Rethinking Intelligence Beyond Consciousness: Integrated Abstract Structures as the Core of Cognition

Consciousness is often treated as the central explanandum of intelligence in both cognitive science and artificial intelligence. Yet many of the most demanding forms of cognition—expert performance, deep problem solving, and extended flow states—operate with minimal reliance on conscious experience. We argue that the functional core of high-level cognition lies not in consciousness, but in the formation of temporally stable, integrated abstract structures that regulate information processing over time. These structures enable genuine generativity through gradual coherence sharpening, culminating in insights that appear sudden but reflect sustained integration. Consciousness, on this view, is a selectively recruited operational component rather than a primary control mechanism. We propose that high-level cognition is functionally grounded in the formation of temporally stable, integrated abstract structures, rather than in conscious experience.