# Qualia and the Formal Structure of Meaning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.01148 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.01148/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 11 of its 142 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 2 May 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 11 of 11)

- [Distributed Representations of Words and Phrases and their Compositionality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1310.4546/) (2013)
- [A probabilistic framework for analysing the compositionality of conceptual combinations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1305.5753/) (2013)
- [Modeling the Formation of Social Conventions from Embodied Real-Time Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.06108/) (2018)
- [Measuring the Complexity of Consciousness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.03880/) (2018)
- [Homotopies in Multiway (Non-Deterministic) Rewriting Systems as n-Fold Categories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.10822/) (2021)
- [Pregeometric Spaces from Wolfram Model Rewriting Systems as Homotopy Types](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.03460/) (2021)
- [The Global Dynamical Complexity of the Human Brain Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.07106/) (2016)
- [A Forward Model at Purkinje Cell Synapses Facilitates Cerebellar Anticipatory Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.07775/) (2017)
- [Embodied Artificial Intelligence through Distributed Adaptive Control: An Integrated Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.01407/) (2017)
- [Spectral Modes of Network Dynamics Reveal Increased Informational Complexity Near Criticality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.01446/) (2017)
- [Cerebellar-Inspired Learning Rule for Gain Adaptation of Feedback Controllers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.01484/) (2017)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This work explores the hypothesis that subjectively attributed meaning constitutes the phenomenal content of conscious experience. That is, phenomenal content is semantic. This form of subjective meaning manifests as an intrinsic and non-representational character of qualia. Empirically, subjective meaning is ubiquitous in conscious experiences. We point to phenomenological studies that lend evidence to support this. Furthermore, this notion of meaning closely relates to what Frege refers to as "sense", in metaphysics and philosophy of language. It also aligns with Peirce's "interpretant", in semiotics. We discuss how Frege's sense can also be extended to the raw feels of consciousness. Sense and reference both play a role in phenomenal experience. Moreover, within the context of the mind-matter relation, we provide a formalization of subjective meaning associated to one's mental representations. Identifying the precise maps between the physical and mental domains, we argue that syntactic and semantic structures transcend language, and are realized within each of these domains. Formally, meaning is a relational attribute, realized via a map that interprets syntactic structures of a formal system within an appropriate semantic space. The image of this map within the mental domain is what is relevant for experience, and thus comprises the phenomenal content of qualia. We conclude with possible implications this may have for experience-based theories of consciousness.