Tiered Social Recursion: A Functional Architecture for the Evolution of Consciousness

Abstract

We introduce the Tiered Social Recursion (TSR) framework, bridging the gap between functional neurobiology and subjective experience by framing consciousness as a tiered evolutionary adaptation of internal world modeling. Mapping the progression from basal reactive awareness to meta-aware social recursion, TSR identifies distinct computational leaps driven by social fitness demands. Aligning with recent adversarial tests of consciousness theories, we propose that the experience of qualia emerges from the recursive modeling of "outer self" in the minds of conspecifics. By utilizing taxonomic benchmarks from Cyanobacteria to Homo, we illustrate the hierarchy’s biological grounding. The proposed operationalization, comprising a hierarchical sensory Parser, µ-state latent representations, a generative Ontological Engine, and a Δ-unit for model grounding, instantiates a testable architecture grounded in neuroanatomy and disorders of self-awareness, as exemplified by Cotard’s syndrome. Considering synthetic consciousness, TSR argues that without physical embodiment, artificial systems cannot internalize the social recursion necessary for biological-like awareness.