From Attentional Collapse to Volitional Singularity: A Topological Model of Emotion as the Scalar Readout of Will

Current research in artificial consciousness, particularly models based on Global Workspace Theory (GWT) and computational functionalism, focuses primarily on information integration and broadcasting. However, these models face a significant ontological gap in explaining the physical mechanisms underlying subjective experience (qualia) and conation. This paper proposes the Volitional-Affective Collapse (VAC) model, a novel psychodynamic framework that provides a theoretical explanation for the emergence of consciousness based on topological and thermodynamic metaphors. We define "Will" as the process by which the attention field collapses from a superposition state into a single Vector, and we propose the Law of Vector-Scalar Reciprocity. This law redefines emotion as the Scalar energy dissipation readout generated when the volitional vector moves against the environmental resistance tensor. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of Emotional Singularity to explain the low-entropy phenomenon observed in states of hyper-focus (such as Flow). The model suggests that for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to achieve true sentience, its hardware architecture must incorporate mechanisms for irreversible collapse and a global scalar feedback loop, offering a new engineering path for addressing AI alignment and the problem of artificial sentience. Keywords: Volitional-Affective Collapse; Vector-Scalar Reciprocity; Artificial Consciousness; Emotional Singularity; Attention Mechanism; Thermodynamic Entropy.