The Four-Model Theory of Consciousness (FMT; Gruber, 2015, 2026) proposes that consciousness is constituted by real-time self-simulation across four nested models — Implicit World Model (IWM), Implicit Self Model (ISM), Explicit World Model (EWM), and Explicit Self Model (ESM) — operating at the edge of chaos. The theory currently operates in natural language. This paper outlines a recommended...
The science of consciousness remains in a pre-paradigm state, with no theory simultaneously satisfying the eight core requirements a complete theory must meet: the Hard Problem, the Explanatory Gap, the Boundary Problem, the Structure of Experience, Unity and Binding, Combination and Emergence, the Causal Role, and the Meta-Problem. This paper presents the Four-Model Theory, in which...