The Combination and Causation Problems: A Topological Model of Emergence for Panpsychism and Analytic Idealism

Panpsychism’s combination problem questions how micro-level proto-conscious states integrate into unified macro-experiences. Analytic idealism, per Kastrup, faces a causation challenge: how dissociated mental processes yield consistent physical-like effects without epiphenomenalism or overdetermination. This paper argues that a topological model of emergence, grounded in sheaf theory, offers a novel resolution. Reality is a hierarchical structure where local relations glue into global emergents via continuous functors. An “inverse function” enables bidirectional causality as probabilistic attractors; an “inverse black hole” heuristic captures information compression into singular qualia. For panpsychism, compression bypasses combination; for idealism, inverse mappings ensure non-redundant causation. Engaging Goff, Coleman, Schaffer, and Kastrup, the model draws empirical support from DNA’s evolutionary compression and yields testable predictions in quantum biology. While introducing costs like mathematical abstraction, it advances metaphysical consilience. This revised version incorporates critiques for enhanced accessibility, empirical depth, and streamlined structure, addressing potential concerns about over-complication and phenomenology.