Universal Relational Dynamics (URD) theorizes that consciousness arises as a persistent regime of relational stability spanning multiple scales, states of reality, and physical constraints, irreducible to algorithmic computation, singular substrates, or simplistic entropy minimization 1. This regime is defined by multi-scale relational coherence that exhibits high sensitivity to profound disruptions - such as general anesthesia, which eliminates subjective experience while maintaining non-conscious processing 2 - and modifiability, exemplified by psychedelics that broaden dynamical attractor landscapes, elevate controlled entropy, and boost plasticity without dismantling baseline coherence 3. Within URD, entropy is conceptualized as a structured capacity within usable phase space rather than eliminable noise; optimal cognition resides in a narrow critical regime characterized by power-law distributions of feature avalanches 4. Quantum mediators, including microtubules, excitons, and zero-point field interactions, may enhance multi-scale coherence but are neither requisite nor causally ultimate; consciousness fundamentally emerges as a relational phenomenon 5.
Noirmont et al. (Sat,) studied this question.