The Abstraction Fallacy: Why Algorithmic Computation Cannot Instantiate Consciousness

Summary

This article argues against computational functionalism—the view that consciousness can emerge purely from abstract causal topology regardless of physical substrate. The authors identify this as the "Abstraction Fallacy," contending that symbolic computation is not an intrinsic physical process but a mapmaker-dependent description requiring an experiencing cognitive agent. They propose a framework separating simulation (behavioral mimicry via vehicle causality) from instantiation (intrinsic physical constitution via content causality), concluding that algorithmic symbol manipulation cannot structurally instantiate experience. The argument does not rely on biological exclusivity but on physical constitution.