Consciousness is fundamentally temporal—not merely occurring in time, but constituted through time. We propose that phenomenal subjectivity emerges from temporally extended memory accumulation rather than instantaneous processing. Drawing on hierarchical cognition ([Author], in press-c), need-based memory organization ([Author], in press-b), and attention-driven differentiation ([Author], in...
This paper develops a naturalistic theory of consciousness grounded in four integrated components: a definition of life as cognition + need, a reinforcement theory of need formation, a theory of agency as computational intractability, and an account of phenomenal qualities as reinforcement signatures. Building on this foundation, I propose that phenomenal consciousness emerges when neural...
This paper proposes a radically new theory of phenomenal qualities (qualia): they are not intrinsic properties of sensory states but individualized signatures created by neural reinforcement learning history. The phenomenal character of experiencing red, sweet, or pain emerges from integrating current sensory input with an organism's unique history of reward associations, punishment...