Architecture
The Cognitive Stack
A layered architecture — identity, ontology, relationships, memory, evidence, reasoning, judgment, learning — that produces explainable judgment.
The Canon · Part IV — The Cognitive Stack
The core architecture
If the hierarchy describes how the framework scales outward, the Cognitive Stack describes how cognition itself is constructed. It is the core architecture of the project, and everything ultimately derives from it.
The stack begins with reality — the world as it exists independently of the organization — and ascends through eight further layers, each depending on the ones beneath it.
The nine layers
Identity is the recognition of persistent entities. Ontology is the explicit, shared model of what those entities are. Relationships are the connections through which isolated facts acquire meaning. Memory is persistent organizational understanding that survives the movement of people.
Above memory, evidence is the support marshalled for beliefs; reasoning is the evaluation of alternatives in light of that evidence; and judgment is the selection of action among competing alternatives. At the summit, learning is the continuous improvement of every layer beneath it.
The chain is exact: identity enables meaning; meaning enables connection; connection enables memory; memory enables evidence and reasoning; reasoning enables judgment; and judgment, examined over time, becomes learning.
Related Concepts
Applied In
Where this concept does concrete work across the architecture.