The Sphere Model of Consciousness: From Geometrical to Neuro-Psycho-Educational Perspectives

Abstract

The present article addresses the logic of the sphere, or the Sphere Model of Consciousness (SMC) developed by Patrizio Paoletti over three decades of research (Paoletti in Flussi, territori, luogo (Flows, territories, place). M.E.D. Ed., 2002 ; Flussi, territori, luogo II (Flows, territories, place II). M.E.D. Ed., 2002 ; Fare il punto nave (Taking a bearing point). M.E.D. Ed., 2005 ; In: Proceedings conference at Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. Bar Ilan University. Faculty of Neuroscience, Israel, 2007 ; Osservazione—Quaderni di Pedagogia per il Terzo Millennio (Observation: educational notebooks on pedagogy for the third millennium), Ed. 3P, 2011 ; Mediazione—Quaderni di Pedagogia per il Terzo Millennio (Mediation: educational notebooks on pedagogy for the third millennium), Ed. 3P, 2011 ). The SMC model has been experimentally applied in the educational field and lies at the base of neuroscientific and psychoeducational research conducted by the Paoletti Foundation. In recent years, it has been studied by several researchers in the field of neuroscience. Following a logical-mathematical introduction regarding the properties of the spherical shape, we illustrate for the first time the structuring of the model and its neural foundations. We emphasize the central space of the sphere, defined by the geometric model and highlight its descriptive and heuristic properties in relation to the study of consciousness. Finally, we present educational applications of the model, particularly with respect to the center of the sphere, defined in the current context as the “place of pre-existence.”