Sequential Encounter Theory: Objective Reductions in a Fixed Universe
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) August 21, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22050213 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that embedding Orch-OR in a block universe implies consciousness encounters predetermined reductions sequentially, creating illusions of collapse and free will, and that agents observe but do not control these reductions. |
Abstract
We present a philosophical synthesis in which Penrose–Hameroff objective reduction (Orch-OR) is embedded inside a block-universe ontology. Consciousness arises from objective, non-computable state reductions that are already determinate in the four-dimensional structure of spacetime. A conscious system encounters these reductions sequentially along its world-line. The sequential rendering of an already-fixed history produces the systematic illusions of wave-function collapse upon observation and of free will. Consciousness does not create or select the reductions; it merely meets them. Agents are information-processing systems that observe and process the sequence but do not control it. The present account is offered as a conceptual framework rather than a new dynamical theory.