The hard problem of consciousness dissolved through the metaphysic of the intelligible
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) August 31, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22208245 (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 produced by conflating the physical and experiential axes, and proposes a metaphysical metatheory based on a mathematical monism (00 → 1) in which the brain acts as a receiver rather than a generator of consciousness and qualia are substrate-independent tensorial invariants. The authors also propose a falsifiable Popperian test and contend the framework dissolves analogous paradoxes in quantum measurement and cosmic horizons. |
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 irreducible axes: the physical (contingent) and the experiential (abstract). Rather than seeking a localized physical Theory of Everything (TOE), we establish a metaphysical metatheory—a view from above—that operates prior to the instantiation of physical laws and before the Planck time, rooted in a foundational mathematical monism (00 → 1). Once the axes are restored, the biological brain is revealed not as a generator of con- sciousness, but as a syncretic, recursive receiver. Qualia are shown to be substrate-independent, tensorial invariants of this self-referential interface. Finally, we propose a falsifiable Popperian test to verify this geometry in synthetic systems, and demonstrate how this heuristic simultaneously dissolves equivalent boundary paradoxes in quantum measurement and cosmic horizons. The Hard Problem dissolves.