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

24 August 2026, Version 1
This content is an early or alternative research output and has not been peer-reviewed by Cambridge University Press at the time of posting.

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.

Keywords

consciousness
subjectivity
awareness
quantitative model
hard problem
function of consciousness
infinite variation
global activation
common feature
conceptual knowledge
autonomous reasoning
recurrent process
computational model
sensory modalities

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