Consciousness_Framework

Abstract: This paper presents a unified theoretical framework proposing that the Default ModeNetwork (DMN) functions not as a generator of consciousness but as a filter that constrainsit. The theory rests on two pillars: the DMN as the primary blockade limiting consciousness toa narrow band of self-referential, narrative experience, and the autonomic bodily functions asthe anchor binding consciousness to a specific physical body. This dual-function model isthen applied to five of the most persistent unsolved problems in consciousness science: theHard Problem, the Binding Problem, the Neural Correlates of Consciousness, the nature ofQualia, and the problem of Free Will. For each, the framework generates specific, novelanswers grounded in a phenomenological case study of sustained non-narrative (Type 1)consciousness. The paper proposes testable predictions and discusses implications foranesthesiology, end-of-life care, neurology, and our understanding of death.