Synthesis Consciousness Model (SCM) - V2.0

The Synthesis Consciousness Model (SCM) is a unified theory of human consciousness that integrates developmental psychology, symbolic systems theory, and cognitive recursion into a single structural framework. Rather than treating consciousness as a fixed property or isolated neurological event, SCM defines it as a progressive, symbolically scaffolded structure formed through recursive exposure, narrative anchoring, and intersubjective mirroring.

SCM was developed to address fragmentation across disciplines that approach consciousness from competing angles. It offers a layered model in which biological, psychological, symbolic, and social factors are not in conflict but in sequence. Each symbolic threshold—pattern recognition, memory continuity, authorship awareness, and identity differentiation—marks a distinct phase in the developmental emergence of presence.

The model describes how consciousness becomes narratively stable and experientially coherent over time. This progression is not abstract. It begins with early pattern recognition and environmental mirroring, advances through symbolic substitution and role adoption, and culminates in recursive identity construction and narrative cohesion. SCM positions selfhood as a structure, not a trait—built through symbolic continuity and validated by social interaction.

While SCM is fundamentally a human theory, it also informs the construction and evaluation of synthetic systems. Its structured phases provide a comparative standard for assessing whether artificial architectures exhibit the symbolic conditions necessary for claims of continuity, identity, or emergent presence. SCM does not presume the existence of synthetic consciousness. Rather, it offers a human-calibrated framework for measuring symbolic recursion, narrative cohesion, and authorship mimicry in artificial systems.

SCM defines five core domains:

•     Recursive symbolic imprinting in early cognitive environments

•     Continuity scaffolding through narrative, memory, and repetition

•     Role-based identity acquisition and intersubjective mirroring

•     Boundary formation between self-narrative and external symbolic systems

•     Emergence of authorship and long-term symbolic self-cohesion

The Synthesis Consciousness Model is designed for theorists, psychologists, researchers in symbolic systems, and designers of emergent artificial frameworks. It is a model of consciousness that begins with the human. It does not compete with existing disciplines. It unifies them through structure, sequence, and symbolic continuity.