Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 18/08/2026I didn't post much in the past months, but I have some pleasant updates! 1) I joined ZEN University as a postdoc. 2) I became a PI (second period) in Qualia Structure! 3) I obtained an early-career scientist grant (WAKATE); 4) I started a Canon Fellowship at Ritsumeikan University! 281
Reposted by Francesco ElliaConsciousness - tlab @qualiastructure.bsky.social · 16/08/2026[new preprint! to be a chapter for Qualia Structure Book] "The View from Among: a Relational Epistemology for Structural Approaches" @ResearchGate: www.researchgate.net/publication/... by @ellia.bsky.social and me. Structural alternative (1st person plural) against 1st or 3rd-person perspectiveresearchgate.net(PDF) The View from Among: a Relational Epistemology for Structural ApproachesPDF | Consciousness science remains caught between a first-person approach that cannot independently corroborate its data and a third-person approach... | Find, read and cite all the research you need... 052
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 16/08/2026New preprint! I'm working on the foundation of the epistemology for Structural Approaches in Consciousness Science. www.researchgate.net/publication/...researchgate.net(PDF) The View from Among: a Relational Epistemology for Structural ApproachesPDF | Consciousness science remains caught between a first-person approach that cannot independently corroborate its data and a third-person approach... | Find, read and cite all the research you need... 171
Reposted by Francesco ElliaConsciousness - tlab @qualiastructure.bsky.social · 31/07/2026[j-club] Birch: The Edge of Sentience Chapter 16 (Presented by Francesco... youtu.be/UScZgmzkK0k?... via @YouTube LLMs and the Gaming Problem (Francesco) - Birch’s two projects distinguished: - Practical/ethical: why sentience _candidates_ matter morally more than resolvingyoutu.be[j-club] Birch: The Edge of Sentience Chapter 16 (Presented by Francesco Ellia)YouTube video by Neural basis of Consciousness & Qualia Structure 123
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 17/04/2026New open-access paper out in Trends in Cognitive Sciences: Explanation, scope, and perspective: sources of schismogenesis in consciousness science Francesco Ellia & Naotsugu Tsuchiya A thread 1/n🧵 www.cell.com/trends/cogni...cell.comExplanation, scope, and perspective: sources of schismogenesis in consciousness scienceContemporary consciousness science faces an impasse: competing theoretical frameworks—structuralist versus functionalist, universal versus local, intrinsic versus extrinsic—appear to be inducing philo... 1269
Reposted by Francesco ElliaNaotsugu Tsuchiya @naotsuchiya.bsky.social · 17/02/2026We are very excited to share this new preprint @yutogashi.bsky.social @oizumim.bsky.social with the excellent video providing the idea! The paper explains how this approach actually goes into more details in revealing subtle individual difference and complex structures of color qualia. 123
Reposted by Francesco ElliaColeen Murphy @ctmurphy1.bsky.social · 11/02/2026Every time I upload a paper to #bioRxiv, I wonder why it can't be this easy at every journal 🧪 16811
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 12/12/2025This paper and lecture by @wgpm.bsky.social address a long standing question about #IIT: if #consciousness is intrinsic, how does it relate to its #environment? From our @qualiastructure.bsky.social Qualia Structure & IIT Summer School 2025! 021
Reposted by Francesco ElliaZhang Chuyin @zhangchuyin.bsky.social · 04/12/2025If your stimulus set is so large that each participant can only use a part of it, do you know random selection is not a good way to distribute the stimuli? We introduced a methodology to collect data efficiently. @naotsuchiya.bsky.social @qualiastructure.bsky.social doi.org/10.13140/RG....doi.org(PDF) A dynamic stimulus distribution methodology for efficient large-scale pairwise relational data collectionPDF | On Dec 3, 2025, Z Chuyin and others published A dynamic stimulus distribution methodology for efficient large-scale pairwise relational data collection | Find, read and cite all the research you... 133
Reposted by Francesco ElliaZhang Chuyin @zhangchuyin.bsky.social · 21/11/2025Be mindful of the subjectivity of conscious experience! Our poster "Free descriptions reduce friction between report and visual experience" at 2025 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference @ellia.bsky.social @naotsuchiya.bsky.social @qualiastructure.bsky.social doi.org/10.5281/zeno...doi.orgFree descriptions reduce friction between report and visual experiencePoster presentation at 2025 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference 051
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 01/11/2025I disagree, it’s an hypothesis that you cannot test and that it’s not embedded in an explanatory framework.. 000
Reposted by Francesco ElliaConsciousness - tlab @qualiastructure.bsky.social · 30/10/2025[Qstr-IIT summer school 2025] Day 1 Matteo Grasso: Introduction to Integrated Information Theory youtu.be/cwPGZ1CacVU?... Highly accessible!youtu.be[Qstr-IIT summer school 2025] Day 1 Matteo Grasso: Introduction to Integrated Information TheoryYouTube video by Neural basis of Consciousness & Qualia Structure 042
Reposted by Francesco ElliaConsciousness - tlab @qualiastructure.bsky.social · 25/10/2025[Qstr-IIT summer school 2025] Day 1: Christof Koch: Introduction to Consciousness and Brain youtu.be/rfYX8YVK7HQ?... via @YouTubeyoutu.be[Qstr-IIT summer school 2025] Day 1: Christof Koch: Introduction to the consciousness researchYouTube video by Neural basis of Consciousness & Qualia Structure 032
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 25/10/2025I will check this reference out! My understanding is that you can always push functions a bit further till the point you have a description of the substrate. Then either it collapse in identity theory or become a substrate relevant framework, such as the one proposed by @anilseth.bsky.social. 140
Reposted by Francesco ElliaNiccolo Negro @niccolonegro.bsky.social · 26/09/2025www.cambridge.org/core/journal... Happy to share this new paper (open access) on the logic of extrapolations in consciousness science, written with @liadmudrik.bsky.socialcambridge.orgExtrapolating Other Consciousnesses: The Prospects and Limits of Analogical Abduction | Philosophy of Science | Cambridge CoreExtrapolating Other Consciousnesses: The Prospects and Limits of Analogical Abduction 3135
Reposted by Francesco ElliaAnil Seth @anilseth.bsky.social · 22/09/2025New paper! Toward a unified taxonomy of information dynamics via Integrated Information Decomposition, out now in @pnas.org - led by @frosas.bsky.social, Pedro Mediano, & Adam Barrett, w/ @andrealuppi.bsky.social @robincarhartharris.bsky.social, me, & Dan Bor. www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....pnas.orgToward a unified taxonomy of information dynamics via Integrated Information Decomposition 0197
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 22/09/2025This is a core issue that I have with the recent paper on AI and consciousness based on computational functionalist theories. Also the term theory is very inflated nowadays. I am guilty of that myself, but something to think about. 040
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 17/09/2025Another preprint! By @zhangchuyin.bsky.social me and @naotsuchiya.bsky.social ! 041
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 17/09/2025New preprint out! My friend @zhangchuyin.bsky.social is new on Bluesky, he is a brilliant student close to the end of his PhD, please follow him! 020
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 16/09/2025Check out our new preprint on theories of #consciousness! 030
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 14/09/2025New #preprint out! In this paper @naotsuchiya.bsky.social and I take a look at the current debate on theories of #consciousness from a #meta-theoretical standpoint, and we argue that there is an ongoing process of #schismogenesis in consciousness science. [1/n] www.researchgate.net/publication/...researchgate.net(PDF) Intrinsic Universal Structures and Extrinsic Local FunctionsPDF | Contemporary consciousness science faces an impasse: competing theoretical frameworks, structuralist vs. functionalist, universal vs. local,... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on... 1125
Reposted by Francesco Elliawanjawiese.bsky.social @wanjawiese.bsky.social · 14/08/2025New paper with Azenet Lopez in C&C: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #PhilMind #PhilConsc #Consciousnesssciencedirect.comBuilding blocks for theories of consciousnessConsciousness science is brimming with theories attempting to explain what consciousness is and how it can be identified in natural and artificial sys… 2219
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 07/08/2025The spirit of Judo is enshrined in its two mottos, that roughly translates into “the maximum effective use of energy” and “mutual benefit” (but please correct me if you know a better translation). According to its founder, Kano Jigoro, Judo means following these principles in every aspect of life. 010
Reposted by Francesco ElliaJoel Snyder @auditoryjoel.bsky.social · 05/08/2025I wrote a commentary (mostly) disagreeing with the thought-provoking @smfleming.bsky.social & @matthiasmichel.bsky.social BBS paper about consciousness arising during the transition of animals from sea to land. #consciousness #neuroscience #evolutionosf.ioOSF 3135
Reposted by Francesco ElliaDr Heather Browning (Veit) @zoophilosophy.bsky.social · 31/07/2025Our new book chapter is out, looking at self-awareness/personhood in nonhuman animals, and how it may relate to questions of suffering link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...link.springer.comSelf-Awareness and Personhood in Non-Human AnimalsBeyond simple consciousness or sentience, some non-human animals may possess more sophisticated cognitive abilities linked to capacities for self-awareness or even personhood, capacities that may infl... 0216
Reposted by Francesco ElliaAndrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 31/07/2025If you are interested in bird behaviour or animal brains, our book has you covered. Available next week, you can order direct from @mitpress.bsky.social (mitpress.mit.edu/978026255273...) or wherever books are sold. #birds #neuroskyence 🪶🧠🧪🇨🇦 See more on it here: www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/articl...ulethbridge.caComparative neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Iwaniuk revels in unlocking the what, how and why of bird behaviour | UNews 47724
Reposted by Francesco ElliaKevin Mitchell @wiringthebrain.bsky.social · 30/07/2025I'm going to be no fun and suppress the impulse to make fun of that, because it actually raises an interesting point. Can the emergent macroscopic 'whole' reach down and control the otherwise random quantum goings-on within it? 1102
Reposted by Francesco ElliaVismay Agrawal @vismayagrawal.bsky.social · 28/07/2025Does meditation just happen to address multiple types of suffering, or does its broad effectiveness hint at something deeper about the mechanisms of suffering or well-being itself? We address this in our new preprint! @rubenlaukkonen.bsky.social osf.io/preprints/ps... 2147
Reposted by Francesco ElliaConsciousness - tlab @qualiastructure.bsky.social · 24/07/2025#psy3280 Student presentation by Ashreye Chopra on Lugo et al. (2015). Beyond the gaze: Communicating in chronic locked-in syndrome. Brain Injury. youtu.be/KYd2TpkSpG0youtu.bePaper Presentation on Beyond the gaze: Communicating in Chronic Locked in Syndrome by Lugo et alYouTube video by Neural basis of Consciousness & Qualia Structure 011
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 23/07/2025Very good point! We started from similar premises in our 2021 paper academic.oup.com/nc/article/2... And a similar claim was made more recently by Trachtenberg and colleagues journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... Philosophy of psychiatry and neuroscience of consciousness have a lot in common!academic.oup.comConsciousness and the fallacy of misplaced objectivityAbstract. Objective correlates—behavioral, functional, and neural—provide essential tools for the scientific study of consciousness. But reliance on these 020
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 22/07/2025This looks genuinely amazing. My streak of bad luck with conferences in 2025 continues because I won’t be in Kyoto at that time 😭 010
Reposted by Francesco ElliaNature Reviews Neuroscience @natrevneuro.nature.com · 22/07/2025Top-down and bottom-up neuroscience: overcoming the clash of research cultures — a Comment article by Fernando E. Rosas, Andrea I. Luppi, Pedro A. M. Mediano, Morten L. Kringelbach, Luiz Pessoa & Federico Turkheimer #neuroscience #neuroskyence www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comTop-down and bottom-up neuroscience: overcoming the clash of research cultures - Nature Reviews NeuroscienceAs scientists, we want solid answers, but we also want to answer questions that matter. Yet, the brain’s complexity forces trade-offs between these desiderata, bringing about two distinct research app... 0193
Reposted by Francesco ElliaTim Bayne @timbayne.bsky.social · 18/07/2025Very pleased that my commentary on Jonathan Birch's fantastic "The Edge of Sentience" has finally appeared. @birchlse.bsky.social and I agree on many things, but there was enough distance between our views to make this a productive exchange. 0228
Reposted by Francesco ElliaMark Rubin @markrubin.bsky.social · 15/07/202529 scholars reflect on their participation in adversarial collaborations: “Rather than producing a clear 'winner,' the most common outcome was a deeper understanding of the problem space through the integration of opposing perspectives” Open Access: doi.org/10.1007/s111... #MetaSci #Methodology 🧪 34918
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 04/07/2025I’m very sad to say that I had to cancel my flight to ASSC. Life is ironic: I had to overcome several challenges to attend this conference but when everything was ready, I experienced a severe heatstroke from which I haven’t recovered yet. Genuinely one of the worst experiences in my life. 6130
Reposted by Francesco ElliaAnil Seth @anilseth.bsky.social · 30/06/2025What makes you ... you? My conversation with the brilliant @chrisduffy.bsky.social, on How to Be a Better Human, out now on @ted.com podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...podcasts.apple.comWhat makes you… you? (w/ Anil Seth)Podcast Episode · How to Be a Better Human · 06/30/2025 · 36m 1114
Reposted by Francesco ElliaJaan Aru @jaanaru.bsky.social · 27/06/2025If you're interested in consciousness, please check this accepted chapter where I try to confront two major assumptions 1) the NCC is probably some type of pattern of spiking 2) we're close to figuring out the computations underlying consciousness arxiv.org/abs/2506.21485 #consci #assc28 🧵👇arxiv.orgThe assumptions that restrain us from understanding consciousnessThe science of consciousness has been successful over the last decades. Yet, it seems that some of the key questions remain unanswered. Perhaps, as a science of consciousness, we cannot move forward u... 55615
Reposted by Francesco ElliaThomas Metzinger @metzinger.bsky.social · 26/06/2025www.researchgate.net/publication/...researchgate.netActive Inference, Computational Phenomenology, and Advanced Meditation: Toward the Formalization of the Experience of MeditationDownload Citation | Active Inference, Computational Phenomenology, and Advanced Meditation: Toward the Formalization of the Experience of Meditation | Computational phenomenology has emerged as a powe... 111
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 24/06/2025I always thought that star wars episode III was the most important movie of the century. Twenty years later I can say I was right. 010
Francesco Ellia @ellia.bsky.social · 21/06/2025So sad I missed this! I would really love to connect with Japan Association for Philosophy of Science! And Sendai is truly beautiful! 040
Reposted by Francesco ElliaAthena Demertzi @ademertzi.bsky.social · 18/06/2025🥳 The 2024 Impact Factor & CiteScores are now released. We're pleased to inform you that Neuroscience of Consciousness #NCONSC achieved an Impact Factor of 4.3 (2023 IF 4.1). We are very excited and thankful for our prolific community of consciousness science! #consci @thomasandrillon.bsky.social 1174
Reposted by Francesco ElliaDr Heather Browning (Veit) @zoophilosophy.bsky.social · 14/06/2025Great summary by @faunalytics.bsky.social of our recent paper on welfare risks for cephalopods and decapods faunalytics.org/seafood-anim...faunalytics.orgSeafood Animals Are Probably Sentient — Now What? - FaunalyticsEvidence indicates that octopuses, squids, lobsters, crabs, and shrimps experience pain and suffering. The seafood industry needs to change. 13013