Running into Consciousness

TLDR: In this paper, it is argued that the type of running needed for conscious qualia is reflexive in physically affecting and responding to itself, and the self-affecting/responding is a matte r of causation bearing a causal relationship to itself.

Abstract: It is proposed that conscious qualia arise when and only when the ‘runn ing’ of physical processes takes a special, complex form. Running in general is the unified unfolding of proce sses through time, and is claimed to be an additional quality of physical processes beyond their state trajecto ries. The type of running needed for conscious qualia is reflexive in physically affecting and responding to itself. Intuitively, running is essentially the flow of causation, and the self-affecting/responding is a matte r of causation bearing a causal relationship to itself: that is, causation can itself be reflexive. The propos al potentially makes temporal qualia the most fundamental qualia, with others derivatively arising. The pr oposal is neutral about whether a conscious process occurs in a natural organism, in a physically implemente d computational system, or in some other physical substrate, as long as the substrate involves the specia l reflexive runningness.