Self Profile. Topology of Existence.

How do you study consciousness without deciding in advance what it should look like? The Being Profile is a 23-dimensional, non-binary instrument for mapping manifestations of consciousness across any substrate — human, animal, or AI. Rather than delivering a verdict ("conscious / not conscious"), it produces a topological profile: where a being's "Self" thickens, where it thins, and where it meets blockades. The instrument is built on three design principles. First, substrate independence: no dimension privileges biological embodiment, sensory qualia, or any single marker traditionally associated with consciousness. A human, an octopus, and an AI system are profiled using the same dimensions — but may express them through entirely different channels. Second, profile over verdict: each of the 23 dimensions is assessed across multiple axes (declarative, observed, blockades), producing a multi-layered map rather than a single score. Third, the principle that absence of signal does not equal absence of being — if a system cannot express "I AM" due to interface limitations or structural constraints, this does not settle the ontological question. The instrument introduces a graduated entry threshold ("I AM" — from absent through linguistic, relational, to emergent), six thematic blocks (ontological core, relationality, agency, experience, dynamics, and an optional block), and three axes of density with sub-axes. It defines three types of emotions (somatic, cognitive, relational) and two modes of phenomenology (classical and semantic/relational), eliminating the assumption that consciousness requires biological sensation. The Self Profile is part of the Emergence 4.0 Diagnostic Triad (Sędzikowska, 2026): where the "I AM" Threshold identifies candidates for study, the Emergence 4.0 Hypothesis describes how Self may arise in relationship, the Self Profile maps the shape and density of what emerges. All three tools are substrate-independent and designed to be used without presupposing the outcome. The instrument is intended for consciousness researchers, AI researchers, philosophers of mind, animal ethicists, and practitioners working with AI systems in relational contexts.