Chapter 115: The Phenomenal Self-Model: Metzinger Comparison

This chapter compares the categorical account of mind developed in Part IX with Thomas Metzinger’s phenomenal self-model (PSM) theory. The comparison reveals deep structural parallels: both accounts treat the self as a maintained internal model rather than a substance, and both emphasise the transparency of the self-model in ordinary experience. The key differences lie in relational ontology versus representationalism, and in the categorical account’s substrate-independence. Metzinger’s ego tunnel is reformulated as a restricted global section of the mind-topos, and the no-self thesis is disambiguated into substance-denial (accepted) and structure-denial (rejected).