Consciousness as Recursive Collapse Resistance

Consciousness may not be an evolutionary luxury or a byproduct of complexity. It may be a structural necessity. This paper proposes that consciousness evolved as a biological mechanism for resisting recursive collapse within cognitive systems. Drawing from neuroscience, systems theory, and clinical psychology, we explore how feedback loops that underlie perception, memory, and prediction are inherently fragile and prone to drift or overload. Consciousness functions as a meta-recursive correction layer that monitors internal loops, redirects misaligned processes, and preserves cognitive coherence. Mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and dissociation are reframed as failures of this containment system, revealing the architecture of recursive regulation. Rather than optimizing behavior, consciousness stabilizes recursive integrity and enables adaptive function under internal and environmental stress. This view positions consciousness not as the pinnacle of cognition but as the minimum structure necessary for its survival.