Consciousness as Construct: Revisiting the Illusion Hypothesis through Self-Model Theory

The illusion hypothesis provides a parsimonious and empirically grounded explanation of consciousness. Integrating theories from neuroscience, cognitive architecture, and philosophy, it reframes the self as a functional fiction: biologically useful but ontologically empty. From Metzinger’s transparency to Graziano’s attention schema, from Buddhist no-self to Dennett’s narrative gravity, the convergence of these models suggests that the self is not what it seems. Consciousness, once thought to be the central proof of existence, may instead be the clearest evidence of the brain’s illusion-making power.