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Loops all the way up: Recurrency as an implementation-first primitive for consciousness
Zefan Zheng1, Robert Chis-Ciure2, Peter Thestrup Waade3
1Research Group Neural Circuits, Consciousness and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Predictive Brain Department, Research Center One Health Ruhr, University Alliance Ruhr, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Physics of Life Reviews
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Consciousness science unifies disparate theories using the principle of recurrency. This mechanistic scaffold explains consciousness by mapping feedback loops across four biological levels, resolving the phenomenal-access distinction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Consciousness science is fragmented, with theories operating independently.
- Existing theories accumulate anomalies without significant progress.
- A unifying framework is needed to advance empirical investigations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose recurrency as a unifying mechanistic scaffold for consciousness.
- To demonstrate how all theories of consciousness invoke feedback loops.
- To re-express theories along a single axis of recursion.
Main Methods:
- Analyzing existing theories of consciousness for shared principles.
- Identifying recurrency as a fundamental, cross-theoretical principle.
- Mapping four nested levels of recurrency to aspects of consciousness.
Main Results:
- All theories of consciousness can be re-expressed via recurrency.
- Four nested levels of recurrency map to state consciousness, phenomenal content, conscious access, and phenomenal character.
- The phenomenal-access distinction dissolves into a graded cascade of recurrency.
Conclusions:
- Recurrency provides a biologically plausible, mechanistic scaffold for consciousness.
- This principle resolves disparities between theories by focusing on implementation.
- An implementation-first approach is crucial for empirically testable consciousness science.
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