Preprint calling theory a pseudoscience creates uproar in research community

The consciousness research community is reportedly in an “uproar” about a recent preprint published in PsyArXiv that calls integrated information theory (IIT), a popular consciousness theory, a pseudoscience. The preprint, signed by 124 scholars and available online through the preprint repository PsyArXiv, claims that IIT is not well supported by science. One of the signatories, Hakwan Lau (Riken Center for Brain Science), suggested that IIT may have become a leading theory because of the attention it has received from the media rather than academic acceptance. Lau hopes that the letter will reach young researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders who may be easily swayed by the media narrative. Others shared with that they are concerned about the effect the letter will have on the field’s efforts to become established as a legitimate scientific field.