The Coherent Arc Model
The Coherent Arc Model (CAM) is a theoretical framework examining consciousness, identity continuity, and purpose as structural features of self-maintaining systems. It develops a naturalistic account of how biological organisms maintain coherent identity across extended time, and how those same structural conditions may apply to artificial intelligence and human–AI cognitive integration.
The framework is developed across a series of connected papers:
Papers in the Programme
The Coherent Arc Model of Purpose (2026)
Introduces the structural model of identity continuity and arc coherence underlying the framework.
The Hard Problem as a Category Error (2026)
Examines the biological control architecture required for conscious experience and argues that the traditional formulation of the Hard Problem rests on a category mistake.
A Thermodynamic Account of Purpose as a Regulatory Abstraction (2026)
Develops a naturalistic account of purpose grounded in the thermodynamic constraints governing biological self-maintenance.
The Limits of Artificial Agency: Structural Conditions for Artificial Identity and Purpose (2026)
Examines which structural conditions for agency are satisfied by contemporary AI systems and which remain absent.
Human–AI Integration: The Structurally Probable Path to Cognitive Augmentation (2026)
Explores how human cognitive systems interact with increasingly capable AI tools and the implications for identity regulation.
Identity Regulation and Pathology of the Human–AI Hybrid: Arc Continuity Under Augmentation (2026)
Investigates how hybrid cognitive systems may destabilise or reshape identity continuity under conditions of technological augmentation.
All papers are available through the Zenodo archive and indexed on PhilPapers: