  In this paper, we take a brief look at the advantages and disadvantages of
dominant frameworks in consciousness studies -- functionalist and causal
structure theories, and use it to motivate a new non-equilibrium thermodynamic
framework of consciousness. The main hypothesis in this paper will be two
thermodynamic conditions obtained from the non-equilibrium fluctuation theorems
-- TCC 1 and 2, that the author proposes as necessary conditions that a system
will have to satisfy in order to be 'conscious'. These descriptions will look
to specify the functions achieved by a conscious system and restrict the
physical structures that achieve them without presupposing either of the two.
These represent an attempt to integrate consciousness into established physical
law (without invoking untested novel frameworks in quantum mechanics and/or
general relativity). We will also discuss it's implications on a wide range of
existing questions, including a stance on the hard problem. The paper will also
explore why this framework might offer a serious path forward to understanding
consciousness (and perhaps even realizing it in artificial systems) as well as
laying out some problems and challenges that lie ahead.
