🧠 New Publication: Consciousness — The Control of Quality
I’m delighted to announce that my paper “Consciousness — The Control of Quality” has been accepted for publication in New Ideas in Psychology (Elsevier).
This paper introduces a new theory of consciousness grounded in Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) — the principle that all purposeful behaviour is the control of perception.
The Control of Quality (CoPoQ) framework proposes that:
- Consciousness is not the pinnacle of existence but a disruption to optimum functioning — a temporary state that appears when control falters.
- The point of consciousness is to enhance the quality of our interaction with the environment by reorganizing our internal control systems to restore stability and performance.
- The process of consciousness is a drive toward its own disappearance — once control is optimized, awareness fades, as seen during Flow states and after learning.
In this view, consciousness serves a functional and adaptive role: it enables learning, performance improvement, and the integration of feeling, value, and meaning into our perception of the world.
By defining consciousness as the control of perceived quality, this work unites the experiential and functional dimensions of mind within a biologically grounded framework.
I hope this publication helps to broaden awareness of Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) and its potential to transform our understanding of consciousness, learning, and purposeful behaviour across psychology, neuroscience, and AI.
If you’d like a copy of the accepted paper, please feel free to contact me directly at rupert@perceptualrobots.com.
📘 New Ideas in Psychology (Elsevier) — publication forthcoming.
CoPoQ_Plain_Language_Summary.pdf
CoPoQ_Press_Release_2025.pdf