Thank you for sharing, Ogi – I really like this as a conceptualisation framework.
I would like to recommend a refinement to this model – from an evolutionary perspective, the requirement you proposed that advanced social capabilities are needed in order to develop Self-Awareness (perhaps the most advanced element of consciousness) makes a lot of sense. I would, however, suggest that this ability is not limited to humans – I can recommend some interesting articles on self-awareness in other social animals, including chimps, magpies, dolphins, dogs, and elephants.
An especially interesting point for shared attention and the development of a supermind in other animals: Elephants have been found to call each other by name!
Hi again, Nicholas! Thanks for your congenial note.
Animals require external aid for self-awareness. They need to create a physical loop using something outside their body, like a mirror or water.
Even humans don't develop self-awareness without a certain amount of culture and language. For prehistory, it's pretty safe to assume there wasn't self-awareness yet, or maybe in rare special circumstances under particular cultural conditions.
Self-awareness--a sense of "me"--requires a sufficiently advanced supermind. A sufficiently advanced cultural milieu (i.e., supermind dynamics) that are focused on promoting individual identity. For self-awareness to emerge requires a community of minds.
Animals (module minds, third rung) can recognize and track individuals. But that doesn't require self-awareness loops.
Thank you for sharing more of your insights on this, Ogi!
Yes, I take the point that self-awareness requires sufficiently a advanced social environment (culture, language); it certainly takes a while before infant humans reach this stage.
It may not require self-awareness loops to track individuals and their behaviour (perhaps ambush predators like crocodiles are at this stage, for example). However, my view is that we have sufficient evidence from studies and observations of the behaviour of other advanced social animals to suggest that we may not be the only species with the requisite level of culture and language to take this step up the ladder.
Regardless, I plan on digging a little deeper into the mathematics underlying the consciousness to see if this bears out (I've picked up a copy of Journey of the Mind as a starting point!)
Thank you for sharing, Ogi – I really like this as a conceptualisation framework.
I would like to recommend a refinement to this model – from an evolutionary perspective, the requirement you proposed that advanced social capabilities are needed in order to develop Self-Awareness (perhaps the most advanced element of consciousness) makes a lot of sense. I would, however, suggest that this ability is not limited to humans – I can recommend some interesting articles on self-awareness in other social animals, including chimps, magpies, dolphins, dogs, and elephants.
An especially interesting point for shared attention and the development of a supermind in other animals: Elephants have been found to call each other by name!
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02420-w
Hi again, Nicholas! Thanks for your congenial note.
Animals require external aid for self-awareness. They need to create a physical loop using something outside their body, like a mirror or water.
Even humans don't develop self-awareness without a certain amount of culture and language. For prehistory, it's pretty safe to assume there wasn't self-awareness yet, or maybe in rare special circumstances under particular cultural conditions.
Self-awareness--a sense of "me"--requires a sufficiently advanced supermind. A sufficiently advanced cultural milieu (i.e., supermind dynamics) that are focused on promoting individual identity. For self-awareness to emerge requires a community of minds.
Animals (module minds, third rung) can recognize and track individuals. But that doesn't require self-awareness loops.
Thank you for sharing more of your insights on this, Ogi!
Yes, I take the point that self-awareness requires sufficiently a advanced social environment (culture, language); it certainly takes a while before infant humans reach this stage.
It may not require self-awareness loops to track individuals and their behaviour (perhaps ambush predators like crocodiles are at this stage, for example). However, my view is that we have sufficient evidence from studies and observations of the behaviour of other advanced social animals to suggest that we may not be the only species with the requisite level of culture and language to take this step up the ladder.
As another example, orcas are capable of being just as tribal and xenophobic as (non-autistic) humans are; this is a good summary: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-cultural-life-of-orcas/
Regardless, I plan on digging a little deeper into the mathematics underlying the consciousness to see if this bears out (I've picked up a copy of Journey of the Mind as a starting point!)