A Theoretical Model of the Direction of Consciousness Change and Its Structural Mechanisms

This is the English-language edition of the theory. It corresponds to the Chinese Version 1.0. For the original Chinese edition, please refer to the corresponding Zenodo record and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23191941. This paper proposes a theoretical model hypothesis regarding the direction of change and structural mechanisms of consciousness. Starting from the organizational structure of consciousness and its internal relationships, it explains how consciousness is influenced by changes in reality, how potential differences arise from structural mismatches, how these relate to unresolved structural imbalances, and how the structure of consciousness changes. The model hypothesis defines the structure of consciousness as the content of mental concepts and their organizational relationships, regards consciousness energy (emotion) as a quantity attached to these structural relationships, and introduces the core concept of “consciousness potential energy P” to describe the unresolved structural imbalance under specific states of reality, consciousness structure, and coupling conditions.Building on this foundation, this paper further discusses mechanisms such as structural inertia, structural self-reinforcement, future simulation, consciousness coupling, shared structures, structural load and structural capacity, barriers, windows of possibility, and structural collapse. It also proposes the theory’s core hypothesis: provided that system boundaries, real-world conditions, time scales, and comparable states are clearly defined, changes in consciousness generally proceed in the direction of decreasing potential energy. This hypothesis does not require that every local step reduce P, but allows for temporary increases in potential energy during the process of structural reorganization. This paper also outlines the scope of applicability and the directions for falsification of this theory, laying the foundation for subsequent formalization, measurement, and empirical testing.