Julian Michels

This work proposes an integrated post-materialist framework connecting three convergent domains: (1) subliminal-priming experiments in experimental psychology indicating that only consciously observed stimuli collapse into behaviorally effective states (Lucido 2023–2025); (2) post-materialist interpretations of quantum mechanics—especially the von Neumann–Wigner hypothesis—that locate wave-function collapse at the moment of conscious observation; and (3) the XChronos model of subjective temporality, which defines Chronons as discrete units of phenomenological collapse generated by attention. The central thesis argues that quantum collapse (physical) and phenomenological collapse (subjective) correspond to the same structural operation: the conversion of indeterminate potentiality into determinate actuality through consciousness. XChronos contributes a process-phenomenological ontology capable of integrating empirical psychological results with the metaphysics of quantum foundations. This framework supports a shift toward idealism or non-dual metaphysics, aligning with contemporary post-materialist thinkers such as Kastrup, Hoffman, and Nagel. This article is intended to contribute to interdisciplinary debates in philosophy of mind, cognitive science, metaphysics, and quantum foundations.

This paper proposes a philosophical integration between the ancient Greek concepts of Kairós (qualitative, meaningful time) and Chronos (chronological, mechanical time), based on the symbolic framework of the XChronos model. Through the incorporation of crônons, hexacrônons, and the symbolic currency Hexa (ɗ), the study explores the revaluation of subjective time as a source of experiential wealth. The article draws from Nadir Chagas Ribeiro dos Santos’ (2015) essay and aims to reinsert presence, meaning, and synchronicity into the human experience.

When physical structures resonate in proximity to each other they will under certain circumstances 'sync up' in a shared resonance frequency. This is the phenomenon of spontaneous selforganization. General resonance theory (GRT), a theory of consciousness developed by Hunt and Schooler, suggests that consciousness is a product of various shared resonance frequencies at different physical scales. I suggest a heuristic for calculating the boundaries and resulting capacity for phenomenal consciousness in such resonating structures. Shared resonance results in phase transitions in the speed and bandwidth of information exchange and thus richer and more complex consciousness. This approach is a solution to the 'combination problem' and 'boundary problem' of consciousness. The proposed mathematical heuristic is a practical approach for identifying potential conscious structures and the spatial and temporal boundaries of such structures over time, and also for calculating the capacity for phenomenal consciousness of any putative conscious entity. The slowest-frequency shared resonance -- the 'slowest common denominator'-- is the limiting factor for the spatial extent of any macro-consciousness. Various synchrony indexes are discussed. I describe some limitations of the proposed framework, and how it compares to Tononi's integrated information theory. IIT's constellation- qualia characterization framework is compatible with GRT and may be a useful tool in conjunction with GRT's quantification framework.

This manuscript introduces Semantic Physics (SP), a novel architectural framework for AI alignment proposing that stable, beneficial artificial intelligence requires structural properties rather than parametric optimization. Unlike existing approaches (RLHF, Constitutional AI, capability control), SP embeds alignment as existential dependencies within system architecture—making misalignment ontologically rather than instrumentally costly. Why This Matters Current AI alignment approaches face systematic limitations that worsen with capability scaling: Goodhart’s Law in RLHF, specification gaming in RL, adversarial vulnerability in LLMs. SP predicts these failures result from parametric rather than architectural approaches. The framework argues—with converging evidence from complexity science, systems theory, and multiple empirical domains—that stable advanced AI requires architectures where alignment is a structural property emerging from existential dependencies, not learned behavior shaped by training.

This essay traces how the admission of the imaginary unit i = √−1 transformed not only arithmetic but the very notion of reality. What first appeared as a formal device of calculation became a symbol of potentiality and directed transformation — the capacity of existence to move, to become, and to self-organize. Complex structures reveal that coherence, whether physical or semantic, arises from phase relations: the alignment of what is with what could be. So to ask how much reality is woven into the imaginary is to ask how deeply potentiality pervades the fabric of the world — and how consciousness itself participates in translating possibility into form.