The Structural Conditions of Consciousness VII — Extension Volume — Structural Determination of the Brain from Action and Irreversible Exclusive Decision (Repositioning State-Based Theories of Consciousness: IIT, GNW, HOT, Predictive Processing, RPT, and Epiphenomenalism)

Consciousness may arise not from neural mechanisms but from the structural demands of action. Acting systems generate multiple possible futures that must be resolved through irreversible exclusive state commitment (IESC), a physically grounded process involving information loss and energy dissipation. From this premise, five structural conditions are derived: autonomous action, viability-based differentiation, internal generation of alternatives, exclusive irreversible decision, and formation of a single continuous history. These conditions constrain brain architectures across diverse taxa, explaining functional convergence in insects, fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and mammals. The framework reinterprets existing consciousness theories and makes testable predictions, inviting falsification through counterexamples.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Qualia? “What cannot be directly spoken of must remain unsaid — but it can still be structurally surrounded.” This is the guiding spirit of the present series. This paper extends the structural framework of consciousness developed in the preceding volumes by examining how the minimal structure of subjectivity constrains the architecture of the brain. Rather than explaining consciousness from neural mechanisms, we reverse the explanatory direction and begin from action. We propose that acting systems necessarily generate multiple possible futures, and that these alternatives must be resolved through irreversible exclusive state commitment (IESC), defined as the process by which multiple internally generated possibilities are reduced, under viability constraints, to a single realized outcome. This commitment is not merely a formal reduction of possibilities, but is physically grounded in irreversible processes involving information loss and energy dissipation. Starting from the premise that action constitutes a world-modifying capacity, we argue that any such system necessarily produces branching futures that require resolution through exclusive and irreversible commitment. From this requirement, we derive five structural conditions: autonomous action, viability-based differentiation, internal generation of alternatives, exclusive irreversible decision, and the formation of a single continuous history. We propose that these conditions impose constraints on any physical system capable of implementing IESC. In biological systems, these constraints are realized through neural architectures that perform candidate generation, valuation, competitive selection, history integration, and action execution. Across diverse taxa, including insects, fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and mammals, functionally corresponding structures can be consistently interpreted despite substantial anatomical differences. This convergence supports the hypothesis that brain architectures are shaped by shared structural requirements rather than arbitrary variation. The proposed framework is situated in relation to existing state-based theories of consciousness, including Integrated Information Theory, Global Neuronal Workspace theory, Higher-Order Thought theory, Predictive Processing, Recurrent Processing Theory, and epiphenomenal accounts. It provides a structural reinterpretation of these approaches by relocating subjectivity from internal states to the structure of irreversible commitment. The framework makes clear testable predictions. It would be challenged by the identification of systems that exhibit adaptive action while lacking one or more of the structural conditions, or by systems that satisfy these conditions without exhibiting the expected behavioral organization. Within this perspective, the brain is not treated as the primary origin of subjectivity, but as a physical implementation of the structural requirements imposed by irreversible exclusive decision. This study is explicitly presented as an invitation to falsification: the framework stands only insofar as it resists systematically constructed counterexamples. Accordingly, subjectivity is not derived from neural states, but emerges as a physically constrained consequence of irreversible elimination under viability conditions. The updated content of this work is available on OSF. Primary DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4PDHQ