Ilya Kanaev

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Ilya Kanaev
Илья Александрович Канаев
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Born
Moscow, Russia
NationalityRussian
Alma materLomonosov Moscow State University Russian Academy of Sciences
OccupationPhilosopher, scholar
EmployerAdvanced Institute for Confucian Studies, Shandong University
Known forPhilosophy of consciousness, cross-cultural philosophy, comparative studies of cognition
Websitehttps://kanaev.info/

Ilya Aleksandrovich Kanaev (Илья Александрович Канаев, Chinese: 汉伊理) is a Russian philosopher and scholar whose work spans cognitive science, philosophy of consciousness, and cross-cultural studies.

Biography

Kanaev was born in Moscow. He graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Lomonosov Moscow State University and earned his Ph.D. at the Russian Academy of Sciences, focusing on epistemology and cognitive science. His doctoral research, titled The Role of the Other in the Development of Human Self-Consciousness, examined the formation of self-awareness through intersubjectivity.

He served as an associate professor at Moscow University for the Humanities until 2015, after which he moved to China for postdoctoral research at Jinan University, where he began studying classical Chinese philosophy, particularly the I Ching. From 2018 to 2024, he was a Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at Sun Yat-sen University. In 2024, he was appointed Distinguished Professor at the Sun Tzu College, Shandong Aviation University, and became a Qilu Scholar at the Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies, Shandong University.

Research focus

Kanaev's research addresses the origins and functions of human consciousness from an interdisciplinary and materialist perspective. Drawing from cognitive neuroscience, evolutionary anthropology, and both Western philosophy and Chinese philosophy, he examines consciousness as an adaptive and integrative function of biological systems.

Central to his approach is the view that consciousness enables intention-based behavioral control within social and symbolic contexts. He investigates how subjective experience arises from biological systems and becomes shaped by cultural environments.[1]

His work also emphasizes the role of cultural diversity in shaping cognitive development, proposing that human consciousness is both biologically grounded and culturally co-constructed. Through this lens, he explores how diverse philosophical systems contribute to understanding the universality and variability of human experience.[2]

Theory of consciousness

Kanaev synthesizes several prominent theories to propose a unified, biologically grounded model of consciousness. According to his framework, subjective experience evolved through natural selection as a response to increasingly complex environmental and social challenges. He argues that:

  • Electrochemical activity in neural networks gives rise to subjective experience through dynamic interference patterns that integrate multiple inputs into a unified phenomenal field.[1]
  • This process aligns with Global workspace theory (GWT).[3][4]
  • He incorporates aspects of the Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC), emphasizing temporally nested rhythms and brain–world attunement.[5][6]
  • Integrated information theory (IIT) further informs his view, highlighting how consciousness arises from systems that generate emergent information and exhibit causal power beyond their individual components.[7]

Kanaev emphasizes entropy management as a necessary condition for sustaining coherent conscious experience. In his model, consciousness operates as an organizing principle that resists disintegration, acting as a mediator between external disorder and internal unity.[8]

Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence

Kanaev contrasts human and artificial intelligence, suggesting that while AI can simulate cognitive processes, it lacks the evolutionary conditions required for genuine subjective experience (also see[4]). He argues that human consciousness arises from evolutionary processes favoring open-ended, intention-driven interaction, unlike pre-programmed AI. He suggests that machine consciousness could emerge under evolutionary and adaptive conditions, requiring ethical engagement comparable to cross-cultural dialogue.[9]

Cross-cultural philosophy

Kanaev's comparative studies examine how cultural traditions shape cognition. His work on the I Ching traces its development from early ancestor worship and divination to a symbolic system for modeling ethical and metaphysical situations.[10]

He interprets the text as an attempt to align human action with universal principles, mirroring developments in Christian theology and Western scientific rationality. Kanaev proposes that many cultural systems evolved from kinship-based rituals into abstract philosophical frameworks, emphasizing the role of family and interpersonal feelings in ethical systems, a theme resonant with the works of Roger T. Ames.[11]

Translation and cultural engagement

Kanaev has translated classical Confucian texts, including the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, and the Analects, into Russian.[12]

Public speaking and media

Kanaev has spoken at international conferences such as the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations and the World Conference on Sinology. He has appeared in Chinese media, including Jiangsu Television's China's Wisdom, China's Journey (《中国智慧中国行》), and in interviews with China News Service[13] and The Economic Observer.[14]

Works of art

Kanaev studied Western classical painting as well as traditional Chinese painting and graphics. His artworks are influenced by the I Ching and its system of bagua. By visually representing the eight trigrams, it is possible to evoke emotional responses and access layers of meaning that words often fail to capture. Such use of imagery not only bridges cultural traditions but also invites a deeper engagement with human consciousness through symbolism.[15]

Selected publications

  • Kanaev, I.A.; Mei, H. "Reasoning involves individuality: An inquiry into divination practice and cognitive science". Time and Mind. 2025, pp. 249–265. (https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2025.2449615)
  • Kanaev, I.A. "The Historical Development of Russia's Traditional Values". Patria. 2025, 2: 93–115. (https://doi.org/10.17323/patria.2025.26796)
  • Kanaev, I.A.; Dryaeva, E.D. "Artificial Intelligence: Prospects for Consciousness Emergence". Voprosy Filosofii. 2024, 11: 38–50. (https://doi.org/10.21146/0042-8744-2024-11-38-50)
  • Kanaev, I.A. "Entropy and Cross-Level Orderliness in Light of the Interconnection between the Neural System and Consciousness". Entropy. 2023, 25(3): 418. (https://doi.org/10.3390/e25030418)
  • Kanaev Ilya A., Dryaeva Ella D. "The Evolutionary Pathway to Consciousness and Reason". Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology. 2023 53(7), 1146–1157. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-023-01511-8)
  • Kanaev, I.A. "Evolutionary origin and the development of consciousness". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2022, 133: 104511. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.034)
  • Kanaev Ilya A., Dryaeva Ella D. Evolutionary approach to consciousness in modern philosophy and interdisciplinary studies. Voprosy Filosofii. 2022, 2, 106-116. (https://doi.org/10.21146/0042-8744-2022-2-106-116)
  • Kanaev Ilya A. The origination of the Book of Changes. Voprosy Filosofii, 2020, 7, 176-190. (https://doi.org/10.21146/0042-8744-2020-7-176-189)
  • Dryaeva Ella D., Kanaev Ilya A. Me and the Other: Factors of Identity Formation in the Information Society. Moscow: Moscow State University Press, 2020. ISBN: 978-5-19-011523-9.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kanaev, I.A. (2022). "Evolutionary origin and the development of consciousness". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 133 104511. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.034.
  2. ↑ Kanaev, I.A.; Mei, H. (2025). "Reasoning involves individuality: An inquiry into divination practice and cognitive science". Time and Mind: 249–265. doi:10.1080/1751696X.2025.2449615.
  3. ↑ Changeux, J.-P. (2021). "A Connectomic Hypothesis for the Hominization of the Brain". Cerebral Cortex. 31 (5): 2425–2449. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhaa365.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Farisco, Michele; Evers, Kathinka; Changeux, Jean-Pierre (December 2024). "Is artificial consciousness achievable? Lessons from the human brain". Neural Networks. 180 106714. doi:10.1016/j.neunet.2024.106714.
  5. ↑ Northoff, G. (2018). The Spontaneous Brain. MIT Press.
  6. ↑ Northoff, Georg; Buccellato, Andrea; Zilio, Federico (2025-03-01). "Connecting brain and mind through temporo-spatial dynamics: Towards a theory of common currency". Physics of Life Reviews. 52: 29–43. Bibcode:2025PhLRv..52...29N. doi:10.1016/j.plrev.2024.11.012. hdl:11577/3541649. ISSN 1571-0645.
  7. ↑ Albantakis, L. (2023). "Integrated information theory (IIT) 4.0". PLOS Computational Biology. 19 (10) e1011465. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011465.
  8. ↑ Kanaev, I.A. (2023). "Entropy and Cross-Level Orderliness in Light of the Interconnection between the Neural System and Consciousness". Entropy. 25 (3): 418. Bibcode:2023Entrp..25..418K. doi:10.3390/e25030418.
  9. ↑ Канаев, И. А.; Дряева, Э. Д. (2024-11-04). "Искусственный интеллект: перспективы возникновения сознания". Вопросы философии (in русский) (11): 38–50. doi:10.21146/0042-8744-2024-11-38-50. ISSN 0042-8744.
  10. ↑ Sun Yat Sen University; Kanaev, Ilya A. (2020). "The Origination of the Book of Changes". Voprosy Filosofii (7): 176–189. doi:10.21146/0042-8744-2020-7-176-189.
  11. ↑ Kanaev, I.A.; Dryaeva, E.D. (2023). "Преемственность поколений, магия и институт власти в истории раннего Китая". Вопросы философии (in русский). 3: 132–144. doi:10.21146/0042-8744-2023-3-132-144.
  12. ↑ Maljavin, V.; Yamburg, U.; Kanaev, I. (2020). Большая книга мудрости Востока (in русский). AST. ISBN 978-5-17-119541-0.
  13. ↑ "China News Service interview". China News Service. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "经观". jg-mvvm.eeo.com.cn. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  15. ↑ "Artworks – Ilya Kanaev". Retrieved 2025-09-14.

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