NIMCC: A Proposed Non-Narrative Cognitive Architecture and Its Structural Signatures

This project introduces Non-Identity-Based Metacognitive Coherence (NIMCC), a proposed cognitive architecture describing how cognition can operate without reliance on narrative identity, autobiographical continuity, or ego-based self-construction. The main document (NIMCC Theory, Version 2.0) defines the architecture, outlines its core mechanisms, and presents twelve preliminary hypotheses together with proposed empirical pathways. The accompanying appendix (Appendix A: Structural Signatures of Non-Narrative Cognition) provides a formal structural analysis of the architecture. It identifies key properties of non-narrative cognition, including low-distortion transform processing, topological invariants, recursive stability, multi-scale alignment, and operational definitions of resonance as loss-function minimization. The appendix integrates these findings with the main theory and outlines implications for computational modeling and empirical investigation. This updated version also includes several companion essays that extend and clarify specific aspects of the architecture. Embodied Affect Without Narrative Filtering examines how affective processes can operate without identity-based interpretation. Continuity of Awareness in NIMCC analyzes the structural conditions under which awareness may persist across sleep cycles in identity-independent cognitive architectures. Why Narrative-Based Cognitive Tools Cannot Detect NIMCC examines the architectural assumptions embedded in contemporary psychological measurement frameworks and explains why such tools are structurally unable to detect identity-independent cognition. Together, these documents provide a foundational conceptual framework and structural justification for NIMCC as a coherent and testable model of non-narrative cognition, while outlining theoretical implications and directions for future empirical research.