Recursive Informational Curvature: A Unified Geometric Meta-Framework for Consciousness

We introduce Recursive Informational Curvature (RIC), a unified geometric meta-framework in which consciousness arises from the recursive self-modulation of symbolic informational fields. Unlike conventional models that reduce awareness to integration or broadcasting, RIC defines consciousness as a curvature field 𝒦(t) evolving within a recursive manifold governed by recursive gain λ(t) and symbolic entropy H(Φ(t)).We derive a collapse condition under which this recursive field destabilizes when symbolic overload or entropy flux exceeds a critical threshold 𝒦₍crit₎. The resulting dynamics define a recursive phase-space with quantifiable attractors, stability zones, and topological collapse boundaries. RIC predicts that conscious states correspond to dynamically stable regions where symbolic recursion, entropy modulation, and curvature reinforcement are harmonized.We further integrate RIC into a modified gravitational field equation, in which the Einstein tensor is coupled to an informational stress-energy term, thereby embedding consciousness as a physically coherent informational field within the spacetime geometry.Comparative analysis reveals that RIC generalizes structures from IIT, Orch OR, FEP, and GWT, while addressing their limitations by providing a mathematically explicit and geometrically grounded model of phenomenality. It also anticipates experimentally testable features, such as the collapse of symbolic entropy under EEG/MEG perturbations, the loss of recursive gain in anesthesia or trauma, and the gravitational modulation of conscious phase dynamics.By reframing consciousness as a recursive curvature across informational, entropic, and geometric substrates, RIC offers a falsifiable framework that unifies cognitive science, information theory, and theoretical physics.