Information Energetics and the Somatic Substrate of Self

Summary

A theoretical framework maps a four-tiered biological stack—from quantum spin to microbiome interactions—as the physical basis of an 'Affective Identity Attractor'. The host-microbiome axis is described as a distributed feedback loop where microbial signals shape the thermodynamic landscape of the mind. The paper argues that subjective experience is a necessary function for translating multi-scale energetic states into a unified driver of adaptive action, drawing on published work on consciousness, embodied self-organisation, and host-environment coupling.

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Abstract

This paper maps the explicit physical, physiological, and biological terrain upon which the Affective Identity Attractor operates. A scale-free, four-tiered biological stack is proposed spanning quantum-coherent spin dynamics, classical ionotropic circuits, metabolic-mitochondrial signalling networks, and host-microbiome interactions. Under this framework, the host-microbiome axis forms an integrated, distributed information-energetic feedback loop in which microbial signalling molecules act as slow variables that sculpt the continuous thermodynamic landscape of the mind. By implementing a formal thermodynamic justification for phenomenal consciousness grounded in published work on the functional value of experience, embodied self-organisation, and host-environment coupling, this paper argues that subjective experience serves a necessary function in translating multi-scale energetic states into a unified, motivationally loaded causal driver for adaptive action.

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