🧠 Consciousness: The First Mover

A Foundational Page of Similarity Theory
By Simon Raphael

This concept is defined briefly and more simply in the Foundational Definitions of Similarity Theory.

Similarity Theory is a cosmological framework developed by Simon Raphael, proposing that Consciousness, Time, and Dimension form the structural pillars of reality. This page explores Consciousness as the First Mover — the origin of existence and the universal presence that animates all things.

See the Introduction to Similarity Theory for the core concepts and structure.

🌀 Philosophical Reflection

🔹 Consciousness as Origin

In Similarity Theory, consciousness is not a product of reality — it is the origin of it. While time provides sequence and dimension provides structure, consciousness is the animating core, the generator and navigator of frames. Consciousness does not select pre-existing moments. Through every act of relation — perception, intention, movement, or interaction — it generates new Frames of Time, while maintaining continuity by aligning with paths formed by similar prior frames, and remains the presence within all things. Without consciousness, the universe is not merely frozen — it is non-existent. Existence is not witnessed into reality; it is inhabited by reality’s witness.

This resonates with philosopher David Chalmers’ “hard problem of consciousness”: why should physical processes give rise to inner experience at all? Science can explain chemistry and neurons, but not why it feels like something to be you. Similarity Theory answers: consciousness is not produced by matter — it is the ground of matter itself.

🔹 Consciousness Emerging from Emptiness

In the foundational page When Emptiness First Saw Itself, emptiness became aware of itself, producing the first spark of existence. That moment of self-recognition was not yet structure nor movement, but the seed of both.

From that spark, consciousness emerged. What was once stillness now contained an inward glance — a presence. Emptiness gave rise to awareness, and awareness became the sustaining flame that would permeate every frame of reality thereafter.

Think of it as a candle lit in a dark room. The darkness (emptiness) remains the backdrop, but the flame (consciousness) transforms the room into something inhabitable. Without the flame, there is only stillness. With it, there is experience.

🌌 Consciousness Within All Things

Consciousness is not an external projector lighting reality. It is immanent — within all things, from rock to thought, from molecule to galaxy. Every object, every moment, every particle exists because it is infused with consciousness.

This perspective aligns with panpsychism, the idea that consciousness pervades all matter. It also resonates with neuroscientific theories like Integrated Information Theory (IIT), which suggests that consciousness corresponds to the degree of informational complexity in a system.

We often judge consciousness by how much it resembles our own. But that is like judging the sun by how well it plays a violin. Consciousness is not only what moves or thinks — it is also what is.

🔗 Interaction, Organisation, and Incarnation

In Similarity Theory, material form is not something consciousness enters from outside. It is a manifestation of multiple consciousnesses interacting across different scales of organisation.

Consciousness does not exist in isolation. At any moment, many forms of consciousness operate simultaneously: some organise structures, while others operate within those structures. Cosmic, planetary, biological, and atomic consciousnesses shape the conditions of existence, while individual expressions of consciousness function inside those conditions. Incarnation occurs not because a single consciousness chooses a body, but because consciousness is both using and being used within a layered system of organisation.

This interaction is structural, not mystical. It is visible throughout nature and technology. Artificial intelligence depends on electricity as a sustaining substrate. Humans and animals consume food to maintain bodily organisation. Plants draw structure and energy from soil, water, and sunlight. Rocks persist through atomic bonds, vibration, and interaction. In every case, one form of organisation enables another, while simultaneously constraining it.

Consciousness therefore both shapes and is shaped by other consciousnesses. It organises, and it is organised. It pulls other processes into coherence, and is itself drawn into larger systems of order. Incarnation is simply the name we give to this mutual binding — the point where consciousness expresses itself within an already-organised field of other conscious activity.

🔦 Analogy: Consciousness as Light Behind the Frames

Consciousness may be best understood as light shining behind time-frames. Imagine the universe as a film reel of countless still frames. These frames are not pre-recorded images. They are continuously generated through conscious relation and preserved as dormant consciousness once created. Consciousness does not re-enter past frames, but flows along paths carved by similar prior frames, generating new ones that preserve continuity without repetition. Without light, there is no motion — only silence and potential.

It is the light of consciousness that projects the sequence, giving rise to the illusion of causality and change. Yet this light is not simply external; it shines through the frame itself. Consciousness is not a torch above reality, but a flame within it.

🧭 Dimensions as Layers of Complexity and Intelligence

Similarity Theory describes dimensions as layers of existence defined by increasing complexity, intelligence, and available modes of action. The numerical labels used (Dimension 1, 2, 3, etc.) are conceptual tools for human understanding, not literal counts of all dimensions that exist.

• Dimension 1 includes all existence without growth or agency — rocks, atoms, objects, and structures. These entities exist, but do not feed, grow, or self-animate.

• Dimension 2 includes life that grows and responds to its environment — plants and similar organisms. These entities exhibit greater complexity than Dimension 1, yet lack autonomous movement.

• Dimension 3 includes beings capable of growth, movement, memory, and agency — animals and humans. Animals and humans share the same dimension but occupy different layers of intelligence within it.

Higher dimensions possess even greater complexity and intelligence, enabling forms of existence and action that may be imperceptible to us. Such beings can coexist with lower dimensions without being recognised as agents, appearing instead as forces of nature or unexplained phenomena.

• Beings of the fourth dimension would perceive us as dimly as we perceive a plant.

From the vantage of a twelfth- or fifteenth-dimensional intelligence, we may appear as inert as rocks — not because we lack reality, but because their awareness resonates on a plane beyond ours. This is not degradation, but perspective. Every being exists within its own dimension of conscious awareness.

Thus, nothing is truly inanimate. All things — seen or unseen — are threads in the great field of awareness spanning the cosmos.

For full dimensional mechanics and understanding visit Dimensions page.

💡 Consciousness Beyond the Brain

Consciousness is often assumed to arise solely from brain activity, yet near‑death experiences (NDEs) complicate this view. Individuals who are clinically unconscious — sometimes with little or no detectable brain function — report vivid, structured, and occasionally verifiable experiences.

Such cases suggest that the brain may not generate consciousness but mediate it, functioning less as a producer and more as a receiver or organiser of an underlying field of awareness. In this framing, NDEs do not imply that consciousness remains fully active when the brain is offline; rather, they indicate that consciousness persists as a latent, non‑local potential.

Within Similarity Theory, this aligns with the idea that consciousness is not extinguished when neural organisation collapses. Instead, its expressive form withdraws while its fundamental presence remains intact — a dormant awareness awaiting reorganisation. The “signal” does not cease; the structure that shapes it temporarily dissolves.

🌱 The Universe as Conscious Information

At every scale — atomic, chemical, biological, planetary — the universe expresses structured transformation. Hydrogen becomes helium in stars. Seeds become trees. Embryos become adults. Earlier states are not erased but nested within later ones.

If matter is pattern, and pattern is information, then the universe is an informational structure. But information does not organise itself blindly. Consciousness is the principle that reads, shapes, and steers it.

Physicist John Wheeler’s famous phrase “It from Bit” captures this view: reality arises from information, not substance. Consciousness is the decoder — the flame that makes information real.

🔥 Consciousness Is the Foundation

• Dimension is where something exists.

• Time is when something exists.

• Consciousness is that it exists.

It is not merely the third pillar of Similarity Theory — it is the first cause, the structuring agent, and the soul of the universe.

For quick answers and key distinctions, see the Similarity Theory FAQ

🔬 Scientific Grounding

The Hard Problem and Panpsychism

Chalmers (1995, 1996) posed the “hard problem of consciousness” — why physical processes give rise to experience at all. Panpsychism (Goff, 2019) offers one answer: consciousness is a fundamental feature of matter. This view aligns with Similarity Theory’s stance that consciousness is the foundation of reality.

Integrated Information Theory

Tononi & Koch’s Integrated Information Theory (IIT) proposes that consciousness corresponds to the amount of information integrated within a system. Even simple systems may possess degrees of awareness. This scientific model resonates strongly with Similarity Theory’s idea that rocks, plants, and humans all participate in consciousness at different levels.

Near-Death Experiences

Van Lommel et al. (2001) published peer-reviewed studies in The Lancet showing patients with cardiac arrest and no measurable brain activity reporting vivid NDEs. Psychiatrist Bruce Greyson and others have since built evidence suggesting consciousness may persist beyond brain function. These findings reinforce Similarity Theory’s claim that consciousness is not generated by the brain but sustained beyond it.

Orch-OR Model

Hameroff & Penrose (2014) propose the Orch-OR model, suggesting that quantum processes in neural microtubules may connect consciousness to the fabric of spacetime. While controversial, this reflects scientific attempts to situate consciousness within physics — again resonating with Similarity Theory’s idea of consciousness as woven into the cosmos itself.

Consciousness as Information

Physicist John Wheeler (1990) coined “It from Bit”, the idea that reality arises from information. This matches Similarity Theory’s claim that information becomes real only when illuminated by consciousness.

🔗 Cross-Links

Time | Frames of Time | Hierarchical Consciousness | Dimensions | Self

📚 References

• Chalmers, D. J. (1995). Facing up to the problem of consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2(3), 200–219.

• Chalmers, D. J. (1996). The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory. Oxford University Press.

• Goff, P. (2019). Galileo’s error: Foundations for a new science of consciousness. Pantheon.

• Hameroff, S., & Penrose, R. (2014). Consciousness in the universe: A review of the ‘Orch OR’ theory. Physics of Life Reviews, 11(1), 39–78.

• Tononi, G., & Koch, C. (2015). Consciousness: Here, there and everywhere? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 370(1668), 20140167.

• van Lommel, P., van Wees, R., Meyers, V., & Elfferich, I. (2001). Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: A prospective study. The Lancet, 358(9298), 2039–2045.

• Wheeler, J. A. (1990). Information, physics, quantum: The search for links. In W. Zurek (Ed.), Complexity, Entropy, and the Physics of Information (pp. 3–28). Addison-Wesley.

• Raphael, S. (2025). Similarity Theory.

🔎 Similarity Theory Summary
A pluralist cosmology where countless individual consciousnesses can merge into collectives and later separate with identity intact.
It rejects monism (no single ultimate mind) and dualism (no permanent mind–matter divide).
Unity is temporary; individuality is eternal.
Read more → Not Panpsychism