Relational Intrinsicalism: A Conceptual Framework of Consciousness

This paper introduces Relational Intrinsicalism (RI), a conceptual framework for understanding consciousness grounded in relational ontology. RI, primarily deriving from the relational primacy of Ontic Structural Realism (OSR) and the intrinsic aspect of Russellian Monism (RM), proposes that fundamental causal relations possess a minimal intrinsic aspect, formalized as Intrinsence. Consciousness arises when these aspects are organized into sufficiently integrated, causally closed, and temporally extended Pre-Conscious Physical-Causal Networks (PCNs). Biological neural systems are canonical biological examples of Conscious Physical-Causal Networks (CPCNs) wherein neural activity describes the extrinsic dynamics of the system, while conscious experience corresponds to its intrinsic aspect. The paper advances the Topological Isomorphism Hypothesis (TIH), according to which the relational organization of qualia may systematically correspond to relevant informational geometries within the state space of a CPCN. This account links physical organization to qualia and explains intersubjective similarities of experience through evolutionary convergence on shared CPCN topologies. RI provides a unified framework connecting physical structural organization, informational geometries with phenomenological experience and qualia. RI is presented as an ontological and conceptual framework rather than a formalized or empirically tested theory; its aim is to establish a coherent metaphysical position, with formalization and empirical operationalization left to future work.