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TEVSER: a theory of evolving self-representations
1Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|July 24, 2026
Summary
This paper introduces the Theory of Evolving Self-Representations (TEVSER), a framework explaining how complex regulation creates consciousness and intelligence. It proposes a hierarchy of self-representations to understand cognition and subjective experience.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Living systems are self-regulating, maintaining homeostasis.
- Regulation can be viewed as a hierarchy of control structures guiding behavior.
- Existing theories like predictive coding and integrated information theory offer partial explanations.
Purpose of the Study:
- Propose TEVSER (Theory of Evolving Self-Representations) framework.
- Describe how complex regulation generates psyche, consciousness, and intelligence.
- Offer a constructive approach to the hard problem of consciousness.
Main Methods:
- Describing regulation as a hierarchy of self-representations (Ω).
- Identifying distinct functional levels corresponding to different cognitive forms.
- Integrating existing theories within a unified hierarchical architecture.
Main Results:
- Identifies emergence of phenomenological internal world (Ω²), spatial subjectivity (Ω³), temporal presence (Ω⁶), behavioral intelligence (Ω⁸), self-consciousness (Ω¹⁰), and symbolic intellect (Ω¹¹).
- Consciousness is a structured, graded property of self-representing systems.
- Framework generates testable hypotheses linking self-representation levels to neural organization, behavior, and evolution.
Conclusions:
- TEVSER provides a unified hierarchical architecture for understanding consciousness and intelligence.
- The framework addresses the mind-body problem by linking subjective experience to material brain processes.
- TEVSER serves as a research program for empirical validation in biological and artificial systems.
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