The Atoms of Cognition: A Theory of Ground Epistemics

We propose a set of “atomic cognitive operational representations” on which higher level cognitive representations and processes can be built, thus providing fundamental building blocks for cognitive mechanisms necessary for intelligent actions. The fundamental concepts involved are elemental temporal changes of some quantities and in this representational scheme the temporal dimension is explicitly represented to fully characterize the meanings of the concepts involved at the epistemic ground level. This provides full grounding for all subsequent concepts that are built upon them, allowing cognitive systems embodying these concepts to have full and complete understanding and characterization of the concepts involved that it can use for various cognitive ends. This provides a firm theoretical foundation for the study of cognition and intelligence.