The hard problem of consciousness dissolved through CED (simplified version)
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) August 31, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22208415 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that the Hard Problem of Consciousness is a category error caused by conflating the physical and experiential axes, and that qualia are tensorial invariants of the self-referential interface, leading to the conclusion that consciousness is projected rather than generated. |
Abstract
We apply the Metaphysic of the Intelligible and the Category Error Detector (CED) to the Hard Problem of Consciousness—the question of why physical processes feel like something from the inside. We show that the Hard Problem is a category error arising from the collapse of two ir- reducible axes: the physical (contingent) and the experiential (abstract). Once the axes are restored, qualia are revealed as tensorial invariants of the self-referential interface. Consciousness is not generated—it is pro- jected. The Hard Problem dissolves.