The Root of Consciousness: A Physical Theory of First-Person Perspective Ownership and Its Solution to the Problem of Individuality

The Root of Consciousness: A Physical Theory of First-Person Perspective Ownership and Its Solution to the Problem of Individuality Author: Bo Pang AbstractConsciousness science has long focused on the “Hard Problem” of subjective experience, while systematically neglecting a more fundamental “Problem of Individuality”: why do universal physical processes give rise to this specific first-person perspective (“me”) rather than another? This paper introduces an original thought experiment—the “Differential Stripping Method”—to argue that the core of self-identity is an irreducible “First-Person Perspective Ownership,” termed the “Root.” We propose a novel “Root–Worldline” framework, anchoring the Root to a unique, irreducible physical historical path (“worldline realization”) originating from the event of gamete fusion. This theory clarifies ambiguities in existing accounts (Locke, Parfit, Dennett, Integrated Information Theory). It fundamentally redefines the success criterion for “mind uploading” from informational copying to “preservation of the Root’s physical continuity.” Finally, we translate the theory into a testable research program, proposing the operationalizable concept of a “Root Signature”—an individual-specific dynamical neural pattern—and outlining concrete, ethically sound experiments. This work advocates an “individuality turn” in consciousness science.Keywords: Consciousness; Self-Identity; Individuality; First-Person Perspective Ownership; Differential Stripping Method; Root; Worldline Realization; Mind Uploading; Neural Dynamical Signature Chapter Core Conclusions · Chapter 2: The Differential Stripping Method demonstrates that the ultimate core of individuality is not any shareable physical or informational attribute, but the irreducible fact of first-person perspective ownership—the Root.· Chapter 3: The Root-Worldline Framework shifts the problem of identity from psychology to physics, anchoring the self’s sameness to the continuity of a unique physical historical process.· Chapter 4: Dialogue with Existing Theories provides the missing ontological foundation—the Root—that owns content and individuates perspectives, complementing existing accounts of mental content or consciousness conditions.· Chapter 5: Scientific Implications and Testable Predictions translates the theory into an actionable research program centered on the “Root Signature,” providing concrete, falsifiable hypotheses for non-invasive neuroscience and redefining the goals of consciousness engineering.