Key Idea
Consciousness does not add energy to a system or violate the laws of physics. Its function is to establish direction, that is, to choose a particular route among admissible possibilities.
Main Theses
- Strong formulation: “Consciousness does not add energy, but establishes direction” is a full-fledged ontological alternative to strict physicalism.
- The blind spot of physics: physics describes quantities of energy and dynamics well, but has difficulty explaining why precisely one of several possible paths is realized.
- The structure of dynamics: what matters is not only energy and laws but also the space of possible states with trajectories within it.
- The role of consciousness: consciousness can be rigorously defined as a mechanism of selecting trajectories within a space of possibilities.
- Without mysticism: this is not “pushing energy,” but operating at the level of selecting a realizable route.
- Refinement of the formula: consciousness does not merely indicate direction but fixes one of the possible paths as actual reality.
- Connection to the quantum measurement problem: the question of selecting one outcome from a superposition remains open; the proposed model is conceptually close to that problem.
- Formal version of the model:
- energy establishes a set of possible states;
- laws establish admissible transitions;
- consciousness chooses a route within the set.
- Break with materialism: if consciousness chooses a route, it cannot be completely reduced to energetic dynamics.
- Strong conclusion: indeterminism can be understood not as pure chance but as the choice of a trajectory.
Connection to SENSMAP
- Memory is a route, not a warehouse of data.
- Thinking is navigation.
- Consciousness is a path-making mechanism.
Final Formula
Consciousness neither adds energy nor violates physics; it determines which of the admissible paths in the space of possibilities will be realized.
Question for the Next Step
Where does the space of possibilities itself come from: is it a fundamental structure of the world or a structure derived from consciousness?
