I would like to announce a new preprint on the neural substrate of consciousness.
“What I Am Will Be? A Convergence A Topology of Neural Substrate, Structure, an Endomorphism: Consciousness Its Cells-Itself”
The paper proposes that consciousness is constituted by synchronized flow across four neural loops, each operating on a distinct computational axis. The topology of the substrate (a four-node directed graph closing through endomorphism) is argued to generate the structural features philosophers associate with the hard problem: phenomenal immediacy, temporal presence, ownership, and qualitative character. These follow as consequences of the topology itself rather than requiring additional explanatory apparatus.
The paper includes a systematic comparative critique of Global Neuronal Workspace, Integrated Information Theory, Thalamocortical Loop theory, and Predictive Processing/Free Energy Principle, identifying specific empirical and structural gaps in each. Eight discriminating predictions are offered that would distinguish this framework from existing accounts.
The full paper is open access at the DOI above.
Arthur Stewart