A holographic projection sitting at the core of the noumenal lens.
The Observer, within the Polynon framework, is a sophisticated construct, conceptualized as a holographic projection centred within the noumenal lens.
This observer, in its simplest form, can be likened to a monad—a singular, self-contained point of complete awareness, surrounded by an infinity of noumenal probabilities. Here, the concept of the observer as a monad emphasizes its role as the focal point of perception, a point where the unmanifest noumena converge or collapse into phenomena.
Surrounding this monad are infinite layers of potentialities, each one representing a possible version of what might be experienced or perceived. The polynonial construct proposes that these layers exist in a state of superposition, where multiple possibilities coexist until the observer’s focus collapses them into a single, tangible reality. The mechanism of which, makes the subject of another article.
The noumenal probabilities, dispersed across this cognitive field, only take form when the observer interacts with them, bringing them into the realm of experience. Thus, the observer’s perceptual lens functions as a filter, selecting certain aspects of the noumenal field while leaving others in the background.
In this way, the act of observation itself becomes the process by which the noumenal collapses into the phenomenal.
The noumenal lens directs this collapse, shaping the observer’s perceptual dimensions according to the individual cognitive construct and dimension. The observer is, therefore, both the agent that brings reality into focus and the subject that experiences the filtered outcome of this process.
Through this mechanism, the observer becomes the bridge between the infinite potential of the noumenal realm and the finite, concrete world of phenomena.
There is, in truth, no real separation between the observer and the observed—the observer is always a coherent fragment of the perceived, co-creating it through the very act of observation.
This process of focusing and diffraction, within the noumenal lens, creates a feedback loop that deepens the relationship between the observer and the observed, blurring the boundaries between them.
In the polynon, the act of observing not only collapses noumenal probabilities into a concrete phenomenon but also reflexively alters the observer’s own perceptual framework. As more and more noumenal collapses occur, the observer’s perceptual dimensions expand, growing in both complexity and depth.
Each collapse is not an isolated event but part of a cognitive continuum, where new aspects of reality are revealed and integrated into the observer’s cognitive field.
This accumulation of collapsed noumena leads to a richer, more textured understanding of reality, akin to how a holographic parabolic mirror collects scattered light and transforms it into a coherent, three-dimensional image. In this way, the observer’s cognitive apparatus functions like a sophisticated lens, refracting and diffracting the noumenal field into a dynamic and ever-evolving representation of reality.
Just as light passing through a prism breaks into a spectrum of colors, so too does the observer’s lens break noumenal potentialities into distinct, observable phenomena.
This iterative process, where noumenal potential is continuously collapsed and integrated, allows the observer to construct a multidimensional reality that reflects both the complexity of the noumenal field and the unique cognitive lens through which it is viewed.
The more the observer engages with this process, the more intricate their representation of reality becomes, creating an ever-expanding cognitive landscape that mirrors the infinite potential contained within the noumenal realm itself.
A cognitive threshold
The cognitive threshold marks the transition from a noumenal observer to a phenomenal one, signifying the point at which pure noumenal awareness—unstructured, non-localized, and undifferentiated—collapses into a structured phenomenal experience.
This shift defines the emergence of structured reality, where the observer no longer exists as an undivided informational presence but as a perceiver bound by the mechanics of phenomenal representation.
Below this threshold, the observer remains embedded in the noumenal field, undistinguished from the broader informational continuum. Crossing into the phenomenal domain, however, introduces differentiation, perception, and the constraints of sensory and cognitive processing.
Above the threshold, however, the observer enters a domain of internal representation, where phantasiai begin to bridge raw perception with conceptual abstraction. This transition unlocks higher-order cognitive functions, enabling engagement with noumenal signals beyond mere reception, incorporating interpretation, reflection, and meta-cognition.
The depth and complexity of these functions correlate with the observer’s ability to access noumenal structures, suggesting that cognition itself is an emergent property shaped by the interaction between perception and the underlying fabric of reality.
This progression aligns with the Conceivability Argument (Chalmers, 2003), which proposes that a system can be physically identical to a conscious being while lacking subjective experience. Thus, a phenomenal entity may replicate the functional mechanics of cognition without true awareness—an imitation of consciousness devoid of its qualitative dimension.
This raises a critical metaphysical question: does cognition necessarily entail consciousness, or does it emerge from a deeper synthesis of noumenal and phenomenal processes?
By framing cognition as a continuum, the cognitive threshold emerges as a crucial inflection point within the broader landscape of cognition, perception, and consciousness. It delineates the epistemological separation between observer and observed, where the noumenal observer, operating through prehension, remains embedded in the undifferentiated field of noumena, while the phenomenal observer, defined by perception, structures experience into distinct events and entities.
This transition reinforces the dualistic experience of subject and object, marking the shift from an implicit, unarticulated mode of awareness to one governed by structured phenomenal representation.
Yet, at an ontological level, this separation remains illusory, as both observer and observed are reflections of the same underlying, reflected consciousness.
Cite this work
Roibu, T. (2025) The Observer. Polynon.