Beyond Functional Processing: The (B+F=Nf) Model and the Emergence of Meaning-Making in Humans, Animals, and Machines

Meaning-making arises from the integration of two distinct layers of cognitive organization: functional processing (biological and computational mechanisms for perception, memory, and adaptive responses) and internal sovereignty (a higher-order capacity for self-awareness, ethical reflection, and metacognition). The proposed B+F=Nf model explains how systems transition from mere information processing to producing existential and ethical meaning. Animals possess advanced functional processing but lack full internal sovereignty, while artificial systems simulate language and creativity through complex functional processing but entirely lack internal sovereignty and subjective experience, so they produce only functional outputs that simulate meaning. The framework offers a unified way to compare humans, animals, and AI.

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Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of the emergence of meaning (Meaning-Making) from cognitive processes, a central issue in contemporary discussions on Embodied Cognition (4E Cognition), Biosemiotics, and Cognitive Semiotics. Although current approaches such as Enactivism have deeply explained the relationship between the organism and its environment, they do not provide a unified framework that clearly explains how systems transition from mere functional processing of information to the production of existential and ethical meaning. To address this gap, the paper proposes an integrative model (B+F=Nf) that distinguishes between three interrelated layers of cognitive organization. The first layer is Functional Processing (B), which refers to the biological and computational mechanisms responsible for sensory perception, memory, motor coordination, and adaptive responses. These mechanisms operate largely automatically and are widely shared among humans, animals, and artificial systems. The second layer is Internal Sovereignty (F), which represents a higher-order regulatory capacity that enables self-awareness, ethical reflection, metacognition, and the ability to veto or object. This layer is the foundation that allows the organism to transcend immediate biological adaptation and generate abstract meanings. The third layer is the Existential Narrative Trace or Meaning-Making (Nf), which is the emergent product of the dynamic integration between Functional Processing (B) and Internal Sovereignty (F). At this level, functional processes become embedded with consciousness and responsibility, producing genuine meaning. The paper argues that this framework allows for precise comparison between humans, animals, and artificial systems. Comparative cognition research shows that animals possess advanced functional processing (B), including forms of functional imagination, but lack Internal Sovereignty (F) in its full reflective sense. As for artificial systems (AI), the model clarifies that they possess a highly complex Artificial Functional Processing (Ba) structure, capable of simulating language and creativity, but they entirely lack Internal Sovereignty (F) and subjective experience. Consequently, machines do not engage in Meaning-Making in the cognitive or existential sense; rather, they produce functional outputs that simulate meaning without possessing the sovereign consciousness required to produce it. The core contribution of this research lies in presenting the (B+F=Nf) model as a unified conceptual framework that defines the structural and functional conditions that make meaning-making possible. This model provides empirically informed definitions of consciousness and meaning, and offers a clear methodology for investigating the boundaries between biological cognition and artificial intelligence, contributing to a deeper understanding of how meaning is made in an era where biological and artificial systems intersect.