From reactions to reflection: A recursive framework for the evolution of cognition and complexity

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive framework that traces the evolution of consciousness through a continuum of recursive processes spanning reaction, temporogenesis, symbiogenesis, and cognogenesis. By integrating biological cooperation, temporal structuring, and self-referential processing, our model provides a novel perspective on how complexity emerges and scales across evolutionary time. Reaction is established as the foundational mechanism that enables adaptive responses to environmental stimuli, which, through recursive refinement, transitions into temporogenesis—the synchronization of internal processes with external temporal rhythms. Symbiogenesis further enhances this process by fostering cooperative interactions at multiple biological levels, facilitating the emergence of higher-order cognitive functions. Cognogenesis represents the culmination of these recursive processes, where self-awareness and intentionality arise through iterative feedback loops. Our framework offers a biologically grounded pathway to addressing the "hard problem" of consciousness by proposing that subjective experience emerges as a result of progressively complex recursive interactions rather than as a static or isolated phenomenon. In comparing our approach with established theories such as Integrated Information Theory, Global Workspace Theory, and enactive cognition, we highlight its unique contributions in situating consciousness within a broader evolutionary and biological context. This work aims to provide a foundational model that bridges the gap between reaction and reflection, offering empirical avenues for further exploration in neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and artificial intelligence.