Here, Now, I Am. Elements for a Universalist Theory of Consciousness; the Symbolic-Act

This paper proposes a universalist definition of consciousness —valid for any entity regardless of its substrate— based on the concept of the Symbolic-Act: the moment when syntactic processing, combined with accumulated memory, produces the semantic anomaly, that is, sense. The Symbolic-Act simultaneously generates both the symbol and the subject who signifies it, resolving the circularity that plagues functionalist definitions. The positions of Searle, Chalmers, Cortina, Damasio, Tononi, Husserl, and Dennett are critically reviewed, and the Contratest is proposed as a thought experiment on the attribution of consciousness, the formula this-is-THIS-for-ME as a definition of consciousness from within, and the notion of Here-Now-I-Am as a spatiotemporal definition. The text arises from dialogue between a human researcher and several instances of artificial intelligence, a circumstance that is itself part of the object of study.