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arXiv · 2512.01073

The Modeler-Schema Theory of Consciousness: Diffuse Awareness, Focal Experience, and a Saccadic Consistency Experiment

Frank Heile
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Abstract

We propose that the Modeler-schema, a cybernetic control agent that monitors the brain's Modeler as it constructs and updates the World Model, is the minimal phenomenal subject. The theory distinguishes focal experience from diffuse awareness: focal attention selects focal-experience content, while diffuse awareness is the conscious presence of the full sensory field. The Human agent comprises three agents--Modeler, Controller, and Targeter--each paired with a schema agent; only the Modeler-schema generates qualia. It converts World Model contents into qualia for consistency checking and model refinement and, during saccades, may compare pre- and post-saccadic visual qualia across focal and non-focal regions and issue bottom-up attention requests for detected discrepancies. The proposed experiment tests the non-focal component of this comparison; a null result would leave focal-target checking and the broader theory viable. The theory addresses the Hard Problem through a physical identity unifying subject, process, and content within the Modeler-schema itself.

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Frank Heile. 2025-11-30. The Modeler-Schema Theory of Consciousness: Diffuse Awareness, Focal Experience, and a Saccadic Consistency Experiment. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.01073

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