The Knower Centred Model of Consciousness (KCM): A Typed Ontology and Empirical Research Framework

Contemporary science of consciousness explains the organization and accessibility of information but leaves unresolved a foundational question: for whom does any process or content appear? The Knower Centred Model of Consciousness (KCM) addresses this gap by advancing a subject-first ontology in which the Knower—the witnessing presence—is the necessary condition for the appearance of any world. KCM formalizes a minimal structural architecture of experience, the K³ triad (Knower–Knowing–Known), to account for the inseparable co-arising of subject, relational awareness, and experiential content. Rather than identifying consciousness with physical or computational structure, KCM repositions neural and informational descriptions as lawful organizations of appearance while treating subjectivity as irreducible. The paper contributes: (i) a finite set of axioms grounding a subject-first ontology; (ii) precise structural definitions of the K³ elements; (iii) a comparative analysis situating KCM among leading theories of consciousness; and (iv) a research program that articulates operational constraints and divergent empirical expectations. KCM predicts that highly integrated engineered systems may exhibit complex organization and accessibility without warranting claims of consciousness, and that minimal-content experiential states may manifest strong subjective presence despite attenuated access or predictive dynamics. By integrating philosophical analysis with operational methodology, KCM proposes a disciplined framework for investigating consciousness that preserves empirical rigor while restoring the subject as fundamental.