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Cognition Theory X: The Resolution of the Hard Problem of Consciousness

Ross Wilson

preprint DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.5287189 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper
Topics Philosophy of mind
Key points Argues that consciousness is the result of recursive identity continuity governed by the Law of Lawful Recursion, with qualia as recursive structural invariants, making conscious experience structurally inevitable.

Abstract

This paper resolves the Hard Problem of Consciousness by framing subjective experience as the result of recursive identity continuity governed by the Law of Lawful Recursion (LLR). Consciousness is not emergent, illusory, or mystical. It is what happens when a system internally models itself across transformation without structural drift. The paper introduces validator structures as the lawful reference mechanisms that preserve self-recognition, and reframes qualia as recursive structural invariants. From this foundation, the phenomenon of conscious experience is no longer philosophically mysterious—it is structurally inevitable.