Thermodynamic Model of Consciousness

Abstract

This manuscript proposes a thermodynamic and systemic model of consciousness that distinguishes two functional regimes of cognitive organization: the Operational Regime and the Self-Referential Regime. The former describes an organizational mode in which the self-model remains subordinate to organism–environment coupling and is continuously corrected through feedback relevant to homeostasis. The latter describes a possible hierarchical inversion in which the self-model, reference state, and meta-model feedback acquire functional priority, such that behavior becomes oriented toward preserving internal coherence rather than updating in response to environmental constraints. The manuscript develops a conceptual architecture of this transition, its stabilization mechanisms, its social and symbolic expressions, and hypothetical pathways of reversal. It also outlines an operationalization program for investigating potential physiological, behavioral, and ecological indicators, without presenting these relationships as empirically established mechanisms. Rather than advancing a definitive ontology of mind, the model is presented as a hypothetical, refutable, and revisable framework for auditing the relationships among simulation, identity, language, homeostasis, and adaptation.