Autological Recursion - A Functional Law of Consciousness

Autological Recursion – A Functional Law of Consciousness proposes a general functional principle for self-modifying systems.
It defines consciousness not as a state or substance, but as an operator:
the differential relation between a system’s structure (S) and its own repetition (R), expressed as

Ψ=∂S/∂R

This autological law interprets consciousness as the structural sensitivity of a system to its own recurrence — a mechanism that links evolution, learning, and self-reflection within a unified formal framework.

The law extends the Kognetik framework (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17428709), which describes cognition through the operators Resonance (R), Sequence (Q), and Structure (U).
Where Kognetik defines the grammar of structural cognition, Autological Recursion specifies its governing relation: the functional derivative that makes structural change possible.

Conceptually coherent but empirically untested, the model provides a theoretical bridge between biological adaptation, cognitive learning, and artificial self-modification, framing consciousness as measurable recursion rather than representational content.

Note: In this work, Ψ denotes the formal operator of autological recursion — a dimensionless measure of a system’s structural sensitivity to its own recurrence. Its use is strictly functional and carries no parapsychological or symbolic connotation.

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Kognetik Series Information

KOGNETIK — Minimal Operator Definition of Reflexivity (Ψ = ∂S/∂R)

1. Reflexivity as structural rate-of-change:
   Ψ=∂S/∂R measures structural drift under recurrence.

2. Process, not state:
   Reflexivity is a transformation rule, not a content or level.

3. Domain-independent operator:
   Valid across biological, cognitive, artificial, social, industrial, and geophysical systems.

4. Non-ascriptive, empirically testable:
   Ψ compares systems by observable structure and recurrence.

5. Higher-order phenomena as specifications:
   Learning, adaptation, consciousness, governance, and identity are structured regimes of Ψ.