The orthodox interpretation of quantum theory treats subject and object equally. A cyclical-time process that resolves self-reference in consciousness may interconnect the observed universe and the subject's mind. Drawing an analogy between cryptography and language, universal grammar—the common innate structure of language—may be associated with continuity in consciousness. Extending this, Claude Lévi-Strauss's proposal on universal culture may represent a shared structure of continuity among the consciousness of multiple subjects.
Some philosophers and scientists argue that the observer and the observed universe may be inseparable. A recent proposal suggests this inseparability could arise if the discrete physical universe is filled with the observer's continuous consciousness via quantum evolution with time flowing backward. This idea of matter and mind interwoven through cyclical time resembles Immanuel Kant's Copernican Revolution in philosophy, which shifted priority from the object to the subject.