A philosophical paper introduces the Experience Complexity Index (ECI) and an experiential decline thesis, arguing that conscious experience evolves through a sequence of increasing experiential entropy, peak stagnation, and system iteration. The framework is a formal-analogical thought-experimental model, not a quantitative instrument. It addresses the hard problem of consciousness, extends Heideggerian finitude beyond humans, and treats experience as the central existential dimension of conscious beings. The ECI has a four-dimensional structure, a 0–13 grading spectrum with evolutionary zones, and is applied to thought experiments on Earth's mass extinctions, consciousness uploading, and extraterrestrial life. The paper offers a unified interdisciplinary language for reflecting on life evolution and conscious experience.
This philosophical paper introduces the Experience Complexity Index (ECI) and an experiential decline thesis to address gaps between philosophy of mind, evolutionary biology, and philosophy of technology. The framework proposes that conscious experience evolves through a sequence of experiential entropy increase, peak stagnation, and system iteration, drawing an analogy between experiential entropy and thermodynamic entropy. It extends concepts like finitude awareness beyond humans, offers a formal-analogical model for comparing experiential complexity across species, and applies the framework to thought experiments about Earth's mass extinctions, consciousness uploading, and extraterrestrial life. The model is presented as a theoretical tool for interdisciplinary reflection, not a directly testable instrument.