Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
June 2, 2026
Max Wharton
The scientific study of consciousness encompasses more than 340 distinct theoretical proposals with no agreed framework for evaluating them against common standards. This paper proposes the Consciousness Theory Evaluation Protocol (CTEP) v1.0, a theory-neutral instrument applicable to any theory of consciousness regardless of its ontological commitments. CTEP organises evaluation around seven...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
June 1, 2026
Max Wharton
Author Note This is the second version of this paper. The first version was deposited on Zenodo in April 2026 following initial development of the IC framework and the beginning of the adversarial collaboration with Matthew A. Pender. Version 2 incorporates two categories of change. First, structural corrections reflecting the second edition of The Infinite Continuum (Wharton, 2026c, v2): the...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 23, 2026
Max Wharton
Author's Note (May 2026) This is a revised version of a paper first deposited in March 2026. The revision makes three changes. First, the abstract has been rewritten to more accurately reflect the paper's scope: the core argument is a pressure argument against generator theories, and the paper does not advance a specific positive theory as its conclusion. Second, sections that previously...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 23, 2026
Max Wharton
Author's Note (May 2026) This is a revised version of a paper first deposited in March 2026. The revision makes three changes. First, the abstract has been rewritten to more accurately reflect the paper's scope: the core argument is a pressure argument against generator theories of consciousness at the evolutionary scale, and the paper does not advance a specific positive theory as its...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
March 11, 2026
Matthew A Pender, Max Wharton
Note: This working paper builds directly upon the foundational paradigms established in The Locus of Consciousness: Geometric Phase Transitions, Quantum Coherence, and a Three-Way Empirical Test. We recommend reviewing that manuscript first for a complete introduction to the Position A and Position B paradigms, as well as the proposed experimental hardware, before exploring the A+B synthesis...