From reactions to reflection: A recursive framework for the evolution of cognition and complexity.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Neuroscience
• Cognitive science

Background:

• Consciousness evolution remains a complex challenge.
• Existing theories lack a comprehensive evolutionary and biological framework.
• Understanding the emergence of subjective experience requires novel approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a comprehensive framework for the evolution of consciousness.
• To propose a model integrating biological cooperation, temporal structuring, and self-referential processing.
• To offer a biologically grounded pathway for addressing the "hard problem" of consciousness.

Main Methods:

• Developing a continuum of recursive processes: reaction, temporogenesis, symbiogenesis, and cognogenesis.
• Integrating biological cooperation, temporal structuring, and self-referential processing.
• Comparing the proposed framework with Integrated Information Theory, Global Workspace Theory, and enactive cognition.

Main Results:

• Established reaction as the foundational mechanism for adaptive responses.
• Demonstrated the transition from reaction to temporogenesis (internal-external synchronization).
• Highlighted symbiogenesis's role in fostering cooperation for higher-order cognition.
• Positioned cognogenesis as the emergence of self-awareness and intentionality through iterative feedback loops.

Conclusions:

• Subjective experience emerges from progressively complex recursive interactions.
• The framework offers a novel perspective on complexity scaling across evolutionary time.
• This model bridges the gap between reaction and reflection, providing empirical avenues for research.