Exploring the Origins of Subjectivity and Awareness with the Twin Cognitive Cycle (TCC): the Hard Problem of Consciousness
September 13, 2026 DOI: 10.33774/coe-2026-w3htx-v2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Proposes that extending the Twin Cognitive Cycle model with a quantitative account of structured event patterns, which can generate infinitely many unique variations, offers a way to describe mental states and to explain subjectivity, with awareness characterized as the aggregate of modality-specific variables and emotional states defining each unique subjective pattern. |
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.
Comparable studies
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| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |