The Four-Model Theory of Consciousness: A Simulation-Based Framework Unifying the Hard Problem, Binding, and Altered States
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) July 6, 2026 Gruber, Matthias
A theory of consciousness called the Four-Model Theory proposes that conscious experience arises from a computational process in which a system runs a real-time self-simulation across four nested models: implicit and explicit models of the world and the self. Qualia are properties of this running computation, not of the physical substrate, dissolving the hard problem of consciousness as a category error. The theory requires the brain to operate at criticality (the edge of chaos) and claims that self-referential closure—where the system models itself—makes experience constitutive. The theory unifies phenomena such as psychedelic states, anesthesia, dreams, and split-brain conditions, and makes testable predictions, including that psychedelics should alleviate anosognosia.