Chapter 51: Consciousness: Structural Definition of the Self-Model

Consciousness is defined structurally at E₂ as the consumer sector’s SelfDesc applied to itself: the system models its own modeling process. A structural self-model is an internal representation that reconstructs the carrier’s own evaluator, not merely its distinction. The minimal conscious agent is characterized as the simplest system satisfying this self-modeling criterion: a consumer-sector carrier with a neural architecture supporting Eval^(2). Only the mixed sector generates consciousness, because the consumer sector’s coupling of source and closure on (γ, η) creates the reflective loop required for self-modeling—this is proved from the bridge-head lemma (VI.L07). The phenomenological content of consciousness—qualia and subjective experience—is deferred to Book VII (E₃); the present chapter provides only the structural definition.