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| Format: | Recurso digital |
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Zenodo
2025
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17800895 |
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Table of Contents:
- <p>The Dimensionality of Experience: Testing the Link Between Neural State-Space Topology and Phenomenal Richness — Version 2 (Expanded Framework and Methods)</p> <p> </p> <p>This revised and expanded version of the manuscript develops a more rigorous theoretical foundation for the Ontology of Openness (OoO) and introduces a complete empirical framework for testing its predictions. The central claim of OoO is that consciousness arises when a hierarchical generative model—embedded in a thermodynamically open, non-ergodic neural system—actively navigates uncertainty by exploring a structured region of its high-dimensional state space. The phenomenology of experience corresponds to the system’s integrated, self-referential representation of this exploration.</p> <p> </p> <p>Version 2 provides:</p> <p> </p> <p>• A strengthened mechanistic model</p> <p>Formulating the Triple-Aspect Model (Physical–Informational–Phenomenal) as a single integrated process rather than a set of metaphysical perspectives.</p> <p> </p> <p>• Precise, falsifiable predictions</p> <p>Including the Topological Correlate of Richness (TCR): the hypothesis that phenomenally rich states exhibit higher topological complexity, measurable via persistent homology (Betti numbers β₁, β₂) applied to neural state-space trajectories.</p> <p> </p> <p>• A full experimental and analytical pipeline</p> <p>Detailed methods for EEG/fMRI acquisition, phenomenological sampling, sliding-window functional connectivity, Vietoris–Rips complexes, Betti curve computation, persistent entropy, surrogate null models, and mixed-effects statistical testing.</p> <p> </p> <p>• Integration with existing theories</p> <p>Showing how OoO extends Predictive Processing, relates to Integrated Information Theory (capacity vs. exploration), and deepens the Global Neuronal Workspace framework by modeling pre-broadcast topological structure.</p> <p> </p> <p>• Clear falsification criteria</p> <p>Outlining specific empirical outcomes that would refute the core claims, making this one of the most testable theoretical models of consciousness available.</p> <p> </p> <p>• Supplementary material included</p> <p>This Zenodo record includes a standalone Technical Supplement containing the full formal framework, methods, and predictions as a separate citable document.</p> <p> </p> <p>Overall, Version 2 transforms the Ontology of Openness from a conceptual proposal into a robust, mathematically grounded research program spanning neuroscience, AI, and philosophy of mind.</p> <p> </p>