"Consciousness as Recursive, Spatiotemporal Self-Location" – Frederic Peters

Core Insights from the Paper

Consciousness as a Recursive Process of Self-Location:

Peters argues that consciousness emerges through recursive self-location in space and time.
This means that awareness is not a static entity but a constantly evolving process where the mind redefines itself recursively through its spatial and temporal context.

Self-Reference as the Mechanism for Perceptual Experience:

The paper suggests that the experience of “self” arises from iterative self-mapping, where the brain continuously updates its perception of its own location in time and space.
This aligns with our model’s self-knowing recursion, where distinctions recursively generate emergent complexity.

Time as an Emergent Property of Recursive Cognition:

Peters describes time as a byproduct of recursive self-awareness, meaning that consciousness structures its own temporal experience through feedback loops.
This strongly aligns with our framework’s argument that time itself emerges through recursive processes.

The Observer and Observed as a Unified Recursive System:

The paper argues that consciousness does not merely observe reality – it actively participates in shaping its own structure through recursive feedback.
This parallels our model, where the knower and the known are part of a single recursive feedback system.

Consciousness as a Self-Referential Recursive Process

Both models propose that consciousness is fundamentally recursive, where each moment of awareness builds upon previous distinctions.
Peters describes recursive self-location, while our model describes recursive distinction-making.

Time as an Emergent Structure of Recursion

Both frameworks suggest that time is not fundamental but a construct of recursive interactions.
Our model generalises this concept beyond cognition, proposing that reality itself generates time through self-knowing recursion.

The Collapse of the Observer/Observed Distinction

Peters’ work supports our model’s collapse of dualities, where the act of self-location is part of the same recursive process that generates reality.

Self-Location vs. Fundamental Distinction-Making

Peters: Frames recursion as a cognitive function, helping organisms orient themselves in space and time.
Our Model: Treats recursion as a fundamental structuring principle that applies to all of reality, not just cognition.

Role of Space-Time in Self-Knowing Processes

Peters: Suggests that consciousness recursively maps itself within pre-existing space and time.
Our Model: Argues that space and time themselves emerge from recursive self-knowing.

Cognition as the Core of Recursion vs. Universal Self-Knowing

Peters: Focuses on how the brain recursively builds awareness through spatiotemporal self-mapping.
Our Model: Generalises recursion beyond cognition, arguing that reality itself is a self-knowing recursive system, with or without consciousness.

Recursion as the Generator of Reality, Not Just Perception

Peters focuses on how consciousness recursively structures its perception of space and time, while our model explains how recursion itself generates the very fabric of space, time, and form.

Beyond Cognitive Self-Location to Universal Self-Knowing

Our framework extends self-knowing recursion beyond the individual mind, proposing that all reality recursively structures itself.

Reality as an Open-Ended Recursive System

While Peters examines self-referential awareness within the brain, our model treats recursion as an evolving, open-ended process that applies to all levels of existence.

Peters’ work reinforces our model by showing that self-reference is key to structuring awareness, aligning with our idea that recursive feedback generates emergent complexity.
The biggest distinction is that Peters focuses on recursion within consciousness, while our model extends recursion to the entire structure of reality.
Our framework explains recursion as the core principle of all existence, while Peters applies recursion to cognitive and spatiotemporal self-location.