Kawa, Andreas, Gregor

The Positional Self: Consciousness as a Condition of Self-Involving Anticipation

PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) July 5, 2026 Kawa, Andreas, Gregor preprint

This working paper proposes the concept of the positional self as a functional structure required for self-involving, action-guiding anticipation. It argues that some forms of future-directed simulation require more than predictive modelling: they require a first-person anchor from which a future scenario can be inhabited as mine. The paper connects this argument to mental time travel,...