Completing the Hard Problem of Consciousness Through the Carlo Framework: A Mechanism for Subjective State Formation
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) June 22, 2026 Matthew Carlo
The hard problem of consciousness—why physical processes produce subjective, felt experience—lacks a mechanistic explanation. This paper supplies one by introducing the contradiction engine, the trajectory update rule, and the Reset Operator > within the Carlo Framework. The model treats the conflict between physical and experiential states as a contradiction loop; when that loop exceeds a tolerance threshold, the reset mechanism generates a unified experiential state. The work formalizes the consciousness contradiction, defines the reset threshold, and provides a unified mechanism linking neural processes to subjective experience, thereby completing the structural explanation the hard problem demands.