"My World": The Emergence of Subjectivity Through Memory-Based World Construction

Why is conscious experience “mine” rather than merely “happening”? Why does the same sensory input produce different subjective experiences in different individuals? We propose that subjectivity—the “mineness” of experience—arises from a memory-based structure we call “My World.” “My World” is not an additional entity but the organization of accumulated experience in memory, structured by personal history, needs, and attention. Consciousness is not an instant property but emerges gradually as “My World” constructs through experience. This framework explains individual differences in phenomenology, the impossibility of complete phenomenal sharing, and why first-person perspective is irreducible. Unlike theories positing consciousness as information integration or global broadcasting, we identify the specific memory structure that constitutes subjectivity. We specify mechanisms of construction, developmental stages, and testable predictions. The framework resolves puzzles about phenomenal ownership, grounds individual differences in cognitive architecture, and provides clear engineering implications for artificial consciousness.My World Maturity Scale (indicative developmental trajectory): Stage 0 (Neonatal, 0-6 months): Pre-My World processing—raw sensory experiences without integration into a coherent subjective model; minimal need differentiation. Stage 1 (Early infancy, 6-18 months): Proto-My World formation—emergence of object permanence and basic caregiver recognition; My World is highly fragmented, need-anchored. Stage 2 (Toddlerhood, 18 months-3 years): Emergent My World—self-recognition (mirror test), autobiographical memory onset, beginning of 'me vs. not-me' distinction; My World is approximately 15-25% of adult complexity. Stage 3 (Early childhood, 3-7 years): Consolidating My World—theory of mind, language-mediated organization, stable personality traits emerge; approximately 30-50% maturity. Stage 4 (Middle childhood-adolescence, 7-18 years): Elaborating My World—abstract self-concept, cultural identity integration, symbolic need development; 50-75% maturity. Stage 5 (Adulthood): Domain-differentiated My World—expert-level granularity in specialized domains, stable but continuing to develop; 70-95% maturity (domain-dependent). Note: These percentages are indicative estimates of representational completeness relative to an idealized adult expert baseline, not precise measurements. The epistemological implications of this developmental trajectory are analyzed in the companion paper Knowledge as World-Building (Author, in press-d), where maturity percentages are used to characterize developmental epistemology. See also Temporality (Author, in press) for the temporal structure of My World development.