BTOS: A Layered Model of Consciousness for Structured Judgment and Cognitive Regulation

This paper proposes BTOS as a layered model of consciousness for structured judgment and cognitive regulation. The central claim is that differences in judgment quality, self-regulation, cognitive stability, and failure under pressure cannot be sufficiently explained by knowledge quantity, intelligence level, or surface behavioral traits alone. Instead, they are shaped by the active structure, interaction, and transition of multiple consciousness layers. BTOS treats consciousness not as a flat continuum, but as an organized layered system in which different layers contribute differently to perception, interpretation, boundary maintenance, branch preservation, self-monitoring, and conclusion stabilization. Under this view, many severe judgment failures are not merely failures of information or reasoning skill, but failures of layer alignment, transition control, or structural balance. The paper defines the conceptual architecture of BTOS, introduces the functional role of each layer, explains how judgment forms under layered consciousness, and outlines a preliminary taxonomy of cognitive-regulatory failure modes. BTOS is positioned as both an interpretive framework for human cognition and a higher-order conceptual basis for reasoning-governance systems. The present version is intentionally framed as a theoretical systems paper and conceptual working paper, with future work directed toward operationalization, behavioral validation, and engineering translation.