Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
The 6th Models of Consciousness Conference (MoC6) 2025, Sapporo, Japonya, 30 Eylül - 04 Ekim 2025, ss.50, (Özet Bildiri)
Beyond states and subjects: a dynamic model of higher-order consciousness
Recently endorsed models of consciousness attribute the property of being conscious to mental states rather than global subjects. Higher-order theories (HOT) claim that a mental state is conscious when it is represented by another, higher-order mental state. Notions of state consciousness, however, are susceptible to empty HO state objections, namely, the possibility of the HO state misrepresenting a non-existent state. This problem can be pinpointed to state models, for when adopted by HO theories, the implication is that HO states should be sufficient for consciousness.
Instead, we want to propose a dynamic version of HOT, grounded in the framework of implicit definition and recursive interaction. In accordance with interactivism (Bickhard, 2009; 2025), the type of representation that leads to consciousness consists in the dynamic interactions of an agent with the world. Dynamicity is captured via the mathematical notion of implicit definition (Hilbert 1927; Hodges 2001): we model mental content not as explicitly encoded representations, but as agent-internal constraints that differentiate feasible interactions from unfeasible ones. Consciousness emerges when a first-level flow of anticipation is modulated by a higher-order flow, both of which are implicitly defined. This higher-order structure constitutes an interiorized action/intervention process, instead of a static higher-order state.