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Part II: EGBChapter 20

Strange Loops, Or Tangled Hierarchies

Consciousness as a Strange Loop. The 'I' symbol.

The grand conclusion. What is 'I'? Hofstadter proposes that consciousness is a Strange Loop: a system that has a high-level symbol for itself, which feeds back into the lower levels. It's a 'Tangled Hierarchy' where the software changes the hardware, and the hardware runs the software. You are a hallucination hallucinated by a hallucination.

Strange Loop: The Tangled Hierarchy

"The loop is closed. The hierarchy is tangled. You are the system observing itself."

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