Organized Physical Interiority: A Philosophical Perspective on the Curvature Adaptation Hypothesis
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Recent developments within the Curvature Adaptation Hypothesis (CAH) program have refined its central claim from a broad whole-network phase-transition picture to a more specific account of regulated lower-tail routing structure and thermodynamic control. In this more mature form, CAH does not identify consciousness with complexity, integration, or geometric novelty in general. It instead points toward a narrower candidate generator: the active maintenance of a bounded, thermodynamically constrained, load-bearing integrative interior. This paper situates CAH relative to Integrated Information Theory and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, proposes a bridge-principle centered on organized physical interiority, and examines several exclusion cases—including static hyperbolic forms, refrigerators, conventional digital CPUs, and generic routing networks—in order to clarify the selectivity of the view. The paper also argues that CAH should be treated as a live contender rather than a settled doctrine: one whose central physical picture may still admit rival interpretations, but whose candidate structure is now explicit enough to support direct philosophical analysis and empirical challenge. Overview This perspective paper argues that the Curvature Adaptation Hypothesis (CAH) should now be taken seriously as a candidate generator theory of consciousness. Rather than identifying consciousness with complexity, computation, or integration in general, the paper proposes a narrower candidate generator: the active maintenance of a bounded, thermodynamically constrained, load-bearing integrative interior. The paper reconstructs the recent maturation of CAH from its earlier whole-network phase-transition framing into a more selective account centered on lower-tail routing structure, scaffold-specific control, and organized physical interiority. It situates CAH relative to Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNW), proposes a bridge-principle for how a specific class of physical organization might count as a site of phenomenal interiority, and examines several exclusion cases to clarify what the framework does and does not imply. The aim is not to establish CAH as settled truth, nor to eliminate filter-based or consciousness-first alternatives. The aim is to show that CAH is a sufficiently selective, mechanistically explicit, and empirically exposed framework to deserve direct philosophical and empirical attention as a live contender in the consciousness debate. Related Works Pender, M. A. (2026). Dynamic Curvature Adaptation: A Unified Geometric Theory of Cortical State and Pathological Collapse. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18615180 Pender, M. A. (2026). A Control-Law Extension of the Curvature Adaptation Hypothesis in Hierarchical Transport Networks. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19270109 Pender, M. A. (2026). Beyond Mean Curvature: Lower-Tail Routing Structure in Controlled Hierarchical Networks. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19324675 Pender, M. A., & Wharton, M. (2026). The Locus of Consciousness: A Three-Position Adversarial Framework and Unified Empirical Test (2.0.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19239107
Author: Pender, Matthew A
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7148381842
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