Lune

ICLR2026Top-tier venue

The Geometry of Reasoning: Flowing Logics in Representation Space

Yufa Zhou, Yixiao Wang, Xunjian Yin, Shuyan Zhou, Anru Zhang

2026Year
29Citations
4Top-tier citations

Abstract

We study how large language models (LLMs) "think" through their representation space. We propose a novel geometric framework that models an LLM's reasoning as flows---embedding trajectories evolving where logic goes. We disentangle logical structure from semantics by employing the same natural deduction propositions with varied semantic carriers, allowing us to test whether LLMs internalize logic beyond surface form. This perspective connects reasoning with geometric quantities such as position, velocity, and curvature, enabling formal analysis in representation and concept spaces. Our theory establishes: (1) LLM reasoning corresponds to smooth flows in representation space, and (2) logical statements act as local controllers of these flows' velocities. Using learned representation proxies, we design controlled experiments to visualize and quantify reasoning flows, providing empirical validation of our theoretical framework. Our findings indicate that training solely via next-token prediction can lead LLMs to internalize logical invariants as higher-order geometry in representation space, challenging the "stochastic parrot" argument. Experiments across Qwen and LLaMA model families further suggest the presence of a general, possibly universal, representational law underlying machine understanding and human linguistic regularities, largely independent of specific training recipes or model architectures. Our work serves as both a conceptual foundation and practical tools for studying reasoning phenomena, offering a new lens for interpretability and formal analysis of LLMs' behavior.

Ask about this paper

Your agent reads all of it.

Lune indexed this paper to the last equation, along with the top-tier papers that cite it. Ask a question and the answer quotes them.

Questions to start from

Your agent calls

Luneget_paper_fulltext

Ask in Lune

Free to start. No credit card required.

lune papers fulltext 0146111e-5a41-4c04-8dd7-9ba35d0e7113

Cited by top-tier papers4

Ask how each one uses it

Builds on35

Related papers

Dusk over the sea between two cliffs drawn in fine vertical lines