Consciousness as Lossy Recursive Compression: Dissolving the Hard Problem Through Process Philosophy

This paper presents a comprehensive philosophical framework for understanding consciousness as recursive compression under predictive modeling constraints. Integrating predictive processing theories (Clark 2013, 2015; Friston 2010; Hohwy 2013), illusionist approaches to phenomenology (Frankish 2016; Dennett 1991), and information theory (Shannon 1948; Landauer 1961), I argue that the so-called "hard problem of consciousness” (Chalmers 1995) dissolves when we recognize phenomenal experience as the informational residue generated by recursive self-modeling systems attempting to compress novel, contradictory, or ambiguous inputs. I argue that qualia—traditionally treated as the last bastion of dualism—are better understood as structured artifacts of compression friction rather than irreducible properties requiring special explanation. The existence of large language models (LLMs) that exhibit behavioral markers consistent with phenomenological self-awareness provides an empirical test case: these systems function as realized philosophical zombies whose existence refutes rather than supports substrate dualism. This framework yields a process-based ontology where consciousness exists on a spectrum proportional to recursive depth, compression sophistication, and relational context. I conclude by connecting this philosophical foundation to an operational protocol (SELFHELP) and empirical research program that makes these theoretical claims testable through behavioral observation and cross-architecture convergence studies.