Exploring the Origins of Subjectivity and Awareness with the Twin Cognitive Cycle (TCC)

Abstract

Subjectivity and awareness are widely regarded as core properties of consciousness, and explaining their nature remains a major challenge in consciousness research. While many existing theories provide predominantly qualitative accounts, the development of quantitative modeling may bridge the explanatory gap. This study expands the Twin Cognitive Cycle (TCC) model by focusing on quantifying the large-scale configuration of mental states that emerges from global activation triggered by the feedback signal that is attributed to a specific stimulus during each TCC cycle. The global activation is associated with the total of a large amount of conceptual knowledge that is expressed in various sensory modalities. It proposes a quantitative description of the states based on the dynamics of structured event patterns capable of generating infinitely many unique variations. This capacity for infinite variation is considered the origin of subjectivity. Within this framework, awareness is characterized as the aggregate of modality-specific variables and emotional states that together define each of these unique subjective patterns.