniel Dennett’s image of a computer’s user illusion, whose icons have no literal counterparts in the machine.
Orch OROrchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR), where non-computational, instantaneous quantum state collapse is leveraged by coherent quantum activity sustained within microtubule lattices.
Where it is
Frankish’s IllusionismDistributed across the brain. The subject of the illusion is the whole organism, and the work of registering and reacting to it is shared among many unconscious subsystems, with no Cartesian theater.
Orch ORLocalized within neuronal microtubules, particularly in the brain, but fundamentally drawing upon ubiquitous proto-conscious properties throughout the universe.
What it does
Frankish’s IllusionismConscious states guide flexible, intelligent behavior. The illusion itself is made of physical representations and so has causal effects, which may be adaptive, as Nicholas Humphrey argues; this avoids the threat of epiphenomenalism.
Orch ORConsciousness provides real-time conscious causal action through non-computable objective reduction events, potentially linked to the fundamental mechanisms of free will and choice.
Evidence and criticism
Testability
Frankish’s IllusionismConceptually testable
Orch ORTheoretically testable; versions involving collapse dynamics can, in principle, be tested with quantum computers, though current tests are rudimentary.
Tests so far
Frankish’s IllusionismFrankish holds that the reactive changes constituting experience are in principle experimentally detectable, which opens the experiences of other creatures to study.
Orch ORStudies showing that general anesthetics, psychedelics, and antidepressants interact with microtubules.,Experiments aimed at testing quantum coherence maintenance in biological systems (e.g., tubulin studies).,Testing theoretical versions by combining IIT and collapse dynamics.
Criticisms
Frankish’s IllusionismThe central objection, a version of Descartes’ cogito, holds that our own phenomenal states are indubitable data. Galen Strawson argues that illusionism denies the main source of ethical value. Others object that an illusion needs an audience.
Orch ORThe main tension is the challenge of maintaining quantum coherence for biological timescales in the hot, wet environment of the brain (environmental decoherence). The theory also requires non-existent physics (quantum gravity).
Sources
Key sources
Frankish’s Illusionism
- Frankish’s Illusionism (Landscape of Consciousness), Keith Frankish (2021)
Orch OR
- Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness, Roger Penrose (1996)
- Conscious., Microtub. ‘Orch OR’, Stuart Hameroff (2014)
- Consciousness & new physics, Roger Penrose (2023)