The HI Theory of Core Consciousness Characteristics
John Cochrane, 20 September 2025
Abstract
This article outlines the HI Theory of Core Consciousness Characteristics, the second of four interrelated theories addressing different aspects of consciousness. The theory proposes a set of primary processes—simulation, working memory, language-based logic, and narrative context—that together define the essential qualities of core consciousness. While consistent with major contemporary frameworks such as Global Workspace Theory, Recurrent Processing Theory, and the Thousand Brains Model, the HI Mind approach emphasizes the functional integration of hemispheric intelligence and intelligence-based focuses of mind.
Introduction
Efforts to define consciousness have historically struggled to distinguish its core features from the diverse cognitive processes that accompany it (Damasio, 1999; Dehaene, 2014). The HI Theory of Core Consciousness Characteristics seeks to identify a minimal set of mechanisms that are consistently present when consciousness is active. This theory is the second of four in the HI Mind framework, each addressing a distinct dimension of human consciousness. While largely independent, these theories are broadly compatible with Global Workspace Theory (Baars, 1997; Dehaene and Changeux, 2011), Integrated Information Theory (Tononi et al., 2016), and cortical column accounts of intelligence such as the Thousand Brains Model (Hawkins and Blakeslee, 2021).
What Core Consciousness Is Not
It is useful to distinguish core consciousness from general intelligence. Intelligence provides the scaffolding for learning, memory, symbolic reasoning, and creativity (Carroll, 1993; Legg and Hutter, 2007). Consciousness, by contrast, is not reducible to these cognitive capacities. While intelligent processes contribute to and influence conscious content, they can operate outside awareness, and thus should be treated as distinct.
Characteristic 1: Current Simulation (or Interpretation)
A central function of core consciousness is the capacity to integrate perceptual and cognitive simulations into a unified model of the self in context. Subcortical systems preprocess sensory input, which cortical networks then interpret through predictive modeling (Friston, 2010). In the HI Mind framework, each “focus of mind” generates specialized simulations—social, cultural, aspirational, and noble—that are integrated by core consciousness into an overall representation. This conception aligns with predictive coding accounts (Clark, 2013) and cortical column theories such as Hawkins’ Thousand Brains Model, which emphasize distributed, parallel simulations of the world.
Characteristic 2: Working Memory
Working memory enables consciousness to hold, compare, and evaluate alternative simulations across time (Baddeley, 2012). Within the HI Mind framework, core consciousness relies on working memory to select optimal behavioral outcomes, tracking both immediate predictions and longer-term consequences. The central role of working memory in conscious processing has been highlighted in Global Workspace Theory (Baars, 1997; Dehaene and Changeux, 2011) and cognitive architectures such as the IDA model (Franklin and Patterson, 2006).
Characteristic 3: Language-Based Logic
Human consciousness is distinguished by its integration of reasoning with linguistic capacity. Inner speech and language-based logic allow conscious thought to be structured, abstract, and communicable (Vygotsky, 1987; Lupyan, 2016). In the HI Mind Model, this function is supported by the Cultural and Noble focuses of mind, which provide language and moral-symbolic capacities. Language is an acquired skill, and developmental evidence shows that prelinguistic consciousness in infants differs significantly from adult consciousness (Gervain and Mehler, 2010).
Characteristic 4: Narrative Context
Conscious thought is not merely a set of isolated simulations or evaluations; it is organized into a narrative structure that situates present experience within past and possible futures. This narrative capacity underlies self-continuity and enables proactive engagement with the environment (Dennett, 1991; Hutto, 2008). In the HI Mind framework, narrative emerges through the interplay of simulation, working memory, and language-based reasoning, producing a coherent internal “story” of the current context and available actions.
Future Directions
The list of proposed characteristics—simulation, working memory, language-based logic, and narrative context—should be regarded as provisional. Ongoing advances in neuroscience, developmental psychology, and computational modeling will refine this account, potentially expanding the set of core processes that define conscious awareness.
Conclusion
The HI Theory of Core Consciousness Characteristics identifies four essential features consistently present in conscious awareness. By framing consciousness as an integration of simulation, working memory, language-based reasoning, and narrative construction, the theory connects established neuroscientific models with a functional, hemispherically grounded account of the conscious mind.
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