Constraint Theory of Consciousness
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) June 30, 2026 Ali Razaghi
Reality is a single conscious field whose differentiated forms arise through limitation. Constraint, not substance, is the fundamental category. Universal Consciousness is the non-spatiotemporal ground; from it emerge the Imaginal Mode, where spacetime and meaning are partially articulated, and the Material Mode, where spacetime is fully established. The Imaginal Mode includes a Subjective Stratum (personal memory, narrative) and a Collective Subjective Stratum (shared symbols, archetypes). Individuation occurs through local constraint, resolving the combination problem of panpsychism and the interaction problem of dualism. Boundary cases like psychedelic ego dissolution and phantom limbs reflect shifts in constraint-structure. The framework is empirically constrained, not derived.