1. A system or event produces or alters a signal
2. A detector (biological or technological) receives that signal
3. The signal is processed into usable information
4. An interpretation is formed
This applies universally:
• Vision → detection of reflected light
• Hearing → detection of pressure waves
• Smell → detection of chemical particles
• Scientific instruments → detection of specialized physical signals
Even highly abstract measurements—such as those in particle physics—ultimately rely on detecting
secondary effects (e.g., particle tracks, energy deposits) rather than the entities themselves.
3.3 Environmental Imprints and Residual Traces
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not all signals are produced in real time. Many are residual traces—signals that persist after the
originating event has occurred.
These include:
• Footprints, wear patterns, and physical deformations
• Thermal residues (e.g., heat left on a surface)
• Chemical traces (e.g., scent trails, molecular residue)
• Radiation relics (e.g., cosmic background radiation)
• Recorded data (e.g., images, logs, measurements)
Such traces function as environmental imprints—present-day structures that encode information
about past events.
This leads to an important principle:
> Access to the past is mediated through present signals.
We do not observe past events directly; we observe the current state of systems that carry
information about those events. The past persists only insofar as it has left detectable traces in
the present.
3.4 Limits of Detection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ability to detect signals is not unlimited. It is constrained by:
• Biological limitations (e.g., human sensory ranges)
• Technological limitations (e.g., resolution, sensitivity, noise)
• Physical constraints (e.g., signal attenuation, quantum limits)
• Information loss (e.g., entropy, degradation of traces)
These limitations imply that:
> What can be known is bounded by what can be detected.
For example:
• Humans cannot directly perceive most electromagnetic wavelengths
• Certain phenomena (e.g., dark matter) are not directly observable, only inferred
• Some signals may dissipate or become irretrievable over time
• Noise and interference can obscure or distort signals
In extreme cases, signals may never have been produced in a detectable form, or may have been
irreversibly lost. In such cases, the corresponding aspects of reality remain permanently beyond
observation.
3.5 Observer-Dependent Knowledge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because detection depends on the capabilities of the observer, knowledge is inherently observer-
dependent.
Different systems have access to different subsets of reality based on their detection mechanisms:
• A dog perceives scent patterns inaccessible to humans
• A bat detects ultrasonic echoes
• Scientific instruments reveal phenomena beyond human senses
• Artificial systems may process signals at scales or speeds unavailable to biological systems
Thus, reality is not accessed uniformly. Instead:
> Each observer interacts with a filtered version of reality defined by its detection capabilities.
This does not imply that reality itself is subjective, but that access to reality is constrained and
perspectival.
3.6 Summary of the Signal-Based Model
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The signal-based model of reality access can be summarized as follows:
1. All information about reality is conveyed through signals
2. Detection is required for any form of knowledge
3. The past is accessible only through present traces
4. Detection is limited by biological, technological, and physical constraints
5. Knowledge is conditioned by the observer's capacity to detect and interpret signals
This model establishes the structural foundation for the remainder of the paper. If all access to
reality is mediated through signals, then both external observation and internal cognition must
operate within this constraint. The next section applies this framework to internal mental states,
examining how intentions, desires, and emotions are known.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------—
4. Mind and Internal States: Inference, Not Direct Access
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------—
4.1 Intentions, Desires, and Feelings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internal mental states—such as intentions, desires, and emotions—are often treated as though
they are directly accessible, especially in everyday reasoning. However, under the signal-based
framework, these states are not directly observable, even to the individual experiencing them in a
fully transparent or infallible way.
Instead, they are:
• Internally generated processes within a system (e.g., a brain)
• Expressed outwardly only through signals (speech, behavior, physiological responses)
• Interpreted through inference, not direct detection
This leads to a key principle:
> Internal states are not directly observed as fully independent entities--- they are accessed
through signal-mediated processes that involve both interpretation and active generation.
Even in first-person experience, what one calls an "intention" or "feeling" is the result of
interpreting internal signals (neural activity, bodily states, cognitive patterns), not accessing a
separate, directly observable object.
Internal states are not epistemically uniform. Some experiences arise primarily from the detection
of physiological signals generated by ongoing bodily processes (e.g., hunger, thirst, fatigue,
pain), while others depend substantially upon cognitive appraisal, interpretation, evaluation, or
meaning-attribution (e.g., anxiety, worry, anticipation, regret). In many cases both components
interact. Thus, access to internal states may involve bodily-signal detection, interpretive
processing, or a combination of both.
4.2 Methods of Access
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because internal states are not directly accessible, all knowledge of them—whether one's own or
another's—depends on a shared set of inferential tools.
These include:
• Direct communication (verbal or symbolic expression)
• Behavioral observation (actions, choices, patterns)
• Physiological cues (facial expressions, tone, posture)
• Contextual reasoning (situational interpretation)
• Logical inference (drawing conclusions from available evidence)
Importantly, these methods are not specialized by state type. The same tools used to infer:
• what someone wants (desire),
• what someone plans to do (intention), and
• how someone feels (emotion)
are fundamentally identical.
This yields a structural symmetry:
> There is no distinct method for detecting intention, desire, or emotion—only a shared set of
inferential processes applied to different interpretations.
4.3 No Direct Internal-State Detector
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is no known mechanism—biological or technological—that can directly access internal mental
states as objective, self-contained entities independent of interpretation.
Even advanced systems such as:
• Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs)
• Neural imaging technologies (e.g., EEG, fMRI)
• Machine learning models analyzing behavior
operate by detecting patterns of signals, not by accessing "intentions" or "feelings" themselves.
For example:
• A neural system may detect activity associated with recalling a memory
• A model may predict that a person is likely to act in a certain way
• A device may identify patterns correlated with emotional states
But none of these constitute direct access to the truth content of those states. They provide
probabilistic interpretations, not definitive readings.
Thus:
> There is no internal-state "readout" that bypasses inference.
4.4 First-Person and Third-Person Access: Structural Similarity, Experiential Difference
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It may initially appear that individuals have direct and fundamentally different access to their own
mental states compared to the access they have to the mental states of others. This intuition is
grounded in the immediacy and qualitative character of first-person experience. However, within the
signal-based framework, this distinction requires careful clarification.
Both first-person and third-person access operate within a shared structural constraint:
Knowledge arises through processes involving signal generation, detection, and interpretation.
In third-person cases:
Observers interpret external signals (e.g., behavior, speech, physiological cues)
Knowledge of another's internal state is inferential and indirect
In first-person cases:
The system participates in the generation of internal signals (e.g., neural activity, affective
states, cognitive processes)
These internally generated signals are immediately available within the system's ongoing activity
This yields an important distinction:
First-person access is immediate but not infallible
Third-person access is indirect and inferential
The immediacy of first-person experience arises not from access to a fully transparent internal
object, but from the fact that the system is directly involved in the generation and ongoing
activity of the signals it interprets. In this sense, first-person awareness is not a detached
observation, but a form of participatory access.
However, this does not imply certainty or complete transparency. Even in first-person cognition:
Motives may be misidentified
Emotions may be ambiguous or misinterpreted
Intentions may conflict or remain unclear
Cognitive biases may distort interpretation
Thus:
First-person access provides immediacy without guaranteeing accuracy
This preserves a crucial distinction:
First-person experience retains its phenomenological character (it feels direct and immediate)
But it remains epistemically constrained (it is subject to interpretation, limitation, and error)
Accordingly, the framework does not treat first-person and third-person knowledge as identical.
Rather, it holds that:
They share a common underlying structure (signal mediation and interpretation)
But differ in mode of access (participatory immediacy vs external inference)
This refined view preserves both:
The signal-based account of knowledge
The distinctive character of conscious experience
4.4.1 Distributed Interpretation and the Absence of a Central Interpreter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A potential concern arises from the claim that systems interpret their own internally generated
signals:
If interpretation is required, what performs the interpretation?
If treated improperly, this could suggest a homunculus—a separate internal agent responsible for
interpreting signals within the system.
The framework explicitly rejects this implication.
Interpretation is not performed by a centralized observer within the system. Instead:
Interpretation is a distributed process arising from the interaction of system components
In biological systems, this involves:
Networks of neurons interacting dynamically
Parallel processing across multiple regions
Feedback loops integrating sensory, cognitive, and affective signals
No single location or entity within the system performs "the interpretation." Rather:
Interpretation emerges from coordinated activity across the system as a whole
Similarly, in artificial systems:
Signal processing occurs across distributed computational structures
Outputs arise from layered transformations rather than centralized awareness
Thus:
The system does not contain an inner observer
The system itself is the process of interpretation
First-person awareness, in this view, is not the result of a hidden interpreter observing internal
states. Instead, it is:
The emergent condition of a system actively generating, processing, and integrating its own signals
This resolves the apparent regress:
There is no need for an interpreter behind the interpreter
Interpretation is identical with the system's ongoing activity
Accordingly:
The framework avoids the homunculus problem by treating interpretation as distributed, non-
centralized, and emergent
4.5 Implications for Understanding Minds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From this analysis, several implications follow:
1. Internal states are epistemically mediated, but not purely indirect in a passive sense. In
first-person cognition, access involves both interpretation of signals and active participation
in their generation. Thus, while internal states are not accessed as fully independent objects,
they are not merely inferred in the same way as external states --- they are co-constructed
within the process of awareness.