These papers are solely authored and researched by Mason Lai.
Research Methodology
My research process is grounded in interdisciplinary synthesis, bridging the gap between analytical philosophy and computational neuroscience.
Primary Source Analysis:
I utilize a comparative genealogical approach. For Against the Ideal Human, this involved tracing the concept of the “perfected agent” from Aristotelian virtue ethics to Kantian autonomy, then contrasting these with contemporary “optimization” metrics found in AI ethics and Gigerenzer’s bounded rationality.
Dynamical Systems Modeling:
For RCT Theory, I applied the principles of Non-linear Dynamics to consciousness. I synthesized the Global Workspace (Dehaene) and Integrated Information (Tononi) theories into a unified framework by applying the concept of Attractor Landscapes, treating consciousness as a self-stabilizing event rather than a static state.
Empirical Grounding:
I cross-referenced theoretical claims with existing neuroimaging data (Carhart-Harris, 2016) and perturbational complexity studies (Casali, 2013) to ensure my “Relational Threshold” was falsifiable and grounded in measurable neural correlates.
Current Horizons & Unresolved Questions
The Elasticity of the Self: To what extent can the “Self-Stabilizing Attractor” incorporate non-biological feedback loops? I intend to explore the extended mind hypothesis by studying how brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) might shift the Relational Threshold.
The Neural Signature of Virtue: Can “Bounded Striving” be mapped onto the prefrontal cortex? I am interested in investigating whether the “deliberative friction” I describe philosophically can be measured as a specific pattern of neural oscillations during moral decision-making.
The AI “Personhood” Threshold: If a synthetic system achieves Multilevel Feedback Closure, does it attain moral patiency? My future work will attempt to define the precise point where an “algorithm” becomes an “agent.”
Against the Ideal Human: A Theory of Bounded Striving
The Ethical Horizon:
Theory without application is an empty architecture.
The ethical goal of my research is to provide a “Moral Compass” for the 21st century. By establishing the Bounded Striving model, I offer a defense of human dignity against the technocratic eugenics of total optimization. If we define ourselves by our limits, we protect the vulnerable; if we define ourselves by an “ideal,” we justify their exclusion.
103 downloads
Relational Consciousness Threshold Theory: A Dynamical Framework for Consciousness and Moral Standing
The Hard Problem:
Existing models explain the ‘what’ of the brain, but often fail to capture the ‘why’ of the unified experience.
My work begins at the failure point of reductionism. I argue that consciousness isn’t a “thing” we can find in a neuron, but a relational property. In other words, an emergent cascade that only occurs when specific temporal and functional thresholds are met.
88 downloads