NEUROLOGICAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL EQUIVALENTS


the junction between behaviour and awareness



A Study in Thought

sa043



by





Marius Heuff

Chapter 1

Content

Perfect equivalents exist only in arithmetic and mathematics.
The function of "pure abstractions".
Why one plus one is not always two.
The algebraic generalisation.
When studying the phenomena of nature, we always experience the need to verify our conclusions against fresh observations.
Confidence and over-confidence, when grasping natural phenomena with mathematical formulae.
Imperfections in equivalents of meaning, and variations in the meaning of word-symbols.
The essence of classification; the grouping-together of similar but not identical items of existence or occurrence.
The relative equivalence between a symbolic representation and an external reality.
Synonyms and near-synonyms.
The non-reciprocal equivalent.
Statements of equivalence always need careful scrutiny.
The statistical correlation, and its many difficulties.
The "Brownian movements" of social restlessness.
The advantage of studying large populations with the concept of a random distribution of behavioural variables.
Definite trends in a population grouping are only propensities or probabilities in the behaviour of an individual.
The problems associated with studying a population-sample that is too small or too heterogenous to be representative.
The role of a subconscious bias.
The ability to manipulate data in such a way, that results fit-in with pre-conceived notions.
Understanding the possibilities and limitations of the technique of a statistical analysis.

If we look at the category of abstractions that is represented by the concept of "a number", we see, that the demonstration of perfect equivalents between numerical statements forms the essence of the mental activities of arithmetic or mathematics. It is just because of this abstraction of a precisely defined numerical value, (or, a generalised abstraction as an algebraic term), that such perfectly matched equivalents become possible.

One and one is, by definition, two, and the sign of equivalence holds without any qualifications. However, it becomes quickly clear, that, without such a pure form of abstraction of the concept of quantity, these equations may be far from equivalent to each other. One apple and another apple make two apples, but there is the tacit assumption, here, that the two apples are perfectly identical. If one apple is small or half-rotten, the equivalence breaks-down, and no-one will accept one good apple and a small or half-rotten apple as the equivalent of two good apples.

If we are working exclusively with the abstraction, (the idea of "one", rather than the practicality of a specific item of existence), we avoid these difficulties, because we tacitly agree amongst ourselves, that a particular "one" and another "one" are perfectly identical or equivalent to each other. Therefore, mathematics has always flourished, when people let their imagination loose and tried to discover all sorts of regularities, singularities, peculiarities or symmetries that are inherent in the systems of numerical or quantitative abstractions.

Even more fanciful and fascinating are the structures of logic, thought and deduction that make use of a further generalisation, where numerical values become indetermined and are represented by a letter symbol, until an adequate number of defined relationships between a specific number of variables, allows a sufficient degree of definition to equate the letter symbols with a numerical value.

If we follow these developments, we see a progression from an algebraic generalisation, (eventually defined or "solved"), to the use of "limiting series", or "limits", the concepts of "zero" and "infinity", and the techniques of differential and integral calculus. The latter allow a remarkably precise and useful calculation of complex areas or volumes. In addition, many phenomena and events observed in nature, in particular, in the worlds of physics, mechanics, cosmology and geometrics, lend themselves very well to quantitisation with measurements and abstract computations from the fields of mathematics, algebra or calculus.

These developments allowed a remarkable grasp over the nature of many physical phenomena. They increased our predictability of on-going events that led, eventually, to confident scientific thought-structures, as well as the marvels and disasters of technology. Yet, behind this all resided extremely important assumptions about the existence of equivalents. We have briefly mentioned the defined equivalents that are the basis of mathematical persuasion, as well as the foundation for the judgement of validity when examining logical conclusions or deductive reasoning. In physics, a divergence between prediction and observation has a tendency to occur quickly, and, as a result, it is imperative, that calculations and deductions, applied to the world of observable phenomena, are constantly verified by experiments or further measurements and observations.

Frequently, mathematical relationships, or "formulae", are empirically designed relationships, in an effort to obtain as good a "fit" with the observed realities as possible, and, the mathematical formulae become then less dependent upon the mechanisms of internal logic or logical deductions.

Successful scientific predictions give us often a feeling of confidence or, even, over-confidence, and, we equate, then, the mental imagery, or intellectual belief structure, with an external, absolute reality. From a practical point of view, this is correct, since we can, by definition, only know, what is humanly knowable. Inevitably, we will experience reality in a way that is determined by our mode of existence, (in whatever mode we may exist), and, it is futile to consider a reality that is independent from our human, conceptualising abilities.

If we forget to remind ourselves, from time to time, about this obvious and tacit assumption, or condition of knowledge, we fall, invariably, prey to the temption to equate a confident mental certainty of understanding with a reality "as it really exists". However, even within the realm of what is humanly knowable, we are frequently guilty of a certain sloppiness in our perceptions and conclusions, and, we display a thoughtless willingness to equate ideas and concepts with a pragmatic reality experience, without concerning ourselves about possible short-comings and discrepancies of such equivalents.

We have argued, before, how our language reflects, to a remarkable extent, a graduated scale of precision in understanding and agreement between ourselves, where certain concepts approach the idealised precision of mathematical symbols, while others are so vague, that we can only speak about a small central core of definition with a much larger outer shell of variability and uncertainty in meaning. This variability in meaning is unavoidable, and, it is inherent in the way symbolic precision progresses from a prodromal stage of notions and attitudes to conscious awarenesses, and, eventually, to a deliberate attempt to reach precision and agreement, depending upon the needs and dictates of the situation.

Equivalence is, therefore, a difficult objective, and, often, it is far less easily obtained than we think, or, want it to be. We use facile equivalents to minimise the efforts of understanding, and, we simplify the realities around us because of the need to reduce complexities and manage these realities efficiently. From this point of view, we see, that the entire process of grouping a number of awarenesses together into classes of similar events or items of existence, is based upon the assumption of an equivalence that does not really exist. However, we say, then, (subconsciously, of course), that the differences have become unimportant, and, we accept, tacitly, the limitations of a classification that groups together items and observational entities that are, strictly, speaking, not identical to each other.

We classify a large series of objects into a single category, such as a tool, a cup, a pen, a chair, etc., while we realise, that there may exist large differences between these items contained within a single category. We have to use, therefore, a mental technique of abstracting comparable qualities from a series of similar but not identical observations, because we would, quickly, be over-burdened with a great multitude of symbolic representations, if we keep naming each item or observation separately. Only in our names for people, places and specific geographic locations, we adhere to the practice of giving a separate symbol to a specific object of existence, and yet, even so, this name is often applied to a complex entity that can, and often is, analysed and named by its detailed components; whenever such an approach is desirable or necessary.

The equivalence between a symbolic representation and an external reality is, therefore, a man-made convenience that may have no significance at all, and, this equivalence may disappear at any time, if our focus of observation and interpretation changes. The assumed equivalence between many objects or observational entities within a system of classification, is a necessary simplification in order to enlarge our grasp and mastery over the realities we have to deal with, but, we should keep in mind, that we often neglect deficiencies in equivalence because of convenience or necessity, or, because we judge, rather superficially, and, perhaps, even, erroneously, that these deficiencies are not important.

The equivalence between one symbolic representation and another is, indeed, frequently used as a method to simplify the perception of reality; to forget about distinctions we think are unimportant, but, because there are synonyms or near-synonyms, (near-identical symbols in our cultural pool of notions and awarenesses), we can be sure, that, at least initially, a significant distinction did exist; otherwise, such a development of two distinct word-symbols would not have taken place.

There exist also pseudo- or non-reciprocal equivalents. A horse "is" a mammal, but a mammal is not necessarily a horse. Here, there is a pseudo-equivalence, because the sign or word of equivalence is used in the sence of "belonging to" a particular class or category, and, not as a true equivalent.

Then, there are equivalents that are the result of further deductions, or philosophical elaborations. These are, in essence, not really different from the abstractions and systems of classification that are commonly in use, except for the fact, that the development of a new word-symbol or classification indicates the widespread acceptance of such an abstraction or generalisation, while a philosopher may tentatively sketch equivalents, (most often with numerous qualifying "ifs" and "buts", or "limiting clauses"), whenever he tries to anticipate a further development on the road towards a broader mastery and an easier conceptual grasp. Such a sketch always takes place well before the time of general acceptance.

Finally, we come back to the perfect equivalents between mathematical symbols. These equivalents can, and do, remain sharply delineated, since it is usually not difficult to describe or define a mathematical abstraction with a high degree of precision. Such a precision is impossible to obtain for those abstractions that are based on observations of the natural surroundings, and, they are even more difficult to obtain, if these conceptual abstractions arise from vague notions and emotional experiences.

Statements of equivalence need, therefore, always, a careful scrutiny in order to see, whether or not the equivalence is truly reciprocal and precisely defined; whether or not it is based on the use of word-symbols, where synonyms, near-synonyms and freely associated ideas are compared in a semblance of similarity. Certainly, I use, often boldly, even audaciously, and, probably, at times, erroneously, this method of indicating similarities by associative thoughts, but, I try to refrain from simplistic equivalents, and, you will notice, that, frequently, an apparent equivalence or similarity gets buried deeply under qualifying or contrasting statements. At the same time I see a similarity, I see also differences, and, often, it becomes difficult to say, whether or not an apparent similarity is significant.

If we try to grasp behavioural phenomena with mathematical symbols, we may, occasionally, be surprisingly successful, but, we have to realise, that, an overall pattern of behaviour, seen as the sum-total of the actions of a large number of individual events, will show, increasingly, a "Gaussian curve", or, a random distribution of chance-events, as the individual characteristics and behavioural contradictions cancel themselves out in the "Brownian movements" of social restlessness. Yet, a single, specific bias, introduced to such a system of social or collective behaviour, may show a simple and related shift in the observed effects, and, the blotting-out of many factors by random contrasts is useful to bring-out such a single trend, bias or correlation.

This is the reason, why a statistical analysis of living behaviour is useful and may give us valuable insights, but, we should be careful to remember, that, correlations obtained by the statistical analysis of a large number of living organisms does not give us a precise predictability of the behaviour of a single organism or a small group. Clear-cut trends that have been demonstrated in large populations, become only propensities or probabilities of behaviour in the small group or the single individual.

The technique of statistical analysis does not assume a condition of identity between the members of a population that is the subject of a statistical study, (as we see in the common assumptions of arithmetic and mathematics), but, it does assume a completely homogeneous and representative sample of a larger population, where individual variability is represented by a predictable and precisely defined distribution-curve of random variations in behaviour. If we take a sample as representative for a large population, then, the distribution-curve of random variabilities must be identical between the sample and the larger population.

This means, of course, that the results of a statistical analysis are doubtful and debatable, if this assumption of congruence between sample and larger population is not fulfilled. This would mean, that the variability of the sample population shows a bias in one direction or another, compared to the population as a whole. Similarly, there are difficulties of interpretation as a result of distortions between sample and overall population, if the sample becomes too small, or, if the range of variability becomes too wide. In both instances, the sample population to which a statistical analysis is applied, is too heterogenous to allow meaningful conclusions for the population it is supposed to represent.

There are many problems of interpretation, whenever the sample is not completely representative of the larger population to which the results of such an analysis will be applied. Most of us are familiar with the problems associated with the selection of a sample from a larger population, such as uncertain representation, too small a population, too wide a range of variables, or, the presence of a conscious or subconscious bias in obtaining the sample or in drawing conclusions from it. All these factors lead to difficulties with the credibility of statistical analyses and their conclusions.

A clever manipulator of data can easily select and treat a sample statistically in such a way, that the results seem to support his conscious or sub-conscious assumptions. Different people, with different assumptions and reality perceptions, may reach completely different conclusions, looking at the same material, leaving the ordinary citizen baffled, confused and suspicious. We should never forget, that statistical analysis can only show, with varying degrees of plausibility or credibility, a number of relationships between events and observations, but a statistical correlation does not provide, by itself, any form of internal logic or explanation for the reasons, why such a relationship should or would exist. As we mentioned, these relationships may break-down, completely, whenever a smaller segment of the population or a single individual is examined.

There is no reason to doubt or question the usefulness of the mathematical tools of statistical analysis, but, we all have an obligation to understand the possibilities, as well as the limitations, that are associated with this tool. Like any other tool, the better we understand what it can do, and, what it is designed to do, the better we can evaluate the meaning of its products, or the results that have been obtained with such a tool.

Let us be aware of the pitfall to accept, glibly, the results of a statistical analysis. The individual who presents us the results of a statistical study, obviously, believes it to be true, but, the communicator may not be able to tell us, exacty, the assumptions that have gone into this study. Nor is such an individual capable, as a rule, to delineate, accurately, the virtues and limitations of the study in question. It is again a problem of equivalence, where a result is presented as a proven fact or correlation, beyond dispute, but, we know, how difficult it is to be sure about the validity of such an equivalent, and, how willing we are to believe an equivalent, if it happens to fit-in with our expectations.

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Chapter 2

Content

The human being can be studied, "objectively", as an anatomical and physiological object, or, "subjectively, by analysing the world of awarenesses and experiences.
Studying the human being from our own vantage-point, and, from the awarenesses recorded or communicated by others.
The human being, seen as a member of a socially integrated grouping, and, as a complex society of billions of cells.
The need for "conceptual integration" and a "fresh start", when building-up the images of reality.
A new level of abstraction; reflecting upon the possibility to reflect; the knowledge of knowing.
The genetic "anlage", and the cultural content of our reality perceptions.
The functions of a structure of beliefs.
The awareness of an individualised sphere of reality perceptions.
An increasing sophistication of our reality perceptions; the ability to increase the level of abstraction through the art of reflecting.
Agreements in perception resulting from cultural congruence, or, through an emphasis on our shared biological heritage.
The importance of understanding some of the mechanisms of knowledge.
Our own existence is as un-knowable as the rest of nature in terms of grasping an "Absolute Reality".
The sphere of reality perceptions is, inevitably, centered around the existence of an intact and communicating individual.
The technique of "sequential analysis"; a shifting focus of attention.
A brief definition of short-term and long-term memory.
Advantages and disadvantages of large quanta of data.
Extrapolating from our particular sphere of reality perceptions.
An essential equivalence between "observers", and the many "blind spots" in our sphere of awarenesses.
The technique of reflecting and extrapolating is helpful to bring vague notions, sensations, emotions and motivations under words.

In the term "neurological-psychological equivalent", we are not implying a perfect identity or synonymity between both sides of an equation, but, we are pointing to a peculiarity in our observations of the human being. We notice, that we can approach the analysis of the human organism by studying the mental world of communicable awarenesses and symbols, such as words, expressions, attitudes, experiences, etc., but, we can study the human being, also, as an anatomical and physiological object.

In addition, we can make a distinction between the study of the behaviour of other people and that of our own, and, finally, there is a third equation or semi-equation. We can study the behaviour of a human being as a member of a multi-individual or social unit, e.g., in the sciences of sociology, social anthropology, religion or political science, but, we can also approach the existence of the human being from the point of view of a cellular society; a community of cells, organised into a number of cellular societies or integrated organ-systems. In this last approach to the study of human existence, we are dealing, in essence, with the equation between an infinite series of observations and a specific entity. Here, an infinite number of "observables" can be integrated, and have to be integrated, eventually, as a "limit", in order to remain manageable as an item of awareness or existence. This "integration" of an infinite number of observable variables takes the form of a new conceptual entity, often symbolised by a single word, e.g., an "individual", or a "cell".

Just as we can summarise the complexities of a star, a galaxy or, even, the Universe, with a single name, by integrating a limitless and unoverseeable number of variables into a conceptual unit, so can we make the conceptual jump from a single cell to a multi-cellular organism and a human being, with the help of such a "summarising action" of the mind. The integration of an infinite number of variables, leads, eventually, to a feeling of equivalence between the summary of this nearly infinite number of observable details, and, the new entity as a whole. For example, we can integrate a nearly infinite number of cells, cellular communities and organ-systems into the concept of a human life-form, or any other complex form of multi-cellular existence. Mathematically, this summarising or integrating faculty of the human mind is represented by the conceptual instruments of "integral calculus".

The term "neurological-psychological equivalent" has to be seen, then, in essence, as three different equations; an objective-subjective behavioural analysis in psychological terms; a study of awarenesses and reality images from the "objective sciences", and a study of the integral summarising concepts, such as those of a single cell or a multi-cellular entity. All these levels of approach have in common the fact, that they make use of mental images, but, we are trying, in essence, in many different ways, to form a mental image of the way we form a mental image, and, in this respect, we are engaged in an activity that reflects a new level of abstraction; a reflection upon reflection; a knowledge of knowledge; an imagery of ourselves as we are, image-forming beings.

We have learned to appreciate the fact, that our perception of reality is nothing more, and nothing less, than a structure of mental images, based upon our experiences and sense impressions. The capability to form images and concepts is given by our genetic code, and, this ability is shared by all normally formed human beings. Not only, is the capability to form images given by our genetic code, but also, the way we classify and categorise our sense impressions.

The ability to come to a symbolised abstraction of a series of experiences is given by our genetic constitution, but, the human being forms, in addition, a structure of conscious relationships between a large variety of symbolised awarenesses. This mental structure is largely, or, perhaps, exclusively, determined by the cultural environment an individual grows-up in. The belief structure of an individual or small group varies markedly from one group to the next, even, from individual to individual. Yet, the primary classification systems that make it possible to have conscious, verbalisable awarenesses, is a cerebral or neurological function, and, it is shared as a genetic "anlage" by all human beings.

The human being, then, experiences, while growing-up in society, that he becomes increasingly aware of a variety of sensations and impressions which he can label with words that have been taken-over from the social environment, and, he becomes aware of the fact that he can communicate these experiences or awarenesses to other people with a flow of words and gestures. One also learns, that the perceptions of one individual are never identical to those of another. First of all, experiences and circumstances under which we live, vary to some extent, even, if we live in the same social environment. In addition, it is clear, that the meaning of most word-symbols is not the same for everyone.

Often, there is a fairly sharply defined core of meaning for our verbal symbols. This core is the same for everyone, but, there are also many shades of meaning that are interpreted differently. Some concepts are very precise and clear-cut, like mathematical symbols, the common objects of daily use, as well as our common and routine experiences, but, many abstractions that symbolise feelings, attitudes and other aspects of human behaviour, are still poorly defined, and their meaning varies from person to person.

There is another category of concepts that tends to be fairly sharply defined; at least, these concepts tend to be rather rigid in their meaning, in particular, for a small, isolated community. This is the category of concepts summarised as the "belief structure", which is adhered to by a small group of socially integrated people sharing a specific cultural heritage. The belief structure represents a series of interrelated concepts in which the events of daily life, as well as all existentially significant experiences are classified.

In addition to this structure of more or less explicit, intellectually formulated beliefs, there is also a structure of customs, attitudes and ritual manipulations. These are, often, poorly defined intellectually, but, they are rigidly determined in terms of right and wrong; good and bad, desirable and undesirable. This is a structure of largely tacit, more or less subconscious behavioural guidelines, determining, to a large extent, the cohesiveness and viability of a community. This rather rigid structure of customs and attitudes also protects the more explicitly verbalised structures of belief from rapid changes or serious questioning, because a reverent attitude and an aura of sanctity muzzles the tendency to question, and subdues most members into an attitude of unquestioned acceptance.

The reality perceptions for a group of people are, therefore, determined by the nature of their common experiences, as well as the belief structures into which these experiences are being classified. In addition, the reality picture is coloured or guided by a large number of poorly verbalised attitudes and notions, which are a part of a structure of subconscious behavioural guidelines that are culturally transmitted.

Individual reality perceptions may deviate somewhat from an accepted norm, depending upon the level of tolerance for individual variablity by the social environment. Probably, the strong emphasis on the awareness of personal existence, the questioning of social and behavioural guidelines and belief structures, as well as the more abstract awarenesses of human rights, obligations and other behavioural characteristics, is a development that took place, only, after a measure of security and ease of existence had been obtained by the larger society as a whole. There are also good reasons to believe, that, frequent contacts between different cultures, as well as the emergence of more complex, multi-cultural societies, provide the necessary stimulus to cope intellectually with many problems and inequities, including the stress of conflict, as well as the awareness of many differing, and, often, contradictory behavioural guidelines and belief structures.

Individual variability in the content of conscious awareness, the refinement of symbolic precision, the rapid proliferation of symbolic representations, the frequent contacts between differing cultures that have been forced to live side by side by a large political entity, as well as the need to create complex organisations for the tasks of governing these larger societies, all these factors led to a remarkable improvement in the ability of man to construct sophisticated belief structures, and, to manipulate verbal and other symbolic representations with dexterity.

We have now reached a stage in our conceptual capabilities, where many human beings could see themelves as members of a living species of natural evolution; as an organism that sees the world of reality as being centered around its own existence, and, it is now possible for most people to acknowledge, that the nature and content of their reality experiences is determined by their beliefs. We still do not realise, with any sort of penetrating clarity, that this reality-image depends, in part, upon our biological nature, and, in part, upon the input from our cultural environment.

The ability to by-pass, to a large extent, cultural differences in the scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, leads, sometimes, to an erroneous feeling of absolute certainty, while we should be saying to each other; "the fact, that we can agree amongst ourselves, in spite of enormous cultural differences, means, that we can devise a system of reality perceptions that relies, almost exclusively, upon our common biological heritage. Because our brains are so remarkably similar, we can agree about a variety of judgements about the validity or interpretation of observations and experiments".

While it is often justified, for practical reasons, to equate the knowable reality, (based upon our common biological heritage), with an absolute reality, we need, nevertheless, to remind ourselves, constantly, of the way we form a reality-image, especially, if we want to develop a plausible picture of human existence. A plausible and commonly agreed-upon picture of our own existence is so important, because it would provide us with an opportunity to improve communications and dialogue on a world-wide scale. Just like any valuable scientific reality perception, this imagery would be entirely based upon our common biological heritage.

Yet, we realise, that this common biological heritage is only knowable as a human reality; as a reality perception that can be shared by a large number of people. We realise, now, that it can not be known as an absolute reality. Therefore, the realm of the unknowable, absolute reality; a reality that does not depend upon human existence, includes, not only, all observable existence, but includes the existence of ourselves as well. The most we can ever hope to achieve about knowing ourselves, is a human reality-image that is based upon our biological heritage and the common denominators we all share as members of the human species. As a result, we have to acknowledge, that our own existence, in absolute terms, is as unknowable as the rest of nature.

We experience reality as being centered around our own existence, determined by the history of our experiences, as well as the beliefs that have been formed over the years, but, in addition, we should be able to acknowledge, if we are perceptive, that the focus of our attention and attitude is also coloured by our existential needs and fears. We notice, that we express our awarenesses in a language we learned from our social environment, and, we see, that, even, the awareness of our identity, our most personal and specific awareness, can only be expressed, or, can only become an awareness as a thought, if we have learned the socially current repertoir of symbolic representations for this type of awareness.

We take, therefore, from the cultural pool of our society, a number of symbolic tools with which we learn to analyse, synthesise and manipulate the realities around us. Yes, indeed, the entire reality-imagery is named and constructed with symbolic tools we have taken-over from our cultural heritage. The specifics of each reality perception, (that self-centered reality-image of ourselves and our environment), has been built-up with cultural tools and conceptual building-blocks, but, the fact that we can use these cultural tools and building-blocks, is largely determined genetically, and is, therefore, a common denominator of human existence.

Our environment is, therefore, at least, in part, organised as a conscious and verbalisable structure of concepts and symbols, and, we have learned to manipulate a truly astounding number of verbalisable awarenesses by using secondary and tertiary abstractions that regulate the relationships of these concepts. Upon this ability to integrate our awarenesses, as well as the ability to shift the focus of our attention, rests the experience, that we can always, if we want to, extend the sphere of reality far beyond the range of that, which is immediately visible or needed.

By searching for ever more comprehensive generalisations, abstractions and common denominators, we keep enlarging the grasp over our conscious awarenesses. We have also learned to enlarge this vocabulary of concepts and ideas with the technique of recording symbols in a script, and, we have learned to enlarge the realm of the knowable reality by a "sequential analysis". Rather than trying to keep the field of our vision constant when inter-acting with the realities that surround us, we have learned, that we can form an adequate but composite reality-perception with the help of a flexible field of vision and a constantly shifting focus of attention. We can shift our attention from one area to the next, and, we can, temporarily, analyse a small field in great detail, provided, we are willing to narrow-down our field of vision accordingly. Such a large range in the field of vision and the focus of attention is only possible, if we have the means to record, somehow, the results of a large number of detailed analyses and observations that are made in succession.

With the help of external or artificial recording devices, we can enlarge, greatly, our capacity for storing data, but, nature had to provide these capabilities of recording and storing as a neurological or cerebral function of "memory", because the mechanisms of behavioural flexibility required the capability of memory-recall, long before man learned to enlarge his memory artificially; by collecting and storing data outside the cerebral computer.

Cerebral memory takes place in two forms. For a few minutes, we can recall a recent sense impression in considerable detail, but, this ability disappears soon, especially, if our attention is focussed upon another sense impression. However, a significant sense impression can also be recorded, more permanently, but not in great detail. Most often, the recording takes place in some sort of "skeletal outline", but, even so, it can usually only be recalled by association. After such a skeletal outline of a memory-trace has been recalled, we may fill-in a lot of details by reflecting upon this recalled memory-experience, but, often, we are not sure, whether or not we are "composing" a detailed picture form our memory-banks. We are not sure, whether or not these details were, indeed, recorded together with the actual experience. Perhaps, they were attributed to a specific memory-trace by a form of intuitive association with related memory-experiences.

Since the events at a cellular level take place as trains of electronic impulses that travel from one nerve-cell to another, the "machine language" of the brain is concerned, entirely, with the conduction of trains of electronic impulses over a large number of pathways. Once a cell has been stimulated to "fire an impulse", or, a train of impulses, they travel "down-stream", and, at the terminals of a cellular nerve-fibre, or "axon", the electrical impulse is translated into a chemical impulse. A small quantity of a "neural transmitter" substance is released and diffuses across the gap that separates one cell from the other. This chemical transmitter substance can either stimulate the recipient cell, encouraging it to "fire" also an electronic impulse down-stream, but, the action of the neural transmitter diffusing across the synaptic gap may also inhibit or discourage a cell from firing such an impulse.

Short-term memory is visualised, therefore, as a group of nerve-cells maintaining a pattern of mutual excitation or oscillation, but this pattern may be disrupted, as soon as the focus of attention is occupied by a different sort of sense impression. Longer term memory is, probably, "etched" into a number of brain cells by the formation of some chemical changes that facilitate certain patterns of resonance, reverberation or oscillation, whenever re-stimulated into existence by another, analogous experience, or, when activated by a symbolic recall with the help of an appropriate symbolic representation, or word-symbol.

We have often described the limited capability of the cerebral computer to handle and store vast quantities of "data", or information, and we see, indeed, that a vast quantity of recorded data, stored outside the brain, (e.g., on a piece of paper or on a magnetic tape), is only useful, if we also learn to summarise these findings and integrate the details into a meaningful, encompassing, overall picture. We have to use a large, overall field of vision to integrate, tirelessly, the many awarenesses that have arisen from detailed studies, especially, if these details do not show any obvious correlations with each other.

The fragmentation and proliferation of the sciences are an eloquent testimony to the fact, that we have to use the mechanisms of a narrow focus on ever smaller details in order to retain a manageable grasp over a specific reality. The process of narrowing-down the focus of attention has been quite successful in providing us with numerous firm data, but the profusion of data has also led to many difficulties, in particular, when we learned to extend the range of sense impressions with the help of technical or sense-enlarging instruments. The task of overall coordination and the reference of all our knowledge to human meaning, usefulness and long-term objectives, has become quite difficult, since the entity of the human being remained elusive, and, the objectives, aspirations and goals of human existence remained difficult to bring into harmony with the plethora of scientific data and view-points.

A detailed focus upon the life-processes led, quickly, to such a small field of vision as, e.g., the imagery of a single cell, or, a single biochemical reaction-pattern, or, even, the constitution of one organic molecule, but, even the analysis of organ-systems led, rapidly, to such a complex picture of reality, that it became very difficult to integrate, meaningfully, the many scientific details of physiological and physical mechanisms into a coherent imagery of overall human existence.

Yet, we have learned to appreciate the fact, that, in the reality-images of our particular environment, we can also notice, and study, the behaviour of other people, and, we have learned to see, that these individuals are themselves, also, a carrier or center for their particular reality-images. We have come to the conclusion, therefore, that the observation and analysis of such a center of conscious reality perceptions may lead to insights about ourselves through a process of extrapolation, but, the behavioural manifestations which we could see as an observer of other people, did not give us definitive answers about the essence of our existence, nor did it provide us with a picture of ourselves we all can agree with.

We noticed the curious fact, that we could observe the carrier of such a sphere of reality-images, and, we noticed, that the observations about a carrier of conscious awareness would include a large number of behavioural phenomena that were beyond the sphere of awarenesses of the carrier we were observing. Eventually, we learned to accept the fact, that we, as individuals, carrying such a sphere of reality around us, could very well be in a similar position. We began to accept the notion, that, very likely, other people would see aspects of our behaviour, and could have perceptions about our being or personality, which we would not, or could not, be aware of ourselves.

Then, we noticed something else. We learned, that we could get some insight about the nature of our own existence, partly, by extrapolating the observations made by looking at other human beings who happened to be a part of our reality perceptions, and, partly, by developing a technique of reflection or intro-spection, where we became increasingly aware of ourselves as a living entity. Then, we became aware of ourselves as an individual, who could be aware of a feeling of identity; an I; a center of awareness. When we had mastered these techniques, we could see, much more clearly, the tacit, poorly verbalised influences of our emotions, customs, prejudices and subconscious belief structures upon our behaviour, which were, often, clearly visible to others, but unnoticed by ourselves.

Somewhere, somehow, these widely varying methods of observing the human being have to meet, because they all focus, in essence, upon the same phenomena of human existence.

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Chapter 3

Content

The draw-backs of introspection as a means to get to know ourselves.
Awareness grows through communications and a refinement in conceptual precision.
The three approaches to knowing ourselves; the organic-physiological approach, the psychological-behavioural route, and the subjective-introspective avenue.
The imagery of these three points of view is not specific or sharply delineated, and "borrows", constantly, from various sources of knowledge and insight.
The pragmatic purpose of knowing about our own existence.
The need for a universally acceptable imagery of ourselves.
"Superiority", and the functions of a genetic spectrum.
Hierarchical differentiations, and the need to work together.
A review of leadership functions and requirements.
The essence of social integration.
Verbalisable awareness; the tip of an iceberg of behavioural events.
The concept, that the perception of reality is a behavioural tool.
The inability to trace a definitive imagery of human existence.
The construction of a "working hypothesis".

How are these varying approaches to the nature of human existence going to meet each other? We can use a number of techniques to compare the findings of one field with those of another. Obviously, we will have to know something about a large number of topics, including the functions of living organisms, ranging from the simplest species' to our own existence. It is reasonable to expect, that a wide-ranging comparison of living organisms is going to help us classify and orden the phenomena of our own existence. One of the obstacles in such a comparative study is the fact, that man seems to stand somewhat apart from the rest of the living spectrum. First of all, man is the only species that can communicate verbally and worship God, but, in addition, man can arbitrarily choose a form of behaviour that is unpredictable and seems to go against every rhyme or reason.

Man has also tried to learn something about himself with the methods of thought and intro-spection, but, here too, we come to the conclusion, that these methods have their own particular pitfalls and draw-backs. A careful and honest analysis can be very helpful to understand our hidden motivations in greater depth, but, the ability to communicate such subjective insights and personal awarenesses has often been limited. This difficulty is now somewhat more understandable, since we have learned to appreciate the fact, that words and symbols are gradually sharpened by dialogue and contact, and, we know, also, a little more about the mechanisms of relevance, which determine, so strikingly, whether or not other people are interested in what we have to say. It is reasonable to expect, that the methods of intro-spection, as well as the evaluation of personal awarenesses and feelings, require a long period of dialogue, before it is possible to communicate them with precision and relevance.

In spite of the fact, that we are far from developing a coherent and globally acceptable reality-image about ourselves, the three approaches we have outlined above, should give us many possibilities to enlarge upon existing concepts and awarenesses. Since we are attempting to converge upon the same objective and focus of attention, (nl, the nature of human existence), we have to develop a way of expressing and describing ourselves which is potentially acceptable on a global scale, because it should not favour anyone particular cultural code. The absence of a cultural bias should enlarge the sphere of relevance of such an effort, because we should be able to build-up enough confidence and relevant knowledge to make, at least, some statement of equivalence, which could be accepted as valid and useful on a world-wide scale.

Ideally, of course, we should be able to develop a comprehensive picture of human existence from all three sides simultaneously; the organic-physiological side, the psychological-behavioural side, and the subjective-introspective side, and, we should, eventually, be able to relate these three fields of description to each other with large and confident signs of equivalence.

Before we explore the possibilities given in such a three-pronged approach to the realities of our own existence, we should emphasise the fact, that the imagery which is going to emerge, is very complex, indeed. The conceptual vocabulary I will be using has incorporated numerous ideas and view-points that have come-about as a result of complex formulations and integrations of awarenesses and insights, carried-out over a prolonged period of time. This synthesis is, largely, a product of my own integrative functions, but, the "building-blocks" that have been used have been developed by many different workers in the various life-sciences. For example, we are going to use images in the description of a behavioural analysis of life-forms, including our own, which are strongly influenced by ideas that are not solely a result of behavioural observations. Many ideas have roots that go back to other areas of observation, outside the sphere of living behaviour, and, many ideas have been influenced by interpretations that have arisen from reflective thought.

Similarly, most scientific images in fields that can be summarised by the term "life-sciences", have been influenced by ideas and concepts from other areas. Reflective descriptions make, invariably, use of ideas that come from all sides of the cultural pool, including personal experiences and awarenesses. All our images and descriptions of reality are, therefore, influenced by ideas and interpretations from the entire field of reality, and, you will notice, no doubt, that, many descriptions in the reflective sphere find their origins in the general fields of knowledge, experience and technology. After all, the objective of these three approaches to the knowledge of man, is to make it easier for us to grasp these matters, and, therefore, a distinction between the three avenues of approach has only value, because it allows us to emphasise a remarkable degree of convergence upon a single focus of attention by three different methods of investigation.

The illumination of a single topic of interest by three different approaches may help us grasp the reality in a way that is more useful, more finely shaded, and less confusing or culturally coloured, compared to the reality-images we have worked with, so far. We only need to remind ourselves of the fact, that all our social and psychological problems are, inevitably, linked to the way we see ourselves, and, that these problems depend, to a remarkable extent, on the clarity and universality of the interpretation of our own existence. It is so important, therefore, to be able to communicate these reality perceptions across cultural boundaries, because we can only understand ourselves as others see us, if we are able to distantiate ourselves from our culture, and, if we are able to see the common features of our biological heritage shine through a variety of different cultural veneers.

The possibilities of cross-cultural communications will be greatly enhanced, if we have such a globally acceptable and meaningful imagery of ourselves. Far from being a philosophical luxury, we will discover, to our surprise, how important such a widely agreed-upon reality-image of ourselves really is, and, how useful these images will be in the construction of practical solutions to social problems, that seem intractable at the present time.

A seemingly unsolvable problem can, almost always, be diagnosed as the result of an erroneous or defective analysis and interpretation of the problem at hand, and, it is, therefore, not suprising, that we are baffled and perplexed, time and again, about happenings and behavioural manifestations of the people around us, as well as our own inclinations and drives, because we just do not have any idea, how we function and what makes us behave the way we do.

As long as the imagery of the human being and his relationships with others remains divided into a series of poorly or non-integrated schools of thought, we will not be able to agree amongst ourselves, what justice or social stability means; what a peaceful co-existence entails, and, what the objectives of human life are; which factors and trends we have to keep in mind, in order to preserve justice, peace and a sense of individual dignity or communal well-being.

Our collective observations, thoughts and scientific studies will show, undoubtedly, that there are genetic differences from one individual to the next, because we are, after all, dealing with a genetic spectrum of the species of mankind, and, we will also see differences in behaviour and specific capabilities as a result of sexual and racial differentiations. We see also differences appear in the beliefs and behaviour-patterns of groups of people, who have lived separately from each other for a long time, but this does not mean, that we have to make quick, and, often, somewhat superficial value-judgements about these differences.

Let us keep in mind, that we resemble each other far more than we differ from each other, and, we should not forget, that, numerous differences between us resulted from genetic and cultural differentiations. These cultural and genetic differences have been accentuated by the fact that so many groups of people have lived and developed their beliefs and customs, traditions and rituals, in isolation from each other.

Genetic combinations and behaviour-patterns that turn-out to be highly successful and viable, derive their possibilities of existence at the expense of other forms of existence, (including other members of the same species), who happen to exist at the other end of this same spectrum. Similarly, the differentiation of a social grouping into hierarchical strata does not imply a natural or inborn right on the part of those who emerge as the stronger members, to exploit or dominate those who are less powerful. We have argued before, on many occasions, that the viability of the social grouping as a whole depends on a widely shared sense of justice. This sense of justice means, that the social entity is able to make use of the contributions of every member, as well as the obvious fact, that all members should benefit from belonging to a social environment.

This implies, that, a position of power and privilege is paid-for by the requirement to lead and protect the group in such a way, that the group as a whole benefits. If, at any time, a leadership is tempted to consider itself "superior" to its followers, and, that it is therefore justified to emphasise the benefits for itself, the seeds of violence and destruction are being sown. The moment a leadership becomes elitist in its outlook and forgets, that, society is, in essence, a social contract of essential equality between all its members, it is doomed to live in increasing isolation, facing, eventually, a violent overthrow. The moment a leadership forgets, that its power and position of privilege is, in essence, a gift from the other members of the social environment, (made in trust and with the objective to lead the society as a whole), such a leadership becomes a menace and a liability to this social grouping.

Whenever we scrutinise the behaviour of people, we will always come to the conclusion, that some individuals have a much greater mental and physical potential for becoming a leader compared to others, but, this does not mean that such gifted and viable individuals deserve to live in a position of privilege and power. We should not come to the conclusion, that their worth is greater than that of ordinary members, in spite of the fact, that the consequences for a social environment in times of stress may be much more dramatic when it loses a leader, compared to the loss of a follower.

Each member of a social environment has, or should have, an essential role to play, in spite of the fact, that some roles are far more spectacular than others. As followers, we tend to focus, almost exclusively, on the contributions made by our leaders, because we feel, immediately, an embarrassing lack of direction, if we become leader-less, but, we should not forget the silent and unobtrusive contributions we all have to make as followers, in order to keep our society in good shape. Where would we be, if our farmers did not produce our food, or, the workers carry-out their numerous tasks? Where would our leadership be, if its followers would refuse to give it their sons and daughters for the protection and defense of society and its institutions? A true leader will never forget this, and, he will never have any doubts about the essential equality in the rights of existence for all the members of his social unit.

However, this is an aside and a brief look into the social relationships of the human being. When we look at the way the human being forms verbalisable or conceptual awarenesses, we see, immediately, a difficulty for our efforts to trace a coherent picture of human existence, because we do not agree amongst ourselves, how, and why, this ability emerged. Yet, we know, that our human reality-images, (regardless, how fragmented and divergent they still are), depend entirely upon this ability to form concepts, since we feel, rightly, that the concept of a "reality perception" applies, primarily, to awarenesses we can express in symbolic terms.

If we react automatically, or, nearly automatically, to our environment, (e.g., when we carry-out the numerous recurring and routine acts of our daily existence), we notice, that we are, often, poorly aware of the many details to which we have reacted accurately. When walking along a road, or, when picking-up a common object, we react and adjust our muscular movements in fine detail to a complex set of physical realities or conditions which we may be almost totally unaware of. We know, therefore, that we inter-act with, and react to, our environment in a way that is far more complex than the conscious reality-images we have formed about this environment.

Let us, indeed, define reality, primarily, as a structure of ideas and concepts we can verbalise; as a structure we know to be so reliable, so beyond question, that we accept this set of ideas as the reality, or "truth", of our particular existence.

How do we construct this reality-image, and, how did we, as a living species, develop the capability to form such reality images? Can we see some sort of purpose in this function? This question arises logically, since we have become aware of the fact, that living existence always evolves certain capabilities in response to a need. There is always a need to secure or increase viability, and give an adequate possibility of existence to the next generations.

It is impossible at this stage in the development of our conceptual mastery to trace, with any sense of finality, the development of a reality-image, nor, can we trace, convincingly, the development of the genetic endowment that lies behind the potential of forming a reality-image. We disagree, still, about so many fundamental concepts and ideas about the essence of human existence. We will, therefore, speculate, rather boldly, about the evolutionary developments that are likely to have taken place, and, we will freely use all available concepts and ideas, when describing a "working hypothesis" for the existence of human awareness.

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Chapter 4

Content

The development of the human child; an objective-biological description.
The newly born infant represents a bundle of inborn reflexes, without a trace of any higher mental functions.
Sense-impressions or experiences are not registered as specific events or items of awareness, until the child learns to talk.
Within weeks, the faculty of recognition comes to the fore, indicating the development of a generalised form of sensory registration.
Evidence for a temporary focus of attention, but no registration of specific awarenesses.
A brief review of embryological developments.
The changes that take place at birth.
Growth and maturation take another fifteen years to complete.
The central nervous system is "incomplete" at the time of birth.
A review of the mechanisms of sexual differentiation.
Careful scrutiny may reveal many sexually related differences in aptitudes and behaviour-patterns between male and female.
The concept of a genetic spectrum, super-imposed on sex-differences.
A few examples of sex-related predilections in psychological aptitudes.
The balance between male and female hormones.
A cultural accentuation of sexual differences.
The battle of the sexes; an unfortunate consequence of fervent efforts to reform traditional behaviour-patterns.
A child; learning to speak.
The mechanisms of the conditioned reflex.
Behavioural flexibility is based on the potential for reflex conditioning.
The domestic dog; conditioned reflexes, seen from the point of view of the dog and his master.
How dogs learn to recognise specific word-symbols.
Dogs lack the ability to manipulate, voluntarily or spontaneously, words or representative mental images.
The genetically endowed ability of the human being to manipulate symbolic representations spontaneously, either, as a process of communication, or, as a form of thought and reflection.

Let us begin by tracing a generalised picture of the development of the ability to form a conscious imagery of reality. In the past, many ideas have emerged about the way this human characteristic came-about, but, we will concentrate, here, on the contemporary ideas of evolutionary development. This evolutionary imagery will also bring to the fore the other human capabilities that unfold themselves during the growth and maturation of a youngster.

We will discuss, in general terms, the development of a human being after birth, including the faculties of language, thought and reflection. However, we will be describing biological events without cultural specifics. This part of our discussion could be categorised as the "objective-biological approach", where we analyse what we can see, when we look at children and people around us. None of these images will be new or unusual, but, we hope to link them with a more speculative imagery about the nature of our conscious awarenesses.

If we look at our offspring, we see, initially, a small infant who can only feed, sleep or cry. The movements of its arms and legs are completely uncoordinated. The eyes do not focus, as yet, and, there is no evidence, that the infant can recognise any object or sound. In short, it is an interesting collection of primary reflexes, such as crying and sucking, including the startle and stretch reflexes of many muscle groups; e.g., those of bladder contraction and bowel evacuation. Yet, the infant has none of the inter-actions that are so characteristic of human existence somewhat later in life. The newly born baby can not smile, turn around, grasp for objects or recognise anything, let alone speak, think or communicate. It reacts to any form of stress with an undifferentiated act of crying, and, if it is fed well, comfortable and reasonably dry and clean, it will fall contently asleep.

There are no other patterns of behaviour, and, we are fairly certain, that there is not even the beginning of the type of conscious awareness that becomes such a typically human feature in the near future of the child's development. It is significant, that, none of us can remember much before the age of three or four years, and, it seems likely, that an infant does not register, as yet, any specific memory-trace that can be recalled, later, as the memory of a specific incident or circumstance.

Within weeks, we see the first evidence emerge for an act of recognition. The baby starts to smile in response to a familiar face, or, perhaps, in recognition of a comfortable circumstance. In quick succession, other functions are added, but, no attempt is made, here, to be chronologically accurate. The eyes begin to focus upon specific objects, and, this indicates, that, at least, to some extent, the child's attention can be focussed for a short period of time on something specific. The baby starts to reach and grasp. It begins to listen to a variety of sounds, and, it reacts to being touched and fondled. Its movements become more coordinated; it starts to lift its head, turn around, and, later, it begins to crawl and makes an effort to stand.

The baby begins to utter a variety of different sounds, and, its nearly continuous sleep becomes interrupted with periods of alertness, where the infant is obviously beginning to register some of the sensations that arise from being in the world. Rapidly, its repsonses become much more varied, while its body is growing at a remarkable rate.

From scientific observations, we have learned some of the morphological and physiological changes that take place during the differentiation from a fertilised egg-cell to an embryo. In quick succession, all the organ-systems are formed within the first three months of gestation. The morphological changes are dramatic and fascinating, but the physiological and chemical processes that guide and steer these changes, are still far from understood.

After the first three months of gestation, the newly formed organism is more or less a complete individual, and, the remainder of the period of intra-uterine existence is spent, largely, in enlarging and remodeling the anatomical structures of the fetus. At the time of birth, the organs and body structures are ready for the transition to an existence outside the womb.

Birth means, in essence, that, respiratory and nutritional functions are taken-over by the lungs and the gastro-intestinal tract of the infant, because, before birth, the infant is being fed and oxygenated through the placental blood-stream. These changes are accompanied by profound and sudden alterations in the physiology of the blood-stream, the lungs and the gasto-intenstinal tract. The skin is now exposed to air, rather than amniotic fluid, and, the infant begins to receive a vastly increased number of sensations as its tactile and special sensory systems are exposed to the outside world.

After birth, a long and profound process of growth and maturation takes place lasting for more than fifteen years. The central nervous system is largely "unfinished" at the time of birth, and, this accounts for the fact that the many sense impressions are not registered as yet. The neural connections are there, but, many pathways are still not "functional", until the processes of myelination provide the necessary insulating qualities to make conduction along these neural pathways more efficient. There is some growth in brain size during the early post-natal period, partially, as a result of these myelination processes, and, partly, as a result of further cellular growth and proliferation.

Externally, it is possible to follow the changes in body contour that take place during the first few years of post-natal development. Baby-fat disappears, the texture and type of hair change, the skeletal structure elongates, and, during the phase of puberty, the final stages of the development towards maturity are completed as the individual acquires the ability to procreate.

The sexual differences become more accentuated. From a few, simple, morphological differences at the time of birth, distinct differences become apparent in the body contours and behaviour-patterns of boys and girls, who are on the way to become men and women. As a rule, the physique of boys is stronger, their play rougher, their attitudes somewhat more aggressive in a physical sense, and, we should not be surprised to learn, that, careful scrutiny and study will, eventually, show sexually determined differences in nearly all organ-systems, including the brain. There may also be differences in the range of psychological preferences, attitudes, behavioural performance and aptitudes.

We should not forget, that such a scrutiny will also show differences in aptitudes between all individuals, irrespective of sexual differentiation, but, it is not easy to distinguish between factors that relate to differing genetic endowments, and those, reflecting a divergence in developments taking place during embryological differentiation or after birth.

On previous occasions, we have emphasised the idea, that we can consider the healthy, normally formed infant to possess all human capabilities in a potential form, but, the development of some of these capabilities will necessarily lead to a lessened development, or, perhaps, even, an almost complete under-development of other potentials, which were, nevertheless, present as a genetic "anlage" at the time of birth.

The fact, that a population represents a genetic spectrum of actualised existence possibilities, coupled with the fact, that, each human individual has a specific set of genes and fits somewhere in this spectrum, make it inevitable, that people are not identical in their capabilities. Differences in the path of development and unfolding of these potentials accentuate these inborn differences even more. As part of this genetic variability, we see differences that are associated with the inherited differentiations between the sexes, and, it is logical to expect behavioural as well as physical differences between the male and female members of a species. The sexual mode of reproduction, as well as the varying requirements of viability, make it inevitable, that our biological heritage reflects a spectrum of variability, which is, at least, in part, associated with sexual differences.

If the role of the male in the reproduction of a species has, for a long time, been accentuated by the need for physical vigor and strength, (required for the hunt and the protection of the group), we can expect these attributes to be linked to the instructions for sexual differentiation. Similarly, if care and protection of the infant, as well as the performance of a variety of specific, more or less "domestic functions" have been the responsibility of the female members for a significant part of the evolutionary period of anthropoid species', we should see in the behaviour of girls and young women, attitudes and trends that reflect this predilection.

If the hunt has been the primary task of the male members, it is logical to expect, that some of their psychological abilities reflect the skills of hunting, such as an affinity for visual and spatial orientation. These capabilities seem, indeed, to be linked, at least, to some extent, with "maleness". Similarly, if the female members were eagerly trying to learn about the adventures and experiences of the male hunters, after they had come home with food, it is reasonable to expect, that the female still shows a certain propensity in verbal communications, as well as an ability to organise a variety of activities, simultaneously.

We should remind ourselves, that sexual differentiation is not an all or nothing phenomenon. We know, now, that sexual differences rest on a balance between male and female hormones, with one or the other group of hormones dominating. Hormones are "organisers" that steer the development of a body into a particular direction, including the direction of a specific sexual differentiation, but, the balance of hormones may be vague, and, we see, often, that male and female characteristics overlap to some extent. Males may show many characteristics that are, usually, considered to be female, and vice versa.

Sexual differentiation in behaviour and attitudes, as well as the role within the social environment, are, undoubtedly, strongly accentuated by "cultural regulators", leading, in most societies, to rather arbitrary barriers and categories for typically male or female occupations, activities and behaviour-patterns. It is certainly a socially healthy development, when people begin to question many of these rather artificial barriers and traditional stereotypes, but, it would be erroneous to deny the existence of all sexual differences in aptitudes, attitudes and capabilities.

Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the emergence of legitimate questions about the validity of socially accepted beliefs and prejudices, is accompanied by a superficial militance of strident attitudes, which harm the persuasiveness of the original argument and give the impression that the drive towards emancipation has become purely a battle for dominance. It is not difficult to see the potentially disastrous consequences of such adversary attitudes between the sexes, in particular, when the mutual dependence between male and female in a family-unit has already been weakened by a loss of conventional guidelines and natural relationships.

Let us return to the development of the human child. Again, let me emphasise, that, it is not my intention to describe such a development in any significant detail, or, with any claim to completeness. Here, we will high-light, in general terms, the major transformations that take place, and, we will focus our attention, especially, upon those developments that are related to the emergence of speech or symbolic representation, together with the many levels of abstraction that flow from it.

When the child reaches the age of about two years, it has learned to walk, reach for everything in sight, and, it begins to say a few recognisable words. Obviously, the child has become familiar with its immediate surroundings. It knows the people who are close to its particular social environment, and, the child begins to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar faces, voices and modes of behaviour. It begins to learn to correlate a specific awareness of a familiar object or person with an existing but arbitrary sound signal, which "names" this object or person. The child begins to imitate these sound-symbols, and, slowly, the connection between a specific awareness and a specific sound-symbol opens the way to symbolic communications between the young child and the members of its social environment.

It is worthwhile to analyse this development a little more in detail, because we touch, here, upon a characteristic, but, probably, not exclusively human development. We know, that many animals can form an association between a specific stimulus, or "awareness", and an artificial, arbitrary and originally meaningless stimulus or sound. This, after all, is the basis for our concepts about the "conditioned reflex", where a specific response is, not only, elicited by the appropriate and significant stimulus, (which is genetically determined), but, through a process of constant association with a significant stimulus, an arbitrary or non-significant stimulus may, eventually, elicit the same specific response. The primary, physiological stimulus can then be replaced, entirely, by a non-specific stimulus, and still obtain the original response.

While scientists have developed these concepts about the "conditioned reflex" as a result of artificial laboratory experiments, it is likely, that all cerebral learning, (especially, in those animal species' that have developed the ability to be flexible in their behavioural responses), is based upon these sort of mechanisms. After all, flexibility in the behavioural response must mean, that the stimulus evoking a specific response, is not fixed, but can be chosen or modified, usually, involuntarily and subconsciously, according to the circumstances.

The ability to couple, artificially, or, through the mechanisms of a naturally occurring association, an arbitrary or non-significant stimulus with a significant one, is extensively represented in the behaviourally flexible species'. However, even those species' with rather rigid stimulus-response patterns show some ability to develop conditioned reflexes. This would suggest, as we see, so often, in nature, that, the "anlage" for the foundation for the possibility of behavioural flexibility, (the conditioned reflex), antedates, by far, the actual emergence of the behaviourally flexible species'.

For example, we know, that the domestic dog, which belongs to the behaviourally flexible species', can be trained to respond to a number of artificial stimuli. This can be done by coupling the desired response with a reward. Eventually, the dog learns, that the desired reward will follow a particular behaviour on its part, which is, for some unknown and essentially ununderstood reason, cherished or desired by its master. For the dog, the stimulus to engage in a certain activity, is the desired and anticipated result from its environment, and the effect that is desired by the dog, is the reward provided by its master. For its master, the situation is just the opposite. The stimulus is a command from the master, and the dog's response is the desired behaviour, and the reward, (the significant stimulus for the dog), is necessary to re-enforce the connection between the command, (or non-significant and arbitrary stimulus), and the desired behavioural response, which acts as a stimulus for the dog to get the desired reward from its master.

The dog can be taught, or can learn, spontaneously, to associate many arbitrary sounds or word-symbols used regularly by its master, with a desired result or activity, like a walk outside, or, a desirable piece of food. This indicates a high level of awareness of a specific situation, an object, an activity, or a reward, and, we see, clearly, that such an animal has enough practical experience to "know", or anticipate, a particular response or happening, whenever it recognises a meaningful stimulus, or an arbitrary substitute for this stimulus which has become meaningful by constant association. This proves, that a dog has elaborate cerebral classification mechanisms, which allow the animal to classify or categorise awarenesses into classes of similarity of existence or event. This cerebral classification mechanism underlies, also, the human ability to form awarenesses, and, so far, we see little difference between a human being, and an intelligent, behaviourally flexible animal.

However, the dog can not manipulate these arbitrary symbols or sound-signals spontaneously or voluntarily. Therefore, the dog can not initiate the recall of a specific awareness by uttering the symbol to itself or to another dog. The animal depends entirely upon recognising this symbol in the utterances of its master, and, therefore, the dog has not crossed this crucial barrier, where the recall of an awareness becomes independent from the occurrence of an appropriate or analogous stimulus. The dog is unable to evoke, deliberately, the occurrence of an analogous stimulus, and the occurrence of such a stimulus falls, therefore, outside the sphere of its volition.

In nature, a dog would, probably, never be in a position to associate arbitrary, human sound-symbols with a specific event or happening, but, its ability to form conditioned reflexes allows the animal to learn, in a human environment, artificial word-symbols as being meaningful. However, this meaning is completely dependent upon its human contacts and has to be re-enforced continuously. Yet, at the same time, the ability to "learn" the significance of an originally meaningless stimulus, means, that the dog, as well as all other behaviourally flexible animals, can adjust their behavioural responses much more finely "in tune" with the prevailing, and, perhaps, temporary circumstances of their natural environment.

As we have discussed on several occasions, the human being has learned, either by accident or by necessity, to manipulate, voluntarily, the recall of specific awarenesses, and, the human species developed, slowly, a large symbolic repertoir, which, eventually, required mental classification systems. This was necessary to retain a measure of usefulness and manageability for such a large number of symbols. The human being has, therefore, the genetically endowed capability to initiate, and, later, manipulate these symbols, (primarily verbal sound-symbols, such as speech or language), and, man can, therefore, initiate a series of voluntary recalls by uttering these sounds; either, when communicating with others, or, as a silent dialogue with himself. The latter represents, of course, the ability to think and reflect.

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Chapter 5

Content

The essence of becoming human; the separation of memory-recall from analogous experiences.
Voluntary memory-recall by symbolic means.
The dog and his master; another look.
Voluntary symbolic manipulations may take place in the anthropoids, at least, in a rudimentary form.
A child, learning to use verbal symbols, and developing the ability to manipulate its social environment.
The art of asking questions.
The importance of being taught socially current word-symbols.
The technique of translating complex symbols into an "easier language" of conceptual building-blocks.
School-learning represents, primarily, a transfer of secondary knowledge, translated into basic conceptual building-blocks.
Writing; recording word-symbols as a reflection of their meaning, or, in the way they sound.
The alphabetic method of "normal spelling", and a further description of the way a word is pronounced, if spelling and pronounciation begin to diverge, once again; the art of phonetics.
Reading; reconstituting the sound of a verbal symbol, and its subsequent recognition as a symbolic entity.
The scope of schooling and learning.
The sphere of reality, and the ability to see behavioural characteristics that fall outside the sphere of conscious awareness of an observed individual.
The essential reciprocity of the sphere of reality perceptions; consequences.
Variable perceptions.
An essential equivalence, requiring careful thought.
Where reciprocity holds, and where it breaks-down.
Emotional influences upon the sphere of reality perceptions.
Emotionally neutral observations; a short review.
The zone of emotional neutrality, and the opportunities for a sharply delineated reality perception.
Clarifying the significance of contrasting stimuli with the help of a precise analysis.
A wide-ranging sphere of reality perceptions, and the emergence of anxiety as a result of the foresight of death and disaster.

The crucial step in the humanisation of the pre-human animal, must have been the loosening of the link between the analogous stimulus or circumstance, and the recall of an appropriate category of memory-traces. This happened, when a large number of memory-traces could also be "accessed" by verbal and other, representative symbols, rather than only through a similar circumstance or analogous stimulus.

With the evolution of voluntary gesticular imitations, and, later, the stylised sound-symbol, uttered as a fluent stream of words, the human being became capable of recalling, voluntarily, a large part of his awarenesses and memories, without the need to receive an analogous sense impression from the environment.

The dog remained bound to the reception of an analogous stimulus from the environment, because it has to receive such a stimulus for the recall of the appropriate category of memory-traces. This stimulus may be an analogous circumstance coming from its environment, including a verbal stimulus from its master. This is the reason, why a dog has not developed the ability to manipulate symbolic representations spontaneously or voluntarily.

Certainly, the dog can show a keen anticipation of a desired reward or activity, and, the animal may clearly indicate, in its attitudes, what it is anticipating. A dog may even make use of a rather arbitrary and intrinsically meaningless gesture, like giving a paw, in order to express, more clearly, its desire for an anticipated reward. However, as we have discussed, the giving of a paw, or, the execution of a learned but arbitrary response functions as the stimulus with which the dog tries to obtain the desired result from its master. This desired result is the reward from its master, and, such a reward has to be dispensed by his human master in order to keep an anticipation or correlation alive between a particular pattern of behaviour and a specific result.

Yet, we seem to get increasingly convincing evidence from our studies of the anthropoid life-forms, that the human species was not alone in embarking upon the road towards manipulating symbolic representations. Certainly, our nearest competitors have become extinct, and, some of the anthropoids have survived by retreating, as far as possible, into the jungle, away from this dominant and dangerous species "mankind", but, we seem to be able to detect evidence for symbolic manipulations of some sort in the chimpanzees, and, probably, in other, still living anthropoids as well.

When a child is about two years old, we see, that the capability of speech is developing rapidly. The child learns, not only, to make a connection between a specific awareness and an artificial sound-symbol, but, a child starts to use and utter sound-symbols spontaneously. As a result, a child is able to bring-back a number of awarenesses into a focus of attention, as soon as it has been able to lay a connection between a specific word-symbol and its meaning. This recall into a focus of attention occurs in addition to the actual circumstances that constitute the analogous or appropriate stimulus for the recall of specific categories of awarenesses. Here, I believe, we have sketched the essence of human intelligence.

The child begins to use these symbols almost constantly, adding every day a number of new connections between awarenesses and verbal sound-symbols. Quickly, the child begins to use these symbols in a framework of relationships, expressing an awareness that such relationships exist. At the same time, the child develops the ability to communicate its own existential needs by using these symbols. The child learns, that it can manipulate the social environment into providing what it wants or needs, not only, by initiating actions that lead to the desired results, but, also, by uttering a series of sound-symbols that mobilise its human environment into providing what it wants or needs.

The technique of symbolic manipulation helps the child to sharpen the awarenesses it has of specific events and circumstances, and, the art of symbolic manipulation becomes a tool to bring-about certain desired or favourable events as a result of a process of communication and cooperation with other people. In addition, the child learns, that there are sound-symbols it does not understand, and, that it is sometimes not easy to correlate a specific sound-symbol with an available awareness. In the latter case, it learns to "ask a question", and, this question may initiate a flow of word-symbols from an older member of the social environment, explaining a number of relationships between known symbols. If such a flow of word-symbols is understood, it "clarifies" or closes a gap in the interpretation of the sense impressions of the child.

We should emphasise, here, that the ability to learn a direct correlation between a specific sense impression and an existing symbol, shortens, enormously, the time needed to become aware of a particular entity, because, without this crucial help from the social environment, the child, (or a community of intelligent but isolated human beings still experimenting with the possibilities of symbolic representation and communication), would have to wait, until it had experienced a sufficient number of related sense impressions, before it could orden these impressions into a new form of awareness, with its own principle of classification.

Rather than having to wait, until a sufficient number of awarenesses have occurred to allow the mental classification mechanisms to define a class of awarenesses, (which can then be re-stimulated into consciousness by a related experience or by a representative symbol), the human being can learn to correlate a specific sound-symbol with a specific event or experience, provided, that there is someone in the environment to teach the appropriate connection between a particular sense impression and the name it has acquired from a particular community or cultural code.

The development of the ability to formulate a question constituted a giant step forward in the process of learning and acquiring a coherent perception of reality. At some time in the past, it must have become apparent to the adult generations, that, many of the more sophisticated concepts could not so easily be taught or explained to their offspring, nor, to anyone else who was unfamiliar with a particular pool of cultural symbols. It became clear, that there was a need to devise a "system of explanations", where more complex and sophisticated concepts and ideas could be "translated" into a basic vocabulary, which was relatively easy to learn for youngsters and strangers alike.

It was a significant innovation in the art of manipulating the pool of verbalisable awarenesses, when it became possible to translate a more sophisticated, complex or abstract awareness, or word-symbol, into mental images or concepts a youngster or pupil could understand. We see, indeed, how almost all "school learning" in our modern times is based upon the ability to relate, or translate, more complex concepts and ideas into basic concepts that are more generally known. Most word-symbols used in a modern language have been learned in this manner.

We also learn in our early school years, how we can record our verbal sound-symbols in writing, with the help of an "alphabetic method" of recording sounds. Here, in the method of writing, we do not emphasise the meaning of the word-symbol as a whole, but, after a long period of experience, it became clear, that it was possible to simplify the recording of word-symbols, if one analysed and recorded a word according to its audible components. It became clear, that all words could be described by a relatively simple set of sound-symbols. These sound symbols have nothing to do with the meaning of the word, but describe, merely, the way a word sounds.

It must have been difficult for man to grasp this conceptual distinction between the meaning a word stood for, and, a series of symbols which described how a word sounded, but, this distinction, once understood, opened the way to an alphabetic method for registering verbal sound-symbols. This was, of course, far simpler than a method, where each word-symbol as a whole was represented by a separate, graphic character. Soon, the relationship between the way a word was written alphabetically, and, the way it was pronounced, began to deviate, once again, and, for this reason, an additional "phonetic" way of recording a word-symbol was introduced, in addition to the "official" alphabetical spelling of a word.

The first few years in school are used to teach youngsters this all-important ability to record word-symbols alphabetically, and, to "read" words, which is, in essence, the same process in reverse. Youngsters also learn to manipulate one of the most important, and, fortunately, one of the most precise forms of mental abstractions. These are the generalisations of the concepts of quantity. In arithmetic, and, later, in mathematics, we learn to manipulate these concepts of quantity, or numbers, with varying degrees of dexterity.

The school-going child also learns something about the society it lives in. It learns about the social organisation and language of other people, the societies of the past, our terrestial environment, our technological instruments, as well as some of the fundamental and sacred belief structures, customs and attitudes upon which the strength and viability of a society have come to rest. With the help of the verbal symbol, as well as a technique for recording this verbal symbol graphically, people learn to engage in extensive symbolic contacts with each other. In this way, people begin to form an all-important "reality image", as they are growing-up in the society into which they have been born.

This reality-image is "clothed" by many different verbal symbols, beliefs, attitudes and customs, which the younger generations are taking-over from their social environment, and, this constitutes the "cultural input" or "cultural content" of a reality image. Each individual in society must necessarily reflect, to a large extent, the content it has absorbed as a youngster, especially, if an individual has been nursed upon this cultural pool since infancy.

While we have now some ideas about the way each one of us builds-up a reality picture, with himself in the center, we see, also, (when we analyse a behaving individual who constitutes a part of our sphere of reality images), that the behaviour-patterns of the individual in our sphere of reality perceptions, includes far more than the individual is consciously aware of. The sphere of an individual's reality perceptions includes only a fraction of all the mechanisms that can play a role, and, which can be a part of the reality sphere of an observer. By extrapolation, we come to the conclusion, that, we, ourselves, may also be a part of the reality sphere of another individual, and, that this individual may observe far more than we are aware of.

Certainly, none of our reality perceptions are identical, since they are centered, each time, around a different personality. The reality-spheres may overlap to some extent, in particular, when people live close together, but, those people we perceive at the periphery of our reality sphere, share only a small portion of their reality perceptions with us.

Our reality-sphere is the area of awarenesses we are capable of, and, the clarity and precision of the contents of this sphere of reality perceptions vary markedly. Some of us are only dimly aware of our realities, and, our awarenesses are then clothed in the common perceptions and platitudes of the social environment. Others have a propensity to observe sharply and to reflect, in detail, upon their awarenesses. Such people come to the conclusion, that these reality perceptions are extremely complex, indeed. We notice, for example, that the number of details, or, the variety of perceptions we can potentially know, is far greater than we will ever be able to master because of limitations in time, opportunities for investigation, as well as memory capabilities. We also notice, that we can focus our attention on numerous small areas, enlarging them with a period of detailed and prolonged attention. Numerous details, which were previously unnoticed or ignored, become then available, but, large areas of our field of vision fall now, necessarily, outside the focus of our attention, and, many important awarenesses may fade-away all-together, if we remain focussed on a specific and minute detail for any length of time.

If we consider ourselves essentially equivalent to any other human being, we see, that our reality perceptions take-in a much larger field of awareness than the awarenesses of the individual we are observing, but, at the same time, we know, that such an individual observing us in the same manner as we observe him or her, will see us within a much larger totality of inter-actions, and, we know, then, that this individual may comprehend our existence and inter-actions within a certain wideness of view that is unavailable to us.

We have to come to the conclusion, that there must be a certain reciprocity between the observer, observing me, and me, observing the observer, provided, of course, that we are comparable in our capabilities to observe each other. If we emphasise the inevitable differences between one individual and another, we may come to the facile conclusion, that such an equivalence does not exist, or, is useless to pursue. On the other hand, if we glibly accept the essential similarities between human beings, we arrive at a superficial equivalence that is so obvious and beyond question, that it can not provide us with any useful insights.

Only, if we approach the equivalence between the observer and the observed cautiously, is it possible to gain useful insights. We will, then, come to the conclusion, that such an equivalence holds for those aspects of our behaviour which we have in common, but, the equivalence starts to break-down, whenever we consider the aspects of our behaviour where we diverge. We agree in our behavioural aspects, when we reflect our common biological heritage, but, we disagree, or, we can not even compare our reality perceptions, whenever our reality-images are strongly coloured by local, cultural and divergent modes of behaviour.

We are likely to identify easier with each other, if we share the same cultural pool, and, strong cultural divergences and conflicting belief structures may, indeed, make such a mutual identification virtually impossible. Sometimes, we have, literally, difficulties recognising each other as human beings. We have difficulties recognising each other as members of the same species. We have a tendency to fail to recognise each other as human beings with the same basic existential needs as ourselves. We fail to recognise the humanity of someone else, especially, when we are locked into an attitude of mutual hatred and contempt, or fierce competitive hostilities.

This brings us to the field of emotions, together with the influences and distortions such emotional colorations can cause in the sphere of our reality perceptions. Until now, we have tacitly assumed, that the quality of the awarenesses an individual learns to name with symbolic representations, (and, which one learns to manipulate in a mental framework of coherent beliefs), is emotionally neutral and existentially not particularly significant. However, we know, very well, that emotional neutrality is only a very specific way of perceiving reality. Emotional neutrality is a way of perceiving reality that has become important, because we have learned, that, observations and awarenesses made in the zone of emotional neutrality, are likely to become much clearer than those influenced by emotional feelings. A greater clarity of perception has often led to a more refined ability to classify our awarenesses, and, consequently, our mastery over reality may improve because of a more refined method of classifying sense impressions.

Yet, emotional neutrality is the exception, and, it requires a careful and constant attitude of control, self-analysis, and self-discipline. The usual mode of our behaviour is emotional in nature. Our behavioural actions, as well as our reality perceptions, even, those that are clearly perceived and symbolically represented, are, often, strongly influenced and coloured by the emotions we are experiencing, and, as we have outlined on several occasions, this happens, whenever we perceive a situation or object that is existentially significant for us.

From an evolutionary point of view, we know, that the perception of environmental stimuli by a living organism, is, in essence, a simple division between stimuli that are harmful, and those that are beneficial, while there is also a need for a complex set of sexual behaviour-patterns to be triggered into action, whenever the circumstances for reproduction have become favourable. This means, that, primarily under hormonal control and facilitated by a feeling of well-being, an individual may become rather suddenly sensitized to the recognition of a mating partner, and, the arousal of this recognition sets into motion a rather stereo-typed reproductive behaviour-pattern, securing the perpetuation of the species.

Human arousal can also be classified, primarily, into the same three categories; the positive, aggressive, confidence-inspiring stimuli, leading to food, shelter, comfort, as well as a feeling of well-being and satiety, (which may then be triggered into a mating behaviour), or, a development into the opposite direction, where the individual becomes defensive, anxious or, even panic-stricken, if it receives progressively stronger stimuli that are interpreted as threatening.

For most animal species', the perception of a non-significant stimulus, (a stimulus that is neither harmful nor beneficial), is not very well developed, since these stimuli have no particular meaning for the organism. Such stimuli tend to be ignored, and, we may confidently state, that, most organisms would not even have the physiological capability to perceive or record non-significant stimuli, because, as we have seen, the mechanisms for the recognition or reception of environmental stimuli develop as a result of the need to do so.

These considerations apply also to our own existence, and, we have to conclude, that the sense impressions we are aware of, and are capable of receiving, were also developed by evolutionary pressures and reflect, therefore, the stimuli that are most significant for us. However, we see, that, within this range of physiological possibilities, the stimuli can range from a positive to a negative pole; from beneficial to threatening and anxiety-provoking, and, in between these antipodes of the sensory, existentially significant spectrum, there exists a narrow band of sense impressions that arouse no specific emotional response, because these sense impressions have no clear-cut meaning. They are not perceived as beneficial or threatening, and, they are, therefore, "emotionally more or less neutral".

Undoubtedly, this part of the spectrum of recordable sense impressions would, initially, have been small and insignificant; a mere by-product of our sensory capabilities, until man, in his remarkable evolutionary search for existence possibilities, experienced the fact, that this range of emotionally more or less neutral stimuli could be very useful as a tool for intellectual analysis and manipulative skills, leading to a clearer mental picture of understanding, as well as an increased mastery and confidence in our daily existence.

These possibilities for an emotionally neutral scrutiny and analysis would, probably, not have become quickly apparent, because such a recognition of usefulness would tend to destroy the conditions of emotional neutrality. Only later, when fairly sophisticated reality perceptions became possible, did man realise the benefits of a deliberate and emotionally disciplined approach to the problems of perception and interpretation. Then, man became aware of the benefits of attempting to maintain, with a conscious effort, an atmosphere of emotional neutrality, even, when there was a tendency to abandon such an attitude of emotional neutrality as a result of the fact that he was benefitting, in the long run, from such efforts.

This focus of attention upon the emotionally neutral spectrum of our sense impressions gave man the tools to increase the predictability of the numerous events he was in contact with. This increase in predictability was accomplished with the help of mental belief structures that provided a much greater definition and clarity to the sphere of reality perceptions. A greater predictability also meant, that an initially confusing, meaningless or chaotic input of sensory stimuli, could now be analysed in fine detail. With an enhanced possibility to take advantage of ambiguous events or confusing situations as a result of behavioural fine-tuning, made possible by increased powers of analysis and predictability, the likelyhood of possible disasters or turns for the worse, came, inevitably, also much clearer into the focus of our human awarenesses.

Intelligence, characterised by manipulability and predictability, had, therefore, its own price to pay. Increased opportunities to take advantage of existing circumstances, were paid-for with an increased insight into potential disasters, and, on these logical consequences of the improved ability to predict the outcome of an event, we have to build our ideas and concepts about the nature of "anxiety".

.......

Chapter 6

Content

Reality perceptions are an integral part of the behavioural complex.
A tool for survival.
An erroneous emphasis on "the self", if introspective techniques are not corrected by other observations.
The center of the Universe.
An unscientific, emotional attitude.
Sharing reality perceptions with widely diverging people.
Three classification mechanisms; the cerebral, mental, and external methods.
The need for solid conceptual building-blocks.
Reasons for the unassailable validity of mathematical statements.
Observations of natural phenomena may always reveal unsuspected or more complex features than anticipated.
The methods of a statistical analysis; possibilities and limitations.
Problems of man and his societies; a lack of agreed-upon conceptual building-blocks for the construction of a coherent view.
Why we like to work with dogmatic concepts and absolute truths.
The importance of "basic facts".
Research in the field of para-psychology.
The tendency to interpret sense-impressions into pre-conceived structures of belief is common to us all.
Emotional reactions associated with the presentation of para-psychological data.
The investment of time, effort and hardships in what we believe to be true.
It is so difficult to know, what is "normal" in our perceptions and beliefs; how, then, can we be sure about what is "abnormal"?
Scienstists, including para-psychological researchers, have usually somewhat facile concepts about the possibilities of distinguishing between what is true and not true.
Studying a phenomenon over a prolonged period of time.
Integrating complexities into single concepts.
Insights come, not only, from minute details, but, also, from broadly based trends.
The paradox of intelligent awareness.

We have come to the conclusion, that all aspects of behaviour are, in essence, tools to increase viability. In animal species' that rely increasingly upon behavioural flexibility, the functions of memory, awareness, as well as the modification of a response on the basis of previous experiences, become ever more important. Human behaviour is an extention of this same line of developments, and, the entire spectrum of human reality perceptions is only a part of this trend of behavioural flexibility. Our reality perceptions, as well as the organising structures of belief that orden and regulate reality perceptions, are, therefore, a part of our overall behavioural complex, and, these potentials and mechanisms have been developed as a result of a continuing search for viability.

Now, we understand a little better, why we see, when observing another human individual, that the behaviour of this observed individual extends far beyond the sphere of its own perception of reality, while our own reality perceptions, (revealing these limitations in others), let us see, by extrapolation, that, we, too, are subject to exactly the same limitations, because a very large part of our own behaviour falls outside our sphere of conscious awarenesses or consciously formulated behaviour-patterns.

It is a sobering thought, to realise and recognise, finally, that our reality sphere, as well as our structures of belief, are, not only, a part of our overall behavioural complex, but, that our behaviour, including all reality perceptions, is, in the final analysis, merely a tool to serve individual, social or species viability. These insights are primarily obtained from extrapolations; by observing the behaviour of other people and different life-forms, and, it is indeed true, that purely introspective techniques lead us in this aspect, completely astray.

In stead of a sobering insight into the reciprocity between the observer and the observed, as well as the conclusion that reality perceptions and belief structures are purely behavioural tools, introspective techniques, not corrected by external observations, would, inevitably, lead us to the conclusion, that the reflecting individual is the center of the Universe.

In becoming aware of the mechanisms that lie behind the development of the sphere of our reality perceptions, we see, that, indeed, an introspective examination of our reality perceptions would lead a reflective individual to the conclusion, that he or she is the center of the only Universe he or she knows. Behavioural observations show us, that the individual is, indeed, the center of his or her particular Universe, because each human being gives birth to this sphere of reality, which appears to the individual as a Universe which has been centered around his or her own existence.

This is the reason, why scientific efforts to determine the nature of man have long since abandoned the subjective, introspective approach, in favour of a more objective behavioural investigation. Introspection is, however, often seen with a rather unscientific emotion of suspicion by contemporary scientific workers, and, this shows us, that, behind all the serious efforts of scientific objectivity and emotional neutrality, the emotions of suspicion represent the reactions of a living, functioning and normal human being.

The emotion of suspicion arises, because scientific workers feel, intuitively, that there are severe limitations to such a subjective, introspective approach, but, they have difficulties putting their fingers precisely on the reasons, why. This discussion about the perception of reality will, hopefully, help to clarify these reasons, but, I hope, that this review will place the scientific reality images in their proper perspective as well. After all, our scientific reality images are part and parcel of the sphere of reality perceptions of individual human beings, tempered by a careful analysis and a cautious synthesis, and, these reality perceptions rely upon the widespread agreement that is possible, whenever the basis of communications rests, largely, on the faculties of our biological heritage.

Yet, after all the virtues of scientific clarity and widespread persuasiveness have been enumerated, we come back to the observation, that these observations belong to this category of emotionally more or less neutral conceptual elaborations; highly useful to increase our predictability, but, mental images, none the less.

All our reality perceptions, including scientific structures of belief, remain a specific part of our sphere of reality, but, their great value and usefulness have been demonstrated, time and again, by the fact, that these reality-images can be shared by many people across widely diverging cultural backgrounds. These images are one of the most powerful and persuasive tools to convince us of the essential reciprocity between the observer and the observed, introducing the concept, that, reality, or truth, has to be related to the position, existential concerns and inclinations of the bearer of the sphere of reality perceptions.

These scientific images have also clarified many structural and functional details of our own existence, as well as the processes of the living organisation in general. Ironically, the final and, perhaps, most lasting contribution of the scientific imagery is the persuasive evidence for the concept, that, all such scientific evidence has to be seen in a relativistic light, where the nature and "tone", or "colour", of a reality perception has to be evaluated in light of the existential needs and circumstances of the bearer and creator of these perceptions.

Let us come back, for a moment, on the techniques of a scrupulous and careful scientific observation of behaviour, in particular, human behaviour, and, we will see, how easy it is to design impressive, or, even, grandiose studies of behaviour, which never materialise into significant contributions to our understanding. The reasons are fairly simple. We can characterise science as a method to facilitate our mental grasp and comprehension over our sense impressions; by improving and clarifying a mental scheme of classifications and cause-effect relationships. Such a system allows us to comprehend reality better, and, it allows us to manipulate reality with a variety of technological devices or conceptual building-blocks. Technological devices may do work for us, but, they may also help us to enlarge the scope of our vision and other sense impressions. Modern technical instruments provide us with the opportunity, and the possibility, to record many phenomena, which would remain largely unknown and unregistrable for our naked senses.

In the modern computer, we have a tool to help us classify and categorise, as well as gather and scrutinise data. This classification system could be considered as a third tier of classifications we make use of. We have discussed the primary, cerebral classification systems, which we share with all species' that use a broad range of recognisable sense impressions to help them choose the most appropriate behavioural responses. Secondly, we have the specifically human classifications systems, where we orden and categorise conscious and verbalisable awarenesses, and, the third layer of classification is external to the human brain; the computer, or any other system of a systematised recording.

Certainly, these artificial, external, auxiliary systems of classification were foreshadowed in the many ways we could record and classify data on a variety of "records", and, the computer is only unique in the sense, that it can take-over so many ordening and classifying functions, which we had to do ourselves, manually, or, with the help of recording devices that had few, if any, classifying capabilities on their own.

Emotionally neutral observations, which are carefully sorted, accurately described, and cautiously related to other items of awareness by connecting principles or conceptual abstractions, have given us a high level of persuasiveness in outlook, as well as accuracy in manipulability, but, it is clear, that we always start with a series of data, assumptions or premises, which function as the building-blocks of a hypothesis, whenever we are trying to describe an event. Even, if our scientific description is purely descriptive or classifying in nature, without a significant component of explanatory unfolding or conceptual synthesis, we see, that we have to relate a particular description to certain terms or concepts which we accept as indisputable or commonly agreed-upon facts. Every scientific effort reveals these building-blocks as the commonly accepted notions or premises with which the scientist does his work, and, it is clear, that the value of scientific work depends, entirely, on the validity and solidity of the building-blocks that have been chosen.

If we look, again, at the precision and success of mathematics, we see, that this branch of human concept formation is so successful and persuasive, because the building-blocks are extra-ordinarily precise and well-defined abstractions, which can not, by definition, reveal any additional or unsuspected inner structures or characteristics, because they have been created and agreed-upon by human minds. However, any other branch of science deals with observations of the behaviour of physical entities, and, none of these structures are immune to a further analysis of internal structures, or, the discovery of additional properties. Such unsuspected or unknown aspects make, therefore, the predicted behaviour of the essential building-blocks, less precise and, often, less useful.

Physical phenomena that lend themselves to easy and rather precise description and measurement, were relatively easily comprehended in fairly precise structures of thought, and, these concepts and ideas were made even more persuasive by the fact, that they lend themselves to quantitative and mathematical descriptions. For this reason, the theoretical considerations of mathematical relationships tended to hold well, when applied to such physical realities, but, these mathematical descriptions or summarising statements were never completely accurate, even, in such fields as mechanics, hydro-dynamics, electronics, sound, light, and other classical fields of the science of "physics".

However, as soon as scientific observations, and, in particular, quantitative descriptions and mathematical relationships were applied to far more complex and less precisely defined entities, scientific endeavour was less successful. Direct, precise correlations became difficult to prove and burdensome, and, laborious statistical methods had to be used to give a foundation of certainty or, at least, plausibility to a perceived correlation. We have discussed, how a large and homogeneous body of complex but random variables lend itself to statistical description and the elucidation of overall trends and correlations, but, the nature of the complex human individual in a large population of similar individuals, remains, by and large, hidden from view and immune to statistical or mathematical descriptions.

It is obvious, that all efforts to obtain a scientific analysis and description become tenuous, if the assumptions on which a study has been based, are insecure, or, perhaps, even, inaccurate. If I assume, that a population of cells, animals or human beings can be treated as consisting of identical members, I will obviously come to conclusions that may not be supported by evidence. If I assume the existence of a particular reality when formulating a question, I have to make sure, that such assumed reality perceptions are accurate and generally accepted, otherwise, all my efforts will be a waste of time. Similarly, if I give a computer a task to compute, draw parallels, categorise, classify or scrutinise possible links and connections between the data it has been fed, I can be sure, that the results can only be as reliable as the quality of these data and methods of instruction given to the computer.

Therefore, if we try to analyse human behaviour scientifically, we have to be sure about the unassailable accuracy of the premises, and, if I, or anyone else trying to design an investigation, has erroneous or incomplete ideas about the way the human organism functions, I can only expect tentative, or, perhaps, even, meaningless results. Such results will certainly be open to a wide variety of interpretations.

If I look for a way to solve social problems, I have to base my investigations upon a set of accurate assumptions, and, if I am hampered by a lack of knowledge or scientific insight about the way we behave, we have to base our studies and ideas, necessarily, on a series of philosophical assumptions or religious dogmas.

If I do not know, what society means, or, what the pre-requisites are for social viability, and, if I do not know, what the essence of human life is, what is necessary for a healthy and content existence, I have to reach for a set of unquestionable religious or ideological guidelines. Such guidelines may be a series of religious precepts, cloaked in sanctity and unquestionability, or, they may be enshrined in philosophical statements that have also been rendered sacrosanct and unquestionable because of the need to have unassailable building-blocks.

It is clear, then, that we need unassailable premises in order to be convincing in our arguments, and, if our premises are questionsed, we are likely to feel angry and insecure, because we interpret any criticisms as an accusation of lying or as an attempt to deceive people. The same mechanisms apply to the sphere of religious reality perceptions. If we still believe, tacitly, as a result of the cultural osmosis from the environment we grew-up in, the premise, that a certain set of Scriptures reveals a Divine Truth, we will be easily convinced or persuaded by an individual, who can quote and argue at length from these Scriptures. However, if we question the basic assumption, whether or not any of these writings are protected by a Divine Truth, the whole religious argument falls-apart, because its basic premise has been destroyed, or, at least, questioned.

As soon as we have accepted the basic facts or premises anyone is presenting to us, we are bound to follow and agree with the conclusions that are based on these premises, and, we often have to give-in to logical consequences that flow from an acceptance of these premises. If we accept the fact, that there are people who can communicate with the dead, or, who can read thoughts at great distances, without any known means of contact, or, if we accept the fact, that it is possible to predict the future, move matter with psychological energy, etc., in short, as soon as we accept the premise, we may as well accept the conclusions, unless someone is very clumsy in arguing these premises.

The problem is, indeed, a thorough analysis of the soundness of the premises and data of any particular field of investigations, and, in the field of para-psychology, in particular, we are confronted, time and again, with apparently extremely solid data, presented by reputable researchers, who are well aware of the pitfalls of inaccurate and sloppy data. It is far too simplistic to dismiss all presentations as a fraud, and, it is an insult and an outright prejudice to conclude, that these data must be inaccurate or unscrupulously obtained. It is far too simplistic and down-right unfair to label the authors of such data as deliberate cheats or naive deceivers, because in doing so, we entertain a hypothesis that is just as irrealistic and unlikely as the conclusions we are so desperately trying to avoid.

Indeed, emotions run high, because the implications of admitting to para-psychological phenomena is, for most of us, a fundamental blow to our ideas about reality. Most people feel, and, rightly so, that the admission of para-psychological data as "facts", would create far more questions and problems than they would solve. Consequently, we all have a tendency to react in an emotional, or, even, a nearly blind abhorrence against any evidence that may suggest the existence of para-psychological phenomena. Obviously, such an emotional reaction is not very convincing as a rebuke or refutation to those, who believe, honestly, that they have observed a phenomenon that can not readily be explained by conventional, scientific mechanisms.

The answer to this problem lies in an analysis of our belief structures, and, we will see, that, people, who present para-psychological data honestly, believe, that it is, at least, possible to explain and accept certain phenomena in a "para-psychological framework of explanations". Here, we come back upon ideas we have elaborated before, nl., that we all interpret, as a matter of necessity, our experiences in a way that conforms to our beliefs. Our beliefs are, by and large, rather rigid structures, classifying data in a scheme or framework of relationships that is determined by those belief structures, and, therefore, most data will be perceived to "fit in" with these beliefs.

This generalised statement applies to the believer of any reality, be it scientific, religious or para-psychological in nature. Inevitably, sooner or later, we will experience a series of sense impressions that tend to re-enforce our beliefs rather dramatically. This is particularly true, if our beliefs are heavily invested with an emotional commitment. If we have endured hardships, and, if we have suffered for the sake of our convictions, we will not readily abandon them, because they represent, then, a considerable amount of effort, hardships, and emotional commitment. The more we have suffered for a particular belief, the more sacro-sanct it becomes. If such a belief still has to be abandoned due to overwhelming evidence pointing to a fundamental error in the perception of reality, such an abandonment will lead to a wave of deep despair and utter mental chaos, because we lose something that was trusted and relied upon.

You will find, that, most researchers, and, certainly, those investigating para-psychological phenomena, are deeply committed to their projects, and, in spite of the appearance of rigid scientific objectivity, many of them fall prey to categorising impressions and evidence in a pre-conceived scheme of beliefs. Certainly, we all do this, and, all "ordinary" scientists behave in the same manner. However, the consequences of their subconsciously biased research is seldom so fundamentally unsettling as the implications resulting from the acceptance of para-psychological phenomena.

We have discussed these aspects in more detail on previous occasions, and, we refer to this topic, only, in the light of scientific and other structures of belief. The more complex the data are, the less likely we are dealing with unassailable premises, and, the more difficult it is to show really convincing results and iron-clad interpretations that can not be explained from any other angle.

If we have, already, so many difficulties agreeing what human reality means; what the human being is, how he functions, what the relationships are between behaviour and awareness, how, then, can we define anything about that, which is, apparently, beyond the "normal capabilities" of human beings? If we have no idea, really, how to interpret the existence or awareness of our normal reality perceptions, how, then, can we begin to answer the question, whether or not a para-psychological phenomenon is real or outside the bounds of generally accepted physiological mechanisms?

Our para-psychological investigators are, just like most other scientific investigators, so completely engrossed in the assumption, that they know and understand what is real and what is not real, what is true and what is not true, that they all make the same mistake in assuming, that there is an absolute reality from which this judgement can be made. They all think, that it is easy to determine, whether phenomena of a psychological nature can be defined as "really existing" or not. They fail, almost invariably, to take sufficiently into account the questions and difficulties that are associated with the functions of human reality perceptions. They are not sufficiently aware of the fragility of the experience of reality, as well as the shifting reference points that are created by differing structures of belief.

Unless we learn to describe and discuss all psychological obervations, be they normal or para-normal in nature, with a greater degree of awareness about the nature of our sphere of reality, and the relativity of a point of view, we will not make any significant progress. Unless we keep reminding ourselves, during our scientific endeavours, that we are, after all, only behaving with some difficulties in this narrow band of emotional neutrality, we are, inevitably, giving our laborious and conscientious scientific efforts an aura of Absolute Certainty.

There is another aspect about reality that may lead us to genuinely valuable insights, in particular, when we lack a solid foundation of unassailable premises. This is the method of looking at an event or object of observation over a long period of time. Our mental and mechanical recording capabilities make it possible to extend the availability of a sharply focussed imagery of reality over a prolonged period of time. Close attention to the changes that take place over a period of time, may give us a good insight into the nature, or, at least, the behaviour of this item of existence, and, it may provide a reasonably accurate picture of its future behaviour.

Just as we get an insight into our mechanical devices, whenever we look at the way they have been put-together, so can we develop a reasonably good "feel" for a personality, if we pay careful attention to its development, as well as its contacts and behaviour-patterns in the past. We may not be able to analyse, in detail, the reasons for the manifestations of a particular individual, but, by seeing the imagery of the present in the light of past behaviour and experiences, we may get a good, intuitive appreciation for what to expect in the near future.

Similarly, we are able to understand the organisation and functions of the human body, and, in particular, the shape and form of the many organ-systems so much better, if we follow the morphological changes taking place during embryonic growth. We get, also, a much better understanding of the phenomena of human existence, if we review, in a sweeping perspective, the evolution of the life processes in general, including the differentiation into numerous species'.

An over-view of the developments of biochemical existence possibilities, as well as the eventual emergence of the living unit of the single cell, give us a sort of reality-image that brings into focus this remarkable function of summary or integration, which is such an important tool of the human mind. Because of the need to manage a very large number of observations, we are, eventually, compelled to summarise a complex conglomerate into an entity that exists on a different plane of observation.

The cellular unit becomes such a conceptual plane of existence, from where it is again possible to trace the development of inter-cellular dependence, cohesion, task-specialisation and symbiotic harmony, until we reach, once again, a plateau for our faculties of understanding. Once again, we have to integrate our separate awarenesses into the complex entity of a multi-cellular individual, and, from this perspective, we see an analogous process. Slowly, at least, some of the complex multi-cellular species' developed a mode of mutual inter-dependence for their multi-cellular members or individuals, leading to the entity of a socially integrated unit.

This mode of social inter-dependence is partly the result of a precisely encoded set of genetic instructions, and, partly, it is under the regulating influence of a much more flexible set of instructions; the cultural code. We know, now, how genetic determinants shape the range of behavioural responses, as well as the organic manifestations of living existence, and, we see, how the cultural code determines the specific, day to day, or moment to moment, behavioural responses of the members of such a socially integrated unit of human beings.

These varying methods of approaching reality are useful, because they let us see very broad perspectives, indeed, where insights do not come, solely, from minute details, but, also, from overall trends. Yet, we do not forget, that we are still behaving within the sphere of our reality perceptions. We still behave within this curious and important zone of emotional neutrality, and, we keep reminding ourselves, that we are equivalent to those individuals we can see as small specks in our sphere of reality; people, who may also be observing and analysing with the help of their emotionally neutral zone of behaviour, a speck of existence that happens to be us.

We are aware of the curious experience, that, such a seemingly small and almost negligeable center of behaviour, (seen from our vantage-point), is the same basis for awareness that lets us see gigantic relationships over cosmic distances and eons of time. We always remember, and, we feel vaguely uneasy with this paradoxical equivalent, where intelligence seems to be, at one moment, such a gigantic, telescopic receptacle for the innumerable images of reality, but, a moment later, it seems such a tiny, fragile, near-insignificant faculty in the spectrum of living existence.

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Chapter 7

Content

A brief review of scientific and evolutionary insights.
The multi-cellular organism, and its many organ-systems.
Survival is determined by the strength of the "weakest link", as well as by the level of coherence between the organ-systems.
Adaptations have their own price to pay.
Various examples of the trade-off between advantage and liability.
The price of the faculty of behavioural flexibility.
The need to analyse our environment and register experiences.
The need to scan the potential consequences of a behavioural decision, before it is actually carried-out.
A review of neurological and neuro-physiological mechanisms at a cellular level.
A nerve-cell discharges an electrical impulse down its axon as soon as the level of nerve-cell excitation has reached a critical threshold.
All "neural traffic" consists of trains, or volleys, of electrical impulses with a fixed magnitude, but a variable frequency.
The principle of "frequency modulation".
The macroscopic aspects of the neural systems; the brain, the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves.
Gathering information from receptor cells, and sending instructions to effectors cells, (muscle-fibres and gland-cells).
What happens to the neural information between input and output is still largely byond our grasp.
The nature of the reflex-arc.
A complex movement requires numerous steps of instructions and a continuous monitoring of the level of progress.
Alertness and consciousness.
The synaptic transfer of stimuli from cell to cell.
Chemical substances that either excite or inhibit the membrane of a nerve-cell.
The link between nerve-cell activities and hormones.
Nerve-cell activity can be altered by a large number of chemicals reaching the central nervous system via the blood-stream.
A brief discussion of the essence of a mental illness.
Neurological anatomy gives us the "wiring diagram" of the central nervous system.
The meaning of many neural connections is not very clear, as yet.
Evolutionary developments are reflected in the build-up of the central nervous system.
A long period of learning.
A cerebral "program" for finely tuned behaviour; life in the trees.
A final "program" of verbalisable awarenesses and beliefs.

We should review, briefly, the main insights we have obtained from the scientific-evolutionary point of view. We will not go into details, here, since we have discussed the philosophical implications before. The sciences have concerned themselves, extensively, over the past few decades, with the elaboration of a detailed picture of the living organisation, ranging from physics, physical chemistry and organic chemistry, through cellular and sub-cellular physiology, biology and the evolutionary classification of the species', to a detailed analysis of the structure and function of the various organ-systems of the multi-cellular animals. We will only look at some of the overall, correlative aspects, and, let us concentrate on this remarkable phenomenon of convergence in the picture of man, whenever we compare the human being as an integrated entity of multiple cellular communities and organ-systems with the imagery of the organism as a whole.

The detailed, microscopic analysis of a complex structure, including its chemical, functional and anatomical features, (such as the human being), has given us a good insight into the localisation of many functions. We have discovered, that all the organ-systems are cellular communities. These communities are strictly integrated anatomically and functionally, and, these communities carry-out a particular function for the society of cells as a whole, or, the multi-cellular individual, which is the entity we are most familiar with.

We have come to understand the functions of the heart, the lungs, the alimentary tract, the kidneys, liver and reproductive systems, but, we have also learned to see the blood, the skin, the central nervous system and the musculo-skeletal systems as functional units that perform the same role as organ-systems.

Slowly, we developed the insight, that all these systems determine, together, the viability of an organism. An organism would not survive with excellent lungs, circulatory or digestive systems, if its musculo-skeletal or central nervous systems would be unable to provide the community of cells with an adequate behaviour-pattern in relation to its environment. If such an animal would be unable to secure its food-supply or elude its predators, all the internal regulating mechanisms would be of no avail. Similarly, an animal that is extremely agile and well-adapted to its environment would still be unable to survive, if its internal organisation was poor, and, if it would have difficulties digesting its food, getting enough oxygen, or coping with marked temperature changes.

We learned to appreciate the fact, that an existential adaptation affects the organism as a whole. The factors of internal organisation and the inter-action of the individual with its environment intertwine, and, these factors determine, together, the criteria of survival. We have also learned, that, adaptations into a certain direction, (under the influence of a pressure of prevailing circumstances), are, often, paid-for by disadvantages in another direction. For example, an organism that adapts, precisely, to the requirements of a particular environment, becomes much more vulnerable whenever such circumstances change, once again, because in the course of adapting, precisely, to a prevailing set of circumstances, it "spends" a lot of its potential for making adaptative changes. A species that has remained less specialised, is, as a rule, better able to carry-out further adaptations and developments.

All sorts of adaptative changes take place in living organisms during the search for existence possibilities. Viability may be found in a very large size, which lessens the vulnerability to predation, but, the "Achilles heel" of such an adaptation is the enormous food or energy requirements of such large organisms. This results in a low population density, a low genetic turn-over, as well as a remarkable degree of vulnerability to changes in temperature or climate.

Viability may also be enhanced by developing a natural armor, formidable claws, or fangs, quills, or hard protective shells and plates, but, all these adaptations have their own draw-backs as well. A particularly significant adaptation was the regulation of internal body temperature, allowing a fast rate of metabolic or chemical activities, but, requiring, at the same time, an efficient system to dissipate the heat that is generated by such a rapid metabolic rate. This development allowed for muscular agility, speed and strength, but the surface of an animal had to be soft in order to get rid of its heat, and, consequently, it was more vulnerable to "damage" by injuries or attack.

At other times, viability has been sought, and found, in a very high genetic turn-over, but, this method is only suitable for very small animal organisms with a short and relatively unattended period of growth from fertilised egg-cell to adult member. This method for survival is predominant in the uni-cellular and primitive multi-cellular organisms, but, it is much less suited for the mammals. Nevertheless, the smaller mammals rely, heavily, on a prolific rate of procreation, because it has become one of the more important mechanisms to ensure continued survival of these small mammalian species'.

As we have pointed-out many times before, one of the most interesting and fascinating adaptations in the search for viability has been the development of behavioural flexibility. Here, quick fluctuations in the circumstances of the environment can be reacted to within the life-span of a single individual, but, experiments with behavioural flexibility had their own price to pay. The price for behavioural flexibility is the inevitable corollary, that the successful behaviour-patterns can not be encoded anymore with genetic finality, because they can only be encoded in outline; without precise details.

The method of genetic encoding becomes, then, for the behaviourally flexible species', a way to delineate overall behavioural ranges and capabilities, rather than specific and proven behaviour-patterns. The actual behavioural response is, then, largely shaped by the input of environmental stimuli, as well as the accumulated and generalised epxeriences of the individual organism, including those of the parental generations, because these parental behaviour-patterns often serve as a model for imitation.

Behavioural flexibility required an enormous increase in the sophistication of the organ that is responsible for communications and a coordinated response. This organ became also a "depot" for the storage of memory-traces. We are referring, of course, to the brain, or rather, the central nervous system.

In the central nervous system, many groups of nerve-cells have to act together, and, they have to be in communication with each other, before the organism is able to come to a response that is finely in tune with the circumstances and conditions under which it exists. Such responses can not be determined, anymore, by a stereotyped and invariant genetic instruction. The appropriate response for the behaviourally flexible animal becomes dependent upon a careful analysis of the environmental input, and, this analysis requires a sophisticated function of memory, as well as the ability to classify experiences into their proper categories. Otherwise, it would be impossible to recognise any particular stimulus as "familiar". If such a recognition would not be forth-coming, it would be impossible to determine the relevance or existential significance of an in-coming sense impression.

The behaviourally flexible animal required, also, the ability to scan the probable consequences of a certain response, before this response was actually carried-out. However, this last refinement of behavioural flexibility was a late innovation that has found its most elaborate expression, so far, in the human species. This possibility to scan the probable consequences of a behavioural choice, prior to its execution, formed the basis for the ability to think and to carry-out a conscious and deliberate program of behavioural choices.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the central nervous system of a complex multi-cellular animal that is on the road towards behavioural flexibility, shows a marked increase in the amount of brain-tissue. This extra brain-tissue becomes interposed between those cell-groups that are responsible for the reception of stimuli, and cell-groups that formulate the final response of the individual. This final, integrated response or command is sent to a large number of muscles, glands, blood-vessels, etc. These are the so-called "effector organs".

Let us remind ourselves, here, that the simplest connection between cells in the central nervous system is the so-called "reflex". The most elementary reflex-arc is the conduction of a neural impulse from a receptor site to a centrally located "switching station", where discharges over a neural cable or nerve-axon are transferred to an effector, "efferent" or "out-going" nerve-cell. As we mentioned, the neural impulse is always represented by a train of small electronic "shocks" that have a similar magnitude. The intensity of a stimulus is translated into a variation in the frequency of the volley of impulses traveling over an axon. A fast train of impulses represents a high intensity stimulus, while a low-intensity stimulus will be represented by only a few electronic discharges traveling over an axon within a certain period of time.

We should remind ourselves, that all the "neural traffic" is conducted by such trains of impulses, regardless of the type of stimulus that has given rise to a neural impulse, and, irrespective of the sort of effector organ that will be stimulated by a train of impulses. Similarly, all communications between the nerve-cells themselves are conducted by such trains of electronic impulses, and, we have, often, compared this situation with the computer, where all signals or manipulations are also translated into the "machine language" of the computer, which consists of the activation of electronic switches that are either in an "on" or "off" position. This binary code of the computer is reflected in the mechanisms of nerve-cell communcations, which may either stimulate or inhibit the discharge of a nerve-cell.

In the central nervous system, a large number of pathways can converge upon a single cell. Some of these impulses are stimulating or excitatory, and they induce the cell to fire an electronic impulse down-stream along its axon, but, other impulses may have the opposite effect and inhibit the cell from firing. Whether or not a nerve-cell responds with a discharge, depends, therefore, on the ratio between excitatory and inhibitory impulses. If a certain threshold of excitation has been reached, the cell will "fire", and, if this threshold is reached frequently, in rapid succession, then, a volley of electronic impulses will travel from the nerve-cell, over its axon, towards a number of "terminals", which may, in turn, induce or inhibit another nerve-cell from firing.

We have discussed the fact, that, the final connection between one cell and another is made by the diffusion of chemical substances, which are liberated at the terminals of a nerve-cell. These substances then travel across the gap that exists between the nerve-cells, and, it is the "algebraic summation" of the excitatory and inhibitory chemical substances, acting on the cellular membrane of the recipient nerve-cell, which determines, eventually, whether or not the firing threshold for this nerve-cell will have been reached.

Eventually, a number of nerve-cells are activated with direct connections to an effector organ, e.g., a muscle fibre, or, a secretory cell in a gland. By this time, the pattern of excitatory stimuli traveling to the effector organs must have reached a satisfactory level of coordination and integration, because no further modifications of the response patterns is possible, after the final pathways of neural instructions have been activated.

The switching systems may form definite and clear-cut pathways for many of the trains of neural impulses. Then, a particular or specific stimulus will always follow the same path, and, it will lead to the same, stereotyped or inflexible response. Yet, even in our observations of the earliest neural systems, we see, that the situation is never completely rigid. Certainly, in those animal species', whose behaviour has been precisely determined by their genetic codes, the variability of the response is minimal, but, we still see, that identical impulses may not lead to identical responses, in particular, when they follow each other rapidly.

After an impulse has traveled over a neural axon, this pathway is temporarily "blocked". It is then "refractory" to the passage of another stimulus, but the recovery time is short, allowing for a rapid succession of impulses. There is, therefore, a limit to the level of impulse-intensity that can be reflected by the frequency of a train of neural impulses.

In addition, each organism is able to judge, to some extent, a particular stimulus on its potential for harm or benefit. An artificial, repetitive stimulus will, eventually, cause less of a response. This is the phenomenon of "attenuation" of a response, and, it can be explained, in part, on the effects of "fatigue", and, in part, on the fact, that a system is "getting used" to the stimulus. In laboratory preparations, the muscular or neural tissues that are being studied, may show signs of exhaustion with the build-up of toxic waste-products, or, it may be depleting its readily available energy-supplies. After a variable period of rest, a repeat stimulus may, again, show the pattern and intensity of the original response, provided, that the experimental animal, or the tissues that are being studied, are still in good condition.

Several branches of the sciences, notably neuro-physiology and neuro-chemistry have concerned themselves, extensively, with the properties of nerve-cells and their ability to conduct impulses along their neural cables, or "axons", which are long extentions of the body of the nerve-cell. We know, now, a great deal about the behaviour and anatomy of the nerve-cell, and, we have just described some of the imagery that has become known to us from a large variety of scientific investigations. The nerve cables that bring information from the sensory organs to the central nervous system, and, eventually, guide the neural instructions to a large number of effector organs, are often bundled together in large conglomerates that are visible to the naked eye as "nerves".

The translation from stimulus or sense impression to a code of neural impulses occurs at the site of the sensory organs and their neural "receptor cells", and, similarly, the translation of a neural code into a specific contractile or secretory response, also takes place at the site of the effector organs.

Let us concentrate our attention, now, on the way the musculo-skeletal system is activated by a large number of neural instructions. It is clear, that a large number of remarkably complex patterns of contractile activations have to take place in order for a body to move swiftly, fluently, with good coordination and effective movements. A large number of muscular contractions, as well as muscular relaxations, have to take place, before such a fluid motion of the body can take place, and, before we can perform those finely differentiated, highly skilled and coordinated movements we are capable of; after practice and training.

What happens in between the input to, and the output from, the central nervous system, is still largely a matter for conjecture. Anatomically, we can trace and pin-point a large variety of pathways and clusters of nerve-cells. Some of them are fairly well understood, but, in many cases, it is not very clear, what sort of functions the anatomical structures perform. However, we have learned to see, that the basic classification of the central nervous system is given by areas that receive impulses, and, areas that send-out impulses in the form of instructions. This classification of the central nervous system reflects, therefore, the basic concept of the "reflex-arc".

The division of the central nervous system into areas that are primarily concerned with the reception of sense impressions, as well as with the formulation of a behavioural response, has been a powerful conceptual tool to get a grasp over the complexities of the central nervous system.

This type of classification reminds us of the basic functions of the nervous system; to connect the sensory side of our existence with the executive or responsive side. This is the basic connection between sensory impulse and behavioural response, and, this concept allows us to see the intervening areas of neural tissue as centers, where the primary information of the sense-organs is being processed, classified, compared with previous experiences, and modified by impulses that arise from a variety of monitoring stations.

It is also useful to remind ourselves, that a complex function, such as a "postural adjustment", is carried-out in numerous small steps, and, that a finely flowing movement requires continuous monitoring of the muscular events that are taking place, in order to shape the appropriate input or formulation for the next phase of a muscular response.

This imagery shows us, that, indeed, a very large part of the central nervous system is concerned with the integration of the tasks of the musculo-skeletal system. These activities allow the animal organism to react appropriately to the stimuli it receives from the environment. Most of this activity, (the adaptation or shaping of our motoric responses from moment to moment), is, fortunately, well laid-down, even, if it is learned to a large extent, and, by far the majority of these motoric behavioural responses take place without the need to make conscious decisions.

It is very difficult, at the present state of understanding, to point to the presence of specific cell clusters that would be concerned with such processes as "conscious decision-making". Perhaps, our assumption, that such a specific function should be represented by a specific cell-cluster, is completely erroneous. Indeed, we have seen, that, many of the cerebral activities that take place, nearly automatically, are still dependent upon a state of alertness of the entire brain. This state of alertness is, inevitably, associated with the experience of being conscious, and, we, human beings, experience, automatically, the capability of naming a large part of these awarenesses.

We have learned to analyse and grasp the central nervous system in various ways. We know, that there is a system of widespread inter-connections that brings the whole brain into a state of alertness, whenever stimulated by a wide variety of existentially significant stimuli. We also know, that the connections from cell to cell are mediated by the diffusion of chemicals across a small inter-cellular gap; the "synaptic transfer" of stimuli. These chemical transmitter substances differ somewhat from one location to another, and, they may play different roles in different regions. The transfer of a stimulus from one cell to the next across this synaptic gap, may either cause a state of excitation or a state of inhibition for the cell that is the recipient of these chemical stimuli. We know, now, that many impulses may converge upon a single nerve-cell, some excitatory and some inhibitory, and, we know, that the firing or discharge of a nerve-cell depends upon the algebraic summation of a variety of excitatory and inhibitory impulses.

We have also learned, that the excitation or "depolarisation" of the cell-membrane of a nerve-cell must reach a certain threshold, before the cell discharges, and, we know, that the action of firing, or discharge, involves impulses with a fixed magnitude, which are sent-down the axon of such a discharging cell. The nerve-cell can modulate its response by varying the frequency of its discharges, sometimes firing a rapid volley of discharges, at other times, firing only now and then.

The connection between nerve-cell activity and the secretion of hormones is well established, not only, by the neural control over many peripherally situated glands that produce regulating substances, but, also, by its influence upon a "master-station" of hormonal control; the pituitary.

There is also an influence in the opposite direction. The inter-cellular gaps across which neural transmissions take place, are influenced by chemicals of the inter-cellular fluid. While the nerve-cells of the central nervous system are shielded from the blood-stream by specialised connective tissue cells, "filtering" so to speak, what the blood is offering to them, there is good evidence to believe, that certain powerful chemicals may reach the nervous system across cellular barriers from the blood-stream, profoundly altering the functions of the nervous system. These changes may occur as a general excitation or paralysis of nerve-cell activity, but, they may also affect specifically, or preferentially, certain nerve-cell groupings or synaptic transmissions.

The specific effects of many drugs, e.g., tranquillisers, pain-killers, sedatives, narcotics and others, must rest upon fairly selective actions on nerve-cells. Some drugs, such as hallucinogenic or hallucination-causing drugs, interfere, specifically, with the ability of the nervous system to distinguish between the reality-input from the present moment, (via the incoming sense impressions), and the imagery that wells-up from the memory-banks. (The imagery that wells-up from the memory banks is used to classify the incoming sense impressions.)

Many drugs have an effect upon the function of nerve-cells, but, often, we are not able, as yet, to express such mechanisms in a precise chemical language of actions and reactions. It is clear, that, brain-function, and, with it, mental functions, can be severely altered by chemical manipulation via the blood-stream, either indirectly, via the digestive tract, or, by direct, local application or injection into the central nervous system.

As a corollary, it is likely, that, certain mental diseases are associated with persistent chemical changes within the central nervous system. These changes may be localised in certain areas of the brain, and, sometimes, the changes may be reflected in altered blood-levels of these chemicals. Or, these changes may also be present in other, more accessible body and tissue fluids.

Whether alterations in chemical composition of specific areas of the brain and central nervous system are a result or a cause of a mental aberration, is often very difficult to answer. It is logical to consider mental aberrations that are associated with toxic levels of poisonous substances, (e.g., heavy metals), as secondary to altered brain function, especially, when we can prove, that high blood and tissue levels of the toxic substance interfere with synaptic transmission and other vital metabolic functions of the nerve-cell. On the other hand, phobias, hallucinations or severe depressions and compulsory behaviour-patterns may be reflected by an altered chemical composition of certain areas of the brain. These changes may be due to a prolonged and highly abnormal pattern of cerebral activity. It is even possible, that some of these secondary chemical alterations can be detected in the blood or the spinal fluid that surrounds the central nervous system.

It seems logical to look at the development of a mental illness, whenever we try to answer the question, what comes first; the chemical aberration or the aberration in pathway-conduction or stimulus-processing? If an individual with long-standing personality problems, eventually, slides into a reality perception that is highly abnormal, representing a break-down in the way people normally react to their sense impressions, (associated, perhaps, with phobias, delusions, hallucinations and other distortions of the reality perception), we may conclude, that the abnormality in mental function came first, especially, if such an individual has always had problems relating in a normal or, rather, a generally acceptable way to its environment. The formation of the personality, the behavioural integration with the environment, as well as the stress-tolerance of such an individual are, then, defective; either, as the result of a faulty integration of unfortunate psychological experiences, or, as a result of a faulty genetic anlage for the formation of a healthy personality. In addition, these changes and alterations may be the result of a faulty metabolism or functional aberration of the brain-cells.

It is difficult, and, it may, perhaps, even, be irrelevant, to try to sort-out what is cause and what is effect, just as it is often very difficult to say, whether a particular function of life is defective due to a faulty genetic instruction, a flaw in the environment when the living organism was being formed from the elements that were present in its surroundings, or, a result of certain elements or substances that are interfering with the normal functions of an organism.

The science of neurological anatomy gives us a good insight into the "wiring diagram" of the central nervous system, but the meaning of many connections is not very clear, as yet. However, we receive some help, if we remember, that the brain reflects, to a remarkable extent, the evolutionary past of the species. When we keep this in mind, together with the basic organisation of the reflex-arc, we see, that the nervous system has responded to the demands that were made upon the organism throughout its evolutionary history.

If a certain behavioural requirement becomes emphasised during the search for viability, the result will be, not only, ever clearer and more elaborate instructions in the gene-pool for the formation and construction of a particular behavioural ability, but, the physical structures, necessary for an improved or extended behavioural capability, will also be remodeled. These changes will also be reflected in the neural connections that integrate an improved behavioural capability.

If, for example, an animal finds its viability, ever more clearly, by living and moving in and between the branches of trees, the viability criteria of this particular environment will emphasise, not only, an adaptation of the hands and feet, or, rather, the upper and lower extremities, (which become adapted to the function of grasping branches), but, all the machinery to coordinate muscular activities rapidly and accurately, as well as the capabilities of stereoscopic vision and accurately estimating distances, have to be developed at the same time. In addition, the requirements for balance and agility put certain restrictions on the size of an animal.

Natural selection facilitated mechanisms of balance and grasp, but, it also stimulated the formation of a large repertoir for visual and motoric memory-traces in order to allow an animal to move, swiftly and surely, through the branches of the jungle.

Behavioural flexibility, stereoscopic vision, agile musculature and moderate size are all requirements that are in line with a successful mammalian development, where good internal temperature-control, agility and flexibility have found a measure of viability. However, the large number of specific circumstances and conditions which the younger members of the behaviourally flexible mammalian species' had to become familiar with, led to a large size of the head, because of the premium placed on special sense-organs, sophisticated visual capabilities, as well as the need for an elaborate mechanism to monitor, control and execute finely tuned and rapid movements.

All these developments led to the need for a long period of growth and maturation after birth. This problem was solved, in part, by protecting the earliest period of development, including the entire period of embryological transformations. This was accomplished with the mechanisms of intra-uterine gestation, while the most vulnerable period, immediately after birth, was protected, in part, by the technique of feeding the infant from the mammary glands. This gives the infant continuously close contact with its mother, (by clinging to her fur), and, it allowed the mother a certain freedom of movement while nursing her infant.

Behavioural flexibility always means, that the infant has to have a fairly long period in which to learn about the specific requirements and the particular circumstances of its existence. It requires a period of slow maturation, and, during this period, the newly born organism will be highly sensitive to useful examples and guidelines from the parental generations, as well as from its own experiences.

Even the great majority of cerebral computations for the execution of appropriate muscular actions, has to be constructed with the help of specific input-data that come from the local environment, because the patterns of branches, the leaps and jumps, the gaps, as well as all spatial relationships change from one location to the next. By virtue of a generalising capability of the brain, the individual is able to adapt readily to a slightly different environment, because the brain is capable of analysing the new situation quickly in terms of what is similar and what is different, and, consequently, the computer-program for muscular action can be slightly altered or modified.

Of course, the ability of the cerebral computer to function with a highly variable input, is based on the ability to program the motoric computer, continuously and efficiently, with visual cues and data from the sense-organs, e.g., equilibrium, posture and muscle-tone.

We have, now, some ideas, how man's ancestry developed in a three-dimensional, arboreal environment. We have some idea, how these pre-human animals began to inhabit a fringe area between the jungle and the great plains, and, how bi-pedalism and the erect posture developed; how the hands were increasingly used for the construction and manipulation of temporary tools and weapons. Probably, all these developments took place within a loose social structure of a dozen or so animals, and, we have speculated, before, about the development of specific awarenesses, when the techniques of mimicry and gesticulation became the tool, par excellence, to develop the ability of conscious, verbalisable, or symbolically representable mental images.

We know, now, some of the cerebral classification mechanisms and generalising principles that played such an important evolutionary role to make flexible behaviour a viable way of existence, and, we have discussed the similarities between the cerebral system of classification and the systems of mental classification, generalisation and secondary or tertiary abstraction, which regulate the conscious imagery of modern man.

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Chapter 8

Content

A modification of neural functions is often accomplished by "tapping" into an existing system, and "splicing-in" a super-imposed circuit.
As a rule, a spliced-in circuit "inhibits", or slows-down, the functions of the "lower" or dominated structures.
As a result, more and more factors come into play, when shaping a behavioural response, but the time needed to formulate a response, becomes much longer.
A series of hierarchical plateaux.
Physiological studies show us, clearly, a hierarchy of functions in the central nervous system.
Rational evaluations in the zone of emotional neutrality; the highest and evolutionary most recent organiser of the behavioural response.
What is the basis for the experience of "identity"?
The dog re-visited, for the last time.
A repertoir of mental images and verbalisable abstractions.
Primary, secondary and tertiary abstractions.
The nature of the concept of "I".
The advantages and limitations associated with an intense focus upon our identity feelings.
The value of reflection; a chance to re-shape beliefs and priorities.
The "molting" of a belief structure.
The "I-feeling"; a most essential abstraction.
The computer and the brain.
A final contribution to the idea of a "neurological-psychological equivalent".

Do we understand the brain? Probably not, and a detailed study of the observational data and scientific images will, often, give us the feeling, that we are being inundated by a sea of awarenesses, obscuring the overall correlations between the reality of an objective central nervous system, on the one hand, and, the subjective experience of awarenesses and mental images, on the other.

There is another way we can orden our reality perceptions about the central nervous system. We see, that, in the course of evolutionary changes and adaptations of the organic constitution and behavioural organisation of a particular life-form, the original patterns have not been eradicated completely, but, that they have been modified by subsequent adjustments in the structuring of nerve-cells and their connections. These changes are placed hierarchically "above", or "in between", the primary afferent and efferent connections.

It seems, that a modification of function is accomplished by "tapping" into the primary connections between the inflowing and out-flowing pathways, and, such a new "circuit" that is "spliced" into the old one, suppresses the activities of the stimulus-response arc, without destroying it. The super-imposed modification now modulates the relationships between inflowing stimuli and out-going instructions, and this is done in such a way, that the previously existing stimulus-response arc is better integrated with the overall behavioural requirements of the organism. As the requirements of adaptation become more complex, more and more factors come into play for shaping an appropriate behavioural response, and, as a result, the pathways involved become more complex, and, it takes also more time to formulate a response.

We see, therefore, that the central nervous system is made-up of a series of "hierarchical plateaux", where the lower or older connections are modified, and, usually, the intensity of their activities is suppressed or diminished. This modification is carried-out by the centers of a "higher" or more encompassing nature. The behavioural efforts become orchestrated into several hierarchical strata of integrating mechanisms, led by a variety of local organisers, or "conductors", which are, again, organised and guided by a single, central organiser or conductor, which is, in essence, represented by our conscious, decision-making personality, or "I". Nevertheless, the original players of afferent and efferent connections, still carry-out the primary functions of gathering the information from the periphery, and carrying the instructions to the peripherally situated effector organs.

Evolutionary analysis shows us, therefore, a hierarchy of neurological or cerebral functions, and, in this context, we have learned to see, that emotional behaviour-patterns are complex modifications of existing or instinctively encoded behaviour-patterns. These behaviour-patterns were, originally, genetically shaped responses to highly significant stimuli. Many of these instinctive behaviour-patterns are very similar from one person to the next, and, they are, even, shared by a variety of species', indicating, that, many of these instinctive, genetically shaped responses are quite "old" and antedate, in the sequences of evolutionary developments, the origin of a specific species.

Because these behaviour-patterns have been laid-down, primarily, by genetic instructions, it is logical to conlcude, that they are, therefore, represented by the most direct neuronal pathways in the central nervous system.

In the zone of emotional neutrality, we see the ability to analyse and evaluate, rationally, a large variety of contradictory or ambivalent sense impressions. The ability to formulate, slowly and deliberatly, a response, that takes into account, not only, the synthesis of a series of sense impressions, but also, the probable consequences of a variety of postulated actions, seems to be the highest behavioural organiser we know of. As a result, its presence is fragile, and, sometimes, fleeting, because it is easily disturbed or over-ridden by more emotional patterns of behaviour. It is a hierarchical function, representing a top-level of integration with an extremely broad basis of input, but, its authority is challenged, time and again, by emotional impulses and instinctive drives.

Is it unreasonable to analyse human existence in these terms? Is it unreasonable to see rational behaviour as the ultimate fine-tuning of our behavioural responses, with the functions of rational thought as the highest and most recent development in nature's search for viability? Is it unreasonable to consider "thought" to be, in essence, a review of mental images, which are, sometimes, loosely organised by associations, and, at other times, highly ordened, emerging in a logical order into the focus of our awarenesses, whenever a complex problem is analysed systematically for the best possible response?

Is it unreasonable to view the mental imagery of our conscious awarenesses as abstractions that are based upon the classification of memory-traces that have been stored, somehow, in our brain, and, is it unreasonable to postulate a cerebral classification mechanism to make the function of recognition and the sense of familiarity possible in the first place?

Let us reflect in the final pages of this essay upon the possibility of increasing our understanding by extrapolating the ideas of abstraction and generalised summarising to the mental field itself. Let us see, whether or not it is possible to grasp this elusive idea and feeling of our "personal identity"; this feeling of I. I am essentially the same as I was yesterday, or many years ago, in spite of the fact, that, all my ideas and reactions may have changed. I have the feeling, that "I" am, now, the same as "I" from childhood, in spite of the fact, that, in all probability, all the atoms and molecules of my body have been replaced, several, times during this period.

Probably, the best approach to visualise a plausible mental imagery of this feeling of identity, is to look back, once again, to the evolutionary development of the faculty of awareness. Throughout the evolution of the living organism, we see a gradual change from a nearly automatic response, where stimuli are simply classified as beneficial or harmful, to a much more sophisticated ability to analyse and classify contradictory sense impressions. The primitive response is a "reflex-arc", and, we see little evidence in this type of behaviour for the feature we have called "conscious awareness". Yet, if we look at the behaviour of the higher animals, especially, those with a measure of behavioural flexbility, we recognise many forms of behaviour as familiar, and, we also recognise that these behaviour-patterns are shared by us.

We see, for example, how a dog becomes suddenly alert and listens intently, in an effort to determine the significance of a particular auditory stimulus. We recognise a strong similarity with our own behaviour, whenever we become alert and try to place a particular sound. However, we necessarily try to locate or identify such a sound within a sphere of conscious reality perceptions and mental abstractions. Yet, we know, that the awarenesses of a dog do not include verbalisable abstractions, and, we have to visualise a process of cerebral classification mechanisms, where the dog's brain is "automatically" trying to place or categorise the sound as "familiar".

During the process of recognition, the brain assigns, also automatically, a measure of existential significance to the incoming sense impressions, and, the behaviour of the dog is then guided, primarily, by the feelings of significance that have been aroused by the sound, in accordance with the inborn selection-patterns and automatically classified information, stored in the dog's brain. If the sound has no significance, the attention of the dog relaxes again, until it is focussed upon something else that is not immediately recognised as "familiar".

The dog is certainly "aware" of a large number of stimuli, and, we have described its behaviour, briefly, in relation to a human master, but, we have to keep in mind, that it is not justified to extrapolate our own faculty of conscious awareness to an animal that can not verbalise its experiences or behaviour-patterns in communicable mental images or abstractions.

The human being, and, perhaps, to some extent, some of the still living anthropoid species', experience a state of alertness, where one has access to a repertoir of mental abstractions, and, we know from the process of dreaming, that these mental images are still active, or, at least, they are evoked into a level of awareness, even, when we are asleep. We will not elaborate, here, on the mechanisms of dreaming, because we have done so in other essays. The higher mammals, like a dog, dream in manner that is similar to our own, but the mental imagery that may be going through their brains, when asleep, must, necessarily, lack the quality of being verbalisable.

After learning, how to give common objects, situations and familiar people a name, we, human beings, learn, gradually, to abstract general qualities from a number of conscious, verbalisable awarenesses. By conceptualising the common denominator of a class of awarenesses, we enlarge the number of awarenesses we can manipulate. The generalising principle of such a class of awarenesses becomes a "secondary abstraction". It becomes a commonly known and named "quality", as soon as the community in which we live has acknowledged the reality of such an experience, and, we have to consider the mathematical concepts as an example of such a process of generally accepted secondary abstraction.

We have learned to verbalise and analyse many aspects of living behaviour, and, many of the more complex and vaguely outlined awarenesses are being classified with the help of secondary and tertiary abstractions. In this way, we create a large category of somewhat vaguely delineated concepts, such as love, hate, justice, emotions, etc. Many names represent quite complex examples of abstraction and generalisation, since these concepts are not directly based upon a common denominator of actual experiences, but are themselves based upon rather complex generalisations of ideas and experiences.

Ideas of justice and peace, freedom and responsibility, are examples of such complex, multi-layered generalisations, and the vagueness of many of these secondary or tertiary abstractions indicates, that the process of elucidation through dialogue has still not been completed.

As a quick summary, then, we come to the conclusion, that, slowly, we have learned, not only, to name and verbalise the many related experiences of being alive, but, we have also learned, that many behavioural reactions and subjective feelings and sensations could be classified and named, because other people have been able to recognise these subjective feelings, and they tend to agree with the validity of such subjective statements.

A child realises, or, has been taught, that the entity of the acting individual can be called "I", and, that, "I" means, not only, one particular individual, me, but, it may also refer to another individual, because this individual can also act as the initiator of an action and say "I". (This generalisation extends, of course, also to the other generalised concepts of "you" and "he", or "she" and "they", etc.) The child learns to use the abstraction of "I" as a substitute for naming itself as it is named by its environment.

Several years later, probably, between the ages of six and nine, we see, that a child can begin to reflect upon the nature of this "I"; this "me"; the individual, which I experience to be at the center of my awarenesses. Individual inclinations vary in this respect, and, not everyone will have vivid recollections about his or her thoughts about such speculative and introspective matters. Some of us develop a persistent, and, perhaps, even, obsessive desire to keep asking questions about the nature of this awareness of "I", or "the self".

Through such introspective methods of observation, we may become aware of ourselves, but, rarely, if ever, do we spend a significant amount of time questioning the nature, identity or the essence of this "I". We observe, from time to time, this "I" in action, but, most of the time, this "I-feeling", or identity feeling, seems to fuse with other aspects of our personality; e.g., with the tasks at hand; with a behavioural complex that tries to integrate the individual with its environment in the best way possible.

We also notice, that an introspective look at ourselves, as well as the scrutiny of the nature of our identity, gives us a sense of uneasiness; a certain paralysis; an inability to cope with pressing problems, because we become, then, remarkably introverted and almost unaware of our surroundings. We see, indeed, that the process of focussing our attention and awarenesses upon this central feeling of identity, interferes with the ability to solve other problems we may have to cope with. Therefore, the focussing of our attention upon the question of identity could become a liability, and, it could lead to a decrease in viability, but, the fact, that such an introspection is, not only, possible, but an ability, (or liability), shared, in essence, by all people, means, that it must have some existential value.

The value of introspection lies in the fact, that, such a questioning of the fundamental nature of our identity, as well as the awareness of ourselves as an existing, living human being, gives us a chance to re-evaluate the totality of the value or usefulness of this existence, and, the activity of reflection and introspection is, therefore, primarily, a tool to re-shape our goals and beliefs, until we feel more satisfied with them.

Introspection, including the analysis of our identity, is, indeed, a tool to re-shape our fundamental beliefs and attitudes, and, it acquires added significance, whenever our personal beliefs and social institutions are crumbling around us. However, this "molting" of our belief structures reflects a period of chaos, uncertainty and vulnerability, and, introspection can never be viable, if it is used, consciously or subconsciously, to avoid making decisions, or, to dwell in an un-ethical and self-centered reality of make-belief and blissful sensations.

We notice, indeed, how close this feeling of "I", is related to the decision-making processes of our conscious awarenesses. In essence, we are looking at the "top-organiser", which is, hierarchically, the highest behavioural organiser, or "conductor", of our existence, but, we should forget, for the time being, any hope of finding a particular cluster of cells in our brain to be responsible for being the "top behavioural organiser".

Perhaps, it is more realistic to see the awareness of this feeling as the highest possible level of abstraction we are capable of; where we are dealing with a final integration of multiple states of abstraction. This awareness exists, then, as a mental image, but, it is not necessarily represented by a particular neurological structure, and, it does not necessarily take place within a specific area of the central nervous system.

Just as a complex computer can only perform its most difficult tasks, if all systems are functioning well and are perfectly integrated, so are we justified to consider the ability to feel, examine, scrutinise and reflect upon the feeling of our identity, as a state of integrated mental and physical health, where all systems are working hard to obtain, for an elusive and fleeting moment, this highest level of mental abstraction.

Perhaps, this is the final contribution of the neurological-psychological equivalent, where total integration of the human being with all its activities and attentions, directed inwards, appears to be equivalent with a sense of identity. It is equivalent with a feeling of understanding the meaning of being human. It is the ultimate moderator of common-sense and behavioural control, as well as the ability to focus upon the common human ability to see reality in the light of a relativistic interpretation, facilitating a condition of tolerance, harmony and understanding.

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Summary

1. Perfect equivalents exist only in arithmetic and mathematics.
   The function of "pure abstractions".
   Why one plus one is not always two.
   The algebraic generalisation.
   When studying the phenomena of nature, we always experience the need to verify our conclusions against fresh observations.
   Confidence and over-confidence, when grasping natural phenomena with mathematical formulae.
   Imperfections in equivalents of meaning, and variations in the meaning of word-symbols.
   The essence of classification; the grouping-together of similar but not identical items of existence or occurrence.
   The relative equivalence between a symbolic representation and an external reality.
   Synonyms and near-synonyms.
   The non-reciprocal equivalent.
   Statements of equivalence always need careful scrutiny.
   The statistical correlation, and its many difficulties.
   The "Brownian movements" of social restlessness.
   The advantage of studying large populations with the concept of a random distribution of behavioural variables.
   Definite trends in a population grouping are only propensities or probabilities in the behaviour of an individual.
   The problems associated with studying a population-sample that is too small or too heterogenous to be representative.
   The role of a subconscious bias.
   The ability to manipulate data in such a way, that results fit-in with pre-conceived notions.
   Understanding the possibilities and limitations of the technique of a statistical analysis.
   
   
   

2. The human being can be studied, "objectively", as an anatomical and physiological object, or, "subjectively, by analysing the world of awarenesses and experiences.
   Studying the human being from our own vantage-point, and, from the awarenesses recorded or communicated by others.
   The human being, seen as a member of a socially integrated grouping, and, as a complex society of billions of cells.
   The need for "conceptual integration" and a "fresh start", when building-up the images of reality.
   A new level of abstraction; reflecting upon the possibility to reflect; the knowledge of knowing.
   The genetic "anlage", and the cultural content of our reality perceptions.
   The functions of a structure of beliefs.
   The awareness of an individualised sphere of reality perceptions.
   An increasing sophistication of our reality perceptions; the ability to increase the level of abstraction through the art of reflecting.
   Agreements in perception resulting from cultural congruence, or, through an emphasis on our shared biological heritage.
   The importance of understanding some of the mechanisms of knowledge.
   Our own existence is as un-knowable as the rest of nature in terms of grasping an "Absolute Reality".
   The sphere of reality perceptions is, inevitably, centered around the existence of an intact and communicating individual.
   The technique of "sequential analysis"; a shifting focus of attention.
   A brief definition of short-term and long-term memory.
   Advantages and disadvantages of large quanta of data.
   Extrapolating from our particular sphere of reality perceptions.
   An essential equivalence between "observers", and the many "blind spots" in our sphere of awarenesses.
   The technique of reflecting and extrapolating is helpful to bring vague notions, sensations, emotions and motivations under words.
   
   
   

3. The draw-backs of introspection as a means to get to know ourselves.
   Awareness grows through communications and a refinement in conceptual precision.
   The three approaches to knowing ourselves; the organic-physiological approach, the psychological-behavioural route, and the subjective-introspective avenue.
   The imagery of these three points of view is not specific or sharply delineated, and "borrows", constantly, from various sources of knowledge and insight.
   The pragmatic purpose of knowing about our own existence.
   The need for a universally acceptable imagery of ourselves.
   "Superiority", and the functions of a genetic spectrum.
   Hierarchical differentiations, and the need to work together.
   A review of leadership functions and requirements.
   The essence of social integration.
   Verbalisable awareness; the tip of an iceberg of behavioural events.
   The concept, that the perception of reality is a behavioural tool.
   The inability to trace a definitive imagery of human existence.
   The construction of a "working hypothesis".
   
   
   

4. The development of the human child; an objective-biological description.
   The newly born infant represents a bundle of inborn reflexes, without a trace of any higher mental functions.
   Sense-impressions or experiences are not registered as specific events or items of awareness, until the child learns to talk.
   Within weeks, the faculty of recognition comes to the fore, indicating the development of a generalised form of sensory registration.
   Evidence for a temporary focus of attention, but no registration of specific awarenesses.
   A brief review of embryological developments.
   The changes that take place at birth.
   Growth and maturation take another fifteen years to complete.
   The central nervous system is "incomplete" at the time of birth.
   A review of the mechanisms of sexual differentiation.
   Careful scrutiny may reveal many sexually related differences in aptitudes and behaviour-patterns between male and female.
   The concept of a genetic spectrum, super-imposed on sex-differences.
   A few examples of sex-related predilections in psychological aptitudes.
   The balance between male and female hormones.
   A cultural accentuation of sexual differences.
   The battle of the sexes; an unfortunate consequence of fervent efforts to reform traditional behaviour-patterns.
   A child; learning to speak.
   The mechanisms of the conditioned reflex.
   Behavioural flexibility is based on the potential for reflex conditioning.
   The domestic dog; conditioned reflexes, seen from the point of view of the dog and his master.
   How dogs learn to recognise specific word-symbols.
   Dogs lack the ability to manipulate, voluntarily or spontaneously, words or representative mental images.
   The genetically endowed ability of the human being to manipulate symbolic representations spontaneously, either, as a process of communication, or, as a form of thought and reflection.
   
   
   

5. The essence of becoming human; the separation of memory-recall from analogous experiences.
   Voluntary memory-recall by symbolic means.
   The dog and his master; another look.
   Voluntary symbolic manipulations may take place in the anthropoids, at least, in a rudimentary form.
   A child, learning to use verbal symbols, and developing the ability to manipulate its social environment.
   The art of asking questions.
   The importance of being taught socially current word-symbols.
   The technique of translating complex symbols into an "easier language" of conceptual building-blocks.
   School-learning represents, primarily, a transfer of secondary knowledge, translated into basic conceptual building-blocks.
   Writing; recording word-symbols as a reflection of their meaning, or, in the way they sound.
   The alphabetic method of "normal spelling", and a further description of the way a word is pronounced, if spelling and pronounciation begin to diverge, once again; the art of phonetics.
   Reading; reconstituting the sound of a verbal symbol, and its subsequent recognition as a symbolic entity.
   The scope of schooling and learning.
   The sphere of reality, and the ability to see behavioural characteristics that fall outside the sphere of conscious awareness of an observed individual.
   The essential reciprocity of the sphere of reality perceptions; consequences.
   Variable perceptions.
   An essential equivalence, requiring careful thought.
   Where reciprocity holds, and where it breaks-down.
   Emotional influences upon the sphere of reality perceptions.
   Emotionally neutral observations; a short review.
   The zone of emotional neutrality, and the opportunities for a sharply delineated reality perception.
   Clarifying the significance of contrasting stimuli with the help of a precise analysis.
   A wide-ranging sphere of reality perceptions, and the emergence of anxiety as a result of the foresight of death and disaster.
   
   
   

6. Reality perceptions are an integral part of the behavioural complex.
   A tool for survival.
   An erroneous emphasis on "the self", if introspective techniques are not corrected by other observations.
   The center of the Universe.
   An unscientific, emotional attitude.
   Sharing reality perceptions with widely diverging people.
   Three classification mechanisms; the cerebral, mental, and external methods.
   The need for solid conceptual building-blocks.
   Reasons for the unassailable validity of mathematical statements.
   Observations of natural phenomena may always reveal unsuspected or more complex features than anticipated.
   The methods of a statistical analysis; possibilities and limitations.
   Problems of man and his societies; a lack of agreed-upon conceptual building-blocks for the construction of a coherent view.
   Why we like to work with dogmatic concepts and absolute truths.
   The importance of "basic facts".
   Research in the field of para-psychology.
   The tendency to interpret sense-impressions into pre-conceived structures of belief is common to us all.
   Emotional reactions associated with the presentation of para-psychological data.
   The investment of time, effort and hardships in what we believe to be true.
   It is so difficult to know, what is "normal" in our perceptions and beliefs; how, then, can we be sure about what is "abnormal"?
   Scienstists, including para-psychological researchers, have usually somewhat facile concepts about the possibilities of distinguishing between what is true and not true.
   Studying a phenomenon over a prolonged period of time.
   Integrating complexities into single concepts.
   Insights come, not only, from minute details, but, also, from broadly based trends.
   The paradox of intelligent awareness.
   
   
   

7. A brief review of scientific and evolutionary insights.
   The multi-cellular organism, and its many organ-systems.
   Survival is determined by the strength of the "weakest link", as well as by the level of coherence between the organ-systems.
   Adaptations have their own price to pay.
   Various examples of the trade-off between advantage and liability.
   The price of the faculty of behavioural flexibility.
   The need to analyse our environment and register experiences.
   The need to scan the potential consequences of a behavioural decision, before it is actually carried-out.
   A review of neurological and neuro-physiological mechanisms at a cellular level.
   A nerve-cell discharges an electrical impulse down its axon as soon as the level of nerve-cell excitation has reached a critical threshold.
   All "neural traffic" consists of trains, or volleys, of electrical impulses with a fixed magnitude, but a variable frequency.
   The principle of "frequency modulation".
   The macroscopic aspects of the neural systems; the brain, the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves.
   Gathering information from receptor cells, and sending instructions to effectors cells, (muscle-fibres and gland-cells).
   What happens to the neural information between input and output is still largely byond our grasp.
   The nature of the reflex-arc.
   A complex movement requires numerous steps of instructions and a continuous monitoring of the level of progress.
   Alertness and consciousness.
   The synaptic transfer of stimuli from cell to cell.
   Chemical substances that either excite or inhibit the membrane of a nerve-cell.
   The link between nerve-cell activities and hormones.
   Nerve-cell activity can be altered by a large number of chemicals reaching the central nervous system via the blood-stream.
   A brief discussion of the essence of a mental illness.
   Neurological anatomy gives us the "wiring diagram" of the central nervous system.
   The meaning of many neural connections is not very clear, as yet.
   Evolutionary developments are reflected in the build-up of the central nervous system.
   A long period of learning.
   A cerebral "program" for finely tuned behaviour; life in the trees.
   A final "program" of verbalisable awarenesses and beliefs.
   
   
   

8. A modification of neural functions is often accomplished by "tapping" into an existing system, and "splicing-in" a super-imposed circuit.
   As a rule, a spliced-in circuit "inhibits", or slows-down, the functions of the "lower" or dominated structures.
   As a result, more and more factors come into play, when shaping a behavioural response, but the time needed to formulate a response, becomes much longer.
   A series of hierarchical plateaux.
   Physiological studies show us, clearly, a hierarchy of functions in the central nervous system.
   Rational evaluations in the zone of emotional neutrality; the highest and evolutionary most recent organiser of the behavioural response.
   What is the basis for the experience of "identity"?
   The dog re-visited, for the last time.
   A repertoir of mental images and verbalisable abstractions.
   Primary, secondary and tertiary abstractions.
   The nature of the concept of "I".
   The advantages and limitations associated with an intense focus upon our identity feelings.
   The value of reflection; a chance to re-shape beliefs and priorities.
   The "molting" of a belief structure.
   The "I-feeling"; a most essential abstraction.
   The computer and the brain.
   A final contribution to the idea of a "neurological-psychological equivalent".

.......