We all know what a forest is. But there is no "particle of forestness".
Most of the words we use don't need laws of physics and particles exclusive for them. What makes you think consciousness is more like electromagnetism than it is like a forest?
In my opinion consciousness is just an abstraction, like a football match or a forest. We have a word for these common configurations of matter, but it doesn't mean that they are fundamentally, qualitatively different from the rest of the universe.
Show me an elementary particle of forest then I can admit that consciousness needs one too :)
Consciousness is not just an abstraction, requires self replication/evolution and ability to create models of self and environment - both being extraordinary feats.
A perceptive self replicator existing inside a multi-agent environment that affords both cooperation and competition, and who's existence depends on its ability to adapt and act well - this configuration is what creates consciousness in my opinion.
There is no particle or fundamental quality of consciousness, but it is what self replication under limited resources leads to.
Most of the words we use don't need laws of physics and particles exclusive for them. What makes you think consciousness is more like electromagnetism than it is like a forest?
In my opinion consciousness is just an abstraction, like a football match or a forest. We have a word for these common configurations of matter, but it doesn't mean that they are fundamentally, qualitatively different from the rest of the universe.
Show me an elementary particle of forest then I can admit that consciousness needs one too :)